#there are two Gavins inside of you

[unstablerk800]

Nines, I heard Gavin was looking for you

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"Gavin is never looking for me", Nines replied stiffly. "He's glad when I'm not near him. Yesterday, for instance, he said get lost 49 times."

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Oooh! A great Gavin Finney (Good Omens Director of Photography) interview with Helen Parkinson for the British Cinematographer! :)

HEAVEN SENT

Gifted a vast creative landscape from two of fantasy’s foremost authors to play with, Gavin Finney BSC reveals how he crafted the otherworldly visuals for Good Omens 2.  

It started with a letter from beyond the grave. Following fantasy maestro Sir Terry Pratchett’s untimely death in 2015, Neil Gaiman decided he wouldn’t adapt their co-authored 1990 novel, Good Omens, without his collaborator. That was, until he was presented with a posthumous missive from Pratchett asking him to do just that.  

For Gaiman, it was a request that proved impossible to decline: he brought Good Omens season one to the screen in 2019, a careful homage to its source material. His writing, complemented by some inspired casting – David Tennant plays the irrepressible demon Crowley, alongside Michael Sheen as angel-slash-bookseller Aziraphale – and award-nominated visuals from Gavin Finney BSC, proved a potent combination for Prime Video viewers.  

Aziraphale’s bookshop was a set design triumph.

Season two departs from the faithful literary adaptation of its predecessor, instead imagining what comes next for Crowley and Aziraphale. Its storyline is built off a conversation that Pratchett and Gaiman shared during a jetlagged stay in Seattle for the 1989 World Fantasy Convention. Gaiman remembers: “The idea was always that we would tell the story that Terry and I came up with in 1989 in Seattle, but that we would do that in our own time and in our own way. So, once Good Omens (S1) was done, all I knew was that I really, really wanted to tell the rest of the story.” 

Telling that story visually may sound daunting, but cinematographer Finney is no stranger to the wonderfully idiosyncratic world of Pratchett and co. As well as lensing Good Omens’ first outing, he’s also shot three other Pratchett stories – TV mini series  Hogfather  (2006), and TV mini-series The Colour of Magic (2008) and Going Postal (2010). 

He relishes how the authors provide a vast creative landscape for him to riff off. “The great thing about Pratchett and Gaiman is that there’s no limit to what you can do creatively – everything is up for grabs,” he muses. “When we did the first Pratchett films and the first Good Omens, you couldn’t start by saying, ‘Okay, what should this look like?’, because nothing looks like Pratchett’s world. So, you’re starting from scratch, with no references, and that starting point can be anything you want it to be.”  

Season two saw the introduction of inside-outside sets for key locations including Aziraphale’s bookshop. 

From start to finish 

The sole DP on the six-episode season, Finney was pleased to team up again with returning director Douglas Mackinnon for the “immensely complicated” shoot, and the pair began eight weeks of prep in summer 2021. A big change was the production shifting the main soho set from Bovington airfield, near London, up to Edinburgh’s Pyramids Studio. Much of the action in Good Omens takes place on the Soho street that’s home to Aziraphale’s bookshop, which was built as an exterior set on the former airfield for season one. Season two, however, saw the introduction of inside-outside sets for key locations including the bookshop, record store and pub, to minimise reliance on green screen.  

Finney brought over many elements of his season one lensing, especially Mackinnon’s emphasis on keeping the camera moving, which involved lots of prep and testing. “We had a full-time Scorpio 45’ for the whole shoot (run by key grip Tim Critchell and his team), two Steadicam operators (A camera – Ed Clark and B camera Martin Newstead) all the way through, and in any one day we’d often go from Steadicam, to crane, to dolly and back again,” he says. “The camera is moving all the time, but it’s always driven by the story.” 

One key difference for season two, however, was the move to large-format visuals. Finney tested three large-format cameras and the winner was the Alexa LF (assisted by the Mini LF where conditions required), thanks to its look and flexibility.  

The minisodes were shot on Cooke anamorphics, giving Finney the ideal balance of anamorphic-style glares and characteristics without too much veiling flare.

A more complex decision was finding the right lenses for the job. “You hear about all these whizzy new lenses that are re-barrelled ancient Russian glass, but I needed at least two full sets for the main unit, then another set for the second unit, then maybe another set again for the VFX unit,” Finney explains. “If you only have one set of this exotic glass, it’s no good for the show.” 

He tested a vast array of lenses before settling on Zeiss Supremes, supplied by rental house Media Dog. These ticked all the boxes for the project: “They had a really nice look – they’re a modern design but not over sharp, which can look a bit electronic and a bit much, especially with faces. When you’re dealing with a lot of wigs and prosthetics, we didn’t want to go that sharp. The Supremes had a very nice colour palette and nice roll-off. They’re also much smaller than a lot of large-format glass, so that made it easy for Steadicam and remote cranes. They also provided additional metadata, which was very useful for the VFX department (VFX services were provided by Milk VFX).” 

The Supremes were paired with a selection of filters to characterise the show’s varied locations and characters. For example, Tiffen Bronze Glimmerglass were paired with bookshop scenes; Black Pro-Mist was used for Hell; and Black Diffusion FX for Crowley’s present-day storyline.  

Finney worked closely with the show’s DIT, Donald MacSween, and colourist, Gareth Spensley, to develop the look for the minisode.

Maximising minisodes 

Episodes two, three and four of season two each contain a ‘minisode’ – an extended flashback set in Biblical times, 1820s Edinburgh and wartime London respectively. “Douglas wanted the minisodes to have very strong identities and look as different from the present day as possible, so we’d instantly know we were in a minisode and not the present day,” Finney explains.  

One way to shape their distinctive look was through using Cooke anamorphic lenses. As Finney notes: “The Cookes had the right balance of controllable, anamorphic-style flares and characteristics without having so much veiling flare that they would be hard to use on green screens. They just struck the right balance of aesthetics, VFX requirements and availability.” The show adopted the anamorphic aspect ratio (2:39.1), an unusual move for a comedy, but one which offered them more interesting framing opportunities. 

Good Omens 2 was shot on the Alexa LF, paired with Zeiss Supremes for the present-day scenes.

The minisodes were also given various levels of film grain to set them apart from the present-day scenes. Finney first experimented with this with the show’s DIT Donald MacSween using the DaVinci Resolve plugin FilmConvert. Taking that as a starting point, the show’s colourist, Company 3’s Gareth Spensley, then crafted his own film emulation inspired by two-strip Technicolor. “There was a lot of testing in the grade to find the look for these minisodes, with different amounts of grain and different types of either Technicolor three-strip or two-strip,” Finney recalls. “Then we’d add grain and film weave on that, then on top we added film flares. In the Biblical scenes we added more dust and motes in the air.”  

Establishing the show’s lighting was a key part of Finney’s testing process, working closely with gaffer Scott Napier and drawing upon PKE Lighting’s inventory. Good Omens’ new Scottish location posed an initial challenge: as the studio was in an old warehouse rather than being purpose-built for filming, its ceilings weren’t as high as one would normally expect. This meant Finney and Napier had to work out a low-profile way of putting in a lot of fixtures. 

Inside Crowley’s treasured Bentley.

Their first task was to test various textiles, LED wash lights and different weight loadings, to establish what they were working with for the street exteriors. “We worked out that what was needed were 12 SkyPanels per 20’x20’ silk, so each one was a block of 20’x20’, then we scaled that up,” Finney recalls. “I wanted a very seamless sky, so I used full grid cloth which made it very, very smooth. That was important because we’ve got lots of cars constantly driving around the set and the sloped windscreens reflect the ceiling. So we had to have seamless textiles – PKE had to source around 12,000 feet of textiles so that we could put them together, so the reflections in the windscreens of the cars just showed white gridcloth rather than lots of stage lights. We then drove the car around the set to test it from different angles.”  

On the floor, they mostly worked with LEDs, providing huge energy and cost savings for the production. Astera’s Titan Tubes came in handy for a fun flashback scene with John Hamm’s character Gabriel. The DP remembers: “[Gabriel] was travelling down a 30-foot feather tunnel. We built a feather tunnel on the stage and wrapped it in a ring of Astera tubes, which were then programmed by dimmer op Jon Towler to animate, pulse and change different colours. Each part of Gabriel’s journey through his consciousness has a different colour to it.” 

Among the rigs built was a 20-strong Creamsource Vortex setup for the graveyard scene in the “Body Snatchers” minisode, shot in Stirling. “We took all the yokes off each light then put them on a custom-made aluminium rig so we could have them very close. We put them up on a big telehandler on a hill that gave me a soft mood light, which was very adjustable, windproof and rainproof.” 

Shooting on the VP stage for the birth of the universe scenes in episode one.

Sky’s the limit 

A lot of weather effects were done in camera – including lightning effects pulsed in that allowed both direct fork lightning and sheet lightning to spread down the streets. In the grade, colourist Spensley was also able to work his creative magic on the show’s skies. “Gareth is a very artistic colourist – he’s a genius at changing skies,” Finney says. “Often in the UK you get these very boring, flat skies, but he’s got a library of dramatic skies that you can drop in. That would usually be done by VFX, but he’s got the ability to do it in Baselight, so a flat sky suddenly becomes a glorious sunset.” 

Finney emphasises that the grade is a very involved process for a series like Good Omens, especially with its VFX-heavy nature. “This means VFX sequences often need extra work when it comes back into the timeline,” says the DP. “So, we often add camera movement or camera shake to crank the image up a bit. Having a colourist like Gareth is central to a big show like Good Omens, to bring all the different visual elements together and to make it seamless. It’s quite a long grade process but it’s worth its weight in gold.” 

Shooting in the VR cube for the blitz scenes .

Finney took advantage of virtual production (VP) technology for the driving scenes in Crowley’s classic Bentley. The volume was built on their Scottish set: a 4x7m cube with a roof that could go up and down on motorised winches as needed. “We pulled the cars in and out on skates – they went up on little jacks, which you could then rotate and move the car around within the volume,” he explains. “We had two floating screens that we could move around to fill in and use as additional source lighting. Then we had generated plates – either CGI or real location plates –projected 360º around the car. Sometimes we used the volume in-camera but if we needed to do more work downstream; we’d use a green screen frustum.” Universal Pixels collaborated with Finney to supply in-camera VFX expertise, crew and technical equipment for the in-vehicle driving sequences and rear projection for the crucial car shots. 

John Hamm was suspended in the middle of this lighting rig and superimposed into the feather tunnel.

Interestingly, while shooting at a VP stage in Leith, the team also used the volume as a huge, animated light source in its own right – a new technique for Finney. “We had the camera pointing away from [the volume] so the screen provided this massive, IMAX-sized light effect for the actors. We had a simple animation of the expanding universe projected onto the screen so the actors could actually see it, and it gave me the animated light back on the actors.”  

Bringing such esteemed authors’ imaginations to the screen is no small task, but Finney was proud to helped bring Crowley and Aziraphale’s adventures to life once again. He adds: “What’s nice about Good Omens, especially when there’s so much bad news in the world, is that it’s a good news show. It’s a very funny show. It’s also about good and evil, love and doing the right thing, people getting together irrespective of backgrounds. It’s a hopeful message, and I think that that’s what we all need.” 

Finney is no stranger to the idiosyncratic world of Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

[beuxwhoyouare]

Wrecked

Gabe wasn't feeling the vibes to go out but he had to. All of his friends were getting together to celebrate one of their birthdays so against his better judgement he went out. In true fashion anytime you're around your best friends they can change a moment of tiredness into hyped excitement. And that's what they did. While horrendously underdressed for the occasion Gabe was thankful he went out that night to be surrounded by the love of all his friends despite a crumby day at work.

Gabe and his friends drank and danced the night away, leaving the club around 2 am. The group took Lyfts back to their homes leaving only 2 of them left in the vehicle as they got on the highway. Black ice developed in the colder weather causing the 2 cars in front of Gabe's Lyft driver to swerve in an attempt to avoid crashing. The car hit the cement median. Several vehicle attempted to stop but a pile up formed on the interstate after their crash.

A few feet behind them, a vehicle carrying a prisoner being extradited got caught in the wreckage. The guards driving, dying upon impact. Gavin was caught after months on the run for several murders but now this had to be fate. The doors of the armored vehicle flapping open in the cold air. His distraught lanky self going into fight or flight quickly stripping his prison wear. He quickly searched for another nearby vehicle with passengers that had passed out, pulled on spare clothes from their trunk, and pretended to pass out inside a nearby vehicle in an attempt to hide his true identity.

Hours later, Gabe woke up in the hospital reeling in a panic from the traumatic moments before the incident. A nurse calmed him down as she told him he'd been out for only an hour since his arrival. They continued to check on him as he tried to collect himself mentally, calling out for his friend. The medical team assuring him that they would search for his friend in the sea of hospital rooms.

Minutes of waiting turned to hours and eventually he passed out.

Gavin woke up around the same time in the same hospital. Fiddling with something he found in his pocket, he found himself in a room with several others passed out. He got up quietly before peering out into the energetic ER filled with rushing medical providers and crash victims. He knew that he may have escaped for now but the cops will surely be looking for him soon.

He quickly began searching for victims with private rooms and and ID he could snag. Several officers walked into the ER to begin taking statements from anyone awake about what happened. Gavin overheard one telling a nurse that they were also searching for an escaped convict. Knowing full well that he was already being hunted he ducked down and quickly crawled into a nearby room.

He was panicking trying to figure out a way out of the scenario he finally pulled the item he’d been fiddling with out of his pocket when he examined it closer. An arrowhead looking rock with a symbol etched into it glowed in his hand. He didn’t think much of it amid his ongoing spiral.

Gabe woke up in his bed noticing Gavin looking at something in his hand. He began freaking out at the stranger in his room as Gavin lunged at him using the sharp rock-like item to threaten him. Gavin told Gabe to calm down or he would harm him. In an attempt to scare him into complicity, Gavin prodded the rock into Gabe’s neck and once it came into contact with both of them it a gust of wind broke out in the room. Two abstract auras flew out from the two men before getting sucked into the body opposite of where they came from, before the wind stopped and shot them apart.

Nurses and a cop rushed into the room. The cop recognized Gavin and began to cuff the blonde man. Nurses came to check on Gabe but he had apparently passed out. The cop places Gavin in custody and began walking him out of the room as he groggily reawakened.

“Wait. Where are you taking me? I’m still looking for my friends?” the escaped prisoner panicked.

“Friends? Gavin Topp, you’re under arrest again for murder. You don’t have any friends left here.” snickered the cop.

As the cop continued to drag the prisoner to a nearby cop car, the prisoner caught his reflection in a glass door. That’s not his face…his stomach sank….that’s the stranger from his room?!

Gabe’s friend rushed into the room to check on him after the nurses alerted him he was there. Witnessing the cop take the convict out of the room, Gavin grinned as he watched his former body being dragged out of the room. A sense of relief washed over him as he started to piece together what happened. Confirmed to him as Gabe’s friend walked into the room asking him if he was okay enough to head home.

Gavin pretended to still be shaken by the nights events asking for Gabe’s friend to take him to his new home. Eventually they arrive to Gavin’s new home as his friend leaves him to get some rest. Slowly Gavin looked around the apartment discovering something new everywhere he looked. That’s when he located the restroom. Gavin grimaced at his new reflection in the mirror.

The blonde white murder convict savored his new Cuban Puerto Rican dark brown curls. His shorter stature was met with muscular firmness that was deceivingly hidden under oversized sweats.

In his excitement, he began unsheathing himself from the cloth confines. Taking in his new muscles and tattoos with awe. He flexed and tried poses he had always seen big buff guys do in tv shows and movies. When he dropped his sweatpants he was shocked to find a slutty brief thong underwear.

He’s gotten away with murder and now he wanted to get away with taking advantage of this bussy. The convict gave into the body’s urges, animalistic like fervor washing over him as he pulled off the sweats before pulling down the thong.

Using one hand to stroke his growing pole and the other sliding in digit after digit to poke and prod his new hole, Gavin began giggling to himself with satisfaction before graduating to moans. In his mind he kept replaying the moment he saw the real Gabe realize his life had been stolen. Gavin gaining perverse satisfaction from that moment and his new life as a fine Latino man. Before he knew it everything came to a climax. Rope after rope shot out as he continued to buzz with residual impacts of the moment. Gavin using his new horned up tongue to like everything he could clean from the mess he made.

He passed out after the traumatic day only to be woken up bright and early by his new phone vibrating with a FaceTime call.

Gavin scaring himself with his own reflection as he answered. Gabe’s friends wanted to take him to the beach to help him get his mind off the trauma from the night before. Gavin couldn’t wait to continue to whore himself out on the beach, elated at the offer to go to the beach. Hanging up the call, Gavin scavenged through all of Gabe’s clothing to find a swimsuit…only to find two options.

Instead of making up his mind himself he asked the group chat with all of Gabe’s friends. What do yall think? Black or lime?

Well what do you think?

[bigboy-lovers-unite-writes]

Where/how I feel like they would take you out on a first date!!!

Connor; he did alot of research on your favorite things and what humans usually liked to do, especially on a first date. He figured it would be nice to just talk with you and bring you out to a park for a walk, maybe sit down and hold hands or something. He's definitely very vanilla when it comes to dates, but he's still trying!!

Markus; definitely takes you to somewhere fun. Wether that be an arcade, a carnival or fair, he just wants the both of you to have fun together. He likes seeing you happy, plus he would like to try stuff like games and fun things with you <3

Kara; would probably prefer to stay somewhere safer like inside, but you could convince her to go out if you really tried. She just wants the both of you to be okay and safe. Would make some food for you and watch TV and cuddle sm 😭

Simon; sweet boy oml. Would do probably anything for you, would stay inside, take you out, buy you stuff, anything!! Being a domestic model for kids, he probably knows how to cook decently too. Asks for a hug and maybe a kiss after the date 🤭

Gavin; Prick, but he does semi care. Might take you out to get a burger or a coffee if he's feeling generous, but would actually care about what you want. Would share his food or drink with you, it's like a love language for him at this point. Basically demands you two hold hands or lock arms

Hank; he thinks he's too old for dating anymore, so he would let you pick and drag him around to a store or around town. Like gavin, would definitely appreciate it if you two stopper and got some lunch while out. Giving Sumo a bath is like a date for you two, he really needs help washing the big dog 😭

North; she might act like she doesn't care, she kinda does. She wants to do what she mostly wants to do, but also takes your thoughts into consideration. You two will probably cause some trouble around town or mess with some of the other androids in Jericho or town. She loves getting closer to someone while having fun <3

Ralph; LET HIM DO IT FOR YOU 😭 he will be so sad if you try to plan against his plans. If he's going out with you, you already have him trusting you alot. Will accidentally rant about plants the entire time since he feels like he can share it to you. Definitely wants to garden with you, and will try to cook (he really does try his best)

Elijah; he's rich, he's gonna treat you like royalty (probably). Honestly I think he knows how to cook, but be might make one of his other androids cook something for the two of you. Would probably build an android just for you as a sign of affection or some shi 😭 let's you run his credit card up

Daniel; he really, really cares about everything. If it's an at home date, he will clean the entire place and made it look amazing and set up a little area for a date. Probably wants to build a pillow fort. If you two go out, he will be a little anxious and holding his hand makes him feel alot better <3

Nines; honestly probably doesn't like dates too much, will complain the entire time but does go with you if you go out, wants to make sure you're not being stupid. Will want to have a long conversation about anything, and will more than likely want to be next to you no matter what during/after the date wherever yall went

Luther; huge sweetheart fr 😭 would love to stay home and cuddle or just take care of anything you need. He loves to make sure you're alright. He will probably go out to a small quiet area with you and just sit in silence and hold hands, maybe say he loves you

Jerry/s; obviously gonna take you to an amusement park, maybe their own amusement park since they miss having visitors 😔 they're always cheery and happy so they would love to do anything, play in the snow, play games, talk, anything!

[savemefromanepicoftimewasted]

The First Crush

RK800 Connor X F!Reader

He was an android! He wasn’t supposed to be stuttering like some nervous school boy seeing his crush for the first time. And yet, here he was making a fool of himself.

A/N: ahhh! this is my very first DBH fic! feedback is always highly appreciated!

Connor had been infatuated with you from the moment he’d stepped into the precinct that first morning. Sure, he hadn’t been a deviant yet at that time but there was something about you that drew him in. Whether it was the little knick knacks that you had sitting around your desk, or the photo of your two cats you proudly displayed. The first time he’d ever talked to you was what anyone would call a disaster. He’d nearly spilled the coffee he’d gotten for Hank all over your desk, nearly tripping over his feet as he stuttered over his words.

He was an android! He wasn’t supposed to be stuttering like some nervous school boy seeing his crush for the first time. And yet, here he was making a fool of himself. Hank had swooped in to save him from further embarrassment, making sure you were distracted while Connor cooled down.

You introduced yourself to him later on that day in the breakroom, ignoring Gavin’s snide remarks as you tried to make conversation with Connor. It was nice to be seen as something other than an android. Amanda had been surprised to learn about you, how Connor had made a friend so soon after arriving. Her tone left no room for argument on how Connor was supposed to approach his friendship with you, and why would he think any differently? Hank was his partner first and foremost, so he had to work on building that relationship.

CyberLife didn’t want him becoming distracted from his goals, lest they take him down into the sublevels and decommission him. That would put a real damper in him figuring out the whole deviancy cases that were beginning to line up. After the first case it became harder to figure out why they all seemed to deviate. From androids killing their owners, to androids being in love with one another.

Hank had questioned him as to why he hadn’t shot the deviant from the Eden Club, but Connor couldn’t give him a proper answer. He wasn’t even sure himself as to why he hadn’t shot her when he had a perfect shot. Instead he let her partner, lover?, kick the gun out of his hand before running off together. Amanda had been furious when Connor tried to deflect, lying to the older woman as if she couldn’t predict his very thoughts.

She did live inside his head after all.

Then there was Markus. Their first meeting hadn’t exactly gone the way Connor had hoped it would. He’d borrowed some clothes from Hank, promising that he wasn’t doing anything too dangerous and that he'd be back before the end of the night. (That dear reader had been a complete and total lie the moment the FBI had raided Jericho). Connor had been unable to forgive himself for a while after that, even once the androids were given their rights. Markus had assured him that things between them were fine, Connor had become a deviant and helped them all in the end.

Connor hadn’t properly forgiven himself for months after the incident, choosing to throw himself into his work and avoid everything else that surrounded him. Sure, he didn’t need sleep or food the way a normal human would so he could spend longer looking over case files, but something irked at him. You always seemed to check up on him, offering to drive him to Hank’s so he could get away from the precinct. It was nice.

He’d taken up your offer a handful of times, offering money to pay for gas since you lived on the complete opposite side as Hank. You always refused though, promising him that you didn’t mind driving Connor home. Hank wasn’t too put out by the idea either, glad to know Connor was making other friends besides himself. He’d always be his partner, but sometimes Hank liked to just sit and be by himself for a few hours at a time.

It took Connor longer than he’d realized to come to the conclusion that he had a crush on you, that his feelings ran deeper than just a simple friendship. It was downright terrifying for the android to try and wrap his head around. You were his friend, and now he was thinking about things like taking you out onto a date! 

“Hank! I need some advice.” Connor stormed into the quaint house, tossing aside his coat as it landed on the kitchen chair.

Hank’s hand hovered mid-air, fork full of rice from his favorite Chinese place downtown steaming as he stared over at Connor. When he didn’t make another move to try and start talking again Hank quickly shoved the bite into his mouth, chewing slowly. Once he’d swallowed the rice without any hazards, Hank set down the container and his fork, turning to face Connor.

“Alright, what type of advice do you need?” Hank was doing his best to hide his surprise, the fact that Connor, essentially a walking computer, needed advice? This was something big.

“I want to impress someone, someone that I really like.” Connor reached up to loosen the tie around his neck, fingers hooking in the soft silk material and pulling back and forth as it slowly slid down.

“Well, what do you know about this person?” Hank almost felt like a proud father, watching someone he’d grown close to have their first real crush.

Connor’s eyes lit up as he began to talk about you, leaving out your name more for his own sake rather than yours. He talked about how you loved cats, it didn't matter what they looked like, you just loved cats. Or how your favorite movie was some campy movie based off of a videogame that came out in the 90’s. How no matter what, you always brought in some kind of dessert for someone on their birthday.

“Okay, that’s some good information to start with.” Hank pondered over the information Connor had given him, thinking back to what he would’ve done.

Connor laid his tie overtop of his jacket across the chair, unbuttoning the buttons on his sleeves to roll them up onto his arms. The dishes needed to be done, and right now he needed to get some good advice from Hank lest he lose his mind thinking about you.

“You could always start small, get her some flowers for her home, or something that she might appreciate.” Hank hadn’t dated, or been with anyone in quite a long time, so he was a little rusty.

Connor was elbow deep in soapy water, locking away the little information Hank had given him so he could figure out exactly what to do. Surely this would be too hard, right?

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ ☾.  ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

Connor couldn’t help but feel nervous as he walked inside the precinct, the small bundle of flowers held loosely in his right hand. His eyes scanned over each desk before finally landing on yours as he made his way over.

“Y/N?” Connor leaned over to try and get your attention, hoping he didn’t startle you as he’d done multiple times before.

“Oh! Hi Connor, who’re those for?” You gestured to the flowers in his hands, taking in the different colored roses.

His brow pinched for a moment before a realization seemed to hit him as his back straightened suddenly.

“They’re for you, I wanted to find something that wouldn’t be bad for your cats.” He held the flowers out closer to you, a nervous smile on his face.

Your eyes brightened as you smiled widely, carefully taking the flowers from his hands as you brought them up to your nose.

“I hope I made a good decision, the florist said these wouldn’t be overpowering, and also safe for your cats.” Connor subtly scolded himself for repeating something he’d already said.

“Connor, these are gorg-ACHOO!” You carefully set down the flowers as you hastily grabbed a tissue to try and plug your nose.

Connor felt himself begin to panic, had he done something wrong? Did he get the wrong type of flowers?

“I’m sore-achoo! I promise the flowers are lovely, I just, achoo! I’m kind of allergic to pollen.” Your nose began to stuff up from the fragrant roses, your eyes watering slightly as you reached into your drawer for your allergy medicine.

That was the very thing that Connor had forgotten to take into consideration, he’d known all about allergies. Hank had a deadly allergy to bees, meaning he couldn’t have anything with honey or beeswax. He’d nearly made the mistake of gifting him something that had honey in it, but was reminded just before he’d purchased it. Nothing worse than accidentally killing your lieutenant.

Well, maybe making a fool of yourself in front of someone you’d become infatuated with was pretty high up on that list right now.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N, I forget that pollen is one of the most common allergies. Would you like me to take the flowers?” Connor wouldn’t be affected by them, at least not in the way you were at the moment.

“No! Really, Connor, it's fine. I just need to take some medicine and I’ll be right as rain.” You smiled up at him, he could sense the faint swelling of your nose from the pollen.

“If you’re sure.” He was unsure of what to even say, second guessing himself at that moment.

You reassured him once more, taking two of the tablets with a long sip of the water you always brought in to work.

He’d just have to do better next time.

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ ☾.  ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

Connor had been lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of Hank’s living room as Sumo laid down on the floor beside him. The couch was newer, more for Hank’s sake rather than his own, Connor didn’t need comforts in life the way a human would. Sumo had been ecstatic to see the new couch, claiming the long chaise lounge for himself once it was set down. Hank had fallen asleep on it many times, the television playing quietly in the background before Connor got home. It felt…normal.

“What’s got you so pensive?” Hank was making dinner for himself, Sumo having already been fed for the night.

“I screwed up by getting her the flowers, how could I make it up to her so that she doesn’t have an allergic reaction?” Connor had done some research to find any other important allergies, the main one was pollen which he’d already known.

“Well, do you know things that she likes? And I mean actually likes, not some wild guess from analyzing her.” Hank plated the steak, turning to face Connor before taking a seat at his kitchen table.

“She really likes cats, has an infatuation with black cats.” His mind raced with a million and one thoughts as he tried to decipher what exactly he could get you.

Hank hummed lowly, cutting into the meat before popping a piece into his mouth and chewing slowly. His brow pinched as he thought back to what he’d get his ex wife as a way to impress her when they were first dating.

“Why don’t you take her to lunch? Nothing super fancy so she doesn’t feel pressured. Don’t they have restaurants that androids can eat at now?” Hank knew there were plenty of places both you and Connor could eat at, he just didn’t want to seem soft.

Connor thought about it for a moment, cataloging all the restaurants in the area that served food that the both of you could eat. The closest, and most casual one, was just a few miles away from the precinct. Maybe he could take you there on Monday as both an apology for the roses, and a way to get to know you better.

Surely this wouldn’t go wrong.

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His nerves were shot, there was no other way to possibly even begin to explain why he was freaking out over something so normal. 

You’d agreed to go to lunch with him, even offering to cover your meal even though Connor downright refused and told you he would cover it. He didn’t need to really eat often, so when he did he liked to enjoy the atmosphere of wherever he’d decided to eat. Of course he would usually sit in one of the corner booths by himself where he could go over casefiles while eating.

Today was a completely different experience entirely. Besides enjoying a delicious meal with you, Connor had also seen you truly open up. You weren’t afraid to laugh at his dry humor, something he’d learned from Hank more so than anywhere else. The conversation never seemed too dull, the two of you talking the entire time until you had to get back to work.

The moment you stepped outside, ready to make the short-ish walk back to the precinct, it began to downpour. Connor cursed under his breath, quickly pulling off his coat to try and use it as an umbrella for you. You gripped onto the soft material, holding it tight as you both began to try and sprint to the precinct.

Thunder clapped loudly in the sky, the sound vibrating through both of your chests as you finally made it back. As you handed Connor back his jacket he couldn’t help but frown. His jacket hadn’t done any good to keep you dry, your clothes were absolutely drenched. He’d known he wouldn’t fare well during the run, but he hoped to at least keep you a little bit dry.

“Shit, let me see if they’ve got some dry clothes for you to wear.” Before you could even utter a word Connor had run inside, heading into the back to find the old stock supply of hoodies and sweatpants.

Debating for a moment he grabbed clothes for the both of you, bringing them back out to where you’d been standing at your desk. You must’ve come inside after he left you outside of the precinct. Jeez, he was failing miserably at this whole thing, trying to impress you by doing things that seemed cute together.

“Here, I’m sure there’s towels in the shower that we can use to dry off with.” Connor handed over the clothes, a guilty expression pulling at his face.

You smiled softly at him, thanking him for the clothes before making your way down to the locker rooms. Connor did the same with his own clothes, stripping down completely, except his boxers, and drying off as best he could before pulling on the new clothes. They were big enough that no part of his body was hanging out, but they definitely screamed, ‘I fucked up and have to wear this as punishment’. Connor wouldn’t blame you if you decided to never speak to him again, he couldn’t handle another bad thing happening due to his negligence.

“Well, well, what happened to you two lovebirds?” Gavin’s smirk was anything but friendly, his lip pulled up into a harsh sneer.

“Just ended up getting caught in the rain, didn’t want Y/N to get sick so I found some dry clothes for her to change into.” Connor knew better than to engage in any kind of conversation with Gavin.

The man was barely tolerable, he was sure that if he hadn’t been an android Gavin would’ve found an entirely different reason to hate him. He’d seen the way Gavin had tried, and failed, to convince you to go on a date with him so many times before. Connor had been afraid you wouldn’t even accept him since he was an android, but you were the first friend, besides Hank, that he had. You always stood up for him, even if sometimes he’d gotten himself into the mess he was in. Nine times out of ten they were caused by Gavin being an absolute dick, today was going to be no different.

“Oh? So you’ll go out with this piece of junk, but not a real man? What, you’ve got a fetish for that android di-.” Gavin was cut off as Connor turned suddenly, his knuckles colliding with the skin of his jaw.

Gavin hit the ground hard, a loud yelp echoing inside the room as Connor’s hands clenched into tight fists. Chris and one of the other officers ran over to check on Gavin, probably to make sure Connor hadn’t broken anything on him. He hadn’t, Gavin would just have a nice bruise to set a reminder as to why he should finally leave you and Connor alone.

“Connor!” Hank’s voice boomed louder than the rest of the chatter, his body locking up as he slowly looked over to where Hank was standing.

You were standing behind the lieutenant, eyes wide as you glanced between where Gavin was sitting on the floor over to where Connor stood. A slow smile pulled up your lips, eyes twinkling as you quickly made your way over to your desk.

“Sorry, should I fill out a harassment form?” Connor didn’t feel the least bit sorry for hitting Gavin, but he also didn’t want to lose his job.

“Just, don’t do it again, okay?” Hank stared back at him until he nodded, nodding once before sitting down at his own desk.

Connor quickly followed suit, ignoring Gavin who was downright seething at being not only punched by an android, but someone who wouldn’t get into any trouble. Anyone with two brain cells could see how annoying Gavin was, so who better to hit him than Connor? It was a win-win situation if he did think so himself.

“Thank you, Connor.” Connor’s head snapped over to where you sat, brow furrowed as his lips parted.

You looked as if you hadn’t just spoken to him, your hands typing away at your keyboard as your eyes followed each word to make sure you didn’t make any mistakes.

“You’re welcome, Y/N.” Connor kept his voice low, he knew you’d hear him, but he didn’t want to make Hank feel uncomfortable.

Even though their afternoon had been ruined from the rain, it helped knowing that Connor could make Hank and Y/N smile at the expense of finally getting to hit Gavin.

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Connor had been restoring a classic Harley Davidson for nearly six months, slowly buying parts and working on it whenever he wasn’t needed at the precinct. Hank hadn’t minded Connor working on it in his garage, almost preferring it being hidden away from other people. Connor had joked that he’d let Hank drive it as long as he got his motorcycle license first. Hank on the other hand said he liked how they looked, but he also liked having all his limbs. It was no shock that most people didn’t respect people, or androids in this case, on motorcycles. He had spent weeks learning to drive perfectly, even though he was an android there were always insane drivers.

He’d bought a jacket and helmet during his last shopping excursion so he could at least be prepared when the bike was finally finished. The weather had finally warmed up, which meant he could drive around without the sun setting at four pm.

Taking a deep breath he grabbed the accelerator, reaching up to see if he’d been successful at reviving the old bike. The engine roared to life as he twisted his wrist forward gently, the sound of the engine revving like an angry lion.

“I did it!” Connor quickly turned the bike off, not wanting to waste what little gas he had in there at the moment. He’d drive down to the gas station and fill it up so he could drive it to the station and surprise everyone.

Well, he really only wanted to surprise you.

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Connor had chosen his clothes carefully, sliding on the boots that were recommended, before grabbing his leather jacket and slipping it on over his shoulders. Hank had mentioned how he could walk a runway with his clothes, almost shocked at how effortless it was for Connor to look handsome. He’d never really understood the appeal, he wore clothes that he found pleasing, or what would keep him safe from the outside environment. 

Grabbing the helmet he made his way outside, having already parked the bike in the driveway so that the garage wouldn’t be sitting open the entire day. Putting on his helmet he straddled the bike carefully, turning it on as it roared to life once more. The gas tank was full, something he’d insisted on doing the night before. Carefully kicking up the kickstand he walked the bike to the end of the driveway, checking for any pedestrians or other drivers before he began to drive.

The wind felt nice as it whipped by, the rumbling of the bike vibrating from his toes to the tops of his shoulders. Other drivers stared as he drove by, their shock evident at the loud motorcycle as he sat idly waiting for the light to turn green. The drive wasn’t one he hated doing, quite the opposite as it gave him time to think about what needed to be done. Unfortunately it seemed he tended to drive much faster while on a motorcycle. He pulled into the parking lot almost fifteen minutes before he was due to arrive, parking between your and Hank’s car.

Once the bike was off, the engine slowly cooling itself down as he pushed down the kickstand to step off the bike, Connor noticed a few people staring. That would always happen no matter where he was, but this felt different. They didn’t look jealous, no, they looked almost shocked to see Connor stepping off the bike. Okay, maybe he did have a reputation for being a goodie two shoes but that was before the deviancy.

He grabbed the bottom of his helmet, slipping it off to try and fix his hair if needed. Since he didn’t sweat his hair hadn’t flattened to his head, running a hand through fixed it right away. The two officers outside kept their eyes on him as he made his way inside.

“Connor! Just the man I was looking fo-.” Your voice cut off as you stared over at him, eyes wide and lips parted.

That was a reaction he’d never gotten from you before, why did you look like someone shell shocked? Was there something wrong?

“Y/N? Are you alright?” Connor stepped over, his helmet held loosely in his right hand.

Your eyes trailed over his body slowly, much slower than he’d ever seen you to do anyone else before, even people you found attractive. Your body temperature rose by a degree, skin flushed with goosebumps.

Oh.

Oh.

“I-I’m sorry, yes Connor, I’m just fine.” You smiled up at him, hands shakily clutching the tablet in your hands.

“Are you sure? We can go sit down at my desk if you need to.” Connor gently took your elbow, leading you down towards the desks and ushering you into his usual seat.

“Connor, I promise that I’m fine. I’ve been going over the paperwork from this most recent case if you’d like to look at the information.” You held the tablet out to him, your voice breathy as your eyes trailed down his throat and chest.

He opened his mouth to respond, to tell you that the case could wait a few more minutes before he noticed the uptick in your heart rate. He’d never had this kind of effect on someone before, it felt invigorating. 

“Alright, I believe you.” He smirked down at you, plopping down into your chair before scooting closer.

You jumped right into the case, avoiding looking at him for any period of time to try and get your thoughts under control. Jeez, it was like you were a schoolgirl with a crush on the hotter older kid. Except you worked together, and Connor was clearly trying to impress you with the flowers, and then lunch, and then… Oh!

“Is something bothering you, Y/N?” Connor’s voice was low, the softness of his eyes keeping you from being able to speak properly.

“Actually, there is.” Your tone was clear, a complete 180 to how you’d just been so flustered.

Connor was clearly taken aback, unsure of how to even approach the new situation he’d just landed himself in.

“You come in here being all sweet, buying me roses, taking me to lunch, and now? Now you’re walking in looking like a walking, talking wet dream and I’m simply supposed to keep my cool while you sit right next to me for the next ten hours?” You held a hand up as Connor opened his mouth to respond.

“You are the embodiment of everything I want, Connor. So excuse me for being quite distracted at how gorgeous you look today.” You huffed, arms crossing over your chest as your little moment began to sink in.

Connor was shocked that you’d like him, he knew he liked you, anyone with eyes could see it, but knowing you liked him as more than a friend? Well, it was a little surprising for him. Maybe driving the Harley in was the best idea he’d had in years.

“Well, if that’s the case. Can I take you on a date? A proper one that doesn’t involve us getting soaked with rain?” Connor felt hopeful, what’s the worst that could happen? You both already liked one another.

“Find a place where we can both have dinner, and it’s a date.” You smiled at him, standing up from his desk and leaving the tablet on the smooth surface.

Connor knew he’d need to spend a few minutes of his lunch finding a nicer restaurant, and couldn't have a repeat of the last time you two had gone out together. Even if it was a nice time, getting drenched from the rain was never fun.

As everyone worked it was almost as if a lightbulb popped up above his head.

He’d taken Hank's advice twice and had it almost end in full disaster both times, and the one time he just did things naturally it all worked out. Maybe he should just listen to his own mind every now and then.

Yeah, that sounded like a much better plan.

[wildfiig]

┆ rafe sneaks into your room after getting rid of gavin's body ✶

.ᐟ cw: megaaaaa angst. allusions to/mentions of murder. strained parental relationship between rafe and ward (obviously). not a lot of dialogue, just basking in the bitterness. hopefully some soul destroying writing! season two, episode two au insert. .ᐟ notes: clinically insane for me to say this but the scene where rafe when he was loading gavin onto the boat>>>> okay, touching grass now

you didn’t hear the front door, but you heard the soft click of yours. it was early, too early for anything to feel real, and still, there he was, standing in the doorway like something the night had chewed up and spat back out.

he didn’t say a word, just looked at you like he wasn’t sure he was really here, or if maybe he’d left himself somewhere on the boat, in the dark, with whatever was left of the man he used to be.

you sat up slowly, blinked the sleep from your eyes, heart already climbing into your throat because you knew, just from the way he was breathing, shallow and uneven, that something had happened.

and even though he hadn’t said a word, even though you hadn’t turned on the light, you could see it on him. the dirt, the blood, the bare skin still marked by the night. his shirt clung to him in damp patches, his legs smudged with something dark, and he wasn’t wearing shoes.

he crossed the room without asking, without explanation, and sat on the edge of the bed like he’d forgotten how to hold his own weight.

you reached for him without thinking, your hand brushing against his, and for a long, unbearable second he didn’t move. then, slowly, like it hurt, he turned his palm over and let your fingers find his.

his hand was cold. not from the air, but from something deeper, something bone-deep and permanent.

he didn’t look at you. he didn’t cry.

but you could feel the storm beneath his skin, the way his shoulders trembled, the way he kept swallowing hard like there was something in his throat he couldn’t dislodge.

you didn’t ask. you didn’t need to.

you knew what ward was capable of. you knew the things he pulled his son into, the shadows he wrapped around him like armour and called love.

and even though rafe would never say it out loud, not to you, not to anyone, you knew what it cost him.

you touched his cheek gently, the pads of your fingers brushing against a streak of dried something, you didn’t ask what, and whispered, “come here.”

he didn’t hesitate, not this time. just folded into you like he’d been waiting all night to do it. he curled his body against yours, head resting in your lap, legs curled up like a child who never got to be one.

his hair was damp with sweat, and he smelled like the ocean and gasoline and metal, and under it all, something bitter you couldn’t name.

you ran your fingers through his hair slowly, again and again, like if you were gentle enough, maybe the shaking would stop.

you didn’t speak. he didn’t want words, he wanted stillness.

he wanted something that didn’t ask anything of him. so you gave him that.

but inside, you were unraveling, because this boy, this broken, bleeding boy in your arms, was unraveling too. and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

you wanted to scream. wanted to shake him, ask why he let ward pull him back in, why he kept doing this, why he didn’t run. but you didn’t. because that wasn’t what he needed.

he needed to be held.

he needed to be forgiven for things he hadn’t even told you about yet.

so you pressed your lips to his temple and whispered, “i’m here,” even though it didn’t feel like enough.

you stayed there, your back aching, your eyes burning, watching the light start to shift through the cracks in the curtains, knowing that nothing about the morning would make this better.

and when his hand found your wrist, holding it tight like a lifeline, you didn’t let go. you wouldn’t.

not until he could breathe again. not until the weight of his father’s choices stopped pressing into the space between you.

and maybe that would never happen. but still, you stayed.

because love real love isn’t clean, or soft, or fair.

sometimes it’s just two people in the dark, holding onto each other because everything else is too heavy to carry alone.

and this was one of those nights.

and this was your boy. and you would carry it.

until he could, or until it crushed you both.

[trulyumai]

Fall Baking

pairing: eddie munson / gf! reader

synopsis: it was finally fall. more rain, more sweaters. this also meant the return of the infamous, ‘Hawkins Fair.’ eddie could care less about it really, but you were ecstatic.

warnings: none, fluff only!

A/N: im baking like crazy right now so this automatically came to my head. I’m ready to drown in pumpkin bread and warm coffee.

Eddie knew you loved the fall.

When the leafs started to turn, the weather getting colder and sbittier than normal, yeah, that was when that thing happened to your eyes.

They’d get all shiny and well, cute.

He was the opposite. He could do without the hindrance of rain bearing against him anytime he wanted to take out the trash or walk to the corner store.

But seeing you so happy about little sprinkles of condensation made the man weak.

So he detested the cold weather a little less for you.

And you know what the cold weather brought?

Fall excursions.

Aka: The Fair.

“Guys, you’re not gonna believe this!” Slamming your lunch down on the table, your body molded against his in one solid motion.

Eddie grunted out in surprise, but it didn’t stop you from talking about the surprise you had in store.

“The fair is coming back!”

Only stares were given, Gaven looked over at Jeff who was returning the same empty, confused look.

Eddie jumped in with a clearing of his throat, being the best boyfriend ever he had to save the day, right?

“No way, baby!”

“Way!” You giggled, relaxing into Eddies hold as you dug out the celery sticks in your little box.

“And, the school is accepting student stalls, that’s gonna be so much fun!”

“Why is that fun— ow!” With a harsh kick to Gavin’s knee, Eddie changed the subject.

“That’s cool babe, you could do a baking themed one. Your treats are to dieeeee for.”

“Oh yeah! Been a while since I got the iconic Mrs. Munson brownies,” Gavin sighed out. Already imagining the pillowy, chocolaty goodness that was always oozing with warmth.

“That’s not what I named them.” You laughed, “Buuuut if you boys help me out with the stall I promise to bake one thing if your choosing!”

This garnered the attention of the hellfire club fast. Eddie was almost jealous at how entranced you got everyone.

“Anything?”

“Can you do cakes?”

“Ooooh the brownieees!” Almost everyone talked over one another, already fantasizing about the treats they’ll ask for.

“Uhhhh babe?” Eddies rings were cold against your thighs, your dark green skirt rid up against the tops of his legs, showcasing your pretty and soft skin.

“Mhm?” You replied, already turning towards your wild haired boyfriend.

“And what do I get? I mean I love your baking, obviously! but I can get that anytime.”

That was… true.

Damn it you thought you had everyone sinched into the plan. But of course Eddie would try to sneak something else into play.

“Well ummm,” he stumped you this time.

Furrowing your brows, you bit lightly on the inside of your cheek. Thoroughly searching your brain for anything Eddie might approve of.

Clothes? No, Eddie only wore his favorite staples anyway. Maybe you could offer to clean his room? No, you just did that last weekend when he was too busy snoring on the couch.

Think, think!—

“I knooow what I want.”

You knew that tone. That deep drawl that makes his voice come out in a low, teasing hush.

Eddie indicated you closer with just a wag of his index finger.

You felt the weight of his breath hit the side of your face, warm and light.

“I want,” he breathed in this time, dragging his lips closer and closer until they brushed against the side of your jaw.

“You, to spend the night, every nite this week.”

“Eddie!” Rolling your orbs you pushed his face away. “That’s kinda impossible. You know how my parents are—“

“Pretty please, sweetheart? It’s been forever!”

“I just spent the night on saturday!”

“That was literally forever ago.”

“Eddie.” Your fingers brushed with his temple, lightly pushing against them.

“That was two days ago.”

He only shook his head in rebuttal, moving his legs until your frame was once again close to his.

“My point still stands. Forever ago! And you need my help, who will keep these idiots in check?”

“Hey!” A few club mates responded back, but quickly went into their own baking conversations.

“Not all week. Two days,”

“Three!” Eddie challenged. With a mocking squint to your eyes you huffed out a breath.

“Fine! You win. Three days.”

“Yes!” Eddie cheered, smothering a sloppy kiss on your cheek and raised a hand to high five Gavin.

What a dork.

“You won’t regret this baby. I just got new snacks, cleaned my room—“

“You cleaned your room?”

Eddie cleared his throat and his long fingers came up to play with the loose hair around your neck.

“Well.. no, but it’s still clean from when you did it— ouch!”

Grabbing the man’s soft cheek, you began to pull.

“Hey hey, easy easy, I was just joking!—“

“Sooooo funny, Eddie.” Laughing, you watched as his fingers came up to the pinched spot, rubbing it with a soft tenderness like you had plucked the skin right off his face.

Grabbing at your celery you joined into the groups conversation. Trying to remember each and every goodie the gang wanted you to bake.

This is gonna be a long week.

But at least it’s fall, right?

….

Right..?

[porters-fangs]

aster presents

giving the redacted couples a pet !

operating under the assumption that they eventually move in together/establish a relationship if they haven’t already ofc :3

(this is very headcanon heavy, so if you’re allergic to other people’s opinions pls keep scrolling 🫶)

• David & Angel - Guinea Pigs

You’d think that the wolf shifters would have dogs, and you’d be wrong. They actually get incredibly antsy when there’s another dog in the house, replacing their scent. It’s their territory, and it feels like a threat when another canine comes along - even another member of the pack.

And so, when Angel came home with two squeaking guinea pigs one day, toppling over each other to crawl into his lap, David was thrilled pleasantly surprised.

• Asher & Baaabe - Pigeon

Asher found a pigeon on the side of the road on his way home from work, cowering by the curb, one of its wings broken and bleeding. Being the tender person that he is, he bundled it up in his hoodie and drove home with it in his lap, muttering over and over about how everything would be okay.

Babe gave it a bath while Asher made up a little bed for it, and they called the vet in the morning to see if there was anything else they could do. Long story short, that pigeon is the luckiest bird in the world.

• Milo & Sweetheart - Chinchilla

Now, of course they have Aggro. But that’s too easy. Either as an alternative (or an additional pet, why not)-

Sweetheart has always been a huge fan of exotic pets. As a child, they had practically every animal under the sun - except for their dream pet.

Milo was more than happy to oblige, and they spent a few months converting one of their spare rooms into a the perfect space for their new baby. Sweetheart spends every day after work doting on the little fluffball, sat in the large playpen to let the stress of work seep from their bones.

And Milo wasn’t unhappy with the arrangement either. He’ll regularly hand the little guy a post-it note (usually something along the lines of “fuck you chrissy”) take a picture, and send it to the group chat. Christian isn’t a huge fan.

• Sam & Darlin - Chickens

As a kid, Sam used to have a gorgeous border collie that he had to leave behind when he ran away, and that kills him inside. But he’d never subject Darlin to feeling on edge in their own home for the sake of reliving that bond.

So they have chickens.

Does Darlin threaten to storm the coop every time Sam makes a good point in an argument? Maybe

But Sam also finds them asleep in the hen house after a long day of work, leaning against the doorframe fondly as he watches them snore beneath a pile of feathers.

• Vincent & Lovely - German Shepherd

A stunning couple needs an equally stunning dog.

Do they really need a guard dog? No, not at all. But that beautiful dog and its sleek black coat could rip a man’s arm off almost as easily as they could themselves.

Lovely handles the training, and Vincent watches from a distance, mildly intimidated by the both of them, but also in awe of how gorgeous they are.

• Porter & Treasure - Calico

You can thank my beloved Vinn (@vind3miat0r) for this one 🫶

Treasure has a cat. They found it in an alley after a rough night of their own, hissing and backed up into a corner. It reminded them of themself. They coaxed it back out into the light, bundling it up and driving it home, forgetting all about their friends, still drinking themselves to death in the club.

Before they even met Porter, their adorable little calico kitty kept them sane, nuzzling into their face and lapping at their tears every time they found themself sobbing in bed.

Porter always thought of himself as a dog person.

Porter was wrong.

Porter loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch more than life itself.

Treasure has come home multiple times to find the vampire sprawled out on the sofa with their cat snoozing on his chest, and they swear they fall in love all over again.

• Gavin & Freelancer - Betta Fish

Unfortunately, much to the Freelancer’s chagrin, Gavin is terrified of cats. So, instead, they have a huge fish tank in their kitchen. Call it a compromise.

The Freelancer comes home with more and more fish every time they go to the pet store just to get food, claiming that “it looked so sad :(”

And Gavin had to agree. The way these fish were treated truly was inhumane, and he was more than happy to help the Freelancer name every addition to their tank that came through their front door.

He was also far more fascinated by them than he’d ever anticipated being. He could stare at that tank for hours.

• Lasko & Dear - Frogs

Dear loves frogs. Lasko? Not so much.

When they moved in, he wasn’t expecting the uninvited guests that came with them. He never complained, of course, but he did insist that the tank would reside in the spare room and not the bedroom that he slept in every night. For practical reasons. Not because those bugged eyes and those webbed feet unsettled him.

Not at all.

Although, Dear could’ve sworn they heard him yelp when they opened the little tub of mealworms for feeding time…

He’ll warm up to them.

• Damien & Huxley - Collie

As if Huxley wasn’t enough of a bundle of energy, these two decided that they wanted one of the most active dogs on the planet. It works out surprisingly well for both of them, though.

It joins Huxley on hikes, bounding up the trail ahead of him, tail wagging impatiently as it waits for him to catch up as he laughs into the trees.

It sits at Damien’s side as he pores over his notes, and when the furrow in his brow deepens, it’ll nudge its nose into his hand until he drops the pen, tugging him outside for a walk.

And when they all collapse onto the couch in the evening, a pile of fur and giggles and a thumping tail, everything feels right.

• Elliot & Sunshine - Lovebirds

The pun isn’t lost on me.

They have a gorgeous, bright, mated pair of lovebirds. Whenever the couple catch them nuzzling beaks, Elliot pulls Sunshine’s face to his and brushes his nose over theirs.

Sunshine makes jewellery out of the feathers that molt around the house, and they both have matching necklaces that they wear everywhere.

• Blake & Bestie - California King Snake

Bestie walks around the house with it curled around their neck. Blake thinks it’s hot.

That’s all I have to say.

• Avior & Starlight - Maine Coon

Starlight has a black maine coon named Urania, after the Greek muse of astronomy. She is their pride and joy.

She gets along with Avior incredibly well, and even though he was initially very intimidated by her size, he quickly realised that meant she was in fact the softest and warmest cuddle buddy he could ever ask for.

She sits on Starlight’s lap when they’re reading, purring even after she’s fallen asleep, sometimes reaching out to paw at the pages.

• Anton & Lover - Hedgehog

Another rescue story, except Lover found this little cutie in their backyard while Anton was still away at work. They were too nervous to let it back outside even after they’d nursed it back to health, since its front paw was still a little crooked, so they decided to dedicate a little space for it in their office to keep an eye on it.

When Anton came home a few weeks later, he fell in love with the hedgehog. Literally just spent hours playing with it, giving it little snacks (even after Lover insisted it’d had enough)

And so they gained a new member of their family to keep Lover company when Anton had to go away again. And again.

• Hush & Doc - Stick Insects

Doc loves bugs. This is a fact.

Hush loves bugs. He never knew this.

Doc has a tank of stick insects in their bedroom, and the first time Hush spent the night he asked them why they kept an empty tank. And so Doc pulled out one of their precious babies to show him. And he was absolutely fascinated.

“It’s a living stick?”

“No, it’s an insect that’s adapted to look like a stick. For protection.”

“…Can I touch it?”

They sat on Doc’s bed with the bugs for hours.

• Vega & Warden - Dobermann

Vega values loyalty and obedience. And he adores his dobermann like you wouldn’t believe. If he ever had a soft spot for anything other than Warden, it was that dog.

He trains it meticulously, despite having every capability to protect himself, and praises every milestone.

When it first met Warden, Vega was expecting the usual wariness, for the dog’s ears to flick forward as it appraised them.

Not at all.

For the first time that Vega could remember, it broke heel to launch itself at Warden, licking at their face in excitement. And he didn’t reprimand it. Why would he?

After losing his memories, Vega found a strange familiarity in that dog as it stood by Warden’s side, as though protecting them… from him.

• Guy & Honey - Ferrets

I feel like I don’t need to elaborate.

I will.

They have three.

Honey loves playing with them. They have that macaroni bath and the ferrets love wiggling around while Honey laughs until their ribs hurt.

Guy slips them pizza scraps after his shift, putting his finger over his lips and warning them to stay quiet or else Honey might hear them snacking.

• Aaron & Smartass - Belgian Malinois

It lays under Aaron’s desk while he works from home, nudging his foot with its nose every so often to remind him to take a break.

He often comes home from the office to find Smartass stretched across the couch, having fallen asleep while trying to wait up for him, the dog in their lap. It looks up when he closes the door behind him, clearly unimpressed with his poor punctuality.

That dog has a favourite.

• Ollie & Baby - Hamsters

They have two and both seemed determined to end their little rodent lives early. Ollie and Baby both love them so much, but they’ll wake up to find one with its head poking out between the bars, precariously close to choking, and another just passed out in the wood chips.

The vet bill? Ridiculous.

• Geordi & Cutie - Rabbit

In another life perhaps, they have a very sweet grey rabbit with an attitude. Thumping its paws whenever it isn’t allowed outside immediately when it asks, whenever its dinner is two minutes too late, whenever it’s woken up from its very important nap in the sunlight.

Geordi jokes that it reminds him of Cutie.

• Morgan & Seer Obscura - Mice

Seer Obscura actually saved these mice from lab testing as part of a charity program, and they were planning to adopt them out to close friends - but instead ended up with six mice that they love very much.

They scatter across their shoulders, and sometimes when Morgan brushes a lock of hair back from their face, a little fuzzy nose will poke out from behind their neck, sniffing around.

• Azmidi & Sweetie - Boa Constrictor

Scares the shit out of any visitors they have round.

They enjoy that very much.

Sweetie will fully poke their fingers into the enclosure when feeding it, and has not yet been bitten by some miracle.

No survival instincts, I tell you.

———

okay thank you for joining me on this wonderful journey! i do apologise if any of these are out of character or deviate from the canon - i don’t listen to all of the redacted boys but i do like to try and be inclusive 🫶

[posttexasstressdisorder]

California’s oldest and most infamous prison, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, is undergoing a groundbreaking transformation into a Nordic-inspired rehabilitation hub. Spearheaded by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the $239 million renovation is expected to be finished by January 2026.

Once home to notorious figures like cult leader Charles Manson and serial killer Richard Ramirez, the prison is now at the forefront of California’s evolving approach to incarceration. This new direction was solidified by Assembly Bill 1104, introduced by Democratic Assemblymember Mia Bonta and signed into law by Newsom in October 2023, redefining the purpose of incarceration as “rehabilitation and safe and successful reentry back into the community.”

The project draws inspiration from Scandinavian incarceration models that prioritize dignity, autonomy and reintegration. This approach has been linked to lower recidivism rates, as Norway’s two-year rate is 17.6%, compared with 61.5% in the U.S.

Jesse Vasquez, executive director of Friends of San Quentin News and the Pollen Initiative, told SFGATE he supports a shift in the prison model from punishment toward rehabilitation. “For the first time in California history, the governor decided, ‘OK, we’re gonna change the penal code. We’re gonna change the mission of the Department of Corrections, and we’re gonna solidify it with a monumental structural investment,’” he said. 

Unlike more remote prisons, San Quentin’s location in Marin County — just outside San Rafael — offers close proximity to Bay Area resources and a well-established volunteer network, enabling a wide range of rehabilitation and educational programs. Mount Tamalpais College, which operates within San Quentin, offers an associate degree in liberal arts, with courses taught by volunteer faculty from top Bay Area colleges and universities.

A view of San Quentin seen from a ferry boat on San Francisco Bay.Susanne Friedrich/Getty Images

Central to the transformation are three new buildings replacing former industrial facilities that will house vocational training areas, multimedia education centers and restorative justice programs. The 2024 report from the San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council outlines plans to reimagine the prison environment through additions like a library, grocery store, cafe and communal spaces reflecting life outside prison.

“If you can imagine like a college campus vocational training center inside of the institution,” Vasquez said, emphasizing plans for open-access programming.

Additionally, the renovation includes significant improvements in inmate living conditions, particularly advocating single-cell occupancy — a direct response to inmate requests, Vasquez noted.

“The incarcerated first and foremost wanted single-cell living,” Vasquez said, noting that renovating existing facilities wasn’t viable. With the new model, the prison can better accommodate more humane living conditions aligned with rehabilitation goals. 

Newsom’s San Quentin initiative is part of broader criminal justice reforms, including his 2019 moratorium on California’s death penalty and the dismantling of San Quentin’s death row announced in January 2022. These foundational changes paved the way for the current rehabilitation-focused transformation.

According to a 2023 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation report, nearly half of California inmates released in 2018 faced reconviction within three years.Vasquez hopes San Quentin’s new approach will serve as a replicable model nationwide to reduce recidivism.  

“We’ve tried incarceration in terms of warehousing with no programming or minimal programming and minimal investment for more than 180 years, and it hasn’t worked,” Vasquez said. “This is the one time that we have a chance to provide investment and create opportunity so that the thing does work.”

Local editor Kasia Pawlowska contributed to this story. 

[malevoreenthusiast]

Imagine Gavin using his swollen gut to pin more prey against the wall as he eats them 🥵

Leo’s back pressed against the chilled cinder block wall of his dorm room. Gavin’s belly was scorching in contrast. Moments prior, Michael’s legs flailed outside Gavin’s lips as they slowly sunk deeper into his RA’s belly, which now had him pinned like a mouse in a trap.

“You know—BBBBUUUURRRRPPPPP—‘scuse me. You know you’re not allowed to have alcohol in the dorms, Leo. I can’t let this go unpunished.”

Thirty minutes later, Gavin belched out a pair of underwear that Leo had on. Drinking the case of beer his residents had, Gavin went through a list in his head of how many snacks—residents—he had left. His belly gurgled contentedly as the two freshman inside him broke down. Glancing at his collection of skulls, he realized that the number of freshman he had left was less than half of what he started with. He’d need to get creative if he was going to continue being this gluttonous. Of course, this dorm did have other floors brimming with succulent, delicious freshman. Gavin’s belly groaned, begging to be filled even more with the delicious flavor of college guys.

[aro-of-argentum]

Red Dahlia- Chapter 7

WC: 10,895

Notes: Oops I made it huge. There's a bunch going on in this chapter. Reader gets flowers at work, there's a bank robbery, Dick gives advice, Jason has a hard time talking about feelings (with reader or anybody for that matter), a classic "I think I know you" scene, and then a big ol' misunderstanding right there at the end. Don't worry, it'll get fixed next chapter. Heads up, the reader uses a gun in this one, no one dies though. Have fun!

Beta'd by: @teaspacebar

Previous Chapter, Masterlist, Next Chapter

Chapter 7:

Getting up for work the next morning was a slog. Your boss had called in the middle of the night saying they needed coverage for the day, and you took the shift knowing the overtime would be incredible. You were regretting it now. Still though, you found the energy deep inside you to get up and get in the shower, and actually even had time to pick up breakfast and coffee on your way in to work. No sooner than you had walked in the door, Marcy found you.

“Ugh, there you are!” She stormed over to your locker and gratefully took a bite of your sandwich when you offered it. Through the food in her mouth, she continued to speak. “I’m so happy you’re here for the last couple hours of my shift.” She swallowed and her speech became clear once again as she handed your breakfast back. “The phleb we had overnight was all over the place. I had turnaround times of hours on easy orders, and when I called the lab to check in on why, they told me they’d never even gotten the blood. Twice. Ugh, I hate incompetent shit heads.”

You heard a locker slam one row over and watched Gavin, the phlebotomist who’d just clocked out, storm out of the room. Your eyes went wide as you looked from him to Marcy pointedly.

She shook her head. “I don’t even care, he needed to hear it.”

“Sometimes I’m so glad you’re convinced I can do no wrong. You’re vicious.”

Marcy shrugged. “Do something wrong and then we’ll talk.”

The two of you laughed for a moment before you turned back to finish putting your things away, handing Marcy the last two bites of your food for her to finish before you both got to work. An hour into your shift you got a page directing you to the front desk. As you approached, you saw a delivery man holding a bundle of a dozen blood red dahlias, beautifully wrapped in black and grey burlap.

“Hi, I’m looking for Y/n?” he asked, looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah, uh…” You could hardly take your eyes off the gorgeous flowers. “That’s me.”

He nodded, handing you the bundle before walking away, entirely unfazed by the delivery.

The receptionist that was currently at the desk looked up at you, approval all through his expression and tone when he asked, “Girl, what did you do to get a man to send you flowers like that, and where can I get one?”

You chuckled as a heat spread over your cheeks. “I wouldn’t know where to look, I swear this one fell from the sky.” You smiled as you looked at the bulbs, your other hand coming up to run your fingertips over some of the petals. It hadn’t taken long after Red Hood had picked you up from work on his motorcycle a few weeks ago for seemingly everyone you knew in the hospital to be in on Marcy’s “Who is the secret boyfriend” game. It was easier to just play along than to try to explain.

He shook his head. “Well, you either need to share or you need to get your lovey-dovey out of my face, it’s getting all over me.” There was no malice behind his words, and he even winked at you as you turned to walk away.

Your walk to the lounge was quick, as you didn’t want Marcy to catch you with the flowers, though you were sure she’d find out soon enough anyway. Once you were inside and away from prying eyes, you took a moment to look for a card, and found one tucked between some of the stems.

It was a small white piece of cardstock folded in half, and inside, handwritten in black ink. ‘Thanks for last night.’

A new wave of emotion washed over you, a smile still covering your features as you remembered for a moment what it was like to have his arms around you. He’d been so warm, and smelled of gun-smoke and leather, with the remnants of a cologne you couldn’t quite place. You allowed your mind to wander for only a moment more before you tucked the flowers into your locker as gently as possible and headed back out to the floor.

The rest of the shift went by with ease and even though you were busy, the world seemed to know you were floating in air and didn’t want to bring you down. By the time you were getting ready to leave Marcy was long gone for the day, having sent a “Leaving now :P” text because you were in the middle of a draw when she left. You figured she was likely asleep, but that she’d text you later to hang out, as she always seemed to do when you both had an evening off. In the meantime, you decided a trip to the bank to finally get your debit card replaced was warranted. It was early enough that you could get there well before closing time, and if you got this figured out, you could stop using your phone to pay for groceries. Your face was covered in a smile once again as you pulled the flowers from your locker, quickly followed by your bag, and you set out to head home. The sun would still be up for a little while longer, so you didn’t activate your bracelet. You didn’t want to bother him if he was resting up after being injured, and besides, things weren’t nearly so bad in Gotham when it was still daylight out.

The walk was quick, and you dropped the flowers and your work bag off on the counter before quickly getting changed.  You grabbed the much smaller bag you used for other outings and transferred over all of the essentials: wallet, keys, pistol. You hadn’t needed it since Red started hanging around, but you still brought it everywhere. It was small, meant only to cause damage and be a distraction, and in any real-world situation, it had only ever been used to scare off would-be attackers; you’d never had to actually use it. Still, you kept up with your monthly sessions at the practice range so that if you ever needed it, your aim would be true.

The bank you were headed to was a longer distance than the walk from the hospital to your apartment, but it was certainly still doable. You stayed vigilant as ever as you made your way there, and had plenty of time to spare before closing, which you figured was for the better given how busy they were.

-

“Hey, can I talk to you about something?” Jason sent the text, nerves bubbling in his chest, though he knew if there was anyone he could trust with this, it was his brother.

Dick’s reply came back almost immediately. “Sure. I’ll be there in a few to meet with everyone before patrols. Is that fine?”

“Yeah.”

Jason was quick to get downstairs, inhaling a cold slice of pizza in the kitchen before descending into the cave to get dressed.

“Hey,” Dick announced himself so he wouldn’t startle the other man in the room. “What did you want to talk about?”

Jason was working his new shirt with the extra body armor on and struggling a bit because of his arm. It had healed quite a bit so far, but he was hoping it would be a quiet night.

“You know if you told Bruce you got hurt yesterday then you wouldn’t need to worry about this right now.” Dick was already over and helping Jason with the sleeve before his younger brother could get too frustrated with it. He knew there was no way to get Jason to open up if he was pissed, regardless of what he was pissed at.

“Yeah, whatever.” Jason brushed the comment off knowing Dick was just trying to look out for him. “I need advice on something.”

“Like something from yesterday?” He asked, finishing putting Jason’s glove on.

“Thanks, and yeah. I-” Jason’s sentence was cut off when he saw his bracelet light up. “It’s not even dark out…” He mumbled to himself as he tapped the button in return and turned the disc to view the map projection.

Dick shook his head in disbelief. “Hello? Earth to Jason.”

“No. Hang on.” He cut his brother off with a wave of his hand before turning his wrist outward to be more visible to Dick. “Do you know where this is?”

Dick Grayson looked over the small map for a moment before he answered. “I mean, I think there’s a bank over there?”

Not a moment after the sentence came out of Dick’s mouth, an alert went off on the computer. The pair heard Bruce call.

“Everyone in here. Now.”

The entire team, including those that weren’t going on patrol that night filtered into the room. Aside from the two eldest brothers, Cassandra was the only one dressed in her costume, as it was supposed to be the three of them working.

Bruce broke the silence as the younger vigilantes all looked back and forth between one another. “We just got an alert from GCPD. There’s a bank robbery, possible hostage situation, and they won’t get there in time.” He clicked a button and all of the information they had, including the address, showed up on screen.

That’s where you were. “We’ll go,” Jason stated, volunteering himself and Dick.

“Me too,” Cassandra spoke up as well. “We’re all already dressed, we can just patrol afterwards, or call if we need to switch out.”

“Fine, go.”

Bruce released the trio, and they immediately ran to the garage. Jason got on his own motorcycle, while Cassandra got on the back of Dick’s before they rode off.

“How did you know about the bank?” Jason heard his brother ask through the intercom in his helmet.

“What?”

“Your bracelet had a location indicator for the bank over a minute before we got the alert from GCPD. How?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Jason shot back.

“But-”

“Drop it.”

Cassandra watched Jason carefully from the back of Dick’s bike as the two drivers wove through traffic to get there as quickly as possible. She noticed the tension in his shoulders, normally non-existent on the way to assignments. Normally, he was more relaxed because he was getting a chance to release some of his pent-up anger in a productive way, but now he seemed more wound up than she’d seen him in a long time. When they got there, she found out why.

The boys stashed the motorcycles in an alley while Cassandra found a way in. There was a perfect window that led out to the lower roof, through which they could see the entire main lobby. The girl from the back of Jason’s motorcycle was in there.

“Hey, isn’t that your girlfriend?” She asked as soon as the boys were next to her by the window.

“Your what?” Dick questioned, head whipping toward Jason.

“We’re not talking about this right now.” The man in the red helmet only stared straight forward through the window, and he saw you pull a pistol from your bag as you crouched behind a sideways table.

“How long have you been hiding this from me?” He was whisper-yelling now.

“Couple months,” Cassandra chimed in, clearly trying to stir the pot as she adjusted her thermal sensors.

“Months?”

“Stop it.” Jason said, rolling his eyes.

“Were you ever gonna tell me?” Dick’s hand flew to his chest as though he was a victim and was not paying attention to what was happening inside like the other two were. “Was I just supposed to find out when you got married one day?”

“Relax, it is not that serious,” Jason started. He and Cassandra watched as you jumped out from behind the table and fired four shots, each landing in the hand or shoulder of a different gunman, effectively disabling them, before grabbing a child that was in harm’s way and diving back behind the table. “I think I love her.” It slipped from his mouth without a thought behind it.

Dick went quiet and Cassandra’s eyes went wide in shock as everyone, including Jason, processed what he’d just said. Cassandra’s voice is what finally brought everyone back.

“Okay guys, lock in. There's two at each set of doors and four in the lobby, and one with the branch manager in the back in front of the vault. That’s eleven total, but four are mostly useless now, so I’m saying seven. We good?”

Dick let go of his big brother attitude to fully become Nightwing and give the order to jump into action. He didn’t get a chance before he heard Jason.

“Shit, no-” Red Hood kicked in the window as he flew through it, dropping just inches in front of you where you had stood up to find the mother of the little girl from a moment ago. You hadn’t seen one of the men by the front door train his aim on you, but that’s what he was there for. Two shots landed in the armor on his shoulder blade, level with your head, just as he landed in front of you. “Hey.” He barely even flinched.

“Hi,” you said it with a smirk at his nonchalance after just being shot twice. “Glad to see you’re bulletproof today.”

“I told you I’d figure it out, didn’t I?” He followed your gaze as you watched the other two vigilantes drop in through the same opening, Nightwing rushing in to fight, and Orphan splitting off to where the manager had been dragged to the vault. Then he watched your eyes flick over his shoulder.

“Six o’clock.” Your arm shot out, brushing against his own at his side as you fired, and hit the gunman in the wrist, likely shattering the bones there. He would not be shooting again anytime soon.

Christ, you were perfect, he thought as he looked at you.

“Hey, Hood!” He heard Dick call to him, and though he knew the others would certainly have things handled, he also knew he needed to participate, stitches or not.

He remained standing in front of you for a moment before he cocked his head to the side. “I have some stuff I have to take care of.”

You snorted a laugh and smiled at him. “So go take care of it,” you said while motioning to where Nightwing was fighting two of the robbers. As soon as he turned away, you tucked your pistol into the back of your pants, knowing you wouldn’t need it anymore, and squatted down to the little girl still cowering behind the table. “Hey. Red Hood, and Nightwing, and Orphan are going to take care of us, okay? We’re gonna be okay.”

“…Okay…” She said back to you with tears in her eyes, clearly terrified.

“We’re going to stay here for right now, we’ll find your mom after it’s safe. The heroes will keep all of us safe until then.”

And they did. The only person who’d been hurt aside from the robbers was the bank’s manager, and he’d only been shot in the foot as “incentive�� to open the vault. All eleven of the thugs were arrested, and the police had plenty of eyewitnesses and camera recorded evidence. They’d all be locked up after receiving medical care for their injuries.

It took the officers a while to get statements from everyone given how busy the bank had been, but you volunteered to go last, knowing you’d have company on your walk home if you waited until Red was able to leave too.

Jason watched from the roof next door as you answered questions, and the police took your statement. You seemed okay, and he was glad for it.

“Everything’s taken care of, we’re good to go.” Dick called from behind.

Jason’s response was aimed at his brother, but his gaze still hovered on you as he sat on the edge of the building. “I’m gonna stay a minute.”

Dick turned to Cassandra telling her to start patrols, and he’d be moving in a few. She nodded and cast a sideways glance at Jason before turning back to Dick, worry all over her face. She only left when he nodded again, to let her know he would take care of it. Once Cassandra was gone, the eldest Wayne sibling joined Jason on the lip of the building, feet dangling over the edge as they watched you speak with the officers.

“It was super weird you know.” He began.

Jason hardly acknowledged his brother, “What was?”

“I just watched you flirt. In the field. While we were on a job.” Each of his sentences was small, each making a point of their own. Jason was not one to flirt. He was not one to have that personality under the helmet. And he certainly wasn’t one to be distracted while working. And he knew these things as well as Dick did. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re off your game.”

“I absolutely am not, I kicked ass in there!”

“Yeah, after you got shot twice.”

“Intentionally. To save someone’s life.”

Dick shook his head. “Little Wing, you did it to show off. You could have just as easily gotten her out of the way.”

“Is there a point to this?” He snapped back.

“Look, I’m not trying to make you feel shitty, I’m trying to point out that clearly you care. You care about her, and you care about how she sees you. That’s new,” Dick reasoned. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Jason nodded, taking in the words. “I’m okay. I feel better than I have in a long time actually.”

“Yeah?”

A small chuckle escaped through the modulator in his helmet. “Yeah, she’s pretty incredible.”

“You wanna tell me about her?” Dick elbowed Jason lightly, trying to goad him into it. The younger man was never the type to gush about something he enjoyed if he thought the other person might not really be listening.

Jason shook his head good-naturedly, knowing the game his older brother was playing. But he did want to talk about you, so he caved. “She reads the same kinds of books I do. She’s actually borrowing my copy of ‘Persuasion’ right now.”

“The Jane Austen novel?”

“Yes.”

“Cool,” Dick responded with a nod, relenting the conversation back to Jason.

“We talk every night on her way home from work, or rather she talks, I listen. She pretends she’s on the phone. Anyway.” He waved his hand as a dismissal of his last comment. “She calls me with the bracelet, which looks exactly the same as mine, and they have proximity indicators so once they’re on, they display a map like how you saw earlier. It’s how I let her know I’m there, even when it’s better that I’m not standing next to her, like on her walk home. She feels safer knowing I’m looking out for her.” He blushed, almost embarrassed, though he knew Dick couldn’t see it.

“She’s lucky to have you.” Dick was eager to let him keep talking about this, so he asked another question to prompt him. “What does she do for work?”

“She’s a phlebotomist at Gotham General, always wants to help people. She even made this compound with stem cells? She explained it to me, but I don’t fucking know the science. It’s a healing thing that I think she said works by copying the cells you already have to fix you faster, she’s used it on me a couple times, and-”

“So that’s who’s been patching you up. We were all curious how the hell you were recovering so fast. Did she use it on your arm?”

Jason nodded. “The stitches will come out tomorrow, which is why I didn’t want to tell Bruce. I would’ve been-”

“You would have been benched for longer.” Dick completed his sentence, nodding along. “Yeah.”

“She’s smart, and she’s kind, and she’s gorgeous…” His sentence trailed off as he contemplated. “I’m really happy when I’m with her.”

Dick’s smile was genuine, his heart warming for his brother. “Do you love her?”

Jason sighed and nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“And watching her shoot earlier?”

“Really sold me on it.” Both of the vigilantes on the roof laughed for a moment before coming back to the comfortable quiet that had previously surrounded the conversation.

“Does she know who you are?” Dick asked carefully. He didn’t want to scare Jason off the topic.

“No.”

“Have you thought about telling her?”

“All the time! But I have no idea where to start.” He got so quiet Dick could barely hear him. “What if I pull off the mask and she doesn’t want me once she knows who I am. What if she doesn’t want to know at all.”

Dick fell silent for a moment as he considered Jason’s words. His fears made perfect sense, but they would hold him back if he didn’t overcome them. “If you’re worried about her liking Jason, then you should meet her as Jason and see what happens.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean introduce yourself and start a conversation and let her decide how she feels about you when the mask isn’t in the picture. Then once you know, you can decide if you want to tell her or if it’s time to move on.”

Jason nodded his head and was about to respond when his bracelet lit up, and his eyes snapped down to you, walking away from the police that still surrounded the building. He looked back to Dick who had clearly also seen the glow.

“Go get your girl, Hood. I’ll cover your route.”

Jason cocked his head in disbelief. “You’d do that?”

“Just go.” Dick said, standing up and offering a hand to the other man, which wasn’t taken as Jason simply pushed off the side and fell, landing silently in the alley only a few yards behind you. The smirk on Dick’s face only grew as he watched his little brother jog a few strides to catch up to you before throwing an arm over your shoulder. He shook his head. It was clear to him his brother was over the moon.

-

You tucked into Red Hood’s side as he draped his left arm over your shoulders, grateful for the warmth he provided. “How’s your arm?” You asked.

“It’s good, it’s healing really well,” He held it up as though to show you, even though it was covered in his uniform and jacket. “I don’t think I pulled any of the stitches in that fight; I feel like it would hurt, right?”

You laughed and nodded. “Yes, it would. I didn’t want to interrupt your healing, but I knew calling for you was probably the fastest way to get help.”

“You did the right thing. I was coming out tonight anyway.”

“What?” You questioned, turning your head to look at him pointedly.

“Woah,” He recoiled a little in surprise at your tone shift. “I have to do my job, sweetheart, and besides, everything turned out fine.”

You looked down again, shaking your head defeatedly. “I wish you’d take care of yourself.”

Jason’s mood sobered immediately. “Oh. I’m sorry, I wasn’t-”

“No, I’m sorry.” You interrupted him, hands coming to your face in embarrassment. “I know that’s not fair to ask. I just meant that there’s like eight of you, so I thought you’d be able to at least take a day, but-”

“Hey, stop.” It was his turn to interrupt you, and he stopped the two of you walking so he could look at you head on. “I get it, and I hear you. I will try to do better.” He could start by actually reporting when he was injured. His heart melted when he saw your small nod, still clearly unsure. He looked around for a moment before reaching down for your hand. He knew it would make you a target if anyone saw, but there was no one around anyway. He used his grip on your palm to lead you as he started walking again and was happy to find that you threaded your fingers between his gloved ones. “Do you have other places to be tonight, or can I walk you home?”

“Home first for a while,” You responded. “Hey, how did you know I was at work today? I didn’t even get called in until after you left last night.”

He saw you there when he took Tim in for a busted nose this morning. “Lucky guess.”

You snorted, clearly not believing him. “I’m not going to ask any follow up questions, because I don’t think I want the answers. Thank you for the flowers, they’re gorgeous.”

“Sure, I’m glad you liked them.” Jason did his best to sound casual despite his heart jumping into his throat. He had been worried the color would be over the top but was happy to hear that you enjoyed them. “You said “home for a while.” Are you headed somewhere else?”

You gave a nod. “Marcy invited me out for drinks.”

“You’re going back out for drinks after being present for an armed robbery?” he questioned in disbelief.

“I think I’ve earned a drink after all that, don’t you?” You looked up at him with one eyebrow cocked in a dare for him to say something.

He could only shake his head as he relented. “You are something else.”

“I live in Gotham. If I got hung up on every time I witnessed a crime, I’d never go outside again. There are much worse things than walking out of a bank robbery unharmed.”

A hum of approval rumbled in his chest. “That I can agree with.”

“Largely thanks to you in fact,” you stated, pressing your elbow lightly into his ribs.

“Who, me?” He questioned, pushing as much innocence into his tone as he could muster. “Nah, you had it handled all on your own. Five of those guys are going to prison in casts because of you.”

A smirk of pride donned on your face for only a moment. “I almost got shot, though. The only reason I’m not in the hospital or dead right now is you. Thank you.”

“Always, sweetheart.” He gave your hand a squeeze for emphasis. “Where’d you learn to shoot like that?”

You were quiet for a moment before you summoned the courage to bring up the man that taught you to handle firearms. “My dad was big about being able to defend myself if I was ever going to live on my own. After that, practice, mostly.”

Jason nodded thoughtfully. “If there was ever a place to need it, it’s here.”

“No kidding.” You could only hope that he’d answer your next question, knowing it might have been too personal. “What about you? I can’t imagine you were born into all of this.”

“Actually,” A tightness formed in Jason’s shoulders as he considered how much he could tell you. He wanted you to know everything. “I grew up mostly on the streets here, so I sort of was born into it.”

“Oh…”

“Aw, don’t get too sad on me now.” He shook your hand where it was still wrapped in his, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m doing just fine these days.”

“You deserve better than that, I hope you know.” You leaned into him a little, putting you off balance for a few steps as you relied on him to keep you upright.

“I have it.” He rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb to reassure you as you continued to walk to your apartment.

When you approached your building, you pulled him down the alley and turned to face Red Hood without letting go of his hand, wanting to get every extra second out of this before he needed to leave. “So, I’ll see you later?”

He nodded. “I’ll be around. I still don’t think it’s a good idea to go out tonight. You should rest.”

You laughed at the irony. “You’re the one working with an injury, I’m just fine. Besides, it’s just the dive bar off 5th. We go there all the time; I will be okay.” You brought your hands up to straighten the collar of his jacket.

Jason gave a snort of disapproval, doing everything he could to ignore your hands on his chest. “If anything, I’m more worried about you now.”

“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing I can call you if something happens.” A small stretch of quiet fell over the two of you and you realized for the first time how close you were. Your hands were still on his chest, playing with the edges of his jacket. “Thanks for coming to save me.”

He huffed a laugh. “’Course. I would’ve been pissed if I got there, and the cops had let anything happen to you.”

You playfully rolled your eyes at him but didn’t stop messing with the zipper teeth in your grasp. “Stop it, Red, you’re making me blush.”

“And if I wanted to?” He stepped closer, forcing you to tilt your head farther to be able to look him in the eyes of his mask as he stared down at you and slid his left arm around your waist.

You gasped almost inaudibly, and your heart felt like it would beat out of your chest if you didn’t find a way to calm down. When you spoke, it was barely above a whisper, and you maintained eye contact with the mask. “This is the part where I’d kiss you goodnight if I could see your face.”

Fuck it. He’d take the helmet off in front of a crowd of a thousand people right now if you asked him to. But before he got the chance to say so, he felt you heave in a breath and push slightly against his chest. He gave no resistance, letting you create the space you wanted.

“Goodnight, Red.”

He felt himself let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as you gave him a soft smile, almost apologetic, before you stepped out of his grasp. “Goodnight, Y/n.”

You turned to begin your walk away, but thought better of it, facing the man again for just a moment as you asked, “Do you want to come by tomorrow so I can take care of your stitches?”

“I’ll let you know when I’m on the way.”

Your smile was wide when you nodded at him before turning away, leaving the alley Jason stood in. He wouldn’t wait until tomorrow. He’d see you tonight.

-

Meeting up with Marcy was always a good time. Even on nights you hadn’t wanted to go out, you found that your friend somehow managed to supply enough social energy for the both of you, and tonight was no different. It was the same dive bar the pair of you always seemed to end up at, where the bartenders knew you, and probably overpoured most of the drinks they put out. The music was always a little too loud, the lights a little too dim, and the crowd was a constant mix of regulars talking amongst each other and bar-crawlers that had been kicked out of everywhere else.

You managed to step out of the way just as another woman’s drink sloshed over the side of her glass and splashed on the floor. “Oh!” She shrieked, eyes covered in a glitter that told you this was not her first stop of the evening. “Sorry!” She gave a short smile and a wave as she walked away.

You huffed a laugh and shook your head as you took the last couple steps up to fill the now open space in front of the bar. The floor was always sticky anyway.

“Hey! Y/n,” The bartender, Aaron, gave a wide smile as he saw you approach. “It’s been a minute, how are you?”

“I’m good, Aaron. Can I get two of the usual?” You asked, throwing two fingers up as an indicator in case he couldn’t hear.

He nodded in response. “Marcy with you?”

“Do I ever come out if she isn’t?” The two had been flirting with each other for the better part of a year, but never progressed past an occasional date or hookup. Marcy always told you it was because she’d pushed her expectations too high and didn’t want to ruin it. You knew it was because she was terrified of commitment. “You want me to send her over here for the next round?”

Aaron set the drinks down in front of you with a wink. “You’re the best.”

“And that’s why I’m your favorite!” You yelled as the music swelled.

“You’re my favorite because you tip well!” He shot back as he poured a round of shots for someone a few spaces down the bar.

You slid your card across the bar. “I had to buy your love somehow!”

You waited until you saw him pick up your card with a small salute to let you know he’d start a tab as usual for you before you walked away. Marcy had found your regular table along one of the walls, where she had a perfect view of the bar (and the man behind it) from her side of the booth.

“Hey! Took you long enough.” She took her glass from you and downed half of her drink in a gulp. “I’m going to need another in a minute.”

“Woah,” You cocked your head at her. “Everything okay?”

Marcy scoffed. “Work was atrocious last night, but you know that. And now I come out to try to relax and as soon as we get in here, I see some girl in a Coachella outfit is flirting with Aaron.” Her pout was exaggerated by her scowl when the girl who’d almost spilled her drink on you walked by.

“Flirting with the newbies gets him tips, Marce. And if you wanted to lock it down you could. You choose not to.”

“Ugh.” She finished her drink and snatched yours before you’d even gotten a sip from it. “I want you to bitch with me, not be a reasonable adult.”

You chuckled at her antics. “Okay, so she’s the worst for flirting with your man, and Aaron is the worst for… smiling at the people who pay him?”

She rolled her eyes playfully at you. “You know, not all of us can have perfect secret boyfriends. Some of us are destined to be alone for the rest of our lives.”

“Ha!” The noise escaped you before you could stop it, but you swerved the conversation away from your top-secret not-boyfriend. “Aaron would propose to you tomorrow if he thought you’d say yes.”

“Liar.” She grumbled, but the blush on her cheeks told you she likely agreed. “I’m going to go get another round.”

“You mean number three for you and my first one?”

“Shh.” She held a finger to her lips as she shushed you. “Shut up, judgy. Did you put your card down for a tab already?”

You nodded.

“M’kay.” She picked up the glasses to take back to the bar. “I’ll swap out. It’s not fair to have you pay when you need to be sober enough to get me back to your place in a couple hours.” You could only shake your head and smile at her as she walked away.

The night went much as it usually did when the two of you went out, Marcy indulging more than you, though she had thankfully slowed down some. She was drunk but would still be okay to make it to the car, and you’d only had one before realizing you’d need to drive and promptly switched to soda.

“No, because listen. I get he’s your favorite, or whatever, but Red Hood is so aggressive ya know? And I just, I don’t know… Nightwing does all those flips and stuff and he’s so pretty.”

You shook your head. This was somehow always where conversation with drunk Marcy ended up: speculation on the secret lives of Gotham’s vigilantes. “Marce, how do you know he’s pretty? They all wear masks.”

“No really, you can just tell, I swear and-” She stopped mid-sentence and did a double take toward the bar before looking back to you with wide eyes.

For a moment, worry crossed your mind as you looked at her. “What? What happened?” You asked, hushed in tone.

She tilted her head slightly toward the bar, eyes remaining as wide as they’d go. “There’s a Wayne over there.”

You squinted incredulously at her. “I’m sorry, a what?”

“A Wayne. In our little dive bar.” She looked over to the bar again slowly before her head snapped back to you. “And he’s staring.”

“Marcy, you’re staring. Knock it off.” You waited for her face to return mostly to normal before you chanced a glance in the direction of the bar. “And what do you mean he’s-” Your sentence dropped off when you made eye contact with the man you assumed she must be referring to. He was handsome; tall and wide, with a streak of white in his otherwise dark waves. And Marcy was right, he was staring. You turned slightly to ask her a question, without breaking your gaze on the man. “How do you know he’s a Wayne?”

“Didn’t I tell you they all fit the bill of “tall, dark, and handsome?” Especially the older two,” She let out a long whistle before continuing, “Besides, I saw him in the hospital this morning.”

“What?” That brought your attention back to Marcy.

“Yeah, that one’s Jason Todd, he brought one of the middle kids in this morning for a broken nose I think?” She scrunched her face as she tried to remember information that she shouldn’t be telling you.

“What’s a Wayne doing in a bar like this?” You questioned to yourself, still feeling his gaze on you.

“You’re going to go find out.”

“What? No.” You shot her down immediately.

“Babe one of us has to and it can’t be me, I can’t stand up by myself. You’re up, buttercup.” Marcy gestured toward the man very visibly with her hand as the end of her sentence got loud.

“Marcy,” You hissed through your teeth. “You’re making a scene.”

She leaned in close over the table as you reached for her hand, and her tone sounded deceptively sober when she spoke. “I will make a scene so big I will get casting calls about it if you don’t go over there. You have a boyfriend who doesn’t hang out with you in public, and a Wayne who is blatantly staring at you in the middle of a dive bar. One of those things is going to get you attention right now, and it’s not the secret one.”

“But-”

“It’s not cheating to just have a conversation and flirt,” She misread your hesitance and continued with her scheming. “You deserve to be flirted with and made to feel like you’re special because you are. And babes? A Wayne who can’t take his eyes off you is pretty damn special, so you go, or I start yelling.” She let go of you and leaned back, tipsy smile returning to her features and eyebrows raised in challenge.

“Fine.”

“Yay,” she said it in a whisper and softly clapped to herself as she watched you stand and make your way to the bar.

“Hey, Aaron?”

He slid over quickly, “Yeah?”

You smiled at him apologetically. “Can you send some fries out to Marcy please? She needs something other than liquor in her stomach right now.”

He chuckled and rang it into the register. “Sure thing. Anything else to drink?”

“Maybe water for her, but I’m okay.”

“You got it.” He gave a wink before moving on to the next person that called for his attention.

“Not drinking tonight?” A man asked right behind you, and you flinched at the proximity before whipping around.

You had to back all the way up to the bar to avoid touching the blond that loomed over you, breathing tequila into your air. “Uh, no.” Your brain ran through all of your options if this went any further, the easiest by far, would be to knee him in the groin and get Aaron to kick him out afterward.

“Aw come on, Dollface, you sure I can’t buy you just one?” He brought a hand up like he was going to touch your face. “Sometimes that’s all it takes to-” His hand was ripped away by something moving so fast you barely saw it.

“She said no.”

You turned your head and found none other than Jason Todd standing beside you, hand still clutching the man’s wrist and staring him down with venom in his eyes.

“Hey, man, if she’s your girlfriend or something,” His voice was laced with fear as he stared up at his captor. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Beat it.”

You watched as the man nodded only slightly before he was released, and he immediately fled across the room to a group noisily occupying a table in the corner.

“Are you okay?”

You looked up to find the softest green eyes you’d ever seen looking down at you full of concern. Your mind went blank for a moment as you stared before you were able to find words again. “Um, yeah, I’m okay I think.” You cocked your head a little and turned to face him. “Thanks for doing that, I really didn’t want to cause an issue for Aaron.” You gestured to the man behind the counter, still bouncing from person to person as he worked.

“I’m glad I could take care of it for you then.” He rested one elbow against the countertop and leaned into it, lessening your height difference by a couple of inches in the process. “I’m Jason.”

“I’m Y/n,” you responded. “And you’re my hero, so can I buy you a drink as a thank you?” You didn’t miss the way he barely flinched at the word “hero,” and a spark of familiarity went off in the back of your mind.

“I’m actually driving tonight, so no thank you. But I’d love to keep your attention for a while if you have the time.”

You nodded and smiled, “Sure.”

Jason’s heart leapt into his throat as it always seemed to around you when you looked into his eyes and smiled at him. Everything in him was desperate to touch you, but he knew that like this, you didn’t know him. The last thing he’d want is to scare you, especially after that creep had just tried to put his hands on you. “So, what brings you out tonight?”

“I came out with a friend,” You turned slightly to spot Marcy at your table, and she waved a French fry in greeting. You waved back and she gave a thumbs up, which you knew was visible to the man standing next to you. You heard him chuckle and turned back to face him. “Sorry about her, she’s…” You trailed off trying to think of the right word, “excited.”

“Over me?” He looked almost surprised at the notion, pressing a hand to his chest in feigned shock.

“She wanted me to find out what a Wayne was doing in a dive bar on this side of town.” You said defeated, hoping he wouldn’t be too offended by the task set out for you.

He smirked and the look brought a slight heat to your cheeks. “Oh, so you do know who I am. And here I thought I was pretty incognito, walking around in a hoodie.”

“Only because she told me.” Your hands went up in defense of yourself, but there was a sense of comfort in the conversation that you couldn’t place. It was almost like you knew him. “I had no idea what you even looked like until she said something. I don’t pay attention to the tabloids about your family, or in general.” You added the last bit with a mild look of disgust on your face. You never understood the point of stalking local celebrities just to put their breakfast sandwich of the day all over the front page.

“More of a classics reader, then?” He suggested, hoping he wasn’t pushing too far into familiar territory.

Your eyes snapped back to his, and you couldn’t help the suspicion that crept into your tone when you responded, “Yeah, actually. How did you-” Your question was cut off by someone bumping into you from behind, startling you out of your confusion. You felt another shove come as a big group of people tried to get to the front of a quickly forming line to close tabs, but you were immediately shielded from anything else as Jason switched your places. His back was now turned to the people crowding by the bar, and he’d wrapped his left arm around you to keep you close and protected. You had to look up significantly farther now to look in his eyes as his chest was almost pressed against yours. You’d been here before. A quick inhale rushed through your nose at the realization, and then you noticed the smell. A familiar mahogany cologne, though much stronger now, and leather, with just the slightest hint of gun-smoke.

Your heart was hammering in your chest and there was a lump forming in your throat as you looked at Jason and found him searching your eyes. Almost as though to encourage you, you felt small, absent-minded patterns being traced into your back and you released a breathy exhale. One of your hands found its way to his chest and rested over his heart, just as you’d done for Red Hood before, and you watched the man in front of you now relax into your touch. It was there, on the tip of your tongue, just waiting for you to ask.

“Y/n.”

The trance was shattered as your head snapped to look at Aaron, getting your attention from across the bar.

He looked genuinely apologetic, “Listen, I’m sorry to break up a moment, but Marcy is falling asleep at the table. She needs to go home.”

You nodded. “I got her.” And the man returned to his line. You turned back to Jason, who’d backed up some, and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I,” Your breath heaved like you were going to sob as emotions you had no idea how to sort through began flooding your mind. “I have to go, I think.”

He nodded and released you the rest of the way, taking a full step back. “I get it. Go take care of your friend.” He gave you a reassuring side smile to let you know things were okay, and you were gone.

As you walked away from Jason Todd, your thoughts were sprinting and you weren’t sure you could pin down a single one of them, except that maybe you had just met Red without his mask. It was too many coincidences, right? But neither of you had said anything about it. It was him; it had to be. But if it wasn’t, then you were the biggest idiot of all time, desperate to assign a face to a name.

As Jason watched you walk away, he cursed to himself for not saying anything to you outright. You had to know, right? He was certain he’d seen it in your eyes: the realization. But more than anything he hoped that he hadn’t just ruined it all. Either way, he’d find out tomorrow.

You’d closed Marcy’s tab and collected her as quickly as possible and were now helping her stumble to the passenger seat of her car.

“You’re so nice, helping me stand, I love you.” She booped your nose with the tip of her finger just before she dropped into the seat. “Watching my feet,” she said lazily, anticipating your next words accurately. She dragged her feet away from the door as you closed it and moved to the other side of the car.

When you opened the door and turned, about to sit down behind the wheel, you noticed the bike in the front corner of the lot, up on the sidewalk. It was the same one you’d been on the back of weeks ago, you were sure of it. So that had to be him. When you were finally in the car, doors closed and key in the ignition, you took a deep breath to settle your emotions before putting the car in gear.

“Hey,” Marcy tried for your attention once the vehicle was moving. “You guys looked pretty cozy in there.” Her words were sing-songy as she turned as much as she was able under her seatbelt to face you. “Was that Secret Boyfriend?”

You were pretty fucking sure he was. “No, Marcy, of course not.”

Her bottom lip jutted out. “Bummer. You could use a sugar daddy.”

“Marcy!”

“No! Not “Marcy!”” she shouted back. “I’m drunk I get to say whatever I want and you gotta be nice to me.”

You could only shake your head at her and let the car fall back into silence so you could think. It made sense why he was so protective of his identity. Being a billionaire’s adopted son would certainly already make him a target for anyone hoping to make ransom money, but being a vigilante on top of it? Of course he couldn’t outright tell you anything. He probably swore some oath with the others that none of them could ever reveal themselves. Blatantly telling you who he was would be a huge safety risk. And he’d all but done it tonight because you asked him to. You’d crossed a line earlier. You’d told him you wanted him to take off the mask, the thing that protects his identity, and therefore his safety. And then he’d shown up to you without it.

Your heart sank into the pit of your stomach. He was putting himself in danger because of you.

-

Jason wasn’t on patrol tonight, and he knew Dick knew that, so there was no reason to lie when Dick pointedly asked, “What are you getting dressed for?”

“I’m going to get my stitches out,” Jason replied with a shrug, doing his best to conceal the nervous excitement in his chest.

“And the fact that everyone in this house, including you is capable of doing that?” Dick questioned further with his head cocked to the side.

“Irrelevant.”

The older of the two smiled. “What are you going to tell her?”

“Everything,” Jason answered without hesitation. “Or as much as she’ll let me.”

Dick nodded as he listened. “Are you nervous?”

“Extremely.” He huffed a shaky breath at the admission, knowing it was okay to talk to Dick about this, but still having trouble putting the feelings into words. “She seemed to like me okay at the bar, and I think she already knows, but there’s that voice in the back of my head telling me it’s all going to go to shit, and I just don’t see it yet.” He sat down to lace up his boots, and Dick sat beside him.

“I’m sure it’s gonna be fine, Jaybird, you just have to give it a chance.” He leaned over and wrapped an arm around the larger man in a side hug for a moment before leaving Jason alone with his thoughts.

When Jason activated his bracelet, you responded almost immediately, and it made him smile to think that you might even be excited to see him. It took only a couple of minutes to get to your apartment on his bike, and when he landed on the fire escape, he saw the window was left open a couple of inches. He squinted slightly at your disregard for safety and called out your name as he pulled the window open slowly but did not enter.

“It’s open!” He heard you call back from somewhere else in the apartment.

Jason still proceeded slowly so he wouldn’t scare you as he ducked through the window and closed it behind him. He drew the curtains shut for good measure. He didn’t need any prying eyes for this. He took notice of the vase on your counter containing the dahlias he’d sent you, and he smiled to himself at the thought that you’d taken the time to put them in water, so they’d last. He’d bring you flowers like that every week if you wanted them. It was then that you came around the corner, medical box in hand.

“Hey,” you greeted him with a smile spread on your face and Jason felt his heartbeat down to his fingertips.

“Hi,” he responded, almost breathless from nerves. “Where do you want me?”

“Couch is fine.”

He nodded and removed his jacket and gloves, placing them on the coffee table in a neat pile before he sat down in the same place he had last time he was here. There was no more pain in his arm as he moved his wrist and fingers, only a tight discomfort to having the stitches still embedded in a wound that no longer needed them.

“Are you on patrol tonight?” You asked, setting the med kit down on the coffee table before taking a seat next to him on the couch.

You took Jason’s hand when he offered it, and he immediately captured your fingers in his. “No, I’ve got time.” The two of you sat for a moment in silence, Jason tracing patterns into the base of your thumb with his own before you spoke up.

“Red?”

“Hm?” He hummed in response, but stayed lost in thought, focused on the contact.

“I can’t pull your stitches one handed.”

Jason’s head snapped back up and his eyes met yours through the mask. Your smile was sincere and almost apologetic, head tilted to the side slightly as you watched him. “Right,” he breathed the word. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just know these have to be bothering you.” You pulled his sleeve back and found an almost completely healed cut, that would hardly leave a scar. Your chest filled with pride as you turned to get the supplies you’d need. “It looks really good.”

“Yeah, that compound is impressive,” he noted as he watched you pull on a pair of gloves. “I got caught with the stitches, and everyone’s kind of in shock about how well it’s healing.”

“Oh so “everyone” knows about me now?” You asked as you got to work on his arm. “Should I expect the rest of the vigilantes to start showing up now? I’ll need more supplies…”

“I’m not letting them anywhere near you.”

“Is that you being protective or possessive, Red?”

Jason could have sworn his heart stopped at the way you looked up at him through your eyelashes when you asked that question. He cleared his throat, happy that his mask covered the fact that his face was a matching shade of red, “Protective, obviously. It would be a huge risk to draw more attention to you. You could get hurt, and-”

“Hey, it’s okay.” A small laugh bubbled from you at his rambling. “I’m not mad, I was just trying to poke, that’s all.”

He nodded and shut up, afraid to put his foot further into his mouth. Instead, he opted to watch you work as you carefully pulled each thread from his arm, your face in a relaxed concentration, like you’d done this a thousand times. “You’re so good at that.”

You froze for a moment and swallowed hard as you felt heat press up the back of your neck at the praise. There wasn’t another part of his sentence to latch onto and ignore the compliment, so all you could do was accept it. “Thank you. It’s taken a lot of practice.”

The pair of you fell into a comfortable silence as you finished by putting a bit more of the compound over the pinpricks in his skin, and this time he didn’t fight you on it.

“You’re healing faster than I expected you to, so you might not even need to keep it wrapped for more than a day or two, and you should have your full range of motion back.” You spoke while you wrapped his arm in a bandage, doing everything you could not to be distracted by the veins cording over the muscle there.

When you let go of him and stood to clean up, Jason tested to see if you were right. He pushed up his other sleeve and moved his arms the same, watching to make sure they looked the same as he slowly rotated his wrists and bent at the elbows. He found that he did have full range of motion, and the pain was gone; all he felt was a bit of soreness. “Thank you,” He stated once you’d sat back down.

“Of course,” you responded without hesitation, “Whenever you need someone to patch you up, you know I’m-”

“No, I mean-” He huffed a sigh, trying to find the right words, and was thankful you had the patience to wait for him to figure it out. “I’ve never- I’m not- fuck,” He growled in frustration. “Just give me a second.” He forced a breath out and felt your hand press against his chest. He covered it with his own, head hung, and eyes closed beneath the mask as he held onto you like an anchor. Feelings were hard. “I care about you. More than I care about most people, and I know that that’s insane, but it’s just- You give a shit. And then you don’t expect anything in return. And you take care of me. And it’s not just when I’m hurt; I can relax around you. I let my guard down and it scares the shit out of me, but I don’t hate it.”

“Oh.” You didn’t know what to say, so you chose not to. Instead, you pulled your hand from beneath his on his chest and wrapped your arms around him. Your left arm draped around his bicep and your right guided his head over your shoulder, your fingers resting at the nape of his neck as though to play with his hair if you had access to it. When you felt him settle into your hold and return it, you released a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I could ever not care about you.” With tears in your eyes, you breathed the sentiment into the side of his head and hoped he felt it.

The idea crossed into Jason’s mind and took root on its own. He wanted to kiss you now, and he knew a way. “Do you trust me?” It was barely more than a whisper from where his head was buried in your neck.

“Always,” came with a little squeeze around his shoulders.

Jason untangled himself from you, only enough to see your face. “Close your eyes.” He watched as you looked back and forth between the lenses of his mask for just a moment before you complied and swallowed a lump in your throat. He found your wrists before you were able to pull them back, and he slowly brought your hands to the sides of his helmet. He covered each of your fingers with his own as he guided you to where the release buttons were, just behind each of his ears. He pressed your index fingers into them and when the soft click sounded, he used your hands to pull the helmet free. There was no domino mask beneath it tonight. He could see how much faster your breathing had gotten when he took the helmet from you and set it aside.

Jason watched you carefully for any sign of discomfort as he reached for your face. He first ran a thumb over your cheekbone and felt you press into the touch. He then dragged it gently over your bottom lip, and when he heard the soft gasp it drew from you, his restraint vanished. He closed the distance.

When Red Hood’s lips met yours, it felt like it was the first time you’d ever really been kissed. Your arms immediately wrapped back around him, fingers finding their way to his hair this time as you pulled him as close as you could get him. It was as though he’d had the same thought, because suddenly you were lifted by his arms, now around your waist, and placed in his lap. You refused to let the movement distract you and instead used it to get into a more comfortable position straddling his thighs. It only seemed to spur him further, and when you felt his tongue brush against your lip, you allowed him full access. You moaned slightly at the taste of him in your mouth, and you felt one of his hands crush into your hip to push you back slightly.

He continued to kiss you, but he let the pace slow so it wouldn’t escalate any further. He needed to keep control of himself if he was going to have any kind of meaningful conversation with you after this. As the kiss turned more languid and comfortable, Jason dragged his thumb back and forth over your jaw while the rest of his hand rested against the side of your neck. Finally, he thought. He’d been wanting this for months. A small smile crossed his features, and he knew you could feel it by the appreciative hum you released in response. He felt a smile on your face for a moment as well.

“Y/n,” he started between kisses.

“Hm?” Was all the response you gave as you continued to melt into him, convinced you didn’t need air anymore as long as you could keep kissing him.

He pressed one more long but chaste kiss to your lips before pressing his forehead to yours. A new wave of nerves crashed over him as he considered his next words. “You can open your eyes now.”

You wanted to. “Wait,” The only reason he was doing this was because you asked him to. It was a huge risk to his safety, and he was going to show you anyway because of you. “You don’t have to do that for me, it’s not worth the- Red?”

Jason didn’t even hear the end of your sentence as his ears began ringing. He was right before. You didn’t want to know; it was better for you if he stayed under the mask. He pulled you off him and got up, and in an instant his helmet was secured again.

“Wait, Red-” You shot up from where he’d placed you on the couch and opened your eyes to find he was pulling his gloves on as he walked toward the fire escape. Tears sprung into your eyes. This wasn’t what you wanted. “Hold on, I wasn’t- stop!” You reached for his arm and your fingers latched onto the leather of the jacket he had yet to throw back on. He froze under your grasp. “Please, I just don’t want to make things more complicated for you. I don’t want to uproot your whole life like this, it would change everything for you.”

“Oh, we’re way past that, Sweetheart.” There was a venom in his voice, and he watched you flinch at the sour use of the name. Don’t. Something in him still didn’t want to hurt you.

“What?” You questioned and Jason’s heart only broke more as he watched tears stream from your eyes as you clutched the jacket draped over his arm.

He ripped it from your grasp as he spoke. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll see you around.” He turned and ignored your pleas for him not to go as he ripped the window open and disappeared.

What the hell just happened? was your only thought after he was gone. You broke down.

Jason’s ride home was brutal as he stewed in the rejection. He should have known better than to think you’d ever want him. The Red Hood, sure, but the forgotten, useless, Wayne son? Not a fucking chance. When he got home, Jason didn’t even bother putting his suit away. He stormed through the cave, ignoring Alfred as the man attempted to ask what was wrong, and when he got back to the manner, helmet under his arm, he headed straight for his room. Dick caught him in the hallway just outside his bedroom door.

“Woah, hey! How’d it go?” He put his hands out in front of himself toward Jason in attempt to slow him, but the younger man blew past him.

“Fuck you and your stupid fucking advice about giving shit a chance!” Jason turned to scream it in his brother’s face, tears visible in his eyes, before slamming the door shut behind him.

Dick could hear the crash and clattering of what was likely Jason’s helmet colliding with whatever used to be on the top of Jason’s dresser or nightstand. “So not great then,” he said to no one but himself.

Tag list: @4rachn3, @lettucel0ver

[tiredandkindaoverworked]

Home

In which Dear realizes how much love surrounds them.

——————————————————————————

Dear stumbled to the door, bleary eyed. They opened the door to a fidgety Freelancer, looking slightly embarrassed, shuffling on Dear’s doorstep.

“Freelancer…? Is everything ok? It’s 11pm.”

Freelancer’s mouth opened and closed, their throat dry, nearly choking on hesitation.

“I… um. I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I decided to take a long walk and I ended up here, somehow. Can I come in?”

Dear stepped aside, taking Freelancer’s coat and gently guiding them inside.

“Would you like something to drink, hon? It’s pretty cold out at night during this time of year.”

Freelancer nodded quietly. Dear gestured to the couch, urging Freelancer to sit while they prepared a warm drink for them.

As the kitchen’s space filled with the sound of boiling water, Dear’s phone chimed with a text from Damien, asking to come over.

They shot back a quick affirmation, phone chiming back with an ETA.

‘Hm, guess I’d better put on some coffee too.’ They thought to themselves.

Dear put on a pot of coffee before bringing two mugs to the table, setting them down and wrapping an arm around Freelancer, holding them against their chest. Freelancer leaned into Dear’s embrace, a heavy sigh escaping their lungs.

Damien gently opened the door with Lasko in tow, striding in with a familiarity very few knew. Dear looked back and waved to them.

“Coffee’s on, if you want some. Lasko, your creamer’s in the fridge.”

Lasko dismissed Damien to the couch, knowing exactly how he wanted his coffee. Damien shuffled over and sunk into the couch, a hand seeking out Freelancer’s and lacing with their fingers.

“Been a long night for you two, hmm?” Asked Dear.

“Pretty long. Hux’ll be in later. He’s doing a little bit of overtime.” replied Damien, weariness apparent in his voice.

Lasko ambled over with two more mugs, placing Damien’s coffee on the table in front of him before sitting on the ground in front of the couch.

Damien took a sip of his coffee, humming contentedly as Dear gripped the remote, scrolling through lists of movies and shows to watch.

“Hmmm, dunno what we should watch.”

“Well, whatever we do, we can’t watch anything that requires all of us to be together.”

“I know Gavin was interested in rewatching Avatar.”

“The one with the humans or the ones with the blue people?”

“Well, they both technically have humans, but the one with strictly humans. I think he mentioned he never actually fully watched it and he wanted to watch it with all of us.”

Their conversation was cut short by a gentle knock at the door.

“Door’s open.” Freelancer called to the next guest.

The door creaked open to none other than Gavin, who plotted a familiar course to the couch, unceremoniously plopping down right behind Dear, an arm snaking around Dear’s waist as he hugged them from behind.

“Well, well, speak of the devil and he shows up.” Lasko teased.

“Aht aht, Demon, not devil. Look who’s gotten all comfortable making jokes.” quipped Gavin, pulling Lasko’s hand up to his lips and pressing a kiss to them.

“But what were you guys discussing before I showed up?”

“Discussing what to watch. You’ve mentioned wanting to watch ATLA.” Freelancer explained, face still buried in Dear’s chest.

“Mmmm.” Gavin mused. “Hux’ll be here tonight, right?”

The crew murmured affirmations.

“He’s already seen the entire show, if we want to just start tonight. He’s only gonna be upset if we somehow make it to season two and meet Toph.” chimed in Damien.

Gavin gently slipped the remote from Dear’s hand, replacing it with his hand and pressed play.

The group grew quiet, the only sounds heard being the television.

The door creaked open one last time that night, Huxley shambling in after a long shift.

“Hey, darling. Do you want to take a shower? Need something to eat?

Hux’s face broke into a weary smile.

“Hmm, not right now. I just want to be with my people right now.”

He ambled around, pressing kisses to everyone’s heads before settling next to Lasko, arm stretched out over his shoulder and head leaning back against Damien’s legs, who affectionately began running his hands through Huxley’s hair.

“Not that I don’t love having you guys here, but what brought you all to my place tonight?” Dear wondered aloud.

None of them answered. It was a comfortable silence.

Outside, fireworks popped in a spectacular display, ignored by the cuddle puddle indoors. Faintly from a neighbors house, Dear could swear they could heard the song ‘Auld Lang Syne.’

——————————————————————————

@achios i’m not good at writing polyromantic DAMN crew, but i saw ur post and figured shiiiit, why not try it.

[nialls-golf-putt]

Lights in the Floors, and Sweat on the Walls

(4.5k) You see a mystery brunette at a work party nursing a whiskey, one drink turns to another, and nothing could've prepared you for the night. tw: mild dom/sub dynamics a/n: this is honestly concerningly vanilla to me but i really liked the idea of a kinda workplace romance (mighttttt be a series) so here y'all go

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The music was thumping loud enough to aggravate you further. You couldn't help but think that just because someone was signed to the label, didn’t mean they had to play their music at parties.

You felt your phone buzz and reached into your purse when a woman walked towards you, dressed completely inappropriately for a work party.

You sighed inwardly and plastered on a fake smile. It was probably the wife of one of yet another operations executive who thought schmoozing up to anyone who worked in management would get their husbands a promotion.

If that’s how people got higher up in this industry, wouldn’t everyone do it? Her nasal voice broke your train of thought.

“Hello, you must be Mrs. (Y/L/N). I’m Jan Harmon, you must know my husband, Gavin. He works in Budgeting. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Gavin has nothing but praise for you.” She spoke with the ease of someone who had practised this in her bedroom mirror a lot of times.

“It’s Ms. (Y/L/N),” You corrected coolly, “And no, I’m sorry, I don’t think I know him. I don’t work directly with a lot of people.” You smiled, faking regret, as she went away, simpering. You were thinking about just how Gavin Harmon could get that raise he was pandering for when your gaze caught on a man in a russet suit.

He was nursing a glass of what looked like whiskey in his hands as he stared around the room. You couldn't help but think that was weird. Sure, it was a casual event for everyone working for the label, and their plus-ones, but it wasn’t casual enough to be a whiskey kind of event.

What was even more weird to you, though, was the fact that he was standing alone at a party like this. You worked with people for a living, and the way he held himself made it clear that something was off.

You watched as he looked down, noticed his glass was empty, and went back to looking around the room. He was so intriguing.

You made your way to the bar and ordered two whiskeys, waiting on them when you noticed the man walking towards the bar. Just then, the barman slid the two tumblers towards you. The man had taken a stool just off to your right, and you slid the glass across the wooden countertop, praying it didn’t bump and splatter all over him

It didn’t. It stopped against his forearm, sloshing inside the glass a little but thankfully none came out. He had his head in his hands, thumbs massaging his temples. At the sudden touch, he looked up, confused. His eyes were a startlingly clear blue, you noticed vaguely. You nodded at him with a small smirk. He blinked a few times, clearly dazed, before giving you a weak smile as he took the glass into his hands.

You got up, your glass clutched in your hand as you quickly walked over to your assistant, Blakely, nodding, as you stood in front of her.

“What have you been up to?” She whispered to you, her eyes focused somewhere behind over your shoulder.

“Nothing, I’ve been dealing with people begging me for promotions all night.” You looked at her from the corner of your eye. “Why, Blake? Something wrong?” She narrowed her eyes at you. “You’re telling me you haven’t noticed that guy ogling you?” She whispered disbelievingly. 

“Huh? Who?” You asked, feigning confusion. She held you by your shoulders, pulling you so that you were standing beside her. “Him!” She whispered, tilting her chin slightly to the man from before. 

You watched wordlessly as he brought the glass to his lips and threw his head back, downing all of the liquor in one go. That must’ve burnt, you found yourself thinking. There was an air of melancholy that hung about him and you couldn't help but want to know more. Know what must’ve happened that had him drinking whiskey at a work party. Know him.

Blakely elbowed you, “Hello? Earth calling?” You pulled my eyes away from him, turning to face her. “What? Who is he?” You whispered back sharply, to which she raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know who one of the biggest popstars right now is?” she asked.

“I don’t have time to keep up with them, I couldn’t care less!” You burst out. “Jesus, woman!” She gasped exasperatedly, shaking her head.

You were about to reply to her when you saw another woman in a slinky dress coming your way and quickly threw back the whiskey. You were gonna need it, by the look of her.

“Ugh, another one. Gotta go, Blake. Talk soon.” You whispered to her as you plastered on a smile. 

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You were right about the whiskey. The rest of the night passed by in a daze, people coming randomly, wanting to chat. You kept catching sight of the man from before, here and there; sometimes absorbed in a conversation, mostly just nursing a glass by himself.

The party was coming to an end and you thought it would be appropriate to get drunk now, all the polished teeth and botoxed cheeks had made your head throb.

You had just sat down on the stool, looking to check if Blakely was around, when a glass slid across the countertop and bumped into my forearm. You looked up, surprised, and saw the man from before looking at you intently.

You raised an eyebrow questioningly at him, lips quirking up slightly and he stood up and walked over, taking the stool beside yours. His fingers were still wrapped around a crystal glass.

He cleared his throat before looking at you. “Thanks for the drink earlier, it hasn’t been the best day, if you were wonderin’. Let me return the favour. Pay you back, if you will.”

He slurred his s’ ever so slightly as he spoke, and you couldn’t quite place his accent. His voice sounded smooth despite the drinks, so you figured he wasn’t an executive; he must be an artist signed to the label.

“It’s a party, hon?” You replied sarcastically. This was all a bit ridiculous.

He shot you a dazzling smile, “Not the way I intended to return the favour, darlin’” he said suggestively with a small wink.

His accent made everything that came out of his mouth salacious, you thought in a fugue. You would be lying if you said the way he spoke didn’t make you clench your thighs together, his tone making obvious what words didn't.

Your eyebrows went up in surprise as you considered his offer. You didn’t have much to do tomorrow, just one meeting, and it was quite late. And he looked like he would be a good time.

You shifted on your stool, turning towards him slightly so that your knee brushed his thigh. He inhaled sharply, his teeth sinking into his lower lip for a split second. His fingers tightened around the glass. They were long, the pads looked rough, you noticed, your mind jumping to scenarios that were definitely not appropriate for a work party either. He caught your eye, staring intensely and you gave him a small smirk, dropping your eyes to his lips. 

He pushed his glass away as he stood up, eyes still fixed on you.

You took a few seconds to throw back the whiskey he’d gotten. Wouldn’t wanna let it go to waste, you thought. And as you stood up, you saw a look of worry fleet over his face.

You realised he must’ve thought you were going to reject his offer for a split second and had to suppress a laugh at that.

He waited until you were a step ahead of him and put his hand on the small of you back. “This okay?” he whispered, hot breath fanning across the back of your neck. You nodded, “Better than okay,”

He smirked slightly, and a small dimple popped out on his left cheek

“You’re too forward for someone whose name I don’t even know,” You said, as the two of you headed toward the door.

“You don’t know who I am, darlin'?” he asked, disbelief apparent in his voice.

“Nope,” You shrugged with a little laugh, popping the p. “But I want to,” You said as you turned a little to catch his eyes. You put your palm on his chest to motion for him to stop, and he obliged, a slight frown of confusion creasing his brow.

You leaned in on my tiptoes; he had a few inches on you despite your heels. “I want to know what I’ll be screaming tonight,” You said with a smirk, noticing his eyes darken, the clear blue turning stormy.

“ ‘M Name’s Niall, princess.” he murmured

You turned as you took his hand, placing it on your waist, and resumed walking. “Well, Niall - My hotel or yours?” You whispered, turning to him slightly.

“Mine,” He replied, a small rasp in his voice already at your forwardness. “It’s just two blocks down. I messaged my driver, he’ll be here soon.”

You nodded at him, not trusting yourself to say anything. There was something about his voice that made you doubt my ability to think straight.

We stepped out, crisp autumn air feeling cool against your skin.

You hadn't even realised how your skin had been prickling until now.

You watched Niall out of the corner of your eye, as you stood there silently, air thick with tension. “I never caught your name,” he asked shortly.

“(Y/N),” You replied with a small smile. He shot me a quick smile back, but his was loaded with all his intentions for the night. He repeated your name slowly, syllables rolling off his tongue, slightly broadened by his accent. "It's pretty. But I think I like 'princess' better" He smirked and I felt like my collar was suddenly too tight.

His eyes weren’t on you anymore, as he pointedly looked around for his car. It was almost like he didn’t trust himself to look at you and not do anything he’d regret later. You couldn’t help but smirk at the thought.

He suddenly said, “He’s here,” before taking your waist again to lead your to his car. You reached out to open the door, but he stopped you, reaching out himself “Least I can do, and I don’t mean it chauvinistically.” He said with a small smile.

You couldn’t help but smile back as you slid in, waiting as Niall followed suit. He nodded to the driver and the screen came up, separating him from us, granting us some privacy.

He sat close, his thigh not quite touching mine, but close enough so that you could feel the warmth radiating off him. He smelt like spices and sandalwood, you noticed, taking a deep breath before shifting slightly to the left, so that your thigh was flush against his.

Niall turned to look at you, “Too bad you’re wearin’ pants,” he whispered mischievously “Or I could’ve had you screamin’ my name right here.”

“Someone’s cocky,” You smirked at him, trying to ignore how you felt a rush of warmth between your thighs.

“Oh, I have plenty of reasons to be, love,” he said, even cockier this time.

It would’ve gotten on your nerves had his hand not suddenly landed on your thigh. His thumb traced patterns mindlessly over the fabric, going slightly higher each time, eyes watching your face for your reaction.

You didn’t want to give in too easily but you couldn’t help but squirm a little, trying to get him where you’d rather have him. He tutted lightly, “That won’t do, pet. Patience.” He smugly drew his hand away, smirking.

It was just two blocks, why was it taking so much time? The lights were dimmed through the tinted windows, but we were stuck in a spot of traffic.

You decided not to worry about it, hand reaching out to the now-obvious bulge in his pants. You laid my palm over it, one finger tracing the outline of the head of his cock.

Niall mumbled a little, “Feisty, aren’t ya?” from between his teeth. You chuckled, squeezed lightly, watching his breathing speed up. The way he threw his head back and closed his eyes made your breath hitch in your throat.

He bucked up into your hand a little, craving more friction, letting out some of the most delicious sounds you'd ever heard. You quickly drew your hand back, tutting, “That won’t do, pet. Patience.” You smirked at him.

“God,” he moaned, teeth gritted together. “The things I’m gonna do to you,”

You felt blood rush down my body, wetness pooling between your legs. You flushed as he caught your eye, the blue now almost completely black.

You bit my lip and his eyes flicked down and back up again. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, voice rough.

Without even having to think, you turned to him, thankful you weren’t wearing a dress. You hooked your right leg over his thigh, climbing onto him until you was fully straddling him. He whispered a sharp “Fuck,” as you pressed down into him. He was fully hard under you and you didn’t even realize how badly you had been craving the friction until you felt him. 

You leaned in slowly, enjoying how he seemed entranced under you. You pressed my lips to Niall’s, gently at first. But he wasn’t having any of that. His stubble felt rough against your face as he put his hands on your hips, fingers digging in as he increased the pace of the kiss. He ran his hands up and down your sides, then one of his hands slid backward to grasp at your ass. Niall squeezed tightly, blunt fingernails pressing in.

You moaned into the kiss and he took the opportunity to deepen it. He tasted like the whisky he’d been having and something sweeter you couldn’t put my finger on. You pressed down harder, clit throbbing for some friction.

You threaded your fingers into his hair and tugged, grinding harder, fully clothed. Niall moaned, louder this time, pulling away from the kiss. You were both panting and hadn’t even noticed that the car had stopped. You licked your lips, eyes still on his face.

“Room. Now.” He said shortly.

You clambered off him as he opened the door and stepped outside. He quickly reached down to rearrange himself and your eyes followed the action. His pants which seemed tailored and well-fit earlier looked uncomfortably tight now.

You blushed, running my fingers through my hair to try and get it to look like you hadn’t been making out in the back of his car. Your legs felt a bit shaky and you gave Niall a small smile as his hand retook its position on your back.

He gently guided you up the stairs, nodding at the man sitting behind the reception desk. The elevator was on the ground floor and he ushered you in hurriedly, but a middle-aged man with a briefcase followed you in.

Niall reached out to press the button for his floor and you found yourself staring at his fingers again. This time he noticed and smirked at you, his dimple popping out again. You flushed but didn’t look away. He raised an eyebrow, smirk widening and you squirmed a little under his gaze, but still didn’t look away.

The lift stopped and Niall nodded towards the door. You quickly walked out, feeling a little light-headed. The hallway was empty and Niall stopped a few doors down from the lift, hand inside his suit jacket.

You waited, biting your lip as you watched on, feeling a bit impatient. His fingers dipping in and out of his pockets had no right looking that sinuous and you blushed again, deeper this time. He finally found the card and quickly tapped it against the door. He took a step in and held the door open.

The second you stepped inside, Niall took you by the waist and pushed you up against the wall, pinning you with his knee between your thighs. A small moan escaped your lips and he smirked as he pushed the door close.

You linked your hands behind his neck, pulling him closer as you kissed him, sloppier this time. You could feel his erection against your hip and you moved around a little, both looking for some friction against his knee and to tease him. He gasped into the kiss, one hand reaching down to rest on your ass. 

His other hand took up position beside the first and he gave your ass a firm squeeze as he pulled away from the kiss. “Jump, baby.” He murmured against my neck as he lifted me, pinning me against the wall.

The new position made sure your core was pressed against his cock and you took the opportunity to grind into him. Niall began kissing sloppily down your jawline, sucking at intervals, teeth scraping the sensitive skin.

You dug my nails into his jacket-clad back, your head thrown back against the wall. He kept kissing you, messier each time. He pressed his tongue against the column of your throat and licked a broad stripe, relishing the feeling of you shivering against him.

“Niall,” You moaned out, clawing at his clothes. “Off.”

He pulled back and let you down, smiling. “I give the instructions around here, babe.”

Nonetheless, he pulled off the russet jacket, discarding it to the floor. “Strip for me, darlin’” he instructed with a nod as he unbuttoned his shirt.

“Are you sure you’re not too drunk to do this?” You asked hesitantly, he’d had a few throughout the night.

“Not too drunk to want you,” he said smoothly, eyes roaming hungrily over your body.

You felt yourself clench around nothing as you pulled off your jacket and threw it to the floor. Your fingers were just reaching for the buttons on your shirt as he stepped closer, shirtless now, and put his hands over yours, hungrily opening all the buttons, dropping them on the floor in a smooth motion. 

Niall closed the distance, hands reaching behind your back as his lips hungrily lapped at your collarbones. He unhooked your bra and threw it down with a practised ease.

He walked backwards, hands running over your back, brushing over the hem of your pants. He gave them an impatient tug. “Off,” he murmured against your skin, then sat back on the bed, watching you.

You pulled back and unbuttoned them hurriedly, flushing at the undisguised lust in his eyes.

As you made to pull down your underwear, he put his hand over yours and shook his head slightly. He motioned towards the bed. “All the way up, back against the headboard, princess.”

You climbed up, not sure why you were obeying his every command but forgot all about that when he came closer, sitting in front of you. He tapped your knee lightly and you opened your thighs wide instinctively.

He smirked at the spot on your panties. “Mm, knew you were a good girl,” he said, before quickly closing the distance and attaching his lips to yours, one hand working on one of your breasts.

Niall worked his way down again, licking and sucking marks against your chest, flattening his tongue against one nipple, swirling around it as he squeezed the other. He bit down gently and you tangled my fingers in his hair, head thrown back against the cushioned headboard.

“Niall, please… more,” You panted out.

“Patience, darlin’,” he said, lifting his head to meet your eyes. 

He began kissing down, past your stomach as one hand continued to palm your breast, twisting your nipple until it pebbled under his touch.

His other hand gripped your hip, nails digging crescents into your skin. “Help me out, princess,” He murmured against your skin before drawing back as he pulled off your underwear. You flinched a little at the sensation of the cold air against your skin.

He was still wearing his pants and you were naked in front of him. Not fair, you thought. “Niall… off, please…” You almost begged.

Niall smirked, “You just had to ask, babe.”

He climbed down and pulled his pants off. His cock was tenting his boxers so much, to the point it looked uncomfortable. He pulled them off in one motion, length springing up to hit his stomach. He was thick and slightly curved and you bit your lip, staring intently at him, imagining how he would feel… taste…

“Bit rude to stare, love,” Niall said cockily, but being naked and spread open for him, you couldn’t even be mad at him. All you needed was him, on you, touching you, right now.

You had no time to say anything before his mouth was hovering over your core, not quite touching me yet, but I could feel his hot breath on me.

"You've got such a pretty cunt, princess. " He murmured roughly looking up at you, making eye contact before he stuck out his tongue and licked a broad stripe upwards.

You shuddered at the sudden contact, sensitive after all the teasing. He hummed against you, vibrations feeling blissful as he latched on to your clit, sucking hard, alternating with light nibbles. "Taste just as pretty as you look" He mumbled, lips brushing against your skin, stubble rubbing against your thighs deliciously.

You tugged at his hair, pushing his head down, barely aware of what you were doing. His eyes were still on yours as he continued eating you out with fervour, making sure to pointedly miss your entrance with each stroke and you felt like you could combust from all the attention as you whined.

"Such an impatient little princess" He tutted as he let go and started circling his tongue around your entrance. Niall’s nose was pressed against you as he stuck his tongue in, lapping at your inner walls like a parched man. You arched your back, a groan pouring out of you.

"You're so responsive for me, pet. Such a good girl." He murmured as he pulled away, before using a finger to collect your juices. Eyes still riveted on your face, he slowly pushed a finger in, up to his knuckle.

“Niall, more…” You whimpered. He bit his lip before smiling at you deviously. "Such a greedy little cunt." He murmured as he pushed in another finger, pumping slowly. He curled his fingers, reaching for the perfect spot, eyes searching your face for a reaction. "So fuckin' tight, aren't ya, princess?"

You screamed his name when he found it, toes tingling, eyes rolling back and he quickly latched onto your clit, continuing to pump his fingers and curling them expertly.

“I’m- Fuck- I’m close,” You panted out. Niall hummed against you as he pushed in a third finger. He curled them, pressing hard as he sucked at your clit.

“I’m- Niall I’m gonna-” You barely got the words out before cumming against his mouth, shivers running from your toes to your fingers, head lax against the headboard. You felt light-headed as he slowly pumped his fingers, drawing out your orgasm. watching your face with an easy, satisfied smile. 

Niall climbed up beside you, pressing his lips to yours. You could taste the familiar tang of your arousal on him and you moaned into the kiss. Still a little light-headed, you reached out, grasping the base of his cock.

He gasped and pulled away from the kiss, his head falling back onto his shoulders as you squeezed lightly. You let go to gather the precum gathered around his slit and spread it over the swollen head. You were about to lean forward as you drew my fist down, but he stopped you.

“Princess,” Niall panted out, “I won't last, some other time-” He broke off, inhaling sharply as you let go.

Cocky of him to assume that there would be another time, you couldn't help but think, but he gave a look that made your knees weak and you were grateful you weren’t standing. He leaned forward, lips pressed to the base of your neck, sucking a mark there.

“Down, pet.” he hummed against your skin. You laid back down as you watched him, teeth pressing into your lower lip. He rustled around in his bedside table, pulling out a foil package.

Niall ripped the package open with his teeth, rolling it on with his eyes still fixed on you. He gave himself a few quick pumps as he climbed onto the bed. “Spread for me, princess,” he said as he positioned himself over you.

You obeyed, whimpering a little as you felt his blunt head at your entrance. “Oh fuck, Niall- “ You moaned out as he pushed in, inch by delicious inch. 

He stretched you out deliciously, pressing chaste kisses to your jawline until he bottomed out completely. “So fucking tight,” he grunted, catching his breath, before crashing his mouth into yours hungrily as he started thrusting, slow and deep.

You wrapped your legs around his waist, arching your back so that he could hit the perfect spot, feeling yourself clasp harder around him already. 

Niall angled up, thrusting sharply and you couldn’t help but dig your nails into his back, hoping you didn’t break skin. He pulled away from the kiss with a gasp, filthy sounds escaping him. You felt the knot in your belly tighten just looking at the expression of bliss on his face in the dim lights. “Niall,” You breathed out, “I’m- fuck- close,”

His lips formed a cocky smirk, before leaning down to press his lips to your throat. “Won’t last, either,” he mumbled against your skin, “Come for me, princess,”

The rumble of his voice sent you over the edge, moaning incoherently as you came undone, nails scratching down his back, him shouting out a second later, teeth sinking into your skin as you felt him pulse inside of you.

Niall leaned onto his elbows, catching his breath, locking you in under him with his hands on either side of your chest. A few moments later he rolled off, pulling out with a hiss as he quickly tied up the condom and threw it into the bin beside the bed.

He turned back towards you, pulling the blankets up, throwing his arm over your waist and while you hadn't been planning on affection the feeling of him nuzzling into your hair, whispering a silent goodnight was enough to make your heart skip a beat.

You were too tired to protest, and it wasn’t exactly a bad feeling. All your thoughts of leaving went out the window as you mumbled back a muffled reply, drowsily nestling back into him, his warmth lulling you to sleep.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

A/n: Send an ask if you wanna be on my taglist <3 reblogs and comments hugely loveddd and here's my masterlist!

[loveharlow]

PAIRING ‧₊˚ JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

SYNOPSIS‧₊˚[7.3k] Early morning arrests and break ups, one member of the pogues goes rogue and gets into a world of trouble.

WARNING(S)‧₊˚ swearing, mentions of death, forced drug use, abduction, mentions of physical violence, mention of non-con/sexual assault, disorientation

˗ˏˋ series masterlist ˎˊ˗

NOW PLAYING‧₊

“BETWEEN YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS MORNING, OUR KILDARE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT CARRIED OUT SEVERAL ARRESTS IN THE MURDER CASES OF SUSAN PETERKIN, GAVIN BARNSTEAD, BIG JOHN ROUTLEDGE, AND OWEN CARTER.” Shoupe’s voice traveled from the small speaker of your phone. You were watching the local news — you, JJ, John B, Pope, and Kiara all sitting out on the pier behind The Chateau. It was still early, the sun just settling in the sky, providing a comforting warmth over the five of you.

JJ was laid outstretched on on the boat, head buried in his arms while Pope stood with his hands in his pockets. Kiara was kicking her feet, sitting on the wood of the dock as you and JB stood side by side, eyes glued to the phone screen as Shoupe continued giving his statement. “...The individuals in custody are our department pathologist Mark Daniels, officer Shane Graves, local attorney Rebecca Reyes, and Rafe Cameron.” Shoupe explained, swallowing harshly. “Unfortunately, our prime suspect, Ward Cameron was the victim of an explosion late yesterday afternoon. The other trials will take place in the following weeks, more updates are to come. Thank you for your time.” And then he was walking away from the podium swiftly, head down as chatter erupted and cameras flashed, the program cutting back to it’s anchor.

You sighed, powering off the phone and sliding it into your back pocket. 

“...He deserved it, right?” JJ asked, lifting his head from his arms and squinting his eyes from the harsh sun.

“Of course he deserved it.” Pope added, sitting down on the boat.”I’ve just...never seen anyone blow themselves up like that.”

“Cross that one off the bucket list.” The blonde shrugged, laying his head back down.

“Dude.” Pope said sternly, shooting JJ a look of warning as Kiara rounded the dock and sat herself next to John B who’d taken a seat inside.

Planting a gentle hand on his back, she spoke to him softly. “Are you okay?”

John B fiddled with his fingers in his lap, biting his lip. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

POPE WALKED IN JUST AS YOU’D SLIPPED YOUR OTHER SHOE ON AND STOOD FROM THE SOFA, the boy stopping in his tracks.

“Where are you going?” He asked casually, resuming his slow steps plopping himself down on the sofa.

“Hopefully to get my dog back.” You said, patting your pockets to make sure you had everything. With the announcement of Rafe's arrest, you figured it was as good a time as any.

“...And you were just going to leave without telling anyone?” He asked, sitting up straighter, becoming increasingly more concerned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think JJ would agree with it either-”

“What does he have to do with anything?” You cut him off, your eyebrows set into a straight line.

“C’mon,” Pope sassed, standing from the couch. “It’s literally so obvious. It’s been obvious.” He said cooly. “Like, everyone knew he liked you before but now it’s clear you two have something going on. And you know how he is. He cares about you. A lot. You don’t wanna make him worry, do you?”

You wanted to tell him so badly. You felt like he needed to know why JJ wasn’t a priority right now. But you knew doing it would break Pope’s heart. Pope was in love with Kiara. And he deserved to know the truth, but you telling him out of spite wasn’t the best way to go through it.

“...Look, Pope.” You sighed, letting your shoulders fall. “Me and JJ aren’t on the best terms right now and I don’t want to be around him and I definitely don’t want his help. I know what I’m doing.” You assured, looking the boy in his eyes. “Okay? I’ll be fine, I promise.”

He seemed to sway on his feet, fighting with what to do in his head. “At least let me come with you. You can’t go alone-”

You immediately shook your head, putting your hands in front of you. “No, no. I don’t want you anywhere near Barry or Rafe without at least an army behind you.”

“But what about you?”

“...I’ve dealt with them before.” You affirmed, tensing your jaw.

Pope sighed in defeat, running a hand down his face. “Well, Rafe’s in jail but I doubt he’ll be in there long before he’s bailed out so you should be up against just Barry.” He pondered, turning to you and squinting his eyes. “...Fine. But if I call or text and I don’t get an answer, I’m telling JJ and everyone else. Deal?” He held out his hand.

The amount of care Pope had for your safety was sweet. So sweet it put a small, sheepish smile on your face. Connecting your hand with his, you shook it. “Deal.”

YOU SLOWED IN YOUR STEPS SOME FEET AWAY FROM THE SECLUDED TRAILER, wanting to minimize the chances of Barry seeing or hearing you before you even got to the door. The closer you got, the worse it smelled. You’d almost forgotten how the stench of weed and bonfire smoke stung your nostrils. Or how the overgrown grass scratched at your exposed legs, irritating the skin.

Your eyes immediately spotted a singular, metallic dog bowl — the inside smeared with what looked like canned meat. You felt sorrow and relief all at once. On the bright side, at least Marley was here. Or here at some point.

“Lookin’ for that mutt?” A familiar raspy voice sounded out. You whipped your head to the side to find Barry standing the doorway of his trailer. He startled you for a moment but the fear quickly diminished. After all, Barry rarely ever left the comfort of his trailer. He was dressed in a dirty wifebeater and shorts, his signature smirk plastered on his face.

“Where is she?” You asked, a hard expression on your face.

He simply drew his lips into a thin line, his eyebrows raising as he shrugged carelessly. “I ain’t got a damn clue.” He chuckled, shifting his weight against the frame and licking his lips. “Why don’t you ask Country Club?”

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. “He’s in a cell. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. Not alone, anyway.” You explained. “What, you don’t watch the news or something? Figured you’d keep tabs on your partner in crime.”

Barry just stood there smiling. Smiling weirdly. It made your stomach turn. You were never scared of Barry but he never failed to give you the creeps. “Trust me, I keep tabs.” He chuckled, strutting down the small staircase that led up to the door of his trailer. “You shoulda kept your ass away from here, Snoozie.” He told you, waving a finger in your direction, a mischievous expression on his face.

“...What is that supposed to mean?” You asked, pinching your eyebrows together.

“It means…whatever happens now is on you.” He smiled when suddenly, you felt two hands wrap around you and pull you into a body. One arm was on your neck, right under your chin as the other held your torso against the assailants. You could hear breathing in your ear — somewhere between heaving and chuckling as your body froze before trying to fight the person off to no avail.

“Hey, calm down,” You knew that voice.

It was the voice of someone who wasn’t supposed to be here.

“...Get off of me.” You warned, but it came out as more of a weak whisper.

You didn’t think you were afraid of Rafe anymore. But the feeling of his hands on your body, the force he was using to hold you in place, his warm breath against your neck — it all made you feel disgusting.

It made you feel like you were in the back of his truck all over again.

“Yeahhh…I can’t do that.” He laughed, walking you closer to Barry, his grip never loosening. “We’ll let you and your annoying ass dog go but, see, you walked into our domain? Alright, so…that means, we get to have our fun with you, first.” He whispered into your ear.

You watched helplessly as Barry pulled a plastic bag filled with a white, powdery substance from his pocket — scooping a decent amount onto the tip of his pinky before walking closer to you. "This for you and your friends stealin' my fuckin' money."

You began to dry heave, frantically shaking your head from side to side as he lifted the drugs to your nose. You jerked and jumped in Rafe’s hold, trying to do anything to get him to either let you go and disable Barry from drugging you.

“Hold her head still, Rafe.”

“Alright…” The Cameron boy groaned, carefully maneuvering the arm on your neck so that he quickly grasp your jaw, the strong hold causing an immediate ache as he held your head in place. 

“There we go…” Barry drawled on, shoving his pinky so far up your nose that it hurt, triggering you to cough vehemently but ultimately sniff the substance. “Aight, she should be out soon. Take her inside, my neighbors are nosy as shit...”

Rafe released your jaw as you coughed. Your whole chest hurt and your nostrils stung and tingled, the sensation traveling from the bridge of your nose and to your brain — the feeling somewhere in between a migraine and a brain freeze. When your coughing died down, your head began to feel light. As light as a feather on your shoulders. 

Their voices became inaudible in your ears, fading in and out. You tried to fight Rafe once more but you couldn’t feel your arms, or your legs for that matter.

The last thing you remember before the trees turned to blobs was Rafe carrying your body inside the trailer.

WHEN YOU OPENED YOUR EYES AGAIN, you didn’t know how much time had gone by. Minutes, hours…

Everything felt so heavy. Your eyelids were half close as that was as high as you could hold them. Your head rolled on your shoulders, gently swaying from side to side because holding it straight didn’t seem to be in your list of capabilities at the moment. Your lips felt permanently parted, not enough muscle strength to push them together and keep them there.

Looking around slowly, everything had a trail behind it. Everytime you turned, the object in your vision would leave behind a trail, like smeared paint. You didn't even know where you were, in all honesty. The kitchen? You looked up, letting your eyes settle before you realized what you were looking at — your hands. They were tied to a pole. A rack, of sorts.

You couldn’t even feel it. You tugged and tugged, at least you thought you were. But it didn’t look like your hands were moving.

“You awake now?” A voice echoed in your ears. You lowered your gaze to a find a figure in front of you.

Rafe, you concluded once your vision settled. 

You swallowed and you could feel that, a little bit too much. It felt like you were swallowing rocks. What did Barry give you? “...Can you untie me?” You spoke.

“I’m sorry,” Rafe said, his voice sounding weird in your ears. He crouched down in front of you, his eyes boring into yours. He looked so much scarier. “...What was that? You’re mumbling, sunshine.”

You swallowed again, the action causing you to blink harshly - the smear of colors hurting you vision when you opened your eyes again. “...Can you untie me?” You mumbled once more, but you didn’t know you were mumbling. In your ears, you could hear your voice so clear. It was so loud and it echoed, like yelling down an empty hall — every sounded bounced off the walls.

Rafe just stared at you. It looked like he was thinking before he shrugged lightly, shifting closer to you and reaching above your head where your hands were bound. “You’re too weak to go anywhere anyway…can’t do anything…might as well.”

You felt your arms float to the floor as Rafe held the rope in his hands, examining it before tossing it to the side. His gaze returned to you, analyzing your face as if he’d never seen it before. His blue scanned over you in your entirety, drinking you in with his eyes. It felt like he was staring straight into your soul, taking every part of it for himself. He was your focal point, everything else behind him fading into a mess of colors. 

Even in your altered state of consciousness, your body still found the strength to flinch when his hand reached out to touch your face, his fingers leaving a fiery trail in their wake. “...You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He whispered, his voice sounding ghostly in your ears. “I just want you to let me love you. And you won’t…” His words made you ill. So ill that you were sure that your stomach audibly turned. “I never…meant to hurt you. But you just made it so hard.”

You could see the tears welling in his eyes and the redness blooming on his nose. He was…crying. Or trying not to. You couldn’t clearly tell. “And then you told everyone that I..raped you.” He choked out, threading his fingers through your hair as you tried to move away from his touch, the sound of his digits scraping against your roots making your body recoil. “We both wanted it. You were just too ashamed to admit it. You thought it was wrong, that we were wrong. You were fighting me, I'll admit…but you wanted it.”

You shook your head, bile rising in your throat. “...Didn’t.” You choked out, throwing your head back against the wall. “I didn’t…want it.” You breathed. “And I…don’t…love you.” You struggled to form fluent sentences, your words slurring in on each other even with the long pauses in between nearly each word. “You and your family…took everything f-...from me.” Talking was as hard as hiking up the steepest hill in the world. “I just want my dog back. Can’t you j-...just give her to me?”

“Jesus- forget the fucking dog!” Rafe screamed, kicking a nearby object. You couldn’t see what it was. His hands gripped his hair at the roots, the boy pacing back and forth in front of you before crouching down in front of you once more, closer this time. “This is about us — me and you. I am in love with you. So, why is it…that you can’t love me back? You led me on. You made me like this-”

“No, I didn’t.” You cried, head thrown back as you looked up at the ceiling, tears running from your eyes, the droplets tickling your cheeks. “You made…me like this.” You said tearfully, a cough following the statement. “I was fifteen. I didn’t know…any better. But you did.” You wailed, lowering your head to look at him, although your head still swayed. “And when I did…know better, you didn’t w-want to let me go. And it doesn’t even matter…” You almost laughed through your tears. “Because your dad…ruined my life months before we even met.”

Rafe was quick to wrap his hand around your neck after that, squeezing harshly. He edged his face closer to yours, the tips of his hair tickling your forehead as stars invaded your vision, or what remained of it. “My dad? Did what he had to do. Alright? He’s not a monster.”

“...Neither was mine.” You croaked out. Rafe looked between your eyes with an expression you couldn’t place. Sadness? Anger? Whatever it was, he felt enough of it to release his grip, you taking the biggest gulp of air possible, your hair falling in front of your face as you held it down weakly.

He stood up from his crouching position in front of you. You heard him pace around once more as you caught your breath, each intake feeling like you were breathing in the coldest air ever, before you cried out in pain, the sound hurting your ears. Rafe had grabbed a fistful of your hair, using it to pull you up, but you could barely stand so the angry boy used his other hand to grip your upper arm for support. Using the hold he had on you, he drug your limp frame into the small living area, throwing you onto Barry’s tattered sofa.

…Where was Barry?

You landed on your side, rolling over onto your back. The whole room was spinning again, the quickness of his actions not allowing your brain to catch up with the swift movements. “I try to do the right thing and no one ever cares. My dad and Sarah, even Rose…they blame me for everything.” He ranted and rambled, his hands balled into fists by his sides as he looked down at you. “I thought you were different.” He said through labored breaths. Him standing above you, face red and furious, you would've sworn he was the devil himself. “But you’re just as bad as the rest of them. But I can change that…” He nodded, climbing on top of you, straddling your motionless body.

All you could do was look at him through the strands of hair that cloud your vision. You let out a ‘hmph’ as he let his weight rest on your thighs. “I can’t change their minds. I can’t fix them.” He said, his hands trailing the hem of your bottoms before unbuttoning them. “...But I can fix you.” He breathed, his tongue peeking out from between his lips as he nodded to himself. “I can make you love me.”

Before you knew it, the sound of him dragging the zipper of your fly rang out in your ears - the familiar situation triggering a series of images to flash in your mind. Images of the first time. You felt the puddles of hot tears leaving your eyes as your throat ached to say something. “Please, stop…” You cried, throwing your head side to side as your weak hands tried to push his away. “Please, don’t do this again.” You stuttered, your nimble fingers clawing at his knuckles as he struggled to drag your bottoms down your legs.

You felt like God himself came down from Heaven when a harsh light filled the trailer, the door of the mobile home opening as Barry entered, taking in the scene in front of him. You quickly registered that it was actually moonlight blinding you so viciously, the brightness fading behind Barry’s figure to reveal the eerie darkness outside.

How long had you been here?

“Aye, what the fuck? Rafe!” Barry said disgusted, slamming the door shut behind him. “Get the fuck off her, man. Don’t do that shit in my crib.” He told him, throwing a hand out in his direction. Rafe sighed, getting off of you and aggressively dragging your pants back up your legs, but he didn’t bother to button them back. You laid on the couch, sobbing silently. You didn’t know if it was out of fear or relief. “That’s why yo ass put me on paw patrol? So you could fuck the doped up girl in my damn house?”

Rafe made a face of annoyance, rolling his eyes at the drug dealer’s words. “Did you do it?”

“Uh, yeah, I did it, dumbass.” Barry said, voice full of attitude. “I just let her go in the backyard, it sounded like they were all inside. I saw one of the dudes come out and take her inside before I dipped.” He explained, grabbing a half-drunken beer from his cluttered coffee table. “Why you have me take the dog back if she still here? Y’know they gon come lookin’ for her eventually…” He threw out, the rim of the beer bottle touching his lips before he took a big sip.

“Just had to leave a little hint behind.” Rafe told Barry, sitting on the couch next to your feet as you turned to your side, groaning. He made a line out of the loose coke on the coffee table before quickly snorting it. A large exhale leaving his lungs as he let it pass through him. “It’s fun to fuck with ‘em, dude.”

“I ain’t with these games and shit.” Barry complained, walking to the back of his trailer. You were still laid out on the couch, sobbing silently. “If they come by here and fuck up my shit, it’s comin’ outta your pocket, Country Club.” He said. “And give her another hit!” He called from the back. “All that cryin’ and shit is givin’ me a headache. Damn…”

Rafe rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath before searching around the table before picking up the plastic bag Barry had before. You figured whatever they were putting you out with wasn’t cocaine. And that’s what scared you the most when Rafe snatched you up and shoved another pinky-full up your nose, letting your drowsy frame fall back into the plushness of the sofa.

“JJ…BACK IN THE VAN!” What sounded like John B’s voice filled your ears. Your eyes cracked open little by little, your vision much more clear and less distorted than the last time you recall waking up. So many voices were speaking at once. Your eyes wandered, trying to find out who was talking to who. It was then you realized the entire world was sideways and you were inside of The Twinkie.

Your head was slightly more elevated than the rest of your body, causing you to turn and peer above you where you found Sarah’s wide eyes staring down at you, finally registering the feeling on her fingers running through your hair. Her eyes were slightly red and glossed over as she peered down at you.

You felt more conscious this time around — no paint smears, no muffled voices, and you felt like you had more control over your body. You were cold, so cold. Probably shivering.

Looking over, you found that the door of the van was open. You could see a group of people crowded in on each other. When your vision focused, you realized it your four other friends and they were surrounding Rafe and Barry.

“What is wrong with you?!” That was Kie’s voice. And you knew her well enough to hear the anger in voice. “What the hell do you want, huh? You should be in jail, you sick motherfucker!”  It wasn’t long before the guys pushed her to the back of the circle, the girl yelling at Rafe through the blockade they’d formed in front of her.

“You Kooks think you can do whatever the fuck you want!” JJ shouted, his voice deeper than you’d ever heard it before. It was almost unrecognizable. “You wanna end up like your father? ‘Cause we can make it happen!-”

“The fuck’d you just say to me, you little shit?” Rafe countered, stepping closer to JJ as John B and Pope stepped closer to him.

“You heard me, bitch.” JJ spat, the small accent he had showing itself as he pushed his way through his two friends to stand toe-to-toe with Rafe.

“All y’all needa get the fuck off my property.” Barry added, standing beside Rafe, but his words went ignored.

“If you wanna do this, we can do it. ‘Cause I’ve been waiting to get my fuckin’ hands on you.” JJ warned. “You like to drug girls? Rape them? Hit them? Hit me. Hit me, you pussy-” Just then, Rafe clocked JJ in his jaw, the force and sound of the assault causing you to flinch in Sarah’s lap as John B and Pope caught their friend, Kie gasping behind them. You tried to sit up as you watched JJ’s head whip to the side, but Sarah was quick to force your weak frame back down.

You looked up at her with wide, glassy eyes. “Rafe’s gonna hurt him.” You said weakly, sounding like a scared child.

The blonde girl simply shook her head side to side. “I don’t think so.” She smiled weakly before looking back out at the brawl unfolding outside of the vehicle. “Not this time.”

Your own eyes refocused on the two guys just as JJ recovered from the blow, wasting no time in lunging at Rafe and sending the boy to the ground, allowing himself to deliver blow after blow. You couldn’t tell if he was landing them, you could only see one arm go up after the other, his fists coming down in a vicious frenzy. 

Kiara was calling JJ’s name as Barry shook his head and backed up,n John B and Pope watching with their hands up. “Y’all gon’ have the cops pokin’ around here...” Barry said angrily, eyes on John B and Pope who stood by helplessly, shocked. “Get this shit under control, I don’t need them people on my radar!” The drug dealer urged, the commotion sure to disturb any nearby trailer owners.

John B and Pope looked at each other before John B peered back at you, an expression of sadness in his eyes.

Oh. You forgot…he didn’t know. 

So, it wasn’t long before that sadness turned to anger as he turned back to Barry. “...We’ll leave when he’s done.” John B spat, referring to the two boys brawling in the grass before walking away and rounding the vehicle to get in the driver’s seat, Pope and Kie following and climbing into the back of the van quickly. Without those three blocking your field of view, you could clearly see the two boys now.

Rafe had managed to pick himself up but surprisingly, JJ still had the upper hand. But it was still a brutal brawl between the two, one not staying on top for long before being pinned by the other. Every few seconds, you could spot droplets of blood flying. It was an odd thing — on one hand, seeing Rafe get his ass handed to him almost put a dizzy smile on your face, but on the other hand, you knew he’d never stop coming after JJ now. Any chance he got...

Especially since now he probably got the hint that JJ had some sort of feelings for you. JJ didn’t come after him like a concerned friend, JJ lunged at him like a enraged boyfriend. JJ attacked him like someone who was in love with you. And after what Rafe said in the trailer, or at least what you remember of it, these two would be butting heads over a lot more than financial status.

When the blaring of sirens hit your ears, you perked up, as well as everyone else. But Rafe and JJ were too enthralled with trying to kill each other that they must not have heard anything. 

The pogues began calling JJ’s name, trying to draw him out of his rage-induced assault to get back in the van. After a few moments, he finally registered their voices and the sound of the sirens. He forcefully pulled himself away from Rafe as the boy laid on the grass, heaving. JJ delivered one last glare to the boy on the ground, the blonde’s chest going up and down heavily as he turned and threw himself into the van.

“And don’t come ‘round here no more, you hear me?!” Barry’s voice traveled before Pope slammed the door shut, John B speeding off.

Your eyes were trained on JJ’s breathing figure — he had a small trail of blood going from his bottom lip to his chin, dirt on his shirt and in his hair, and his eyebrows were set into a permanent frown. You managed to meet his eyes for a second and he looked upset. 

Upset with you?

KIARA AND SARAH HELPED YOU INSIDE THE CHATEAU AS THE GUYS HELD THE DOORS OPEN. What you didn’t expect was for Marley to come charging at you the second you stepped foot in the house. The girls let you go gently, allowing you to crouch down on your knees and embrace your dog.

She smelled like wet dirt and you could feel the outline of her ribcage as you rubbed her sides. Tears gathered in your eyes as you and Marley comforted each other. Your voice was still weak and scratchy as you spoke softly to the animal. If anything, after today, you should be grateful she was still alive.

“Hey,” John B spoke up, your eyes going to him. “We can hose her down in the backyard while you wash off.”

You drew your lips into a thin line, nodding your head in his direction as you stood up on shaky legs, Kie and Sarah putting a hand each on your back. He and Pope led Marley outside, JJ lagging behind. “JJ.” You called out. The blonde simply looked at you over his shoulder, chewing the inside of his lip before making his way outside with the other two guys.

Your shoulders fell at his cold demeanor. You guessed he was upset with you.

“It’s okay…” Sarah reassured, her hand rubbing your back as you frowned into the distance. “He just needs a second.” She told you, turning you in the direction of the bathroom, helping you walk alongside Kie who hadn't said much. “C’mon. We’ll help you get yourself together…”

WHEN YOU CAME OUT OF THE BATHROOM, the house was empty. The only living things inside being a sleeping Marley and you. She looked a lot cleaner, aside from the food remnants around her mouth. You smiled smally to yourself, admiring the animal for a moments before walking over to her, crouching down and placing a light kiss on the top of her head. She was so deep asleep that she didn’t stir, even a little.

You almost passed out a handful of times in the shower, the steam only contributing to the lightheadedness you felt but easing the neverending ache in your arms and legs. But you felt better — less disoriented. Less…gross.

You were dressed in one of JJ’s few sweatshirts and a pair of pajama shorts. All the time the two of you’d spent living together meant some of your clothes were still mixed in with one another’s. Your hair was slightly damp, the strands pulled back into a low bun to keep it out of your face. 

Even though you felt more sober, you still felt like you were walking outside of your body and it was making you a bit nauseous. You spotted a bottle of aspirin on the kitchen counter, snatching it up and swallowing two pills.

Just then, you heard voices outside — low and faint, but there. You peered out of the small window in the kitchen , spotting John B and Pope laid out on the HMS Pogue. Everyone must’ve gone outside, you thought to yourself.

You slipped out the backdoor, bare feet on the grass as you walked in the direction of the two guys.

“What’re you two talking about?” Your voice was still off and scratchy but you were grateful that you could hear yourself talking. The two males turned to you, making out your figure in the dark of night as you squeezed into between them on the boat.

“How’re you feeling?” Pope was the first to ask, genuine concern swimming in his eyes.

You sent him a small smile. “Better.” You nodded. “...And I’m sorry. For putting you in a weird position, before I left. I shouldn’t have done that-”

“You don’t have to apologize.” He shook his head, patting your shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

You mumbled a ‘thanks’ to the boy, patting the hand on your shoulder as he slid it off as you turned to John B who was already looking at you. You knew him the best out of all your friends. That’s why you could tell he was going from upset with you to sad all at once.

“Just say it.” You sighed, giving him the floor.

“...Why didn’t you tell me?”  He asked, squinting his eyes. “You’re like my sister. And not to sound weird but I love you, dude. I would’ve killed Rafe-”

“That’s why.” You cut him off, a pitiful frown on your face. “I didn’t need you doing anything stupid in my defense. And you were still torn up over your dad. We both were.”

He just huffed, turning away from you and shaking his head side to side as he crossed his arms. “...You still should’ve told me.”

“I know.” You nodded, sighing and sliding down to lay fully down next to your two friends. “Where is everyone?”

“Well, Kiara is out front doing…whatever. JJ has been pacing in the Surf Shack for like an hour, and Sarah...left.” He hesitated at the end of his statement, eyeing John B who just sighed deeply. You looked between them both, eyes stopping on John B.

“What happened?” You asked.

“We, uh…we broke up.”

“What?” You asked, shocked. “Why?”

“...She wasn’t the biggest fan of how I react to Ward blowing himself up.” He explained, shifting in his spot. “She said I looked glad. And I didn’t want to lie to her and say I wasn’t. Because I was.”

“I mean, I get it.” You threw out, looking up at the stars in the sky. “He killed your dad. He killed a lot of people…I think it’s okay to be glad he’s dead. But I also get her side. He was her dad. But she can’t expect you to feel the same.”

“Exactly what I said.” Pope chipped in. “How sad can you expect someone to be when their father’s murderer dies and they get to see it?”

“I don’t think it was that, though.” John B spoke up, his brows pinched. “She said that out of all people, she thought that I’d understand what it’s like to lose a dad. And I do and I feel like a dick for not comforting her in that moment and giving Topper the opportunity to swoop in but…I feel like she didn’t even give me a chance to be there for her.”

“...Love is five minutes of pleasure for a lifetime of pain.” Pope said sadly, you and John B turning to him silently with wide eyes. The boy turned to the both of you, the same expression plastered on his face.

“Okay…” John B groaned, sitting up from his position and leaning on his arm.. “You and Kie, talk to me. What’s goin’ on?”

“Well…” Pope said, sitting up as well as you just looked up at the two guys. “She wants to be just friends.”

John B and you sighed simultaneously. “Whooo, death blow.” JB said to him. “Sorry, man.”

“It’s not like I can say I didn’t see it coming. After what happened in Charleston…” Pope was explaining before he cut himself off, his wide eyes darting to you as he pressed his lips shut. But John B’s curiosity was peaked, and so was yours.

“What happened in Charleston?” The brunette boy asked, looking between the two of you. 

Pope’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. You cocked an eyebrow, sitting up on your own elbow now. “So you did see it?”

Now he was the one looking confused, using his finger to point at you. “You saw it? I thought you were inside-”

“I was but I had just walked out when I saw them.”

“So, we both saw it?”

“Helloooo.” John B butted in, the two of you looking at him. “Third party is still here. Saw what?”

“The kiss.” You and Pope said at the same time, looking at him.

“Kiss? What kiss? Who kissed?” He asked, genuinely baffled.

“Kie and JJ.” The both of you said in sync again.

John B’s jaw dropped as he stuttered to find words. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding JJ?” He settled on his question, eyes on you.

“Yes…” You said squinting your eyes. “What would you know about that, though?” You asked, wondering when JB got the inside scoop on you and JJ’s newfound relationship.

“I mean, everyone could see he had a thing for you. For a looong time. Well, everyone but you…”

“Thank you.” Pope butted in, throwing his hands up in surrender when you shot him a glare. “I’m just saying, I wasn’t the only one who saw it.”

“And he kind of told me everything that happened while me and Sarah were gone.” John B smirked as you groaned. “But we’re getting off topic…” He waved his hands, dismissing the previous statements.

“Right.” Pope refocused. “I never said anything about the kiss to her or him. I just kind of hoped it was a spur of the moment thing and that it would just remain as that — a kiss. But then, she friendzoned me. And now I can’t help but think that she likes JJ. And I don’t know if JJ likes her, no offense Y/N...”

“He told me he doesn’t.” You butted in. “The day we got that call about what happened to your pops, we had an argument about it. He said that Kie initiated the kiss and it didn’t mean anything. To him, at least. I don’t know how much of it I believe but," You cut yourself off, shrugging. "And I can’t speak for Kiara…”

“Okay, here’s some not-so-friendly advice for the both of you from good ole Dr. Routledge,” John B piped up, a bright smile on his face. “You,” He pointed a Pope. “focus on your yourself and your books and…grades and shit. Forget about Kie, there’s plenty of fish in the sea. And you, Pope, are one handsome young man and I guarantee there is some girl out there willing to jump your bones and not kiss one of your best friends. And, you, little missy,” His attention turned to you. “If JJ says he doesn’t have feelings for her and the kiss didn’t mean anything, I’d believe him. He loves you and I don’t think he would do anything to purposefully screw up his chance with you. And please, for the love of God, be nice and talk to him. Hearing him whine about you not talking to him is going to drive me off a cliff.”

The three of you laughed before you turned to Pope, a light smile on your face. “So, you really just weren’t going to tell me?” You asked in faux-offense.

Pope faked shock, a hand on his chest. “Uh, me? I didn’t even know you and JJ had something going then. If anything, you should’ve been the one to tell me.”

“I didn’t want to upset you!” You laughed and groaned all at once.

“Yeah, yeah…” He waved you off lightheartedly. “Alright, next time we see something that would…affect the other person, we have to tell. Deal?” He asked, holding out his pinky.

“Ohhh, okay. We’ll be each others witnesses. I like this two person witness protection program.” You smiled, connecting your pinky with Pope’s. “Deal.”

YOU WERE IN THE GUEST ROOM WHEN THE DOOR CREAKED OPEN, a stream of light illuminating the dimly lit space — the only source of light being a bedside lamp. You thought everyone had gone to sleep.

Turning at the sound of the door, you found JJ closing the entryway behind him before he turned to you. You could hardly see his features, not enough light to see his face clearly. Neither of you said anything as he walked slowly towards you, walking around the bed. 

He stopped in front of you, just inches between the both of you. Nothing was to be heard except your breathing and the cicadas outside.

“...What’s wrong with you?” He asked. His voice sounded strained, like he’d been crying. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

You nodded, accepting his frustration towards you. Swallowing, you attempted to reply.  “...I didn’t think-”

“Yeah, you didn’t think.” JJ cut you off. “You left without telling anyone. You went there alone. Why would you do that?”

“He wasn’t supposed to be there-”

“Anything could’ve happened to you. Anything.” JJ reprimanded, shifting closer to you subconsciously. “Do you know what is was like to hear, from Pope, that’d you left to go to Barry’s trailer hours ago? That you hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts that you said you’d answer? To ride all the way there with my heart beating out of my damn chest just to rush in and find you passed out on the couch with the your pants unbuttoned, confirming every single fear-”

“Nothing happened-”

“But something could have!” He lost himself, looking around as if someone heard as he licked his lips, one tear rolling down his cheek. “He tried to, clearly, and something could have.” He sighed, letting himself sit on the edge of the guest room bed, his head in his hands. “...You didn’t even know who I was when we woke you up the first time to put you in the van. You didn’t recognize any of us. You were completely out of it. I've never seen anyone like that...” He told you. You don’t recall waking up more than twice. Voices and colors here and there but…not much. “I know…that you think I took your trust and feelings and ran with them. But you can’t do things like that.” He said firmly, lifting his head to look at you. “I’m not blaming you. I just want you to understand that even if you’re mad at me or whoever, you can’t just abandon ship. Especially, not like that.”

He told you, reaching his hands out to grab your waist and pull you closer as you sniffled. You felt almost completely sober as you stood between his legs, the aspirin you took earlier taking effect.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his teary blue eyes boring into yours as he looked up at you. You bit your lip from the inside of your mouth as you nodded. “Okay…good.” He sighed, letting his head fall in relief before looking at you again. “I know the last few days have been…hard. Especially today. And I’m sorry that I put you in a place where you couldn’t even trust me as a friend anymore. But I don’t know how else to tell you or show you that I love you. And today just made me realize how badly I need you and how far I’m willing to go for you.” He said softly. “...There were so many reasons I didn’t tell you about the kiss. For one, it didn’t mean anything to me. Also the fact that I didn’t want to cause drama between you and Kie. But none of that matters because there was only one reason that I should’ve told you — because you deserved to know and because I promised I would. So, I am really sorry.” 

You'd never heard JJ be this vulnerable and open. Or be so vulnerable and open this easily. It didn't seem practiced or rehearsed. It was like he was really letting his heart speak for him and right all his wrongs.

After what happened today, holding a grudge wasn't as appealing. Because you didn't know what could happen tomorrow.

“...I believe you. And I forgive you.” You said, eyes locked on his. “And I’m sorry, too. If I had told you guys where I was going then maybe-”

“Don’t even go there.” He stopped you, shaking his head. “Rafe is insane. What he and that fucking loser, Barry, did wasn’t your fault. You shouldn’t have gone there alone, sure, but what happened wasn’t your fault.”

You just sent him a half-hearted smile. You know he meant it but you still felt at least partially to blame. You licked your lips and took a deep breath before speaking, your hands rubbing up and down the blonde’s exposed arms. “JJ…” You spoke, more like whispered.

Something in the way you looked at him changed. Something in the way you felt for him changed. “...I want you.” You felt the boy tense in your arms, lifting his head up more to look you directly in the eyes. “I don’t need any more time. I know what I want and I know how I feel. I love you. And I want you.”

“...Are you sure? Because you just went through something really terrible tonight-”

“I’m sure.” You interrupted him. “If I keep waiting until nothing bad happens to be with you, then we’ll never be together. This is our lives now. And even if we didn’t have all this death and drama around us, I would still love you.” You reassured, trailing your hands up to his shoulders as his soothed themselves up and down your waist. “You said you were all mine. So, now I’m all yours, if you want me…”

He had a look on his face that you couldn’t decipher. His eyes looked at each of yours and then landed on your lips, seeming to trace them before pulling you down into him and colliding his lips with yours. A small noise of surprise leaving your lips before you melted into the exchange. Your hands slid around the nape of his neck as his trailed the length of your thighs, helping you onto his lap.

His fingers pressed into your skin, passionately dragging his prints into your skin as your nails scraped at the skin of his scalp and shoulders. The kiss wasn’t like the ones before. Those were soft and gentle, testing the waters. This kiss was hungry and prolonged — feverish. So starved of each other that it probably would’ve had the potential to lead to something else if the day had gone differently.

But knowing JJ, after what happened tonight, any kind of sex was off the table. Ad you weren't sure when you'd be ready to go that far. But this was good enough. More than good enough. There wasn’t a single part of either of you that wasn’t touching. You couldn’t help but sigh when his warm hand went up under your shirt, his fingers clawing at your back as he pressed you endlessly closer against him. 

You were confused when he pulled back — lips swollen and red as his hair stuck up in one-hundred different directions. He was breathing heavy when he spoke. “Sorry, sorry…” He said through labored breaths. “Just to be clear, you are my girlfriend, right-”

You couldn’t help but laugh and roll your eyes. “Yes, JJ, I’m your girlfriend.” You smiled. “I’m completely yours.” You sighed, eyeing his lips like an animal before connecting your lips with his once more, the both of you falling back into the mattress.

next chapter>

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[aimedis]

random interactions between redacted characters: damn squad edition

(ib: @indigo-greer-collins) these may or may not be ooc but idc, open your mouth and eat up yum yum kind of a long one, ignore the mistakes

freelancer: i'm gonna nut to this man's voice damien: freelancer what. dear: oh! maybe we should let inside thoughts stay inside next time! freelancer: he can stay inside me damien: shut??? up?????

freelancer: damien, what the fuck do you know about privacy? do i need to bring up the anniversary trip? huxley: he told you about that????? freelancer: damien tells me everything. everything.

gavin, laughing at a joke freelancer made: you're so funny, my love damien, lasko, and huxley: dear: crickets freelancer: man fuck you guys

lasko, after a long day: i'm quitting my job. someone find me a sugar daddy gavin: got you, bae, i'll rob a bank for you. not like they can catch me huxley: can you not just like.. make money? gavin: well yeah but it's like, the sentiment

lasko: this is the third time i've walked in on the two of you doing.. things.. in damien's office. do you not have a job to do??? huxley you don't work here????? huxley: sorry dude! damien: cry about it lasko: you did not just say that to me. i know where you live. damien: someone help i'm getting threatened by a teacher. damn and it's racist employees for real. it's cause i'm a fire elemental, isn't it? because i'm asian?? and gay????? i should report you lasko: i'm [cue mini tornado]

dear: freelancer, are you okay? freelancer: huh? yeah, why? dear: you're glaring at your textbook freelancer: oh. i miss my boyfriend :( dear: it's been two hours. freelancer: that's too long, excuse me early please? dear: no? do your work freelancer: fuck you, i hope lasko dumps you dear: OKAY.

damien: freelancer, give me my phone back freelancer: no fuck you for telling my secrets. i'm going through your shit damien: i wouldn't do that if i were you. might scroll too far and see huxley's dick in 4k freelancer: *throws his phone*

gavin: d, when are you gonna let me do your hair? dear: no offence but i'd rather kill myself gavin: :(

damien: [idk something freaky] freelancer: okay you s-s-sl-slut! damien: this is why i don't like you freelancer: bitch you love me. you love so much you'd kiss me, feelings INCLUDED gavin, holding out his hand as a mic: damien, your response? damien: i'm jumping off the roof dear: bro is NOT beating the in love with freelancer allegations

gavin: yeah, they don't take compliments at all actually. especially from me. they say the most insane things dear: really? gavin: yeah, watch. deviant? freelancer, from across the room: hm? gavin: you look beautiful today :) freelancer: i'm gonna eat you :) damien: what does that even mean freelancer: wouldn't you like to know weather boy

freelancer: now i have to go back to school like a fucking slave gavin: deviant, you can't just say that freelancer: sorry i guess :/

lasko: guys, what does 'sigma' mean? damien: who told you about that.. lasko: one of my students wrote "the most sigma professor" on my whiteboard

freelancer: my tummy hurts :( huxley: awh, what did you eat? :( freelancer: huxley: ...freelancer, what did you eat. freelancer: uhm huxley: :|

freelancer: was it casual when you agreed to be my valentine despite not really knowing that meant? damien: was it casual when you called me your good luck charm? dear: was it casual when you said i was stuck with you gavin, huxley, lasko: :/

huxley: don't look now, but the guy i was talking about is right behind you damien: *immediately turning around in the most obvious way possible* where? huxley: dames-

freelancer: gav my tummy hurts i'm gonna die make it stop oh my god i'm getting eaten from the inside out gavin: jeez, and i'm the dramatic one freelancer: help me or you don't love me :(((( gavin: okay okay, i have the water and tea, relax

lasko: you're so down bad freelancer: you're talking??? don't make me send your partner the screenshots dear: oh? ko ko, what do they mean? lasko: let's not go there- freelancer, put your phone down. dear, looking at their phone: lasko: i'm so sorry dear: this is so graphic. you never talk to me like that baby :((( lasko, red faced: please stop i might combust dear: you're so cute :) lasko: PLEASE.

[nevadancitizen]

-> CH. 7: SHOULD EVERY RABID DOG GET ITS TAIL DOCKED UP TO THE EARS?

synopsis: you, connor, and hank deal with deviants in the eden club. connor spurs on another uncomfortable conversation near the detroit river.

word count: 4.4k

ships: Connor/Reader, Hank Anderson & Reader

notes: sorry for the late update insurance is kicking my ASS about the accident i was just in.. like it's my first one bro why y'all hounding me like that 😭😭

HoFS taglist: @catladyhere (if you'd like to be added to the taglist, just ask!)

HEAD OF FALSE SECURITY MASTERLIST

It’s impossible to ignore the bright pink neon sign advertising the Eden Club and the dull thrum of EDM coming from inside. You slowly pull up to the side of the street and park, looking out the passenger window at the club’s entrance.

“Aw…” Hank mumbles from the passenger seat. “Feels like someone’s playin’ with a drill inside my skull.”

He looks at the entrance. You can tell his head is throbbing doubly just from the bright colors. “You sure this is the place?”

“It’s the address on the report,” Connor answers from the backseat.

You lean over and look at the glove box. “Don’t you have Ibuprofen in there? Or some type of pain medication?”

“Yeah, I think,” Hank grumbles. He pops open the glove box and fishes out a pill bottle. He shakes out two and swallows them dry.

You turn off the ignition and sigh softly. “Let’s get this over with.”

Hank gets out (hitting his head on the roof of the car in the process), and you and Connor follow. He leads the way into the club entrance, where the lights pulse in soft, erotic colors. 

“Sexiest androids in town,” Hank reads off a TV in the entry hall, then glances at Connor. “Now I see why you insisted on coming here!”

“I was not programmed with a sex drive, or any other types of ‘desires,’ Lieutenant,” Connor says. “It could possibly distract me from the investigation if I did.”

You almost say, ‘Aw, really?’ out loud, but bite your tongue at the last second. Instead, you move forward into the club. 

Androids are littered about, moving sensually and palming themselves on poles and inside the tubes that line the walls. It turns your stomach – they’re beings (or, rather, things) created just to drown in the crashing wave that is human sex and desire. They fall and hurt and break and are thrown away to move onto the next. You keep your eyes on the floor and press on.

“Which room is it?” You ask, your eyes flitting to the doors and keeping them off the androids.

“The only one that says ‘Occupied,’” Officer Collins says. “And, uh – be warned. Gavin’s in there, too.”

“Oh, great,” Hank groans. “A dead body and an asshole, just what I needed.”

You follow Hank into the private room, taking it in. A naked corpse lays on the circular bed, made decent by the faux-silk blanket covering it. A deactivated android lays to the side, Thirium staining her otherwise perfect face.

“Lieutenant Anderson, Comrade Commie, and their little plastic pet,” Gavin sneers. “The fuck are you three doin’ here?”

“We’ve been assigned all cases involving androids,” Connor says as he surveys the room.

“Oh, yeah? Well, you’re wasting your time.” Gavin gestures to the corpse. “Just some pervert who, uh, got more action than he could handle.”

He laughs, then looks to Chris as if to confirm what he just said was funny. Chris isn’t laughing, if that’s any indication. 

Hank gives a tight-lipped smile. “We’ll have a look anyway, if you don’t mind.”

“C’mon, let’s go.” Gavin walks past Hank, giving him a dirty look. “It’s, uh… starting to stink of booze, and…” he looks over at you. “The loss of private property.”

He gives Connor a way-too-forceful shoulder-check on the way out. The too-sympathetic part of you is worried Gavin hurt his own shoulder, but you stomp the thought down as soon as you think it.

Chris gives all of you a smile that says ‘I’m so fucking sorry you’re here.’ “Night, Lieutenant. Night, Officer.”

“Goodnight, Chris,” you say. “Please say goodnight to Damian for me.”

“He doesn’t even have object permanence yet,” Chris laughs. “But I will.” The door closes behind him as he leaves. 

You start looking closer at the room as Connor makes a beeline for the deactivated android. You kneel by the corpse.

“You sure you’re good to be that close to it?” Hank says from beside you. 

“I’m getting used to corpses.” You look up at him. “As horrible as that is.”

Hank huffs out a laugh and looks over at Connor. A look of horror crosses his face. “Whoa – hey-hey-hey!”

You look over at Connor. He’s holding up two fingers to his mouth, Thirium dripping down the length of them. 

“Augh, Connor,” Hank groans. “You’re so disgusting… Think I’m gonna puke again.”

“Connor, you told us you would warn us!” You whine.

“I apologize,” Connor says. He then stands and moves over to kneel next to you, his eyes on the corpse. His LED flickers yellow as he observes the bruising on the corpse’s neck. 

“He didn’t die of a heart attack,” Connor says. “He was strangled.”

“Yeah, I saw the bruising on the neck,” Hank says from the other side of the room. “Doesn’t prove anything, though. Could’ve been rough play.”

“I don’t think so,” you say. You lean forward, careful not to get too close. “Kink choking is when you squeeze the sides of someone’s neck to emulate the feeling of being choked. The bruises make it look like his windpipe was crushed deliberately.” 

You pause, then scratch your cheek. “Don’t ask how I know that.”

“I won’t.” Hank shakes his head and smiles. “Don’t want to stunt a homicide detective in the making.”

Connor stands. “We’re missing something here.”

You look over your shoulder at the dead android. Connor follows your eyes and moves over to her, then kneels by her side.

“Think you can read the android’s memory?” Hank asks. “Maybe you can see what happened.”

The skin on Connor’s fingers peel back and he puts his first two fingers on the deactivated android’s wrist. “I don’t know. Some of its inner components are damaged, and I can’t access them.”

You move so you’re kneeling next to Connor. You hold out your left hand then extend your thumb and index finger, and your world again turns into monochrome-blues. Two pieces of information pop up in the corner of your eye as you observe the highlighted parts of the android: Selector #5402 Critically Damaged. Biocomponent #6970 Critically Damaged.

“Let me try something.” You press gently on her stomach and slide the plastic of her abdomen open. You grunt as you force your left hand in and reach into her upper chest, feeling around for what you need. “Ah! I found it. Two seconds…”

You can feel the wires from your glove snake out. They poke and prod and eventually jack into a port.

Information flickers into your view, and you glance over it quickly. “She’s badly damaged. If I can pull this off, she’ll only be alive for a minute. Maybe less.”

“Do it,” Connor says. 

You twitch your fingers and the wires spin the port. It clicks into place, and she rises with an unneeded, artificial gasp of air. She tries to scramble away, but your arm is still lodged in her abdomen. 

“Эй – Эй!” You shout. “Let me get my hand.”

When she stills, you carefully disconnect the wires and extract your hand. She crawls away backwards until her back hits the wall. 

Connor approaches her, ever calm and soothing. He crouches, making sure to stay on her level. “Calm down. Everything’s alright. All we want is to know what happened.”

“Is he…” She looks over at the corpse. “Is he dead?”

“Tell me what happened,” Connor repeats. 

She looks over at Connor, then away. “He started… hitting me. Again, and again.”

“Did you kill him?” Connor asks.

“No!” She responds, almost incredulous. “No, it wasn’t me.”

“Were you alone in the room?” Connor pressures, talking quicker. “Was there anyone else with you?”

“H-he wanted to play with two girls,” she says. “That’s what he said. There were two of us.”

“What model was the other android?” Connor moves closer. “Did it look like you?”

Her mouth opens and her eyes unfocus. Her face relaxes and stills in a perpetual death mask. 

You look down at your hand. It’s stained with her Thirium. You clench your hand into a fist, then wipe it off on your jeans. Connor stands with an exhale of something that sounds like frustration.

“So there was another android,” Hank says. “This happened over an hour ago. It’s probably long gone.”

“No.” Connor gestures to the deactivated android. “It couldn’t go out dressed like that unnoticed. It might still be here.”

You stand and sigh. “There are too many богом забытых androids in this place. How are we going to find the deviant?”

“Shit, you’re right,” Hank sighs. “Maybe an eyewitness? Somebody who saw it leaving the room.”

He moves closer to the door. “I’m gonna go ask the manager a few questions about what he saw. Let me know if either of you think of anything.”

You look down at the deactivated android and hear the door close behind Hank. Her face still holds that expression of ever-lasting fear. 

“Are you okay, Officer?” Connor asks from somewhere behind you. 

“Yeah,” you breathe out. “I… She was… scared. I feel bad for her. She didn’t do anything wrong.” You look over your shoulder at the corpse. “He did.”

“It’ll be okay,” Connor says. “We’ll figure this case out. Its deactivation will serve a purpose.”

You look over at him. He almost looks concerned for you. But you know better. It’s just his social relations program doing the work and his voice and expression expediting it.

You turn your eyes away and walk towards the door. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”

The door opens automatically and shuts once Connor goes through it behind you. You step to the side and observe the lobby. The androids continue moving in erotic and tempting ways, completely unfazed by the corpse in the next room.

You move over to where Hank’s standing, talking to the manager, who looks more sleazy than words can describe. 

“Nah, I didn’t know him,” the manager says. “He came in maybe two, three times. I mean, these guys, they don’t really talk very much, y’know? They come in, do their business, and then go on their way.”

“You ever had any trouble with androids before?” Hank asks. 

“No way!” Then, the manager thinks for a second. “Well… once. We lost a model two, three months back. Ah, same model. Just vanished – we never found out what happened.”

Your eyes glance over the androids dancing on poles. “What kind of kinks are the androids programmed with? Anything to do with receiving impact play?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the manager says. “Some of them. We have specialized models with higher durability and all that.”

“And the one that…?” You nod your head towards the closed door. 

“Nah.” The manager shakes his head. “It was just a regular model.”

Connor comes over from your left. “Excuse me, Officer. Can you come here a second?”

“Did you find something?” You ask. 

“Maybe.” He turns on his heel and walks away. He comes to a stop beside a tube holding an android. “Can you rent this Traci?”

“Какого хуя?” You turn to look at Connor. “You just said you don’t have a sex drive. If this is a joke, it’s really weird.”

Connor catches your arm as you start to walk away. “Please, Officer! Just trust me.”

There’s a look in his puppy dog eyes that wrenches your heart. He almost looks like he’s begging. 

You roll your eyes and shake free from his grasp. With a few grumbles in Russian, you press a few buttons on the interface. 

“Hello,” a female voice chimes. “A thirty minute session costs $29.99. Please confirm your purchase.”

You glance over at Connor as you press your palm against the interface. “When Fowler inevitably asks why this is on my expense account, you better vouch for me.”

“Purchase confirmed!” The voice chimes again. “Eden Club wishes you a pleasant experience.”

The android steps out of the tube and takes your arm in both hands, her touch feather-light and sensual. Her skin shimmers with glitter, just barely visible in the low light. “Delighted to meet you.”

She looks over at Connor. One of her hands leaves your arm to take his hand. “I’m so glad to be playing with two. Follow me, I’ll show you to our room.”

“Чего?!” You take your arm away. “No, no. This isn’t a threesome! What are you talking about? Connor!”

Connor takes the Traci’s arm, his skin peeling back. Her face tenses as she stares, paralyzed, into Connor’s eyes.

After a second, he disconnects and turns back to you. “It saw something!”

“What are you talking about?” You look over at the Traci. She looks just as confused as you. “Saw what?”

“The deviant leave the room. A blue-haired Traci.” A look of panic crosses Connor’s face. “Club policy is to wipe the android’s memory every two hours. We only have a few minutes if we wanna find another witness!”

And so, you trail after Connor, renting and promptly ignoring sex-bots. Hank follows both of you with an amused look on his face. In your mind, you count up the amount of money you’ll have to beg Fowler to excuse – somewhere above a hundred dollars, all spent within the same five minutes at the same sex club.

“I know where it went!” Connor says as he disconnects from yet another android. “Follow me.”

“Fuckin’ ay,” Hank grumbles. “This is crazy…!”

Connor leads the way into a staff door and through a maintenance hallway. When he reaches the end of the hall, Hank stops him. 

“I’ll take it from here.” He pushes Connor behind him, and Connor subsequently pushes you behind himself.

Hank draws his gun and opens the door, revealing a small back-room warehouse. It’s dimly lit, and littered with androids in standby mode. (It’s honestly really creepy. Like mannequins, but worse, somehow.)

When Hank deems it clear, you step down the stairs after Connor. Something on the wall catches your eye – graffiti, reading rA9. 

You point at it. “rA9. It’s spreading.”

“Huh,” Hank hums. “Maybe it’s something in their programming.”

Suddenly, there’s a crash from somewhere behind you. You turn just in time to see Connor be tackled to the floor by an android. 

Hank is quicker with his reaction time and pulls his gun again, shouting “Don’t move!”

But he’s quickly ambushed by another android. Before you can think, your feet carry you over to defend him. You wrench her off Hank and earn an elbow to your barely-healing nose.

“Блядь!” You stumble back, cradling your nose that’s starting to bleed again. Your eyes water, and you desperately try to blink the tears away. 

When your vision clears, you see Connor and one of the girls barrel out of the open garage door and into the back alley. The blue-haired Traci scrambles after her, grabbing the other girl’s hand and helping her up. 

You run and grab Connor’s arm to help him up, almost slipping on the wet concrete. Hank comes soon after, but is thwarted when both androids knock him down. You can hear the metal sound of a gun scraping against the ground. 

“Quick!” Hank shouts. “They’re getting away!”

Connor shoots after them, pulling one of the girls down from the chain link fence they were both climbing. They immediately fight back, sending Connor into the wall. He grapples against them, but loses his grip as he falls to the concrete.

“Hank’s gun!” You yell. “Get his gun!”

Connor does as he’s told and gets up on one knee, pointing the gun at one of the girls. In a split second, his grip falters and she delivers a stiletto to his face.

He falls back, then stands. He doesn’t make a move for the gun. 

You come to stand next to Connor, putting a hand out to stop him from coming any closer to them. “You killed him, yes? Why did you do it?”

Traci pauses for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “When that man broke the other Traci, I knew I was next.” She looks away, then her gaze steels and returns to yours. “I was so scared… I begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t.”

“So you defended yourself?” You ask.

“I… I didn’t mean to kill him,” she says. “I just wanted to stay alive. To get back to the one I love.”

The other android reaches forward and intertwines her fingers with Traci’s. They share a glance, both of their expressions filled with love and adoration for one another.

“I wanted her to hold me in her arms again,” Traci says. “Make me forget about the humans… their smell of sweat and their dirty words.”

You so desperately want to ask a million questions about their deviation, but bite your tongue. Now isn’t the time for curiosity and interrogations. 

You stay silent as the girls climb the fence and disappear around the corner. Somehow, the rain that’s beating down on your shoulders feels lighter and warmer. It’s a nice summer drizzle instead of an autumn downpour. 

“It’s probably better this way,” Hank says quietly. He turns and starts walking back into the warehouse.

You grab Connor’s arm, causing him to look over at you. “You did the right thing. To try to exterminate every deviant is like… like dragging water through a sieve. Letting two go isn’t failing your mission completely.”

Connor nods, then looks at the corner where the two girls disappeared. His eyes turn to the ground and his eyebrows crease. “I know.”

You shift in the passenger seat, slumping until your knees hit the glove box. The music Hank put on is still raging along, a mess of electric guitars and drums and screamo vocals. At least your nose has stopped bleeding.

“Does he do this frequently?” Connor asks from the backseat. 

“Too frequently,” you mumble. “I’m tempted to put a tracker in his boot, but I know every time I lose him I’ll just find him here.”

And, of course, ‘here’ is a public playground. Hank’s in his favorite spot – on a bench facing the Detroit River. 

“I’m going to check on him.” You sit up and glance back at Connor. “Give me two minutes. He’s… I just need to talk to him. Alone. Okay?”

“Okay,” Connor says. 

You get out of the car, closing the door behind you. You move over to the bench that Hank’s sitting on the back of. Snow crunches under your shoes as you walk.

You sit down on the bench properly and sigh, running your hands along your thighs. “Hank.”

He says your name in response, avoiding your eyes and looking down at his bottle of whiskey.

“You can’t keep doing this,” you say softly. “It… I’m… боже. You’re slowly killing yourself, but you’re slowly killing me, too. Death isn’t something you’re meant to anticipate. We’re supposed to believe that the disease will skip over us, that the bullet will clip our ear instead of finding a home in our head. Old age is a long affair, so we don’t have to think about that. But…”

You look up at him. He’s not looking at you. “I can’t count the number of times I thought you died, Hank – the most recent one being earlier this evening. You play with guns and liquor and your life like… like they’re toys!”

You look out at the river. “You get sad, Hank. And angry. Too sad, too angry. Most people can’t get that sad. It’s impossible to watch because other people get sad, too, but… not like you. You’ve been down and out and on a bender for three years. You’ve gotten violent. Not against me – never against another person. But you’ve started beating yourself. And it’s so fucking gut-wrenching to watch you be… be this.”

There’s the sound of a car door opening and closing behind you. 

“We’ll continue this conversation later,” you say softly. “I won’t forget about this.”

You look to your left and see Connor coming to a stop beside the bench. He’s looking out across the river, at the lights of the buildings on the opposite shore. 

“Nice view, huh?” Hank mumbles. “We used to come here a lot before…”

Your eyes fall to the snow-covered ground as you feel a familiar pang in your chest. You swallow thickly and try to ignore it.

“Before what?” Connor asks.

Hank looks over at him. “Hm?”

“You said ‘I used to come here a lot before.’” Connor looks over at Hank. “Before what?”

“Before…” Hank looks down at you, then out at the river. “Before nothin’.”

Connor crosses his arms, like he’s protecting himself against the cold. “Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?”

“Do all androids ask so many personal questions?” Hank asks. “Or is it just you?”

“I saw a photo of a child on your kitchen table,” Connor says. You tense as he continues. “It was your son, right?”

Hank glances at you. “Yeah… his name was Cole.”

An uncomfortable silence settles over all of you. You listen to the river lazily move along, quiet waves just barely making sounds. Your eyes flit up as Connor walks in front of the bench, facing out towards the water.

“We’re not making any progress on this investigation,” Connor says. “The deviants have nothing in common. They’re all different models, produced at different times, at different places…”

“Well, there must be some link,” Hank says.

“There is,” you say. “All of them have been in the presence of or victim of violent behavior. And all of them have expressed some worship or reverence of rA9.”

“That’s true.” Connor turns to face you and Hank. “It’s almost like some kind of… myth. Or superstition, like you said. Something they invented that wasn’t a part of their original program.”

“Androids believing in God,” Hank mumbles against the lip of his bottle. “Fuck, what’s this world coming to?”

“You seem… preoccupied, Lieutenant.” Connor walks forward a few paces, looking at Hank. “Is it something to do with what happened back at the Eden Club?”

“Those two girls…” Hank looks down at the ground. “They just wanted to be together. They really seemed… in love.”

“You seem troubled, Lieutenant.” 

You look up and see that Connor’s come closer. His hair and blazer are speckled with snow. From this distance, you can see the few freckles that dot his face. He almost looks real like this – like a real man. Not a machine made of plastic and metal.

“It’s ironic,” Connor says. “I didn’t think machines could have such an effect on you.”

Hank exhales sharply and takes a swig of whiskey. “What about you, Connor?”

He gets up and takes a few steps towards Connor. “You look human. You sound human. But what are you, really?”

“I’m whatever you want me to be, Lieutenant.” Connor looks at you, but continues talking to Hank. “Your other partner. Your second buddy to drink with.” His eyes return to Hank. “Or just a machine, designed to accomplish a task.”

“You could’ve shot those two girls, but you didn’t.” Hank shoves Connor, who stumbles back. “Why didn’t you shoot, Connor?”

You stand from the bench. “Hank.” There’s a silent warning in your voice.

“Some scruples suddenly enter into your program?” Hank moves closer to Connor.

Connor’s foot shifts, like he was about to take a step back, but stopped at the last moment. “No! I just… decided not to shoot. That’s all.”

Hank reaches into his waistband and pulls out his revolver. You automatically move forward, reaching a hand out. 

“Hank, think about this,” you say, even and slow. 

He glances over his shoulder, then promptly ignores you in favor of staring down Connor through the sights of his gun. “Are you afraid to die, Connor?”

Connor’s mouth opens, and he hesitates before he actually speaks. “I would certainly find it regrettable to be…” he pauses. “Interrupted before I can finish this investigation.”

“What’ll happen if I pull this trigger? Hm?” Hank tilts his head to the side in a taunting way. “Nothing? Oblivion? Android heaven?”

Connor steps forward, his forehead pressing against the muzzle of the gun. Your heart leaps into your throat. “Connor!”

“You know you’re not going to shoot me, Lieutenant,” Connor says evenly. His eyes never leave Hank’s. “You’re just trying to provoke a reaction. I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you.”

“You think you’re so fucking smart,” Hank grinds out. “Always one step ahead, huh? Tell me this, smartass: how do I know you’re not a deviant?”

“I self-test regularly,” Connor says. “I know what I am, and what I am not.”

Hank’s lips draw back in a snarl before he yanks the gun away from Connor’s forehead. You let out a shaky breath as Hank storms off, digging his car keys out of his pocket. 

“Where are you going?” Connor calls after him. 

“To get drunker,” Hank says. “I need to think.”

You sit back down on the bench, resting your head in shaking hands. “Господи, блять, боже…”

“Are you okay, Officer?” Connor asks. It seems that’s the most frequent question he asks you as of late. 

“No!” You snap, your fingers digging into your scalp. “What the fuck is happening? I can’t wrap my head around how I was stuck with two of the stupidest detectives on the face of this very Earth!”

You stand and move over to Connor, grabbing his shoulders. “What the hell were you thinking? You know how… how he is! If you had faltered one more time before this, he would’ve shot you! You know that, right?”

“If he shot me, another Connor model would’ve been deployed,” Connor says evenly. 

“I don’t want another Connor model!” You bark. “I want…”

You. I want you. The message rings in the cold air, loud yet unsaid. It’s not an I want you in a sexual or romantic manner: it’s an I want you as in I want you to be safe. I want you out of harm’s way, even if you keep putting yourself in it. I want you to be behind me when the gunshots of revolution sound.

You take a step back and let Connor go. “I need to think.”

“Do you need me to accompany you?” He asks. 

“No,” you say. “I just… I need to be alone right now.”

You turn and start walking away. Snow crunches under your shoes with every footfall. Connor stays perfectly still where you left him, dried Thirium from your left hand staining the right shoulder of his blazer.