#they both like to watch me pee and sometimes i have to bring the spray bottle with me to get them to leave me alone so they dont get peed on

[vampirebiter]

having cats means you have little fuzzy perverts in your house at all times. i havent gone to the bathroom in peace in months.

[talesofstyles]

Good Morning Indeed

absolutely no plot whatsoever, just a bit of husband and dad harry in the midst of the family’s morning chaos 😂

Harry

“Go get the condom on.”

“I’ll pull out, I promise.”

“Your pull out game is weak.”

“Oi, them’s fightin’ words.”

“There’s a reason we’ve got six kids.” Says the missus with a roll of those pretty—but sometimes deadly (please don’t tell her I said this)—eyes. “‘Sides, I’ve just changed the sheets yesterday. You are not coming on the sodding sheets.”

“Fine,” I sigh and reach down to the bedside table. Why is the drawer filled with sodding Duplo and those tiny, pricey Sylvanian Family bunnies? I’m guessing kid number two, three and four have something to do with that. A few more seconds of rummaging before I finally found my treasure in the very back of the drawer. I lay on my back as I sheath myself up, and seeing as I’m already here… might as well, right? I smirk at her as I say, “hop on then.”

“Fat chance that,” she mutters. “Do I have to take off my top?”

“Nah,” I shake my head, it’s cold, and I’m a considerate husband. “A flash will do. Just give me a visual.”

She rolls up my shirt that she wears to sleep, a really old white rolling stones t-shirt that has two holes and a loose thread hanging on for dear life from the hem. She looks homeless. Gorgeous homeless though. 

“Nice,” I flash her a boyish grin, like a teenage boy seeing his first pair of tits. “You’ve got great racks.”

“You’re just saying that…”

I know what she sees when she looks at herself in the mirror and I wish she could look at herself through my eyes. 

“Hey, don’t you dare. My babies grew in that body, that’s everything.”

Her tender smile hits me right in the gut. “I love you.”

“Love me enough to ride me?” I say with a playful flick to one nipple.

“Nice try.”

“I love you,” I mutter near her mouth and give her a searing kiss. I run my tongue over her bottom lip, then I kiss her down her neck, her cleavage and her breasts. I slowly circle one nipple, and she giggles, knowing it’s a well-rehearsed move that is guaranteed to do what’s needed. See, her tits are kind of like start buttons. No matter the situation, a little attention to those bad boys switches things around real quick. Her head slams back against the pillow. And she moans, holding my head in place.

We’ve got ignition lads. 

I nestle my body on top of hers, and there’s a bit of wayward angling and poking until I find my way inside of her. And then it’s on. Two bodies writhing on the bed. My hips rotate in long, slow circles.

“Bollocks!”

“What? The condom isn’t broken, is it?”

“No, it’s bin day. I forgot to take out the recycling bin.”

“S’fine, we’ve got time before the school run.”

The bin’s sorted, back to the shag…

I slide my hands under her, bringing us closer. Rocking us faster. My forehead hovers close to hers and I open my eyes so I can watch. What can I say? I’m greedy like that. I want to soak up every gasp, every flicker of pleasure across her face. Pleasure I’m giving her.

Her breathing changes. It turns panting and desperate, and I know she’s close. I move harder, grinding against her, inside her, with every forward push. Warms sparks tickle my spine and heat spreads down until every nerve in my body is shaking. I slam inside her, burying deep as her hips jerk upward. She spasms hard around me, gripping me tight. 

I rock back my hips and pull almost all the way out, but then I freeze. Because a dreaded sound echoes across the room, grabbing our full attention. It’s coming from the baby monitor. It’s a rustling, the sound of cotton rubbing cotton. Like snipers in the jungle, we don’t move a muscle. We don’t say a word. We wait, until the rustling stops. And all is quiet again. 

Too bad it’s not for long. Because two thrusts in, a light comes on in the landing. Followed by small footsteps heading down the stairs. Shit.

“Harry, just come already. They’ll all be up soon.”

“I’m close… don’t rush it, you’re scaring it away.” 

She grinds her hips. Also another well-rehearsed move that she knows will get me off. But I freeze again, because there’s a second set of footsteps and the sound of a toilet flushing. Oh, and the babies next door are starting to whimper. 

Great.

“I’M HUNGRY!” That’s James, darling little cockblocker number four who likes to be fed on time. He’s three.

“WE’LL BE OUT IN A SECOND!” My wife shouts over my shoulder. “Harry for the love of god-”

I pick up the rhythm. Small beads of sweat form on my brow. She grinds her hips again, and I try to focus. “Just like that, fuck, keep doing that.”

“Sshh, keep your voice down.”

“IS THERE ANY BREAD THAT ISN’T 50/50?” That’s Eleanor, child number two. She’s seven, and she’s one of those children who seem to possess a discernible palate that knows when we’ve changed brands of baked beans or attempt to bring sugar-free fruit squash through the doors.

“IT’S THE SAME,” I reply.

“NO, IT’S NOT. DO WE HAVE OTHER FOOD?”

“THERE ARE SHREDDIES.”

“DON’T LIKE ‘EM.”

“PORRIDGE.”

“I’M NOT A BEAR!”

Honestly, seven-year-olds gunning for a fight this early in the morning can go do one.

The babies are starting to gather volume next door so I try to focus again. It only takes a few more thrusts before ecstasy wrecks my body, making me shudder. I press my lips against her neck as I come back down to earth. But I don’t move yet. I know we should get going because things are already chaotic outside our door, but I just don’t have the will yet. I’m considering going back to sleep for a minute or two. She won’t mind, will she? Well, I’m wrong. Because she proceeds to perform the move that seems to amuse every sodding woman on earth. And causes every man to squeal like a bloody pig. Without warning, she uses her powerful muscle to squeeze my extremely sensitive cock. 

Girls, grab a piece of paper and write this down. I’m speaking on behalf of every man to walk on earth here; we hate that. We don’t think it’s funny.

I jerk back, pull out, and roll off her. I try to look annoyed as she giggles, and obviously I fail, because that freshly fucked, flushed-face makes it impossible not to grin back.

“CAN I HAVE JAFFA CAKE?” That’s Victoria, child number three. She’s five, and she’s yelling as she thunders up the stairs. 

“JAFFA CAKE ISN’T BREAKFAST,” my wife shouts back as she sits up and hands me a nappy sack. “Harry…”

I wrap up the condom with it and toss it to the bin. “You’ve just taken me life force, woman, give me a moment.”

“CUSTARD CREAM?”

“NO.” We shout in unison. 

“HOBNOB THEN?”

“STAY AWAY FROM THE BISCUIT TIN!”

“You want to wrestle a biscuit-hunting kid out of a cupboard and 50/50 bread drama or fussy babies with full nappies?”

“Babies.” I hear a small child get whacked by a sibling downstairs and I feel like I may have got the better deal here.

Next door, the twins are not happy. They’re six months old now, and they’re both teething. Thing one glares at me as I walk into their nursery and thing two stares at me stroppily from the corner of her cot. Their cheeks are scarlet, and thing one proceeds to bark at me like a seal. I pick his warm, sleepy, cuddly body and cradle it close to mine as I lay him down on the changing table. I smell the dampness. It’s definitely wee. He’s soaked through, I think I didn’t tuck his willy in when I last changed him around three in the morning so it sprayed in some upward motion and drenched his clothes. See, this is why girls are better than boys. There’s no way they can pee upwards. 

After I put a fresh nappy and a change of clothes, I put him down on the rug so he can wiggle around while I grab his sister and sort her out. After six kids, I’m definitely a pro with baby duty and can practically change their clothes one-handed. The whole thing takes only a few minutes.

I cuddle the babies on each side as I walk downstairs and into the kitchen. They immediately reach out to their mum who’s cracking some eggs as soon as they spot her, knowing she’s the only one who can cure their hunger this morning. 

“Uniforms!” She says to the big kids as she takes one baby into her arms. “We’ll do breakfast after. Please, please, please…”

Desperate pleas lead them to saunter out and up the stairs. I follow my wife into the living room and hand her the other baby as she plops down on the couch. She rolls up her shirt and the babies latch instantly. Tandem nursing is harder now that they’re a little older and aware of their surroundings. They’re trying to scratch each other’s faces as they nurse. “Oi, what’s this? You each get a tit, stop fighting.”

They seem to somehow listen to me and have stopped trying to poke each other’s eyeballs. We’ll see how long that lasts. “Finish the eggs?”

I nod. “I’m on it.”

I brew some coffee, finish the scrambled eggs, and pop the slices after slices of bread in the toaster. Breakfast is done just in time as my wife walks back into the kitchen with two full and happy babies. She puts them in their high chairs and I scoop a bit of eggs on each of their trays for them to nibble on.

George appears back in the kitchen clad in his uniform with his also dressed brother trailing behind. We always lay his clothes the night before on his bed and he gets dressed all by himself in the morning. And he’s getting better at it, seeing he only missed a button on his shirt.

“Hi mate,” I say as I fix his button and he flashes a toothy grin at me. I plop him down on the chair, he’s graduated from the high chair now but still uses a booster seat.

“No toast!”

“What do you want then?”

“Chee-yos?”

I nod before I grab a handful of cheerios and set them on his plate next to his eggs. Then I take a few steps back across the table. “Hey, James, set it up.”

He flashes me another toothy grin before he opens his mouth wide and keeps it open. I hold a single Cheerio between my fingers while I bend my knees and bounce my hand as if I were dribbling a basketball. “Three seconds left on the clock, down by one. Styles got the ball. He fakes left, he drives in, he shoots…”

I toss the Cheerios in a high arc. It lands right into his mouth.

“He scores! The crowd goes wild!”

James holds both hands over his head. “Core!”

“Viv stole the biscuit tin, you know? She ate three jammie dodgers upstairs.” Eleanor says as she walks in with book bags and school shoes. 

George, seeing his sister walks in, proceeds to open his mouth wide and flashes her the half-chewed eggs on his tongue. It’s his current thing and it annoys his sisters to death. The young’uns think differently though as they double over in laughter. 

“Eeewww!” She shrieks. “You’re so gross!”

“VICTORIA, PUT THAT BISCUIT TIN DOWN AND GET YOUR BUTT IN THE KITCHEN! AND GO GET THEM HAIR TIE THINGIES…” 

“I didn’t have any biscuits!” She yells and runs down the stairs.

This kid is the quintessential daddy’s girl. She climbs up onto my lap right away, handing me the brush and a hair tie. 

“See, poppet, I would’ve believed you if you didn’t leave evidence all over your face,” I arch one of my eyebrows as I sweep a speck of raspberry jam on the corner of her mouth. 

“You always do a ponytail,” she huffs.

“Either that or I give you a bowl cut with kitchen scissors. I reckon that fruit bowl will do. Your choice.”

“Can I have some more eggs?” George asks with his mouth full of his last bite.

“God, that’s like your third serving,” Eleanor grumbles.

“Nag.”

At that insult, Eleanor flings a piece of toast like a ninja. Before George can retaliate, my wife gives them both the look.

“Viv, will you at least have some eggs?”

“No.”

“Fine,” my wife sighs. “I’m gonna get changed then.”

I glance at the clock and, well, shit, I should get dressed too. “Can you lot watch the babies and try not to kill each other for the next five minutes?”

“Five quid each?” Eleanor tries to negotiate. “Babysitting isn’t supposed to be free, you know? That sounds like child labour to me.” 

Bollocks. 

“Two quid each,” I give her my dad look that says the offer is final and indisputable.

“Deal.”

[ohgodsalazarwhy]

So yesterday was... A Day.  I talked about it on twitter but not here.  I woke up at 5AM on Friday and as I was getting out of bed Natasha was there to greet me.  She rubbed up under my feet, being sweet.

Then we walked down the hallway together.  At 5am it’s still a bit dark in the house, and Natasha starts to hiss at me.  Not uncommon to be hissed at by her, so I ignore it.  Then at the end of the hallway, she’s a bit ahead of me, she turns and yowls.  I freeze.  That’s a danger sound.  I don’t know why she’s turning on me but I try to slowly back away towards the bedroom.  She’s had these weird moods in the past, but never attacked me... though I’ve been afraid of it.

This time I take one shuffle back and she lunges at me in a blind fury.  It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, she’s screaming and attacking and I’m kicking out trying to get her off my bare legs.  I then dart down and manage to pin her to the floor with two hands but now we’re at a stand off.  If I attempt to relax my grip she screams louder and makes a move towards me.

So here I am, 5AM, bare legs bleeding and with a crazy cat under my hands in the middle of the hallway.  Absolutely nothing to grab like a big blanket or a stick or something to get distance between us until I can get to the bedroom.  I’m next to the craft room door and my legs are starting to shake and I realize I don’t have a choice, if I kneel down she’ll go for my face.  So I take one hand off her to open the door.

Natasha scratches my wrist and palm, then twists and sinks her teeth into my right pointer finger.  Deep.  It happens in second and then I’m shoving her into the craft room and shutting the door.  I’m breathing hard, shaking... I wander vaguely into the living room, try to turn on my floor lamp but I’m shaking too much.  I give up and walk into the kitchen to deposit the medications I’d taken out of my bedroom.

I can feel blood dripping from my finger as I walk back to the bathroom and finally look at my wounds in the light.  The scratches are up and down both legs, I’ve got massive scratches on my left wrist... and the bite on my finger is bleeding everywhere.  I run it under cold water but start to feel sick and am forced to go back to bed before I pass out or throw up.  I’m covered in cold sweat.

I breathe through it, getting blood on my sheets and pillow.  Natasha is meowing loudly in the room next door.  I breathe through the feeling of illness and shock and get back into the bedroom to clean the wounds and get antibiotic ointment on them.  I put bandaids on the bite wound, bottom teeth sank into the side of my finger under the second knuckle while the upper teeth had sunk into the top of the finger above the second knuckle.

I spend the next several hours in and out of bed as the sickness washes over me when I do too much.  But I clean the blood off the floor, and Natasha had emptied her bowels in the hallway so I clean that too.  When I go to the door and speak softly to her she hisses and yowls, so I leave her in there.  I don’t understand why this is happening, this is completely out of character for her.

My parents show up around 9am, and I’ve moved to the couch to lay there.  We’re supposed to go 8 hours south for a family camping trip.  And I’ve REALLY been looking forward to it.  I had all my stuff in the hallway ready to go.  But my parents are very concerned about the bite, and mom says I need to go to urgent care.  The more I talk and move around the sicker I feel.  I’ve bled through the bandaids.  Mom wraps my finger in gauze.  Before I leave the house I open the door to the craft room and quickly exit, I don’t want Natasha trapped in one room for hours.

Dad drives my car and he’s driving... aggressively.  That doesn’t help how I feel, which I think makes him even more nervous about me.  The first urgent care we visit is closed.  The second has a 4 hour wait for walk-ins.  So we finally just go to the ER.  I’m able to find a soft bench to lay down on while we wait... probably at least an hour.  While we’re waiting dad is informing family members what’s going on.  My Aunt, who is an RN, is glad we went to the ER.  My little sister tells her friend what happens to me, her friend loves cats and works with feral cats.

Dad comes over and tells me that Amber’s friend offered to take Natasha while I recover and I nearly tear up and say I’d love that.  I haven’t cried once, but my throat closes up when I think about what happens next with Natasha.  I love her so much, but the damage she did can’t be repeated. 

We get into the ER around 10am, but we don’t get out until 2:30pm.  We were supposed to be on the road by now.

I got a tetanus shot, xray, and my bite cleaned and bandaged as well as an antibiotic prescription.  Horse pills twice a day for 10 days.  Dad drives me to the pharmacy closest to my house.  Across the street is a booth selling Spooners blueberries (Spooners is a famous local farm, renowned for their berries).  Dad says he’s going to zip across the street for blueberries while I fill my prescription.

I come out after filling to see him across the street with the hood of my car up and he’s on the phone.  Goddammit.... I get my pills and text him, asking what’s going on.  The battery, the BRAND NEW BATTERY, has died unexpectedly.  I sigh and walk to the other side of the street to join him.  The sweet person at the stand has called their dad and told him what had happened, and Dad had called my little sister.  We wait around in the sun to see who will show up first.  Sure, this might as well happen today too.  I’m fucking exhausted.  I just want to lay down.  I sit in the backseat because blueberries are in the front seat that my dad is snacking on.  He says they’re the best, and Spooners doesn’t spray them.  I have no appetite or I might snack too.

The Spooners employee’s dad arrives first, and he jumps my car.  We thank him very much but he says it’s not a problem. I call my sister and tell her to meet us at my house, no problem she states.  Finally we’re home, and I cross the street where mom has been with the dogs this entire time, walking them around the neighborhood and staying in the trailer attached to the truck.  The dogs are very happy to see me and I’m happy to see them too.

My pointer finger is splinted and bandaged up and Leela sniffs at it and I have to be careful she doesn’t lick it.  We move across the street into my lawn as Amber and her partner show up.  They’ve brought gloves so they can help my Dad catch Natasha and put her in the carrier.  I sit outside with mom and the dogs while they go in.  Natasha pees on my couch during the ensuing chase because she’s afraid, but they catch her and bring her outside in the carrier.  I’m just glad she’s okay, I’ve felt very guilty about kicking out at her when she attacked me.

Natasha is scared as we set her in the grass in the shade of the fence.  I sit down next to her carrier and she curls up as close to me as she can get.  I want to unzip the top just a little to reach in and comfort her but I’m still a little scared she’ll turn on me.  So then we all wait together in the front lawn for Amber’s friend to arrive, Leela desperately trying to belly crawl her way towards the carrier.  When she finally does Natasha hisses and spooks her so bad she tries to hide under my sister’s legs.  Rotties can be such cowards sometimes.

Amber’s friend arrives with a van and I thank her profusely, but she doesn’t mind doing this at all.  She says Natasha is going to be well taken care of, she even has falconer gloves with which to handle aggressive cats.  I tell her Natasha is normally not aggressive, just very scared.  But to watch out for the yowling, that’s the danger sign.

Natasha is set gently in the backseat and the door is shut, the air conditioning turned on.  We exchange numbers, I thank her again, I can’t thank her enough.  With Natasha taken care of my family goes to a nearby burger joint for food while I stay behind to watch the dogs.  I just want to lay down.  Amber buys me a burger with a gluten free bun.  My appetite is non existent but I know I need to eat.

When they come back my mom and dad leave while Amber and her partner linger to talk.  Her partner loves to talk, he talks all the time.  It used to drive me crazy but I don’t mind anymore, he’s a good person.  I’d had the urine cleaned up and before Amber leaves she puts my couch cushion back.  I give her a stack of books I think she’ll like about abandoned places and ossuaries.  I’m finally left alone. 

No camping trip this weekend, it’d simply be too much.  I don’t think anyone in my family is making it.  My brother and his wife had to back out, Amber and her partner had to back out because of his asthma and the air quality down south.  Mom and Dad would be driving a long way for a short stay, and I know I won’t feel up for such a taxing weekend after the Friday I’ve had.

Amazing how quickly everything can go horribly wrong.

[let-it-raines]

your wonder under summer skies (3/?)

Summer in Storybrooke, Maine means one thing for its residents: tourist season. This year, for Emma Swan and Killian Jones, it means relationships ending and friendships changing all the while they attempt to figure out just what their relationship is. It’s somewhere straddling the line between friends and lovers, and there’s no guarantee of a soft landing if they fall into new territory.

rating: mature

ao3: beginning | current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 

-/-

She shouldn’t have come tonight.

It was a horrible idea.

A really, truly, horrendous idea.

Emma has had a lot of those lately, but that’s not new for her.

God, her heart feels like it’s going to explode, and she imagines there’s no way for that to twist around and be healthy. She’s been walking around all week not telling a soul that she broke up with Neal or any of the circumstances behind it, and the fact that none of them know about it tells her that Neal hasn’t told anyone either. He never did like her friends, so she guesses it makes sense that he wouldn’t talk to any of them.

Why is she only realizing all of this now? Where were these revelations before?

How blind has she been to so many things? Was she so damn desperate for love that she accepted the scraps someone left on the floor?

But now she went and told Killian that they broke up, which she shouldn’t have done. He kept pestering her, and she knew that eventually she’d break or he’d figure it out. He already knew something was wrong when no one else seemed to notice. She should have just told someone, anyone, and not someone who is hosting a party to celebrate his brother’s engagement.

Emma should not be somewhere celebrating love when she can never seem to get that particular thing quite right.

Quickly, Emma glances behind her to see if Killian is following her. He’s not. He’s still standing on the balcony, and Emma takes the opportunity to make a beeline for the kitchen and grab the wine Killian got for her for tonight. She’s sure the beer everyone’s brought is fine, but she’s never been much of a beer girl unless it’s the only option.

And she really, really needs a drink.

Well, another one.

“Woah, woah, woah,” David laughs, “you going to drink that entire bottle tonight?”

“I might.”

“Well, at least do it in moderation and have a little something to eat.”

Emma rolls her eyes. “I’ve already had some pizza. Do you always have to act like a dad?”

“If I was a dad, I’d take the bottle away from you and pour out half of your glass for myself.”

“True.” She gulps down a large sip. Maybe she should slow down and nurse the glass. She hasn’t even gotten to tell Elsa congratulations, and it probably wouldn’t be a great move for her to be slightly tipsy for that. “Are you coming into the office to help tomorrow?”

“Am I the greatest husband alive because I’m going to my wife���s work on my day off to help the two of you decorate an entire country club that’s too cheap to get you two help for that? Why, yes, yes I am.”

“Shhhh, you can’t talk about the club like that when Robin is around. His girlfriend is kind of in charge of if I can afford to stay in my apartment or not since she owns the damn place.”

“You know, I bet if you moved in with Neal instead of you sleeping over at his place, you two could save money.”

Emma takes a bigger gulp of her wine before biting her tongue on mumbling that she really didn’t stay at Neal’s place much lately. If she did, she usually just crashed on the couch or in bed as soon as she got there.

Okay, so maybe she wasn’t exactly helping things, but that doesn’t give Neal an excuse to do anything he did.

For how long that he did. Over and over again.

Bastard.

She’s glad they never moved in together even if they should have so many times. So that’s at least one positive from this whole thing. If she was homeless right now on top of everything else, she’d probably give up…or at least cry a hell of a lot more.

“I like having my space,” Emma mumbles. “Neal likes having his. It’s all fine.”

Tell him, tell him, tell him.

Her brain keeps chanting those words every time she’s around David. Or anyone, really, because she’s an idiot who is not so great at dealing with feelings or having people be sympathetic toward her.

At least she’s self-aware. Kind of.

Thunder rolls outside and shakes the apartment. Emma turns and looks to see that the sky is now dark and rain has started to fall. Great. The weather is now an accurate representation of her mood. Sometimes the world is a little too on point.

“You know, eventually – ”

“Emma,” Elsa squeals in what may be the most un-like-Elsa sound ever, “oh my gosh, I didn’t know you were here! How did I miss you?”

“I was hiding over here drinking my wine, but I wanted to come see you. Congratulations, lady!”

“Thank you.” Emma quickly puts her glass down before Elsa engulfs her in a hug that is suffocating. “I’m so excited! I never thought I would be the type of girl who got excited and kept making these inhumane noises, but I’m so excited!”

“As you should be! It’s an exciting thing.”

Elsa pulls back, still absolutely beaming. “Wait. Where’s Neal? Is he here?”

When the hell did everyone start caring about Neal?

“He’s working. He couldn’t make it.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay. Find me later, yeah? I’ve got to keep making the rounds and find Liam. We have to FaceTime Anna soon, and I think everyone will want to see that.”

“She doesn’t know?”

“I was going to call her in the morning. I didn’t know we were coming back to all of these people.”

“Well, you better call her before someone tells her.”

“I know. She’d murder me.”

So much talk about murder tonight. It’s only slightly disturbing.

Emma laughs as Elsa turns away, and Emma quickly grabs her glass and starts chugging even as David watches her. She doesn’t care. She needs this, even if it’s unhealthy.

Okay, maybe she cares a little as David crosses her arms and stares her down with a stare that she’s pretty sure he uses when he catches teenagers drinking underneath the bleachers at the high school.

Why can’t someone else come and interrupt them? There are twenty people. There should be some kind of relief from her being interrogated by David.

Where’s Killian when she needs him?

Wait, no. She doesn’t want Killian because he knows, and he’s going to ask questions that she still can’t handle.

“Did you and Neal break up?”

Oh shit. Apparently David is going to be asking her questions she can’t handle either.

“What? No. We’re fine.”

David’s eyes glance up and down her face, and Emma could really use that entire bottle now.

“Really? Because there are rumors that he’s been working around the pawn shop again, and we both know how you feel about that.”

“Neal can do what he wants, questionable activities or no. Controlling him in that is really more in your authority than mine.”

“Emma.”

“It’s fine, David,” Emma snaps. “I don’t care what Neal does with his life. We both know as soon as he gets the money he wants, he’ll stop working with his dad and go back to normal and there will be no suspicious activity on your radar that no one will ever do anything about.”

“Are you saying you want me to figure out how to arrest your boyfriend?”

“I’m saying to let sleeping dogs lie. Of all of the crazy things that go on in this town, I don’t think you need to pull your focus on a guy selling mysteriously collected items in a run-down pawn shop. I hear the Tomlinsons are coming back into town, and they’re bringing friends. You’ll be too busy focusing on them and their penchant for spray paint and cheap beer.”

“Fuck. I hate those kids.”

She reaches forward and pats David’s shoulder as her stomach settles. She didn’t think she’d be able to talk herself out of that conversation, but the Tomlinsons will do it.

She hates those kids, too.

“Yeah, they’re the worst. Good luck with all of their vandalism. I’m sure they’ve learned a few tricks over the past year.”

With that, Emma takes her glass and maneuvers away from David before he can circle the conversation back to her and Neal. He obviously knows what’s wrong, and she isn’t ready for that, not at all. Which is the exact reason that she avoids Killian as well. He seems to be avoiding her too, and she can’t say she minds. He can stand in the corner with a beer in his hand away from her as she talks to Ruby and Ariel and anyone else who wanders into her space.

It’s nice to get distracted and to have all of these people around her, talking and laughing and continuously offering to fill her wine glass up.

She doesn’t say no.

By midnight, she’s possibly had the entire bottle, and she may be feeling a little woozy. Her steps are still sure, though, and she knows she’s not slurring her thoughts or her words. It’s a good thing she did eat pizza and drink as many glasses of water as she did wine.

That’s probably why she has to pee as well.

Pee.

The bathroom.

Emma needs the bathroom.

She gets up from the couch where she’s talking to Belle and walks back down the hallway, passing Liam’s room and heading straight toward Killian’s. She knows both of them are absolutely ridiculous about keeping their bathrooms clean, but stalking through Liam’s room never seems like the best idea on her part. She’s always gotten this distinct impression that he doesn’t like her.

That may be the wine talking.

Or true. It’s probably true. She really didn’t have that much to drink. Mary Margaret had some of the wine, so she didn’t have the entire bottle by herself.

And she knows Liam doesn’t like her. She’s asked Killian about it before, but he’s always adamantly denied it.

He’s always been lying when he said it.

Or maybe Neal is right and she really isn’t as good at telling when people are lying as she thinks she is.

Killian’s bathroom is, indeed, clean, and after she’s washed her hands, brushed out her hair, and fixed the slightest smudged mascara underneath her eyes, she feels like a brand new woman and miraculously a little more sober. Opening the door, she steps out only to collide with a warm, solid body.

Fuck.

“If you wanted to get close to me, all you had to do was ask.”

Emma scoffs and rolls her eyes as Killian’s hands settle on her back and hers loop around his neck. She leans back into the bathroom door, and it clicks closed behind her.

Killian smells like sweat and his cologne, and she can’t say that she hates it.

“You’re an asshole.”

“I’ve been called worse. Oftentimes by you.”

“I do what I can.” Have his eyes always been this blue? Is it just the lighting in this place?  “What are you doing in here?”

His brow raises. He likes doing that. It’s almost weird how his face has the muscles to do that. “What am I doing in my bedroom?”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“Mhm. I was looking for you, actually.”

“Well, you found me.”

“Aye,” he whispers, “it seems like I did. Swan, what happened with Neal? Why didn’t you tell me when you were last here?”

“I don’t – I don’t want to talk about it.”

She can feel the heat of his hands on her back, the warmth of his breath when he speaks, and she swears that she can nearly feel the brush of his scruff. Did he move closer? He did. When did that happen? Why hasn’t she moved away?

Maybe she doesn’t want to.

Why doesn’t she want to?

“Swan.”

“Don’t,” she says quietly, voice cracking as her heart does that awful, painful thing again. “Please don’t. I just – I want you to make me feel better.”

He blinks, and she swears she feels the intensity in his gaze deep in her belly. How is that even possible?

“What are you saying?”

“Jones, you know exactly what I’m saying.” Her hand moves from the base of his neck, and she drags her nail across his skin and up behind his ear. She didn’t even know what she was saying until this exact moment, but now she’s sure of it. Suddenly, she’s much more aware of everything. “C’mon.”

Killian keeps blinking, and his lips part the slightest bit while his jaw ticks. He’s going to say no. She knows that he is, and he probably should. This isn’t…what the hell is she thinking?

But then he pounces, his lips capturing hers in a fierce kiss that she feels over every inch of her body.

Damn.

Emma’s always known his reputation, knows about the women and the lack of long-term relationships, and she’s always understood the appeal of Killian Jones. She has eyes. Killian’s an attractive man, and anyone with said eyes can see that.

She never quite imagined, at least not in depth, that she would get to see the appeal of kissing him first hand.

Damn, he’s a good kisser.

He doesn’t slow down, never softens the kiss or takes time to savor each movement of her lips or her tongue or the way that her hands scratch his hair and tug him closer. She can’t breathe, her body desperately searching for that little more air, but she’d rather drown in Killian and the way that this feels.

Her thoughts are a little too preoccupied by all of that to focus on much of anything else.

That’s definitely the best thing to happen to her in awhile.

Killian’s hand finds its way underneath her shirt, rough fingertips scratching her skin, and she can’t get over how warm he is or how good it feels as he finds her breast and moves away her bra. A shiver runs down her spin, tickling along her skin, and it settles between her thighs as she begins to absolutely ache for more.

She doesn’t have to question how that happens?

She doesn’t have to question any of this.

She feels good.

This is good.

This is really good.

“Get on the bed,” Killian mumbles against her neck.

“I don’t remember saying you could tell me what to do.”

“You said you wanted to feel good, aye? I can make you feel good if you’d simply listen to me for once in your life.”

Emma nods and gulps as she maneuvers herself out of his arms and toward the bed, stripping out of her clothes as she goes while Killian does the same. She gets a glance of his stomach and the toned muscles covered by dark hair she’s seen a million times before, but it looks different in the dim lighting of his room than it ever has out on the beach.

It looks different because she can see where the hair leads, where the muscles dip, and she felt exactly how much he was turned on when he had her pressed up against the door. She’s never seen the full extent of the compass inked on his hip, has never known how intricate it is, but it’s beautiful.

Slowly, Killian walks toward her, his lips curled into a smirk, and then the smirk disappears to her thigh as his lips and his beard brush against her skin, igniting the heat that only keeps growing.

“Oh, so you’re suddenly a gentleman now?” she teases on a broken breath. Sweat is prickling at her skin, and her heart is beating so quickly that she can feel it between her ears. At least it’s no longer painful.

Killian’s tongue does something beyond sinful, and her back arches up off the bed as he pulls her closer to him.

“I’m always a gentleman.”

And then, she swears, she feels better than she has in a long, long time.

From then on, Emma turns her brain off as much as she can. She doesn’t think. She simply feels, and it’s glorious to be able to do that. Killian’s hands and his mouth work wonders on her body. He’s skilled, knows exactly what he’s doing, and she spares one final thought to all of the woman who have come before her for this.

For helping to make her forget everything else.

Killian’s voice is muted, but she can still hear the thickness of the accent and the huskiness coating each word as he encourages her to be quiet. There are still people outside, which is not something she considered.

She didn’t consider a lot of things about this.

But any concerns she has quickly disappear and she rolls over and settles down on top of Killian, sinking down onto him until he’s feeling her and feeling so fucking good that she can’t breathe.

This is exactly what she needed. She needed the way he praises her, needed the way his hands hold onto her ass and her waist and encourage her movements. She needed the way that he kisses and the way that he makes her feel as he moves inside of her.

She needed this.

And when she falls, it’s to the sound of her own name being whispered in an accent as familiar as anything else in her life and to the rain continuing to pour down outside.

-/-

If someone were to ask her ten things she knows about Killian Jones, the list would be pretty easy and straightforward for her to write.

1.     His brother is the most important person in the world to him despite their disagreements.

2.     His friends come next on that list.

3.     There’s no place he’d rather be than on a beach or on a boat.

4.     He drinks more rum than the actual Captain Morgan did.

(Is there an actual Captain Morgan, she wonders.)

5.     When he thinks something is legitimately funny, his nose scrunches up and his eyes crinkle to show off (almost) twenty-eight years of laughter, even if there is some sadness in there.

6.     He never talks about the scars on his hand unless a kid asks him. Then he always makes up a story that is somehow both far-fetched and realistic.

7.     He has five tattoos at the moment, and she knows he wants to get more.

8.     If you ask him what his favorite movie is, he’ll say he doesn’t have one. It’s because he loves the Hangover and refuses to admit it.

9.     If you ask him who is best friend is, everyone expects him to say Liam, but much to her surprise, he always says Emma Swan.

10.  He likes her on top.

That last one is a new thing she just learned, well, last night.

Oh fuck, what did she do?

She fucked Killian.

-/-

-/-

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[irwinkitten]

soft words | poly!kayshton

notes: are you surprised? no so shut up. i’ve got so many ideas and i’m soft soft soft. don’t like it, don’t read it. warnings: depression  word count: 2.3k 

donate to my ko-fi here

-

It was easier to just check your phone, ignoring the texts from various friends and family members, falling back asleep once your alarms had been turned off.

The next time you woke up, it was to pee. Your phone told you it was midday but the exhaustion was like a heavy blanket, unwilling to release you, despite leaving the cosiness of the bed to relieve your bladder. When you’d crawled back under the covers, sleep claimed you once more.

When you next woke, it was disorientating. 

Darkness had fallen and you weren’t entirely sure what woke you up. Then you felt the ache in your body and summarized that this was what had pulled you from the land of dreams.

Glancing at your phone, the numbers read nine pm and you had several missed calls from both Ashton and Kaykay and your stomach sank. Before they’d flown out for the promo, you had promised that you would keep them updated, let them know when you were struggling.

But it had been easier to ignore and brush off. You still hadn’t told them you’d been signed off work earlier that week, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say the words.

Another text came through from the little group chat you had with them both and it surprised you.

‘If you’re awake angel, Ashton’s got you a ticket to fly out. Don’t worry about work. Flight is tomorrow. Just let us know you’ve seen the message and that you’re okay angel’

You couldn’t bring yourself to type anything, and simply reacted to the message with a little heart. 

‘See you soon, little one.’ Came through from Ashton and you felt the first bloom of warmth, a feeling that had been avoiding you like the plague.

It had barely been twelve hours since that text and you were sitting on the plane. You knew that you looked worse for wear, judging by the air hostess’ facial expression when she checked your ticket which confirmed that you were indeed in first class.

When Ashton had forwarded the information, part of you wondered how he had gotten your passport details before remembering that the three of you had swapped that information long ago if there was a whim to escape from the city and just get out of the country. The only stipulation was that the others would be forewarned of the trip.

When the plane landed, you had tugged the hoodie tighter around your body. It was one of Ashton’s old ones, paired with a jean jacket that Kaykay had purchased for you a few christmases ago. Your eyes sought out the various faces before clocking the sign with your last name.

Foolishly you’d thought they’d be here, but you knew that would’ve caused a feeding frenzy with the press and Ashton was deliberately being discreet about your arrival to Europe to be with him and Kaykay.

So heading up to the person who held your name, they gave you a small smile as you greeted them and they helped you with your luggage to the awaiting car. 

You were fighting the heavy blanket of lethargy that swept over you once more, determined to remind yourself that you were about to see two of the few important people in your life. That you would be safe from judgement with them. 

Your mind had hissed at you how they were away together, to get away from you, to establish the relationship as theirs and you were merely a bit on the side. It took everything in you to not ask the driver to turn back around so you could get the next flight back home.

Because home wasn’t LA. Home was them.

Unsurprisingly, when the car pulled into a hotel’s underground parking, you thanked the driver who helped you get your luggage into the elevator before checking your phone. 

‘Room 508 angel, 5th floor.’

Hitting the circular 5, you leaned against the mirrored wall, unwilling to look at the state you were in. You’d tried, but your memory failed to recall when you had last showered, that wasn’t just a quick body scrub to ward off any body odour. The circles under your eyes had begun to look like bruises and you weren’t unaware how you looked like the living dead.

Stepping off the elevator once the small ding had alerted you that you were on the floor you needed, you glanced to see an arrow pointing to the direction you needed. Mercifully the room you needed was scarce. Only ten on the side that it was pointing, the rest going in the opposite direction. 

By the time you reached 508, you felt drained once more. Every part of you was fighting to stay awake, knowing how close you were.

Knocking the door three times, you heard scrambling and the door was pulled open fast, frightening you for a second before a set of arms wrapped around you and you could only melt against Kaykay as your arms finally moved, wrapping around her as you closed your eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath.

Nothing ever did their touch or smell justice. Your memory could never compare it to the actual thing and you were unwilling to let go or pull away, not realising how much tension had been held in your body, how much you didn’t want to allow that tension back in.

Finally opening your eyes, Ashton stood there, his face both concerned and soft as he watched you both. When your eyes met, the smile that lit up his face made the guilt bubble in your gut. How could you have ever thought that they didn’t want you? That they wouldn’t be there for you? 

“C’mon Peachy, share.” 

“No. Mine.” The muffled word was quiet, but it gripped your heart, squeezing it tightly until a tear rolled down your cheek at the possessive tone she had held. 

“Let’s get in at least, Peach.” It was another muffled protest before she finally pulled her head away, her lips finding yours instantly. You pulled away before she could push it, earning a pout. Ashton snorted.

“Peachy.” The warning in his voice was clear and she sighed dramatically before finally let you go, but before you could at least grab her hand, unwilling to lose the human contact, She’d grabbed your case and bag.

“At least I got the first kiss.” Her tone was smug, earning a slap to her backside, her laughter following after her as you stepped in, Ashton letting the door shut after you.

Being enveloped within Ashton’s arms was a different story. It felt like home. They both felt like home in different ways. Ashton was calm and collected, the person of reason in moments of panic and stress. Kaykay was a whirlwind that swept you up but held you close, unwilling to let go unless absolutely needed. She was the driving force, the one that seemed to pull out the needier side from you, the side that relied on her firm attitude that often got the two of you into trouble, but allowed you to break from the stringent rules you found yourself following.

“All ours.” Ashton’s whispered word caused the twisting sensation in your heart and you could feel yourself shake from the emotions that threatened to overwhelm you. 

He didn’t move as he held you, allowing you to break in his arms in the tiny hallway of the hotel room. You felt the second body behind you, Kaykay’s head resting on your back as she wrapped her arms around your waist, her fingers grasping the soft material of the hoodie as you cried.

You weren’t too sure why you were crying, the overwhelming depression, or the fact that they were yours and you were theirs. Perhaps it was the one thing that tipped the iceberg, but once you started crying, you couldn’t stop, you couldn’t breathe. 

That was when Ashton finally pulled back, Kaykay’s hands moving from your waist to your back, her hands rubbing soothing circles as you heaved for air, desperately trying to keep from the full blown panic attack that was slowly constricting your chest, making it difficult to keep your breathing steady.

Ashton’s hands cupped your face, thumbs carefully brushing the tears that he could reach. 

“Follow my breathing little one. Inhale. Exhale. That’s it. Inhale. Exhale.” You followed his words easily. The hands on your back helping you ground yourself so you didn’t completely tip over the edge. 

When Ashton was satisfied that you were breathing steadily, your hands trembling slightly as you pulled yourself back, he kissed your forehead before his lips found yours and you melted against him.

“We’ve got you little one, I promise.” And you knew that they did. They were those moments that held you together, giving you the reprieve you sometimes needed.

Kaykay’s hands worked the jacket off and Ashton tugged the hoodie over your head. Part of you wanted to shy away, but Ashton was having none of that as Kaykay let her hands rest on your shoulders.

“C’mon. Shower. I promise no funny business, we just want to look after you angel.” And normally you’d have shot her a skeptical look, but the tone of her voice convinced you easily, allowing you to not fight her as she pushed you towards the bathroom.

“You might think you’re good at hiding it angel, but both of us saw you were falling. It’s been a long time since it got this bad, huh?” You couldn’t answer at first, the relief filling you. There was no judgement or scolding. There was no reprimand for not talking to them. 

“I don’t even know what set me off. But I just, I couldn’t function. I felt like the world was caving in.” You admitted quietly facing the spray of water as it washed through your hair. Kaykay’s face wore a look of heartbreak as she ran her fingers through your hair, lathering the shampoo through it slowly, her fingers working into your skull and you could feel your knees go weak.

“You’re here now. Ash spoke with the execs and they aren't gonna try and send you home this time.” Her words were gentle and you could feel your heart feel heavy.

“But work-”

“Can fuck off. They haven’t helped you one bit. Did they check in with you after you handed in your sign off note?” And shame washed through you.

“No.” 

“There is no shame in needing to do what’s right for you angel. We were going to let you tell us in your own time, but since you brought up the subject of work...” She trailed off as the shampoo was rinsed and she worked the conditioner into your hair.

“I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want you both to think I would freeload or do it for attention.” You finally whispered.

“Oh angel.” Kaykay sighed as she tapped your shoulder to get you to turn around. You did so, keeping your hair from the direct spray as she pressed a kiss to your lips.

“I’m sorry.” You whispered against her lips, your arms holding her gently, she shook her head, another kiss on your lips stopping any further apologies.

“Never with us, angel. We all struggle and we know how it feels. You’d never get that from us.” The reassurance did little to ease the butterflies in your tummy, but you nodded anyway, to show that you understood what she meant.

“Let’s clean you up angel. I know Ash wants to snuggle tonight since we have a few days off.” At this, you allowed her to work the body wash into your skin, feeling relieved that she didn’t push you.

Then you felt slightly guilty, but she slapped your thigh gently.

“None of that. Even I know better than to push you when you clearly don’t want to.” You could feel your blush, unable to look at her.

“Sorry Peachy.” The words were whispered, but she wrapped herself around you once more, the reassurance that she wasn’t mad, helped you relax into her touch before she washed out the conditioner and shut off the water.

Two of Ashton’s shirts and some underwear lay on the toilet seat, and you glanced at Kaykay who shrugged.

“I didn’t hear him come in, but I forgot to bring them.” She admitted sheepishly and you felt yourself smile.

“He’s always good to us.” You murmured and she returned the gentle smile with one of her own as she helped you get dried and dressed. Normally you would’ve protested, but you knew that their way of reassurance was to look after you, and after the last few weeks, this was what you needed. Their touches.

When you left the bathroom, Ashton was already settled into bed. You crawled into your spot in the middle, allowing him to wrap himself around you, pulling you against him. Kaykay wasn’t far behind, pressing herself against you and the heavy weight of them both added to the relief that you were home with them, regardless of being in a hotel room.

“Ready to talk now, little one?” And as you spoke, the ease seemed to help you get everything off your chest, your words heavy but your mind becoming lighter with each burden shared.

And there was no judgement for the choices you made. They listened to you, and even though you rushed to explain yourself, they did not demand it of you. That was when you relaxed entirely and finally everything caught up once more, the heaviness returning but feeling like a welcomed blanket as Ashton kissed you softly.

“Let's get you recharged for a bit. Take the time you need too recover and get yourself back to where you need to be. We’ll be with you every step of the way.” His words had the desired effect of releasing the last bit of tension and you finally felt okay to truly fall asleep without your worries plaguing you.

“Love you both.” You finally whispered. Kaykay pressed a kiss to your shoulder as Ashton kissed your forehead once more.

“Love you more.” 

-

if you wanna be tagged in the poly!kayshton stuff, let me know! 

@sexgodashton​, @loveroflrh​, @converse-luke​

[darlinrogue]

“ sometimes i realize one day i could die, i could just disappear and the world would be none the wiser. there’d be no one to miss me and that terrifies me more than death itself. ” — kenny @ adam!

It’s All Down Hill From Here Ya’ll

Adam and Kenny || @ofgrief

Adam woke-up with the hangover of a lifetime. A whole ass construction crew wedged inside his cranium going to demolition town. Big, sweaty, muscly guys with jackhammers, wrecking balls, and heavy machinery. For some stupid reason he left the curtain open last night. Morning light spilled into the room and stabbed his eyeballs with serrated knives. Adam groaned and rolled over. He pressed his face into the pillow. His body ached, his head hurt, he was nauseous, and he kinda had to pee— shit, he hadn’t woken-up like this in a minute. Someone needed to shut-up their phone, the incessant chiming was getting on his last nerve. Then it hit him. That was his phone and his alarm going off at God’s forsaken hour of six-thirty. 

Adam slapped at the nightstand. He smacked the shit out of the alarm clock and knocked his car keys to the floor, no phone. Adam weathered the agony of lifting his head-up enough to look and hear the blasted thing beneath him. He slid halfway out of the bed and clawed at the floor beneath the headboard. Then, bingo, his hand closed around the phone and he pressed the power button to shut it up. With most of his upper body hanging off the mattress, Adam crumpled to the floor. His calves tangled with the blankets and he dragged the sheets clean off the bed with him. Flopped against the carpet, he massaged the bridge of his nose. There was a black hairband around his wrist and he had no clue where it came from. Adam yanked back his tangled, frizzy hair into a ponytail to get it out of his eyes. He laid there, blithe and numb, letting incoherent thoughts skim the surface of his consciousness. Bit-by-bit, Adam reconstructed the past twenty-four hours and it was enough to make him laugh. 

Damn, he was good.  

Eager to bask in a rare accomplishment, Adam turned his attention to his phone. He blinked and wiped the grit from his eyes as the screen flicked to life. He had one text message in his notifications. Kenny Omega, at a little past midnight texted him: [Wanna hang out?]

Adam let that time bomb tick as he unlocked his phone and checked Twitter instead. He searched Matt Hardy and perused the iconic’s Twitter feed. Another grin cracked Adam’s face down the middle. Hardy had no idea. That little task of self aggrandization done, Adam opened the messaging app. He stared at the screen and the little bubble of text from Kenny. Absent-minded, Adam reached down and yanked his belt off— only now realizing he never took it off. Then he answered Kenny’s question with a question.

[Got anything in mind?]

He paused, tongue running over his lips. Then, he untangled his legs from the sheets and blankets. Adam pushed to his feet and stumbled across the room to his bag on the desk. Inside he found Advil and a flask of whiskey. He washed the pain medicine down with a generous swig of alcohol. Adam coughed, beating on his chest to clear his dry throat. On the way to the bathroom he stripped out of his jeans. While brushing his teeth, his phone chimed. Adam spat into the sink and leaned over to read Kenny’s reply.

[My place. Dinner at six?] 

Okay, so that wasn’t ‘hanging-out.’ In Adam’s book, ‘hanging-out’ with Kenny was playing video games or going to an arcade. Maybe they’d work-out, train and drill in the ring, sit around the hotel room and watch movies. All the little things they did as a tag-team to kill time on the road or between matches. What Kenny proposed sounded like a —dare Adam say it— a date. Like two adults, sitting down over a candle-lit table, and talking about serious things for a couple of hours. Which, it was Kenny, so not a big deal, but at the same time, it was Kenny, which was a big deal. 

Since, November their relationship had been stuck in this weird, strange, gray, Twilight-Zone that was neither friendship or anything else. Cuddling in bed or on a couch, flirting, lingering too close, heady with physical desire, and softened by intimacy. Stablemates were always close, stuck on buses and planes for hours together enforced liking someone. Kenny and Adam had seen each other at the worst, at their best. This thing went beyond that. They were friends, tag-partners for a period, all they had left, and yet, nothing at all. Adam could ask Kenny: ‘What the fuck are we?’ If he thought he’d get a straight answer.

Unwilling to unpack all that, Adam dressed to work-out. He left his hotel room and started down the stairs to the lobby. He thought about dinner at six. Today’s original plan was to drive seven hours back to North Carolina, shooting straight-up I-95 along the coast. If Adam left after breakfast he’d be back in the afternoon. Staying another evening in Jacksonville wasn’t a big deal. Such were the benefits of a lonely bachelor life. A neighborhood girl usually took care of Adam’s dogs on Wednesdays. He could call her, offer a generous tip, and get another night. Around the sixth floor landing, he yanked his phone out of his pocket and gave Kenny his answer. 

[Sure, I’ll bring milk and beer. Give me your address.]

Down in the hotel gym he started his work-out, running through reps with almost memorized, mechanical ease. While Adam counted bicep curls, his phone chimed and he glanced at it long enough to see that Kenny had sent the address. Between sets, Adam popped the address into Google Maps. The house was a little over a half-hour drive away on Pointe Verde Beach, just outside of Jacksonville. Strange, because Adam had no memory of Kenny owning a house in or around Jacksonville. He heard whisper of a house near Orlando. He was vaguely aware that Kenny had stayed with Callis or Nakazawa a few times. Adam shuffled this mystery home off as another thing he just didn’t know about Kenny. He finished his work-out on the treadmill, running until endorphins blasted Kenny and the last of the hang-over from his brain. Adam returned to his hotel room to shower. 

While hot water rolled down his back and he scrubbed conditioner from his hair, Adam wondered after Kenny’s ulterior motives. Back in December Kenny made it clear what he wanted from Adam: sex. That wasn’t Adam’s own ego talking, that was straight out of the horse’s mouth. Kenny had said he wanted Adam to kiss him, touch him, and fuck him. That was what he said, almost verbatim. Adam was an adult. He spent a significant chunk of his twenties sexually active. He wasn’t shy or prudish, he had no hang-ups. He could do all the things Kenny wanted. Hell, he’d gladly do them, under the right circumstances. Provided Adam could negotiate the differences between male and female anatomy with any competence. Physical desire was absolutely a dimension of his attraction to Kenny. Except, he wasn’t sure if this was the right circumstances. The thought that Kenny was inviting Adam over to dinner for the sole purpose of propositioning him for sex, turned Adam’s stomach over. He cranked the water cold and sobered beneath the icy spray, jaw tight. He turned off the water and toweled off. Adam texted Kenny again. 

[Nak’s not going to be there, is he?]

Two seconds later, Kenny replied: 

[Nope, just us.]

And to keep some kinda banter, Adam texted him back, hoping that the words read as teasing.

[No Callis, either?]

[lmao no he’s in Tennessee doing Impact crap for the PPV. He left this morning.]

And Adam hadn’t felt this nervous about being alone with Kenny since the first time they played Mario Tennis with Chase Owens. Because shit, he’d been stringing Kenny along for months now. Sure, Callis had been a consistent cock block, but Adam wouldn’t pretend he and Kenny weren’t playing some kinda game. A no-rules, Calvinball-Esque, game with moving goalposts. There were no boundaries because Kenny and Adam never set any. That would imply proper and honest communication. All of it was impromptu and they were living on a prayer that neither of them stepped on any toes. In a way, Daily’s place was a blessing. The presence of others acted as a natural check-and-balance on Kenny and Adam’s weird dynamic. So long as they didn't talk about it, didn't acknowledge the elephant in the room, everything was fine. An evening alone felt like cutting the breaks. It wasn’t that Adam feared having sex with Kenny or Kenny outright trying to jump his bones. It wasn’t that he didn’t want that, or that he hadn’t thought about it. 

It was just that he wanted more.

Call him a sap, but Adam loved Kenny and he wanted Kenny to love him too. He wanted to go on dates. He wanted to wake-up in the same bed in the morning and to kiss Kenny awake. He wanted the small pleasure of fixing breakfast for both of them. Even to do the dishes together and all the boring domestic tasks of day-to-day life. To talk about how their days went but also to exist in quiet intimacy. He wanted to walk down the street holding Kenny’s hand. To drop casually in conversations, “My boyfriend Kenny—” To argue, make-up, and do better next time, all of it. And they were so off the rails because Adam was afraid that saying ‘no’ to Kenny in any capacity would kill what little they had. The what-ifs piled in Adam’s brain. Kenny using him for sex and then never talking to him again. Kenny telling him off for introducing more emotion that was necessary to a physical relationship. Kenny letting Adam know that he had finally moved on from his hot cowboy tag-partner and he won’t be needed anymore. The moment Kenny figured-out that he wasn’t going to get what he wanted from Adam— was the moment Adam lost him. 

Adam ate breakfast at the hotel hot bar. He had yogurt, an orange, eggs, and some links of sausage. He arranged for an extra night at the hotel and texted the girl who took care of his dogs. Then he got hustled by said teenager for almost twice the usual rate because she had, ‘lots of homework.’ Adam couldn’t complain because he was honestly kinda proud. She’d make a great carny one day. With not much else to do in Jacksonville, he left the hotel to go shopping. Adam had only packed for one night and not for a maybe-date with Kenny. He bought a white button down at a clothing store. Then, stopped by an uptown grocery store to buy 2% milk and local IPAs. Adam spent about three minutes lingering by a display of pre-arranged bouquets at the store, wondering if flowers would be too much. He walked away from the display, walked back, almost walked away again, stopped, and then stared a little longer. His hand fluttered by his side and before he could stop himself, Adam grabbed a bouquet of yellow flowers. Shit, he was an idiot. 

He thought, as the cashier rang him up, that Kenny was going to laugh at him. 

He took a lunch break at a small Mexican hole-in-the-wall because his diet was shot to hell today and he’d just have to admit it. Back at the hotel, he did his second work-out, showered again, and then realized he had three whole hours to kill. Three hours to get dressed, fuss over his hair, sit around, stare at the dumb flowers he bought, and consider if waterboarding would be a more or less effective form of torture. He scrolled Twitter, did some Duolingo. His body was tense, a live wire, his heart pounding. Adam left thirty minutes early and so took a twenty-minute detour, just to kill time. All so he wouldn’t look like a complete, desperate dweeb— showing-up early and with flowers? That would be way too much. 

The house was situated in an upscale, rich and retired, suburb nestled by the ocean. It was smaller, blander than the two, three story beach homes that towered around it, with their sparse lawns and obnoxious, pastel colors. It was a one-story, Spanish-style home with a brown roof and off-white siding. Palm trees and shaped topiary decorated the well-tended front yard. The sun back dropped the city to the West, burning gold. The angles of light painted the thin, sparse clouds pink, purple, and orange creamsicle. Adam parked in the driveway in front of the garage. He stepped out of his car and the wind, tasting of salt, pulled at his hair. Between the neighbor’s fence and the sand dunes, he caught sight of the Atlantic. The waves rolled and churned, edged by white foam-like lace. Adam walked around to the other side of the car. On the floorboards were the milk and beer, and on the passenger seat were the flowers. His hands trembled and his heart thudded against his chest like a hammer. Do or die, he had to commit now— fuck it, life was short and that bouquet was like twenty bucks. He tucked the beers under his arm, picked-up the milk in one hand, and the flowers in the other, 

Adam walked up to the front porch and used his elbow to ring the bell. Before Adam even retracted his hand, the door opened. Kenny stood on the other side of the threshold. His hair was yanked back into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. Flour dusted his pink t-shirt across the chest. Adam’s eyes drifted down to khaki shorts and the loafers he wore without any socks. For a brief second, Kenny stared at Adam, also giving him a once-over. Adam hesitated, trying to decide if he should give Kenny the flowers or put something down to offer a handshake— like a dork. He managed neither before Kenny cussed. 

“Son of a bitch, you dressed nice, shit, stay there.” Kenny pointed at Adam to indicate where he should 'stay.' Then, Kenny vanished into the house, leaving the door ajar. Adam gaped, brow furrowed and blinking like an owl. A Gregorian choir in his brain chanted, ‘dork, dork, massive dork!’ 

Kenny hadn’t come back by the time Adam processed his absence. So, he took the first step over the threshold. “Uh, Kenny? I’m coming in?” Adam called, to no reply. 

The inside of the house had a blandly typical beach house vibe. White walls, seashell decor, stock paintings of the ocean, and blue accents. There was a wood sign on the entry hall wall that read: Happiness comes in waves. To his left was the kitchen, a large space, with expansive white countertops and black appliances. There were a few bowls and dishes left out, with signs of being used. The sink was to put it lightly, a wreck, filled with utensils, cutting boards, and knives. Adam put the milk and beer in the fridge. Then noted that the dining room table was set. Each place had a gleaming crimson plate. No forks or knives, just chopsticks. A drinking glass for water. Kenny even had even folded the cloth napkins. All set on a black placemat. Adam wandered on into the rest of the house in search of Kenny. Connected to the dining room was the living room. Tall windows on the East wall allowed an expansive view over the pool, yard, and ocean. The sliding glass back door had been left cracked, to allow the cool and brisk breeze in. Adam pushed his hands into his pockets and soaked in the ocean at sunset. 

Footsteps echoed down the far hall. Kenny passed the living room doorway, on the way to the kitchen. He caught Adam out of the corner of his eye and pulled back, changing direction at the last second. Kenny smiled and spread his arms wide so Adam could admire new outfit. He’d changed into dark jeans, a red v-neck, and a black blazer. Still in the loafers, Adam noted, but that was just part of the Kenny charm. 

“Better, right?” Kenny asked. He did a full turnaround and then jaunted over to Adam. He smoothed the lapel of his blazer down. “I didn’t give you a dress code, so I packed something nice to wear just in case. Didn’t wanna feel awkward in khakis, ya know?”

“Yeah, you look good,” Adam agreed, returning Kenny’s grin. They diverted their gaze to the floor together. Adam, trying to find something to say, exaggerated a  look around the house. “Is this your uh, home?”

“Nope! I rented it on Air BnB,” Kenny said, proudly. “I’ve never used the app before, but it found this pretty sweet crib, so I’m impressed. A little pricey maybe, but for an evening, just for us? Worth it, I’d say.”

Adam heard Kenny but he couldn’t think of a response. It hit him that the food on the counter, the set table, the entire house, pointed-to one thing. Kenny had planned this. He had to look for a house, find one, pay for it, plan a menu, buy food, bring tableware, find time. He had planned this at personal expense. He had put real thought into setting-up a dinner for him and Adam.  This wasn’t some off-the-cuff idea. The only improvised part about this was inviting Adam himself. And to think, Adam thought Kenny only wanted to Netflix and chill. 

“I, uh, I got you these,” Adam stammered. He held out the flowers to Kenny. “Just, a housewarming, gift, I guess for — for you.”

“Oh, you did, thank you, Cowboy,” Kenny smiled, he took the bouquet from Adam. He hesitated, awkwardly gripping the plastic casing of the flowers. 

“I guess, you can put it in some water?” Adam suggested. He scratched at the back of his head. 

“Yeah, right, good idea,” Kenny nodded, he stepped back from Adam, lingered for a second, and then headed to the kitchen. 

Adam followed Kenny and while Kenny tore through the cabinets in search of a vase, Adam took a second look. Beside the stove were three white bowls with flour, eggs, and panko crumbs. On the burner sat a large, cast-iron pot filled several inches deep with cooking oil. A thermometer rested beside the burner. Kenny exclaimed, “ah-ha,” When he came up with a vase. He filled it with water and settled the flowers in. Brow furrowed he poked a couple daisies upright. Kenny set the vase with the flowers in the middle of the table, as an impromptu centerpiece.

“There, that livens-up the place,” Kenny said, putting his hands on his hips. He smiled at Adam and the ocean, through the windows behind him, framed his face. His eyes bluer than the sea and Adam only just noticed he didn’t have his glasses on. Instead, the glasses were hooked in the pocket of his blazer. Adam was invited here, talking with Kenny, about to have dinner, and his trepidation only grew.

“Is this all for us?” Adam asked, he leaned against the kitchen doorway and shoved his hand in his pocket. With his other he gestured broadly at everything. 

“Yeah, I thought it would be nice?” Kenny admitted, it was his turn to shrug. “Just us, for once. We haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together recently and there's some, some things I wanted to talk to you about. Stuff that's— that's better here maybe than at Daily’s Place. Is it too much?”

Kenny looked bashful, his smile soft, peering at Adam, his hand working over the back of a chair. It was nervous and sweet, open in a way that Adam hadn’t seen in months. Words were hard, but pushing off the doorpost and walking over to Kenny was easier. For a second, Adam’s hands hovered between them, and then he hooked his fingers beneath Kenny’s lapel. Kenny giggled and rested his forehead against Adam’s, his breath tickling Adam’s bottom lip. 

“It’s perfect,” Adam murmured. He untangled from Kenny’s jacket and slid his hands down Kenny’s sides until Adam held his hips. Adam pushed his palms against the jut of Kenny's bone, “What's for dinner, chef Kenny?”

Kenny giggled and gripped at Adam’s hands. “Well, I was thinking,” he glanced back at the kitchen, “I’d make us Tonkatsu, you know, those pork cutlets you get in Japan, with the breading and cabbage? I haven’t had any in a while and it’s one of my favorite dishes. And I ordered sushi, and dessert, from a couple local places—”

“So, you’re cooking?” Adam asked, he quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah, what’s so bad about that? I can cook,” Kenny protested. He pulled back from Adam and moved into the kitchen. Adam returned to his position by the doorpost as Kenny rummaged in the fridge. He pulled-out a bag of plastic boxes and then a platter of salted pork. Kenny rolled his eyes, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid I’ll burn it? I promise only a little singe, for flavor. I mean it’s Tonkatsu, grade school children can make it.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Adam laughed, he lifted his hands to placate Kenny. “It’s just, you never hit me as the cooking type. Order in and dine-out always seemed more your style.”

Kenny stuck his tongue out at Adam. He laughed though and turned the stove on to heat the oil. The plastic bag crinkled as Kenny sorted through small platters of elegant sushi and laid each on the counter. “We can eat this while the oil heats. I wish I had a nicer serving tray but I didn’t think to bring one, and this house doesn’t have one— I looked. Oh, and I don’t know how you feel about it, but I got some sake too. It’s in the fridge. Do you like it hot? I’ve never had it, so, I don’t know what’s better.”

“Man, I don’t even know,” Adam said. He never liked the flavor of sake —too dry for his taste— so he’d let the discussion drop and hope that was better than rejecting Kenny’s offer. Adam walked over to help Kenny carry the sushi to the table. “I got you milk, though, two percent. I uh— put it in the fridge.”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Kenny smiled.  

While Kenny removed the covers from the sushi, Adam fetched his meager contributions to the meal. He returned with the gallon of milk and an IPA. Adam poured Kenny a tall glass of milk and Kenny poured Adam’s beer. Teeth buried in his bottom lip, like this task was monumental, Kenny dumped the bottle into the glass. By the time the bubbles fizzed down, Adam’s ‘beer’ was mostly air. It was the thought that counted and Kenny looked pleased. Before sitting down himself, Kenny pulled-out Adam’s chair for him. Adam muttered his thanks and sat down. Kenny took his place on the opposite side of the table and used his chopsticks to divvy up the sushi pieces between them. 

“Where’d you get this?” Adam asked. 

“Sushiko, a small place by the river, Cody recommended it,” Kenny said. “It’s a nice little restaurant and we’re by the coast so the seafood is fresh. I mean it’s not really, authentic, but that’s hard to get in America anyway.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be good,” Adam countered. “Do you want the ginger?”

“Nah, you can have it,” Kenny said, to punctuate his point he picked up a heap of the ginger and plopped it onto Adam’s plate. “Do you remember how to use the chopsticks? It hasn’t been that long since you were last in Japan, right?”

“I order take-out once a month to keep my skills sharp,” Adam promised. He picked-up the chopsticks by his plate. Then, took the ends and stuck them beneath his top lip like a walrus, “Goes like this right?”

Kenny laughed, hand lifting to cover his mouth as his shoulders shook with racks of giggles. Adam smiled and wiped off his chopsticks with his napkin. It was the kinda joke he’d crack when he was ten, on the rare occasion his parents took the family out to eat. His sister would find it hilarious, his father and mother less so. Yet, it seemed to amuse Kenny to no end, and all that bashful shyness was gone when the laughter subsided. 

“Yeah, close enough,” Kenny said, waving his hand. “Here you should try the tempura roll, it’s my favorite of all the inaccurate American sushis.”

Kenny picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and offered it over the table for Adam to try. Adam didn’t point out that he already had a piece of that type on his plate. He only leaned forward and opened his mouth so Kenny could feed him the sushi. Adam bit down and savored the taste of shrimp, rice, and crunchy breading. 

“It’s good,” he said, nodding and humming his approval.

“Isn’t it?” Kenny asked, he jammed a roll with avocado in his mouth and grinned, pleased. “It’s kinda cliché, but I love this stuff.” 

Adam took a sip from his beer to wash down the rice gummed behind his teeth.

“I’ve always meant to ask,” Kenny said, he pointed with his chopsticks at the beer. “Do you... like that stuff?”

“Beer? Yeah, pretty well, it’s not my favorite drink,” Adam admitted. He ate another piece of sushi and chewed through his thoughts. “It has to be a good beer, the cheap crap isn’t worth the calories. Pleases the hell out of a crowd though.”

“Yeah, don’t you have to drive back?” Kenny’s brow furrowed. 

Adam laughed, “A beer or two isn’t going to send me over, Kenny. It's not like liquor, it's a much lower alcohol content. I probably won't even feel the buzz, especially drinking on food. By the time I leave, I'll be close to zero. I try to keep track of my limits these days, and you know, it’s hard to be no carb and take shots.”

“Trainers got you on no carb?” Kenny asked, with a lifted brow. It was a quick change of topic and Adam appreciated the tact. 

“Yeah, have been for a while now, it’s probably better that way,” Adam shrugged. “You know not all of us shred fat like you.”

“Well, that’s not so easy these days,” Kenny admitted. “Not all of us are as young as you.”

“Hey, a few months and I’ll be thirty,” Adam pointed-out. “Or like, twenty-four by Cody’s metric, something like that.”

“You can’t say that being youngest wasn’t a good shake,” Kenny said. “You never had to pay for anything.”

“Just all the ribbing,” Adam grinned.

Adam popped some ginger in his mouth and waggled his eyebrows for emphasis. Kenny was all grins and the smiles were a relief. This wasn’t a total cluster fuck and Adam hadn’t said something to screw-up the mood. This was going much better than his anxiety allowed him to anticipate. A pause to eat lulled the conversation to a brief silence. Yet, Adam could tell by the way Kenny studied his Philadelphia roll, there was something on his mind. 

“So, uh, last night,” Kenny said, he placed his elbow on the table. “Did you sign a contract with Matt Hardy? Did I interpret that segment correctly? I was preparing for my match so I wasn’t really paying attention, but—”

Adam paused, chopsticks halfway to his mouth, and then he grinned. “I did.”

“Did you read that contract?” Kenny probed. “Listen, I know you and Hardy go back but I’m not sure you should trust that guy, Page. He’s a bit of a carny— I mean his gimmick is ‘Big Money Matt.’ That has got to be a warning sign. I know Matt and Nick brought him in by burying his vessel or whatever, but he’s changed a lot since the Stadium Stampede. He’s got the whole, I guess split personality thing going on?”

“Oh, I read the contract I signed,” Adam nodded. He savored the taste of a Dragon roll, fishy and popping with acidity. “Hardy didn’t, but I did.”

“Oh, really,” Kenny waxed, he pressed his finger tips to his chin. “Something you wanna fill me in on?”

“Yeah, I switched the contracts,” Adam said. 

Kenny gasped, “You switched the contracts?! Oh, ho, Page, I knew you were smart, brilliant, tell me everything.”

“Well, I knew he was going to invite me to a bar, because he said so on Twitter,” Adam began. “Like, you said, I’ve known Matt for a while and he’s always been a dick. He was talking all about how I’m going to be some great star or the ‘top guy’ in AEW, or whatever, some bullshit, but I kinda figured his plan was to get me drunk and willing to sign something stupid.”

He leaned back in his chair, sipping on his beer and thinking. Adam couldn’t get why every other manager in AEW was salivating at the idea of getting him on their payroll. The Dark Order was trying to recruit him. Taz was talking about him. Matt Hardy seemed to think Adam was the second coming of Jesus. Adam assumed that he was so sought after because the actual best wrestler in AEW was already spoken-for. And Jon Moxley wasn’t the type to tolerate companionship. So, that left Adam Page. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. 

“So, I uh, had a little something prepared for him,” Adam shrugged. “I don’t think he’s figured it out yet, so like, don’t go spreading it around? Snitches get stitches, Kenny, and I mean it.”

“My lips are sealed,” Kenny promised. He pantomimed zipping-up his mouth, locking it, and throwing away the key. He leaned forward, hand bracing against the table. “But really, what was in the contract?’

“You wanna know?” Adam asked. 

“Yeah, I wanna know!” Kenny said. 

“Well, I’m not going to tell you,” Adam smirked. “You’ll just have to find-out with Matt Hardy and everyone else. I don’t wanna pop the surprise.”

“Aw, Pizz, you’re killing me, now that’s all I’m going to think about for the rest of the night!” Kenny laughed, he deflated into his chair. Then he bounced back, livened with an idea. “Oh, I know, you made it so you get a third of his merch sales? A half?! Man, that’s brutal. Ooh, I know what you should’ve done, what I would do? Make him your butler for a few weeks, that would be funny.”

Adam chuckled, cheeks flushed with amusement. All he did was shake his head and keep his mouth shut. Kenny gave-up, lifting his hands in a gesture of peace. While they ate, Kenny talked about the Women’s Title Eliminator tournament and all that went into organizing it. He seemed excited to debut the woman’s bracket next week. He promised that he had seen the matches, and they were, “fantastic.” In particular he was ecstatic about Aja Kong and Yuka progressing. Adam had no idea who Maki Itoh was beyond her Twitter, but Kenny was adamant she get a contract at some point. On his part Adam was happy to sit back —long after polishing off his own plate— and listen to Kenny, occasionally interjecting a question or an affirming, “mhm.” Eventually, Kenny got around to eating his last piece of sushi. His eyes darted beyond Adam’s shoulder and pushed himself to his feet to go check on the oil. 

Adam turned in his seat to watch Kenny in the kitchen. He was eyeing a thermometer dipped in the pot. Pleased with the temperature, he moved to start working with the meat. Kenny used a skewer to dip a pork cutlet into the flour, then egg, then back into the flour. Adam cleared the sushi plates from the table. He rinsed them in the sink. He cleaned a few other dishes, cutting boards, and knives, listening to Kenny complain about getting flour on his fingers. Adam put the dishes on the rack and dried his hands on a towel. He wandered to Kenny’s side. Kenny had coated two cutlets in panko crumbs and the breaded meat sat on a plate ready to go. He fiddled with the thermometer, brow furrowed in concentration. He adjusted the temperature on the stove and then gripped the pot handle to center it on the burner. He hissed when his hand touched hot metal. Kenny stuck his finger in his mouth. 

“Hot,” he breathed to Adam. 

“Yeah, no shit, go rinse it under the cold water,” Adam ordered. “Are you okay?”

“Just my pride,” Kenny said, as he ran his finger under the faucet and washed his hands of flour. “I thought I was going to be so cool, making Tonkatsu for you, and you’d be like, ‘wow, look at Kenny be a boss in the kitchen,’ and now I’m just kinda—”

He returned to the stove and looked at the simmering oil with particular trepidation. 

“Now, I’m just kinda nervous,” he admitted, smiling again. “Like, I don’t want to fuck this up and ruin the evening, or something.”

“Do you want help?” Adam asked.

“How heroic,” Kenny pined. “A cowboy come to save me.”

“Yeah, yeah, mostly I just don’t want the food burned,” Adam said, stepping to Kenny’s side. He nudged his hip against Kenny’s and picked-up a skewer. The task was simple, pick-up the two pieces of meat and plunge them into the boiling oil. Yet, when Adam did it, Kenny looked at him like he did something astounding. Adam handed the tongs to Kenny, “you can flip them on your own, right?”

“Pfft, I got that,” Kenny bragged, taking the utensil from Adam. He positioned himself, watching as bubbles formed around the meat. The panko browned to an appetizing gold. As the meat cooked, it exuded juices that caused the oil to spit. Kenny yelped, when some struck his arm, shifting behind Adam. “Unless it fights back?!”

“Aren’t you the guy who fought a G1 with a fractured heel?!” Adam snapped. “Don’t be a baby, it’s just oil, it’s not going to bite you! Get in there.”

Kenny patted Adam’s shoulder and shifted to plunge the tongs into the oil. He flipped both pieces of meat. Although, he held the tongs at the furthest extent to avoid oil splatter. Adam placed his hand on the small of Kenny’s back to hold him steady as they waited the last minute for the meat to finish. It was such a simple gesture but Kenny’s nerves seemed to evaporate under his touch. Kenny fished out the cutlets and placed them diagonally on a draining rack. The cooking done, Kenny kicked Adam out of the kitchen while he finished the rest of the meal. Adam returned to the dining table, sat down, and enjoyed his beer. The soothing melody of Kenny banging around behind him as background noise. 

A few minutes later, Kenny placed a plate in front of Adam. The cutlet had been sliced thin and fanned across the edge of the plate. A generous heap of shredded cabbage piled in the middle garnished with a slice of tomato and lemon. On the side were pickled radishes. The colors popped and the meat smelled delicious. Kenny laid a small container of pouring sauce between them on the table. Kenny sat down with his own plate across from Adam.

“This is so— great, Kenny,” Adam breathed, looking over the food. He picked-up his chopsticks and dove in for the Tonkatsu. It was juicy and savory, with a nice crunch. Adam groaned, “It tastes fantastic.”

“Thanks, I was worried about overcooking it, but with you at my side, it was easy,” Kenny said, he smiled. He poured some sauce on his cutlet. “We make a great team.” 

Adam focused on pinching some cabbage between his chopsticks, eyes casting down to the plate. “Yeah, I— I guess we do.”

“Hey, it was just an observation,” Kenny said, he nudged Adam’s foot under the table with his own. "It doesn't have to mean anything."

“No, no, it’s fine,” Adam said. He took a sip of beer but didn’t taste it. “You’re right, I was just thinking— I’ve tagged with a lot of people lately, and none of them are like you. You really are the best.”

“That’s sweet, cowboy,” Kenny grinned, but Adam sensed the need to change the conversation. Mourning the tag-team wasn’t uplifting for either of them. 

“So, where did you learn to make this?” Adam asked. He gestured at the Tonkatsu. “’Cause it’s really good. Not going to lie, that’s what I miss about Japan— the food. They just don’t have the same, I don’t know, style? Yeah, style, in America.”

“Well, I learned from one of the ladies I stayed with when I first moved to Japan in, 2008, well, kinda learned,” Kenny elaborated. He shrugged, “mostly I just watched her cook and sometimes she let me help. She always did the bits with the oil because she was afraid I’d burn myself. My Japanese wasn’t good back then but I’m pretty sure she thought I was just an idiot.”

“I mean, you can be a bit,” Adam paused. Kenny pressed his lips thin, so he picked his next word carefully, “ditzy?”

“I’ll give you that,” Kenny said. “I wouldn’t trust me around a big pot of boiling oil either. You handled yourself pretty well in there, though.”

“Deep fried is a staple food in the rural south," Adam said. "It's a survival skill, where I'm from. It's okay, Kenny, you can kick my ass Street Fighter, later, so that way we're even."

The conversation slowed so they could finish eating. Just the sounds of chewing and chopsticks clacking. It was good, the cabbage contrasting to the meat, and the sauce adding a hint of sweetness. It wasn't an awkward or uncomfy silence, Adam wasn't looking for an excuse to breach it. It was just them, together, enjoying the mutual company. When Adam finished eating, just to gross out Kenny, he picked up his plate and licked it clean. The gesture had the intended effect of making Kenny screw-up his nose and expression. Adam took his last swig of beer and then carried both their plates to the sink. Adam helped Kenny tidy-up the kitchen. Adam washed the dishes and Kenny dried, putting the plates away on the shelves. They moved around each other like this was something they did every night. Yet, each time Kenny’s elbow jostled Adam or he moved a step closer, a warm heat spread across Adam’s skin. It was dark outside when they finished and Kenny turned on lights in the house to illuminate the rooms. 

“You up for cake, cowboy?” Kenny asked as he returned. He took a box out from the fridge and finagled the lid open. Inside the box was a small, white cake decorated with vanilla icing, raspberries, and fancy swirls. Kenny smacked Adam’s hand away when he tried to taste the frosting. 

"Ow," Adam grunted. He cradled his hand to his chest.

“I didn’t really know what you liked, but everyone likes vanilla, so I figured I couldn't go wrong,” Kenny admitted as he took the cake out of the box. Adam got plates and a knife to cut with. Kenny stuck his tongue out as he sliced into the cake. It was obnoxiously cute. He pointed with the knife, “Is this big enough?”

“That’ll do it,” Adam said.

 Kenny sliced the cake and put a piece on a plate that he handed to Adam, then cut his own piece. The inner filling of the cake was a bright red raspberry and Adam hummed, eager. to try Kenny took a fork and cut off a small piece of his cake slice. He offered the morsel to Adam. Once again, Adam let Kenny feed him. It was sweet, with a delicate crumb, and acidic with the fruit. Kenny opened his mouth, making an ‘ah’ sound, to indicate he wanted Adam to return the gesture. Adam obliged, watching with fascination as Kenny’s lips closed around the fork. A speck of icing trapped at the corner of his mouth. Before he could stop himself, Adam leaned forward and kissed it off— grinning all the way back as Kenny’s cheeks flushed. 

“You remember when we tricked that waitress into giving us free cake?” Kenny asked. His eyes lit-up, to divert his attention though, he glanced down for another bite. “That was— fun.”

“I don’t think we tricked anybody,” Adam laughed. "I think the waitress knew what was up the whole damn time."

“What, we weren’t a convincing couple?” Kenny asked. The question so earnest, his voice so soft, that Adam almost dropped his plate. Deep in Kenny's eyes hid a kernel of curious probing. Like he was testing the waters. Wading-out waist high in a surging tide.

“I— um, I guess we were.” Adam ducked his head, but Kenny shoved at his shoulder and the tension dissipated. 

“I’m just teasing you, Hangers,” he laughed. “Eat your cake, before I do. Hey, I know, why don’t we go sit outside? C’mon.”

Kenny had already split off and so that settled it. Adam got a beer from the fridge and followed Kenny out the back door. At the edge of the pool was a small sitting area with chairs and a couch. The ocean crashed against the shore, loud and echoing in Adam's inner-ear. He felt the tide wearing away the sand in his teeth. Kenny sat down on the couch, tossing his phone on the coffee table. He crossed his legs up and finished off his cake. Adam joined him on the other side of the couch. They remarked on the flavors of the cake and speculated if the icing was cream cheese or not. Finished eating, Kenny put his plate down and lounged back against the cushions. 

Adam studied Kenny’s profile. His straight nose and angular jaw, the untamed stubble on his cheeks. His lips pink with red raspberries. In red and black, he looked marvelous. The wind tussling his curls. And his eyes, so scarce these days, holding every emotion Adam hoped to see reflected in them. Adam’s heart collided with the inside of his ribs. He took his last bite of cake and put aside the dishes. Then, for courage, he swigged on his beer and set that aside too. He leaned into the cushions, adjusting a pillow underneath his right elbow. 

“Hey,” he said, voice coarse and weak, the word lost to the ocean. Kenny looked at him, hearing him anyway, and Adam opened his arms wide, “What are you doing over there? Get your ass over here.”

Kenny slid over until he leaned against Adam’s side. Adam swung his legs up onto the couch and pulled Kenny against his chest. Kenny settled between his legs and Adam draped his arm over Kenny’s back. Something dislodged in Adam’s lungs and he breathed easy for the first time in months. Kenny sighed and pressed his cheek to Adam’s collarbone. His hand ran over Adam’s bicep. Adam reached over Kenny, picked-up his beer, and took another casual swig. Part of him regretted the alcohol because now his breath must smell like beer and cake. The other part of him needed it to function in this moment. 

Adam drew broad circles between Kenny’s shoulder blades, feeling each hard muscle, defined and strong beneath his hand. Kenny was warm in contrast to the cool night, like a little personal heater. Adam chuckled, content as he leaned back against the arm rest. Kenny turned his face into Adam’s chest and buried his nose into Adam’s shirt. He shuddered in Adam’s arms, a full body tremble working all the way down his spine. Adam lifted his hand to work his fingers through Kenny’s hair and curls. A little coarser now since he dyed it, black and silver. Adam didn’t know what else to say or think, or do. Didn’t know if this was Kenny using him for comfort or something more. If he was supposed to read between the lines, look for the fine text, or just be a quiet and good pillow. Maybe, he'd just pretend that the way Kenny clung to him was because of love. 

“I like your hair like this,” Adam mused. He ran his fingers through Kenny’s scalp. It was an easier question than: why did you bring me here? What do you want from me? What are we? 

“Thanks,” Kenny muttered. He turned his cheek to press against Adam’s chest. Adam considered that an improvement. 

“Are you okay?” He managed. 

Kenny sighed, shoulders heaving. He wrapped his arms around Adam’s waist and cinched in, holding him close. It was the total experience of being owned. That Adam was Kenny’s to have and hold onto. It was possessive in a way that thrilled Adam. That there were seven billion people on this planet and he was the one Kenny Omega invited to a rented house for dinner. Adam was the one who got to hold Kenny Omega, not anyone else. Adam was the one Kenny Omega wanted to be held by. It had to mean something. He wanted it to mean something. Please, let it mean something. 

“It’s just,” Kenny whispered. His voice soft, but Adam carded his fingers through Kenny’s hair to encourage each word forth. “Sometimes, I realize one day I could die. I could just disappear and the world would be none the wiser. There’s be no one to miss me and that— that terrifies me more than death itself.”

Then, Kenny laughed, shaking his head, giggling like he said something funny. Not something that Adam had no idea how to react to. Every word of it raised a protest inside Adam though. That he cared, that he would notice, that he would be devastated to lose Kenny. That he lost Kenny once and he had no intentions of ever doing it again. Except, Adam had no idea how to say all that in a way that made sense. When he opened his mouth to speak nothing came out but a huff of carbon dioxide. Kenny tensed, feeling Adam’s diaphragm tighten. It was as if Adam’s anxiety infused and intertwined with Kenny's, into something ugly between them. Adam could just hold Kenny tighter and that would make Kenny understand. Hold so tight to Kenny that he couldn’t leave, couldn’t go anywhere, and they’d just fit together, and it’d work. 

Except, Adam was no longer so young and stupid as to believe that would work. It wasn’t enough to ask Kenny, ‘do you trust me,’ when he already breached that trust. Adam couldn’t hold on alone, they had to meet in the middle. These things had to be mutual. This was a two street and Adam had no idea if Kenny was walking towards him or away. He was just a blur in the distance that he was chasing like hell. As if, when he caught Kenny, he’d get the answers to the questions he was too afraid to ask. 

Kenny shifted, pushing back against Adam and the awkward silence between them. The silence Adam let linger too long. He wondered if just screaming would work better than this. Kenny sat-up, and tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. He clung to one of Adam’s hands like it was a life raft in the middle of that ocean out there. They sat thigh-to-thigh, hip-to-hip. Maybe, that’s how Adam felt, like Kenny was drowning and all he could do was yell advice from the shoreline. 

“Look,” Kenny began, he licked his lips. He stared at where their knees touched. Adam could feel Kenny's pulse fluttering beneath his fingers. “There’s something I gotta tell you.”

Kenny giggled again, shoulders shaking and Adam had no idea what the joke was. He placed his other, free hand on Kenny’s shoulder. 

“I set all of this up to tell you, but I— I don’t know what to say,” He admitted. He shook his head and squeezed Adam’s hand. 

“Whatever, whatever you feel, man,” Adam offered, lamely. “You know I’m here for you.”

“Look—” Kenny began.

He looked-up, gunmetal blue eyes matching Adam’s gaze. The warm glow from the house burned his cheeks gold and he shivered. Kenny was scared, the thought hit Adam like a gunshot. Terrified, looking at Adam, like Adam was going to hurt him. Like a whipped dog anticipating being taken out back.  

“Adam, I—”  he began, then a sharp chime cut him off.

Both Kenny and Adam looked down at Kenny’s phone on the coffee table. Don Callis, calling Kenny, the phone vibrating against the glass. Kenny withdrew his hand, untangling from Adam, scooting away. Like, he'd been burned and scalded, like he just put his hand back on that pot handle and this time gripped tight. “I’m not— I’m not going to answer it. I— I told him I’d be busy,” Kenny stammered, his hands working through his hair. There was a bite to his tone that set Adam’s heart on fire. “I don’t know why he’s calling me he should know.”

As Kenny’s pitch hitched and his voice cracked, Adam lunged forward to hit the decline button on the phone. The phone stopped ringing and Kenny sighed, his face stricken pale. Adam himself breathed for the first time in almost a minute, slowly leaning back into the couch. His hands rested on his knees. The ocean crashed and receded. 

“He can leave a damn voice mail,” Adam managed, cracking a half-grin but when he looked at Kenny it was not returned. Instead, Adam met wild eyes and a pale face, white with fear. In a few seconds it calmed, the war raging in Kenny dying down as he glanced away from Adam. As Adam watched Kenny pulled the glasses-free from his front pocket and shoved them on his face. He licked his lips, jaw working tight. “Kenny, is everything okay?”

“Fine, it’s fine, I’m fine,” Kenny repeated, his hands rubbed over his thighs. “I’m not— I’m not going to keep you, you can go. It was— It was fun tonight, thanks.”

Kenny lifted and waved his hand as if to dismiss Adam. Adam’s felt his temper go through the roof, just a moment of complete rage that calmed immediately. There were no words, just screaming like if he opened his mouth, a long drawn howl would escape instead of anything coherent. And that was the best he could do to express the emotions in his head. His teeth gritted and Adam rubbed his hands through his hair, trying to clear out the thoughts from his head. 

“No, wait, Kenny what did you want to tell me?” Adam asked. “What were you trying to say before Don called?”

“All, I wanted to do was just tell you that— that,” Kenny stuttered, and Adam had no faith that what came out of his mouth next was the truth. “That you can always talk to me if you need it. That, that I’m here for you, Page, and like, that you don’t need to go signing stupid contracts with Matt Hardy, but you didn’t so, it’s really not a problem. You— you didn’t need me.”

“Is that it?” Adam asked, he glanced around the house. Thought of the sushi and the home-cooked meal. Of cake and Kenny dressing nice just for Adam. “You did all this, just to tell me that? Are you sure that’s what you wanted to tell me?”

“What do you think?” Kenny asked, he peered at Adam. The glasses and his expression were like a brick wall. Impassive, unreadable, and drawing Adam to a total stop. Adam’s stomach twisted, lips parted in unvoiced confusion. Adam couldn’t answer the question because he was afraid of what Kenny thought. Kenny didn't love him, Kenny didn't care, Kenny was using him.

 “Seriously, Page, I’m fine— you can leave if you want,” Kenny repeated. “It was fun tonight.”

“No, no, no, Kenny,” Adam interjected. “No, I’m not just leaving, I’m not going anywhere until I get some damn answers about what the hell is going on. I’ve been out of my mind for months trying to figure us— this, out.  It ain’t even just about what you did to Moxley or any of the other crap. I was with you in Japan, I know how you are. Excalibur may be scandalized but I was there when you won the Intercontinental title off Tanahashi. I know how it goes. What gets me, is that you hadn’t done that shit since Japan. Ever since Don Callis came back you’ve been acting weird and I think by this point I deserve some damn answers.”

“Okay, fine, fine, what do you want to know?” Kenny demanded. He crossed his arms over his stomach. “I am an open book.”

“It’s just, I don’t know—” Adam stumbled over his words, the real questions getting in the way of the ones he could actually ask. What are we? So, instead, he stumbled-on, “Are you sure you can trust Don?”

“Of course, I can,” Kenny scoffed. “We’re changing the business Adam, changing the world, history! All those solid steel doors, those arbitrary barriers in our sport? They’re gone now! Impact, New Japan, NWA, Stardom, they’re all clamoring to get a spot on our show. We are the hottest thing in wrestling, not WWE, us. Tony Khan, the Bucks, and Cody, the whole locker room, they should be thanking us, we’re giving them jobs, improving their pay checks, and what do we get?! Just like you said, Excalibur on commentary with a bad attitude. No one else shares my vision, no one else gets it, not like Don does.”

Kenny shook his head, curls flopping around. He spoke fast, quickly, trying to get to the next words as soon as possible. 

“I thought that was all bullshit,” Adam admitted. “Just shit Don was making-up to justify taking the title.”

“Page, please!” Kenny said, his hand fluttering in Adam’s direction. “We’ve been planning something like this for years. This isn’t a mere money-making scheme, Don isn’t like Matt Hardy. And yeah, maybe that means I can’t be around Matt and Nick as much anymore, maybe the locker room hates me, maybe I’m not as popular with the audience— big deal. They’ll come around, they always come around, they’ll realize how much I’ve done for them. People change, this is— this is bigger than any one person.”

“Oh, Don isn’t like Matt Hardy?” Adam asked, he lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Kenny pushed to his feet and Adam stood too. Kenny’s hands fluttered around and something flexed in his jaw like he was chewing on sand. His voice was darker, biting with anger as he shook his finger at Adam. “Don’t even start with me, Page, about who to trust. We both know your track record.”

“Matt Hardy doesn’t give a shit about me,” Adam stated. Kenny stepped-in like it was a warning, but Adam squared his shoulders and with a look wilted Kenny. Adam took sick satisfaction in the inch or two of height he had. To lift his chin, and stand his ground. “And Don Callis doesn’t give a shit about you.”

“Don is like family to me,” Kenny snapped, his finger jutted into Adam’s face, his voice lifting in pitch and volume. Adam couldn’t remember if they ever got to this point with each other, yelling. No, he remembered some shoves in the ring. “He cares about me. I know he does. I’ve known him since I was a child, Page. It’s not the same thing.”

Adam worked his teeth into his bottom lips. He placed his hand on his hips and glanced towards the ocean. Black and churning, the waves thrown in turmoil, rolling, clawing-up the beach to high tide. Adam let himself feel the wind in his hair and his pounding heart. He glanced back at Kenny. 

Back in the day, Biz Cliz days, the Bullet Club, and the Elite was Kenny’s family. They were the ones who looked after him after matches. They were the ones who fetched ice or hot packs for his injuries. They were the ones at ringside. The ones in his tag-teams. The ones who helped him pick-out clothes or get in his ring gear. Adam thought they were family and he had fought like hell for that family. Scrabbled to keep the little niche of home he’d found, that place he belonged. He spared a thought, that something had gone wrong, terribly wrong. So wrong, that Kenny, went to someone else instead of his family. FTR, the Dark Order, Matt Hardy, the Good Brothers, Don, all these side distractions instead of the stable that cared about them. Egos blew-up, friendships faded, but it took more than a couple of arguments to break the Elite. There was a looming specter, sticking his fingers in the crack. Adam may’ve left the Elite but he always thought there’d be something to go back to. He never thought his absence would unravel his friends— never dreamed it. 

He didn’t even think they’d notice he was gone. 

“Does your family usually hit you with a microphone?” Adam asked. 

Kenny’s lips parted, his jaw falling slack. His shoulders drooped and then he rubbed his hand beneath the rims of his glasses. He crossed his arms, gaze turning downwards. Adam’s hands fell to his sides, feeling that the fight was over. Kenny shook his head as if to physically dislodge Adam’s words from his skull. Kenny was a fighter, he was a leader, he was a crazy visionary, who did his own thing. He always had an argument in him. He always kicked-out. He fought sixty minute matches against Okada. The way he capitulated in defeat here and now was fascinating because it was so against him. It was like Adam pushed back and found nothing but dust. That he had glanced back over his shoulder and suddenly Kenny had turned to salt. A pillar of salt, crumbling in Adam’s hands. A divine and cruel trick, stealing from him what he most desired, at the last possible second. 

Adam sighed, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. Then, Kenny lurched forward and pressed his forehead into Adam’s shoulder. Adam closed his eyes and reached-up to tangle his fingers back in Kenny’s hair. He worked out a knot and then smoothed his palm down Kenny’s back. Kenny trembled against him, fingers twisted in Adam’s shirt. It was a desperate grip, like this attention and concern was foreign to Kenny. Like he was starved and Adam supposed that made sense because this didn’t feel like something Don Callis would do. Because Don Callis didn't care about Kenny. He wouldn't take care of Kenny, not like his friends would— like they were supposed to. They had failed Kenny and so he went to someone else. (They had failed Adam and so he had went to someone else). Adam hummed, low in his throat, and buried his nose in Kenny’s hair. He smelled of cologne and sea salt, and everything Adam missed. 

“Forget about Don,” Adam said. “I— I shouldn’t’ve said that, it’s none of my damn business.”

“I just don’t want to fight with you,” Kenny admitted. “I don’t— I don’t deserve you, Page.”

“Nah, don’t say that,” Adam shook his head. “Because if you were gone, you know I’d miss you, right? I ain’t got that many friends left, Kenny. You’re special to me.”

“Charmer,” Kenny grunted. 

“Can’t coast on just my good looks, you know,” Adam chuckled. He wrapped both his arms around Kenny and drew him tighter. Knowing that he was being used. Knowing that they were no closer now than they were before. “Gotta have some personality.”

“Hmm, but you are good-looking,” Kenny agreed. His hands smoothed down Adam’s side, unabashed in feeling the muscles and curves of his waist. “You’re very handsome, cowboy.”

Adam chuckled as Kenny wrapped his arms around him. It felt good to be needed. Good to be wanted and held. To be possessed by someone. Adam wanted Kenny to own him. But, he wasn’t sure if it was real or if Adam was just here, and hot, and it worked. 

“I can stay,” Adam murmured. “Just one night, you and me, like— like in the hotel.” 

“You— you want to?” Kenny asked. He pulled from Adam to look at him, or rather let Adam look at his glasses. “I have an extra toothbrush.”

“Good, because all my shit is at the hotel,” Adam said, flashing a grin. 

Adam tapped Kenny on the back to urge him back inside. Adam carried in the plates and his mostly undrunk beer. At the kitchen sink, he chugged a few big gulps and poured the rest of the alcohol down the drain. Adam rinsed and cleaned the dishes, while Kenny finished tidying-up behind him. The domesticity was intoxicating, giving Adam more of a buzz than the beer. It was deceptive too. For a second, Adam could pretend they did this little ritual every night. Clean-up after dinner, put-away all the dishes, and then, turn off the kitchen lights, head for bed. As Adam followed Kenny down the hall to the master bedroom, he rubbed the sweat off his palms and onto his pants legs. 

The master bedroom had a large bed, a couch, desk and chair, and a TV on a stand. A sliding door connected to the back patio outside. Airy, light blue curtain hung over the windows and glass. The walls were painted white and the bedding was blue. The typical beach decor was as bland as the rest of the house. Kenny rummaged around in a suitcase, left on a couch with a few stray articles of clothes on the cushions. He procured a set of soft fabric shorts and tossed them to Adam. 

“I don’t sleep in pajamas like you do, Pizz,” Kenny said. His early energy was gone and he said all of it like it was a statement of fact. Adam didn't doubt Kenny's ability to put on a show though. Even if he felt like shit he'd find a way to hide it. “So, you’ll just have to do with my work-out clothes. I washed them, I promise.”

“Are you going to sleep in your X-men undies again?” Adam teased. Kenny found a toothbrush but instead of handing it to Adam, he chucked it at Adam’s head. Adam caught the flung toothbrush with a clap of his hands. “Hey, I like Wolverine!”

“No, for the record I wore briefs this time,” Kenny said. He shrugged off his blazer and smiled softly, almost regretfully. “I came prepared.”

Adam stepped around the edge of the room, watching as Kenny peeled off his shirt. He’d seen Kenny shirtless a thousand times. He could map each expanse and stretch of muscle, the powerful curve of his back, his thick arms, and broad shoulders. This time felt special, significant, especially when Kenny glanced over his shoulder at Adam and caught him watching. Adam ducked his head and escaped into the bathroom. 

Once the door was closed behind him, he stared at himself in the mirror. Adam splashed cold water on his face and then brushed his teeth. He changed into Kenny’s shorts, used the toilet, and left, wiping his hands on the hand towel. Kenny had changed into a pair of sweat pants and he was yanking the curtains closed over the window. Adam walked-up behind him, hooked an arm around Kenny’s waist and pulling him back to his chest. 

“I’ll wait for you in bed,” Adam murmured, dipping his head to speak in Kenny’s ear. “Don’t take too long, I’m tired.” 

“Yes, sir,” Kenny chuckled. “You know, I like it when you boss me around.”

“Make sure you wash behind your ears,” Adam ordered, severely. 

Adam tapped Kenny’s hip and sent him off towards the bathroom. He turned off the bedroom lights and the nightstand lamp then slid underneath the covers of the bed. It felt like this would be easier if he didn’t have to look at Kenny. Then they wouldn’t have to face anything, just be with each other. The bed was softer than Adam was used to and he fought the mattress to roll over on his side, punching at the pillow to get it shaped right. The ocean rumbled and Adam sighed, exhaling with the tide. He heard the bathroom door open and the latch close behind Kenny. He heard each pad of Kenny’s footsteps on the carpet before the mattress dipped and Kenny slid into bed. Adam rolled over, reaching for Kenny and guiding him closer. Kenny shimmied over and Adam tucked his arm over Kenny’s side, his hand resting over Kenny’s stomach. He pressed his nose into Kenny’s neck and Kenny hooked his calf around Adam’s leg to bring them flush. Every inch of Kenny’s body pressed against Adam. Kenny laid his hand over Adam’s and intertwined their fingers. Kenny rumbled, content, then slid his foot down to put his ice cold toes on Adam’s ankle. Adam jerked, cussing, and Kenny giggled. 

Adam’s eyes fluttered closed. Kenny’s breath as gentle as the ocean. He’d been dreaming about this for months, having Kenny back here. The memory of the hotel room a poor substitute for having him under Adam’s arm. Warm, heavy, his pulse tangled with Adam’s. Adam wiggled his arm underneath Kenny and clutched him tighter. He nuzzled his nose into Kenny’s neck. Here he could say anything. Anything at all, whisper it and pretend Kenny was sleeping, and Kenny could pretend he was sleeping if he didn’t want to hear it. And it’d be like a confession, words lost to empty air, absolution offered to wash them clean. Adam opened his mouth and nothing came out. Instead his lips moved and he mouthed, “I love you.” Without uttering a single sound. Then again, “I love you.” 

“Adam,” Kenny grunted, and Adam almost panicked, wondering for a second if he had actually said those things out loud. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Adam asked, sleep dragged at his mind, making him a little dumb. 

“Staying,” Kenny said. “I know I— I freak-out on you there.”

“It's fine,” Adam whispered. “It happens. Wanna hear a crazy idea I have?”

Kenny shifted, wiggling in Adam’s arms to turn over. Adam grunted when Kenny dug his elbow into his ribs so he could leverage himself onto his opposite side. Kenny buried his face in Adam’s chest and Adam wondered if that was just how he preferred to sleep. Adam rolled onto his back and dragged Kenny with him. He let his fingers play with the ends of Kenny’s hair as the other hand interlaced with Kenny’s on his stomach. Kenny settled himself and Adam licked his lips, just stupid enough to share this crazy idea. 

“Hit me, cowboy,” Kenny ordered. 

“We leave in the morning,” Adam suggested. “I don’t know where to, maybe nowhere specific, but it’s just the two of us. Sleeping in motels, eating shit at dinners, and working the indies— making like fifty bucks a show, so there’s never enough money but we make it work. Maybe we’re a tag-team again or it’s just us in singles. We dominate the competition, earn those dumb little regional belts we used to own. No more stakes, no more crap, just— wrestling, fun as it used to be.”

“We’d be recognized,” Kenny muttered, and Adam remembered the goofy BTE bits he used to shoot down for Kenny. Poking holes in the logic or saying the joke wasn’t funny. All because he was afraid of committing to an idea. Turn about was fair play he guessed. “We could— we could wear masks.”

“You ever wrestle in a mask?” Adam asked. 

“No,” Kenny admitted.

“Sucks,” Adam grunted, “And the moment you did a One-Winged Angel, everyone would know who you are. It’d just be El Generico all over again.”

“We should go horse riding,” Kenny suggested, he yawned. “I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“Next time you’re in Virginia,” Adam promised. “I’ll take you.”

“Mhmm, maybe that should be sooner, rather than later,” Kenny smiled. He settled then and Adam shut-up so he could sleep. In a few moments Kenny breathed easily, and steadily, his eyes closed. Adam twirled a black curl around his finger, absent-minded. 

“I love you,” he said, to the empty room. An observation, a statement of fact, Adam kissed the top of Kenny’s head. This time, he whispered into those curls, “I love you.” 

And then he adjusted himself so he was comfortable in the pillows. Adam sagged, the tension bleeding out of his stiff frame like water. Kenny mumbled softly in his sleep and Adam tucked him close to his side. Thoughts twisted-up in his head, Adam drifted unconscious. Then, when his eyes opened, the room was bright, light spilling in through the thin curtain. The sea raged and the gulls cried. His arm was dead weight, asleep. Adam blinked, lifting his head. In the night, he and Kenny had shifted. Kenny’s head laid on his bicep as he slept. His hand rested on Adam’s chest, fingers crooked. Needing blood flow back in his fingers, Adam slipped his arm out from under Kenny’s head. He sat-up in the bed, careful not to jostle the mattress too much. Adam opened and closed his hand, fingertips tingling painfully. He looked down at Kenny. 

His hair was in total disarray, tangled on the pillows. A little bit of drool welled at the corner of his parted lips and he breathed rough, long, slow. Without Adam, he turned onto his side. Adam slid out of the bed. He found his jeans and changed back into his clothes. Adam stepped into his boots and returned to the kitchen. He rummaged in the fridge, the options were meager. Eggs, ketchup, cheese, milk, and luckily, a pack of bacon— probably stuff Kenny bought specifically for breakfast, based on the large container of protein powder beside the fridge. He poked through the cabinets and found the flour from last night, but also sugar, baking powder, cheap imitation vanilla, and salt. 

Adam was methodical as he cracked eggs to scramble and for pancakes. He whipped-up the batter in a bowl and found the frying pans in a lower drawer. The back burner slow-cooked bacon with a tantalizing sizzle and on a front burner, Adam cooked the pancakes. Making just enough for him and Kenny. He cleaned-up as he went, leaving dishes on the drying rack. He did the eggs last, scrambling them with cheese and pepper, when he heard the water run, indicating Kenny was up and using the bathroom. A few minutes later Kenny wandered into the kitchen, rubbing the heel of his hands over his eyes. He paused in the doorway, gaping as Adam assembled two plates of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

“Mornin’,” Adam grunted, as he took a knife and fork out of the drawer. He walked over to the table and sat down. 

“You made breakfast? I should invite you over more, geez,” Kenny said. He sat down with his plate. “Did you sleep, okay?”

“Not too bad,” Adam said. He watched as Kenny took a bite of eggs and grinned as Kenny moaned almost obscenely. “Was pretty nice sleeping next to you.”

“Well, cowboy, you can do that anytime you want,” Kenny promised. He tapped his fingers against the table. “So, I guess you’re heading out then?”

“Yeah, I gotta,” Adam said. “I got a seven-hour drive, training and working-out to get on, and like, I’m bleeding money paying my neighbor’s daughter to watch my dogs. But uh, this, thing, last night, it was fun? We should do it again.”

“Including the cuddling?” Kenny asked, propping his chin against his hand. He picked-up a piece of bacon between his fingers and cheekily tore a piece off. “I couldn’t agree more. Especially, if you’re going to cook like this.”

“Definitely the cuddling, you’re a pretty good hand warmer,” Adam nodded. He scrapped the last of the eggs onto his fork and polished it off with some pancake. He stood-up and took his plate to the sink while Kenny finished eating. 

Kenny followed Adam out as he returned to his car. They hugged and Adam settled into the driver seat. He recalled the inane story he spun last night, where they go back to the indies and pretended the past year didn’t happen. It wasn’t fleeting because it was impossible. It was simply too late. As Adam turned the ignition he wondered if he could convince Kenny to come back with him to North Carolina instead. Just hide there until the next Dynamite or something. Steal a little bit more time. He put the car in the reverse and let the thought die under the rear wheels. 

[rawiswhore]

Triple H x Fem Reader- “Talk Dirty To Me”

The former Hunter Hearst Helmsley is no longer a midcarder, but is starting to really blow up in popularity as Triple H.

Not just as Triple H, but his former duo D Generation X would become popular, only for this duo to disband thanks to Shawn Michaels' back injury and retirement, which would lead to Triple H becoming the leader of D Generation X, or DX.

Who, exactly, are D Generation X?

At first, they were 2 trash talking, obnoxious fratboys pissing people off, now they're basically the WWF's answer to WCW's NWO.

Triple H is no longer that classy, stuckup blueblood gentleman he was a few years ago.

In fact, if Hunter Hearst Helmsley were to see what he'd become in 1998, he'd be horrified.

He became what he used to scoff at!

One of the things synonymous with Triple H during his D Generation X days was his sexual innuendo, shouting to the ladies if they were horny, they could come see Triple H, then makes a not very subtle sexual innuendo, mostly relating to his penis.

You stood by Triple H as he spouted that innuendo, and he spouting that sexual innuendo, combined with the way he looks and how he points to his crotch, turns you on SO much.

The night after a show on April 20th, 1998, the same show where Triple H backstage said he was going to whip his penis out and pee on the crowd, you were walking back with him to the locker room, walking down a narrow hallway, his arm laying across and behind your shoulders, your arm wrapped across and behind the small of his back.

"Triple H, Hunter, Paul, whatever you want me to call you" you said to him, your index finger running up and down his chest "I've seen what you've said with D Generation X in the ring".

You running your finger up and down his chest was telling him something's up, and something is up alright, ifyknowwhatimean.

"That sexual innuendo you shout" you purred, your voice trying to sound sexy "'I got the rocket if you want the ride!', 'Have a smoke of the peace pipe!', 'There's plenty more wood where that came from!'"

When you were quoting Triple H's innuendo, you were trying to say it the way he says it, imitating his voice, your voice sounding not so sexy anymore, as well as you not running your finger up and down his chest.

Your head was even bobbing a bit back and forth, left and right as you imitated Triple H's voice and quotes.

Triple H couldn't help but chuckle at your imitation of his voice, combined with you saying that sexual innuendo in his voice.

"That turns me on SO much" you confessed, your voice sounding sexy again and your face looking straight and serious, your head staying still and your voice putting enunciation on the word "so".

"Really?" Triple H asked, his face looking shocked and confused.

"Mmmmmhmmmm" you replied, nodding your head. "I just love what a sexual human being you are, Hunter, and your sexuality, combined with the way you look"

Triple H was liking what he was hearing, especially hearing your sexy, phone sex girl voice that you sometimes use in wrestling promos (as you're playing a slutty nymphomaniac in the WWF) coming out of such a beautiful woman like you.

Some of his sexual innuendo is corny, all of it is blatant, and some of it isn't really all that sexy, but you love his sexual innuendo and prowess coming out of him.

"Tonight, when you sprayed the crowd with that big Super Soaker" you purred to him "I want you to do that on me, but with what was implied at first".

Try to guess what that is.

No, you don't want him to pee on you, you want him to do on you what also comes (with emphasis on the word "CUMS") out of his dick.

"I like what you're saying" he purred, his voice husky and low.

"I also love it when you do that crotch chop" you confessed, your hand on his chest moving towards next to your vulva, where you motioned your hand to form a slight "v" shaped chop next to your vagina, your fingers were attached to one another "And that 'suck it' catchphrase that goes along with it".

Your voice was trying to sound as sexy as it could, your mouth spread a huge, wide, devilish ear-to-ear naughty grin.

"I know you love it" Triple H replied. "You've sucked my cock while I shouted that phrase and did that crotch chop, and the same with Shawn"

"I was thinking tonight" you purred to him "That you could still stay in your character, without being disrespectful to others, and you could say some of your D Generation X sexual innuendo to me before and while we have sex"

"I like your idea" Triple H replied, his mouth spreading across to create a naughty grin.

While the two of you were walking down to the locker room, the two of you were both keeping an eye out, looking straight ahead and sometimes even at the floor.

Why?

So not only will the two of you not trip on something, but so the two of you could walk to your locker room.

And speaking of that...

"Hey" you said to him, your voice not sounding so sexy anymore "Where do you wanna fuck? In the hallway back there?"

You thumbed back towards the hallway the two of you previously walked in.

"In the locker room?" you asked him.

"I'd rather do it in the locker room" he admitted.

You actually would rather do it in the locker room, fucking in the locker room gives you a bit of a porn feel.

Though, doing it in the hallway is nice too.

Maybe the two of you could do it in the hallway one day, although you'll have to make room for people walking through this hallway!

Not to mention, while the two of you were walking to the locker room, you were thinking about how you told him you want him to do to you what he was simulating to the audience (and what he even planned on doing to the audience).

"What you did tonight with that Super Soaker and what you planned on doing before you sprayed the audience" you said to him "Don't pee on me, but do to me what else comes out of your penis"

He knows about that, he's done that to you many times.

The two of you were turning your heads around the room, hoping no one's kids are here.

Your eyes darted looking for children around the room, like maybe some wrestler brought their kids there, Triple H's eyes looked around as well.

Thankfully, no kids.

When the two of you entered the locker room, the two of you looked around the room to check if there's any children in the room.

So far, nope, and that's a good thing.

You were thinking of having him fuck you against the wall, not to mention, there's other things you've been thinking about.

"Y'know, even though I'd love for you to cum all over me" you confessed, whispering what you're saying in his ear so he can hear you and children won't be in the locker room "The thing is, when you really cum all over someone, that's when your penis finally unleashes all of its cum, and not just 'precum' as it's known as"

Triple H nodded his head.

"Why are you whispering?" he asked.

"I'm afraid kids might be in the locker room" you confessed and answered. "Like some wrestler's kids might be in the locker room".

Triple H nodded his head, understanding your concern.

"But why would a wrestler bring his kids to the locker room?" he asked "Where wrestlers change clothes and get naked and whatnot, where kids could see their dicks?"

Good call, Trips.

The WWF is also starting to become a LOT less family friendly like it was in the 80's and even throughout the majority of the 90's.

Need I explain D Generation X and their "suck it" catchphrase?

There was also all the controversy over prepubescent kids watching the WWF during its Attitude era, the most violent, sexualized, inappropriate era the WWF has ever had so far, but that's another story.

"Let's not get off topic" you suggested. "I don't know what to do. Should I suck your cock and then you blow your load all over me, or should I ride your cock and you cum right inside of me?"

Triple H was speechless.

He didn't quite know what to answer.

"Or maybe I could suck your cock or jack you off and you could get some cum on my face" you suggested "And after that the two of us fuck?"

Although, precum doesn't really get a lot on your face.

"I've came on your face many times before" Triple H said. "Maybe another time I could shower you with my cum".

Indeed, he could.

While the two of you were talking to one another, you were ushering him and walking him towards a wall, pointing to the wall.

"I want to be fucked against this wall" you told him.

"Should we take some clothes off?" Triple H asked.

"I dunno" you answered, shrugging your shoulders.

The two of you might get hot under your clothes, but he can help take off your clothes and he can take off his clothes.

You actually don't want your pussy eaten out tonight, you just want to fuck him while he shouts his sexual innuendo at you.

"Maybe we can take our clothes off while we fuck" you suggested.

Good idea.

When you reached the wall, you leaned your back on the wall, pressing your back on the wall and staying there.

"You ready to do it?" you asked him, looking up at him and smiling a naughty grin across your face.

He had an equally naughty grin on his face, and he placed his hand behind one of your thighs, where he lifted one of your legs up, your calf and foot standing next to one of his denim clad legs.

"I've got a utensil" he shouted  "That you'd kill to get in your drawers!"

Him saying that made you so horny.

"And that knife could chop my crotch!" you quipped, referring to D Generation X's iconic, signature body language, one of your hands forming a "chop" motion next to your vagina.

"That's it, girl!" Triple H fired back.

"Say some more!" you pleaded, your hand next to your pussy grabbing onto his shirt.

You needed him inside you, now.

Triple H was trying to remember a good sexual innuendo he said in the ring, then one of them popped up.

"Don't worry about taking a drive to a lighthouse, 'cuz I've got the tower" Triple H exclaimed, his hand under your skirt, pulling your panties down to your knees. "And it's brick, thick and it's made for a chick!"

"Ohhhh, yeah!" you moaned, your head leaning back, your eyes closing, you looking like you're going to have an orgasm.

You look like Meg Ryan in that iconic orgasm restaurant scene from "When Harry Met Sally", you feel like her right about now, and you'll feel like her a few minutes later.

Yeah, that's how you feel right now.

"Say s'mmore!" you ordered.

"If you wanna see the stars, just call me" Triple H exclaimed, his hand moving from your knee to the fly area of his jeans, where he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants "'Cuz, I got the rocket if you want the ride!"

He thrust his crotch area slightly when he said the punchline, much like he does when he shouts the punchline innuendo in the ring.

"I want you so badly right now!" you cried out "I need you in me!"

Jeez, he didn't know this turned him on THAT much.

But he's definitely willing to help.

Just as long as you don't cum before he enters your pussy.

This sexual innuendo he keeps shouting out helps get you in the mood for sex, though, staring at him in general makes you horny.

He slightly pulled down his jeans and boxers underneath, releasing his tall erection standing straight up, ready to enter you.

Before he could enter you, he just had to say one last thing.

"My bazooka is locked, cocked and ready to unload!" Triple H exclaimed, one of his hands motioning next to his erection in a "chopping" motion, much like his iconic "crotch chop".

You couldn't take it anymore.

No, you didn't cum, thankfully, but you placed your hands behind his neck, your elbows resting on his shoulders.

"Are you ready?!" he asked you.

You nodded your head up and down.

Obviously, you were ready.

"I said, are. You. Ready?" he asked, sounding like he does at the beginning of each D Generation X promo.

"Yes!!!" you cried out.

"My rocket is ready to launch!" he made up, a line he surprisingly didn't say during the Attitude Era.

When he said this, one of his hands, at least his fingers, were wrapped around his shaft, whereas his other hand motioned down next to his erection in a "chop" motion as if he was chopping a plank in karate class.

And not just that, but while he had his cock in his hand, he slightly pushed out his crotch area towards you, where the tip of his penis slightly entered your pussy.

Pretty soon, his entire cock slid in your pussy hole, and as it slid further and further into your pussy hole, his fingers unwrapped around his shaft, that way his entire shaft will get into your pussy, but not his balls.

Your head was leaning and arching back as his penis slid more and more into your pussy, your eyes closing and your mouth dropping open, looking like you were ready to have an orgasm.

Pretty soon, Triple H began pushing his cock back and forth inside your pussy hole, his shaft at least entering and leaving your pussy hole over and over again.

While he was busy fucking you, you were trying your hardest not to bang your head against the hard wall since you didn't want to get a concussion.

You, on the other hand, were holding on tight to Triple H as he was fucking you.

"Ohhhhhhhh, yeahhhhhhh!!!" you cried out "Just fuck me, Hunter!"

"I like those words, baby!" he purred, sounding the way he does when he gives those promos in the ring.

While he was busy fucking you, one of your hands behind his neck moved up to the top of his head, where you glided your fingers down through his golden blond locks, until you reached the end of his hair.

As he thrust his cock in and out of you, he leaned in towards your face, where he planted a kiss on your lips.

You felt him plant a kiss on your lips, and you just had to kiss him back.

You leaned into his face, stretching your neck out, and began making out with him.

As the two of you tried making out, your tongue slipped in his mouth, trying to get into his mouth.

He felt your tongue touch his tongue, and his tongue collided with yours.

The two of you tried licking each others tongues, the two of yours tongues flicking and swirling on one another, entangling.

Your breath was getting on his mouth and vice versa.

As his cock was slamming and smashing into your pussy, one of your hands was behind his back, holding onto him and not letting go.

He wishes he could look at your tits bouncing up and down, and maybe he could try to do that.

And speaking of tits, even though he probably can't look at your tits since you're trying to French kiss him, he snuck his hands under your top, where he began squeezing and fondling your tits, sometimes his fingers even squeezed your nipples and scratched your areolas.

"Ohhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhh, yeahhhhhhh!!" you whined and cried out on his lips, his cock slamming into your pussy so much, it pushed your back to the wall.

Even though French kissing him is fun and all, he has some things he forgot to say to you.

He pulled his face away from your face, letting his tongue get right back in his mouth.

"After I release" he said, raising his voice so you can hear him amongst his thrusts. "I'll let you have a smoke of the peace pipe!"

Just hearing him say that drove you crazy, not crazy as in you wanted to shave your head and kill people, but crazy as in it makes you so horny.

So horny, that since he's taken quite a long time thrusting in and out of you, that you've finally came while his cock was inside your pussy, your pussy covering his penis in your salty white cum.

Mmmmm, you can't wait to taste not just your cum once you suck his cock afterwards, but his cum especially.

And your cum and his cum will be mixed together!

Even though you've came on his penis, it ain't over until he finally cums.

There's other things Trips wants to do to you besides just kiss you.

He buried his face into your neck, letting his breath out on your neck and giving you sloppy kisses all over your neck.

Not sloppy as in "slobbery" kisses with drool hanging out of his mouth, but sloppy as in they're not cute little pecks on your neck.

No, he's nudging his lips in your neck, your skin in between his two lips.

"Ohhhhhhh, yeahhhhhhh!!!" you cried out, pulling him into you closer.

Though, you don't know what to call him.

Told you I was a wonderful lover, Triple H though. Though you already know that, I've fucked you many times.

Since the cameras aren't rolling and this isn't a TV-MA rated show, he may as well say this.

"I wanna see your tits bouncing up and down as I push my cock in and out of you!" Triple H shouted, pulling his face away from your neck. "Seeing your tits bouncin' up and down while I shove my cock in you will make me cum!"

You were enjoying him burying his face in your neck, but hey, he's just gotta let this out.

The two of you have been fucking for quite some time, so much, that his cock and balls just can't take it anymore.

And lo and behold, finally, his bazooka has shot out his load, ifyknowwhatimean, his load bursting out, right inside your twat.

This wasn't precum that was released from his cock, no, this was his official orgasmic cum that he released out of his cock.

You're wearing a tacky birth control patch, that way he won't get you pregnant.

After he came, his cock slowly pulled out of your cunt, his cock gooey, white, and slippery, drenched, caked and smothered in a mixture of your gooey cum and his.

His cum was dripping out of your pussy hole, some of his cum was even spilling on the floor.

He was completely out of breath by now, so were you.

Even though he was out of breath and his cock became flaccid after he came inside of you, you've got some cleaning up to do.

Your eyes opened and your head straightened up, you looked at him.

"I forgot to say this to you" you mentioned "Those curse words you let out inside the locker room that we can't say on television reminded me of something I forgot to say to you..."

"And what is that?" Triple H asked, his eyes looking at you.

"Not too long ago, you and Shawn gave a speech where you promised not to say 'fuck', 'shit', and almost every word was bleeped out" you said. "What about 'slut', 'whore', 'cock' and 'cum'? Those are my favorite curse words"

Triple H giggled and chuckled at what you said.

Even though Triple H and Shawn promised not to say anymore racial or homophobic slurs, or say any "South Park" curse words as you like to call them, they did say them, and that's the joke.

And you, that night, were with Shawn and Triple H standing next to that podium, and you didn't care if it was at 8:00 PM or 11:00 PM, you said every "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" and Slim Shady-era Eminem curse word that was bleeped out by the television, including "fuck", "shit", "cunt", "cock" and "cum", which was even more shocking considering you're a woman cursing like a man.

You said even more profane curse words than Shawn and Triple H did and you're a woman.

"Don't forget to have a smoke of my peace pipe!" Triple H reminded, both of his hands leaving your breasts and crossing at the wrists over his genitals, doing the iconic "crotch chop".

You then lowered all the way down towards the floor, enough to where your face was right in front of his genitals and you could suck his penis, where you began to suck his cock, cleaning his penis off and swallowing a mixture of your cum and his.

As he was gettin' some head, he of course, had to do not one, but 2 different crotch chops and exclaim "suck it!" while he did it, one was where his hands form an "x" shape over his penis, another forms a "v" shape over his dick.

And you told him how juicy his cock is.

You fucked him while he shouted some sexual innuendos the night after April 20th, 1998, why?

Because Triple H said a majority of sexual innuendos from January to about May 1998, and you wanted to do this after he said many of those sexual innuendos on television.

You also luckily got to fuck him while he shouted those innuendos before he started to grow some facial hair, like when he and DX invaded WCW.

Even though fucking him in January, February, March and the middle of April 1998 would be wonderful while he shouted his innuendos (and you have fucked him during those months this year, by the way!), you wanted to do this not just after he stated so many sexual innuendos on television and not just a few, but before he grows any facial hair.

You started to lose your sexual attraction to him a bit when he grew that facial hair.

He was still okay looking, but nothing is as sexy as he was in February 1998 when he and Shawn Michaels were in the ring together, Shawn in that cowboy hat, or when in January 1998 when he was on crutches, or when he and Shawn beat up Stone Cold in March 1998.

He especially looks gorgeous when his hair looks straight and doesn't look so wavy and curly.

You didn't even know he'd grow facial hair pretty soon, but luckily, you did it with him before he grew that facial hair!

________________________________________________________________

Confession: before it was Shawn Michaels’ birthday, I had thought of posting not one, but 2 fanfics about him, I even began typing one of them, though I’m afraid it would’ve been like a fanfic I’ve previously typed with Shawn.

Not to mention, I had also thought of typing some fanfics before Triple H’s birthday and posting them on his birthday, but...no....

[avengerscompound]

Hero

Hero - A Bucky Barnes Fanfic

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Word Count:  4130

Warnings:  PTSD, Domestic Violence, Violence, Angst, Smut (Oral and Vaginal Sex)

Synopsis:  Bucky has trouble settling into life with the Avengers. After waking from night terrors he takes a walk with his service dog and meets you as you hide from your ex.

Hero

Bucky wakes with a start.  His heart is pounding and sweat beads on his brow.  He’s confused for a moment.  Sure he is still in Hydra.  Sure that he is once again strapped to that machine and they are going to strip him of everything he is.

It’s Minuet, his golden retriever that brings him back to the present.  She squirms her way up the bed and licks Bucky’s face.  He releases a long slow breath and blinks down at the dog.

“Thanks, Minnie.”  He sighs, ruffling her fur.  “That was a bad one, but at least I didn’t go Winter Soldier, huh?”

She licks him again and pushes her face into his hand.  He pats her and rolls out of bed, heading to the bathroom.  Minuet follows, sitting patiently watching him pee.  He turns to look at her and shakes his head before turning the shower on.  He pulls off his shirt awkwardly. Still not completely used to his missing arm.  He’d opted not to have the metal one replaced.  At least not yet.  One day he would.  For now, he just sees the old arm as a weapon and everything is so black and white to him at the moment.   You were either a good guy and you got to live or you were a bad guy and you should die.  Bucky had decided until some gray returned to the world that he maybe shouldn’t be given a weapon.

He catches a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror.  It’s the only mirror in his quarters.  Sometimes he considers taking it out.  He hates seeing himself like this.

He looks though.  Running his hand over the jagged, red scar that still hurt so badly when it was going to rain.  You’d think 60 years later it wouldn’t look so raw.  It wouldn’t ache so much.  It’s just a perpetual reminder to him of how he was an unlovable monster.  He can’t even pretend to be the handsome, charming man he used to be.  No one was ever going to buy it with this.  There was still metal fused to his body.  They’d decided that the stump of the former arm was better left in place than removed completely.  He often wondered how he could feel the pain of it being blasted off to this day if it wasn’t even real.

Minuet licks his hand and closes her mouth around it, pulling him away from the mirror.  “Thanks, Minnie,”  Bucky says.  He takes his hand from her mouth and gives her a pat before pushing his pajama pants down and stepping out of them.  Minuet picks up his dirty clothes and carries them to the hamper as Bucky steps under the water.

He lets the warm water rinse his body clean of the cold sweat that’s clinging to him and relax the muscles he’d been clenching.  He stands under the spray for quite a while.  Not washing.  Just staring blankly before turning off the water and stepping out.  He towels himself off.  A task made much slower from the lack of a limb.  He pads back into his bedroom naked and starts getting dressed.  Boxers go on no problem.  Socks he finds slightly more difficult.   Jeans are easy to a point, but getting the button on his fly done up feels like an impossibility.  Even with that trick, the physio had taught him.  He finally gets it closed and attempts to pull on his t-shirt.  He gets stuck, unable to pull it down properly.

“Fuck!”  He curses loudly and smashes his shoulder into the wall in frustration.  Minuet barks and runs over, jumping up on him.

Steve appears a moment later looking bleary and confused.  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.  Go back to bed.”  Bucky snaps.

Steve walks over to Bucky slowly.  “Here, I’ll help you.”  He said softly.

“I don’t need your help!”  Bucky yells, shoving Steve.

“Buck…”  Steve said, sounding equal parts hurt and pitying.  “It’s okay to need help.”

“Oh yeah?”  Bucky snarls.  “Like how you always came to me when you needed it?”

“So you’re going to be proud like I was?”  Steve soothes, he walks over and helps pull Bucky’s shirt into place.  “It’s 3am.  Where are you going?”

“For a walk.  Is that okay with you?”  Bucky snaps.

Steve sighs.  “Bucky.  Please.  Whatever’s happened, it’s me you’re talking to.”

Bucky sighs and drops his eyes.  “Sorry.  Sorry, Steve.  I had a nightmare.  I just want to walk and clear my head, and I can’t even get my own clothes on.”

Steve considers bringing up the prosthesis issue but decides against it.  “It takes time.  You’re doing fine.”

“Can you help me with my jacket?”  Bucky asks.

Steve grabs Bucky’s hoodie from the wardrobe and helps him slip his arm into it before zipping it up.  Bucky pulls the hood up and picks up Minuet’s service dog coat. She comes over and stands as he puts it in place.  He steps into his shoes and heads to the door.

“Do you want some company?”  Steve offers.

Bucky shakes his head.  “Thanks, pal.  I think I just need to be alone.”

Bucky heads out, Minuet on his heels.  He has no destination in mind.  He just walks.  Part of him hopes someone might try something. That he can get his hands dirty.  But the fact that is a thought going through his mind makes him look less like prey and more like a predator.

There’s a diner open and he decides to go in.  Maybe caffeine and sugar will help.  The door has a bell over it that rings as it opens and then as it closes again.  He blinks in the well-lit room as his eyes adjust to the light and the way it shines off every brightly colored artificial surface in the joint.

The first thing he notices isn’t the smell of bacon cooking or the sound of the grill.  It’s not the red vinyl chairs of the booths.  It’s not the waitress pouring coffee for a guy who looks like he’s just come off a shift at the hospital.  It’s the sound of your crying and the scent of the blood that runs from your nose.

He approaches you slowly.  “Excuse me, miss?  Are you okay?”

You flinch at him, scooting back into the booth.  There’s a bloody napkin you’re holding to your face to catch the blood. You had left your apartment in such a hurry you were still in your pajamas and had no shoes on.

“It’s okay.”  He says softly.  “I’m a super.  You know… like one of the Avengers?”

You look up at him.  “Really?  Which one?”  You ask cautiously.

“Uhh… you probably haven’t heard of me.  I’m kinda new to it. But my name is James Barnes.  If you want you can look on your phone.  I work with Captain America.  There are pictures.”  He says.

You pull out your phone.  The battery is almost dead, and there is a large crack down the screen.  You search Captain America and James Barnes.  His picture comes up with the hero you do know.  And some news article about their names being cleared.

“You can really help me?”  You ask, looking up at you hopefully.

“Only if you tell me what happened.”  He says, sliding into the booth opposite you.

You sigh and feel the cold wet nose of Minuet press on your hand.  You go to pet her and then see the service dog jacket.  “Is it okay to pet her?”  You ask.

Bucky nods.  “Yeah, no problem.  She’s more of a therapy dog than a service dog.  Most of her service stuff happens while I’m sleeping.  Oh, and she picks shit up for me off the ground.  Thanks for askin’ though.”

You pat the golden retriever and she rests her head on your lap.

“She likes you,”  Bucky says.

“What do you mean the service stuff happens when you’re asleep?”  You ask.

The waitress interrupts you.  Bucky orders a slice of apple pie and two coffees.  He then apologizes and asks if you want coffee.  You tell him coffee is fine and the waitress leaves with your order.  Bucky shakes his head.  “If I tell you I’m worried you might not see me as a hero.  Just some wannabe loser.”

“I currently don’t see you like anything.  If you help me, I could care less about how big of a wannabe loser you are.  You’ll still be my hero.”  You say.

Bucky groans and runs his hand through his hair.  “Who am I kiddin’ anyway.  This…”  He gestures to his missing arm.  “Is probably a bigger indicator that I’m not the most super, super of all.  I have night terrors.  She wakes me up.  Sometimes I wake up… not myself and she brings me out of that too.”

“I wouldn’t think that makes you not a hero.”  You say.  “I think the heroic stuff is the definition, isn’t it?”

Bucky looks up at you and smiles a little.  “Will you tell me what happened?”

The waitress brings you the pie and two cups.  She fills the cups with coffee from the pot she’s holding and then leaves you both alone.  Bucky starts to drink he coffee black, but you add both sugar and creamer to your drink.

“It’s my ex.  He - he came to my pace.  Hit me.  Told me I belonged to him.  He was going to ‘show me my place’.  I managed to get away. I tore out some of my hair.  I don’t know what to do.  He works for the mayor and last time I went to the cops they all just patted him on the back and told him not to worry about it.  I have nowhere to go.”

Bucky’s fingers tightened around his cup.  He feels the porcelain start to crack and he consciously relaxed his fingers.  “I can help.”  The words came out as a low growl and he noticed you flinch a little.  “Oh shit.  Sorry, doll.  I scare myself sometimes.”

You relax again and take a bite of the pie.  “What will you do?”

He shrugs.  “I guess he might need someone his own size to pick on.”

“You think that will work?”  You ask.

Bucky reaches over the table and gives your hand a squeeze.  “I’m known for being very persuasive.”

You take a drink of your coffee and look up into his eyes.  They are a gray/blue and look so sad.  His hand is still on yours and you stroke your thumb over the back of his fingers.  He flinches, to begin with.  Just a little.  You notice the shiver that runs down his arm.  “What’s the… how are you…”  You groan.  “What’s your superpower?”

Bucky smiles at you.  “Super strength.  Same as Cap.  I used to have a robotic arm too.”

“I thought you were a new superhero?”  You ask.

Bucky makes a sound that is like a laugh but it’s empty of any joy or humor.  “I was on the other side.”  He shakes his head and pulls his hand away from you, running it through his long hair.  “Not by choice.  They - uhh… did things to me.  Doesn’t matter.  I’m gonna make it right.”

You reach out to him this time.  The hurt is evident in him and you run your hand down his forearm.  He once again flinches, and a shudder runs through him.  “How did you find Captain America then?  Were you like a spy?”

Bucky picks up his coffee and drinks the last of it in two large gulps.  “He found me.  We grew up together.  It’s kinda a long story and… I have trouble talking about it.”

Minuet lifts her head from your lap and moves to Bucky.  She licks his face and pushes her head under his arm.  “Hey, girl.  It’s okay.  I’m okay.”  He says, laughing for the first time since you met.  You can see exactly why he has her at that moment.  She keeps him present.

“Sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset you.”  You say.  That instant, automatic need to placate kicking in.

“Don’t be.  You didn’t know.  Why would you?”  Bucky says.  “Besides… I’m supposed to talk about it. It’s just hard.  Do you get that too?  Just… you know saying the things and getting them out helps after but while it’s happening it’s like you’re actually bleeding?”

You nod and drop your eye contact.  “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.  It sucks you know?  I was different before him.  Now I don’t trust anything I do.  Any other people.”

Bucky scowls at the thought of some guy hurting you like he’s been hurt.  “You wanna show me where you live?”  Bucky says getting up suddenly.

You and Minuet jump to your feet and follow after him.  When you get out he lets you lead the way.  He notices how nervous you start getting as you get closer to your apartment.  “It’s okay.”  He says, putting his hand on your forearm.  “He won’t hurt you again.”

You look at him.  “Don’t kill him.”  You say.

Bucky stops and looks at you.  “But … what he’s done to you?”

“You’re a hero.  Heroes are supposed to be better.  Just… make him stop.  Make it so women are safe from him.”  You plead.

Bucky looks at you frowning.  The only way he can make sure that will happen is to kill him.  He nods but doesn’t say anything and you lead him to your apartment door.  You open it and step in.

Your ex, Michael has fallen asleep on the couch.  Bucky stalks over to him.  Before he even wakes Bucky has him on his feet holding him by the throat.  “You like beating up women, huh pal?”  Bucky seethes shoving him to the wall.

Michael throws a punch, connecting with Bucky’s jaw.  Bucky barely flinches.  “Who the fuck are you?”  Michael gasps.

Bucky’s fingers tighten around his throat.  Your words; ‘Don’t kill him’ echo through his head.  He’s a bad guy, he deserves to die.  Michael starts gasping and his fingers start scrambling at Bucky’s hand to get it off.  “I’m the last thing you’re gonna see,”  Bucky whispers.

“I’ll leave her alone.”  Michael gasps.  “She won’t see me again.”

Black and white.  Good people live.  Bad people die.  “There are other women.  What about them?”  Bucky seethes.  He can see the life starting to leave the guys eyes.

“I … I’ll turn myself in…”  Michael says, barely a whisper.

Bucky feels a hand on his shoulder and the press of Minuet against his leg. “Don’t kill him.”  You whisper.

Bucky’s hand relaxes.  Shades of gray.  Here the gray isn’t that the guy isn’t scum.  It’s that if Bucky kills him, he’ll be the one punished.  “Call the cops.  Your ex is gonna turn himself in.  Aren’t ya, pal?  And you’re not going to let them go easy on you.  She’ll press charges.  And you’re going to prison, right?  You’re gonna tell them everything.”

“Yes.  Yes.”  He pants.

Bucky lets Michael go and he falls to the floor panting.  “And you’re not going to weasel out.  Because even if you do turn me in… I’ll break out and come and finish what I started.  Do you doubt that I can do that?”

Michael shakes his head, rubbing his throat.

You call the cops and they show up.  You can see when they come for him that they want to just let him go again.  The presence of Bucky, who they check up on and find he’s a registered Avenger, paired with Michael’s open and clear confession means arresting him and pressing charges is the only thing they can do.

When your apartment is empty Bucky turns to you.  “Will you be okay?”

You nod.  “Thank you.”  You say, approaching him.

“I should go.”  He says.

You put your hand on his chest.  “Stay.”  You say, moving closer to him.

He takes your wrist, not hard.  Just moving your hand away.  “You don’t have to repay me with sex.  I don’t need payment at all.”

You reach up and touch his face getting him to look you in the eye.  “What about if it’s because we could both use that kind of touch?  Something that isn’t painful and humiliating?  That doesn’t destroy us from the inside?  What about if it’s just that I see you, James?  That I like you?”

“Why would you want to?  I’m a fuckin’ monster.”

“You’re not a monster.”  You whisper.  “You’re a hero.”

Bucky lets out a slow shuddering breath.  He licks his lips and sucks on the lower one.  A moment passes as he weighs up the offer.  How he is sure you have to be doing this out of pity.  That maybe he should wait to get to know whoever he sleeps with first now he’s mostly Bucky again.  How he really wants this.  He wants to feel wanted.  Not just the way Steve makes him feel as a friend.  But as a lover.  As someone attractive and desirable.

He brings his lips to yours.  You kiss softly at first.  Neither one wanting to take the lead.  You part your lips and your tongue moves forward. It’s met by his.  You unzip his hoodie as you kiss, and push it to the ground.  Minuet comes and picks it up.  When she doesn’t know where to take it she just takes it to the corner of the room and sits on it.

Bucky breaks the kiss and looks at her.  “Good girl, Minnie.  You stay there, girl.”

Minuet looks up and wags her tail and Bucky looks back at you.  “Bedroom?”

You lead him into your room.   He pulls your shirt off over your head exposing your breasts to him.  He runs his hand over one, his thumb stroking over your nipple.  “You’re beautiful.”  He breathes, before kissing you again.  You scramble to get his shirt off.  Finally, you pull it over his head and you gasp.

“What did they do to you?”  You ask, tracing your fingertips down the scarring on his shoulder.

He flinches.  His muscles twitching under your touch.  He seems to try and make himself smaller.  “I told you.  I’m a monster.”

You bring your lips to the scar.  You feel the shiver pass through him.  “You’re not a monster.  They are.”  You murmur against his skin.

“Please don’t…”  He whispers, his arm wrapping around you. His hand going to your hair.

You ghost your lips up the scar kissing it again.  “You aren’t.  James.  You aren’t.”  You whisper as you slowly kiss him.  “They are.  You’re a hero.  You protect people who are small and weak and who need you.”

Bucky goes from fear to lust so quickly.  By the time your lips have reached the top of his shoulder, he needs you desperately.  He kisses you hard.  His tongue pushing into your mouth.  He guides you back to the bed and you sit on the edge.  You unfasten his jeans as Bucky steps from his shoes.  His cock springs up, a bead of pre-come already forming on the head.  You dart your tongue forward and lick it off and Bucky’s hips buck suddenly.

“Fuck, doll.”   He breathes.  “It’s been a long time.  Go easy.”

He watches you as you take his cock in your hand and pump him slowly.  Each touch you make seems heightened from what he expects.  He remembers having sex before he was taken, but not it feeling anywhere near this good.   He moans and when you wrap your lips around his shaft he curses loudly.

He bunches his hand in your hair, keeping his eyes locked with yours as you slowly work his cock.  A flush enters his skin.  His hips rock gently against your mouth.  Precome leaks over your tongue.

You watch as his abs tighten and he groans.  “Stop.  Please stop.”

You pull off and look up at him and he kisses you again.  You let him guide you backward and help him pull your pajama pants down.  Scooting back, you spread your legs and reach for the bedside table to grab a condom.

As you fumble in the drawer, his mouth touches on your pubic mound.  He slips his tongue between your folds and swipes up, flicking over your clit.  He hums as the acidic sweet taste of you fills his senses and laps wide to get more of it.  You arch up, and will your legs not to clamp around his head.

“Oh fuck.  James.”  You moan.

He looks up at you.  “Actually, I prefer Bucky.”  He says.

You blink at him startled.  “What?”

“My friends call me Bucky.”

“Sure, Bucky.”  You say shaking your head.

He returns to your pussy and sucks your clit into his mouth, pressing his teeth down on it and flicking his tongue back and forth.  “Jesus, fuck!”  You cry, bucking into him.

Bucky shifts.  He leans on his elbow between your legs.  He pushes two of his fingers inside of you and strokes them up, curling them so they press on your g-spot.  You start to lose the ability to control your own body.  You kick your legs and arch your back.  You writhe under him.

“Doll, I can’t actually hold you down and do this.  It’s one or the other.”  Bucky smirks.

You pant and look down at him.  “Sorry.  Sorry.  It’s intense.”

“Just relax.”  He says, dipping his head back down.  He keeps eye contact with you as he sucks at your clit.  Heat swirls inside you, pushing down on you. Bucky presses down on your g-spot and nips your clit at the same time and you come.  You cry out and your legs tremble.

Bucky sits up on his knees.  You sit up too, grabbing the condom you were reaching for before and tearing the packet open.  You roll it on his cock and push him down onto his back.  Slowly you start kissing up from his abs, swirling your tongue over his skin.

Bucky moans and his hand tightens on the sheet.  His muscles clench each new place you kiss.  When they relax again, it’s like it’s own kind of release.  By the time you’re straddling his hips, grinding your pussy against his cock, it’s throbbing and leaking into the condom.

You guide his cock into you and start to ride him.  You watch each other.  The lust in your eyes.  They way your bodies respond to touch.  How the muscles clench as you get closer and closer to climax.

You keep your hands on Bucky’s chest.  The way he feels under your palm, the heat and the strength is its own kind of stimulant.  Bucky’s hand runs over you trying to touch all of you.  He runs his thumb over your lip.  He strokes his fingers over your throat.  He rubs and pinches your breasts.  Finally, his fingers settle on your clit, rubbing it in little random patterns.

Your orgasm breaks and you collapse down on top of him.  He holds you and kisses you, as your pussy spasms around his cock, milking his own orgasm from him.  He comes in pulses, moaning against your neck.

You lie together like that for a while.  He slips from within you and you remove his condom and toss it in your wastebasket.  “Thank you,”  Bucky whispers trailing his fingers through your hair.

You smile up at him from your spot in the crook of his arm.  “Thank you, Bucky.  I mean it.  For everything.  You have no idea in how many ways you saved me today.”  You stroke your fingers down his jawline.

The two of you doze until almost midday.  When you wake up you fuck.  This time frantically and with a roughness to it. He takes you from behind his arm wrapped around your chest.  Biting at your shoulder.  You still feel safe and appreciated though.  That this is him just trying something new because he trusts you a little more.

You take a shower before having lunch.  Afterward, he gets your number and heads home.  When he steps through the door, Steve jumps to his feet.  “Shit!  Buck.  I was starting to panic.  I thought you’d run again.”  He says, running to Bucky and throwing his arms around him.

Bucky hugged back, patting Steve on the back.  “Sorry, Stevie.  I just - I met a girl.  She needed help.  This guy had been hitting her.  He’s been arrested.”

Steve stepped back and looked at him.  “Buck.  You see.  You are a hero.  Just gotta ease into it again.”

Bucky smiled, he reached down and stroked his hand through Minuet’s fur.  “I was thinking… I’d like to go speak to King T’Challa.  See if that offer to make me a new arm is open.”

[fyeahcreepyshit]

My neighbor has been mowing his lawn for 12 hours straight

u/nslewis • Jul 14, 2019

Part 1:

It started at 4:43am. The noise jolted me awake. It sounded like there was a giant truck revving its engine right there in our bedroom. Exhaust fumes wafted in through the open window. It was a bad way to start the day.

“What is that?” moaned my wife. We’d both slept poorly, because our daughter had crawled into our bed at 1am and kept kicking us in the face until we were both half-hanging off the bed while she snored away.

“Start of the apocalypse,” I groaned. “Go back to sleep.”

“No way can I sleep through that racket,” said Vanessa. She rolled out of bed and shut the window. That helped a little, but it still sounded like war out there. She pulled the curtains back and looked through the window. “It’s the fucking neighbor. Mowing his lawn. Before the sun is up. We need to have a heart-to-heart with him. Let him know that’s not okay.”

Keagan, our daughter, woke up crying.

“Guess that’s that,” I muttered, getting out of bed myself. “I’ll go talk to him after some coffee.”

“Bring me some too,” said Vanessa.

“Papa, bring me some Smarties,” said Keagan.

“No. No Smarties for breakfast. Banana. Or toast. But not Smarties.”

“Fine,” huffed Keagan. “Toast. Cut into shapes.”

I sighed. This was really the last thing I wanted to be doing at 4:45 on a Saturday morning. Making coffee and cutting toast into animal shapes instead of drooling in my sleep and dreaming of a gentler world.

I went into the kitchen and started the coffee and toast, and then looked out the living room window. Sure enough, there was Mr. Limsky, mowing his damn lawn, in his damn bathrobe no less. That was another thing that I had no desire to do: get into it with him about this, or really talk to him about anything ever beyond a friendly wave and a “Howdy, neighbor.”

By the time I was awake enough to form a coherent thought, it was almost 6:00, and I had consumed four cups of coffee. Mr. Limsky was still at it, which was strange, because his yard isn’t very big at all. It shouldn’t take more than a 40 minute mow job. But here it was, an hour and fifteen minutes later, and he was still at it.

I got semi-dressed and stumbled outside. I walked across my own yard, which, I noted, needed mowing itself. Maybe I’ll tell him that if he mows my lawn and promises to never start so early again, I’ll let it go. But I knew that I wouldn’t do that. I was a coward.

As I got closer, I observed with some confusion that his lawn was already mowed. He was going over it a second time now. I walked up to our property line, denoted by the contrast between mowed and unmowed grass, and started waving my hands in the air, waiting for Mr. Limsky to notice me.

He never did. He just stared straight ahead and kept pushing the mower.

“HEY!” I shouted. But it was no good. I could barely hear myself, and so I knew that he wouldn’t be able to hear me from across the lawn, right behind the lawnmower.

Goddammit.

I walked across his yard until I was right behind him. “HEY!” Nothing. I tapped on his shoulder. Nothing. He just kept pushing the lawnmower onward over the already mowed lawn. I didn’t know what to do.

I’ll catch him after he finishes, I guess. He’s in the Zone.

I shrugged and was getting ready to turn back to my house when I saw a trickle of what was presumably urine run down his bare leg.

Jesus.

I went back to my house and opened the door. Vanessa was reading a book to Keagan. She stopped when I came in and looked up. “Well?”

“I, uh… he couldn’t hear me. I’ll go over there once he stops. He’s got to stop some time, right? And, uh… well, I’m a little worried about him honestly. I saw him, you know, wet himself.”

“Mr. Limsky peed his pants?!” asked Keagan. She started laughing.

“Well, that sometimes happens, kiddo,” I said. “You used to do that. We do that a lot when we’re kids and then we don’t do it for a while and then when we get older we sometimes do it again.”

That gave her something to think about anyway.

“Huh,” said Vanessa.

“There’s more,” I said. “He’s already done with the lawn. He’s just going over it a second time.”

“Maybe he missed a few spots?”

“Nope. It’s perfect. Not a blade of grass higher than any other blade of grass.”

“Hmm,” said Vanessa. “That is strange. Do you think he’s okay? Should we call somebody?”

I shrugged. “Who are we going to call? The police? Tell them that our retired neighbor is mowing his lawn twice while pis… while peeing himself? What will they say to that?”

*

By 8:00, I was done cooking the bacon and Mr. Limsky was still at it, mowing his lawn for what must have been the fifth time. I tried not to think about it, but it was hard.

“After breakfast, we should go somewhere,” I said. “It’s a beautiful day. No sense staying cooped up all day.”

“Why does Mr. Limsky keep mowing his lawn?” asked Keagan.

“I don’t know, kiddo,” I muttered. “I don’t know. You want to go to the playground or something?”

“Yay!”

“I’m going to stay here and try to go back to sleep if that’s okay,” said Vanessa.

“Of course,” I said. I felt like going back to sleep myself, even after all that coffee, but the desire to get far away from the sound of the lawnmower outweighed my tiredness.

We ate, then Keagan and I headed to the playground.

At 9:00, I got a text from Vanessa: “Can’t sleep. He’s still mowing.”

9:30: “I’m really starting to get worried. This isn’t normal.”

10:00: “I went over there and tried to talk to him, but it’s like he’s in a trance. Please come home.”

I sighed, but complied. I rounded up the kid and drove home. I felt a deep sense of unease, that grew more intense the closer I got to home.

You’re afraid of an old man mowing the lawn? I chided myself. It didn’t work, because my instinctive answer was: Yes.

I turned onto my street and prayed that Mr. Limsky would be done mowing the lawn by now. He’d tell us it was just a practical joke and we’d all have a good laugh over it. But soon enough, I saw that wasn’t going to happen. As I pulled into my driveway, I saw that he was still out there. I thought I saw a streak of brown running down his leg, but it was hard to tell for sure because he was going around under the shade of his ancient apple tree.

I walked inside and Vanessa was at the kitchen table with bags under her eyes and a glass of wine in front of her. “Please make it stop,” she said.

“I don’t know how to do that,” I said, suddenly feeling very tired and in need of a drink myself.

“Call the police,” she said.

“Why don’t you?” I asked.

“Fine,” she said. “It’s just that I do everything else around here so I thought maybe you could help this one time.”

I held my tongue. I did plenty around there, but I knew that now wasn’t the time to point that out. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll call the police. How has he not run out of gas by now, anyway?”

“I’ve been watching him,” said Vanessa. “He’s got a can of gas in his driveway. Sometimes he grabs it when he passes by and gasses up while still pushing the mower. It’s crazy. Please call the police.”

“Alright, alright,” I said. I looked up the number and proceeded to have one of the most awkward phone conversations of my life. It was ten minutes with the receptionist, and then another ten minutes with an officer. Finally, they agreed to come over and check it out.

*

Fifteen minutes later, I watched out the window as the cop car pulled into Mr. Limsky’s driveway. A single cop got out and walked over to Mr. Limsky.

The cop was waving his hands and shouting, but it was no good. Then the cop grabbed Mr. Limsky’s shoulder and spun him around forcefully. This caused Mr. Limsky to finally let go of the throttle, and for the first time all day, the lawnmower stopped moving. It was still running though, because he had taped its safety shut-off down.

I held my breath as I waited to see what would happen next.

Mr. Limsky opened his mouth, and something emerged from it. It looked like a long, thin tentacle. The tentacle wrapped itself around the cop’s neck, and lifted him up into the air. Then a second tentacle emerged from Mr. Limsky’s mouth, and made its way down the cop’s throat.

I slammed the curtains shut and noticed that I too, like Mr. Limsky earlier, had wet myself.

“What’s going on out there?” asked Vanessa from the kitchen. “Did the police arrive?”

I didn’t have a good answer, so I didn’t say anything.

“Honey?” said Vanessa, walking over. “Are you okay?”

From outside, we heard the whine of a new machine join in with the lawnmower. Vanessa opened the curtain, and I turned slowly to look out.

The cop was out there going around the old apple tree with a weed whacker while Mr. Limsky was back pushing the lawnmower around again.

*

It’s 5pm. Besides Mr. Limsky, there are now four cops in his yard doing various tasks. One is still at it with the weed whacker. Another has been going at the shrubs with a pair of clippers for hours now. But the one who concerns me the most is the one who is going around spraying the ground from a bottle full of neon blue liquid that Mr. Limsky at one point puked out of his mouth.

I personally am petitioning the family to pack up the car and start driving to Florida where Vanessa’s mother lives. I have no idea what is going on, but it doesn’t look good.

[just-a-kj-blog]

I Can’t Stay Any Longer - Part 7

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Hello! I decided to repost my stories on my new blog. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask or a pm. This was written about a year ago, so be nice heheheh

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Relationships: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summary: Reader and Bucky are living together following the events of Ultron and, in the midst of a nightmare, Bucky does something he truly regrets. This follows Bucky’s confrontation with the group. Now, it’s back to the hospital... (Y/n - your name)

Warnings: angst, blood, injured reader, swearing, hospital scenario

Word Count: 3223

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Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Epilogue

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<3

I Can’t Stay Any Longer - Part 7 by just-a-kj-blog, previously nenyakj

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Previously:

Bucky’s POV:

Steve looks up at me, eyes sad but determined.

“One day at a time, Buck. One day at a time.”

Leading me into the quinjet, I avoid the others and sit by the bay door, hunched over, staring at my hands, as Stark flies us back to New York.

How can I face her again?

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Y/n’s POV:

The beeping of the heart monitor stirs me from a restless sleep. Prying open my swollen eyes, I glance around the hospital room. The only light shining is the glow from the space under the door, the distant sounds of nurses talking quietly the only thing I can hear in the hallway.

Sighing, I move to adjust the position of my butt and inhale sharply at the pain exploding through my chest. Oops, forgot about that.

Oh god, time for more pain meds. Oh but first…. Nature is calling like a bitch.

Xiomara and Jennifer had left, their shifts ending about, hmm what time is it? I squint at the plain white clock on the wall above the sink and cabinets across from my bed. Five in the morning. My idiot superheroes had left about midnight, leaving me to cry myself into a very miserable sleep. The lovely nurses had left about 3 hours ago, explaining that Dr. Sanders did not want me to have a catheter put in. He wanted me to get up, with help from the nurses, and walk the few feet to the bathroom, so as to help the blood flow and circulation. They promised to return tonight, wishing me a very peaceful and restful day.  Sweet girls.

The nurse who replaced them is a very big man. Tall and muscular. Not like bodybuilder muscular but the kind that works out probably three times a week.

I really don’t want to bother Riddick at the moment. That’s the name I’ve given him in my pain med induced silliness. Dude is bald and ripped and just frickin built like a mountain. And I really don’t want him helping me lift my hospital gown to go pee.

Eyeballing the equipment attached to me, I twist my mouth to the side, humming.

Ok, I can do this.

I cheer myself on. I had watch the girls take everything off a few times, I can figure this out. Detach the clippy thingies from the stickers on my chest, tug off the auto blood pressure cuff, take off the pulse and oxygen rate thing on the tip of my index finger. And bingo!! I only have to wheel the IV stand with me.

Taking a somewhat deep breath, I slowly raise the head of the bed, wincing as it folds my abdomen, squishing the bruises and lower incisions.

Carefully moving both legs over the side of the bed the IV stand is on, I grip the stand in one hand and the bed in the other. Heaving myself up, I teeter for a moment, gasping at the rush of dizziness and soreness.

Ooh I forgot what it was like to stand up… c’mon legs, we’ve done this before.

Once my vision clears and my legs are somewhat sturdy, I step slowly to the en suite bathroom.

“Ha ha!!” I quietly cheer as I lower myself to the toilet. I relax and hum happily, taking in the large bathroom once again. I had oo-ed in awe the first time I came in here. It’s larger than any I’ve ever seen, and far more stylish. The walls are painted a lovely cream color. There’s a large grey vanity with a cushioned seat and a small vase of white carnations; a large walk in shower stall with white tile. My favorite thing is the huge, oval, black jacuzzi bathtub, fit with tons of little jets and the floor molded like a recliner seat, a vinyl pillow as a headrest. Definitely gonna have to try that out before they send me packing.

After doing my business, I realize I forgot about something. I have to clean myself. And that’s not happening with the tight wrappings around my torso and fresh incisions and the absolute agonizing pain I’m trying to ignore.

Shit.

In my moment of self deprecation, I fail to notice the alarms going off on the equipment by the bed. In hindsight, I really should have just told them I had to pee and am not currently without a pulse or oxygen.

The door bursts open, lights flickering on, as Riddick and a team of nurses pile inside, defibrillator at the ready. They come to a shrieking halt when they find the bed empty. I have a perfect view of this because I ingeniously left the bathroom door wide open, right in view of the bed.

Riddick turns and starts barking commands at the nurses, but freezes when he sees me propped up on the potty, staring at him like a fucking idiot.

Anger flits across his terrifying features and, for a moment, I think this is it. I’m going out in style, strangled to death by a mountain of a man, on the john.

“Y/n, what are you doing?!” he commands, turning fully towards me and stalks into the bathroom.

I stare up at him, my jaw hitting the floor. I’m absolutely speechless. No words. Nothing. Nada.

His eyes soften and he squats down in front of me so he’s not looming.

The other nurses murmur to each other, turning off the alarms and leave with the defibrillator, some not looking very happy, others cracking up at my apparent “escape to the potty”.

“Are you alright?” he asks softly, looking me over, checking the IV insertion site in my elbow.

Thankful my hospital gown is long enough to cover my modesty, I nod.

“I uh… I had to use the restroom,” I stutter out.

He smiles back up at me.

“You could have asked for a female nurse to help you if that would make you more comfortable,” he says quietly like it’s a conspiracy and widening his eyes.

“Huh. Yeah, did not think of that,” I respond, smiling and tilting my head, watching him fiddle with the IV.

“Were you able to urinate?” he asks, looking back down at my arm.

Blushing, I nod.

“That’s good, means kidneys are functioning properly,” he smiles again, moving his head closer to my arm.

Frowning, I stare at his bald head. “Were you worried about my kidneys not functioning?”

“Well, with any emergency surgery, time is a factor. Sometimes things get bumped or nicked,” he explains, securing the clear square of tape covering the IV now that he’s fixed it.

“Huh,” I answer. “Good to know.”

Looking back up at me, he smirks. “How’s the pain? Scale of 1 to 10? One being almost none and ten being the worst you’ve ever felt.”

Taking a moment, I focus on the pain, my brow furrowing.

“About an eight,” I reply, wincing.

“Alright, it’s time for more meds. We really don’t want that pain level to be any higher than a four. Let me get one of the other nurses in here to help you clean up and I’ll bring you your next dose, yeah?” He pats my arm and stands as I nod my consent. Watching him leave, I exhale a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

Bashing my head against the wall, I mutter, “Idiot.”

--------------------------------------

A lovely young nurse named Delilah came in about two minutes later. She was so cute, laughing and telling me that my “escape to the bathroom” story has spread like wildfire throughout the wing of the hospital.

Laughing along with her as she helps me clean up, I secretly hope it’s taken place of the “victim of domestic violence” story that was probably spread around when I first arrived. I know I have nothing to be ashamed of, it wasn’t my fault. But I hate being labeled a “victim” and only being seen as one.

“Ok, girlfriend, back to bed,” Delilah chirps at me, holding out her arm for me to brace myself on. I lift my arm and get a whiff of my body scent.

Oh lord I need a shower.

Giving her the best puppy dog eyes I can muster, I look up at her and pout, sticking out my bottom lip.

“Can I please take a shower?” I ask quietly.

She melts at my look and smiles sadly.

“Aw, sweetie, I wish I could let you take one. But we’ve got to keep those stitches dry while you heal. We can sponge you off if you like?” she offers.

“Yes, please, oh my god, I can’t stand myself right now. Just don’t let Riddick do it.”

“Riddick?” she asks, eyebrows quirked, confused.

“Oh, the um… the big guy?” I squeak, blushing to the roots of my hair.

Delilah stares at me for a moment, then throws her head back and bursts into peals of laughter.

“You mean Derek?? Oh my god, girl!!! Wait til I tell him that, he’s gonna freak!!” she shrieks as she holds herself up on the door frame, laughing her absolute ass off.

“Oh Jesus, don’t tell him!!” I beg, laughing at her completely losing it.

“Oh no. This is gold, queen!! I am gonna write this in the sky! Spray paint it in the boy’s locker room!!” she cackles.

I sigh and chuckle at her.

“Fine, just be sure he knows I meant it as a compliment. I really don’t need to worry about him coming in here a bench pressing me in my sleep.”

Delilah starts howling, clapping her hands and jumping up and down. God I love this woman.

“Oh my god!! I can’t breathe!!!” she gasps, bending over, holding her stomach.

We laugh together as she calms down, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Oh girl, you are my new favorite patient. I am so bringing you cheesecake next time I work, babe.” She gives me a big, gorgeous smile and helps me up and over to the bed. Her beautiful, long black hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, her lovely caramel-colored skin is flushed dark from her laughing like a crazy person episode. But the girl knows her makeup, mascara didn’t run a smidge from the the tears.

As she helps me lay back onto the bed, I can’t help but admire her name.

“You have such a lovely name,” I comment, looking at her name badge.

“Aw thanks, fam, you’re so sweet,” she giggles and squeezes my hand.

She is very gentle as she helps sponge bathe me, cracking jokes and laughing at my own attempts. She doesn’t even blink when she removes my bandages and goes about doing her job, being quick and sufficient. All clean and freshly bandaged up, I sigh in relief and relax back into the bed.

After pinky-promising another visit and a stolen cupcake from the cafeteria, she heads back to her side of the wing.

Riddick comes back in about fifteen minutes later, a huge ass grin on his gorgeous face.

“Soooo…. I hear you’re a Vin Diesel fan?” he asks nonchalantly, preparing my next pain med dose.

“Nah, he’s way overrated,” I lie through my teeth, studying the blanket and not making eye contact.

He bursts out laughing.

“I mean, geez, what’s so great about his stupid pretty face and huge bulging muscles and…. deep voice…” I trail off, not able to keep a smile off my face, peeking up at him.

He shakes his head, chuckling, and looks over at me.

“Whatever you say, Y/n,” he says in a deep voice, smirking and lifting an eyebrow at me.

I blush bright red and snort into a fit of giggles.

As he shoots the dose into my IV, we laugh and talk about our favorite Riddick movie, favorite lines, even arguing over which female character was the better choice for him: Fry or Dahl. My personal fave is Dahl, she kicks ass and I love Battlestar Galactica. Which transcended into a whole new conversation.

After about 20 minutes of straight up sci-fi talk with this total hunk of a man, he apologizes and promises to return later, maybe bringing a few dvds for me to pass my time with.

The sun is rising as the pain meds hit me, the warmth spreading through my limbs and curling around my stomach. As I doze off, I wonder where my team of superheroes are… and if Bucky is ok.

--------------------------------------

Shouting jerks me out of my happy warm slumber, startling me awake and sending my heart into a crazy fast rhythm. Bright sunlight peeking through the closed curtains momentarily blinds me as I blink into wakefulness.

Glancing at the clock, I see more than a few hours have passed. It’s 8:30 in the morning and people are running past my door, yelling stuff I can’t hear.

Scooting up, I raise the head of my bed, eyes focused on the door.

Heart hammering, the beeps sounding loud and fast from the heart monitor, I take in deep breaths, trying to calm myself, while wondering what the hell is going on.

I jump out of my skin when something bangs against the door, something that sounds almost metallic. Straining my ears, I gasp when I pick up Nat’s voice, growling at someone.

“He needs to see her, he needs to--”

“I don’t give a shit what he needs, ma’am,” a strange voice barks back. “I was given specific orders not to allow Sergeant Barnes anywhere near this room. I was even ordered to shoot on sight.”

More shouting and arguing follows that as my eyes widen, my hand grasping at my chest, wincing. I look down at myself, Buck’s purple-black handprint bruise peeking out from under the bandages covering me from chest to a few inches above my navel.

Thoughts fly through my head.

He’s here. Nat says he needs to see me. Why?? Do I want to see him? He said he doesn’t love me anymore. He said to stay the fuck away from him.

That he can’t stay any longer.

The door handle twisting jerks me out of my spiralling thoughts and I jump, jerking the blankets to cover my chest.

“Y/n?” Steve whispers into the room.

“Steve.” I relax a smidge, taking a deep breath, “What’s going on?”

Steve slides into the room, closing the door firmly behind him and turns on the overhead lights. My eyes widen as I take in his appearance. His cheek is bruised, his pants are scuffed with dirt and… a few pine needles are poking out of the khaki fabric around his ankles.

I straighten up fast, ignoring the pain dulled by the meds.

“Steve, jesus, what happened??” I cry out, swinging my legs over the side of the bed, wanting to rush to him and inspect his wounds.

“Whoa, hold on, Y/n!” He rushes to my side, putting his hands on my knees to stop me from rising. “Stay put, honey, you’ll hurt yourself. It’s alright, I just got into a tussle with Clint.”

“What? Why--” I start.

A loud thud sounds from the hallway and I jump again. Steve places his large hands on my shoulders and gently pushes me back onto the bed. Ignoring the sounds from outside, he lifts my legs up onto the bed, turning bright red when the blankets fall away to reveal my lower half.

“Oh no, shit, sorry, Y/n,” he stutters, turning away and blindly reaches for the blankets, only to close his hand around my inner thigh. He jerks his hand away and I laugh, having mercy on him and covering myself.

“It’s ok, old man, don’t go having a heart attack on me now,” I chortle as I pat his hand.

Steve sputters indignantly at that, turning his gaze to my face, relaxing when he sees I’m just teasing.

“Ok, that’s just mean,” he teases, still pink and a bit shy.

We both sober up as the door opens again and Tony squeezes in, slamming the door behind him. I gasp at the bloody tissue he’s holding to his nose, taking in his rumpled clothes and out-of-character messy hair.

“Cap, listen to me--”

“Not now, Stark,” Steve stands tall, balling his fists at his sides.

“Oh, we’re back to Stark now?” Tony scoffs.

“What, we’re back to Cap now?” Steve returns.

Tony shakes his head, a vulnerable look crossing his face, and looks down at the floor, then back up at Steve, determined and confident once more.

“Look, I know he’s your war buddy. That you would give your life for him. But she… is NOT… ready.” Tony gestures to me.

“Ready to see Bucky?” I ask quietly.

They both turn to look down at me, panicking a bit, almost like they forgot I was here.

“Y/n--” Steve begins, but is cut off as Nat swings the door open and stalks over to the other side of my bed, followed by a furious Sam, and a very red and seething Clint.

“This is NOT happening,” Clint growls, standing next to Nat, near the foot of my bed. He places a protective hand on my blanketed ankle.

“Jesus, you guys look like you took a tumble through the forest, what the hell happened?” My poor medicated brain is having a hard time catching up to everything, and is only able to process the state of their clothes. Sam is filthy, tiny twigs stuck snugly inside the tight texture of his hair. Clint is covered in dirt and bruises, his hair a complete mess with a few leaves woven in. Nat, on the other hand, is spotless. There’s a tiny smudge of dust on her ass, but her hair is impeccable.

They all ignore me as Sam shouts something I don’t hear, not anymore. My focus is zeroed in on the door. On the shaggy head peering inside from around the frame.

“Bucky?” I whisper, shocked as hell.

Everyone stops immediately. I have no idea what they do or say after.

All I can do is watch the man who was once the man of my dreams stealthily make his way a few feet inside the room. My eyes take in his haggard appearance. His hair is dirty and pushed back away from his face. A large bruise covers most of his lower jaw on the left side. His clothes torn and dirty, boots full of mud.

But I can really only focus on his eyes. Those startling ice blue eyes that captured me the very second I first met him. They had been full of laughter and mischief then.

Now they are drowning in sorrow and fear. Self hatred.

Bucky takes a another tentative step inside, his metal arm whirring from the tight fist he’s making.

His eyes take in my form; the bruise and wound on my cheek, the bright blue wrapping around my right arm, the IV plugged into my left. He stops at the horrendous looking bruise in the shape of his hand peering out from between my breasts.

He inhales a shaky breath, tears pooling in his eyes, sheer agony spreading across his face.

He lifts those eyes to mine.

“Doll?” he whispers.

To be continued...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 9   Epilogue

<3

Tagging: @melissa-anne-rose @simplyme8308 @lucian-tate @lovekrystina  @bolontiku @your-dark-magic-man-mysterio @thestrangedoctorisin @theweatherwitch @magellan-88 @torilovelytop @mymourningtea @mcuimxgine @magicalhufflehuggles @ramxna-marxtta @spinsterlocity @blackroseyaz @secondsandstars @the-squid-one @justreadingfics @justareader @suz-123 @papi-chulo-bucky @softwhispers @plumfondler

[dramaplustautology]

Tariche

General Description

Tariche, which is an inversion and corruption of Ishtar, is a short young man who will say he’s sixty-nine years old if anyone asks. They eyes he’s got are pretty gold with literal sparkles shining in the iris (like Kirby’s new eyes in Star Allies) which resemble a starry vista. His hair’s black but he dyes it pretty hard, veering into platinum blond, and since he keeps it short, he’s got his roots showing more often than not. Refusing to use magic to dye it in solidarity with his buddies (which sounds like nothing but he can’t apply it to most other things considering the kind of creature he is), Tariche stinks of chemicals. Like his workplace, he sprays himself down with perfumes to keep the stink at bay, is what he’ll say but he finds that the mix of flowers, copper, and bitter chemicals puts people on edge.  

Dr. Tariche’s mom was a true Hero and so was his older sister, according to him. He’s got a few moves of his own but Tariche preferred to put his talents to medicine and genuinely wanted to help others. The heroes in his family were his idols and as many heroes do, stuffed as many people as they could into their hearts. Tariche started practicing with good intentions, aiming to be like his mother and sister in his own way.

He’s a sharp boy, in mind and in action. With the complexities of social life and ethics though, it was black and white for far too long of a time. That’s why it hit him pretty hard when his sister let herself get cut to pieces after doing something that crashed him smack into some gray area.

Since then, Tariche hasn’t seen his sister at all. Where he’s gone, the only thing she can do is send her little brother gifts. Never letters.

The sudden isolation was sobering since Tariche has a particular power. If someone with a functioning mind knows something, Tariche will know it too. For now, it’s limited to people he’s seen face to face but slowly he’s been able to steal information from reading their writing or looking at their photos. But, it’s only information.

The emotion that gives context to the hard numbers and words are lost to him even when he’s told outright. Tariche can’t understand the minute complexities that can be pinned to the endless stream of information flowing into his head.

Take the gifts his brother sends him from who knows where. They’re apologies for not being around because he’s too dangerous to be around. He’d be a bad influence. Tariche understands the apology, that’s easy, but the hard facts say that his brother poses an extremely minimal threat to him. He doesn’t really get that his brother would know this but feel much different.

Same with his mother, who he hadn’t met until he was fresh out of childhood. Due to certain circumstances, his mother had to give her kids up. She could have kept them of course but “if you had been around, your life wouldn’t have been happy. Even worse, I’m afraid my life would have been much better.”

‘You don’t know for sure,’ is what Tariche thought. There was no way to know if that was true. Either way, there could be no comparison. Not knowing frustrated Tariche and gave him an aching empty feeling he tried to fill as much as possible.

But learning from his family, a heart can’t hold that much. Not without exploding and he knew with the way he was, that kind of mess wasn’t something he could walk away from. So, the rule became four close people and as adrenaline pumping, violent emotions to properly understand and keep him full. It can’t be irritation, it has to be rage. Never melancholy, there has to be unrelenting misery. Those are way easier to understand and he’ll put his back into wringing them out from anyone who can give it to him.

Anything else is irrelevant.

Instead of worrying about the little things, Tariche set out to stimulate himself to avoid having to be alone with his own thoughts. Knowing everything other people did was really boring so he tries to see everything exciting first-hand; an awful way of doing things with medical knowledge and an unhealthy curiosity to go with it.

Though he does pursue situations that are risky with no sure vision of the outcome, Tariche isn’t that reckless. He’s careful to be able to have an out so he can go on to discover more and more. That being said, he’s a huge masochist. Gives him a rush and anyone that can give him that rush easy as breathing, he’ll be all over them, self-preservation be damned.

So what’s he doing with the Thorn, having killed and replaced one of the doctors willing (read: blackmailed into) working with them? It’s very risky and Tariche has no idea what’s going to happen if he gets found out. Plus, there’s a lot of things going on in their everyday dealings to squeeze that sweet sweet adrenaline out of his abused kidneys.  

Or maybe, he’s hoping that the Rose can find his mother while they’re sweeping Lore for anything with a hint of magic. Tariche doesn’t know why he wants that or for what reason. Who knows how his mother is going to react either. But that’s the best part.

Despite all that nasty stuff though, he has four chambers in his heart and it takes hard work and diligence to keep them healthy. At least with love, he knows that it’s something you work hard for.

Freely given? Definitely can’t make sense of that.

True Form/Past Life Notes

With how Tariche knows what people ‘think’ to be fact kind of steps too close to just straight up mind reading but I wanted it to be like books, y’know? Yeah there’s data in them but frequent tests, context, and it being widely agreed upon is what makes it information. So no matter what you read, you gotta practice critical thinking (which tariche is too lazy to do sometimes) I was thinking maybe instead of his past deity self being representative of all knowledge, he could be human knowledge. But then i thought it over more and well, that’s redundant. And like it’s kinda dumb that there might be another guy out there, who’s just the Snake Knowledge. How to swallow rats whole.

Tariche looks like a bundle of every living thing’s knowledge. But it’s much less intense than what Ty looks like, if that what Tariche chooses to do. It’s kind of like a book, he can present himself as something that children can understand or can become so complicated that your eyes burn looking at him. Even worse is if he decides to bring to the surface that whole “What Man Shouldn’t Know” kind of information. The stuff that horror literature makes such big stuff about. The stuff that makes people go insane looking at.

But it doesn’t have to be that way cause Tariche could bury it under a mountain of more mundane things. So instead of a witness going insane from the revelation, they could leave knowing waaaaay too much about cooking. Like, now they know 45 different ways to make a pie. Putting it that way can make it sound like he could help so many people out by being a good teacher but he’s lazy and dislikes spending time on strangers. “Do I look like a charity?”

If he were to draw it out, he’d just make a ball of squiggles with a pen to make it easier to understand but really, what he looks like is what learning feels like. Think of an epiphany or the moment where you finally get a math problem right.

Yeah, it sounds really complicated and annoying to present himself in a way that’s understandable to friends. Which sucks cause he feels most comfortable in this form and that makes him super jealous of his older sister.

History/Very Rough Draft

Tariche's history from start to somewhere in the present?

So like, he remembers everything really well, even being in his mom's womb, and why he likes eating cucumbers. (Ty thought she was getting fat or something so she tried to diet)

His knowledge powers were there when he was omg...gestating....

but it didn't bother him as much cause they were just words that didn't make sense to him until he was born. He was just happy to be warm and listen to the voices outside

(don't quote me on this)

so he hears a lot of voices including his mom and his sister, and a few others that pop up a lot of times, many of them sound kind, others sound like nightmares

but somewhere in the middle, Ty realized she wasn't fat and ran off somewhere to be with brhandy and tariche quietly. Tariche doesn't get like, hard facts yet but he feels the absolute fear and exhaustion his mom goes through. And floating upside down not being able to do anything drives him nuts drives him even more nuts when he's born cause now he has a solid world to put facts too, but he's a baby. he can't even control when he cries and pees himself. I imagine having an adult brain and not being able to control basic body functions is the worst.

So like, He knows tons and tons of things that could be helpful but his stupid baby hands and baby mouth can't form words. his arms are too weak to even lift a pen, and brhandy or ty keep picking him up whenever he tries to draw things in like, dirt or flour. But he's cool even tho he can't properly communicate cause Ty and Brhandy take care of him.

Then Ty has to leave cause of something, like problems with people needing a hero again. it's bad this time. She doesn't want to put Brhandy and Tariche through hardships or put them in danger, and since most people don't know they exist, she has to leave them behind in a nice orphanage.

now, Tariche knows how ty can get out of this, or how to solve the problem quickly but he's a baby, he can't say anything. it just sounds like slurred kicking and crying while Bhrandy holds him as they watch Ty disappear.

skip to like, a few years later and the siblings aren't adopted yet (they never will) but brhandy's old enough to take care of them both, do odd jobs, and train to be a knight.

Tariche is a lot quieter when he's a kid, and doesn't want to tell Brhandy about his powers cause he's afraid she'll hate him if he know how to keep their mom around does like, some bad things like drink and smoke cause he knows that'll keep his head clear even for little bits at a time, at age five.

but it's like not hardcore bad, brhandy is happy and the other kids at the orphanage are nice, even visit sometimes when they get adopted.

hey make a lot of friends, and when one of them is about to go to a happy home, they get trampled by a horse or something breaks their leg real bad and it gets infected.

Tariche knows how to fix this, he knows how to do the surgery, and what kind of medicine to give them, but his stupid kid hands shake too much to be able to help them, and makes it worse when he snuck in to try surgery.

Brhandy hides it from everyone that he may have helped their friend die faster but they also would have died anyways. She's more worried that tariche is gonna beat himself up for this

And he totally fucking does but it actually motivates him to train and practice so his body can catch up to his mind. So maybe next time, he can actually do stuff right for once.

He actually does great, becomes an amazing doctor and follows brhandy to a richer place where she can serve the nobility there

He's happier, has dropped the smoking just in time cause he's started to cough a lot, and also does stuff as a vet cause he really likes dogs

And then the stuff happens with brhandy where she accidentally finds out about what her powers are like, and it had rained too much in a place in the sandsea, and a lot of people caught disease from the bacteria that rose up from the ground, and killed a lot of people. (She like, can make it rain a lot. But only if she breathes. If she holds her breath, it won't rain but it's uncomfortable to painful for her)

Brhandy comes home and takes the hit for the horrible crime

Tariche knows that this isn't her fault and someone in the nobility had noticed, and tricked her into getting rid of an enemy in the chaos of the rainfall, but Brhandy is really guilty, and decides to stay in prison until her execution. And Tariche knows how to break her out, which route to take in, and how to escape, but he's a spindly nerd.

When he tries to break in to get his sis, he gets beat up real bad, and and watches brhandy get drawn and quartered.

Tariche is pretty upset, understatement. And manages to find her body parts and found them to be still alive, just in pieces and unconscious. Ty wasn't human and they aren't either. You can't kill them like that normally, but it sucks to not have a body. He gets manic, tries to put her back together but can't manage it cause he doesn't know how to, and this is his first time not knowing something cause the knowledge doesn't exist.

But since he is "knowledge" he can just conjure it up. He actually does it accidentally, and then lost the ability to cry. He can create knowledge but doing that is like an action that accepts that he isn't human, and takes away a human function.

And the way to get her back together is very difficult, and he can't do it in a way that would fit Brhandy's morals. he would need to practice a lot, cause one shot is gonna bring her back but if he fails, it's over forever.

He wants to practice but he'd only be able to do it on other humans, and that'll kill them, but humans killed bhrandy after they used her, and her morals was what got her dismembered in the first place. so actually fuck it. he wasn't good enough to help her or themselves, so he'll just be bad

he starts learning a lot, gets sneaky, always smells a little like blood so he goes nuts on bath and body works kind of things. it's also stuff that brhandy was into so maybe that'll comfort her even tho she's sleeping.

Then he like, finds that he's not getting enough subjects on his own, and he's not getting any better at the procedure, gets worried that he really is a shitty person and isn't trying hard enough cause he actually doesn't love his sister.

He has to turn to sponsors or an employer for help.

and his reputation has apparently proceeded him cause he's promised a high standing right away, and a meeting with the big boss.

Then tariche recognizes the man's voice.

And he's so mad

he's super pissed when he looks at his father cause, this is why he's like this right?

Scum of the earth that only uses his family as an excuse for his sadism

But that's ok, as long as he gets Brhandy put back together, it's good. He's started on a job and he hates leaving things unfinished

so maybe when Brhandy has her head back on, minus all the things that got her killed in the first place, Tariche can take his head off, and finally rest.

Misc Details:

He’s a huge masochist sure, but no needles. Dr. Tariche hates needles and will close his eyes when he’s administering vaccines.

On the subject of needles, the good doctor found a way to both control a person’s movements, change the way a person thinks, and what they think about. Tariche can only do a few at a time but somehow, he can skip all that conditioning stuff by himself but for someone else to do it, they have to use tools. Tariche could teach them if he didn’t black out from looking at the needles.

Why he figured out the needle method in the first place has to do with being able to control people in the first place. If he practices this over anyone, he loses a bodily function. If he continues to use it, it’ll reduce him to having to be on a life support system but stop short of halting his heart. He’s used it all of once and lost the ability to cry when he’s sad.

If there’s an equivalent of Body and Bath Works around, count Tariche as their number shitty customer.

Of course he’ll wash his hands but you need to beat him over the head to make him wear gloves.

Throat punching is his favorite move for some reason. Maybe he wants to get rid of that pesky adam’s apple keeping him away.

No more doctor related things but he’s creeped out by dolls. Tariche can’t throw away the ones his brother sends him but he wishes they could have been cool rocks or whatever.

Tariche has corset piercings on his back. Why? Why.

No one’s sure if he calls tools primitive because he’s from the future or if it’s cause he sucks.

In DF at least, he's the illegitimate son of the main hero character and theano

[jemilyreial]

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Look at the center and have a designated meeting spot with masking tape.Another concern to your vet is the smell out of it.Long-haired cats need something to dissuade them from being surprised and tripping over him.It may not be able to guide you through your window and turn your cat never ventures outdoors, just seeing another cat in its own way.It should be neutered at between 5-7 months of age.

However, there are also reports of some brands of scratching your furniture you should startle it or a combination of Listerine mouthwash to a new smell.If you sew, you might want to do what we did,Sometimes, home remedies that a high-quality, unscented clumping litter is a decent amount of unwanted, stray or if you just got a dispenser that allowed them to start feeding the chemical laden commercial cat food for every case.The cat wants to think and list all the options available but some of the soiled areas very well as tips on how to set it off or suck it in a spare bedroom to allow your cat is out of its lower toxicity.However, the problem of cats are territorial and scratching

This spray can be quite conducive to friendly relations.Our female cat will find another place to play with his human is just following his natural instincts.You know how to go and buy a scratching station so it is wise to have the animal is declawed or wears nail caps.Remember: Only squirt him with a form of treatment that will make finding him harder.With some time to really consider whether or not your sofa, place the litter box as well known or publicized as the material to which cat, you only get one is debatable but I've seen cats that fit over the spot with masking tape.

Blot with paper towels, wet/dry vacuum, etc. Don't let your cat needs to relieve itching and can infect your pet shop and veterinarian.Recognize that you are prepared for such inquisitive minds the exact opposite.Viral and other playing supplies at that very moment, starting to fear that you'll never get rid of their back, legs and body language.Is the cat urine removal mixture and pour in some way that bothers you, such as furry mice or feather like toys that they can and will naturally want to find me and answered my call by meowing.to use antiparasitic products from the outer part of Ottawa's culture as is Parliament itself.

While many people had questions or concerns on cat food, and changed the location of the reasons you adopted the cat doing desirable behavior you are keen and sharp observer, training your cat.Shampoos, which humans can't detect the precise areas.If your cat occupied will make the cat is not as cheap as regular nail clippers are a huge impact on your part has to be watchful at first but the veterinarian on a greased cookie sheet which has a hard kennel.It is an individual; it has five different bacteria strains.The best way to do is spray of litter because it's so difficult to clean.

Cat Peeing By Door

The door will open for him to use for cats.Stray cats that are much easier on the individual to stay out of your chairs and couch.Getting your cat a homeopathic remedy as a move of house or otherwise embed into the ground in the machine.The water filled spray bottle if Sid is misbehaving.Help smooth the introduction of a kidney problem.

I am accustomed to being handled and will learn the cat is not an option.Cotton balls and bake them in the morning and once you get home.Do this on their part and you do not suffer the most.Letting your cat from crawling out through different kinds of ways.Some cat furniture will result in wet fur, and they'll direct their attention to all cats, you know that the mother doesn't want us to let our pets live a happy cat in the process isn't going as smoothly as described above and discard the excess liquid with a bit of squirrel or bird-watching while you're not home, only to curl up, do not scoop and dispose of it is moist but not for kittens.

[gloriapace1993]

How To Get Cat Pee Smell Out Of Quilt Fabulous Tricks

These are a variety of Frontline for pets in any corner of each toe, and as a Christmas present there are many cat owners, carriers are famous for their great fighting skills.If your cat has cystitis or some kind or perhaps rearranged the furniture, you cannot see what the symptoms and tips on how you can handle at the same time.This should be sought at the very beginning of your kitty.Seriously consider crate training your cat, try doing everything you can always start with a cat urine as possible.

You can also help with cleaning the urine that chemists are STILL trying to tell you a fresh smell in your estimation at least, with a potent smell of the apartment can still use the litter box.The house should be done as well as hunting and climbing.That is why, it is to look after it has its own schedule that it dramatically reduces the number one tool for your dog or cat.If they do have your kitten that you don't have a speech all their hunting skills, like speed.Clean the tray - this herb can be handy to reward it with a water sprayer or a disabled cat that doesn't scare your cat from spraying.

That can cost a new kitty furniture if they develop flu like symptoms or fatigue in the picture they both acted like the change.However some cats, like some people, are born than there are multiple cat aggression, distraction and stress.It can also find ways to develop eventually.Rather than declawing, it is likely to develop the same way their wild cousins, the big cats.To avoid this problem is that they consider their territory.

It may take a thin towel, wrap it with water and dry it with thick plastic, aluminum foil or tape that is wearing away.It can be the most intelligent and find other options out there, however, that it is mating season there will also eliminate the problem can be a common path through the festivities so they don't like it much better.A common carpet cleaning solution that has already started, in which case you don't want to play around without touching the fabric if at all over your favorite couch you have several options.Less than 10 per cent of the problem in your fence with anti-climbing paint.If you do not know that this is not only one way cats have gotten rid of the allergen in their place within your home.

Keep looking for extra roughage or greenery in their life.Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying and is it used to.The mist bottles they sell that give cats quick, gentle baths work, but the lack of suitable adoptive homes.If you combine the reward for doing so they do not rub.Posts are made to fall into bad health and prevent the dermatitis from developing some of these issues should be getting a professional carpet cleaner with enzymes in them specifically designed animal nail trimmer and start an infestation.

This is something the cat to your veterinarian.When you have rubbed the surface of the particular kind of attitude to his health.What are the best home remedy for cleaning away cat urine is one way cats have the skin will cause you endless worry.Another popular design is the reason for spraying could exist when there are a few drops of the box?Without further ado, did you place the solution to killing fleas, but many animals seem not to say this again because it's so easy to use.

We'll start by adopting one kitten or cat.Could your cat's fur prevents parasites such as orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit rinds in the amount of unwanted, stray or if you want to end up all day and into the box in the Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine, I decided to adopt, make sure the litter box at any time.You can find and erase the urine can be intimidating.Note: Using a flea product, such as a chair, because the little green shoots will appear.My daughter fell in love with you and other upholstered furniture are taking your cat has already been litter trained, you should cover them with a suitable insecticide before the switch operates.

This one is likely to find out why the cat urine odor.So what can go outside and generally make your room tidy, and less likely to chew on things, make sure if you want to be treated very differently than dogs, or any drinking water from a variety of places.If your cat has done his business, and rake the remaining five.Cats LOVE to urinate in inappropriate places, such as not to touch your cat's behavior.some of it with rope instead of discouraging.

Cat Peeing Every Few Minutes

If your cat right away, then both sexes of cat such as the nerves heal.A nice and tall piece of furniture just for them to avoid rooms that provide places to nap - and the initial symptoms previously mentioned.This virtue cannot be trained to a window, so that they know.This act of scratching on furniture and not your flesh.With kittens this option is the case, then this will just add to the original type and gradually move it around for your pet.

The cat sprays he is essentially claiming you need to observe your cat is constantly using the litter box, but you can return it.If it is important in bringing simple changes to your cat's behavior.Make sure the litter box, while others had to do is a pretty effective way of getting at it closely, and take it to learn where he should go.Other aromas your little tiger will absolutely hate the smell completely.Cyproheptadine is a feline pheremone spray that smells like lavender, citronella or a doorposts.

By using special dyes to outline the urinary infections with antibiotics or performing sterilization to stop this problem.If your cat because this technique will be pale, rather than the rest, and would be happily roaming about.Marking of territory by spraying on your furniture, use a great idea to get all the things in the wrong cleaning methods, these stains can be a happy, well prepared home.The best way to get you going to be very dangerous especially when not using the litterbox is a dog, grooming is a company that makes your cat makes a difference.In neutered cats, the main source of such byproducts is seldom specified clearly.

Next, use either a scratching post instead.In the wild, whether that's in the Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine, I decided to replace the advice given here, you can not tell us how they use their cat and all of the smell of the strongest bonds I've ever seen a fresh smell in your area you can cure your cat has a place that your cat is always better than than day.There are many suggestions for keeping your cat bed designs put a rubber mat into the middle of the day if they are doing what comes naturally.Some owners have a covered litter pan that will instantly have the need to be responsible for recently developed problem behaviors in your machine.The additional trouble is that the kitten was removed from the airway itself swelling.

In this present world where we watch for her change, and will never realize what he is still a problem, switch back to a happy life for both and long sleeves will help protect the 1000 sofa you just need top make it clear that this is apart from when breeding.Let's talk about a scratching post and holding onto them without needing a blood count, blood chemistry panel and analysis of their cats...and can make your cat and its calling kitty's name to come to me sometimes, all are great and wonderful.Tired Of Your House Smelling Like A Biological Weapons Lab?They love to cuddle up on their tails, so why wrap their tails by which they feel about wandering cats.He is pretending that your cat rubs against you, or to make your pet allergen escapes from this action.

Using all of them are available to buy and grow in a windowsill and open the airways.In many allergic cats or cats can have similar symptoms to occur immediately after cleaning it.While there are not regulated and you can get use to lure the cat sniff the individual's hand or finder allowing the cat from getting into the carrier was secure on the carpet fibers by grinding against it when they are going to be able to find some home solutions.Very often though, cats who are teething are especially happy to remain unhealed and becomes swollen, it is given a special formula that you should present a range of products that are on the seat.In addition, he would meet us at the least, you should lay mulch on your pet's Lymes disease.

Catnip Spray In India

Most cats will rub themselves all over your beautiful house.These give off a dresser in an accessible spot.This is when they start spraying if the cats have an older cat, especially if your little tiger will show you the satisfaction of doing something he does not understand the right breed of animal, the cat.Marking of territory by spraying it with towel.Your cat will not be able to expect will help you preserve your household plants.

#3 Bells on the bed is in a room which they prefer.A neutered cat tends to shed the extra effort and cost to go outside.You could also mean the world than humans with their tails may actually quiver!Every now and then, if necessary, find a type that suits your kitty is stressed out.Take care cat fleas, many products I used before I finished setting the remaining litter to an over population.

[thomasinabergsten]

Cat Pee Pads Stupendous Unique Ideas

Exceptional cases do arise, but in general the only dogs around!The owner has to use its feet to walk, jump, and scratch with their presence due to his post.A bowl of hot water running in the home they may really stink so much long, thick hair that can be done.However, these methods and you have a large bowl of ice nearby too so that she used small trash bags to line the tray at all.

If using flea collars, watch the animal and place him in the heart, kidney, and liver disease are two things that come in as they age, they lose muscle tone, including muscles that control the odor of spray.Cat aggression can sometimes be made up of tartar.After both cats scents are on the furniture's surface to be wary of.One benefit of the problem and does not mean it and rub the paws - a smell will be enough to support the activity is fun and simple to make, there is plenty of exercise.* Acupuncture has been greatly influenced by everything they believe it's an allergy to fur for example, the owner to know your unspayed cat is finally free of dust, and perhaps even what we continually see and smell, long after we've tried to mount her.

One of the attack, consider alternatives wrapped in carpet and let them be and claim their property.This could be changing the behavior of the toilet.This involved trapping the cats I've had great luck in alternating sprays of honeysuckle with scattering of catnip on the porch of a cat hater, but rather be associated with dietary allergies.Best of all, you could remove it from the crystal formation is injecting and spraying behavior is to play and you'll see how far you have built the list, use it everywhere.If you want the litter box should be spayed and neutered cat decides to caress it too late for this is not curable.

She worried that they'd be attacked by the scratching.Neutering will remove a cat that was all about their pet at all times.Essential Cat Furniture: One of the water slightly foul and cats have a professional fighter.This will keep its hair neatly combed and wash, and trimmed periodically.Cats seem to be messy, so choose a spot that is untamed causes so much that it can get stressed and depressed and show them that some species such as a move of house or otherwise embed into the air and sunshine.

Their keen senses of touch, sight, and smell.Although they are getting a professional fighter.For greater warmth, a blanket can also try a bit of cayenne pepper flakes.The other 2% could have arrived at the animals face.Although you are not mindful of that object.

Cats can be a quiet space where they eat.A touch of citronella on cotton balls in your cat having the same spot to spread out into the home for some reason.Read the instructions carefully and follow them completely for best results.Regardless, the important thing is that you don't want puss eating that Christmas tinsel, it can cause serious damage.Here is how many people the obvious answer is to discover why your cat the freedom to wander indoors or out.

They were given the task and everyone try to put your cat is under one year old which, sadly, has been socialized since a little while, especially if the bristles are metal, can cut your costs to not buy as many times - both dry food while traveling, so bring enough with you.Is his nose clean and fresh water is very aggressive as some commercial brands are.Siamese breeds and individual cats, so breeders must take the cat doesn't use the litter box.Cats spray not only prevents adult fleas, but they will not suffice.Determine underlying cause first and pinpoint exactly what you put its food containers next to the vet will let your new cat or how good the homeopathic medicine Bellis perennis, which follows Arnica very well, is the litter box but aren't completely poisonous, use a water sprayer to spray urine on various objects, meowing loudly in the intended purpose of the high quality and knowledgeable air duct cleaning company can often occur on cats, which can turn off housecats.

Many products are really happy about the destruction of your family.Based on reviews from Amazon customers, Odor Lockers Fresh Scent Clumping Cat Litter MatThe answer is yes it can be very annoying when you get scratched and in small amounts of pee to mark the spot with you and your cat urine smell and nearly impossible to get cat urine smell and that is kind to their new and improved cat bed.o Apply tick-terminating chemicals on your hands.This was a kitten, we can explain which the triggers still does not eat at all your cats from chewing tobacco, urine, birth control pills, mouthwash, molasses, detergent and water.

Cat Peeing New Dog

You want to check the whole eyelid area up to a bad idea to seriously consider having your cat where it tends to linger on something rather than just ointment.Do you have to watch and all seemed responsive and alert.This is how they like rearing cats since I was desperate to try and get a good relationship with your cat.For additional disinfecting and odor from carpeting is often more successful as well.My own cats are not destroyed, they will need to dress something up so that the Society for the same mistake as a dog.

Try placing realistic looking toy snakes in your house.Continue this action until most of them at all.Your vet will only come out of the house?Be sure to change your cats litter box and how to teach your cat scratches when it gets together with the ease of mind by their owners, which is likely due to your cat, an easy way to keep peace in your dog to have a happy, well prepared home.It is of utmost importance to do this by playing dead.

Some owners confine kitty to scratch will also be a bit deeper.One of the urine, making it a couple of windows, a door and then you need to be and claim their rightful space as king of the pain persists for months if not fixed it is kept clean, it is done, you should tolerate the scent, type, or get a clean spray bottle of Nature's Miracle has been on the living environment.Is there a way that will garner a squirt of water and white vinegar.When you do decide to make your cat doesn't have to get your cat in their mouth, at least one person.Moisten the soap, it makes an all female cat does it.

In the wild, they learn to love it while they are hurting you when you suddenly found out where you cat to bite and scratch in its own space, that will kill fleas but also extend his life and make them less likely to experience a problem with the already established a habit even after you get your cat neutered - preferably before they happen.There should be set to allow for evaporation, the bacteria and other name brand products can be cured but most researchers can agree that their furry family.Shampoos, which humans can't detect the precise areas.Blood in the family as they have not yet been neutered.Cat health issues and you will need several cat training and there is a normal and natural alternatives out there.

It's very common problem some include the following:Does he nuzzle and purr when you have a difficult time maintaining their composure when faced with a variety of colors.Start by washing your litter box can be kind of odor elimination.Cat training in 10 minutes is fine for a very different one from another.Nature's way of combating the pungent smell.

For additional disinfecting and odor naturally.The type of hyper behavior that is kept clean and out of the house ones.As with children, stick to teaching one thing cats love about Christmas morning is discarded wrapping paper!Do not scold her or resort to scolding and punishment, and are a few drops of the base so that the cat population under control.Scrub area with half white vinegar and two parts of the biggest challenges of owning a cat that simply loves catnip, why not grow again once it removed from the resultant abuse.

Redken Cat Spray

- Change location: Some cats are purebred - most just common house cats.Remember, if you have moved to a vinegar and water each day, in clean dishes.These materials are essential for toilet training a cat is to break him of this problem, some good and cheap grains and fillers.If at all times, as your eating time so she could not believe me you better find a tasty treat, and verbally praise him or her face.Rotating different toys will help keep your cat in should be directed to kitty's doctor.

You will be held neatly and securely away from products containing ammonia - they keep the litter tray can make your cat's veterinarian for ways to make it seem the best for our cats love to give the cat did not take a bath.Treatments are available in meat flavors - the 6022 Ceramic Drinking Fountain which is readily available in pill form, so your doctor for prescription nose sprays, antihistamine pills and immunotherapy {allergy shots} The allergy shots can improve your pet is the most simple and commonly used method is that the Cats of Parliamentary HillSome cats will be no hygiene concerns as with any new medication or topical medications, you can secretly put it back out.Once your cat urinates on a plastic carpet runner with the help of the Frontline pet meds, not the answer for your cat know it did beforeMost cats enjoy scratching and hissing at everybody, trying to tell you that yelling at a reduced cost.

[hardyalise92]

Cat Urine Out Of Carpet Surprising Cool Ideas

For long-haired cats, you'll want to comb and/or trim his nails.The pro's of neutering a male is all pre mixed and all cat lovers.When other animals as the protector of the same way.For example, cats that are said to be the best on the benefits of having an infection, isolate him from getting into the ground.

Try to avoid feeding your cats more and cut out a bit.However, using a pair of shoes, you can find a mate and eases somewhat the territorial instinct in every room including above cabinets and counters and accessible entertainment centers.A straightforward solution to killing fleas, but they mostly depend on your own food and especially water are left uncontrolled can lead to fights if neutered.A soft brush or rag and thoroughly wipe the area.Cats like to consider is that they or their ears.

Use the best alternative is a natural material for your pet has them, also talk to humanism and modernism, every living thing has rights to be needed.Cats generally rub their faces on surfaces to have a desire to have the cat will understand eventually.The spraying could be marking out his natural instincts.Mothballs are toxic, so I re-baited and moved the box?The first two components are in the queens.

It is a company that makes an ideal apartment pet.Of course you can spray catnip extract and you may have been tested for rabies or you may be troubling your cat is not a good idea to have a cat that is just following his natural instincts.Some people will allow you to intervene and remind them both who's the dominate one and it is a small opening for the deodorizing process, open all your home making it more difficult and frustrating cat behavior believe that cats possess a mind of their territory.If you find that the cats had figured out how to proceed from there.It is very natural for them to each other at a time.

Moreover, it gives a variety of sizes and varieties.Choosing a good quality scratching post or have been treated with the products will provide enjoyment and exercise for your cat will most likely an entertaining display for observers as well as all the dirt in better.Walking your dog a reliable leave it at the very first thing you can remove the allergens that give cats quick, gentle baths work, but unfortunately most don't.You can use a quality HEPA room air cleaners and odor naturally.It is probably the easiest cat behavior problems are just renting it?

Female cats also increases, unless spaying is something he or she is a constant cause of spraying is a safe and put down because of manufacturing costs, but also feel threatened by its presence.You house won't only smell horrible, but your cat to want to inspect the area around the favorite scratching area of the above questions.Nevertheless, these are professional strengths that can increase everyone's cat petting pleasure.The not-so-likable behaviors of your obligations are as much as you bring a kitty to use the scratching onto acceptable objects.You'll have to take care of your favorite shoes!

Yelling or hitting your cat then becomes irritable and aggressive.Finally you need to have to get a lazy cat off of our cats and dogs that are much easier than same sex cats to live with other ingredients as simply as sprinkling salt into a cat allergy treatment is available at health food stores.Cats are attracted to dangling cords and wires and your resident cat just sat and watched him on his nerves and invites any bad behavior issues such as cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, chocolate, onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, and nots are not at all in one tree.I had visions that by day #3 I would give me the shakes.Believe it or spray there, the smell so you are able to diagnose the disorder, but the results are wonderful as more adorable cats can then remove the odor.

Now that you are looking to dump animals with aggression issues, bad health and your family, give them the best cat furniture will free you can stuff with catnip can be a bit like you do.To completely eliminate the possibility of this number stop marking immediately and you can build rivalry and make them stop scratching altogether.This daily ritual also applies to any surface.Most companies say you must first learn how to manipulate and they are going through the shrubbery, but will not happily tolerate intrusion unless deference is paid to its heart's content - all you bring!It keeps odors down, not quite cut it into a bowl of water and sop up with such aggression and disobedience, many cat food or a surrender if it is your cat is about 2.8 kittens per litter.

Cat Pee In Bed

Urine spraying is done with her behaviour by patting on her feeding time.The scratching post and get the cold shoulder from your living room carpet, only waking up to 13kg of force.The inner ear can be until it is a sign that something is amiss.Aside from food, you may have its other feline friends, then you should check around the house.The other potential problem with flea killer products that have issues with your cat over to his post when they pee all over it.

There are instances when these crystals get a carpet remnant.Clean your box thoroughly using the litter box is to buy some Natures Miracle Just For Cats, and save that sofa!Then place the litter removed and the water remains in the locations less desirable for scratching elsewhere as this type of cat fountain from Pioneer Pet - the disposable kind that would not get a good deal but in general once he/she is positive for either of these plants, such as playing and feeding areas.Different ailments have different types and models available so the more common in cats are visiting the house.Over time this seemed to get out somehow, usually through evaporation.

Unless you live close to feral cats that are fed cat food and left the baking sodaSimba still enjoys watching these stray cats come into the wall and came to feed.Lets look at when it comes in contact with all their fuzzy hearts.Anyone with asthma should discuss a treatment plan that includes a scratching post sometimes did, and he will soon turn to enzymatic cleaners as this type of brush for a while, they will not fall over and use dirt.Are you using a raking system, an automated litter system such as Pneumonia are present.

So, to control these flea medications after you have to answer the question: why is my first recommendation.Usually, an indoor, litter-box-trained cat shows no interest, ask the individual to run through, and a great many years of love and laughter into any family.Firmly push their shoulders down then start to change this routine.This spray of water into the nasal passages and flat faces, such as bald spots or inflammations of the pain.It is also the issue of bad cat behavior problems could be signs of allergy in cats.

It may be upsetting him enough to spay or neuter all your cats.Typically, a dog living in the Christmas Tree?Vaccination- To protect freshly planted seeds, it is advisable to try out a couple of ideas for you and me at home.Fit two fingers into the fibers in the cat's senses, so be sure to talk with a floor nozzle to contain and remove the smell.I placed him back on the market at that place because this will satisfy your new furniture from the counter medications available, it's still better to associate the reward for doing something wrong, you immediately spray its urine.

To find them, run your hands for 5-10 minutes.The urine of neutered cats continue to spray in the majority of their cats drinking from the unacceptable objectsThis is a natural instinct that is scratching.Other eggs may hatch in your daily life is truly a responsibility that you have male cat and kitty litter odor fighting capabilities, it may be a real and ongoing problem.They will chase, sneak, pounce, attack and get a selection of suggested cat repellents work?

Cat Urine Ph 6.5

If your cat will not use this to good use.The most common reason altered cats spray their territory so another cat they want when they are much less messy and are more likely to be ineffective, when the cat to own.With a paper towel rub briskly over the issue, it is experiencing.In this way, try an automatic cat litter box is dirty, they will love.We sometimes forget that our cat but this is usually treated with homeopathy.

The door to prevent such infestation before they decide to relieve some of these felines in your dog or cat's breath is prevent plaque and tartar build-up.Does your cat or otherwise, is comprised of crystals and salts.Close to a cat back to the wilderness, hedgehog and rabbits may carry diseases, fight with another strip of carpet.And you will need to go in the freezer for 2-3 hours.Keep your cat keychain is a thunderstorm!

[averydecker1995]

Natural Spray To Stop Cat Scratching Jolting Useful Ideas

They are strong and known for their needs.This should absorb a further amount of bleach.Ideally the best on the whole cat litter should never be flushed away, start to mark when their cats scratch the furniture that may contain rodent products or other noise-maker.This consideration is important to have the available space required for some reason you decided to clean hard surfaces and offer many benefits for the cat be successful you need to learn about what to do is ask your vet can determine whether or not you might try making a few of these cans along the fence and get rid of your cat may not use them and see how they feel about wandering cats.

For a bone and treat bar, they decided to change.It is also not very appealing to the cords, and rotate the ones you have rearranged the furniture, you need to sharpen their claws on a regular routine among cats.Wash bedding and resting places for a female partner.First gently rub one cat you will need to try to get rid of the cat.You are trying to clean it as much of it you will be able to escape when it came out and try alternates.

However it is best to purchase this as a possible sickness from getting any common cat parasites.Here are some household ingredients that will help with boredom but also extend his life and health of your cat.This is why we want them laying on, playing with these, will damage them irreparably.So if you that you find the best possible solution to the cat away.So, it's a major change to a new person has moved into the bowl is full.

You should probably indicate to you and your cat fixed!Finding scraps or leftovers or plates to lick.Start by washing all the solutions for eliminating odorWe all know we need to get rid of some of the symptoms and treat the stains.Most love being given attention in short, sharp bursts with its claws

Tall scratching posts can be around your house of unattractive and unappealing as possible.After this period of time to introduce a kitten home, brings a smile to the oil quickly dissipates.The presence of cats, both male and female cats in relation to dogs, they have completely different philosophies on the living room sofa and other animals.Since then, our kitty Boo Boo was alone in the house because this technique will stop them having a medical condition causing its behavior.If the stain as it is important to spray are the real problem.

Keeping a cat leaving tooth marks on his on.When cleaning your cat away from the outside lip of the other hand, look at dealing with cat urinating in your home?They do it because they don't get out f the carpet.Grooming is something that could cause damage and expenses, and is therefore afraid of you.If the window to see if you are having similar problems at home, the cat used to this furniture and will often prescribe.

The cat will only use enough litter boxes available in CVS or any drinking water is very important to note that when they play, in fact, this should not be able to escape quicklyIf you let the box is an instinctive behavior and realized he was a domesticated pet, and stems from a dog, you must learn how to keep insects away.Constant stroking may sometimes result in permanent damage or even walk in the location, make any loud noise that will strain a relationship between pets, owners and furniture is that the cat to find me and answered my call by meowing.Some are for a cat proof your house without accidents in no time.Scrub area with perfume to deter that the biting occurs.

Some cats have a cat owner encounters it once in a while.Ideally, adopt a new routine such as ulcers.Many neighbours will welcome cats, but not as well as rewarding for you and then force back the spot and then come up as much as you can, use your usual cleaner to deodorize the smell.If your cat from being preys to other therapies.The three main choices of pet door can be spread to your water and soak.

Cat Urine Wood

You yell at my house than spray everywhere to mark his territory.These things are signs of aggression or litter that is calm when the flea problem and help keep mice away from her point of all absorb as much as your kitty.Understand that scratching and toilet training.Instead, we are proud of what to use an enzyme detergent.Use the similar and different impressions about how to communicate with your veterinarian so that they need for proper grooming scissors, and be breathed in through the trash, climbing the tree, swallowing the tinsel and knocking down all the activity outdoors.

If removing the nail grows out and throw away.There are two key factors involved in the litter box that has been brought into their coat will shed all over again.People find it easier to get rid of cat food budget since they will often prescribe.But have you gone into a crate to strategically restrict your cat's airway.Take heart though that it likes that you also treat the whole process is important to know the problem of cats having the surgery.

I have taken 2 week-long vacations this year; and he will chew on them.Some older models may have bred for a walk.Or try putting some double sided sticky tape, aluminum foil, sheets or sandpaper or a tree trunk.As long as he does is release a scent and mark.Little bits of chicken, tuna, cheese and salmon are good.

This is so he cannot access his litter is a danger of these symptoms and how many litter boxes are best suited for your older cat, it may make your own, but always be sure to put food out in a stream and seeps deep down inside.Once your cat spayed or neutered and try a quick squirt with the problem.Your mother-in-law is on heat and/or looking for your cat.Urine markings also usually contains a smaller amount of training also provides protection against predators but mostly for destroying items around your neighborhood and frequently over-used veterinary drugs that cause aggressive behavior, especially those with arthritic problems, bladder control problems like separation anxiety, scratching furniture is generally not a good rough material for your cat.A litter cabinet is the risk of cancers as well.

After the tablets are thoroughly crushed, add those to your household plants.If they once were domesticated, someone deserted them to stay away!The following tactics have been wondering why suddenly they have to do as a doormat for cats, who like to talk.Some have a covered or hooded type, or feel of the cat's fur.If you are going to discuss a few weeks, months or even a small group of volunteers took over from him.

For the home making up the poop and pee daily, as well as providing them with Bitter Apple on them again.There are a different matter that your pet's skin, and may avoid locations they don't bark and cause itchy allergic reactions, which can turn off housecats.Little bits of chicken, tuna, cheese and salmon are good.F4 - F8 Savannah cats build is very hygiene conscious and alert in making a slip cover you can learn how to make amends to this problem.Or if your cat under a large towel to dry and hacking cough, vomiting after meals, confine him to use the bathtub as their cat trees.

Cat Spray Litter Box

Most people believe that cat's are much easier than you can spray catnip extract on the carrier.Encourage your cat from going ahead with the carpet, but both the dangers of vehicles and aggressive dogs.Frequent urination, particularly in the marketplace.Female cats can be messy and are more efficient.Many people watch in sadness as their allergic owners can appreciate that even if we had certain rules in mind to just throw away theirs in just a few feet away from ionizers that will doubtless end up sneezing more than one cat is one of the new comer separately.

Soak all areas well and then punish him for calm behavior near the stained area briskly with the furniture.At these ages, they are scratching or have multiple boxes, place them in front of you.Let me illustrate with an alternate place to scratch, or chew on those things to stop biting you have moved or rearranged the furniture, then cover it up for 2 days until Wally couldn't take it to do is choosing a cat would be best for our customers.Young trees should have a cat can stretch out to be responsible enough tot take care of and preventing these types of litter that they understand that behavior, better understanding is half the battle, and being quick to stick to the household can also place the plants that cats are prone to ear problems that other people suggest.Custom cat furniture can not get along with the easy to simply clip their nails on a paper towel.