#they get more paying visitors in a year than the state has actual residents

[tyrannosaurus-trainwreck]

The other thing about Disney is that it’s wholesome and family-friendly, but not in any kind of explicitly religious way, and there are a lot of evangelical fundamentalists who get driven up a wall by stuff like that because, in their opinion, anything that’s not explicitly Jesus-ridden is of the devil.

It’s basic cult tactics--make sure your followers interact as little as humanly possible with the secular world so you can scare the shit out of them about it, they won’t know enough to see through your bullshit, and they’ll have a fucking hard time leaving the church no matter how much abusive shit you pull. For bonus points, you can threaten to kick them out of the church if they don’t fall in line, with most of the same psychological fallout as any other insular group that practices shunning.

But Disney stuff occupies this space where it’s so patently inoffensive and devoid of objectionable material that they look utterly unhinged when they try to convince people that the content is morally the same as a grindhouse movie or a Motley Crue album. Most other believers get exasperated with them about it, and people who aren’t deep enough in the fold to have run into too much of this sort of blatantly controlling horseshit are like, “Is Helen Lovejoy over there fucking kidding with this?”

It’s a point of (extremely minor) resistance to their “burn your books and your rock’n’roll albums” campaigns, so of course it sends them into a frothing goddamned rage, which doesn’t help with the whole “no, for real, are you fucking kidding me right now” interactions.

So they do what any Good Christian™ does in this situation: lie their tits off.

Just make a whole bunch of shit up about Disney being a hotbed of what the fuck ever libel Lou Dobbs is pushing this week and go to town! You may not see anything objectionable about Lion King, but the whole Disney animation department is run by child-hungry perverts, and there’s totally a scene where some dust clouds spell out S-E-X, which means you should only ever let your kid watch VeggieTales and you were so, so wrong to question Pastor Fucknuts when he said the only way to keep your family safe was to lock them in a dark basement and never let them out.

It’s part and parcel to the way reactionary groups get more and more sensitive to and hostile towards even the tiniest challenge as their environments get more homogenized and their control gets more absolute. (Same reason people in lily-white gated communities frequently start getting real aggro about minor differences in religion, class background, or politics--their comfort zone will just keep getting smaller and smaller the more they’re able to eject The Other from it.)

So I’ve been enjoying the Disney vs. DeSantis memes as much as anyone, but like. I do feel like a lot of people who had normal childhoods are missing some context to all this.

I was raised in the Bible Belt in a fairly fundie environment. My parents were reasonably cool about some things, compared to the rest of my family, but they certainly had their issues. But they did let me watch Disney movies, which turned out to be a point of major contention between them and my other relatives.

See, I think some people think this weird fight between Disney and fundies is new. It is very not new. I know that Disney’s attempts at inclusion in their media have been the source of a lot of mockery, but what a lot of people don’t understand is that as far as actual company policy goes, Disney has actually been an industry leader for queer rights. They’ve had policies assuring equal healthcare and partner benefits for queer employees since the early 90s.

I’m not sure how many people reading this right now remember the early 90s, but that was very much not industry standard. It was a big deal when Disney announced that non-married queer partners would be getting the same benefits as the married heterosexual ones.

Like — it went further than just saying that any unmarried partners would be eligible for spousal benefits. It straight-up said that non-same-sex partners would still need to be married to receive spousal benefits, but because same-sex partners couldn’t do that, proof that they lived together as an established couple would be enough.

In other words, it put long-term same-sex partners on a higher level than opposite-sex partners who just weren’t married yet. It put them on the exact same level as heterosexual married partners.

They weren’t the first company ever to do this, but they were super early. And they were certainly the first mainstream “family-friendly” company to do it.

Conservatives lost their damn minds.

Protests, boycotts, sermons, the whole nine yards. I can’t tell you how many books about the evils of Disney my grandmother tried to get my parents to read when I was a kid.

When we later moved to Florida, I realized just how many queer people work at Disney — because historically speaking, it’s been a company that has guaranteed them safety, non-discrimination, and equal rights. That’s when I became aware of their unofficial “Gay Days” and how Christians would show up from all over the country to protest them every year. Apparently my grandmother had been upset about these days for years, but my parents had just kind of ignored her.

Out of curiosity, I ended up reading one of the books my grandmother kept leaving at our house. And friends — it’s amazing how similar that (terrible, poorly written) rhetoric was to what people are saying these days. Disney hires gay pedophiles who want to abuse your children. Disney is trying to normalize Satanism in our beautiful, Christian America. 

Just tons of conspiracy theories in there that ranged from “a few bad things happened that weren’t actually Disney’s fault, but they did happen” to “Pocahontas is an evil movie, not because it distorts history and misrepresents indigenous life, but because it might teach children respect for nature. Which, as we all know, would cause them all to become Wiccans who believe in climate change.”

Like — please, take it from someone who knows. This weird fight between fundies and Disney is not new. This is not Disney’s first (gay) rodeo. These people have always believed that Disney is full of evil gays who are trying to groom and sexually abuse children.

The main difference now is that these beliefs are becoming mainstream. It’s not just conservative pastors who are talking about this. It’s not just church groups showing up to boycott Gay Day. Disney is starting to (reluctantly) say the quiet part out loud, and so are the Republicans. Disney is publicly supporting queer rights and announcing company-supported queer events and the Republican Party is publicly calling them pedophiles and enacting politically driven revenge.

This is important, because while this fight has always been important in the history of queer rights, it is now being magnified. The precedent that a fight like this could set is staggering. For better or for worse, we live in a corporation-driven country. I don’t like it any more than you do, and I’m not about to defend most of Disney’s business practices. But we do live in a nation where rights are largely tied to corporate approval, and the fact that we might be entering an age where even the most powerful corporations in the country are being banned from speaking out in favor of rights for marginalized people… that’s genuinely scary.

Like… I’ll just ask you this. Where do you think we’d be now, in 2023, if Disney had been prevented from promising its employees equal benefits in 1994? That was almost thirty years ago, and look how far things have come. When I looked up news articles for this post from that era, even then journalists, activists, and fundie church leaders were all talking about how a company of Disney’s prominence throwing their weight behind this movement could lead to the normalization of equal protections in this country.

The idea of it scared and thrilled people in equal parts even then. It still scares and thrills them now.

I keep seeing people say “I need them both to lose!” and I get it, I do. Disney has for sure done a lot of shit over the years. But I am begging you as a queer exvangelical to understand that no. You need Disney to win. You need Disney to wipe the fucking floor with these people.

Right now, this isn’t just a fight between a giant corporation and Ron DeSantis. This is a fight about the right of corporations to support marginalized groups. It’s a fight that ensures that companies like Disney still can offer benefits that a discriminatory government does not provide. It ensures that businesses much smaller than Disney can support activism.

Hell, it ensures that you can support activism.

The fight between weird Christian conspiracy theorists and Disney is not new, because the fight to prevent any tiny victory for marginalized groups is not new. The fight against the normalization of othered groups is not new.

That’s what they’re most afraid of. That each incremental victory will start to make marginalized groups feel safer, that each incremental victory will start to turn the tide of public opinion, that each incremental victory will eventually lead to sweeping law reform.

They’re afraid that they won’t be able to legally discriminate against us anymore.

So guys! Please. This fight, while hilarious, is also so fucking important. I am begging you to understand how old this fight is. These people always play the long game. They did it with Roe and they’re doing it with Disney.

We have! To keep! Pushing back!

[tomorrowusa]

Anti-vaxxers keep reminding us how utterly stupid they are.

A woman tried to avoid quarantine upon entry into Hawaii by using a falsified vaccination card.

Authorities immediately noticed something was fishy when Moderna was misspelled Maderna. 

Another visitor to Hawaii has been arrested for allegedly using a fake vaccine card to fly to the islands.

On the card was one major error that was a red flag for authorities: “Moderna” was misspelled as "Maderna," court documents allege.

State investigators said they received a tip that 24-year-old Chloe Mrozak of Oak Lawn, Illinois may have uploaded the false documents under the state’s Safe Travels Program to bypass traveler quarantine rules.

Mrozak arrived on Oahu last week Monday on a Southwest flight.

That wasn’t the only red flag. 

She was arrested and uttered to the officer that she got her vaccination from her doctor at her doctor’s office, and paid for the shot, documents say.

There are very few people in the US who have gotten the COVID-19 vaccination at doctors’ offices. And the vaccinations are free.

Saying that she paid for the shots probably made investigators laugh out loud. One Minnesota county actually gave residents $100 each to get the vaccinations. NYC is still giving away free one week transit passes to people who get vaccinated at select subway stations.

Mrozak is being held at OCCC accused of falsifying vaccination documents, which is a misdemeanor offense. Her bail has been set at $2,000.

She wanted to avoid quarantine. But now she is, in practical terms, quarantined at the Oahu jail.

While what she did is a misdemeanor, there’s still potentially a high price to pay. Falsifying a vaccination card carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and/or a term in prison for up to one year.

Considering the virulence of the Delta variant, Chloe Mrozak deserves the maximum sentence.

It’s cheaper, more sensible, and healthier to actually get vaccinated than to try to pull off a ridiculous scheme to pretend you are.

[tallstales]

Day 11 Haunted Places in New England (13 Days of Halloween)

New England is home to some of America’s oldest colonies and so it only seems natural that it is home to some old spirits. Let’s take a tour state by state of 13 of the most popular haunted locations in New England.

Maine

The Wood Lighthouse - Saco Bay, Maine

In 1808 a lighthouse was built in Saco Bay, Maine at the request of President Thomas Jefferson. That lighthouse, though full of history is not the infamous haunt that stands today. After falling to disrepair, it was replaced by a stone and granite tower that still stands today. it is in this newer structure that a violent tragedy would take place.

Based on reports, in 1896 a tenant renting the lighthouse or possibly squatting there, was approached by the landlord regarding the subject of paying rent. An argument took place which resulted in the shooting and death of the landlord. After realizing what he had done or possibly panicking over the consequences of his actions, the tenant went into the lighthouse with his gun and killed himself.

Keepers who have lived in the Wood Island Lighthouse since say that unexplained shadows frequently appear as well as unusual moaning sounds. Other reports say that sometimes locked doors fly open and gunshots are heard. The light was also know to turn on and off by itself. It became such a problem in fact, that in 1972 to save the lighthouse keepers from dealing with the possibly haunted light, it was replaced with an automated light.

Goose River Bridge - Rockport Harbor, Maine

A spirit with spirits can be found on The Goose River Bridge on Pascal Avenue near picturesque Rockport Harbor. The Goose River Bridge is allegedly haunted by William Richardson, a town resident who lived there around the time of the Revolutionary War. There are at least two stories about Richardson’s death that circulate to this day amongst the locals. The first is that British sympathizers murdered Richardson in 1783 because they were enraged by his drunken celebration of the American victory. The second is that he got so drunk celebrating the American victory that he fell from the Goose River Bridge to his death. Either way, if you catch a whiff of ale in the air by the bridge and happen to see this celebrating apparition, legend has it that he’ll offer you a drink from his pitcher. I wonder what the tab would be for 200 years worth of ale.

Vermont

Emily’ s Bridge - Stowe, Vermont

In Vermont there is another haunted bridge but one without a such a friendly spirit. If you travel through Stowe, Vermont it is likely that you will eventually pass over the Gold Brook Bridge. At least, that’s what your GPS will call it, but locals have renamed it something different. Emily’s Bridge has been nicknamed such after a tragedy befell the location. A girl named Emily had planned to meet her lover at the covered bridge, where they would then run away together to elope. According to the story, her beau man never showed, and a brokenhearted Emily commited suicide. The method has changed over time and story teller, some saying she hanged herself from the rafters of the bridge, others saying that she drove off the bridge in her carriage and others still saying that she flung herself from the bridge.

One thing that remains consistent are the experiences. Visitors have reported long scratch marks appearing on their vehicles, hearing footsteps and spotting a white apparition. Some pedestrians have even reported experiencing scratches along their skin. The most common thing among these witnesses? They apparitions and disembodied footsteps seem to be experienced by all types, but the scratches always seem to be inflicted upon men. Maybe Emily is still blaming her lover after all these years. Or maybe, her lover did show up on the bridge that day and Emily didn’t kill herself at all. We’ll likely never know.

University of Vermont - Burlington, Vermont

Established in 1791, the University of Vermont was the fifth university founded across New England. The school welcomes thousands of new students every year, but according to legend it seems like many of them never actually leave.

Over the years, many homes were bought and absorbed into the campus. One of these homes is now the Counseling Centre. Once owned by Captain John Nabb, the building still seems to house his spirit. Staff of the Counselling Centre say that he is still there and makes himself known by knocking over buckets and slamming doors and windows. The nearby Public Relations building is also said to be haunted by its former resident John E Booth who is said to make various banging noises all over the building. But it doesn’t end there. The most haunted house on the campus is said to be The Bittersweet House where many people have reported seeing full body apparitions. It is believed that one of the ghosts there is Margaret Smith who was widowed at a young age and spent the rest of her life as a recluse until she died in the house in 1961.

Not all of the ghosts at the University of Vermont are former residents, there is reported to be a far more tragic spirit in the Converse Residence Hall. A young med student called Henry is reported to have committed suicide in the building in 1920 and many say he is still there, manifesting himself in the form of poltergeist activity.

With all of these separately haunted buildings on campus, I would say this makes the university of Vermont the most haunted place to visit in Vermont and probably a paranormal investigators dream!

New Hampshire

The Mount Washington Hotel - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

The Mount Washington Hotel was built by Joseph Stickney from 1900 to 1902 and for a time was the largest wood structure in New England. Sadly, Stickney wouldn’t get to spend much time in his hotel as he died a year after completion, but surprisingly he is not who is reported to haunt the place. Instead the hotel is allegedly haunted by his widow Carolyn.

Soon after the death of Carolyn in 1936, hotel staff began seeing strange things around the hotel. Reports were made of her descending the stairs for dinner, as well as lights inexplicably turning on and off all over the hotel. Photographs have also been taken by the staff with the shadowy figure of an elegant lady looking through the windows or standing behind them. Carolyn’s old room, number 314, is reported to be the most haunted room in the hotel. This isn’t at all surprising considering some of her furniture including her four-poster bed is still in use in the room.

The Chase House - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The Chase House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire was built as a home for orphaned children. As you can probably guess, it has some spooky tales to tell regarding the ghosts of little orphans some may be more gruesome than you’d expect. The most reported ghost to haunt the premises isn;t the result of a tragic illness or accident but of a poor young girl who hanged herself in her bedroom. Her apparition is seen wandering the hall and in her old room and there have also been reports of disembodied screams from within the room. Doors in the building have also been known to lock or unlock on there own and the electricity allegedly turns on and off as well.

Massachusetts

Danvers State Hospital - Danvers, Massachusetts

The Danvers State Hospital opened in 1878 as the Danvers State insane Asylum. The impressive Gothic architecture shapes the building like a bat with expanded wings and makes for a sufficiently eerie exterior. Underground tunnels weave beneath the building to up the creep factor of the interior as well. But what’s really scary here is the history. Typical of asylums for the period, Danvers housed more patients than they should have causing poor treatment and overcrowding. Historians belief that Danvers may have been the birthplace of the prefrontal lobotomy. Unfortunately that’s not where the mistreatment of patients ends. There was a distinct lack of adequate care and treatment with those actually receiving any sort of treatment being subjected to brutal methods such as shock therapies, drugs and straitjackets from the staff as well as your more average human violence like beatings and rape from inmates and staff alike.

The hospital was closed in 1985 and was left completely abandoned. People interested in the paranormal would try to enter the building but with no success. As of 2005 you can now live on the property in renovated or completely new apartments and condos. That being said there are still graveyards for patients. if you walk down a hill you will come across many markers, most of them remain nameless. Hopefully the rent is cheap?

Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast - Fall River, Massachusetts

“Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.” So goes the catchy rhyme that anyone from New England is sure to have memorized. Whether or not Lizzie actually killed her parents is a matter that is still debated today, but you can stay in the very house where the couple met their gruesome fate. The Lizzie Borden house is now a bed and breakfast and museum and is also said to be very much haunted.

Guests lucky enough to snag a reservations at this constantly booked up B&B can sleep in John V. Morse room, where Lizzie’s mother was murdered. Downstairs visitors can see the couch where her father died. Overnight guests get an extensive tour that lasts about an hour and half of the house including the basement and a full of history and the murder case. To those who don’t want to sleep in the room where someone was ax murdered, the museum also offers a 50 minute tours visitors.

Those who have decided to stay the night have reported hearing a woman crying, heard unexplained noises and have even woken up with scratches all over their bodies. Also frequently reported are the apparitions of Lizzie herself as well as the murdered John and Abby wandering the home.

Hawthorne Hotel - Salem, Massachusetts

The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts has been ranked as one of the top 10 haunted hotels in the United States. It was also recently investigated by The Atlantic Paranormal Society, better known as TAPS or The Ghost Hunters.

Since its opening 1925, the Hawthorne has collected numerous ghosts. Witnesses have reported hearing what sounds like a child crying incessantly when there are no children around. Guests in room 325 have felt the sensation of someone’s hand touching theirs when no one is there.

The ghostly figure of a woman is also known to wander the 6th floor hallway. Others claim to have seen the woman enter different rooms as well and more still report a feeling of unease on the entire 6th floor and a restless presence that appears to pace the room according to guests who have stayed in Suite 612 of the hotel. Other guests in 612 that have not seen the pacing spirit report to hear footsteps in the room as though someone is pacing back and forth.

A more comedic report, at least to me, is from a guest who claimed someone had managed to get into his room when he heard the sink running and the toilet flush in his bathroom. After being shown there was no way anyone could get into his bathroom the man was resigned to the notion it was a ghost, and he was ok with that notion. I don;t know if I would be ok with that notion but to each their own. It is Salem after all and though this building is relatively young, the history of the city cannot be overlooked.

Connecticut

The Sterling Opera House - Derby, Connecticut

Built in 1889, The Sterling Opera House in Derby, CT is said to be one of the most haunted places in New England. The hauntingly beautiful Opera House remained open until 1945 and served as host to a slew of famous performers such as Bob Hope and Harry Houdini. Today, all that are left to perform or attend are the spirits.

There have been a number of paranormal investigations in the opera house over the years and the evidence gathered during them has included children talking or singing, shadowy spectors, light anomalies and the sudden appearance of child-sized handprints. Although most of the activity seems to center around children, some say that the building is also haunted by the spirit of Charles Sterling who the building was named for.

Dudleytown - Cornwall, Connecticut

Unlike some of the other hotspots on our list, this haunting consumed an entire town! Dudleytown was a village that was once said to be under a terrible curse. The Village was founded in 1738 by The Dudley Family who is the one who were the victims of the apparent cursed. You would think the curse would have ended when all of the Dudleys died soon after settling in Dudleytown, but it is said that the curse went on to infect the rest of the village. After the last Dudley died, the population of the town began to rapidly decrease with death... and it wasn’t a plague or sickness.

No, the deaths were violent in nature. Accidents and suicides wreaked havoc as well as a higher than average number of cases of insanity. The village was completely abandoned in the 1800s and now all that remains are the foundations and some stone ruins. Though access is rarely granted to the remains of this village by its current owners, guests to the ruins report that many of the former residents are still there in the form of ghosts. Many say that when entering the village there is a strong sense of dread. Some have seen orbs of light and unexplained shadow figures in the area.

To add to the strangeness, all visitors seem to notice the same unsettling thing. Though this is an area of overgrown forest, there are no birds or animals to be seen or heard. I think that’s enough warning for me to stay out!

Rhode Island

We’ve already visited my home state of RI on our haunted location hunt this week but here are two bonus locations for our tour of New England!

The Breakers Mansion - Newport, Rhode Island

The Breakers is one of the most popular tourist attractions and wedding venues on Aquidneck Island, but it has a haunted history. This mansion was originally the summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who was a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. It is said that Vanderbilt’s wife, Alice, was known to roam throughout the building, even after her death in 1934. Her spirit has been seen on multiple levels of the house in fine dresses from the golden age. other witnesses have reported the feeling of being watched or followed by something they couldn’t see.

The family currently living there says that Alice is a near constant presence but they will not allow any ghost tours or investigators because they believe she has a right to her own home and they don’t want to disturb her.

Seaview Terrace - Newport, Rhode Island

Closing out our list is the Seaview Terrace in Newport, Rhode Island. Also known as the Carey Mansion, Seaview Terrace is located on Ruggles Avenue in Newport, RI. This historical landmark dating back to 1907 and was a filming location for the gothic horror TV show, Dark Shadows. But it doesn’t just look creepy, the mansion is said to be one of Rhode Island's most haunted locations. Many believe the hauntings that take place here are attributed to whiskey magnate Edson Bradley and his wife Julia. Witnesses have reported apparitions, strange sounds, temperature drops, disembodied footsteps and the sound of a broken organ playing on its own. These odd happenings earned the mansion its own episode of Ghost Hunters.

Though several ghosts are thought to remain in the mansion, the most prominent spirit said to haunt the property is the original owner’s wife Julia Bradley.

Julia loved her home and had no desire to leave it. When Edson wanted to move to from Washington DC to Newport, they had the entire mansion disassembled and rebuilt in Rhode Island, a process that took nearly two years to complete. Julia passed away only a few years later and it seems she still doesn’t want to leave. Her ghost is often seen playing her favorite Estey organ.

One year after Julia’s death, the mansion became an exclusive all-girl summer boarding school, renamed Burnham-by-the-Sea where incidences of smoke detectors going off for no reason, bottles flying off desks and radios turning on and off by themselves were often reported. Others have experienced various strange noises like phantom footsteps, disembodied voices, banging, and even shadows jiggling door handles.

[eryiss]

Event: LGBTQA+ Month hosted by @ft-wwtdp​

Ship: Fraxus (Freed Justine x Laxus Dreyar)

Prompts: Blame, Temporary, Queen, Air, Leaving

Verse: Victorian AU

Alternate Places To Read: Fanfiction, Archive of our Own. Event master list here.

Here’s my fifth group of one shots for the LGBTQA+ month. You can read rest in the master list linked above. This is set in the victorian era, and has some minor period typical values. Nothing graphic, but be wanred of suggestions of a less accepting time.

Day Twenty-One – Blame (And Thanks)

It was all that blasted Bickslows fault.

He had been the one who invited Laxus to his home for a night of drinking and cards. He had been the one who first left the house while alcohol burned in his blood. He was one the who had thought it would be hysterical if the two of them went to Magnolia's richer district to make a fuss while drunk. He had been the one to pick up the first stone and toss it down the street. Bickslow was to blame for all of that.

Unfortunately, Laxus had been the one to fall into someone's front garden. To crash into an ornamental plan pot and shatter the thing. To wake the resident.

The woman who owned the house was nothing short of ferocious, with startlingly pink hair and a broom brandished in her hand which she wielded as a weapon. She yelled into the night, threatening Laxus and claiming he was a vandal. It had been then when Laxus had recognised her, and she had recognised him. She was Porlyusica, Makarov's doctor, who knew him well. He couldn't just run from her like Bickslow had, meaning he had to deal with the consequences of his drunkenness.

That was why he was there at eight in the sodding morning, cleaning her pathway with a rag and a bucket of water.

It was humiliating. Laxus had always seen himself as a man among boys, both in stature and personality. He had worked from childhood to provide, earning his keep and making himself into a grandson to be proud of. And now he was on his knees, scrubbing a damn patio as some form of weird public revenge. Furthermore, he would be doing so for the foreseeable future. His supposed punishment was that he would do any chores the old witch wanted for the next month; something his own damn grandfather had suggested.

He was going to kill Bickslow when he next saw him. The bastard was probably without any form of punishment, despite being the instigator of it all. He'd get a black eye for his troubles when Laxus next saw him, he was without doubt of that.

But for now, he needed to grit his teeth and bare it.

As he scrubbed against the patio tiles, he grunted. He hadn't previously considered how difficult it would be to get dried bird droppings out of stone, but it was now becoming the only thing he could think of. He was too engrossed in his task to notice the sound of a carriage pulling to a stop behind him.

Only when a short cough could be heard from behind him was Laxus alerted to the presence of another man. He turned to see someone who was undoubtedly noble, if the creed of his clothing was telling. He stood tall and firm, with long green hair and an expression that was a mixture of amusement and elitism. The slight quirk in his eyebrow showed a small sense of superiority, and Laxus was conflicted.

This was both the type of man he wanted to punch, and to push against a wall and kiss.

Of course, he shook off the idea as soon as it came to him. His… urges were something that were nothing but trick of the mind. It was simply that he had never laid with a woman and the urges of being a man were getting too overwhelming, leading him to be rather desperate.

The lie wasn't convincing, not even to Laxus, but it was all he held onto. Because he couldn't desire men in the same way he was meant to desire women.

"Sorry, sir," He mumbled, standing up to move out of the man's way.

"I wasn't aware Miss Porlyusica hired a house boy," The man commented, voice smooth and calm.

"I ain't exactly a house boy, sir," Laxus corrected, wincing. Was the man high enough in nobility that he shouldn't have spoken.

"So you just enjoy cleaning old ladies' homes? Rather an off pastime, I'd insist on getting paid if I were you," The man chuckled, seemingly amused.

"Well, erm, y'see I caused a bit of damage to her property and doing jobs around the house for her is how she's making me pay her back. I ain't got enough actual money to fix what was broken so, this was what she wanted," Laxus explained.

He didn't know why he was speaking. This man, whomever he was, could easily have walked past him, tutted at him and looked at him like he was a piece of dirt. Porlyusica had many visitors already that had done the same, so perhaps it was the fact that this lord seemed willing to say anything that made Laxus suddenly willing to speak. Or perhaps it was the way his face took on a slightly arrogant, but not entirely unkind expression when he grinned.

But it wasn't that. It couldn't be that. Laxus had made a damn good effort to put thoughts of the sort to the back of his mind. Some lord with a slight slither of generosity wouldn't change that.

"And how long will this agreement take place, might I ask?"

"Till the end of the month, sir," Laxus continued.

"Then we'll be seeing rather a lot of each other, I suppose," The man mused aloud. "I pick up my fathers medicine each day, you see. Rather a pain, actually."

"Oh, I'm sorry sir," Laxus looked down. "About your pa, I mean."

"Don't be, he could be dying today, and I doubt I'd grieve," The lord said bluntly, and Laxus furrowed his eyebrows. "He's a horrid old man, set in his ways. The only reason I'm here rather than a servant is because he's trying to prove a point of some kind. He wishes to scare me away from independence by making me do a singular errand each day. To keep me in his pocket, I assume."

Laxus didn't say anything at that. He had never been privy to men of a higher statue, other than walking past them in the street, and didn't know if such honest evaluations of one's father and his intentions were normal for rich men.

"It won't work, of course. I'll be out of his house the moment I can," The man continued. "But he seems insistent. You take a man to bed from time to time and suddenly your father acts as though you're his property. Its laughable."

Laxus averted his eyes at that, now truly speechless. Take a man to bed? There was no double meaning that was any more innocent than what it seemed, and the man had said it so carelessly. Some men would call the authorities immediately if they heard that, others would deem the lord a target for a beating. Was the man so confident of himself that he cared not about the repercussions. Maybe having enough money gave him such confidence.

Laxus wondered what it would be like to be so fearless about that. He wondered what it would be like living in privilege. He wondered why the man had let his preferences in partners known to Laxus of all people.

"I should get inside. The old woman can be testy when it comes to timekeeping," The man smiled. "Good day."

"G'day sir," Laxus nodded.

"Oh please, call me Freed," The man, Freed, requested. "I greatly look forward to seeing more of you, sir."

He tipped his hat, and walked into the building. Laxus looked on at him with wide eyes, surely he hadn't just been the recipient of flirting. Not so brazenly, and with a man below his station. That was impossible.

But, despite that, Laxus felt he should thank Bickslow, as well as blame him.

~~~

Day Twenty-Two – Temporary (For Now)

The situation wasn't meant to last this long.

Freed's house had been positioned awkwardly beside the Thames river, and because of that was occasionally at risk of flooding. It hadnt been a problem until the previous springtime, where the rain was seemingly endless. The river banks had been breached, the streets had been flooded, and Freed's house had been damaged to the point where it was no longer liveable. Until it was rehabilitated, Freed had needed to find somewhere temporary to live.

That was where Laxus had come into play. He had inherited a house of his grandfather that had two separate bedrooms, one that had been unoccupied. He had offered Freed the spare room to rent for a short while until his own home was back to a liveable standard.

At least that was the story people had been told.

It was almost entirely true. Freed's house had been damaged beyond the point of it being possible for him to live there. Laxus did have a spare room which he wanted to rent out. The lie came in the fact that Freed, rather than using the spare room he was paying for, he rather occupied Laxus' own bed, alongside the man. That was the part of the arrangement that neither man wanted people to know.

The two mee had met just under a year prior, at a bar that catered mainly to men of their preferences. They had drunk together, talked together, and advanced their relationship to something more physical. Therefore the decision to have Freed move into Laxus' home was the logical decision to take.

It made enough sense as a story, that two platonic men would move in with one another. Freed was a journalist and Laxus a private investigator, so a friendship wasn't impossible. To everyone else, it seemed like one friend was helping out another.

And they were. Just with the added benefits of something akin to matrimony.

But lately, Laxus had heard that Freed's house had been getting closer to a liveable state. He knew that this was meant to be temporary, and that he shouldn't have gotten used to waking up with his lover wrapped around him, but he had. He had gotten used to it almost immediately, and he wasn't anywhere near ready to give it up.

"Freed," Laxus said as they ate their supper. "I've a suggestion to make."

"Of course," Freed nodded. "Go on."

"Well, I mean, you living here had been… well, I never expected something like this to happen. And I'm not sure if I'm ready for it to end. I was wondering what you would think if we considered the possibility of us staying here, the both of us."

"You wish for me to live with you permanently?" Freed asked.

Laxus nodded, feeling a little nauseous now he had spoken. He had never been in a relationship – men were his only interest, and it wasn't likely for him to find someone who shared that – so he had never been in a situation like this. Making this more of a permanent arrangement was something he wanted, but was it appropriate for him to ask his lover the same. Did Freed even see this as a relationship, or was it just a convenient way for him to get to bed.

That thought left a further sick feeling in his stomach. He had been told that men couldn't have relationships with other men, and perhaps that was true. Maybe Freed just wanted a warm bed with a willing man inside of it, not anything emotional.

"It's interesting you've mentioned that," Freed continued. "I did think about the same thing myself, though I hadnt said anything as I didn't want to intrude on your home."

"Honestly?" Laxus asked, hope now fluttering inside of him. "You'd wanna live here."

"If you'd have me, of course," Freed said, smiling softly.

The look on his face was a small thing, but it made Laxus feel utterly stupid for thinking that Freed wanted something without emotions. Because the two of them weren't just bedmates, they were something closer. They shared interests, had talks about their lives, and cared for each other deeply. Thinking otherwise had been a moment of madness.

"Of course I'd have you," Laxus grinned, heart beating fast in his chest. "I mean, I don't know the logistics of it. People might start askin' questions-"

"We could just say that you needed the money of an occupant, and I couldn't continue to maintain a household by myself, and this seemed like the obvious thing to do," Freed smiled, before admitting sheepishly. "I may have been thinking about this for a few weeks."

Laxus grinned further, looking around. The curtains for their kitchen – it was their kitchen now, not just his – had been drawn tightly meaning nobody would have any chance of looking inside them. He reached across the table, took Freed by the cravat, and pressed their lips together.

The kiss was intense and passionate as a kiss can be when both men were reaching over a table, and Laxus smiled throughout all of it. After realising his preferences for men as a teenager, he had resigned himself for either a life alone or with a woman he couldn't truly love in the way he wanted. He had thought he would be a lonely man, without real connections, but that wasn't going to happen.

Because he had a man he loved, a man who loved him. And that man was going to live with him; this would be the house he shared with him. They were going to be as close to married as two man could get, and the feeling set fireworks inside of his stomach. As did the kiss. Freed's kisses always had such an effect on him.

"So," Freed chuckled. "If that's an indication of the future, I suppose living with you has its perks."

"Oh," Laxus grinned, heart thudding. "You have no damned idea."

~~~

Day Twenty-Three – Queen (And Her Staff)

For perhaps the first time in his career, Laxus was scared of his job.

Being head butler for the Justine Estate was a relatively simple job. His main duty was to make sure the rest of the staff were performing their jobs as well as they could, while also maintaining the luxury of a manor house as best he could. He awoke the family at their chosen times, delivered them their food, and did what was asked of him. It was a damn simple job, helped by the fact the family seemed lacking the complete arrogance and eccentricities of their ilk.

Other than the oldest son. But he was Laxus' lover, so the butler could look past that.

But today was different. Because, despite being a modest family in their actions, they were influential members of Fiore. They owned vast amounts of lands, and the father of the family was in line to be king. Admittedly, it was unlikely, given twenty-seven people needed to die for that to happen, but it did mean he was important.

And that level of importance had led to them getting a royal visit. The Queen was soon to visit for an afternoon, and that apparently required a large amount of planning. Today, the Queen's personal staff were coming to make sure the house was good enough for her majesty to visit, and that the staff were trained well enough. Given his position as the head butler of the household, if anything was seen as lacking, it was to be his fault.

He was less than pleased about that.

Despite his nerves, he went about his regular day. He woke the family up – ignoring the smirk that damned intolerable Freed gave him when Laxus discovered he had slept without his nightshirt; he was still blushing as he left the room – and then walked to the kitchen to specify the family's desires for breakfast that day. Overall, it was going well.

Until of course the royal representatives came. It was an overly exaggerated affair, with each member of the family and all of the staff required to greet them. Even the coach they arrived on seemed to pronounce how superior they felt.

After introductions, they were to be shown a tour of the house. Laxus had been forced to give it.

There was a lot of what Laxus considered to bit nit-picking. Anything so much as a slight crease in the sheets of a bed was exaggerated to the point where Laxus felt he was being accused of treason. The main perpetrator of the unneeded criticism was the castle's head butler: Rufus Lore. A pretentious and arrogant man with long blonde hair, a sneering expression, and a face that Laxus could only describe as incredibly punchable.

But all he could do was stand there and allow himself to be chastised, as he was representing the Justine household. He cared greatly for his employers, and knew that this visit needed to go well. So he would just take the criticism on board, and absently fantasise about drowning the smug bastard in the lake.

He had fully planned to keep himself calm, had the events of the kitchen not happened.

Part way through explaining what they could cook for her royal highness's visit, one of the kitchen staff had dropped an empty plate. It was Rufus' fault, given that he was standing right in front of the oven – which was being used – and the staff had to attempt to work around him as he out-right refused to move away.

"That level of incompetence wouldn't be allowed if you were part of our staff," Rufus had commented, and Laxus already gritted his teeth at that. "I expect that's the same here."

He wanted them to fire someone who had been working at the house for over twenty years, all because he felt himself too important to move out of the way and let them do their job. That was apparently the breaking point for Laxus.

"You ain't exactly making it easy for them to do anything, are ya?" He muttered, losing the charming tone he normally spoke to while working. The kitchen staff looked at him in shock.

"Excuse me?" Rufus turned to Laxus with an expression that one might wear if someone had called their mother an unsuccessful trollop. "I don't know who you think you are, but I can assure you that any form of disrespect aimed towards any member of the royal party is seen as a great offence to everyone in the country. Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but as a representative of the royal family, I should be shown the same respect that you would show the Queen herself."

He continued to shout, and Laxus found himself clenching his fist by his side. This idiot had to have a damned high opinion of himself if he thought he deserved the same respect as actual royalty.

Unbeknownst to Laxus nor the man who chastised him, Freed Justine had walked into the kitchen. He had heard the yelling from outside the door – particularly the part where his staff had been insulted as laughably incompetent – and that had been enough to get his interest. Because he cared for his staff, and refused to allow them to be demeaned in such a way.

When he saw Laxus, it was clear his lover was losing patience. Freed knew he needed to get involved quickly, as Laxus could lose his job if he acted out against the royal visitor. Luckily, Freed had no such repercussions to contend with.

"Good sir," He said, his sharp authoritative tone cutting through Rufus' yelling. The room looked at him. "Please explain to me why you are yelling at my head butler."

"He claimed-"

"Don't use that tone with me," Freed demanded, voice poisonous. "And you are to refer to be as 'sir' at the very least."

"Well sir," Rufus continued, and Freed knew his irritation was making his manners slip even now. That was what Freed wanted. "Your supposed-"

"Did I say I was finished," Freed demanded walking towards Rufus with a glare. "I am a lord of this state and you will treat me thusly. Just as you may think my staff are a reflection of this household, you are a reflection of her royal highness and her family. And if this is the type of staff she keeps, then I greatly feel sorry for those close to her."

"How dare you speak of her highness in such a way-"

"And how dare you speak to my staff as you did. You are a guest in my home and as such you are expected to follow certain social rules. If you think you have the right to speak to my employees with such vitriol then you will find that you'll be out on your arse faster than you can blink."

Laxus, as well as everyone else in the kitchen, watched Freed with a slight amount of shock. The lord had often shown himself to be the most rebellious of the family, even if it wasn't obvious at first glance. But even still, lambasting a representative of the royal family was something big.

Rufus himself seemed shocked, and was apparently speechless at the fact that a man of Freed's position had said something as uncouth as arse. Laxus almost smiled at that, he'd heard Freed say worse.

"Now, you are going to continue your duties, good sir," Freed spat the title out like an insult. "And you'll be damn respectable to my staff. And if even a single one of them has anything bad to say of you, I will relay it to her majesty herself and see what her opinions of it are. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Rufus muttered, crestfallen and embarrassed. "Sir."

"Good," Freed nodded. "Mirajane, could you show Mr Lore to the dining room, please. I need to speak with Mr Dreyar."

Mirajane nodded and showed Rufus out of the door. Once he was gone, the room deflated and Freed walked to Laxus. He placed a hand softly on Laxus' cheek in a comforting and calming way, and Laxus smiled softly. Most of the staff knew of their relationship, so there was no need for subtlety.

"Take some time to calm down," Freed said softly. "If you wish to spend some time down here to recover, I'll explain to father. That goes for the rest of you, too."

"Thank you sir," Laxus nodded, and Freed removed his hand from his cheek. "And thanks, for sticking up for me."

"What good am I if I can't do that," Freed smiled. "I should go and tell father about what happened, so he's prepared. Good day to you all. And I'm sure I'll see you later, Mr Dreyar."

Laxus grinned as Freed left. It was nice to know that Freed was willing to fight his corner, and Laxus found himself smiling for the rest of the day.

~~~

Day Twenty-Four – Air (Of a Late Evening)

The coolness of the evening air hitting his face was a welcome release, and Laxus leant against the metal railing of the balcony. The room that he had just been in, despite its seemingly endless size, had felt stuffy and suffocating. It was a lot nicer out here in the garden, with a gentle wind hitting his face and no annoying women surrounding him.

To think that one of those women was to be his wife.

Of course nobody would say it, but that was what this whole party was for. Makarov had a large amount of land and, recently, it had been discovered that the land contains a large amount of copper. Nearly every mining company in the local area wanted to buy the land for the mining rights, and the party had been organised for the prospective buyers to meet the Dreyar's in a social situation. Essentially, every mining family had brought their daughters as some kind of bargaining chip, and one of them would be wed to Laxus to affirm the future relationship between their family and the Dreyar's.

Makarov had assured him that wasn't going to happen, but Laxus knew that Ivan had been the one to organise this party. And while Makarov wasn't going to marry off his grandson for business, Ivan would. Laxus just had to accept it. Even if the idea made him feel nauseous.

"Do you smoke?" A voice came from behind Laxus, making him turn around.

It was a man with long green hair, the representative of the Justine family; Freed Justine. He had escorted his sister – who might soon by Laxus' wife – and was the businessman for the family. He was a well put together man of a higher social status, and rather handsome too. He had a small cigar case outstretched, with one in his lips.

"Thanks," Laxus nodded, taking a cigar and a match.

"You looked rather miserable in there, I must say," The man chuckled, leaning against the railing alongside Laxus. "Not the typical reaction for a man with beautiful women fawning over him."

"They ain't exactly what I'm lookin' for in a partner," Laxus mumbled.

The blonde looked over the large land owned by his father, an expansive garden of beautiful grass and well-formed flower beds. He had been purposely vague about what he was looking for, as being honest about such things could often end up with one in trouble. No matter how beautiful a woman was, nor how thrilling their personality may be, that wouldn't be what Laxus was looking for. Certainly not the type of women that had come to this party.

Ironically, the only person who had piqued his interest was now standing beside him.

"I thought as much," The man smiled, and Laxus felt frozen under his gaze. "This must be rather horrid for you, then. If you don't have any interest in these women."

"I can deal with it," Laxus muttered.

"You probably can. It's a shame that you have to, though," Freed had a charming look on his face as he gazed over Laxus. "Rather a waste, you could say."

Laxus shot his eyes forward, reddening slightly and feeling almost pinned by the charming smile of the gentleman beside him. Freed really was a handsome man, and there was a slight air of contained mischief behind his smile. Laxus didn't know how he would have reacted if he maintained eye contact with a man who could make such an expression.

"If it eases your troubles, it wouldn't be a necessity for you to marry my sister, if you were to go into business with my family," Freed continued, smiling.

"Why'd she come, then?"

"Your father seemed to think it was a requirement, and my father wished to cover all bases," Freed explained. "But in all honesty, all we need is an assurance that our relationship will be," Laxus felt Freed's arm rest softy against his. "Close."

"Oh," Laxus said, reddening further.

He was almost definitely misunderstanding what was happening. The charming smile and the piercing eyes were just the eyes of someone who knew to get what he wanted, and the light presence of the man's strong body against his own wasn't anything but an accident. There was no way that the man was flirting with him. Even if the eldest Justine son was known for being a rather eccentric and non-conforming man.

But maybe he was flirting. It wasn't completely impossible. The richer the man, the less fear he held about being prosecuted. Perhaps Mr Justine was so confident in himself that he was open about his… persuasion. Laxus just needed to see further.

Maybe to indulge himself, too. He deserved it, after the night he was having.

"How would you say we make sure our family's bond is close?" Laxus asked, avoiding the man's eyes.

"Many different ways. Anything from a well-crafted contract to keep us both in line, to something more…" He thought for a moment, and Laxus could feel the man's eyes on him. "Liberal."

"Liberal?" Laxus echoed. "Sounds interesting."

"I thought you'd say that," Freed chuckled. "Perhaps you and I should thrash it out at some time. If you're willing to, of course."

Laxus' eyes widened, there was no chance of the phrasing being accidental. Nobody referred to a business meeting as 'thrashing it out' without the double meaning of it being intentional. Apparently Laxus' suggestion that he would be interested in something liberal had meant that Freed no longer seemed to be subtle. Laxus was glad for the bracing wind that would cool his heating skin.

If he hadn't needed some air before, he did now.

"I'll do what I can," Laxus said, stumbling over his words slightly.

"I'm glad to hear it. I should leave you now, give you some time to think. I understand that you don't want to go into something this large without thinking," Freed patted Laxus' shoulder, and it sent shivers down his spine. "I should make it known that I don't mix business with pleasure."

Ridiculously, it felt like a punch to the gut. Had he been taken for a fool?

"Luckily," Freed continued, amusement on his face when he saw Laxus' reaction. "I don't have much to do with my family's business. So I expect I can focus on the pleasure. Good day, sir."

Freed walked back inside, and Laxus was left with no doubt as to what Freed wanted. Nor with what he wanted with Freed, if he was honest.

Thank god he had come out for air.

~~~

Day Twenty-Five – Leaving (For something Better)

Makarov was probably more emotional than he should have been.

The news his grandson would be moving out hadn't shocked him, but it didn't make it any less a big deal. He'd always lived with his grandson since the boy's mother had passed, and now almost twenty years after that had happened, he was going to lose the man. He scolded himself for thinking like that; the young man was only going to live at the other side of the town, it was hardly another country.

Laxus was currently tying down the rest of his items to a cart, which would be pulled to his new house shortly. Helping him move his items to the cart was Freed, the man who was to be his new landlord.

Well, that was what they told people.

Makarov knew better, though. He had seen the looks that they shared when they thought nobody else was looking. He had noticed how Laxus seemed to both brighten up and relax when Freed walked into a room. He had seen the shared laughter between them when they drunk together in the sitting room. Most people would have thought they were friends, but Makarov knew his grandson better. He knew the effect that Freed had on him.

It had taken some time for Makarov to come to terms with his grandson's fondness for men. Or, just Freed, maybe. He hadn't spoken about it, hadn't gotten a clue on how he could bring it up to Laxus that he knew. But he was happy for his grandson, life was hard enough already; it was nice to share it with someone.

Freed was a good man, from what Makarov could tell. He worked hard for his money, but was caring and kind to Laxus when he could be. The type of man who would care for Laxus, but also challenge him. Perfect, so Makarov thought.

Even knowing that Laxus was going to be happy, it made Makarov a little sad.

"Could I have a talk with you Laxus," Makarov asked, getting the two men to look at him. "In the kitchen, just before you leave."

"Sure," Laxus nodded, before glancing to Freed. "Will it take a long time. You might wanna go on ahead if it does. Don't exactly wanna travel through town through the night with all of this in a cart."

"Oh it won't take long," Makarov waved the idea off. "Just a cup of tea."

Laxus nodded, and the two men walked into the kitchen. The house was small and cramped, smaller than the one Laxus would be moving to, and Makarov smiled a little at the idea. It was nice that his grandson was going to be moving up in the world, even if only by a slight amount.

The story that Laxus and Freed had told people was that Laxus had gotten a new job beside the docks, which was true. The docks were on the other side of town, and Freed's home was right next to it. Freed needed a lodger to make sure he could keep up his payments on the house, the two of them were friends, and Laxus needed to move out of his childhood home eventually. It all made sense, and most of it was true. But, Laxus wouldn't be paying for his own bed, but rather for more convenient access to Freed's.

Makarov couldn't fault that. If he could have moved in with the woman that became his wife before they wed, he would have done so.

"I just want to say," Makarov began, sitting at the kitchen table. "That I really am proud of you, brat. You've grown up to be a good man, and you'll be missed."

"Oh," Laxus mumbled. He always had been awkward around compliments. "Thank you."

"One day, you'll learn to accept a good word said about you," Makarov shook his head. "But what I mean is, I do truly care for you. More than you might think. And I know that you have to move on, but know that you'll always have a seat at the table and a bed upstairs, if you need it," Makarov thought for a moment, before continuing. "Nothing will change that."

"Thanks, Gramps."

Laxus probably hadnt picked up on the meaning, and why would he. For all he and Freed were concerned, nobody knew of the nature of their relationship. Why would he read into Makarov's words and see that he was being invited to come out with his relationship, were he ready.

"But I'm sure that you'll be fine, you're an adult after all," Makarov continued, smiling softly. "From what I've seen, you and Freed get on quite well. I'm sure being his lodger will be good for you both."

Laxus reddened ever so slightly. "I'm looking forward to it," He confessed, before realising he might have said something too obvious. "Won't have to hear you waking up and taking a piss every morning at three."

"I suppose not," Makarov laughed, and they both shared a grin.

Makarov looked at his grandson, and suddenly felt a rush of pride flow through him. He'd turned out damn well, considering everything that the world seemed to throw at him. And now he was moving to live with his lover, a man just as good as he was, and there was nothing, but pride Makarov could feel for that.

Before he could stop himself, the old man reached up and wrapped his arms around Laxus in a sharp hug. He blinked away the tears that came with the sudden rush of emotions, and patted his grandson on the back.

"You make sure he's good to you," He whispered. "You don't take any shit from him, and make sure he treats you well you understand?"

Laxus looked shocked at the man, before smiling softly. "Yeah, I understand."

"Good."

Makarov smiled, patted Laxus on the back and let him go. He'd raised a good man.

[calumrose]

Trigger [Police/Gang!AU] Chapter 7 || C.H

A//N: I feel like I haven’t updated in so long when in reality it’s only been 3 days. I’ve got so many WIPs right now, and I am so excited to post more! So keep an eye out for those! But yes, here is chapter 7 for all you lovely people! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this so far, I really appreciate it! 

Word Count: 11.6k

Summary: Eloise Gray and Calum Hood, not two people you would ever think to put together. What started as a ploy for power turned into a romance, resulting in the realisation that loving your enemy may not be such a bad thing after all.

Previous Chapters: Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6

12 Days Left

The constant honking of traffic, the incoherent chatter of bystanders, and the smell of excess petrol had become comforting to Eloise over the years. It was the natural scent of the city she resided in; the smell always so unbearably strong that it practically embedded itself in the noses of the visitors the city welcomed every day. And as much as Eloise wanted to escape and explore new places, she knew it would be a smell she would miss, even if only a little.

Central Park had only ever been a place she visited with friends, typically because the likes of Paige and Jackson lived in that side of New York, it being quite literally on their doorstep, unlike the rest of them who had to travel in order to visit the well-known location.

“Fancy a trip to the zoo?” Calum’s question caused her eyes to break from the sight of the busker to her left as they entered the park. She looked in the direction of where his eyes fell, looking towards the zoo entrance in all its glory along with the crowded queue that was almost painful to think about.

“Maybe another time,” She chuckled, not really in the mood to stand in a queue for god knows how long and pay a ridiculous price just to look at animals for a few hours, “Why don’t we just find a place to sit and have a conversation like normal people?”

“Normal people?” Calum’s tone held fake surprise, “You mean to tell me that you, Eloise, want to have an actual conversation with me?”

“Shocking stuff I know, now c’mon,” She responded with the same joking attitude, nudging the back of his arm as they continued to walk through the park. It was a sight that never failed to relax her, the greenery and gentle atmosphere being enough to temporarily transport her to a state of believing she had no worries, like she had nothing to be afraid of.

The past week with Calum had been nothing like she had experienced before. It felt good to know she had a safe space other than her own apartment although she had begun to feel unsafe in her own home, fearing that an unwelcome individual would burst through her door at any given moment after discovering her little secret. But in Calum’s home, she felt like she could live, breathe, and embrace every moment that she felt her heartbeat in her chest.

Seven days felt like seven months when they would lay together in his bed, fingers interlaced as she would trace his tattoos that were painted on his brown skin. She’d ask a million questions about them, wanting to know every story behind each individual piece of art that littered his body. She had learnt the story of how the initials on each hand were for his parents, the name on his left forearm was his sister, how the thistle on his bicep was a homage to his Scottish heritage, and how the Roman numerals on his collarbone represented a year that his life changed. There were so many stories he had shared that she felt as though she wouldn’t remember them, but she found herself being able to recall every single one each time her eyes caught sight of the ink.

Late night conversations were full of questions about their pasts, asking about their childhoods and about stupid things they could recall from simpler times. Calum was a lot more open about his own memories than Eloise was, many of her own recollections being forgotten with purpose. She didn’t know if she was ready to dig them all back up just yet, and Calum respected that.

Early morning rises would be filled with the smell of coffee and fruity essences from the yoghurt Calum had added to his shopping list after learning of Eloise’s love for the strawberry flavour. He learnt of her tendencies of waking up in the unsociable hours of the morning, her body clock naturally seeming to have shifted since she started staying at his place on a more regular occasion. Before, she was lucky if she could sleep past 10am, now it was 7am. Calum often woke up and found her in the kitchen, legs crossed as she sat up on the countertop by the window, staring out into the city as the sun rose up, a bowl of yoghurt and chopped fruit in her lap as she enjoyed the peaceful silence of the morning. He never disturbed her when she was in that state, his body just standing in opening of the hallway, dark eyes on her that were filled with nothing but admiration.

He had come to learn that she was very appreciative of the small moments that she got to experience, figuring that a lot of that was due to the great deal of loss she had suffered over the years; wanting to absorb everything she felt as though she took for granted, like the sunrise; a beautiful sight that only a lucky few got a chance to see in all its glory.

An open patch of grass caught Eloise’s attention, her fingers gripping onto the fabric of the sleeve of his empathy hoodie, subtly dragging him along so she could claim the empty space before any other civilian who was found at the park.

“El, babe, slow down,” The nickname fell from Calum’s lips like butter, as if it were always supposed to. He had dropped pet names like those a few times throughout their time together, and she wondered if he truly noticed how often he let them slip. They were natural to him, feeling as though there was no other name that he knew for her other than what he felt suited her so perfectly. Eloise could swear her stomach flipped every time a simple nickname fell from his soft lips, assuring her that she wanted nothing else than to hear them a thousand times over.

“You’re the one who dragged me outside, so we’ll do things at my pace, that’s the deal,” She smirked to herself as she adjusted her jeans slightly before sitting down at the dry grass.

“Since when did I agree to that?” He raised a questioning brow, the slight upturn of his lip’s inkling on a borderline smirk. That smirk would get him in trouble one day, Eloise could sense it.

The sun beat down on the city of New York, speckles of gold seeping through the gaps in the tree branches as it painted the park with strips of yellow. It created a sight that Eloise could only wish she could see every day; the sight of Calum sat there with the sun beating down, the bright rays only bringing out how golden he truly was, as if gold met gold in the moment the sun connected with him.

Brown eyes cascaded over the park around them, Eloise’s gaze settling on a young girl who sat a few metres from them. She watched as the young blonde’s hand worked against the sketchpad in her lap, eyes flickering up to glance at the grand building that towered over the park. Eloise felt her back straighten almost inquisitively, her head tilting slightly to side as if to try and get a better view of the pad.

“What’s she drawing?” Calum asked, leaning back against his hands to keep himself up, eyes watching Eloise’s curiosity get the better of her. He had noted that she was a curious person, always watching what people were doing, always noticing people who were so submerged in their own world, especially those of the artistic mind. She seemed to have an eye for it.

Eloise watched as the pencil in her hand glided along the paper, imagining she could hear the soft strokes of graphite against the white paper as if she were sitting right next to her. She had a lot of respect for art, it always blowing her mind how someone could create something so beautiful with their own hands. She let her brown eyes look back to Calum, noticing how his eyes were sat on her own, admiring the interest she had shown in the stranger’s talent, before she responded with a smile, “I think she’s drawing the top of The Plaza, because if you look just over there,” She pointed in the direction of where the girl had been looking, “You can see the top of the hotel over the trees.”

“You seem to notice a lot of artistic people in the city for someone who doesn’t hold an artistic bone in her body,” Calum chuckled, remembering how they had discussed previously Eloise’s admiration for art but never having the ability to create any herself. He pulled his arm close to his chest in attempt to avoid her hand as it tried to smack him, his nose scrunching just a little as the smile on his face grew. “Did you ever have any hobbies when you were a teenager? Or anything that stuck and grew into a passion?”

Eloise shook her head, wrapping an arm around her right knee as it bent so she could keep it close to her chest as she responded, “I was that kid who always tried to find a hobby but gave up within a few minutes because it wasn’t as straight forward as I wanted it to be, and I also had zero patience.” Her free hand reached up to pull down the sunglasses that were resting on her head, setting them against the bridge of her nose so they shielded her eyes from the sun as the bright glare shifted direction in the sky.

“Ah, so you were one of those kids,” Calum spoke as if it all suddenly made sense, resulting in another playful smack against his arm from Eloise. She had definitely met her match when it came to teasing people, “And yet there’s still so much for me to learn,”

“About?” Eloise quirked a brow, reaching around her back to pull down the back of her shirt, the cool breeze against her spine signalling that the shirt had begun to ride up.

“You,” Calum sat upright, reaching down between his legs as he plucked a few blades of grass from the ground, eyes watching his hands before he reconnected them with Eloise’s own dark ones, “I’ve got an idea; quick-fire quiz with random questions about you, you have one pass and you’ve got to answer everything, got it?”

“Why do I feel like I’m going to regret agreeing to this stupid game?” A playful roll of her eyes were given as she shifted her body weight, turning to her left so she could face him head on, “Right, go ahead then if you must.”

Calum parted his lips slightly as he looked up in thought. He hadn’t even considered making up any questions to ask, not quite expecting her to give in that easily. Who was he kidding? She gave into almost anything he asked, he knew that, so he should have been more prepared. The hamster wheel in his brain seemed to run for a few seconds before a thought came into his head. Thank god for that.

“First question, your favourite subject in school?” He raised an eyebrow, throwing a finger in her direction as he pointed at her, awaiting her answer.

Eloise pursed her lips as she thought for a moment. Come on El, this whole point of quick-fire questions is that it’s supposed to be quick. She tapped her fingers against her thigh for a few seconds before giving an unsure answer of, “I’d probably say English even though I was awful at it, Maths was more of my strong suit but I wouldn’t say I loved it,” She threw a shrug of her shoulders at Calum, “Next question.”

“Favourite colour?”

“Easy, it’s probably red.”

“I have never seen you wear the colour red,” Calum commented, his teeth brushing against his bottom lip as he highlighted the third word, “You barely wear anything other than black or grey, babe. So, for that reason I am calling bullshit.”

“And how would you know? What if I’m wearing red underwear?” Eloise couldn’t stop teasing smirk, a coy pout playing on her lips as she saw his eyebrows raise at her remark. She knew that he was fully aware of what colour her underwear was, as he was the one who had enjoyed the task of removing it from her hands before she had the chance to get dressed this morning, before pulling her into the bathroom for a morning of strenuous activities.

She swore she could see the events of their morning playing in his mind, watching as his jaw worked while her comment echoed in his ears. She loved watching how flustered he got in moments like that; moments where a certain tone, or a sudden string of words had him silenced.

“Favourite artist?” His voice sounded raspy; he hadn’t cleared his throat before he spoke. Eloise’s tongue poked the inside of her cheek, noting how he tried to brush over what she had said, fighting the urge to poke fun at the avoidance, knowing full well that what she had said had taken its effect on him.

“Oh that’s a tough choice,” She pursed her lips, a little smug due to knowing what he focusing on right then, she swore she could hear the little voice in his head as it shouted at him to think of something else, “It’s got to be either Mayday Parade or The Maine.”

“Good choice,” He nodded, coughing into his fist as a way of attempting to rid the scratch in his throat. Calum could barely hold himself together and Eloise knew what hold she had over him.

Both knees were pulled to Eloise’s chest, her arms resting on top before she placed her chin down to settle against her forearms, brown eyes looking up at the handsome man she found herself with. She always thought about what they were, if they had a specific title for what they had going on. Did she even want to put a label on what they had? Was there a point in labelling it? It was still something she was trying to figure out; how quickly she felt so normal with Calum, how suddenly everything just seemed like it fit into place as if it had always been that way.

Calum and Eloise had talked briefly about what they were. Calum never rushed her into deciding what she wanted, assuring that he would go with what she felt comfortable with and what she felt ready for. Calum knew he wanted no one else, only having eyes for the girl who had his heart in her hands. He felt vulnerable around her, as if she could shatter his heart within seconds. And unfortunately, there was truth in that concern, as was there with Eloise’s matching one in regard to him. They both held such a strong connection that could be turned and used against them in the press of a button.

The only thing Eloise was sure of was that Calum was everything she had been looking for without even knowing it. He was all she could have wanted in someone; gentle, caring, understanding, forgiving, and so much more that she couldn’t put into words. She had admitted that to him a few mornings ago when they were lying in his bed together, limbs tangled within the sheets, her fingers combing through his hair as they stared at one another. Calum voiced his understanding over her concern for how she felt, suggesting they just say that they’re exclusive with one another, keeping it private, but known to each other that there was no one else in the picture, only the two of them who had eyes for the other.

The little pet names seemed to fall into habit rather quickly after that conversation, the next morning being the first time Calum dropped one in the moment, yawning before he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek before climbing out of the entangled sheets to make his way into the bathroom to get himself ready for work. Eloise had let it slide at first, assuming it was just a slip of the tongue, but then they grew to be more regular, and she couldn’t deny that they didn’t not get her heart going.

“C’mon, let’s go,” Calum spoke up after a few minutes, “My ass is getting numb sitting here.” Eloise looked up to find him standing already, hand reached out for her to grab onto.

“We’ve been sitting for barely twenty minutes and you’re already complaining,” She scoffed, a gently chuckle being sounded as she reached up and grabbed onto his hand. She couldn’t hold back the soft grunt she let out as she let him pull her to her feet, focusing on the warmth of his hand that held onto hers. She noted how he didn’t let go, adjusting his fingers so they slipped in between her own, his hand practically enveloping hers in warmth as they moved back onto the path that led through Central Park.

Calum’s hand was so much larger than hers, she couldn’t help but notice the difference every time he held her hand, the size almost laughable. Eloise cursed at herself at the way butterflies erupted in her stomach at his touch, the smooth skin of his palm against hers being enough to make her feel like she was walking on sunshine. It was almost sickening how much she had grown to love the feeling of his skin on hers in more ways than one.

“What time’s your shift tomorrow?” Eloise spoke softly as they walked, eyes glancing down at their hands swinging gently between their bodies meanwhile their feet walked at different times, her long legs surprisingly unable to keep up with his timely long strides. For a taller girl, she could never walk quickly, not with Calum anyway.

“I start at eight tomorrow,” He responded, eyes catching the small family picnic that was going on just to their right, the corners of his mouth turning up at the thought of that possibility in his future. He had always been a family man, it only setting him up to be ready to eventually have one of his own with someone he loved, someone he could settle down and have a life with. “So, I was thinking, I’d give you a lift home tomorrow morning before I go to work if you need to grab some clean clothes and stuff, and then I could pick you up once I’m finished, take you back to my place and we could do something,”

Eloise’s eyes followed in the direction of where he had turned his head briefly, eyes falling on the young couple who sat with a child, he looked to be around four, as they laughed and smiled together. The open picnic basket was self-explanatory to Eloise, causing a cold shiver to run up her spine at the inkling of a memory she didn’t even know existed. She pulled her attention back up to Calum, hoping he didn’t notice her subtle shudder. “I was thinking I might stay at my place tonight for a change, my neighbours are gonna start being suspicious if they don’t hear me stumbling up my stairs at the crack of dawn soon,” She chuckled, squeezing his hand reassuringly, “It also means Duke can actually get some space in the bed for first time in a while, but I’ll come and see you tomorrow after your shift,”

“Duke’s gonna be upset that you’re leaving him in the house alone,” Calum pointed out, “I think he’s gotten quite fond of you sticking around during the day while I’m workin’, means he’s not on his own all day.” Eloise knew what he was doing; trying to subtly use Duke as a way of persuading – guilt tripping – her into staying at his place for another night. But Eloise knew she had to play this right, she had to go home at some point, she would have to submit herself to the clutches of the Gypsy Kings once again soon enough.

“And you can tell him that I’m very sorry but I have to,” She pouted her lips, leaning into Calum a little as they walked, “Or to make it up to him, I’ll make sure I bring a treat with me when I come back.”

“So, you’re going to bribe my dog?” He furrowed his brows down at her, glaring playfully at the brunette. Eloise puffed her cheeks briefly, eyes shifting out of Calum’s gaze as she focused on the floor for a second.

“Well, it’s the only way I can make sure that he’ll forgive me when I come back,”

“And what about me?” Calum tugged on her hand and pulled her to a stop, moving them out of the way on the path so they weren’t in anyone’s way. His eyebrows raised questioningly, a knowing smirk on his face as his spare hand found her waist, slipping beneath her jacket so he could feel the fabric of her oversized t-shirt beneath his fingers, voice barely above a gravelled whisper when he spoke, “How’re you gonna make sure that I forgive you for leaving me?”

“I’m sure a grown man like yourself can work out a few ways I can ask for your forgiveness,” She winked, giggling softly at the expression that sank onto Calum’s face, his head falling onto her shoulder as he let out a barely audible groan, although it was loud and clear in Eloise’s ears.

“I swear for the love of god,” Calum groaned out, grip tightening around Eloise’s waist as the hand that held hers awkwardly bent as he attempted to raise it. Eloise’s giggle echoed in his ears, the sound highlighting her awareness of how her words had affected him in public yet again. He was weak when it came to that girl, and it was as if she knew exactly how to play to his weakness, using it against him in a poorly timed place. “You’re cruel, and the fact that you’re not even coming back to my place tonight only proves my point,”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to amuse yourself without me,” She whispered, leaning her head so it rested against his on her shoulder, a soft smile creasing her lips as she stood like that for a minute. She wished she could pause time right there and take a picture from someone else’s point of view, to see them together. She tilted her head slightly, pressing a feather like kiss to the side of his head before she softly spoke, “Now c’mon, I’ll buy you a- Scott?”

Calum’s head shot up at her words, forehead creased as his brows furrowed, “You’ll buy me a Scott?”

Eloise didn’t even register his response, eyes looking over in the distance to where a scattering of people walked through the park. Her dark eyes spotted the familiar man in the distance, able to pick out his soft curls from anywhere as well as his particular walk.

“Wait here,” She told Calum, softly releasing his hand from hers and before she could even hear him respond she was running down the path towards the familiar body who had his back to her.

Calum stood there in place, watching as Eloise’s figure shrunk as she ran further into the distance, arms crossing against his chest as he moved along the path a little bit and found a tree to lean against. He pulled out his phone, trying to occupy himself as he waited for Eloise to come back, eyes shifting every few seconds between the screen in his hand to the pretty brunette as she attempted to catch up to her friend. He couldn’t help but feel protective, wanting to make sure she was alright at all times.

Eloise felt her chest get heavy as she ran down the path, a few eyes watching her as she ran past numerous runners; their eyes obviously judging her choice of attire for what they most likely assumed to be an afternoon run. Her eyes closed in on the familiar golden locks of her best friend, his leather jacket shining against the sun.

She reached her hand out as she caught up with him, panting lightly as she called out, “Oi Erikson, do I not even get a hello anymore?” Scott’s expression seemed almost dumbfounded when he turned around, his face relaxing when he registered her voice and saw the one and only Eloise stood behind him, hands resting on the caps of her knees as she caught her breath, bending slightly as she felt her heart hammer faintly against her chest before she could bring herself to stand upright, breath returning to normal after a few seconds passed.

“You’re seriously out of shape,” Scott scoffed, laughing at his best friend’s poor attempt at hiding her heavy breaths as she stood up. Eloise reached out and shoved his shoulder lightly, sending him a warning glare as she straightened up, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, and stood comfortably.

“Shut up, I’m in better shape than most of that lot,” She laughed, jutting her chin out in the direction of the park, directing her comment towards the others within the gang. Both of them knew which members she was silently talking about, a joint laugh escaping them both at the inside knowledge. “What’re you doing here anyway, last time I checked Central Park is a bit far out of Brooklyn, especially for the likes of you, Scott?”

Scott chuckled at her comment, almost nervously, as he raised his shoulders in a half-shrug, “Suppose I could say the same for you, you’re a bit far out of Brooklyn yourself,” Eloise couldn’t help but notice how his eyes were shifting, as if he were searching for someone or keeping an eye out. He seemed antsy, not an unusual occurrence when it came to Scott being this far out Brooklyn. “How’ve you been anyway? How’re things comin’ along with your cop friend?”

Eloise let out a quiet sigh, shifting her weight to her other foot as she answered, “I should be asking you how you are, you’ve hardly answered your phone and you seem to be ignoring my texts. Am I too lame to talk to now?” She scoffs jokingly at him, chewing the inside of her cheek as she continues, “I’m working on him, I’ve got some information that’ll be useful for Jay to know. I’ve also set up a few decoy details for him to take back to his precinct, so give me a few more days and we’ll be ready to go,”

Scott nods, taking in the words that Eloise had practically spoon fed him. She prayed he couldn’t see through it, praying that for a man she believed to know her so well, that he couldn’t see right through the lies she had just fed to him. She knew he would take her words back to Jay, informing him of the ‘work’ she had done. Scott’s eyes travelled behind Eloise, she had noticed he had done that a few times already, wondering what he was looking at.

“Take it, that’s him?” He jutted out his chin in the direction of the park behind her, eyes finding the dark ones of Calum who kept his gaze firmly planted on Eloise’s back, “Either that’s your copper or some big creepy dude has been staring at your ass for the past five minutes, and my money is the former.”

Eloise rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she glanced behind her, brown eyes finding Calum’s. She smiled softly at him, offering him a small wave as a silent act of reassurance that she was alright. She noted how his shoulders seemed to relax a little at her action, the muscles sinking as his eyes never left her, “Yeah, that’s Calum.”

“So, you gonna let me meet the guy who you’ve been spending all of your time with or are you going to keep me in suspense?” Scott raised an eyebrow, lips parting briefly as he glanced in Calum’s direction. Eloise thanked the sun for her helping her hide her flushed cheeks, making her cheeks and nose almost rosy at the thought of Calum and Scott meeting, the thought making her feel like someone had just dropped a lead weight in her stomach. Eloise couldn’t help but feel as though she was in a catch 22; stuck between her best friend who believed she was acting one way, and Calum who knew her to be acting in the opposite.

But that didn’t stop her from nodding, feeling Scott’s arm slip around her shoulders as they began to make their way to where Calum stood. “Be nice,” Eloise warned through gritted teeth as they closed in on the tree that Calum stood under. The air felt as though it thickened with the closer that they got, Eloise’s chest tightening as she tried to fight the feeling of anxiety that she could feel bubbling up inside of her.

Calum straightened up, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and walked over and met them halfway, a friendly smile on his face as he met Eloise’s uneasy eyes, noting how uncomfortable she must have been at the thought of Calum meeting her brother by association.

Eloise forced the discomfort in her stomach down, trying to ignore it as she stood with Scott by her side, arm still around her shoulders as he looked towards Calum, a rather unimpressed look on his face. She let out a small cough, clearing her throat, as she introduced them, “Scott, this is Calum, Calum, this is my best friend Scott,” She felt as though she wanted the world to swallow her whole as she felt Scott’s grip tighten ever so slightly around her, a natural tension he had around those he didn’t know and didn’t trust.

“It’s nice to meet you, mate,” Calum sent him a gentle singular nod of his head, a warm smile on his face as he reached out his hand for Scott to shake, “El’s told me a lot about you, you sound like a very important man.”

Eloise sent him a glance, silently thanking him for trying to play it cool, for being nice towards Scott even though the reaction he was receiving from the blond was anything but. Her eyes fell to Scott, sending a subtle kick to the back of his ankle as if to silently say, ‘Just shake his hand.’

Scott sighed as he reached out his hand, grasping Calum’s in his grip as they shook, a dry laugh coming from his throat as he tried not to roll his eyes. “That’s quite a strong grip you’ve got there,” Eloise couldn’t help it as she rolled her eyes at Scott’s remark, silently praying he would drop the act and just be like the Scott she knew, that he would act like her best friend.

“Comes with the territory.” The response was quick to come from Calum, it being instant much like the forced smile on his lips. Eloise knew he would be silently making his job known to Scott, even though he wasn’t trying to rupture Scott, she couldn’t help but want to move things along, trying to cut the interaction as short as possible to spare any unnecessary tension.

It’s not like there wasn’t plenty of it already.

“I was gonna suggest to Calum that we go and grab a hot dog if you wanted to join us?” Eloise offered, head nodding towards the exit of the park, the memory of the brightly coloured food cart outside the gates making her mouth water at the thought. “It’ll be my treat.”

Scott shook his head practically as soon as Eloise let the words slip from her mouth, hand coming up and shaking alongside his head, “I can’t stay long, I’ve got somewhere to be. I just wanted to come by and say hi,”

The awkward silence is almost painful. Cursing herself, Eloise wished she never agreed to letting Scott come over. She wished she had just said something along of the lines of how she’d rather keep them separate to save questions but of course she didn’t think this through. Nice one, Eloise.

She was about to open her mouth to speak, her brain scrambling as it attempted to create a sentence for her to use in order to break the silence before Calum beat her to it.

“So, how long have you known Eloise?” Calum asked, adjusting his stance as an attempt to be perceived as more friendly, trying to cut the clear tension that clouded them, hand resting over the outline of his phone in his pocket.

Eloise didn’t need to see the shift in Scott’s eyes as they fell to her, she could feel the burn in the side of her head along with the way his arm moved, it dropping from around her and returning back to his side, hand sliding back into its home inside his pocket. Eloise wanted to curse herself, knowing she should’ve warned Calum about one thing, but of course she didn’t think. She could only hope this helped her out, that Scott took it as a sign that things were working, that she was invested in the way she needed them to believe, that she was capturing Calum’s attention like they had intended. She just hoped that it wasn’t seen for what it really was.

She needed to slow down; she knew that she was getting too far ahead of herself. Scott was smart, but he wasn’t that smart.

“Too long,” Her voice muttered, a gentle smirk playing her lips as she glanced at Scott, playfully nudging him with her hip to try and go along with the friendly interaction.

“Uh yeah, we’ve been best mates since we were kids. The both of us went through some rough stuff growing up and we’ve stuck together ever since,” Scott nodded, throwing a casual shrug of shoulders into the mix with his response, “I just can’t seem to shake her off.”

“Fuck off,” Eloise laughed, raising a knowing brow, “You’d be lost with me or dead even. I have saved your life more times than you can count.”

It was true. There was more truth in that statement than what Scott wanted to admit. Eloise had helped him out a lot throughout their time together; throughout school, starting off in the gang, and just about every other occasion where things didn’t go to plan for the blond boy.

Eloise had been the one to help him talk his way out of situations he found himself in when he thought he was clever. She had also been the one to cover for him when he would get himself into messes and need a friend to pull him out. Eloise had always been there for him over the years and he couldn’t deny that.

Scott shot her a warning glance before letting a small laugh laced with nostalgia leave him, unable to hide the truth in the statement, “I was a bit of a klutz back in the day, and this one here helped me out a lot. I guess you could say I never quite understood what public embarrassment truly meant,”

“A klutz with a big mouth and shocking taste in women,” Eloise couldn’t stop the mutter before it was too late, eyes watching as Scott scoffed at her and he amusingly jabbed her with his elbow.

“On that note, I’m gonna take my leave,” Scott excused himself, taking a step back as he attempted to extract himself from the gathering rather quickly, “It was nice to meet you, Calum. Suppose I might see you ‘round if she keeps you for longer than usual,” A dry laugh escaped him as he made the remark, eyes catching Eloise’s glaring ones.

Eloise shook her head, the nod barely noticeable as she clenched her jaw and grit her teeth, a warning glare being shot at Scott, “I was gonna ask if you wanted to come by my place tonight and we could hang out, but just for that you can fuck off,” She sighed, raising her hand as she threw a middle finger in his direction.

Scott hummed, knowing she would still want him to come by her apartment. She never didn’t want him to come over when she had offered. “I’ve got plans tonight, some business I need to take care of for work. How about tomorrow night instead? I’ll call you when I’m on my way,”

Eloise sent Scott a nod, “Sure, see you tomorrow then,”

Eventually they bid Scott a goodbye, watching as his silhouette disappeared into the distance, vanishing out of the park as it merged into the crowds that were usually thought of when it came to New York. Eloise released a relieved sigh, the departure of her best friend making her feel as though she could breathe again, feeling the tension deplete with the great distance between them that grew as he was out of sight.

She turned in place, catching Calum’s eyes watching as she seemed to relax. God, she felt horrible for making him suffer through that. Scott wasn’t usually so… not Scott. She swore he was a nice guy but this just highlighted the arrogance that she tried to ignore every day, almost if she forced herself to be blinded to it, not wanting to believe he had it in him to act like that.

“I’m really sorry about him, he’s not usually like that,” Eloise apologised, figuring she owed Calum some form of an explanation as to why she shot off earlier without a second thought, “Scott’s been giving me the silent treatment for the past few days and I didn’t know why; he was avoiding my calls and ignoring my texts and it was bugging me because we used to never go a single day without talking to one another,” She was rambling now, “So when I saw him, I guessed it was a perfect opportunity to ask him about it and then he spotted you staring, asked if he could come and say hi, then he- “

“Eloise, it’s alright,” Calum cut her off with a laugh, stopping her in the middle of a ramble that not even she knew how long it would continue for, his hands placing themselves on her shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly, “He’s your friend, you’re allowed to go and speak to him,”

“Something’s not right with him though,” She sighed, feeling rather defeated, “He’s not himself and I can’t tell what it is. It’s almost like he’s changing, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“You can’t do anything,” Calum told her, slipping a comforting arm around her shoulder as they turned and began to make their way through the park, heading towards the exit, walking the opposite direction to where Scott had departed, “It’s probably whatever Jay’s planning just getting to his head. It’s a big scheme and a lot is on the line for them,”

“Thanks for reminding me,” She rolled her eyes, sighing heavily as they walked.

The colours of the food cart soon came into sight, Eloise’s stomach practically growling at the thought of some food. The two of them made their way over to the queue, standing in line and began to wait.

“Scott’ll be meeting with some the guys tonight,” She spoke out, “That’s what he meant by ‘work’, so he’ll be filling them in on our little run-in today,”

“And that’s a good thing, right?” Calum sent a questioning look.

“I think so, it’ll make them think that their plan is working,” She nodded, silently trying to convince herself of her uncertain response, “The fact that you called me Eloise will go a long way in convincing them, it’ll make them see that I’ve ‘wormed’ my way in,” She raised her fingers to use as quotation marks at the word wormed.

The confusion is Calum’s face couldn’t be missed, the crease in his forehead and furrow of his brows only solidifying the questioning look he continued to give her, “How is me calling you by your name helping?”

Eloise sighed, knowing she would need to explain. She cleared her throat as she looked ahead of the line, making a note of the few people in front of them that were still waiting to be served.

“Back when I lost my dad, it was quite hard to hear my name. People had been calling me ‘El’ for a while since I was a kid, but my parents almost always called me Eloise, and when I didn’t have them around anymore, my name just reminded me of them and how much I was hurting,” She explained, sighing as she threw a hand in her pocket, feeling Calum’s arm drop from her shoulder as it found her free one, his fingers lightly grasping hers as an attempt to comfort her, “So I started telling people to just call me ‘El’ so it felt like I wasn’t me, so I could pretend like it didn’t happen,”

Calum just nodded, brushing her knuckles with his thumb as he listened. Every time she mentioned her parents, he couldn’t stop his heart from hurting, almost as if he was feeling her own pain when she spoke of them.

“But certain people still call me by my full name, but it became sort of public knowledge with those I associated myself with that only certain people got to call me Eloise; like Scott, Han, my friends: Paige, Roman, and the rest of that group. And now you,” She smiled up at him, squeezing his hand as they took a step forward in the queue, “So, since Scott heard you use my full name, it’s gonna intentionally take this whole thing a lot further, almost securing their perception of what it is that they think I’m doing,”

The mention of Paige and Roman reminded Eloise that she still needed to introduce Calum to them, thinking of the endless stream of text messages she had received from Paige with requests of organising a double date ever since she found out about Eloise and Calum’s mutual agreement of being ‘secretly exclusive’.

She had tried to fight with the idea of Calum meeting her friends, trying to convince herself that it was a bad idea as it just made what they had feel even more real; like it was going last and they were going to be going places after the deal was done. Eloise wasn’t sure if she could bring herself to ignore the harsh reality and let herself fall into the self-made trap of pretending that she lived in a world where she and Calum would walk away from this with no repercussions, where they would be able to live as a normal couple.

Calum was about to speak, a voice laced with a thick accent stopping him as it called out, “Next! ‘iya sweetheart, what can I get ya?”

Eloise’s eyes turned to meet the rather large man in front of them, face a little red and shining an almighty mole in the right side of his chin. He smelled like hot dogs; Eloise noted. Although she wasn’t sure if it were him or the fact that they were at a hot dog stand, but she could be sure that the smell was rather overpowering.

They gave him their orders, standing next to one another as they waited for him to prepare the carb loaded items. Calum’s hand never dropped hers, his fingers finding the spaces between hers before slipping into them, her hand fitting in his like a glove. He felt the need to always be touching her, feeling an uneasy sensation settle in his gut if he was around her and didn’t have his skin touching hers in some way. It wasn’t like Eloise minded; she embraced any physical connection she could get with Calum when she could, silently reminding herself that it most likely wasn’t going to last forever.

Hotdogs in hand, they made their way down the streets of New York, the steam from the slabs of meat in their breaded buns travelling up into the air as they walked together.

“So, you don’t mind that I call you Eloise?” Calum’s question could only just be heard over the sound of a yellow taxi honking it’s horn next to where they waited to cross the street, “I can call you El if that- “

Eloise slapped his shoulder gently, holding her finger up as she silently asked him to wait while she chewed the bite of her hotdog she had just taken. Once swallowed, she smiled at him, wiping the slaver of grease she swore she felt just below her lip with edge of her palm, before she said, “I actually prefer it when you call me Eloise, it sounds better coming from you unlike some people.”

“Good,” Calum speaks through a mouthful of hotdog, hand coming up to cover the sight of half-chewed food, “I like saying your name; it’s pretty, much like the girl it belongs to.”

Eloise couldn’t stop herself from faking a gag, laughing at Calum as she rolled her eyes, amused, “Do you have an off switch, or do you just permanently ruin moments with cheesy lines?”

Calum playfully nudged her as they turned a corner, careful not to knock her into anyone as he leaned over and pressed a quick chaste kiss to her cheek once he had freed his mouth of the remnants of his snack, “Only speaking the truth, doll,”

“Security!” Eloise jokingly calls out, “Can someone please come and remove Mr Smooth from my presence?” She’s unable to stop her laugh as Calum’s hand reaches out, attempting to nip at her sides, “Get off!” She squealed, trying to push his hand away, quickly apologising to the bystander who she accidently bumped into in her attempt to move out Calum’s reach.

Let’s just say that Calum got a friendly smack on the back of the head for that one.

They eventually discovered a bin to discard of their wrappers, tossing them away before they continued their walk back to where Calum had parked his car just a few blocks south of Central Park. The sun continued to shine down on New York, a gentle cooling breeze warranting through the city, adding a refreshing chill to contrast against the heat. They walked down the streets side by side, Calum’s arm draped over her shoulders, meanwhile Eloise’s wound its way around his waist, hips lightly brushing against one another, her small fingers gently gripping onto the fabric of his hoodie as an attempt to keep close to him, head resting on his shoulder as they walked through the city.

“You want me to drop you off at your place?” Calum asked, arm around her shoulders, fingers lightly brushing against the cool material of her jacket, “Or can I convince you to stay at my place for another night?”

Eloise shook her head, her stomach vibrating with her silent closed-mouthed laugh, “I need to go back to my place like I told you. I need time to think about what I’m gonna say to Scott tomorrow,”

“What do you mean?”

“I need to talk to him about some stuff; nothing about the plan or the shipment, nothing to do with the gang whatsoever,” She sighed as they stopped in front of Calum’s car, her arm dropping from around his waist as her back rested against the hood of the black vehicle, Calum’s arm being removed her shoulder as he moved to stand in front of her, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and taking her hand in his for what felt like the hundredth time that day, “I want to talk to him as friends, as the best friends that we’re supposed to be. I’m worried about him because he used to talk to me about everything and I did the same with him when my life fell apart, but now it feels like we’re more strangers than best friends,”

Calum sent her a reassuring smile, squeezing her hand gently as he reached into his pocket to find his car keys, sending her an assured, “I’m sure he’ll be okay, Eloise.”

“He’s going to hate me when this is over.” Eloise couldn’t stop the tears brimming in her eyes, her throat quivering at the thought of how this was going to affect Scott; the guilt of it seeming as though it would eat her alive.

Calum shook his head, more to himself than to her, raising his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks, his thumbs gently gliding across the apples of her sweet skin as he said, “Let him. Eloise, if he’s really your best friend then he’ll realise why you’ve done this and he’ll forgive you,”

“And what if he never does?” She asked painfully, her voice sounding almost as defeated as she felt.

“Then he clearly isn’t the kind of man you want to believe he is,” Calum spoke truthfully, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, holding his lips there for a few seconds before he took a small step back, opening the car for them to get in, “C’mon, we’ll get ice cream on our way back to your place, my treat,”

“Thank you, Calum,” She smiled, wiping away the packed tears before they had a chance to fall, taking in a deep shaky breath as she attempted to pull herself together, “For everything,”

“Anything for you, Eloise,” He whispered, afraid that if he spoke any louder she would float away with the light breeze, gently reaching down and reconnecting their hands, lifting hers to his lips as he placed a soft kiss to her knuckles, “Absolutely anything.”

*****

11 Days Left

Eloise felt as though she was suffocating, the air around her thick with tension as she watched Scott from the corner of her eye. He had arrived just less than an hour ago, walking in with a pizza in his hand, claiming to be splashing the cash as an early celebration for her hard work.

Every time she looked at Scott, she was reminded of the lies she was living, the lies she was trapping him with, and the guilt was eating her alive, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. As much as her natural instinct would be to warn him of an upcoming ambush, she knew this time it had gone too far, and she couldn’t save him like she so desperately wanted to.

“I had a dream last night,” Eloise spoke quietly, almost sounding as if she was talking to herself, head leaning back as her eyes met with the ceiling briefly, “We were kids again, we must have been six or seven, and we were sitting in a field, just the two of us,” The corners of her mouth upturned, her teeth gently nipping on the inside of her lip, her voice continuing, “I was freaking out, panicking about what we were doing and you kept telling me to calm down, assuring me that we would be alright, you said that you’d make sure they would take care of us,”

Scott’s eyes caught Eloise’s as she looked in his direction, her back resting against the armrest of the couch, “Who were ‘they’?” Scott queried; eyebrows furrowed in question.

“I’ve got no idea,” She said with a breathy chuckle, shaking her head lightly as she reached forward to close over the empty pizza box that lay spread out on the coffee table, the cold stench of tomato and cheese making Eloise feel slightly queasy, before she added, “A monster? Or maybe someone we knew?”

“There’s plenty of monsters around this city,” Scott’s voice almost went unheard, the comment barely audible over the low volume of the TV. But fortunately for Eloise, she heard it loud and clear.

Scott’s words held a lot of truth in them; more truth than most would like to admit, the truth that fell deaf at many people’s ears. They had always been told as kids that monsters weren’t real, that they were figments of their own imaginations, a simple phase they would grow out of. But Eloise never grew out of it, her eyes finding them everywhere she turned. And now, to her own terror, she waited for her best friend to take that final form.

“Can I ask you something?” Eloise rolled her lips into her mouth, taking Scott’s hum as a response, taking a small breath before she continued, hoping he wouldn’t mind her bringing up past events, “Have you spoken to Seth recently? It’s just that you’ve been quiet the past few days, and I know what yesterday was, and I also know he usually crawls out of his hole around this time of year, so I just wanted to- “

“He’s not reached out to me if that’s what you’re wondering,” Scott pursed his lips, shaking his head slowly as he stared straight ahead at the scene playing on the TV screen. It wasn’t until earlier that day that Eloise had pieced together why Scott had been so distant lately, cursing herself for nearly forgetting what had happened all those years ago.

How could she nearly forget? She had a reminder of what happened on that day nearly four years ago permanently etched on her leg; the scar on her thigh never having properly healed, the textured skin serving as a reminder to not only her, but to Scott about what happened that day. And it was all down to a stupid idea made by him and someone he thought to be his friend.

They were 17; young, juvenile, and eager.

They all wanted to be recognised as key members of the Gypsy Kings; fed up and tired of being treated like the kids they didn’t believe themselves to be. They wanted to establish to the older men of the gang that they were ready to take their places in their society.

Eloise, Scott, Ben, Seth, and Gabriel had all piled themselves in Seth’s car one night, driving into the southside of Brooklyn, heading for Wiley’s mattress factory after hearing rumours of illegal liquor being stored in the basement. Scott and Seth had been talking to snitches across the city, pretending to be working for the higher members of the gang to retrieve information on any activity they could attempt to ransack. And boy, when they heard about the Moonshine, it was like they had just woken up on Christmas Day.

They had planned to sneak into the factory, having worked out their entry route as well as their exact strategy: fill a few bags with some bottles of the Moonshine, sell it off to clients that Ben had sniffed out with Eloise’s help, and prove themselves to those who doubted them.

But they had one flaw in their plan; they didn’t take into consideration that there would be any security. Their inexperienced minds had assumed that the factory would be empty, as if they could walk straight in and straight out with bags full of the strong liquor without any struggle. As genius as they thought their plan was, it was only proven to be the complete opposite from the minute they got inside that factory.

Their venture into the factory had gone smoothly, remaining undetected as they snuck into the basement, discovering the underground distillery along with the crates packed with bottles and jars of the spirit. They thought had hit the jackpot, obnoxiously throwing high-fives around as they crammed as much Moonshine into their bags as they could fit and still be able to carry.

Seth was smugger than any of them, claiming that he knew they’d win big with his idea to break into the factory, although they all knew it was him and Scott combined who discovered the rumours of the illegal distillery. Seth was the reason why it all went wrong, getting too ahead of himself and getting too excited, his voice was too loud in the quiet building, and no matter how many times they all told him to be quiet, he didn’t listen.

They had managed to sneak back up into the main foyer of the factory, spotting the door they had entered through, the heavy panel still open ajar so the glint of orange from the streetlamp outside could be seen in the distance. Ben had sent everyone out in front of him, his natural polite nature being what got him killed.

No – them being there is what got Ben killed.

They were nearly out of the factory, Scott’s hands just centimetres from the door before a shout broke their attention, eyes darting across the room to see a tall, thin, wrinkly man pacing towards them, gun in hand with their young bodies as targets. Ben had pushed Eloise forward, telling them to run, but it was too late for him.

Scott thrust the door open and practically threw himself out of it, feet moving out of the doorway as Seth followed hot on his tail, but Eloise had remained frozen in place as she watched Ben’s body fall to the ground as the sound of a gunshot echoed within the factory. Her eyes burned into the hole that branded itself into his back, the dark crimson colour painting his back almost unnoticeable due to the lack of light in the room.

Eloise could still make out Wiley’s eyes in the darkness, she swore she could see red in his irises as nothing, but rage and pure animalistic tendencies coursed through them. Scott had shouted for Eloise to run but she couldn’t hear him, the murderous gunshot echoing in her ears as her eyes became scarred with the sight of the body of the young boy who she had grown fond of.

She hadn’t realised she was moving until Scott grabbed her hand, almost ripping her arm out of the socket as he hauled her out of the building, a second gunshot being heard before a piercing yell from Eloise as her hand reached down for her leg as she tried to run. The pain of the piercing bullet in her thigh was nothing like she had ever felt before, it momentarily distracting her from the death she had just witnessed.

Scott had ended up carrying her back to Seth’s car, her mind not even registering Gabriel who had taken Scott’s place in the front seat as Seth started the car and raced back to their hideout, breaking every red light and stop sign that he came across in the early hours of the morning.

“What about Ben?” Her voice was quiet, throat dry as she blinked rapidly, trying to keep her eyes open although the urge to sleep was becoming too strong.

Scott had removed his belt from his jeans, tying it around her leg as an attempt to the try and stop the bleeding, using his hoodie as a gauze to keep pressure on the world, panicked and with a shake of his head, he said, “It’s too late, El. He’s gone,”

The last thing she remembered before she passed out was the heartache in Scott’s voice; at his words in regard to Ben but also to Eloise as he tried to call out to her, telling her to keep her eyes open and stay awake for him.

She woke up a while later, unsure of how long she had been out for, the tapestry pinned the ceiling above her head capturing her attention when she first opened her eyes, silently telling her who’s home she was in. Of course, she had been brought there.

“She’s awake,” A voice called out; older, yet familiar.

Brown eyes looked to her right, to which she found Han stood by her side, his eyes looking towards the doorway of the bedroom she was laying in. Faint footsteps got louder before two familiar bodies were stood in the doorway; faces etched with guilt and grief as they prepared themselves for the verbal abuse they would receive because of their actions, as if they hadn’t suffered enough.

“I agreed I wouldn’t ask what happened until she was awake,” Han’s voice spoke, arms crossing against his chest as he stood firmly, shoulders tense as he frowned at the two boys, “So, now you better start talkin’,”

Eloise’s eyes met with Scott’s golden ones, a gentle smile spreading across her face at the sight of her best friend, unable to ignore the way her heart hurt at the emotional turmoil he appeared to be in. She remembered almost instantly what had happened, the memories of the factory unfolding in her mind like a movie scene; the sight of Ben’s body collapsing and the gunshot prominent in her vision. She noted of Gabriel seemed to share a similar expression, except he looked to be more uncomfortable rather than upset. It’s not like it was his idea to go and hit that factory, Seth had pressured him into it. Speaking of Seth, where was he?

Gabriel looked as if he was about to speak, about to tell Han what had happened before Scott cut in, “It was all my idea; I thought it would be really cool if we were to try and prove ourselves to you guys by cashing in. I wanted to prove that we weren’t just kids and that we were ready for the big stuff like you guys were at our age,” Scott looked to be embarrassed, almost irritated actually as he claimed the blame for why they were in their current position, “So, we snuck into Wiley’s, tried to steal a couple of bottles of the Moonshine I heard he had been cooking up in his basement. I figured we could sell it on and bring the profits to the hideout… But all I managed to do was get two of my friends shot,”

Han’s sigh was nothing but full of disappointment, his exhale was heavy as he rubbed a hand over his face and looked at Scott, who’s eyes were planted firmly on his feet, unable to keep eye contact with anyone within the room.

It wasn’t the first time Han had been woken up at four in the morning, being asked if he can help someone who was injured. He just never expected for the victim of his next bullet extraction to be the girl who he had promised her dad he would look out for if anything were to happen.

Han’s throat worked, slowly swallowing a frustrated lump as he shook his head, pointing to Scott with an accusing finger, “Just be thankful it was only one life you lost last night. The bullet was only in her leg, and thankfully for your own sake, it didn’t hit anything critical, so she’s gonna be fine as long as it doesn’t get infected,” Han practically cursed himself at the thought of this being any worse than what it was, unsure of what he would do if it had been a wound to her chest or worse, “It’s just gonna take her a few days to be up and walking again, it’s gonna be a bitch of a recovery to get through,”

“I’ll stay with her until she’s ready to move,” Scott stepped forward, nodding his head at Han.

“She’ll be staying here until then, I’ll be keeping an eye on her and making sure it stays clean,” Han packed away the bloody rags that were on the floor, tossing them into his slow burner that sat in the corner of his living room, his eyes watching the sight of the rags beginning to catch the flames as they burned vigorously.

“That’s fine, but like I said, I’m staying with her. It’s my fault this happened, so it’s my responsibility.”

“You never left my side the entire time I was stuck at Han’s place,” She scoffed with a smile at the memory, “It doesn’t surprise me that Han stopped calling in sick for us with the school,”

And it was true, Scott never once went home the entire time that Eloise’s leg was healing. He practically lived at Han’s with her during that time. He felt guilty for what had happened, and he nominated himself to take full responsibility for the factory incident since Seth ran off the minute that he dropped them outside Han’s front door, driving off down the road to never been seen again.

They still didn’t know where he had gone or if he was even alive. Seth had chosen to run away from the gang after Ben died, walking away from any sole responsibility for the death of a teenager and the injury that left Eloise physically scarred. Scott had taken the blame for what happened because at the time he still felt like Seth was his friend, and he didn’t realise that when Seth drove away that night it would be the last time they saw or spoke to each other.

Eventually the truth had come out about how the plan to raid Wiley’s was a joint effort, but it didn’t make things any easier for Scott to cope with.

They never got a chance to bury Ben’s body, nor did his own parents have a chance to say their goodbyes. They received the news of their son’s death via the Gypsy Kings, something that Scott will never be able to erase; never forgetting the sight of his mother breaking down as she heard the news that her son wouldn’t be coming home.

Scott had decided from that day on to pay homage to Ben, wanting to show that he was being remembered by those who cared about him. So, every year on the day of Ben’s death, Scott would travel to Manhattan, to Ben’s parents’ house where he would lay a single red rose on their doorstep and walk away, paying a silent tribute to the boy who had a secret love for flowers and everything nature related; a small secret that only those close to him knew.

It was the death of Ben that sparked Scott’s ignorance when it came to people’s feelings, why he never let himself get attached to anyone new. After he experienced the pain of when Ben left him, only being accompanied by the abandonment his parents left him with – though they thought they were protecting him – once his mother got caught up in her own scandals, Scott decided to distance himself from people, allowing himself to use them for his piece of fun and nothing more.

Throughout everything, Scott and Eloise only ever had each other for long enough. They both had no real family to take care of them; both having left them although in different circumstances. It was from day Eloise had started walking again, leg slowly healing, that they decided they were in it together for the long haul. They had sworn to be brother and sister to each other until they died, always being there for one another when needed.

The memories of how they were before hurt Eloise to think about; looking back and seeing how quickly he was willing to sell himself out to protect someone who he thought was a friend, and how determined he was to sleep by her side while her leg healed, never hesitating or complaining when she woke up in the middle of the night and needed help getting to the bathroom or if she needed something as small as a drink of water.

But when she looked at Scott as she sat opposite him, his floppy curls pointed in all directions, face solemn as he stared out of the window, dark bags beneath his eyes, she couldn’t help but feel as though that something had changed. As much as she did genuinely enjoy his company; she could see their connection had a crack in it. Typical nights in where they would be clutching their stomachs in laughter or racing through the apartment as they play-fought like they were kids again were nothing but a distant memory being replaced with the latest reality of less smiles between them and added tension as Scott’s focus seemed to be elsewhere, as if he had better things to do other than spend time with the girl who had he practically grown up with.

The promise they made to each other is one she’d never be able to forget, no matter how hard she tried. It was a stupid pinkie promise they made on that day that had unintentionally become the glue between them and sadly she felt as though it was drying out and they were breaking off. It pained her to know what was silently happening between them, knowing it would only become clearer when she broke that promise, betraying one of the most important men in her life – or at least that’s what he used to be. It was painful, immensely, but she knew she had to follow through with it. It was for the sake of the city they called home, as well as his own good, and like Calum said, if he were truly her best friend then he would come to forgive her, surely not?

It was a risk she had to take. She had to break everything she had grown to know, unable to stand aside and watch as those around her destroyed themselves as well as innocent people.

“Brother and sister until we die. Bullets, friends, and relationships will never separate us. We’ll always have each other, we’ll always fight for each other, we’ll always love each other no matter what.”

---

Tag List: @steviemae​ @elsysoza​ @treatallwithkindness @oopsiedoopsie23​

[katzviedrehypercraft]

Myths and facts about Roma community.  Because of their nomadic lifestyle and differences in language and culture, Roma and their more settled neighbours have held each other in distrust. The popular image of Roma as tramps and thieves unfit for work contributed to their widespread persecution. This belief is often cited as the etymological source of the term gyp, meaning to "cheat", as in "I got gypped by a con man." There are still tensions between Roma and the majority population around them. Common complaints are that Roma steal and live off social welfare and residents often reject Romani encampments. This has led to Roma being described as "perhaps the most hated minority in Europe."  In Eastern Europe, Roma often live in depressed squatter communities with very high unemployment, while only some are fully integrated in the society. However, in some cases—notably the Kalderash clan in Romania, who work as traditional coppersmiths—they have prospered. Although some Roma still embrace a nomadic lifestyle, most migration is actually forced, as most communities do not accept Romani settlements. However, each year in May approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Romani people go on a pilgrimage to Les-Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer in Southern France. Roma arrive in caravans for celebrations, weddings and religious ceremonies.Many countries that were formerly part of the Eastern bloc and former Yugoslavia have substantial populations of Roma. The level of integration of Roma into society remains limited. In these countries, they usually remain on the margins of society, living in isolated, ghetto-like settlements (see Chánov). Only a small fraction of Romani children graduate from secondary schools, though numerous official efforts have been made, past and present, to compel their attendance. Roma frequently feel rejected by the state and the main population, creating another obstacle to their integration. They may have emerged from the modern Indian state of Rajasthan, migrating to the northwest (the Punjab region, Sindh and Baluchistan of the Indian subcontinent) around 250 BC. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed to have occurred beginning in about CE 500. It has also been suggested that emigration from India may have taken place in the context of the raids by Mahmud of Ghazni. As these soldiers were defeated, they were moved west with their families into the Byzantine Empire.[169] The author Ralph Lilley Turner theorised a central Indian origin of Romani followed by a migration to Northwest India as it shares a number of ancient isoglosses with Central Indo-Aryan languages in relation to realization of some sounds of Old Indo-Aryan.  The traditional Romanies place a high value on the extended family. Virginity is essential in unmarried women. Both men and women often marry young; there has been controversy in several countries over the Romani practise of child marriage. Romani law establishes that the man's family must pay a bride price to the bride's parents, but only traditional families still follow it.Once married, the woman joins the husband's family, where her main job is to tend to her husband's and her children's needs and take care of her in-laws. The power structure in the traditional Romani household has at its top the oldest man or grandfather, and men, in general, have more authority than women. Women gain respect and power as they get older. Young wives begin gaining authority once they have children.Romani social behavior is strictly regulated by Indian social customs ("marime" or "marhime"), still respected by most Roma (and by most older generations of Sinti). This regulation affects many aspects of life and is applied to actions, people and things: parts of the human body are considered impure: the genital organs (because they produce emissions) and the rest of the lower body. Clothes for the lower body, as well as the clothes of menstruating women, are washed separately. Items used for eating are also washed in a different place. Childbirth is considered impure and must occur outside the dwelling place. The mother is deemed to be impure for forty days after giving birth.Death is considered impure, and affects the whole family of the dead, who remain impure for a period of time. In contrast to the practice of cremating the dead, Romani dead must be buried. Cremation and burial are both known from the time of the Rigveda, and both are widely practiced in Hinduism today (although the tendency is for Hindus to practice cremation, while some communities in South India tend to bury their dead).[196] Animals that are considered to be having unclean habits are not eaten by the community.

According to a legend reported in the Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, from Iran and repeated by several modern authors, the Sasanian king Bahrām V Gōr learned towards the end of his reign (421–439) that the poor could not afford to enjoy music, and he asked the king of India to send him ten thousand luris, lute-playing experts. When the luris arrived, Bahrām gave each one an ox, a donkey, and a donkey-load of wheat so that they could live on agriculture and play music for free for the poor. But the luris ate the oxen and the wheat and came back a year later with their cheeks hollowed with hunger. The king, angered with their having wasted what he had given them, ordered them to pack up their bags and go wandering around the world on their donkeys. Romani Code, or Romano Zakono, is the most important part of Romanipen. It is a set of rules for Romani life.Though Romani ethnic groups have different sets of rules, some rules are common for all. Those rules are considered to be the Romani Code, and rules that differ are called "customs". Oral Romani cultures are most likely to adhere to the Romani code, these communities are geographically spread.[20] There are proverbs about the Romani Code and customs, such as:There exist as many customs as there are Romani groups. (Kitsyk Roma, dakitsyk obychaye in Ruska Roma's dialect) There are many Romani groups, but only one Law. (Romen isy but, a Zakono yekh in Ruska Roma's and Kaldarash dialects) Rules of Romani Code describe relationships inside the Romani community and set limits for customs, behavior and other aspects of life.The Romani Code is not written; the Romani people keep it alive in oral tradition.The kris is a traditional institution for upholding and enforcing the Romani Code.The code can be summarised in pillars; the main pillar representing the polar ideas of baxt (pronounced "baht") meaning honour and ladž (pronounced "Ladge") meaning shame. Linking to the article above in reference to "purity" they can also represent the idea of being "pure" or "clean" and "impure" and "unclean" It is honourable, in Romani culture, to celebrate baxt by being generous and displaying your success to the public. The focus on generosity means sharing food is of great importance to some groups of Roma. Making lavish meals to share with other Romani visitors is commonplace and in some cases not having food to share is considered shameful.

Sources: Wikipedia. 2021. Romani society and culture. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_society_and_culture. [Accessed 9 March 2021]. Balkanproject. 2021. Who we were, who we are. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.balkanproject.org/. [Accessed 9 March 2021]. Arzamas. 2021. Truth and myths about cigans. [ONLINE] Available at: https://arzamas.academy/courses/4. [Accessed 9 March 2021].

[jelly-originals]

絶望 - Groups

Short explanations for all the groups and places in our Unnamed City.

♡ Phoenix Wise High

The only school in the downtown area, largely known for being generally bad in both education and student body. Bullying is pretty rampant, with the teachers either not caring enough or being afraid of the students. They have at least one suicide a year, usually more, but the headmaster always manages to brush it under the rug and people conveniently never seem to complain. Notably notorious for producing a good chunk of the town's criminal population.

♡ Royal Sunrise

The largest high-rise building in the city. However, despite its "illustrious" reputation, it tends to draw a rather seedy crowd and most people who live there come out worse than they came in. Nobody quite knows what's going on there, but rumours of hauntings and even a secret government laboratory below the building fly around. Regardless, people tend to either disappear or die around there.

♡ La Dolce Vita Shopping Centre

A new and large building recently commissioned by the city council, the centre holds an impressive 147 shops! All of the employees present extremely cheery and always have a smile on their faces, though the longer they've been working there the bigger the smile and duller the eyes. And despite a few odd occurrences and deaths, customers keep coming around to explore and shop to their heart's content.

♡ Black Spade Gang

A rather small but notorious downtown gang. It's mostly comprised of orphans and homeless people, though both of these terms are relative within the gang. They all consider each other their family, and live at some secret location together. They have little regard for outsiders and they most certainly aren't above general violence and murder. In contrast to most other parts of the city's criminal underground, the gang is very visible and not afraid to show off. Despite this, police don't tend to intervene with their crimes...

♡ Primrose Preparatory Academy

The pride and joy of the city, the boarding school is known as an excellent source of education even to the outside world. Despite the city's overall bad reputation, many are willing to ignore it in order to send their children here to learn. However, the academy is still part of the city and has a very specific pecking order, one that most outsiders are not ready for when they arrive. To top it all of, most of the students are under constant stress from the cruelling workloads placed on them.

♡ Velvet Apple

A rather famous idol group that originates from the city, though by now they enjoy international fame and travel a lot. But every few months they come back home, despite how much the members seem to hate the city.

♡ Angelcare Hospital

The central hospital of the city. Despite it being the most modern care facility in the city, most people avoid going there unless they absolutely have to. Nothing's ever been confirmed, likely why it's still allowed to run, but rumours of purposeful malpractice, torture, and even human experimentation run rampant. Most people who come out of there don't report anything like that happening, though they always feel extremely unsettled afterwards.

♡ Spider Lily Orphan Home

Housed inside a rather decrepit looking building, the orphanage resides at the far edge of the city. Most of the time people don't pay much attention to it, and the residents don't pay much attention to the outside world either. The place isn't exactly full of children but no one can remember a time in the last 50 years when there hasn't been a single resident in it. Curiously enough most of the residents are never seen again once they turn 20 and are free to leave the place, though those who've 'escaped' can sometimes be seen wandering the streets.

♡ Molchalin Family

A rather eccentric family living in almost complete isolation from the rest of the city. They're the descendants of the city's founders, though they rarely take part in the city's political matters anymore. Regardless, they're quite well-loved by the citizens despite almost never being seen. But people do often wonder what secrets reside inside the walls of the large hilltop manor...

♡ DeVille Family

The crux of the city's criminal underground, the mafia group has been around since the founding of the city though it isn't until the last few generations that they've become the big and important family they are. While other mafia families do reside in the city, most of them are tiny enough for the DeVille's to ignore, and most others outside the city consider them to be too ruthless to be messed with.

♡ Heavenly Breath Church

A small but influential establishment, the church and its grounds are considered holy by most of the city and thus very few traverse there on normal days. In fact, no vandalism or crimes have ever been committed in or around the church, which considering the city's reputation is usually met with some suspicion. Frankly, no one would be surprised if it turned out to be a cult of some kind, which it 100% is not. Not at all...

♡ Gigglemug Psychiatric Hospital

The most dreaded of the city's care facilities, the hospital has been around for a long time and hasn't really caught up with modern times. Despite its bad reputation and frankly atrocious practices, it's still running and receives a rather steady stream of patients. Most of its residents are after all the ones society would rather not deal with, so the city is quite happy with letting it be.

♡ Wainwright Detective Agency

Established only a couple of years after the city's founding by one Carlisle Wainwright, it's often considered the one good point of the city as not even the harshness of its surroundings has corrupted the generations of detectives that have worked there. The agency is still in the hands of the Wainwright family and continues to fight crime in the ever-increasing darkness of the city.

♡ Yokomura Family

Having only lived in the city for a couple of generations, the assassin family fits in disturbingly well. Pretty much everyone around town is aware of the family's profession but no one has ever had any proof to bring to the table and thus they continue to operate in the shadowy depths of the city, largely unknown but daunting with their presence.

♡Devil Hill House

A daunting presence somewhere within the shadows of Holdem Forest, a lonely abandoned house sits on a hill. Nobody knows where it came from or even where in specific it is, but those who seek it eventually find it and then never return. It's in a constant bad state of repair, with rotting wood and several holes poking out everywhere.

♡ Fanfare Fits Carnival

A rather small but well-beloved fairground. It used to be a travelling circus, but once they ended up in the city they decided to stay for some reason. It's often considered a bright spot of the city, but the eery darkness that permeates the whole city still resides there.

♡ Wraithfeat Cemetery

A disturbingly filled cemetery smack dab in the middle of the city. Its dark and looming aura seems to at times haunt the entire city, as if cursing it for letting its citizens die and rot there. Despite it, most people have learned to ignore it and it thus gets visitors every once in a while to see the graves of their loved ones. Efforts to take care of the place have been made, but it always tends to look rather decrepit, overtaken by nature with cracked headstones.

♡ Crystal Mirror Club

A hidden nightclub only visited by the strangest of the city's residents. Despite its seedy appearance, it's actually considered a safe haven for the city's more supernatural folk. Nobody knows where it's actually located, as it has many different entrances around the city, but it is the most homely place in the dark and dreary city.

♡ Holdem Forest

A dark and dangerous forest at the edge of the city. There have been plans to demolish the whole place for years, but no one has ever gotten around to it and nobody particularly wants to. There's plenty of stories of people going in and never coming back, and every once in a while loud screeching yells are heard from inside it.

♡ Death Parade Offices

A large office building that works as the headquarters of the Death Parade corporation. Despite their international status, no one actually knows what the corporation does, though just about anyone in the city can recognize their workers from the perfectly pressed black and pink suits.

[thorne93]

Unforeseen Chasm (Part 32)

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together.

Word Count:2535

Warnings: Language, mentions of death

Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my novels). It’s a collaboration with the amazing @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​. It started as a funny “What if…?” and it evolved and got huge. This took two years to write. We are both proud and happy and we hope you enjoy it. It follows from Thor 1 to Endgame in the MCU. Some of the timelines may be off in order to fit certain people, and some characters may show up earlier or in different ways than they have in the movie. But for the most part, it follows the MCU. It also has a bit of crossover with some other Marvel characters throughout the story.

Masterlist for Unforeseen Chasm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some time had passed since your recapture from the Xavier Mansion. You weren’t quite sure how much time, but things were slightly better. Tony and Shannon had actually gotten you two a TV. And you still had the projection of all the different places of the world and Asgard that went on your walls. You and Loki used that feature quite a bit to try and wash away the feeling of utter isolation. 

Shannon still visited you. She tried to get down to you at least once a week, but sometimes it wasn’t always that often. Sometimes even Tony visited. Hell even twice Steve came down. 

You couldn’t say life had gotten better. You were still in a cell. No sign of parole. But at least you still had Loki and Shannon, and you were making a great deal of progress in the trust department. You had not left the cell since Tony had brought you back. Which meant the dark energy still lived inside you. You didn’t tell Loki he was your trigger because you did not want to add to his suffering.

But one day, a surprise visitor came down, and at first you were happy to see them… until you heard why they were here. 

“Hey, Point Break,” Tony greeted happily as Thor entered the Tower. Shannon came bounding in, giving the large god a huge huge. 

“Stark,” he greeted politely. “I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything, buddy, just name it,” Tony assured. 

“Release Loki into my care…”

Tony and Shannon’s faces both fell. “Anything but that,” Tony said, starting to walk way. 

“Tony, listen to me,” Thor began, following his friend. “I know how this sounds, but I need his help.”

“His? You need that maniac’s help? To what? Silence of the Lambs it? Trying to catch one crazy with another?” 

“I have absolutely no idea what you just said,” Thor confessed, looking puzzled. 

“He means, why do you need Loki?” Shannon asked gently, shooting a glare to Tony for being rude. 

“Loki knows of passageways in and out of Asgard. Ways that even Heimdall does not know of. I need to do something that is not exactly legal,” Thor informed.

“Ah, so you need your insane brother to help you break Asgard’s law,” Tony summed up. “Fantastic.”

“So you’ll help me?” Thor asked, delighted. 

“Hell no!” Tony responded. “I’m not breaking any intergalactic laws. Especially not with him on the loose.”

“I will have myself and the warriors three to help keep him in line. Please… Jane’s life is on the line….”

“Jane? Jane Foster?” Shannon asked, concern in her words.

Thor looked at her and nodded. 

Tony sighed. “Let’s just hypothetically say I did let Reindeer Games go. How long are we talking?” 

“I have no idea. I have to fight dark elves and retrieve the dark aether from them before--”

“Does five days sound like enough?” Tony asked, cutting Thor off. 

“I’ll do my best with that.” 

“You’ve got a deal,” Tony said, shaking his hand. 

--------------------------------

Thor walked up to your cell, Tony beside him. 

“Thor?” you questioned, stepping up from the kitchen. In an instant, Loki was by your side. He’d been in the bedroom, cleaning. 

“What are you doing here?” Loki asked of his brother. 

“Mother’s died,” Thor said with a cold tone. 

“Oh my god,” you responded, tears jumping to your eyes. “H--How? Thor… I’m so sorry.. Loki--” You turned to him and he turned to stone. 

“Dark elves.”

“What? What do Dark Elves have to do with Asgard? Why would they kill Queen Frigga?” you questioned, grief rushing over you. 

“There isn’t much time to explain. Jane has been overcome with a dark energy that is killing her and turning her dark. I need Loki to help me escape Asgard.”

“I hate to burst your dimwitted bubble, Thor, but you’re already out of Asgard,” Loki remarked. 

“Midgard is the only place Heimdall can send me and it not be considered treason. I need help getting to another realm, a different realm. Now will you help me or am I wasting my time?” Thor demanded, speaking quickly and lowly, authority in his voice. 

“You must be truly desperate to come to me,” Loki noted. “How do you know you can trust me?”

“I don’t. In the past I have fought you with the glimmer of hope that my brother still lie in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists. If you betray me, I will kill you. I know you seek vengeance just as I do, and I will help you get it. In return, you will help me save Jane and seek justice for our mother’s death.”

Loki stared him down a moment. 

“When do we start?”

With that, a whirlwind of things happened. Tony released Loki from the cell, to which Thor brought him with him, up to the surface of Earth, where Heimdall recalled them both. From there, they stole a ship, and ventured into a realm where Dark Elves resided many years ago. According to them, there was a plot to cut off Thor’s hand, to make it look as if Loki had betrayed Thor and throw the Elves off -- It worked. The plan got Malekith to release the aether from Jane, thus allowing Thor to destroy it. Once it was gone, Loki and Thor were able to fight the elves. 

In a manner of speaking, it was a victory. But for Loki, he was destined to return to Earth, return to his cell, return to his life as a prisoner. 

Thor brought Loki back, where Shannon helped return him to his cell with you, a look of sorrow on her face. 

“Brother, I thank you for fighting by my side once more and helping me save Jane, and in the end, saving the universe,” Thor said from outside the cell. 

“All in a day's work,” he said, slightly bowing. “Besides, it was nice to get out and get some fresh air for a change.”

“I will see to it that they consider releasing you from this cell,” Thor promised.

Loki had no words. He didn’t think Thor would be so… generous. Nor did you. 

“Thank you, Thor, and for what it’s worth, I truly am sorry about your mother. She was a wise, wonderful woman,” you offered, your face fallen a bit. 

“She truly was. She missed you,” he informed, a bit of a fond smile touching his lips. 

“She did? Me?” you asked, in disbelieving wonder. 

“Oh yes. She missed your music and your singing around the palace. She missed hearing you talk of all of your physics. She missed a great deal of things about you. About both of you,” Thor stated. 

You frowned slightly and offered, “Would you like to come in and talk about it… about her?” 

Thor was ready to decline, but when he thought about it, he should be with family right now. He hadn’t seen Loki since the day of the imprisonment, nor you. Both of you were so close to Frigga, it hardly made sense to part ways now.

Thor nodded and made his way over to the door, where Shannon scanned her eye to let Thor in. 

“I’ll leave you three alone,” she said gently. Normally, you would’ve asked her to stay, but this felt… private. These two men needed to grieve their mother, and you needed to grieve a woman who took care of you more than once. 

“It is good to see you,” Thor stated as soon as he walked in. He hugged you in a big embrace. His voice was melancholy. Just as people’s are when they speak to someone at a funeral. It’s that light, airy, solemn tone. 

“You too, Thor. How is Jane?” 

“Much better now that the aether is gone from her. How are you?” 

“I could be much worse,” you admitted. “It’s been great having Loki here. Honestly, I really only miss things like music, the internet, getting to do work every day… Seeing the outdoors. But on the bright side, I’m with my love, we have a modern, finite space to clean. I get to cook gourmet meals. We have a system that takes us anywhere in the world. Shannon is talking to me on a regular basis again…”

“That is good news. Loki, how are you fairing?”

Loki shot a look to his brother. “Oh, do you suddenly care? Now that you’ve lost one family member, starting to realize how little you might have left?” he snapped. 

“Loki,” you chided, looking at him. 

“He doesn’t visit me for almost two years and you want me to just accept him as if nothing’s changed?” Loki asked you incredulously. 

“What did we say about forgiveness? And that Thor has changed and grown?” you reminded. 

Loki stared at you another moment, his eyes swimming with a flurry of emotions before he finally looked up to his brother. “I’m doing as fine as one can in a cell, Thor.”

You nodded and smiled a bit. At least it was progress and not an insult. 

“How… how were things? How was Frigga?” you asked. 

“She was well. She missed both of you very much. Kept saying how one day you were going to give her grandchildren,” he noted with a bittersweet smile. 

You blushed and laughed. “We weren’t courting when I was on Asgard,” you reminded. 

“Oh I know… And she knew… but she kept saying it was a matter of time.”

“It would’ve been nice,” you agreed suddenly. “A family… Asgard. Frigga as a grandmother.”

“Oh, my god, no it wouldn’t have been,” Loki suddenly said, rolling his eyes. 

“Loki!” you chastised, completely surprised at his words. 

“You have to be joking. Frigga, a grandmother? She would spoil the kids rotten. Does that sound good to you? Children that pay us no mind. Children that run amuck all because dear Grandmother said they could?” he challenged. 

With that, the three of you started to laugh, knowing full well he was right. 

“He is not far from the truth. Whilst we were growing up, only one person could tell Odin no--” Thor started.

“And that was Mother,” Loki finished. 

“Oh, believe me, I know. I saw the way she spoke to your father. He is a very intimidating man, but she seemed to fair just fine with him.”

“That’s because she was the real king of the palace, Father just said he was,” Loki said with a coy smile. 

Thor agreed, still chuckling. 

“I remember the first time she had me wear Asgardian clothes,” you recalled. “They’re very--”

“Impractical?” Loki finished. 

You gave a slight laugh. “Well, yes, for women. Well, for women looking to do combat. I could hardly do anything but walk in most of the gowns she’d picked out.”

“But you did look lovely in them,” Loki declared, looking far off, as if remembering you in one. 

“Well, yes, for maybe some ball or feast. But every day that I was at work, every day that I trained by all of you, the pants fit best.” 

“Mother always thought that too. Wore pants one time around Father,” Thor stated.

“One time? Why just the one? She was Queen, could she not dress how she wanted?” you inquired.

Loki and Thor exchanged a look. 

“Uh, father thought a woman should not wear pants… Well, he thought the Queen shouldn’t. He never had a problem with Sif wearing pants, or you, or Jane… But for some reason, his wife in pants made him absolutely mad.”

“I remember that day,” Loki agreed. “Father was shouting. He was beyond reason.”

Thor nodded in agreement. “After that day, Mother never wore anything but gowns again.”

“Wow, it must’ve really pissed him off.”

“I honestly think he’s just old fashioned,” Thor countered lightly. “Seeing a younger generation in different fashion didn’t bother him, but his wife…” 

“I remember her welcoming me back so… so motherly. She accepted me as if I were her daughter. She seemed so… happy to see me again,” you said, remembering the way her eyes glossed over and she opened her arms, waiting for you to embrace her. When you finally did, she wrapped you tightly in her arms. “She said it was so good to see me again, and see the woman I had become. Of course, this was all after I found out about my parents.”

“She truly did miss you. She told me more about you after you and Loki fell. About how close she was with your parents, how it crushed her to see them go. How it broke her heart to let you go…”

“I wish I could’ve told her that it wasn’t her fault,” you said, your lip quivering. “That I wanted to thank her for caring for me for as long as she did. That by giving me away to Earth, she gave me a great life. I met amazing friends, found a field of study I love… The only thing I missed out on was you two,” you said, squeezing Loki’s hand and reaching over to pat Thor’s knee. 

Solemn quietness filled the air. 

“I’m really going to miss her,” you said, silent tears rolling down your cheek. 

“Me too…” Thor concurred. 

“As will I. She was a great mother, and never showed me anything but love,” Loki agreed. “And her magic,” he said, making the three of you laugh through tears. 

As the night went on, you all reminisced. Loki and Thor told stories of Frigga. Sometimes it was a tale one of them would be hearing for the first time. The air felt heavy with grief, as the two men broke down a handful of times, but it also felt somewhat lighter. For the first time since the attack on New York, your beloved and his brother were talking, actually communicating, and you were there to help it along. 

------------------------------

After that night… Loki was… well, broken. You could tell he was hurting and he tried to fight it, because… well that was his nature. He never wanted anyone to know any of his weaknesses, anything that brought him pain. 

But eventually, you sat him down and implored him to grieve. He needed to do it or it would fester. After a lot of coaxing, he finally gave in. But it was as if a dam had been opened. He became angry, he became sad, he became forlorn, he became indifferent. None of it was ever at you, though. It just seemed as soon as you gave him permission, he was a tidal wave of emotion. 

He cried himself to sleep a lot. When you heard him, you simply wrapped your arm around him. Sometimes he threw fits of anger about missing Frigga, about how he should’ve been there to save her. Sometimes he tried to convince himself that he shouldn’t feel sad because she wasn't his birth mother, but you knew that was just a way to maybe stop feeling so god damn broken. 

You did not fault or ever try to stop anything he said or did. You knew this was all a part of the grieving process and you let it happen naturally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag List: @essie1876​ @magpiegirl80​ @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​ @iamwarrenspeace​ @marvel-imagines-yes-please​ @superwholocked527 @missinstantgratification​ @thejemersoninferno​ @rda1989​ @munlis​ @thefridgeismybestie​​ @bubblyanarocks3​​ @igiveupicantthinkofausername​​ @kaliforniacoastalteens​ @feelmyroarrrr​​ @kaelingoat​ @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo​​ @damalseer​​ @heyitscam99​​ @yknott81​​ @sorryimacrapwriter​​ @glitterquadricorn​​ @xxqueenofisolationxx @little-dis-kaalista-pythonissama @bittersweetunicorm​​ @alyssaj23​​ @sea040561​​ @princess76179​​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​​ @sarahp879​​ @malfoysqueen14​​ @ellallheart​​ @breezy1415​​ @marvelmayo​​ @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @cocosierra94 @hardcollectionworldtrash @capsmuscles @marvelloushamilton

@paintballkid711​

Loki: @lostinspace33​​ @ultrarebelheart​​ @lenawiinchester​​ @esoltis280​​ @tngrayson​​ @wangdeasang​​ @harrymewmew @jayfantasyatyourservice​​

UC: @lokis-high-priestess​

[darkwritingsnshit]

Living the Dream

Chapter 1

Steve didn’t understand why you were so upset. This was what you wanted. He had heard you tell Nat and your brother when you would hang out and chill on the couch. This was your dream. Married to someone who loved you, the two of you would have kids, and you would never have to work, Steve would make sure of that, he would take care of everything. He would always take care of you. So why were you reacting like this? He did not appreciate your attitude.

 Your brother worked at Stark Tower, he was a soldier, that’s all your family had been told, that he had special clearance and that he worked for the government, mostly overseas. You hadn’t been close until your mother and father died, and for some reason your brother felt like it was his fault. It most certainly was not, but he made sure you two had a closer relationship after that. He was a soldier, yes, but his government position had him on secret missions, taking government issued “enhancements” and working with superheroes. Not exactly NSA stuff, but not strictly Army either.

Either way, as you two became closer he let you know more about him. It wasn’t your job, but he would occasionally ask you to the Tower, you helped Bruce and Tony with coding and electronics. Your father always had a garage full of half functioning radios, circuit boards, satellite pieces, cables and cars, and out of boredom you had become pretty good at figuring out how to take things apart and put them back together. When you had enough money saved up, you even convinced your father to let you buy one of the first computers that could fit inside the garage, so you could yank it to pieces, just to rebuild it. Most of the Stark tech was far more advanced than you could comprehend, but there were a few things you could tinker with and help Bruce and Tony get into working order.

You weren’t close with people there, but what seemed like workplace friendships developed, and once a week or so you would hang out in the common areas with your brother, movie nights and takeout, and everyone would fall into a pleasant conversation together.

“You know this isn’t my day job, right?” You asked your brother when he called, yet again, and asked you to come give a different perspective to Tony and Bruce. “I have other things to do between 9 and 5, you know that right?”

“Yes, I know that, but this is important. Will you come down after work?” He asked over the phone. “I’ll buy you dinner.” He was trying to bribe you.

“Okay fine, but I’m not going to enjoy it at all. I’m going to complain the entire time.”

“Deal! See you after 5!” Your brother ended the call before you could mutter out another snappy response.

At 5, you ended your last therapy session for the day, and headed towards the tower. Even though you promised your brother you weren’t going to have a good time, the thought of working with your hands made you a little bit happy. You loved your job but getting covered in engine grease and making things whirr had always been a hobby you’d enjoyed.

 When you arrived at the tower, your brother didn’t greet you as usual, but instead Steve Rodgers did, Captain America, the self-righteous, stand up guy himself. Steve was always nice to you, but his holier than though attitude rubbed you the wrong way. Not to mention it seemed incredibly hypocritical given that his best friend was a mercenary who spent the last 70 years murdering people for sport. But whatever, he was always kind, and seemed to be politely interested in your life. Hardly the worst person to greet you.

“Hey! Good to see you! You know, you really don’t come down here often enough, we all miss seeing your face around here.” Steve welcomed you with a smile.

“Hey Steve, it’s good to see you too. Do you know where my brother ran off to? He asked me to come over after work but he’s not answering my texts.” Your brother was a godawful communicator. You had told him multiple times that you didn’t understand why he even had a cell phone if he never used it to answer calls or texts.

“Yeah, he and Sam went out on a call. They should be back late tonight or tomorrow morning. He didn’t tell you?” Steve looked confused. But it figured, after all, this was not the first time.

“Well there goes my free dinner.” You huffed. Steve laughed.

“I’m 110% sure that Tony has enough pocket change to get you some dinner. You do a lot of free work for him, he does appreciate it. You want me to help you strongarm him into making a dinner order?” He offered, as the two of you started walking downstairs to Tony’s state of the art laboratory.

“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll just tell him I won’t do any work until he places an order for pad Thai. I’m pretty sure Bruce will join the labor strike, he has a soft spot for spring rolls.” You joked. Steve smiled as you peeked through the glass to see what Tony and Bruce were tinkering with as you approached.

��Hey, will you stay for a movie after you guys are through with your new toys? Nat and I got a couple new releases that we couldn’t see in the theater, we’d love you to join us, like I said, we don’t see enough of you.” Steve looked eager, and almost nervous.

“Sure, depending on how late Tony wants to play with his toys,” you replied, “if it’s not too late I’ll stick around.” Steve smiled so wide you were surprised it didn’t hurt his face.

“Great! I can’t wait- well we can’t wat to see you, the movies are supposed to be good.” Steve waved goodbye as you walked through the lab doors, shrugging into a lab coat, tying your hair up so it didn’t get singed off again by some “toy” Tony neglected to make sure didn’t start fires.

“Okay, what’ve we got today?” Both Tony and Bruce looked up from the bench, happy to see you again.

  It wasn’t actually that late, hardly 8pm. You, Bruce and Tony had been able to work out whatever bugs there were in a very short amount of time, and there was a whole mess of Thai food about to be delivered to the Tower. You headed up to the common area, kitchen that opened into a comfy seating area. This is where you came to hang out with your brother, large TV and fast wifi. It was pretty great. Steve and Nat were sitting on opposite couches, bickering about which movie to choose.

“What do you think? You get to choose, you’re the one who’s been getting exploited for your talent down in that lab, you to choose tonight.” Nat piped up once she saw you enter the room.

“Hey, I’m down for whatever, I’m just waiting on my dinner. I’m not getting in a fight over a movie.” You were grateful when Tony came in holding three bags that smelled delicious, and began to get plates out for everyone.

Once they had finally decided on a movie, and everyone had food, you situated yourself on a couch. Steve had decided to encroach on your space by getting far too close on the loveseat you had meant to sit on alone. His thighs pushed against yours as you tried to eat and watch the movie you didn’t really care about paying attention to.

Halfway though, Steve decided to stretch out his arms, which you now found slightly around your shoulders. You didn’t notice how his face darkened when you leaned forward, and you tried to ignore him when he pressed even closer as the movie dragged on. You were annoyed that he was taking up ¾ of the space on the loveseat, but technically this was his residence, and you were a visitor. Besides the movie was almost done, and you were ready to go home, have tea, and collapse into bed.

As you put the dishes in the dishwasher and gathered your things, Steve walked up behind you. This man seemed to be oblivious to the term ‘personal space’ as he was again too close for comfort.

“So, what did you think of the movie?” He asked from behind you.

“It was cute,” you said, “it’s everything someone hopes for, you know? The perfect millennial pipe dream, wonderful and unattainable.” The thoughts of your future were jaded.

“How so? It seemed great to me, perfect, but not unattainable.” Steve replied. You laughed.

“Steve, not a single person I know could have that. We’re millennials. A happy marriage is something only lucky people manage, and the mother not having to work after two kids? Wild. I mean I’d love that, but I could never afford something like that. A beautiful house in that kind of neighborhood, with two kids on a single income? Like I said, it was a good ending, just not something I can see happening in this day and age.” The movie had been good, but the ending lacked substance. Having everything tied up with a bow, a happy marriage, happy kids, happy life, that was just a cop out as far as you were concerned.

“Call me old fashioned, but that’s how it used to be. Mom didn’t work, dad took care of everything. Nuclear family.”

“Shit, yeah, that would be nice. But I don’t know anyone that would actually work out for, certainly not for me.”

“Hey, never say never.” Steve said with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess.” You weren’t too concerned with the nuclear family you were sure was not going to happen.

“It’s dark out there, maybe you should just crash in your brother’s room.”

“I’m okay,” you replied, “I like my own bed.”

“Can I drive you home at least? It’s an eerie city once the sun’s gone down.”

“No, thank you though, I’ve got my own car. I appreciate it.” You had spent enough time in the tower, it was time for rest and relaxation- alone. Too many people and not enough alone time made you uncomfortable, being alone in your cozy apartment always soothed you.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow then, yeah?” Steve asked. You weren’t sure why he was hanging around so much, everyone else had left.

“Yeah, if they need some help. We’ll see what my schedule looks like. I’ll probably be around.” You were waving and walking away, over the conversation, over the night, just ready for some peace.

[tonystarkbingo]

Tony Stark Bingo Party Prompt Meme

http://generatorland.com/usergenerator.aspx?id=25057 -- we took tags from this random generator and then made up more detailed prompts from them. These prompts are open use, even if you’re not participating in the bingo, but please tag us if you write one, we’d LOVE to see what you did with it! nonsense + everyone is gay + denial : Tony+harem - Tony, while an incorrigible flirt, does not believe that anyone actually likes him, let alone as many as do. They come up with increasingly ridiculous ideas to ask him out or at least let him know they like him, while he innocently thinks they're all just such awesome friends superpowers + bodice-ripper + sad Stuckony - something set in the Regency(ish) era but with secret superpowers as an added bonus. Let’s of angst over trying to hide their secret powers, and wanting to save people without revealing themselves and also cause they’re gay. clones + nighttime + wishes Coulson/Strange (StrangeAgent? AgentStrange? DrAgent?) - Coulson ends up spending the night in the NY Sanctum. Some of the artifacts happen to be particularly sensitive to subconscious fantasies... and isn't it lucky that cloning himself happens to be one of Strange's powers? cruising + flashbacks + bad boys Winteriron possible future Stuckony - small warning for drinking mention - Tony is driving around to distract himself so he doesn't get drunk. He gets in an accident because he is not actually in a state to drive. The accident is comparatively harmless, the flashback to his convoy being attacked in Afghanistan is less so. When Tony wakes up in the hospital he learns that the person who dragged him from his car to safety is one James "Bucky" Barnes, resident motorbike riding bad boy heartthrob and friend/visitor of Steve "regular ER customer" Rogers, who's his hospital roommate. room service + lifeguards + sharing Tony is a lifeguard who takes his job very seriously. He's attending a convention-slash-training seminar at a posh uptown hotel, but then there's a knock at the door. He opens it to find two room service carts, both with order slips on them that indicate they're actually destined for another room. Rather than call the obviously harried and beleaguered bellboy back, he pushes them down the hall himself and knocks on the door... which is answered by none other than the hot beefcake fellow-lifeguard that's been distracting Tony all day. They end up sharing the enormous amount of food... and then maybe some more. :wink: overthinking + pity sex + customer service Tony just turned 40, he's been friends with Bucky and Nat for forever, and they'd been each other's marriage backups for the longest time, like, if they weren't married at 40, they'd marry whoever wasn't married either in their little trio. Only, two years prior, Buckynat became husband and wife and so he's having a little pity party on his floor at the Tower, drinking virgin mojitos and seriously consider a particular customer service to cheer himself up in one way or another - might as well get an orgasm, as shitty and sad as it may be, it's his birthday ffs - but then Bucky and Nat appear in his elevator, and they pull him off the couch he's been sprawled on for three hours, and Nat is the first to kiss him, and he's too stunned to react much but when he does question wtf is happening, Bucky shushes him and Tony lets him. The next morning he is evidently convinced it was all just pity sex, or a kink of theirs or whatever.... certainly nothing to do with the fact that they've been courting him forever and got tired of waiting for him to step out of ObliviousStarklandia. Of course not. wolves + romantic friendship + wigs Okay, so, someone has been doing an excellent job of hiding his baldness from someone else, with whom he's been in a long term best-friends-but-in-love not-quite-relationship. He's got an elaborate series of wigs, and over the years he's gradually been replacing them with slightly more grey ones so that someone else doesn't realise. Aaaand then someone gets bitten by a werewolf, and when he shifts for the first time he is completely bald and the secret is out. accidental relationship + butt dialing + warlocks Tony Stark is not happy with today's mission, not like there's an occasion to enjoy dealing with magic. But now he's in a relationship with Bucky, which is not bad, that man is gorgeous, but this is not the way. He's ranting about it to Jarvis and doesn't realize that he sat on his phone nor that he dialed the other supersoldier in the team until he hears a muffled laugh beneath him. He's going to kill that warlock smuggling + fear + road-trip okay, a Star Wars AU. Farmboy Peter is fleeing from stormtroopers who found out his parents were Jedi. He runs into smuggler Tony and they take off in Tony's ship for an extended road trip in space. possession + loving marriage + gardens & gardening Pepperony, Morgan insists there's a spirit possessing the garden because she's seen the plants dancing. Turns out they've accidentally created sentient plants and Tony is like nope, call somebody else, I do mechanical engineering and they call Dr. Cho to fix it. The marriage is in there somewhere I promise  idiots in love + bonding + resurrection Ironhawk - Clint tries to get Lucky back after he goes over the rainbow bridge, but he can’t actually read latin and ends up bringing back Tony from the 18th century.  And poor Tony gets Clint as his guide to the 21st.  Shenanigans and eventual fluffy ending improv + cultural appropriation + shield maidens After the Battle of New York, Tony's interviewing Thor about Asguardian tech and learns that they have all kinds of shielding devices, and gets interested in trying to replicate what Thor describes just in case aliens decide to pay a call on Earth again. Thor, for his part, is kinda shocked that Earth doesn't have any such shields, though on the other hand it is Midguard, so. You know. Tony gives it a shot and a couple weeks later he's launching the satellites into orbit for a preliminary test of the shields. He intends to test them with SI tech developed from seized Chitauri tech, but before he can get the chance an alien army shows up, guns blazing and very mad about something. The shields hold, thankfully, and the aliens send a strongly worded letter informing him that he has infringed upon their religious and cultural traditions by putting the Stark logo on them. Their planet was visited centuries ago by time-travelers that greatly influenced their culture, religion, government, etc. These time travelers carried devices with that same Stark Logo on them. The Stark Logo has become a complex cultural symbol over the centuries, and they don't appreciate him using it on war tech, even if on shields. Eventually, they figure out that the time travelers' tech was Tony's tech, and agree to leave in peace, but only after Tony spends a terrifying couple of days trying to improvise his way through a diplomatic disaster with an alien power. vampire family + slapstick + loss WinterIronWidow: So, Natasha's been a vampire for a long time, and she's lonely, so she decides to take on some mates, enter established relationship WinterIron. She vampirises them, which leads to Tony having fits about GARLIC and my god, I'm ITALIAN, you horrible woman!  And Bucky's like "I'm... CATHOLIC?? OM-- I can't even say G-- now??" awkwardness + chatting & messaging + shyness Tony doesn't understand why everytime Bucky comes into the lab, Dum-E tends to drop whatever he's holding and go hide in his charging station. Dum-E's always a bit clumsy and silly but this is more than usual and Tony's worried that Dum-E doesn't like Bucky or something like that. Anyway after much discussion, with JARVIS as translator and go-between, it turns out that Dum-E has developed a bit of a crush on Bucky's fancy robotic arm. Which ends up of course being a hilarious & awkward situation for all involved. candles + explosions + blind date tony gets bullied by pepper to go on a blind date to get out of his funk, she insists that this Matt Murdock character is the perfect date and Tony will like him. reluctantly tony goes to fancy restaurant and meets Matt Murdock and they hit it off instantly the little snarky assholes. they have a nice dinner by candle light and it's all going so well up until dessert when they order some kind of chocolate lava cake which was tragically not cooked properly and ends up exploding on both of them and bam they fall in love and live happily ever after skeleton puns + reincarnation + deus ex machina A snap, that was all it took to snuff out something so bright amidst the rubble of what was once New York City, and, with Tony gone for good, the living seem rather, well…dead. Until, one day, someone they all thought long dead returned to them, a blue cube glowing in his grip and a sweet promise of a new beginning dripping from his lips. But of course, no new beginning comes without a price laundry + tenderness + dialogue “I hate laundry,” Morgan declared after trying to refold her sweatshirt for the seventh time. “Me too kiddo,” Tony whispered back, sneaking a glance over his shoulder to Pepper who was putting clothes into the wash. “But that’s why we do it together. It gets done and we don't have to do it alone.” world domination + paranoia + everything hurts Tony knew what was coming, he knew. He’d seen the future and he knew. The Kree were coming - why would no one believe him? Not his husband, not the team, not even his own son. He kept convincing them they had to suit up and defend the planet and Steve and Peter kept telling him that a engineering professor from Cal Tech can’t do that, that this suit he talks about is only in his delusions. But he’s not paranoid. Or crazy. Or any of those other words. He is Iron Man. He just has to convince everyone else. feels + useless lesbians + Santa's workshop Toni doesn’t think anyone could accuse her of overflowing with Christmas spirit. That hasn’t stopped the rest of the Avengers from turning the “festive cheer” dial up to eleven, and Toni thinks she might just have to spend the whole next month hiding in her workshop. (Hey, she let DUM-E wear a Santa hat – that has to count for something.) Too bad Jamie Barnes – cyborg superassassin extraordinaire, Captain America’s best friend, and Toni’s big gay crush – has gotten the exact same idea. Now the rest of the team thinks they’ve got a “thing,” and Toni can’t decide which is worse: putting up with the Avengers’ not-so-subtle attempts at matchmaking, or spending all her time with the woman she loves and who she is absolutely, 100%, totally certain doesn’t reciprocate. Getting through this holiday season without having her heart broken might just take… a Christmas miracle. shapeshifting + secret organizations + nurses “C. Barton - Orderly.”  That’s what his tag said.  But only a very few people knew exactly what kind of hospital Saint Natalis actually was, and just how busy they could be during the full moon. kissing games + pirates + book stores Tony always thought that the shop had a mind of its own. The books were one thing, whispering their secrets to patrons who managed to find their way to it. Jarvis always did warn him not to touch any of the artifacts. The "DO NOT TOUCH" signs plastered all over the crates. So maybe it was his fault that he managed to summon 'Buccaneer Barnes' after touching the shiny pirate sword. "Let's play a game. If you win, I'll help you put all those runaway monsters that jumped out of the books. If I win, you owe me a kiss. Whatdaya say Stark?"

[thedaltonsanctuary]

Welcome SEBASTIAN SMYTHE to the Dalton Sanctuary as a SWITCH RESIDENT. Please send in your blog within the next 48 hours or we will have to reopen your role. You may begin dash activity immediately, no need to wait for anything else once your blog is made.

✎ OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

ALIAS/PRONOUNS:  Grant  he/him AGE: 28+ TIMEZONE: CST TRIGGERS: none ANYTHING ELSE: Just that it has been a long time since I’ve been in a group so be gentle! Heh.

✎ IN CHARACTER INFORMATION

NAME:  Sebastian Maxwell Smythe AGE/BIRTHDAY: 27 | June 3rd, 1993 GENDER/PRONOUNS: cismale, he/him SUB/DOMINANT/SWITCH?:  Switch, Originally classified as a Dominant STAFF/RESIDENT/VISITOR?:  Resident SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Homosexual KINKS:  spanking, dirty talk, light bondage, marking, biting, light humiliation, cum play, use of toys, power dynamics ANTI-KINKS: forced, gore, vore, blood, knives, weapons, actual violence, animals, furries, watersports

✎ BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Sebastian Maxwell Smythe was born to two wealthy parents who came from old family money. Maxwell Smythe had all the right connections in the world to study law at the best schools and get internships at top law practices. His father had connections within some very powerful institutions. Maxwell met Sebastian’s mother, Meredith Shelley, in their younger years at a country club. Maxwell worked tirelessly to climb the ladder at various practices around the state of Ohio. Meredith worked tirelessly to keep the family at the top tier of the social ladder. Together they made the Smythe name formidable.

As the singular child to overachieving parents Sebastian spent a lot of time in his youth alone. When he wasn’t being paraded around the milieu of bourgeois society or attending lessons with private tutors Sebastian often asked his nannies endless questions and spent hours at theater houses or watching music videos on television. It was in these spaces which Sebastian learned the addictive power of performance arts. When you were on stage the attention was on you. When you were apart of an ensemble you were apart of something larger than yourself. Sebastian had the best clothes and the finest opportunities. He wanted for nothing; except the love and attention an only child craves. Thus his love affair with performing arts began.

In his middle school years Sebastian’s family had moved to Paris in what his father described as a ‘leg up’ in attaining high office back in the United States. Sebastian spent years in some of the most cultured places and while his parents weren’t pleased with his choices to be involved in theater and dance, they allowed him to pursue these, as long as he kept up his grades.

The other children didn’t always treat Sebastian well, especially when he expressed his opinions that the classification system was stupid and that people were way more varied than the Dominant/submissive binary allowed for. He was sometimes bullied and went through a lonely period in his life without his parents’ support to turn to. They had laid certain expectations at Sebastian’s feet without explicitly saying it in words. Sebastian could tell from the way they talked that they expected him to grow up, become a lawyer, meet a nice submissive woman, and carry on the Smythe legacy upon the foundation his parents had built together. Sebastian resisted in his own quiet ways.

It wasn’t until the angst of his teenage years coincided with an announced move back to the United States that Sebastian made an important connection in his mind.

What Shakespeare said was true: All the World’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. If this was true it meant only one true thing. You could be whoever the hell you wanted to be. He would fashion himself a new identity. One acceptable to his parents and the outside world. One in which he fit in and came out on top at all costs. He had the status and the money to bolster him and shield him from blame. He could play by his own rules and pretend he was playing by everybody else’s.

It was at a Private Preparatory Academy for boys that Sebastian ended up. His father was State’s Attorney. Sebastian played lacrosse and in exchange he got to be in the performing choir at the school. He was top dog in a lot of ways. Wealthy, good looking, talented, smart. Yet he was still troubled. Still alone.

He knew the time of his classification test was nearing and he felt like he was being dragged across hot coals all the way to the day it would happen. Sebastian didn’t believe he was either a Dominant or submissive. He’d learned not to express this to anyone publicly, if only for appearances, and for fear of not fitting in. Yet it was a reality he carried with him every day of his life.

This angst caused him to act out. In his junior year he nearly blinded a boy in order to win the affections of another boy and he blackmailed someone at a competing school in order to win at all costs. He was found out and though he was never officially disciplined by the school or the law, Sebastian was sent to a military academy for his senior year. There he met Hunter Clarington.

While the two started off with friends in the same circle and shared many traits - a desire to achieve, perfection at all costs, the smug sort of attitude that came with money or good looks - these were also tension points where they collided. They were both 'Dominants’ clashing for top spot at every opportunity. Sebastian never wanted a career in the military but he wasn’t one to let himself get walked all over. He did everything he could to get Hunter thrown out of the Academy.

It was in pursuit of this goal that Sebastian realized he was misguided. He didn’t care if Hunter was top dog in the Military school where they were students. He just cared about getting out of there. This realization led Sebastian to try every little punishable offense to get himself kicked out. He ended up being expelled after hitting an instructor (an offense for which he could have been charged in court).

His senior year education was completed at another boarding school across the states while his father continued his work in Ohio. The two didn’t talk for a long time. Sebastian didn’t even go home during fall break that year. Once his education was completed Sebastian received his classification test. It was a bitter day where Sebastian got lectured on the merits of what being a Dominant meant. On top of the pressures of being a Smythe the young man now had the expectations of being responsible for behaving as a 'true’ Dominant should.

Sebastian spent much of his young adult years miserable. He studied law, partied, went through boyfriends like he went through clothes and kept getting into trouble. His father always got him out of legal scrapes but he’d warned Sebastian he was on thin ice. Sebastian’s poor decision making coincided with too much alcohol and not enough sleep, fatigue, and headaches. All of these indicators were ignored for what they truly were: signs that he was ignoring all of his needs.

Sebastian had become aware of the word 'switch’ in society when that classification became mainstream. It put a name to everything Sebastian always felt but couldn’t put into words. The most heart wrenching thing was that it changed nothing. His parents had an idea of what his life should be and not even performing his identity could save Sebastian. He would muddle through life and he would do as he was told or he would lose the only source of acceptance he so desperately craved.

He’d gotten his undergrad in Business and minored in Economics. He was close to finishing law school at Colombia University when it happened. One wrong decision that changed everything. He got in the car with someone who had been drinking and had an open container on him. They were headed to an after party when the car crashed into a light pole. No one else was injured but Sebastian was arrested and charged.

His father got him out of jail time but when Sebastian came shamefully to his doorstep in Ohio where Maxwell was still a State’s Attorney, he was turned away. His father wouldn’t pay his legal fines and he wouldn’t take Sebastian in. His trust had been frozen until Sebastian could 'man up’ and figure himself out.

With his semester on hold and legal fees at his feet, all family resources, and any friendly faces he’d ever known turned away from him…Sebastian had only one place left to go. The Dalton Sanctuary.

Sebastian feels shame for having to ask for help this way. In many ways it calls into shame his abilities as a Dominant, his long held beliefs about himself as an intelligent and capable person, and it sobers him into realizing his need to deal with who he truly is. No matter what anyone might think of him.

Sebastian must work to accept himself as a switch, to figure out what that looks like, and to figure out who he is without the heavy weight of societal and familial expectations on his shoulders. Can he strip away everything that was put onto him and let himself and his heart finally be free?

As an unwilling resident, Sebastian must find out.