#time for another midnight ramble apparently

[nemotheenvisionist]

Does anyone else think it'd be cool to see a lego monkie kid lego game, like lego star wars or lego harry Potter, where each season is another portion of the game with cutscenes and whatnot, or is it just me?

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

Personally I think in a zeldas meet au SkSw Zelda would not be the leader just because she's Hylia, because Hylia does not strike me as someone who was regularly a commander, if at all. The opening of Skyward Sword says that she "joined forces with the land dwellers", which to me sounds like Hylia (by herself, no one under her command) combined her power with people that had already started fighting back with their own leaders. Now, with Hylia being an actual literal goddess, it's more than likely at least some of them started to look to her for orders, which is why I say she had little (if any) experience in command.

I would instead suggest TP Zelda (current ruler of Hyrule, as no king is mentioned, has combat training and likely at least somewhat leads Hyrule's army) or HW Zelda (I don't think I need to explain this), with maybe Tetra (due to her experience as captain) or SkSw Zelda if absolutely necessary

[tiny-space-platypus]

Never really fit back in

Part 5 9:47 PM June 26 How much can you lose in a day?

Previous

11:00 PM June 25

Damian was infuriated and terrified. He wanted to keep his brother from the family at first. He had wanted to meet him on his own first. Damian wanted to ease him into the family unlike how he was but apparently his family had other ideas.

He could only watch from the cameras he had hacked into a while ago. There was no time to get the Masters Manor, there was no time to protect his brother. Though Damian knew his brother never needed protection, Danyal Al Gul was the stronger twin, the smarter twin, and the more protective twin. Danyal never let Damian be punished if he could help it, Danyal took the blame for any misdeed or mistake and when he couldn't he'd just switch places with Damian. They were practically identical after all and every time Danyal would return smiling. Happy to have protected him and Damian repaid that kindness by killing him.

He watched as his brother disappeared out of his father's grasp. Damian would need to explain his brother to his family as soon as they got back.

He'd need to tell that that Danyal was supposed to be dead. By his hands. That he had died when he were 7. How he melted away into the pit instead of coming back to them.

He needed to find his brother, to explain this misdeed. He had just gotten his brother back Damian couldn't lose him again.

Midnight June 26th

"I'm your son"

The bitter and hurt voice of his son rang in his ears as he made his way back to the Alley. That boy couldn't be his son. He would have been told if he had another-

Tim was in the cave, Bruce had sent him there with samples from Danny. Samples he wanted tested and the computers he wanted scrapped. When the test came back, it confirmed Danny was his son. He needed answers and the Fentons likely had them. They did raise the boy after all but first, he had to see his parents. Bruce doubted he'd be able to follow his normal routine for the day anyways. So he left the flowers at the sight of their death early on the oh so rainy anniversary of their death. He whispered to flowers as he placed them down. "I don't believe I'll be able to follow our tradition this year. I'm sorry"

... The Fentons weren't as helpful as Bruce had hoped.

They practically knew nothing of their son or daughter instead they kept rambling on about the dangers of ghosts and Phantom. In short they were insane..

Until Tim and Barbara checked their computers, till they called an all hands to show the Fentons cutting open and tearing apart a boy with white flowing hair and terrified green eyes. The boy had some sort of muzzle on to prevent him from speaking or screaming, all he could do was cry as the Fentons spoke of him like he was a monster. Tim skipped over most of the recording, showing the Fenton pulling organs and bones out of the poor boy as he fast-forwarded to after the Fentons had left, leaving the boy strapped down and still cut open on their metal table. A red headed girl came down the stairs to the lab and carefully removed his restraints. In a small flash of light the white haired boy was gone replaced with Danny. Green blood now an awful red as his head lolled again the girl. The girl then threw him through a green portal they had been off when they tore down the Fenton Lab.

They were quiet for a moment before Barbara played the next Video of Masters making closes of Danny and using said clones to attack the boy. Then it was Damian's turn to explain his brother's story. By the end of it Bruce had realized his mistake but as it always was with his children. He realized too late.

9:55 PM June 26

It was raining when Danyal finally made it to Gotham. Flying would normally help with his rage, help with the emotions he normally refused to let loose. He wanted to make sure this is what he wanted so he waited a full day before taking action. The emotions he hid as Danny and festered in as Phantom where now let loose as his core slowly turned the rainy summer night of Gotham into a snow storm. Danyal didn't care that the living below him weren't prepared for the sudden change of temperature and weather. He didn't care because the living shouldn't be his problem. The living weren't his problem anymore. At least the dead were consistent, they either feared him or loved him or both. They didn't cause havoc anymore only occasionally coming around for a friendly spar. His rogues were more of a family than his real one ever was.

Ｃｒａｃｋ

It's time to balance the scales. The living loved to take and take and take and now it was time to give.

Ｃ ｒ ａ ｃ ｋ

Danyal could feel Gotham mourning. Mourning a loss from decades earlier, the loss of Thomas and Martha Wayne as the city did every year for her knights. Danyal does feel a little bad for disturbing a sacred day for the city but if anyone had the right to do so it would be him.

Danny stood in Crime Alley looking down at the soaking wet and slowly freezing roses left of the ground some time before he got there. He frowned at the roses as he made 2 little ice vases to place the frozen flowers in. Danyal knew they were memorial flowers by the two spirits that hovered around them. He sat with the ghosts of his would-be grandparents, rage still radiating off of him.

He detransforms back into his human form except for the glowing green katana he summoned. Now he waits, holding a katana that felt both so right and so wrong in his hands. Danyal will grow used to it again.

The two ghosts fidgeted as Martha elbowed her husband wanting him to say something to their angry grandson. He cleared his throat and tried to speak softly. "He didn't know Phantom. None of them knew. None of them like speaking of death."

Danny scoffed, "yes I am very aware of how uncomfortable the living are with dying." He ran his fingers along the edge of his blade. "It's what I get for hoping for something better. Now everything is so much worse."

Martha cut in her voice soft as she placed a ghostly hand on the young lonely king. "He would love to have you once everything is explained"

Danny buried his face in his hands before looking up at the smog filled sky. "I-I don't think I want that anymore. They didn't even try to get to know me before trying to destroy my life." Danny paused as he looked back at the frozen flowers. "Maybe I should go find Mother, she loved me once, she cared once. Damian can stay here and I can take care of the league. Maybe that's my place"

10:15 PM June 26

It didn't take long to be found, Danyal knew it wouldn't. There is always at least one Bat around here, he was expecting Red Hood or Jason whichever pill boy liked to be called. But that's not who found him. Instead he was face to face with Batman, instead he was face to face with a father that was never his. A father who never loved him.

Ｃ ｒ ａ ｃ ｋ

If Danyal hadn't followed his father or had lived with Damian as a child, he probably would have found the constant scowl intimating but Danyal was King and possible heir to the league. 2 positions he never wanted but 2 positions he'd take anyways. "I'm not here for you Batman. I'm here for my brother."

————————

Bruce looked down at the boy in front of him. A boy he failed to recognize twice, but now he couldn't help but recognize him. A boy who was almost identical to Damian except for the icy blue eyes that were currently staring a hole through him. Just like how Damian did when he first arrived at the Manor. Would this child also come to the manor? Would he even want to join the family after all they've done? What he could do was try and ensure their decisions didn't ruin his sons' relationship. Bruce couldn't let his mistakes tear his sons apart again.

"The attack wasn't Robin's idea. It was mine, I'm sorry." Bruce's gaze was soft and he was apologizing but it was all too little too late. "If I had known-"

Danyal stares at Bruce matching his gaze with a glare. He snapped at Bruce. "If you had known, you would have for tea? Played up that nice and goofy dad persona? I've played that game before too and I don't need to play it again."

Damian would soon drop down from the roof tops disobeying Bruce's grounding. Damian dressed as Robin with his katana stood facing a now different Danyal dressed in a league uniform. Danyal's eyes shifted a glowing green as his skin became as pale as Bruce and hair pure whispy white. He looked over at Bruce as his crown appeared over his head shifted between fire and ice as it floated above his head. A command rang out from the boy.

"Don't interfere"

Danyal then turned to Damian and held out his blade. Danyal's eyes were cold as he stared at his brother who also prepared himself to spare. He took a deep breath as he felt a little nostalgic this was just like how they'd spare when they were young except Danyal wasn't going to hold back this time.

Damian stared as his brother's cold glare, he wasn't used to it. His brother had always been the happy cheery and easy going brother. It was why grandfather didn't like him. It's why mother loved him. That glare however reminded him more of grandfather, a man he knew his brother hated.

"I once hoped we could be a family again Dami. I understand that was a foolish wish now"

Ｃｒａｃｋ

—————————

A small buzz came from Bruce Com, a small reminder he had built into it to remind him of the time every year at the time. 9:42 June 26th, 5 minutes til he's supposed to be in this alley watching over his parents Death sight. Yet again Bruce was powerless, unable to move to stop his sons from fighting. Unable to prevent another death in the family. The fight was quick, Danyal was the winner cutting down his brother as easily as he did to him so many years ago.

Bruce watched Damian fall and screamed as he tried desperately to move, to get to his son. He couldn't- not here, please not here. He watched as Danyal pulled out his sword allowing Damian to slump further.

Move MOVE MOVE 𝙈𝙊𝙑𝙀

But he couldn't, all he could do was watch as his son's face paled and breathing labored. Damian was dying and there wasn't a damned thing he could do... Again.

Danyal grabbed Damian by the hair pulling him up to the wounds through his chest was entirely visible and bleeding profusely.

"You're lucky I promised Mother I would always take care of you"

Danyal presses his green blade into Damian's chest allowing the living brother to take in the ectoplasm Blade to heal. The pit and ectoplasm were practically the same after all. Danyal then snapped his fingers after dropping Damian. Bruce Stumbled forward and grabbed Damian immediately then began to call for back up. As Bruce focused on his now unconscious son, Danyal disappeared into the shadows.

9:47 PM June 26th

[missmarveledsblog]

Odd one out ( logan howlett x reader)

summary : logan's adjusting to new life , new friends only thing he can't put his finger on is wade's friend Y/n , he knows she hiding something and he right but he is so wrong too

warnings : fluffy , goofy , no major deadpool and wolverine spoilers , violence , wade wilson , grumpy logan , grammatical errors (sorry in advance )

Adjusting  to a whole new world , universe where everything was the same but different .  Knowing someone and yet learning to know them all over again , like he was re familiarizing himself with ghosts from his past in one place and creating a new future in another. Adjusting to the one fucker who had him here in the first place was hard too , wade wilson was a strange one , hard to tell where the smart sarcastic ball of undiagnosed ADHD  started and ended . yet he had this wonderful and strange group of people around him , they all stuck out and fit in somehow , not that he would admit it out loud ever . (“ i knew it he loves me!” wade wink to the reader) .  but the dickward (“ harsh” the merc gasped.)  well he grew on him.  He wasn’t too bad not all the time those few seconds of silence truly when logan howlett  actually would consider him a friend then his mouth started it usually nonsensical rambles and well he changed his mind again . 

The friends he didn’t mind being around the lot they all had their own quirks , their own little nicknames or insults for wade and they all took logan in no matter what even when wade explain their whole adventure even the dark past that followed logan around even to this day . one friend he couldn’t get a read on , one for some reason stood out more than the others was Y/N  or as wade tended to call her princess sparkle maybe it had to do with the midnight black glitter case she had her laptop in . the other made sense in a way all either mutants or coming from some sort of background, but well Y/N was different . apparently, when she was a kid she used to drink her apple juice while sitting in the corner of the notorious sister margarets helping mercs of all kinds find their targets for a fee of course . Her bond with wade was helping him locate some chick or atleast logan was sure it was giving francis was the name but in that whole thing she was the one that helped wade find them all using that laptop ln the black sparkle case . Giving she was youngster of the group and just well ordinary no powers the others we’re protective but something about her well logan couldn’t put his finger on it and it was driving him nuts what was her secret .  

“ you know if you keep staring at her peanut well your going to give off a certain i got candy and white van sort of vibe” logan could feel wade once again too close giving the asshole breathe was in his ear . 

“ it’s not like that , she hiding something i mean she not so social , closed off a little and well she barely talks about herself” logan scoffed yet his eyes never once left her form . 

“ ok baby girl you probably know this phrase given you're so old you were there when they invented it but pot meet kettle”  the merc gestured between the two . “ he is butt nuts into her it’s so obvious right?” he looked to the reader . 

“ who are tal… nevermind i am not into her i don’t trust here plus she too young for me” he rationalized . 

“ she’s an old soul i mean not american civil war old but get what i’m throwing down” wade winked .

 “ hey i’m heading out i wanna grab books and coffee before the shop closes” she called rushing out before anyone could offer to walk with her. Logan didn’t even say anything just followed after.

“ he totally wants her right” wades looking at you reader. 

“ wade who you taking to?” 

“ the… nevermind hey did i ever tell you  about my future prince , king god of thunder buddy thor” he asked heading toward his friend . 

………

She hated it , lying to her friends not telling them she wasn’t as smart as they thought she was or how the sight of wades new roommate topless made her brain not function therefore caused her life to be now in danger. She been looking into her past , more so the men who had left her with no childhood nor a family resulting her sneaking into a seedy bar and helping hitmen and vigilantes find their targets .  she wanted to make sure they weren’t still doing it and when she began to see multiple account of money she could use to well give back to the world well she got herself caught. She wanted to tell wade but she didn’t want to bother him too much it wasn’t even a year after his whole TVA  incident and well saving the world so she decided she could handle it alone which that wasn’t the lie , she totally could it was just dealing with it in silence. Plus giving the said hot roommate hatred for her , she didn’t want to give that man any more ammo against her. It was a mystery to why he hated her so much , at first she thought maybe he knew a version of her in his universe that done him dirty but he was quite easily able to tell her she wasn’t anything thing to him , he didn’t know her there which was only good part of that place. Thankfully she grew up the way she did or else it would of hurt a lot more than it did , ok it still stung but she got used to it . she love their group like a family so instead of being interrogated or scared away by logan she avoided him kept her space from the man , ignore how he looked like he was going to rip her apart and not in the 50 shades of gray more like national geographic lions and a giselle sort of way . 

She was so lost in her thought she didn’t notice logan following her or the group of agent sprawled out ready to pounce. Scanning the shelves for the next read she felt the metal barrel pushing at her side . 

“Act natural or else” the voice smiled so she did she couldn’t cause a scene or react too many civilians and a lot of them were children.

She shrugged and let the man follow at her side as she stood at the counter pulling out the metal reusable cup . 

“ the regular you know three pumps of caramel” she winked . “ oh this is my cousin franny” she smiled as the man looked at her before smiling to the barista . 

“ oh free book today with each coffee so enjoy”  the barista smiled handing her the scalding cup but she bit her tongue and kept walking “ somebody call wade” she whispered back at the staff. 

Logan stood grinning , he  had his moment of being right seeing her all smiles with a clearly shady prick , he was about to confront her for his big gotcha moment only he stalled when he heard them as if they were saying it to him . 

“ in position we got her , subject will be brought back to containment “ that threw him off well that was til she walked out with the man throwing the coffee she had  in his face and a gun he didn’t notice before falling to the ground as she told the civilians to get somewhere safe. First time in his life or a decade he stood shocked at scene before him . agent clearly not the good guys with this octopus looking things on their tactical gear rushing towards her.  One man went to grab her only for him to fall to the ground convulsing and yet  logan couldn’t see the taser she clearly had to off used .  his jaw dropped as her skin began to glow almost a whitish blue all over her body and what looked like sparks floating around her. Not once did she looked scared or even phased  at the situation , she took them on one by one almost like a dance in her movement as she sent them to the ground . when they did get a hit on her like the mere touch sent them to the ground convulsing . he honestly stood conflicted he knew he was way off but also who the hell was this girl really . he wanted to help but she didn’t need it even when they ganged up on her she  held her own . when last man  fell she returned back to normal  skin back to color , the sparks disappeared like a mist and she leaned over slightly panting . 

“ call the authorities tell them to get shield here or fbi” she stood only for one to sneak out and hit her head hard sending her to the ground unconscious . thats when he snapped into action how dare that man touch her like that , what a cheap shot too  logan knocked man out ignoring the lady who yelled she called the cops and he brought her back to wades. 

The moment he walked into the apartment with her in his arms out cold the room went silent .  he growled at  shatterstar and colossus making them instantly move from the couch as he placed her gently on it.  Vanessa ran to check her over as logan explained what  happened . 

“ she was fucking glowing like a night light or some shit …. You don’t look surprised so you already knew , why did no one tell me ” he looked to see not one of them looked shocked to know she was a mutant. they all nodded giving him a sympathetic smile.

“ why do you think i call her princess sparkles , the coffee place rang” wade called heading to his room before returning . “ you saving her ass like a knight in tight yellow spandex , i knew you liked her kitten” he winked as he placed the adventure time comforter over her sleeping form .

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: Homestead.

Continuation of Home Intruder.

Pairing: Yandere!Childe x Reader x Yandere!Diluc (Genshin).

Title: 3.5k.

TW: Manipulation, Unhealthy Relationships, Obsessive Behavior, Unbalanced Power Dynamics, Childe's Gone Full 'Fuck 'em Kids, and Continued Involvement Of A Child Of Dubious Origin.

You found Diluc in his chambers, sunken into a velvet-lined armchair, wrapping a length of white gauze around his split knuckles under the soft light of a low-burning candlestick. His shirt (or, rather, the tattered remains of what was once his shirt) had been discarded, along with his coat and his vest, of course, but the exposed skin no longer bothered you the way it once had, even if you still choose not to linger on the field of dark bruises blossoming along his left side.

You perched yourself on the foot of his bed – your bed too, you supposed, considering how often you found yourself sleeping at his side. Even when the threat was distant, when days lapsed between Childe’s ‘visits’, you found yourself gravitating towards him, seeking comfort in his warmth, his presence at your side. There was a reassurance that came with his company – a reassurance that you were reluctant to let go. “Another fruitful night, Master Darknight Hero?”

“Fruitful enough. The Abyss Order’s been minding their distance. The Fatui, as well – they’re stationing their encampments as far from the city’s walls as would be possible without retreating to Liyue.” You smiled, bowing your head, your satisfaction softened but no less apparent. Diluc didn’t overlook your silent mirth. “No sign of Tartaglia either,” he added, his gaze flickering from his tattered hands to you, then back to his idle work. “Not that I’m suggesting you should start taking midnight strolls through the forest. There’s a good chance he’s merely waiting for us to lower our guard.”

You doubted that. Childe was a hyper-violent, murderous bastard of a man, but he wasn’t the type to turn back on his convictions, and since his last attempt, he seemed determined not to take you by force. You couldn’t complain. If his newest delusion was that steadfast tenacity and a few promises of painless forgiveness would be enough to convince you to return to his frozen wasteland of a household, you were more than happy to let him believe it for as long as he cared to. “Maybe he’s decided his time would be better spent stalking another former captive,” you muttered. “I think I might feel a little betrayed if he moved on so easily.”

A raspy chuckle, followed shortly by an airy sigh. He let his eyes close, his head lull back, and with minimal hesitation, you rose from his bedside, fetching a misplaced comb before positioning yourself behind him. He spared you a questioning glance as you undid the already-loosened ribbon struggling to restrain his wild hair, but you only shrugged. “It helps Lina relax,” and then, beginning to pull your comb through the untamed sea of scarlet. “If you’ll pardon the comparison.”

“Pardoned.” The tension seemed to seep out of his rigid form as you pulled the knots out of his long, crimson hair – taking pains not to tug too harshly, not to let the strands you’d already detangled mix with those you had yet to touch. He spoke as you worked, rambling about his day, the state of the wine industry in Mondstadt, matters he was concerned with and matters he wished he didn’t have to be. “I mentioned our engagement at the tavern,” he said, eventually, the comment almost off-handed in its nonchalance. “Only a few drunkards were close enough to overhear it, but you know how they like to talk. It’ll be common knowledge by the time the sun rises.”

You felt something sharp begin to rise into your throat. “…our engagement?”

“That’s usually what comes with having a fiancé, yes.” His tone was not one of levity, but did he sound quite as serious as you felt he should’ve been. As if this was just a part of some scheme the two of you had planned together, in which your compliance was given. “Unless there’s another word you’d like to use? Betrothment, maybe?”

“No, engagement is fine, it’s just—” It was difficult to find the words. You didn’t want to be engaged. You didn’t want a fiancé. You didn’t know how to tell Diluc that you did not want to act as if you did, even if it was just a ploy. “Childe didn’t believe us. Even if he did, it probably wouldn’t do much to stop him.”

“But, it might give his soldiers pause. The other Harbingers, too, if he finds a reason to drag them into this.” You lost focus, catching your comb on a lock of hair still partially braided from the day before, but Diluc didn’t flinch, didn’t seem to notice. “It’d be… convenient to have a more official bond between us, too. A titled relationship can do a great deal.”

It did not escape you that he declined to mention who a titled relationship could do a great deal for.

You forced yourself to smile past your inhibition. “I’ve never really seen myself as the marrying type.”

A slight chuckle, a playful glint in his eyes as he looked over his shoulder. “You’d take advantage of a lovesick fool, then?”

“Without hesitation.” You leaned down, pressing a quick kiss into the top of his head before turning on your heel, starting towards the door. “Take a bath before Adelinde sees what you’re doing to her furniture. I’m going to check on Lina one more time, just to make sure she’s sleeping through the night.”

“Should I warm the bed for you?”

You hummed, nodding as you slipped out of his chambers, but for the first time in many nights, you found yourself colder by his side than you had been apart from him.

~

You were in the library, pouring over a travel guide concerning the few parts of Teyvat you’d neglected during your previous travels, when you received news that Childe and his legion were returning to his posting in Liyue. The sound you made by way of response – half pitching laughter, half irrational screaming – must’ve scared the poor butler half to death, but you didn’t have time to apologize before your body was moving on its own, rushing past him and deeper into the mansion. By the time you realized what you were doing, you were already in Diluc’s office, already throwing yourself at his desk.

“He’s gone.” You were grinning like a madman. “He’s gone, Diluc! I can— Okay, first, I’m going to go see if my landlord ever repossessed my flat, and then, I’m going to take Lina apple-picking in Springville, but not before I get back to the market and finally pay back the mora I borrowed from—”

“Have you contacted any witnesses in Liyue to confirm his arrival?”

Your smile faltered. “He would’ve only left today. There’s no way he could’ve arrived much of anywhere yet, and even if he had, I… I don’t think I know anyone in Liyue to contact.”

“There’s no proof, then.” Said with a sort of tempered stoicism, as if he were attempting to gently guide a very mislead soul away from a dire mistake without losing his own composure. He put down his quill, and with a heavy sigh, looked up at you, his eyes as soft as his tone. “I wouldn’t put it below him, considering what lengths he’s willing to resort to.”

He spoke as if he knew Childe; as if he shared your vendetta, stroke for stroke. Part of you wanted to allow him to pretend, to let someone beyond you and a child too young to fully understand the horror she was facing share in your misery, if only in kind words and appearances. Part of you wanted to carve his tongue from his mouth and leave him to bleed. “Childe’s not that kind of man. He wouldn’t do something so underhanded.”

“Most people wouldn’t consider kidnapping a reasonable course of action, either, yet he’s already demonstrated his tolerance for that.” A hint of levity, the ghost of a sympathetic smile. “It’d be safer for you to remain in the manor, for the time being.”

Two things to you occurred in very short order.

The first was, of course, how familiar your frustration felt. It was the same little irk that’d coiled in your chest when you were with Childe, when months and months of playing dutiful, docile captive failed to earn you the freedoms he’d promised it would. You knew, rationally, that one circumstance was not like the other, that there was no reason to hold the two so close in your chest, and yet, the feeling remained.

The second was that you didn’t recall telling Diluc that you had been kidnapped. Kept hostage, sure, broken down and forced to build yourself up, but not kidnapped. That - the first days you’d spent in Childe’s damp cellar, confused and terrified and utterly helpless to do anything but bite at his fingertips and fight against your restraints - was not something he was meant to know.

You paused for a long moment, your lips parted but your tongue useless. Diluc let his head lull to the side, bringing up a hand to cup your face. “I promise, it’s for your safety.” The pad of his thumb ran over your cheek. “You know that I’ve grown fond of you, don’t you?”

“As I have, of you.”

“And you know that it would hurt me, to see you walk into a trap when this is so nearly over?”

“I suppose it would.”

“So trust me. This is the last time I’ll ask you to put aside your freedom.” You believed that this was the last time he would ask, surely. “For Lina’s sake, if not your own.”

You forced yourself to swallow. “If I tried to walk through the doors to your manor with Lina in my arms and no intention or returning, would you let me leave?”

His eyes were so terribly soft. “Surely, my fiancé would be smart enough to answer that for themself.”

You grit your teeth, locking your jaw into place. “And you promise that you’ll keep us safe, in exchange for my captivity?”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t use that kind of language,” he sighed. “But, yes. As safe as treasured gems and as comfortable as royalty.”

You held out for a moment, and then, allowed your eyes to fall shut, letting out a deep exhale. “That’s all I want. For Lina and I to be safe.” You melted into his warmth, nuzzling into his palm. “Thank you, Master Diluc.”

That may have been the widest you’d ever seen him smile. “The pleasure is mine, dear.”

~

Your letter contained five words and five words exactly – ‘I want to go home’. You left it unsigned, addressed it to one of the Northern Bank’s secondary locations on the outskirts of Liyue, and passed it off to the messenger who came weekly to collect the Winery’s mail personally. His response came the next day, in the form of a note bound to the leg of a raven, its feathers wet from flying through the storms that claimed Mondstadt’s skies so often in the summer.

‘Finally.’

He arrived two nights later, accompanied by no soldiers or subordinates. You caught him among the rolling hills, his coat blending with the grey sky, but did not dare to leave the manor until nightfall, when you could gather Lina in your arms and take to wandering through the mansion under the guise of soothing her most recent fit. You slipped out of a ground-story window left unlocked with little difficulty, barefoot and with nothing but your Vision at your side. You did not have the luxury of preparation, as you had with Childe. Anything you might’ve taken, you would’ve taken from DIluc, and you couldn’t give him an excuse to hunt you down.

You didn’t have to look for Childe. He was waiting for you on the beach, where the road to Stone Gate first met the bay. You saw his smile, first, brilliant and fanged, then his eyes, catching in the moonlight, fixating on you before falling to Lina, slumped against your chest. Against your better instincts, you set her down, leaning her against an apple tree. You doubted she would wake up, but if she did, the fluttering leaves and fallen fruit would distract her before she could notice the water.

With little delay, you returned to Childe. He waited for you to face him with an uncharacteristic patience. “You’re bringing her along?”

“You may have outgrown Lina, but she’s still my daughter.” You attempted to hold yourself straight and retain as much pride as possible, but you cracked soon enough, bowing your head and shrinking into a meeker, much less resilient creature. “You were right about him. He’s just as bad as you are, and if I am to be at the mercy of a monster, I’d rather it be the monster brave enough to speak its threats aloud.”

He took a step toward you, closing what little distance you’d attempted to maintain. “You’ve chosen such touching words for our reunion.” You had to fight not to tremble as his hand came to rest on your hip, then skating upward, towards the curve of your side. “We’ll have to tame that clever tongue of yours as soon as we get back to Liyue, but the rest might have to wait until Snezhnaya. I've already asked the Tsaritsa for leave. I just know you’re going to need my full attention, sweetheart.”

You could feel the rain picking up again, weighing down your clothes, turning Childe’s coat a shade darker. You pretended not to notice, not to care. “…and Lina will be safe?”

“Safe enough, at whatever boarding school she ends up in.” He spoke casually, as if he didn’t care at all for the girl he’d been willing to kill for only weeks ago. “As long as you stay where you’re supposed to be, no harm will come to her by my hand.”

He made no promises concerning the hands and weapons of those operating under his command.

“That’s all I want,” you sighed, and then, raising your voice to speak above the pounding rain, the thunder rolling in the distance, “I… I just want her to have a home, even if that home must be yours.”

You buried your face in his chest, and he cooed, his free hand slipping underneath you chin, coaxing your head back until you were forced to stare into his eyes, as deep as the abyss, as empty as the starless sky. You balled his drenched coat in your fists as his lips came to rest against yours, the kiss gentle save for the grin that laid beneath it, as sharp as a blade and twice as fatal.

You could only be thankful that this blade’s wielder was such a fool.

It was a flash frost; a single wave of cryo energy strong enough to freeze the raindrops that surrounded him mid-air. In the blink of an eye, his body was encased in ice – the shell fragile, but strong enough to render Childe immobile as you wrenched yourself away from him, your composure faltering into a collection of muffled screams and frantic breaths. You wasted precious seconds wiping the frost from your hands and tearing the heavy coin purse from his belt before adding another layer of ice, binding his feet to the ground and his hands to his chest, ensuring that he would not be able to break free until your handiwork began to melt. You started to turn away, to return to Lina, but hesitated at the last moment. With shaking hands and grit teeth, you unhooked the gem of his Vision from its holder, and with all of your meager strength, threw it into the bay, praying that the current would not be able to carry it back to shore.

With only a deep inhale and another second taken to gather yourself, you gathered Lina in your arms, fled into the wilderness, and didn’t dare to look back until Childe and the Dawn Winery were both out of sight.

~

Liyue was where it would’ve made the least sense for you to go, so that was where you went. You treated main roads like necessary evils, stopping by the carts of travelling merchants and staying in roadside inns only when the wilderness proved too hostile for Lina. You were frugal with Childe’s mora, but no more so than any weary traveler would’ve been with their limited supplies. Paranoia drew attention, and attention had only ever served to make your life more difficult.

You journeyed to Liyue Harbor, remaining as close to the ports as possible. After securing a board room with an elderly couple content to fawn over Lina, you fell back into your own habits – lingering in the shadowed corners of the darkest taverns, nursing their cheapest liquor while you spoke at length on your plans to venture to Sumeru, then beyond, wherever Teyvat would have you. When you spotted soldiers with grey coats, you spoke a little louder.

You crossed paths with a captain with a missing eye and a white-haired companion, telling tales of all the many storms and sea monsters her crew had bested and brandishing a fearsome claymore. For the first time, you told someone of your true intentions, let your genuine excitement seep through when she mentioned there may be a vacant bunk on her ship when she next left the harbor. When you told her of your young daughter, she laughed and said that a little young blood might help to liven up the voyage. When she asked what you were so eager to get away from, you smiled and told her that you had monsters of your own.

Lina took her first unassisted steps aboard the Crux, spoke her first word; ‘sea’, due to the influence of the sailors who coddled her. You almost mourned having to leave the vessel behind by the time you docked in Inazuma, but you had come too far to let yourself be swayed so easily. You had always been the type to seek shelter, and you would not betray yourself simply because you had been betrayed.

Although you were reluctant to leave Lina in the care of another for any longer than a few hours, you trusted Beidou, and the reassurance that you would not have to leave her side again did much to soothe your nerves. Escaping Ritou without the proper documentation was child’s play, as was making your way to Inazuma City, or more specifically, the Tenshukaku – high and mighty where it sat above the rest of the city, a fortress of stone and steel painted with blushing sakura petals and violet banners. You were no spy, but you did what you could to stow yourself away inside of it, to remain unseen as you slipped into the gaps between the Shogunates’ constantly revolving patrols, as you stowed yourself away in the shadows of the Shogun’s grand hall. You waited until she had seen her guests, her commissioners, her generals, until she had sent her guards away and claimed meditation as her excuse. You waited until she summoned you, as you knew she would. You hadn't grown so bold as to think you could escape an archon's perception, but you did consider yourself fortunate that her first reaction had not been to strike you down.

“Come out, little bird,” she called, once you were the only mortal soul left in her company. You abided, stepping out from your hiding place and into the center of her hall, where she could evaluate you from her dais freely. “What an obedient assassin,” She clicked her tongue, as if just coming out of deep thought. “Tell me, did you plan to end my life from such a distance, or were you simply going to wait for me to die of old age?”

“I’m no assassin, Your Eminence,” you said, with a shallow bow. You must’ve been an unsettling sight – sea-worn and ragged, weak from your exertions but too stiff to tremble under her gaze. “I merely come to offer you my services.” You paused, raising your heel and taping it once against the matted floor. In a matter of seconds, each and every inch had been covered by a solid layer of frost – perfectly reflective and perfectly unmarred until you took a step forward, the ice splintering and creeping to either side underneath the soles of your feet. “I am well-traveled, and have found myself in possession of a great deal of knowledge concerning Snezhnayan politics and Mondstadt’s commercial trade and customs. You’ll find that I’m not lacking for insights into the ongoings of any other nation, either.”

She hummed. “And what do you ask for in return?”

“Only your protection, your trust, and your assurance that my daughter will grow up happy and safe on your islands.” You pressed your tongue into the roof of your mouth, squaring your shoulders. “All things the almighty Raiden Shogun is capable of providing, I’m sure.”

Her answer was delayed, but you caught something in her eyes – a bright flicker of curiosity, of interest. Interest, and nothing else. For that, you would be eternally thankful. You would’ve fled that very moment, if there had been.  

You had grown so, so very tired of living on the whims of powerful men, after all.

It was long past time you gave a powerful goddess a try.

[dippygamer64]

Inktober 2024 — Day 1 — Backpack

So this year’s Inktober is already off to a rough start. Yesterday was rough for me and by the time I got around to working on my drawing, I was exhausted, it was really late in the day, and it wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to. By the time I was mostly done with it, it was already near midnight and there were still things I was unhappy about. I knew by then that a good night’s sleep would help me think more clearly rather than trying to force things to work. So today I worked on it some more and got it a point where it’s decently what I envisioned. It’s not perfect, there are still things I wish I could have fixed, but then I remembered this is supposed to be for fun. It’s okay to not be perfect. Better to do your best and roll with it rather than dwell and nitpick to the point you end up doing nothing. (Wow, I did not mean to get all inspirational there :P)

So onto the actual drawing! This year I’m going to be doing crossovers for each drawing. For today, I chose Izuku from My Hero Academia and Grim from Twisted Wonderland since that’s a crossover I’ve recently been obsessed with. I love the idea that Grim would hang out in Izuku’s backpack at times when he’s not supposed to, thus why Izuku looks so surprised. Also Izuku’s wearing his old uniform from before joining UA because in my mind, Izuku would follow the Twisted Wonderland story without having One for All. It makes sense in my head. Let me know what you think. All in all, I like how it turned out, I just struggled with the line art on this one.

Also, am I a little crazy thinking this year’s prompts seemed strangely connected to one another? Maybe I’m just overthinking things as I always do (if my rambling above didn’t make that apparent enough). Anyway, I’m going to start working on Day 2’s prompt right away, so here’s hoping things can only improve from here.

[alwaysshallow]

coffee at midnight, part 6

John "Soap" MacTavish x f!reader

Pure domesticity with Soap, and meeting old friends. Your feelings are less clearer. (4,9k)

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A/N: i lied. i couldn't wait any longer lmao

Everything changes – you knew it too well, but when snow appeared on your apartment's balcony, for straight five minutes you were looking at it funny, like it was something unusual. It wasn't, you knew it was going to snow in the night from TV, yet, you couldn't stop looking.

Being on medical leave had you observing things around with your whole attention. Not even kidding; you couldn't somehow recall when you paid attention like this in the past. Field? Of course, but it was your job. You had to do it, and in your home, you usually just wanted some sleep, food, and you were onto another mission.

You were at home, though, so it had you paying attention to little details; how petals and leaves were no longer present, how green got more ashy, how days got shorter and nights longer. How dim lights around your apartment were light up quicker than usual, with orange light blinking on the street.

Most of it all, you even became friends with your neighbours. Not like you had any other way with Soap blabbing about your health and helping you, but you happened to visit some ladies to eat a pie with them. Most of them were simply lonely, so that's where the gesture was coming from, but so were you and Johnny, so discarding their proposition would be considered rude.

Besides, these pies were really, really good. Not to mention that they always packed some of it for you later, a win-win situation.

So yeah, everything was changing in a way.

What didn't change though? Soap being right by your side. Being on leave had a good influence on him apparently, even if he was addicted to military just like you were; he learned how to cook, it was wild waking up to not burned eggs one day. Maybe he wasn't the best in spices, giving too much or too little, but that was the gesture that counts. You definitely appreciated his tries to give you a healthy, non-ordered meal, especially when he didn't let you cook still.

You opened your balcony door slowly; you stepped right into the snow, barefoot, looking at the view outside. Whole city looked magical – unreal in the way because you swore that you haven't seen something like this for so long. Deployment, changing location every now and then, it was just... impossible to notice that little things that were constantly changing. Sometimes you didn't even were in your home for winter times.

Standing in snow though, on shorts and a simple t-shirt that was way too big for you, you realized that you like winter probably more than other season. It was so peaceful, so... simple, yet the simplicity of it all was warming enough; spending time under warm blankets, drinking cocoa, watching Christmas movies, baking. So many things to do, so many things to be happy about in winter. You could probably ramble about it on and on.

"Ain't ya cold? Thought I'm the stupid one" Johnny scoffed, taking your cold hand in his. Warm one, contrasting so much to yours; you looked at him with one brow raised. "Barefoot. On winter. In snow. You're askin' for a cold" he explained, pulling you inside.

He closed balcony door after him. "You talk exactly like my mom. Literally." you rolled your eyes, laughing, when he looked at you absolutely dazed with what you said. "Seriously! I hear her in your words. Rosalie, you're gonna be sick, come home, now."

"Okay, that's" he pointed at you "not what I thought 'm gonna hear. 'st taking care of you, aye? You need it."

"Need?"

"To be back in the field. Not taking chances with cold." he ruffled your hair, taking a few steps back, when you almost punched him in the arm.

"It wasn't even five minutes."

"Doesn't change a thing, bonnie." he shrugged, walking up to the door. "Coffee on the table, 'm gonna take a shower, just came from the run and..."

"...you were running?" you asked, your eyebrow a bit arched in question. "Willingly? On weather like this?"

"Yeah. Gotta keep myself in shape, eh? Next time, yer comin' with me." he winked, grinning even more when you shook your head. "What? Good for buildin' yer stamina!"

"Mmm, let's say, I will prefer a run in the gym, than on streets like this." you laughed, following him to the kitchen; a hot cup automatically warmed your hands, at which you sighed, relieved.

You automatically thought of Christmas market happening in your town, when you looked out of the window to see busy people and snow surrounding them so beautifully. Balconies decorated with trees, candycanes, snowmans, lights that were literally blinding you by their brightness.

Everything screamed winter, and when you looked around your apartament, it was a complete... well, a complete nothing. Nothing screamed Christmas, nor winter, it was just an apartment that had literally no spirit whatsoever.

"Hey, Johnny?" you called out, when the idea striked you. A quick "yeah?" coming from the bathroom, followed by him turning off the water, confirmed that he's listening, so you've decided to continue. "Thought about... well, buying something for Christmas, you know? Lights and shit like this."

"Oh. We can do somethin' like this, if ya want this badly. We need to do shopping anyway for our apartment, so."

"Badly, I need Christmas spirit here! Besides, you know it's my apartment, yeah? And you have yours?"

Not even a second after you said that, water turned on again in the bathroom; with higher pressure this time. "Can't hear ya, lass! Make us a breakfast!"

You let out a laugh, as you shook your head; he acted like he was there from the beggining and he didn't actually just stayed one day, deciding that he's gonna help you with everything. What was even funnier, but respectful in a way, he transferred money to your bank account, when you paid rent. It was hard to forget a smirk on his lips, when he handed you a cup of tea, telling you that now it's not one lady apartment, but two people apartment. When you asked him what does it mean, he just quickly said "you know", and he disappeared into the kitchen.

Most people, when they felt lonely in their space, adopted something. A cat, dog, perhaps something smaller, like a turtle or a fish, just to add something into their miserable lives; to make a difference.

You adopted Johnny.

What was even funnier, you didn't pay attention to his presence anymore – he wasn't a intruder when you felt bad and wanted to be alone again, he was like a monstera in your bedroom. Something that was just there, something that you wanted to be around, just because your vision of this apartment wouldn't be the same. You really couldn't imagine not watching a movie before sleeping, drinking coffee in the morning without him, nor gossiping with him about your neighbours dramas that happened way too often for your liking.

A certain routine, in your life. The domestic routine that you learned to like, but that routine had to include him – otherwise, you wouldn't be interested in it the same.

Hour later, you actually left your apartment with Soap, after a quick breakfast and after listing in your notes what exactly you need. Important as fuck, considering that your attention could be easily distracted in that environment; full of decorations for winter time, and you were just a sucker for them, it was embarrassing. You couldn't count how many times you bought something completely useless, just because a big, woody deer right in front of your door seemed like a good idea.

Spoiler, it wasn't a good idea. Mostly because that deer lived maybe a week or two, before some people completely destroyed him – and that was when you were deployed, so you didn't know who exactly.

The bitterness stayed, though.

"Bloody hell" MacTavish grunted; you were walking with him so peacefully around the Christmas market – with pavement that was covered practically with pure ice. He almost slipped a few times, and every time, you couldn't help but chuckle. "Whit's sae funny?"

"Nothing, Johnny" you grinned. "Just, you know. You could listen sometimes, I told you that sneakers aren't really for that weather."

He rolled his eyes. "See, I thought it wasn't that motherfuckin' bad. They could, like, get rid of it."

"Yeah, surely" you looked at him with amusement. "Just listen to me, sometimes."

"Mhm." he sneaked his arm around yours, bringing you closer. "For now, yer gonna be my support, aye?"

"And when you're gonna fall, I'm gonna fall with you. Not so smart, MacTavish."

"Oh, it is smart. You're gonna fall at me, so it's pretty rewarding after my fall."

"Won't stop teasing, hm?"

"Mmm, never."

The number of little shops around was enormous – lights, Christmas ornaments, snacks with weird combinations that you wanted to try, even if it was roasted beef and candy cane. You could swore that the amount of colorful lights would leave you completely blind with every step that you took; didn't stopped you from being adored by the view, though. Old ladies had all of your heart, and you just couldn't say no to them when they wanted to chit-chat with you for second or two.

Legend says that Soap had something against it – only a legend because he was even more of a sucker for them. They almost gave him every freebie from the food that they had, stuffing him with that stuff, while you just looked at your best friend, amused how adored everyone was. Good thing you had benefits too, with multiple discounts on their products, your fridge most certainly was gonna be full after this.

Old cute ladies weren't the only ones stopping you in your tracks; so were the men that talked with you, smiling widely. Market thing, you thought, it was bright as the sun they wanted to sell more, tactics worked like this, but Johnny was beyond disgusted with that, you noticed. Getting so touchy, wrapping his arm around you and being so close, when you were picking out things. Discussing about hanging things in "our home" – and he awfully tried to emphasize that every time. You got more time alone when he gone somewhere to get that cheese he wanted.

"No fucking way."

A voice you could never forget, and a voice that automatically got you grinning like idiot, when you walked closer to one of the little shops; with lights, this time.

"A way, I'm afraid." you said, glancing at your old friend behind the cash register. Cody went to highschool with you – worst and best times of your life, but your ways splitted after you decided to go for a military route.

You two were always close, though; your moms liked him enough to let him be around you, even joked a few times about you getting together. What they didn't know though, it was a few kisses between you and him, even more, but it wasn't the right time for starting something deeper. Not when you were so excited about your career.

"Gets tough at military, huh?" his gaze went to your arm for a second.

"Sometimes. Mostly, a job of my dreams."

He nodded, like he got exactly what you said. Probably he didn't even thought of things that you've done to get the mission done, but the less he knew, the better for him. "Looking for any specific lights?"

"Mm, no. I want to hang them on tree, so nothing too extreme. Maybe white?" you shrugged, giving him a little smile when he started looking. "I've picked white and blue ornaments, mostly. A bit of gold too, if that helps?"

Cody placed right in front of you lights in different shapes; classical ones, snowflakes, hearts, eve little trees. "If I were you, I'd pick white and blue ones. To make it more fancy." he winked, tilting his head.

"Fancy? You think I like fancy?" you raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Or it's like, a marketing tactics on your old friend?"

"Does it work? The tactic?"

"To make me buy more lights than I need? Yeah, like, I'm literally gonna insane with those snowflakes ones and-"

"-well, not only that, but your number, perhaps? To catch up."

You coughed, a bit startled – guy was definitely not wasting any time. "See, after another month I'm probably back into the field, and time after that is... limited." you explained; tried doing that at least because catching up with Cody could mean one of two things in your mind.

"...Rosalie." Cody laughed, shaking his head. "Let's focus on today, yeah? You don't have to give me that, but..."

"Don't need to give him what, bonnie?" you didn't need to look behind you, when you felt a protective arm around. Not only that, Soap managed to sneak one of his hands in the front pocket of your jeans. His tensed muscles brought to you a lot of questions, but you've decided to ignore them for a while.

"Cody is old friend of mine." you swiftly avoided the question. "Cody, it's John. We know each other from military. Johnny, it's Cody, we went together to the same highschool."

Cody smiled awkwardly, extending his arm. "Nice to meet you, Johnny."

"John. Nice to meet you." he murmured, totally ignoring the proposition of handshake. The level of tension could be cut with a knife, and you just wished that Soap wouldn't interrupted you two. Hell, you wished that he wouldn't know that Cody existed in your life somehow, his tone wasn't pleasant at all.

That awkward silence had to be broken. "I'll take white snowflakes and blue classics." you said after a while; your eyes met with your best friend's, who hummed in agreement, giving you a little squeeze. "And as for phone number..."

"1-800-985-5990" Soap interrupted you, with fake smile on his lips; Cody almost dropped his pen while he was writing. It was definitely not your phone number, but you had no heart to tell him that and humiliate yourself like that.

"Thanks."

"'s alright. Gotta help a fellow brother, hm? We'll get goin' now." he waved to him, as you two walked.

"Hands to yourself, will you?" you murmured to him, right after that guy was out of sight. You honestly couldn't believe his behavior; the audacity, his snarkiness, sudden disapproval and tensing muscles. It wasn't a competition, yet, it felt like one.

"Cannot do, hen. Pricks are eatin' you up, none of them worth ya time, gotta protect you somehow" he shook his head, looking at you with shit-eating grin. "Besides. Thought you like when I'm a bit handsy, eh?"

"Pricks? Come on, they're not that bad." you rolled your eyes. His hand still caressed your waist, and you barely managed to keep yourself together – his touch always was comforting for you, calming, but in that moment... it was such a contrast. Such a contrast, because you could swore that his touch was burning something in you.

Something that you thought you're not gonna ever feel. Yet, here you were, conflicted.

"'st sayin'. You deserve someone worthy." his nose nuzzled against the top of your head, which caused your cheeks to heat up a bit; Soap acted like he was absolutely smitten. "Should we go to apartment? Drop these things off, or there's somethin' else you want to do?"

"We can go, I think. After we buy that jam, though, from that old lady in the beggining. I promised her."

"Yes, ma'am."

Oh, how you wished that wouldn't get you so much.

Three hours after you arrived to your apartment, pretty sure that you wouldn't go anywhere, you had to put your winter shoes and jacket again.

Why?

Well, there was this festival of lights Soap thought was a good idea to go to – and he couldn't tell you sooner, no, cause you were "romancing too much" with Cody-guy. You thought it would be better to remain silent on this topic, so you just coughed awkwardly, asking him details, which he happily told you.

It was supposed to be a light show on the building mostly, with releasing lanterns when it's gonna be a little bit darker outside. Releasing them had to be apparently with certain "intention" in mind; something like a wish, a dream that you wanted to come true, which was cute enough for you to agree on his idea.

"Gonna wish you a better arm" he joked, nudging your hip with his. A quick eyeroll from you caught his attention enough to trap you between his arms. "What? Am I wrong, lass? You need somethin' a bit better to put up with my arse."

"Alcohol will do good enough." you mumbled, which made him laugh – and it wasn't even your intention. Urge to give him another eyeroll was high.

"Like it would save ya." he winked, as he continued his walk to your couch, where he sat comfortably, patting the seat next to him. "C'mere. We can watch the end of the game, then go. Gaz won't be here for like... a hour top."

"Mm, right. I want him to take that lady he texts with" you sat beside Soap, opening up the chat with Garrick. "I have to remind him again."

Gaz also happened to be interested in that festival of lights, or whatever it was called; as he'd text you, "bonding with friends" were more important than ever, considering that the three of you were the only one on leave. It was only fair to take him with you two – he had to arrive first, right, but the feeling of having him by your side was warming enough. You missed your friend and texts weren't enough like a real conversation; hell, you even wanted at some point to meet with him eye to eye and get drunk, to talk with him about everything that happened over the days.

Maybe including how confused Soap made you over the days, but that's for maybe. Hard enough that he was also Johnny's best friend, wingman, and a partner in crime that everyone wished to have. Kyle was lovely, of course, but his tongue was a bit loose if it came to telling things to members of Task Force.

And you respected your privacy enough. Not like you didn't trust him, no, but you didn't need to complicate things more than they already had been.

"Told you I'm gonna always win, yeah?" you showed the screen of your phone to Soap, so he could easily read the conversation between you and Gaz, where he agreed to your plan of taking that "friend" of his.

Friend, which he talked to daily on base when he could – you teased him about it one time or two, to only meet with him being frustrated all over again. On morning run, before you got shot, he admitted that he indeed was flirting with someone; a civilian, and it caught your attention enough to be a bit of a matchmaker for him.

That boy deserved nothing but happiness. And if you could help your friend? You would do anything.

"We're goin' on real matchmaker mode, ain't we?" Johnny quipped; you rolled your eyes with a small smile, while you fastened your seatbelts.

"He needs a little help. Who knows, might be his love for life" tease coming from your mouth made your friend laugh a bit, while he was retreating his car, one hand on the wheel, another in the back of your seat. For the better view – you knew it, but you couldn't help to think that was something attractive to do.

"'s gonna be pure dead brilliant to see the moment they're not getting along."

"Soap!" you smacked him in his arm, giving him a bit scolding look because you were amused at this thought too – just a little, though.

"Ow! Seems like yer hand is pretty good right now, eh?"

"You have to support your friend." you pointed out, when his car left the parking under your apartment. He gave you amused look.

"Aye, but his taste is..." he took a minute to think "...questionable. You'll see what I'm talkin' about, Ros."

"Oh, like your taste isn't questionable" you rolled your eyes; a bit of snarkiness in your voice immediately drew Soap's attention to you, his eyes on you.

"Somethin' particular on your pretty mind?"

That blonde chick was on your mind, of course. But would you confess to something like that? Not in the million years, considering that not only he wouldn't let you live through it, you would also possibly give him a clue that you were jealous.

You weren't jealous. Slightly pissed off that he was flirty at work, but that was all, not really other reason, yeah? At least you liked to think that way, not dig deeper into this because it would cause something like snow avalanche, and for that you weren't ready.

Especially when you lived with Soap. If he would stay in his apartment, it'd be easier to be blunt because you could hide in your place and ignore him.

In this case... you had no other option that be silent and brush everything off, like it was nothing.

"Generally speaking" you lied swiftly, shrugging. It wasn't the place to tell him things like that; you weren't bold enough, too. Probably after alcohol you could brought it up easier.

"Uh-huh. You have advice for me, then? To be a bit better in my choices, eh? Yer a specialist, after all." his tone was challening; he knew what he was doing. Trying to lure you into telling him your thoughts.

You were best friends for over a year, you know these tricks a bit too well to fall in. "Don't think only with your dick, for starters?" you raised an eyebrow.

"Hen" he started, looking at you when he stopped at the red light "if I'd think only with my dick, trust me. It would'a been a bit different, things here."

And that single comment, even if you weren't hundred percent sure what he's thinking about, made you blush; you didn't answer this. Instead, you just switched the radio station and looked outside, paying attention to the snow that still was falling on the street, adding to the piles that were already there.

One point for Johnny, zero for you. Not a good score, but you eventually would manage.

It took you more than twenty minutes to go on that stupid festival, and more than ten minutes to find the right spot with Soap driving around like a madman. Apparently, finding somewhere to park was hard, people loved lights more than you've assumed – thank God for Gaz that appeared out of nowhere to lead you to right spot.

"Lookin' good, Ros." Kyle grinned, nudging your side, when you finally stepped out of the vehicle; he went automatically for a hug, and you did too.

"Everyone would look good after a break from Task Force."

Kyle theathrically put his hand on his chest, close to heart. "Very rude, considering you have Soap around."

"Hey!"

"Well, he's at least helpful. Sometimes." you poked out your tongue playfully, looking at almost offended Johnny, who walked with you side by side. His hands were close to your waist, but he wasn't touching it.

"Sometimes..."

"What about yer lass, eh? She's here, or she bailed already?" MacTavish asked immediately, which made your friend a bit confused. He scratched the back of his neck to say something, but a scoff from Scot got him off-guard. "Saw that comin'."

"She's gonna be here any minute now, quit it" he barked.

"Whatever ya say."

"Any minute" turned into an hour. Show was about to begin, you already ate some of the candies that local sellers offered, and you could just see the nervousness on Gaz's face, which was sad at some point. Your friend deserved so much, and yet the girl that he wanted to introduce to you two, finally admitting she's a real person, not some imagination of his (as boys claimed), wasn't even there.

Very upsetting turn of events to look at – at least for you because Soap was living his life with seeing Garrick like this, telling him some crap how people can't believe in love and how it's better to just drink and forget.

Apparently, it was suiting for him because he went to find warm wine that he read about before the festival.

"You really could quit on supporting his alcoholism" you chuckled, looking at the man next to you; even if it sounded like a joke, it was partially it. Everyone around knew that Gaz liked to drown his sadness into various beverages, and you liked to prevent something happening.

"It's not supporting alcoholism." he rolled his eyes with a little smile. "I know Gaz, trust me. It's not the lady he wants."

You raised an eyebrow, shivering a bit from the cold outside. "Not the lady he wants" was a statement that got you a bit shocked, considering that Soap didn't look like the one who talks about stuff like this. "You know what he wants? You don't even know what you want."

"Sometimes." he shrugged, casually. Noticing that you're cold, he wrapped his arms around you from the back. "And sometimes I do."

That gesture got you off-guard; arm around you so casually wrapped, like it was nothing for him; like he was doing it all the time.

You looked back at him, wanting to say something, but the words were stuck in your throat the moment your eyes crossed with his; sapphire ones, sparkling so beautifully in this dim, orange light. Snow was falling at his hair, and you couldn't help but notice that he looks even better with slightly wet, messy hairstyle – your stomach did a little flip when you realized how close you are. Your back, pressed to his chest, his arms around you, it felt...

It felt right, it felt like home.

"I told you to bring a hat" you whispered; not even fully understanding why are you whispering though, but it felt right in the moment, even if you were talking about something else before. Scot scoffed at that, shaking his head slowly.

"Not really thinkin' about that right now." he muttered, tugging a strand of hair behind your ear with such a gentleness to it.

You tilted your head a bit, letting the top of your head to rest against his shoulder; just to have a bit better look at him. "What occupies your mind, then?"

"Oh, wouldn't ya want to know." he chuckled; for a split second his eyes dropped to your lips. You didn't notice it since it was so quick; what you've noticed though, was Soap's muscles tensing a little bit. Probably he was thinking about it – if you're gonna call him out on that, and if so, what excuse would he give? Observing?

He wasn't even sure what made him look at your lips, but they looked pretty soft for him. Plump. Ideal to...

"I would, yeah. Tell me."

"Mostly, 'm pretty interested" he whispered right to your ear, causing your body to shiver at the feeling of his warm breath "in keeping you warm 'n cozy. Is it workin', bonnie?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat slowly; it was such a stupid question from him. Of course it was working – you were a mess when he was only touching you and despite many times that you tried to deny it, he had more impact than you liked it. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm warm. Since you know what you want, Soap" you bit your lip "what other things could you be..."

"Hey! Found that wine y'all were talkin' 'about. Not for you Soap since you're driving, but" Gaz waved to you two; probably interrupting the most intimate contact that you had with Johnny, and the contact that...

You didn't even want to think about it, it's not like you had time for it– instinct told you to back off before Garrick would notice how close you were. It could be more than awkward, so you tried to do the right thing and free yourself from that grasp that Soap had on you.

"Tried" was a really good word, though. His grasp became iron; if that was possible, his arms tightened around you even more, and he, with a smile on his face, nodded at Gaz with silent greeting. You tried to lure him into looking at you, so he would at least try to explain himself, why he wouldn't let you go, but it was unsuccessful. He wanted to prove something to you or what?

You could only wonder.

"Thanks, Gaz." you nodded too, smiling awkwardly when you got the cup, taking a bigger sip from it. You needed it, considering the situation and the look Garrick gave you two when he got closer, and you barely managed to hold that wine; thanks to Soap's arms that were snaked around you, like you were his precious prey, not an actual person.

Maybe something was in it, though; the way he held you, close to himself, like he was actually afraid to lose you, his earlier behavior...

Hell only knew with this man; he was driving you insane with this sudden mood changes, flirting, being possessive when you were taking your chances. In your mind, you tried to tell yourself it's because he cares, but that argument was faltering when he was closer, looking at you like you were his only treasure.

And it was like that – maybe you didn't know that, but you really were his treasure. No one else's.

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck Beyond Cannon Upd8 for September 14, 2024

Couple days late on this one, so let's get started right away.

Oh! But first we have a news post. It is the first upd8 of the month after all.

I mentioned content warnings on the last upd8. Looks like I'm not the only one. Yeah, those would have been appreciated. But hopefully James can follow through on his promise to get better with them.

The Karkat plush is . . . today! Apparently you can now preorder it, or at least you should be able to. I need to check on that. I think my previous support counts as my preorder, but I want to be sure. Don't want to miss out on the wonderfully grumpy plush with the awesome hair.

The Patreon is apparently the reason we're getting upd8s like this one, and James is trying to figure out how to bolster it. Makes me, again, appreciate all the work Andrew did on the original. He seems reluctant to do another visual novel like this, but who knows what the future holds. Wish I could support the comic again, but right now I don't have the funds. Admittedly, part of that is because I play Warhammer.

On to the upd8!

Er . . . after I fix the browser thing again >.<

Huh! I just noticed that the panel that we see while the game is loading is actually fake and created by the game window. You can barely see the outline there, but the big give away is the menu bar in the upper left. Neat trick!

Looks like @nostalgicamphibian was right! That feather is very much orange, and so that means we know who it belongs to. Maybe Vriska will take some advice and just chill and recoup for a bit. I'm sure she needs it after the last chapter.

Also! We can now reread the prologue from here!

I still feel like Vriska both needs to see Terezi and (Vriska). They are together in the bubbles, or were the last time we saw them. So she could do both at once. I think there's a huge lesson she could take away from that. One chapter left after this one, so we'll have to see I guess. For now, let's see some shenanigans!

Also this is Chapter X, apparently.

And now for something completely different! Apparently this was happening during the last chapter?

Embarrassed? We haven't seen all the sprites, such as Arquius perhaps. But Davepeta is specifically saying sprite^2. And only one other character has that designation . . .

Okay, this is just great! Which ever member of the team that wrote this managed to perfectly mash up Nepeta's kitty themed RP with Dave's rambling. I love everything about this!

And there they are! Bit of a callback to Rose having to wait on Dave before. Jasprose appears to still be painting the town red on Meat Earth C. Wonder if we might see Jane with her at any point in the future.

omg im l so fucking mao at this! That is the perfect Rose Tier Homestuck technobabble. Midnight City is is in superplausitional canonical deniability. So for any purpose, it could be said to be canon or not canon as the HICU needs! XD

I'm literally struggling to keep it down right now! Also, I think the only panel I haven't as part of this was the stuff with Erisol! This has all been S Tier!

Hah! And Dad and Droug are apparently still running around too! That probably put a damper on Jasprose's night on the town! Also good to see that even this version of Rose is still sober.

Not so good to hear that Jake is still completely fucked up after what Dirk did to him. Jasprose hints that he still might have a role to play before the end though.

And, of course, we have timeline shenanigans! While Davepeta has been stuck with Vriska for multiple years, Jasprose is still on the same night of partying we left them with.

Davepeta is not pleased with Vriska's progress. Maybe they'll think different depending on how she responds to Scratch's abuse. But they're clearly worried, and this is apparently extremely important to whatever plans the two sprite^2 have cooking. And Dave is for once appreciating Rose's desire to understand the human psyche. Not that it would necessarily have helped with Vriska.

Hah!

Apparently even they weren't expecting that.

Normally a beat panel like this after a statement like that can only mean one thing . . .

Hah!

Join us next time when 4 more years have passed! That was the meaning behind the 8 Ball all along!

Now excuse me while that line sends me into existential dread over the possibility of a different type of "4 more years."

[honey-oak]

Can I stay with you? 

Serizawa Katsuya x Reader

Genre: FLUFF  Tropes: Only (1) bed

Summary: Your power goes out during a cold front and you ask to stay at Serizawa’s for the night. 

Word Count: ~2.7K

AO3 Link

Fic below :)

A full body shiver rustled you out of your sleep, you tossed yourself over in your bed, and tried to burrow deeper into the blankets before you realized your room was ice cold. You squinted through the pitch blackness of the room trying to see the alarm clock on your dresser that usually had a faint glow, to see the time, but when its light was absent you realized the power was out… and so was your heat. You let out a long groan and pulled the blankets over your head. A nasty cold front was coming through Seasoning City, and this was absolutely no time to be enduring a night without heat. You quickly grabbed your phone off your nightstand looking for an email from your apartment management or your electric company regarding the power.

ETA for power restoration…. 12pm. It was midnight. You were not going to last twelve hours shivering in this apartment and you were certainly not going to get a wink of sleep. You settled on calling your closest friend in walking distance to see if you could spend the night. You didn’t want to spend any more time out in the cold than strictly necessary. Serizawa and you had gotten closer recently and you had a feeling that he would be happy to host, or at least he wouldn’t turn down someone in need. You were freezing your butt off and were already dialing his number.

“H-Hello?” A gruff voice answered quickly on the other line.

“Hey. Serizawa, do you have power?” You quickly asked jumping right into the point, “Oh. Wait, did I wake you up?”

“Hm? Are you okay? I have power.” He replied quickly, concern apparent in his voice.

“My place lost power and I won’t have heat until tomorrow afternoon. And with this weather we are having..” You rambled on, already packing a bag of toiletries and a spare change of clothes, your teeth were chattering from leaving the small warmth of your bed, “I was wondering if maybe I could come stay with you for the night? It’s so cold here I can’t sleep.”

“Of course!” Serizawa said softly. You hear faint rustling noises on the other end of the line, that sounded like he was getting out of bed. So you had woken him up.

“Ok! Great, I’m just grabbing some things and I’ll head right over.” You confirmed breathing a sigh of relief. Serizawa was always such a dependable person. Not to mention that you definitely had a huge crush on him, but that was neither here nor there. You were just about to sleep over his house because your power was out during a cold front, you were not going to make this weird. At all.

As soon as the phone call ended Serizawa started to blink away what was left of his sleep. Taking in the full consequences of his actions. He looked around his small apartment and realized… ‘I only have one bed’. He had definitely read too much manga for this.

—

By the time you knocked on his door, your cheeks were slightly wind burnt from the cold and your nose felt like it was downright frozen. As soon as Serizawa saw you he was ushering you inside. He had you wrapped in a blanket and sitting in his living area while he was making you tea as soon as your shoes and coat were off to warm you up. You watched him, taking a second to appreciate how cute he looked in his gray sweatpants and loose T-shirt. It was rare that you got to see Serizawa in casual clothes, the two of you usually caught up after he had gotten off work or out of night class, so this was an odd treat for you. He almost looked out of place to you, dressed so relaxed but it was nice to see another side of him. You tried not to let your eyes linger too much on him but the sweatpants left too little to the imagination.

“So,” you cleared your throat to get his attention, needing conversation to distract yourself from your mind wandering where, frankly it shouldn’t be, “Thank you so much for letting me crash here. I appreciate it so much.”

He glanced back at you, giving you an uneasy smile, “Y-yeah of course.” He said, running his hand against the back of his neck, “You shouldn’t have to stay in the cold all night.”

“Serizawa,” Your eyes bore into him as you could tell something was wrong. You two were close enough by now that you had come to pick up on his nervous habits, “What’s wrong?”

He brought both cups of tea over and set them on the table. He sat across from you but did not make eye contact, instead he was fixed on looking at a random point on the floor.

“I— I only have one futon!” He exclaimed quickly, his eyes were darting around the room, looking anywhere and everywhere except at you. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it until we had already gotten off the phone.”

After he had confessed alleged crimes, he finally looked back at you, his face completely red. You could tell that Serizawa was extremely nervous about your reaction. His flustered reaction was adorable to you though and you couldn’t hold back a small giggle.

“Oh, Serizawa!” You said between a laugh, glancing over at his futon. You both could fit on there comfortably…. probably. “I don’t care, I don’t mind sharing, as long as you’re okay with it.”

“Y-you’re sure you’re comfortable with it?” He looked at you anxiously, his fingers twisting together, a look of slight guilt present on his face, “I don’t want to overstep. I can always just sleep on the ground!”

Your eyes narrowed at his suggestion of him sleeping on the hard ground of his apartment. You couldn’t say you were entirely prepared to arrive at Serizawa’s house and spend the night snuggled up in the same bed with him. The idea of spending the night in his house and having the man that you had feelings for possibly see you in an unflattering light was already unnerving enough, but to be in the same bed was definitely throwing you for a loop. At the same time, the prospect of being able to be closer to him was enticing all the same and you could feel your heart almost hammering out of your chest with nerves at the thought of being pressed against him trying to accommodate yourselves into that futon. If anything, it would be nice and toasty and you were still feeling chilled.

“You are not sleeping on the floor, Serizawa. That is final. Are you sure you’re comfortable with it? If anything I’d be the one overstepping because I am at your house,” You assured him in a calm and confident tone, faking it until you made it, “I am comfortable with it but only if you are as well.”

Serizawa visibly relaxed at your words, you could see some of the tension release from his shoulders as he leaned back slightly in resignation. His fingers relaxed in his lap and he took a deep exhale before he replied softly, “It’s fine. We are friends. It will be like a sleepover. Well, not that I had any of those.”

“Right! Exactly like a sleepover,” You quickly assured, stretching your arms over your head, yawning for exaggeration, “Well, I am not sure about you but I am beat. I know I woke you up. Let’s get this show on the road and get to bed. What do you say, Seri?”

“Hm?”, a small noise came from his throat as he was clearing the table of your teas as you were talking. Serizawa looked flustered and caught off guard at your sudden introduction of a nickname. Your intention was to make him feel more comfortable and closer, in a friendly way, naturally.

A moment passed and he finally replied quickly and loudly, scrubbing the small cups clean, “Y-Yes, I am quite tired.” You could see the tips of his ears were bright red.

Well, that could have gone over better, you thought to yourself. Serizawa opted to let it go so you would as well. Once he finished cleaning up, the two of you made your way over to his futon, both leering down at it with trepidation. You sure weren’t going to be the one to make the first move to get in. It wasn’t your bed. You looked over at Serizawa, and gave him an encouraging smile.

“Well, after you!” You cooed, holding your arm gesturing at the futon below the two of you. Trying to look as nonchalant about everything as you could. Below the surface you could feel your heart hammering in your chest and a bubble of nerves making their way through your body. You knew there was no way that Serizawa was any way better off than you. Even on a good day, he would get flustered by little things when you were around. You would normally chalk that up to the time he spent away from society but you considered this a universally nerve-wracking experience.

“R-Right!” He stammered as he gingerly knelt down and got under the blankets. He positioned himself on his back, stiff as a board. He had the blankets pulled up to his neck so that only his head was visible. His facial expression was uneasy, his mouth pressed into a firm line and his eyebrows knit tight together. You wondered briefly if Serizawa was even going to be able to fall back asleep at all, or if the two of you were doomed to just lay in excruciating silence for the remainder of the night.

You hesitated for a moment more before you shakily slid in next to him. You opted to lay on your side with your back turned to him, to save yourself the embarrassment of him seeing your flustered expression. You took a deep inhale through your nose and let out a long exhale, that was really more like a silent scream, towards the pillow trying to release the tension you were feeling. Thankful that the position you gave yourself at least allotted you some semblance of privacy for that at least. Under the blanket, you became hyper aware of the body heat radiating off of Serizawa, the man was like a six foot tall space heater. It helped you relax and want to scoot closer to the warmth, the blanket wasn’t necessarily the best size for two people but you had a feeling that he had given you more than half of it. You craned your neck back to look at him and your suspicion was confirmed when you saw that the blanket hardly reached his far shoulder.

He must have felt you shuffling around because with his eyes still closed, he questioned, “Are you comfortable?”

You scooted closer to him, closing the gap between your bodies, at this point not caring about your dignity, and pushed more of the blanket towards him, “Here. You’re not even covered by the blanket, Serizawa. I appreciate you wanting me to be comfortable but not at your own expense.”

“Goodnight, Serizawa” You whispered, turning back around, sinking back into the pillow.

“Goodnight,” He whispered back, accepting the blanket and you could feel him try to relax behind you. You closed your eyes and attempted to sleep, staying awake for who-knows-how-long, until you were aware of Serizawa’s deep, slow breathing a sure sign that he had finally drifted off to sleep. A shaky exhale of relief left your lips, you were thankful that at least one of you was able to relax enough to fall asleep. You tried to clear your mind of any swirling thoughts you were having about the bizarre situation and tried to just focus on relaxing your body, enjoying finally being enveloped in warmth compared to your frozen apartment. After a while your eyelids started to feel heavy and you were able to drift off to sleep as well.

—--

When you opened your eyes the next morning, you were surprised how well rested you felt. Your first thought was that you were so cozy, wrapped up in this weighted blanket, you didn’t even remember buying one of these– wait, that is NOT a weighted blanket and this is not your house. Your eyes fully opened and you took a sharp inhale in, assessing your sleeping position. Serizawa had, at some point during the night, turned on his side to spoon you and now was halfway on top of you, his leg flung over yours, effectively pinning you to the futon. Two firm arms held you flush against his chest, one under your neck that had replaced your pillow and the other snaked around your waist. You felt heat rise to your cheeks at the realization of the compromising position that you had just apparently spent the night sleeping in with your crush. You had to admit that part of you was relishing the feeling of being cuddled up against him. It felt safe, secure, and warm. It definitely lost out to the part of you that was anxious about the aftermath of him waking up because you knew deep down that this was not a conscious Serizawa move. You had a crush on him for months and you had some suspicions that it was mutual, but he hadn’t even gone as far to hold your hand, let alone throw his entire body on you.

You were berating yourself for throwing all caution to the wind and tossing yourself into this position, well maybe not this exact position. You were not equipped to deal with this level of nerves early in the morning. As if sensing your pounding heart rate, Serizawa started to stir behind you. His hand that was on your waist started to slide toward your chest as he slowly started to stretch out, you quickly made a b-line to grasp his wrist. You may have grasped him a little too firmly out of self-preservation of what was left of your dignity because Serizawa’s body suddenly jolted and he took a sharp inhale. He pulled his wrist back from your hand quickly in surprise.

“I-I.. Oh.. Umm..” He stammered, pulling his body off of you, quickly retreating to the other end of the futon. He pulled his knees to his chest, a deep blush present across his cheeks, “I am so sorry. I.. I normally sleep with a body pillow and.. I am so sorry.”

You exhaled a puff of air before starting to laugh in earnest. Serizawa looked back at you with clear confusion, expecting you to be offended by his behavior.

“Honestly,” you said between laughs, looking up at him from your place on the futon smiling, “It was pretty comfortable,” you felt a pit in your stomach forming with anxiety before you got the courage to spit the next words out, “I.. I wouldn’t mind cuddling some more.”

He looked at you with a wobbly grin on his face and slowly let go of his knees, making his way back under the covers with you, “I.. Yes, I would like that too.”

This time you laid facing each other, your face pressed into his chest, his arms wrapped around you with one of your arms slung around his waist. You were thankful to have the contact back and be buried back against the warmth of his body. Sharing this calm, tender moment with each other in the morning felt a lot more intimate for two people that were just friends and gave you the confidence to finally say what you had been wanting to tell Serizawa for a long time.

“Hey Serizawa,” You said, peeking your face up from his chest, “I.. really like you.”

His arms wrapped tighter around your waist and he pressed a quick kiss to the top of your head, “I like you too.”

[autism-corner]

Ramblings of a Lunatic

II 750 Words II Levi x reader II Pure fluff II You find Levi ranting about his feelings for you II Established relationship II

The soft blue hue of Levi's room at midnight slowly reached your eyes as you blinked awake. It wasn't uncommon for you to fall asleep in Leviathans tub, but you'd usually only wake up at a reasonable time and with the demon still in your embrace. This time, your arms were entirely empty. As you became more and more awake, searching for the missing warmth, your ears started to pick up on something. A soft murmuring, coming from near fish-henry's tank.

"It's just. ARGH!!!" As you peak over the edge, you find your demon clinging to his water-filled walls. He's turned away from you and sitting on his knees, his head apparently resting in his hands. Some other blanket than the one that you two fell asleep under was draped over his shoulders.

"MC is. Practically perfect. How can they just fall asleep so easily? And with ME of all people?!!" The panic in his voice is clear, but you also pick up on a tiny smile filled with pride. "Henry, I just still dont understand. Why would they keep sticking to me, when they could honestly get anything in the world?" A sigh. As the silence took its place, you debated if you should break your own cover. You could go over to him and comfort him, kiss him, tell him all his worries are completely unnecessary.

But, there was also another part of you that recognized the importance this moment had for Levi. He'd clearly done this before. He just needs to talk about his feelings to someone that isn't you, even if that means it needs to be a fish. Plus, it doesn't actually seem like Leviathan is in that bad of a mind-space. Even though you can't see his face, you can tell by the small things in his voice that he's just excited. He probably just needs to gush it out. So, you keep still, and stay listening to your demon.

"Whenever they smile I just KNOW that people would drop anything to see it again. I know I do. If they're just walking around I can feel the eyes that're attracted to them. It makes me want to pull them close and show everyone just how taken they actually are."

Memories with Leviathan start to surface. Just little things. Walking trough the halls of RAD with his hand ever-inching closer to yours. Always striding just a little quicker whenever either of you spot the other. All the tiny gift Levi has given you out of seemingly nowhere, but always whenever you were feeling a bit down. They all add up. You realize that it's specifically those things that make your relationship with Levi so perfect. The tiny ways that the two of you interact create a magical atmosphere, always growing with love.

As you relish the memories, Leviathan begins to talk again. "You know, Henry? I mean, you must. It's not like I haven't told you this like 100 times already, LOL. Anytime I see MC, my heart grows even more. Even now, its expanding. Just thinking about how they're currently in my bed, soundly sleeping. Knowing they're comfortable and safe, and that it's their specific choice to actually be with me, it just fills me with love. How can it not? I'm so unbelievably lucky." There's a sound that can only be described as a dreamily-and-heavenly-in-love sigh. "Speaking off, have I told you about today? Just as we were walking to RAD we.........."

As you listened to Levi drone on about you and him, you felt yourself get tired again. Understandable, since it's been well past midnight. The apparent energy that Levi gets while talking about you amazes you, but you can't keep stopping your eyes from closing by themself. As you slowly doze off the the sound of your lover's rambling, you hope your dreams will be filled with even just a fraction of the love you feel right now.

---

You wake up again, this time at a reasonable time and with your demon back in your arms. While waking up, your memories of last nights' happenings come back again. Even though the subject of your adoration is still sleeping next to you, you're sure he wouldn't mind waking up to your numerous kisses. Your not planning on telling him what you witnessed anytime soon, but you make sure to clearly translate your feelings over and over again, with each press of your lips.

[lokis-army-77]

I’m the tv show/movie anon. I adore your writings. If you wanted to write something like that I would love for you to use your ideas! When I was thinking of it I just had the generic idea of being a final girl Eddie saving me lol but spooky season is over!

Visit from Strangers

Eddie Munson x female reader

Word Count: 1766

This is literally based on the movie The Strangers from 2008 but it's not exactly the same.

I'm sorry if this is some awful writing, I had no clue what I was doing and I apparently suck at writing "scary" stuff

Warning: Angst, home invasion, mention of blood.

Masterlist 

The night had started normally. Eddie had driven us back to my place after leaving one of our mutual friend's wedding. We had sat in the living room and made out for a bit before he realized he had left his stash on his dresser.

Before he left, the only weird thing was the sudden knock on the front door. My house was a little way out of town and it was nearing midnight, no one should have been out there. Yet, when Eddie opened the door a girl just shorter than me stood there, a hoody covering her face and standing far away from the reaches of the dim porch light. She had asked for someone, a name I couldn't quite catch with how she was mumbling. Eddie had told her that there wasn’t anyone by that name here and she walked off. 

It was strange and had shaken me only a tiny bit but I was fine for Eddie to leave. He gave me a quick peck on the lips before jogging out to his van. I tidied up around the house for a bit until I heard another knock. The girl was there again, asking for the same person. Hesitantly I turned her away, telling her what Eddie had said only ten minutes before. 

Things had only gotten stranger from there. I could have sworn the sliding glass back door had been locked and closed before I had left earlier in the day but when I felt a cool breeze coming from it I noticed that it was cracked. Then the knocking came again, louder, almost angry. A little freaked out and not wanting to be alone with some crazy girl outside, I rushed to the house phone and called Eddie’s trailer. 

The receiver rang three times before Wayne’s voice filtered through. 

“Wayne, is Eddie there?” I asked my voice shaking on edge.

“No, I thought he was with you?” Wayne had answered. 

“He was but he forgot something at home and went to get it. Can you tell him to call me when he gets there? It’s important.” I sighed into the phone. 

“Sure can do.”

“No, wait,” I quickly rambled when another harsh knock came to the door, “Just tell him to get back here as fast as he can. There’s a lady outside that won't stop knocking on the door and it's creeping me out.” 

“Do you need me to come over with him? Settle the situation, maybe call the police?” 

“No, no Wayne, that won't be necessary. She seems harmless, it's just creepy and I don’t want to be here alone.”

“Alright Sweetheart, I'll tell him to hurry his ass. Be safe and call me if you need.”

“Thank you Wayne, night.”

We hung up and the house was back to being quiet, except for the sound of wind coming back through the glass doors. I shook my head and went back to close them and the curtains over them, not thinking that someone could have come inside while I was facing away on the phone. 

Not even five minutes later the phone rang and I quickly picked up.

“Babe?” Eddie asked worriedly.

“Eddie, I need you to hurry up and get back here, that girl keeps coming back.” 

“I know, Wayne told me. Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine, just need you to get back here fast.”

“I will, Princess, I’m headdin-” Eddie didn't finish his sentence and a loud static filled the receiver.

“Eddie? Eds?” I called into the phone but nothing happened. I tried calling back but it was dead like the line had been cut.

All had seemed fine in the house after that for a few more minutes until it sounded as though someone had opened the front door and come in. 

“Eddie?” I called out, no answer. “Eddie this is so not funny.” Still no answer. Turning around, I went straight for the kitchen and grabbed the sharpest knife I could find. In the back of my mind, I knew that it wasn’t Eddie, his trailer was at least 25 to 30 minutes away and there was no way he could have gotten here in the time between then and the phone call. 

I knew I shouldn’t have but with the false sense of security given to me by the knife, I walked to the small front hallway slowly. 

“Who’s there?” I asked as I went. “I’ve got a big fucking knife and I’m not afraid to use it. Just leave me alone and you’ll be fine.” It was eerily quiet. “My boyfriend is coming back any second.” I hoped that by saying Eddie was coming they would get scared and leave. I was wrong. 

The front door was closed when I had it in my sight. Then the knocking started again. I backed away, fear taking over. What the fuck is going on? I thought to myself. The knocking stopped but soon after the windchime outside the back door started to sound. 

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening. I repeated over and over to myself as I watched the curtains in horror. Moving closer to them I did what I shouldn't have done, moved them. 

There in the darkness was a man, burlap sack over his head with a face painted onto it. The scream which left my mouth was filled with terror as the man began t beat his hand onto the glass. I backed away as quick as I could going to the front door but then the knocking bargain again. 

My heart began to beat and beat faster as I realized these people had all my exits blocked. I was trapped. I did the only thing I could, I ran to the back bedrooms and look for a place to hide. 

The sound of glass shattering followed me along with the banging on the door. I ran to my bedroom and tried to fit under the bed but the space was too small. Fuck, I’m gonna die here. 

Then everything stopped as I heard the sound of the door shut and quiet footsteps. I raised the knife up and prepared myself to fight these people off when Eddie came through the bedroom door. 

“Shit, Princess, what's going on.” He asked worriedly as he came to me crouching down and taking the knife from my hand. 

“The- The girl had a friend. He was standing outside the back door.” I couldn’t help the waiver in my voice. 

“Did you see what he looked like?”

I shook my head frantically. “No, he was wearing a mask.” 

Eddie furrowed his brows and gripped the knife, standing to his feet. 

“Eddie no, don’t go out there.” I was pleased with him. 

“It’s just for a second. I’m gonna go check and then we can get in the van and go back to the trailer, okay?”

“Okay.” I breathed, standing up to go with him.

We checked the whole house and no one was in sight until we checked the garage. The girl from earlier could be seen through the window, standing in the yard, unmoving. 

Eddie said suggested going out to his van to grab the metal baseball bat he kept in the back, seeing as I had no weapons in the house other than kitchen knives. I had told him not to, but he went anyway. That's when they ambushed us. Stalling Eddie outside while one of them came after me into the house. In hindsight, I should have gone with him to the van and just driven away. 

The man had chased me through the house. I had called for Eddie multiple times but he never came. Before I had gotten chased away, I had seen a third person, another girl out there with Eddie. He had probably been surrounded by the two with no way to get to me. 

With blood running down my arm from a cut the man in the mask inflicted, I ran from him as fast as I could. I used all my energy to run out the back door and into the woods. 

The woods were dark and every little snap of a twig or rustle of leaves as I went past felt like the sound was amplified. Even the sound of my heart racing felt like it could be heard from miles away. Fear was coursing through my veins. I had lost the sound of the man's footsteps when I had entered the tree line. I was thankful he hadn’t followed me in but worried because that left Eddie with the three of them. 

It took me a good five minutes to calm myself down and began to walk cautiously back to the house. At every sound I would stop and hide behind a tree, waiting until I was sure it was nothing. But then I heard hurried footsteps coming my way and I practically tried to push myself into the tree behind me with my hand covering my mouth and nose to keep my ragged breaths from being heard. 

With my eyes closed tight, I listened as the footsteps ran past me and then stopped. Shit I thought, They found me.  But it wasn’t the strangers I saw when I opened my eyes but rather a frazzled and bloody Eddie. 

“Eddie,” I gasped, running the short distance to him. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” I asked trying to find where the blood was coming from. 

“I’m fine princess, but we need to go, now.” He urged me forward, away from the house and further into the woods. 

“How did you get away?” I asked.

“Got that blond girl with the doll mask really good with my bat, then I fucking bolted.” He chuckled. 

“I stabbed the man with the knife. That didn’t stop him from scraping up my arm really bad.” I took my hand off my upper arm to show him the deep oozing cut. 

“Shit babe. Here.” Eddie tore off the bottom chunk of his band shirt and tied it tight around my arm. “We need to get you to the hospital.” 

“I don’t know if I can walk that far.” I could already tell my energy was depleting and with the loss of blood, I was becoming a little dizzy.

“You have to, I’ll carry you when it gets to be too much but we have to keep moving, I don’t want those psychopaths catching up to us.” 

Eddie grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him, each of us looking behind us, paranoid.

[best-of-basslines]

Song Masterpost

[I was planning on linking all the songs to versions on Youtube, but apparently it goes over the number of links allowed on a post. Instead, the songs will be linked on each poll.]

Talk Talk - "It's My Life"

Kajagoogoo - “Too Shy”

The Beach Boys - “Good Vibrations”

Rush - “New World Man”

Cream - “Spoonful”

The Police - “Message in a Bottle”

Jackson 5 - “I Want You Back”

Diana Ross - “I’m Coming Out”

Diana Ross and the Supremes - “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”

The Supremes - “You Can’t Hurry Love”

The Jam - “Town Called Malice”

David Essex - “Rock On”

Radiohead - “15 Step” | “Paranoid Android”

Michael Jackson - “Thriller” | “Billie Jean”

Elton John - “Dirty Little Girl”

Angra - “Nothing to Say”

Serú Girán - “La Grase de las Capitales”

Os Mutantes - “Ando Meio Desligado”

Bill Withers - “Lovely Day”

Blur - “Girls and Boys”

Sly and the Family Stone - “Thank You (Falettinme be Mice Elf Again)”

Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - “Express Yourself”

Jr. Walker and the All Stars - “(I’m a) Road Runner”

Marvin Gaye - “I Heard it through the Grapevine” | “Midnight Lady”

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Tarrell - “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Higher Ground” | “Snow (Hey Oh)” | “Give It Away”

Primus - “My Name is Mud” | “Is it Luck?” | “Lacquer Head”

Beck - “Go It Alone”

The Fabs - “That’s the Bag I’m In”

The Shapes - “College Girls”

Herbie Hancock - “Chameleon”

Pink Floyd - “Money”

Rasputina - “Secret Message”

Madonna - “Material Girl”

Was (Not Was) - “Walk the Dinosaur”

Lemon Demon - “Jaws”

Creedence Clearwater Revival - “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”

Steve Miller Band - “The Joker”

Violent Femmes - “Blister in the Sun”

War - “Low Rider”

Poppy - “Motorbike”

Tokyo Jihen (Tokyo Incidents) - “Noudouteki”

Graham Central Station- “Hair”

Oingo Boingo - “Dead Man’s Party”

Vulf Peck - “Deantown”

Iroha (feat. Rin Kagamine) - “Meltdown”

Labi Siffre - “I Got The…”

Deep Purple - “Space Truckin’”

The Breeders - “Cannonball”

Earth Wind and Fire - “Let’s Groove”

Parliament - “Give Up the Funk”

Liquid Liquid - “Cavern”

Melle Mel - “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”

Tiger Army - “Cupid’s Victim”

Limp Bizkit - “Nookie”

White Zombie - “Black Sunshine”

Alice in Chains - “Rooster”

Pearl Jam - “Daughter”

Norah Jones - “Cold Cold Heart”

Joy Division - “Transmissions” | “Disorder”

Metallica - “Orion”

Anthrax - “Caught in a Mosh”

Muse - “Hysteria” | “Plug in Baby” | “Futurism”

Arctic Monkeys - “Fake Tales of San Francisco” | “A Certain Romance” | “Dancing Shoes”

Bauhaus - “Double Dare” | “Kick in the Eye”

Chic - “Good Times” | “Everybody Dance”

Royal Blood - “Better Strangers”

Fleetwood Mac - “The Chain”

Iron Maiden - “Aces High”

The Damned - “Neat Neat Neat”

The Smiths - “Barbarism Begins at Home”

New Order - “Age of Consent”

Talking Heads - “Psycho Killer”

Romeo Void - “Never Say Never”

Cocteau Twins - “The Hollow Men”

Rage Against the Machine - “Killing in the Name” | “Bulls on Parade”

Dance Gavin Dance - “Don’t Tell Dave”

Queen - “Another One Bites the Dust” | “Dragon Attack”

Gorillaz - “Feel Good Inc.”

Megadeth - “Peace Sells”

Korn - “Got the Life”

Pantera - “Cowboys from Hell”

Queen + David Bowie - “Under Pressure”

Stevie Wonder - “Superstition”

Shiina Ringi - “Koufukuron (Etsuraku-hen)”

The Temptations - “My Girl”

Paramore - “Ain’t it Fun”

Måneskin - “For Your Love”

The Seatbelts - “Tank!”

Cake - “The Distance”

Gloria Gaynor - “I Will Survive”

Miles Davis - “Bitches Brew”

The Fall - “I Feel Voxish”

Public Image Ltd - “Swan Lake (Death Disco)”

Thelma Houston - “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

Killdozer - “King of Sex”

The Beatles - “Hey Bulldog” | “I Want You (She’s so Heavy)” | “Lady Madonna” | “Dear Prudence” | “I Will”

Wings - “Silly Love Songs”

Lou Reed - “Walk on the Wild Side”

White Stripes - “Seven Nation Army”

Gang of Youths - “Achilles Come Down”

AJR - “Sober Up”

Duran Duran - “Rio”

The Who - “Baba O’Riley” | “Getting in Tune”

Yes - “Roundabout”

Led Zeppelin - “Ramble On” | “Dazed and Confused”

The Cure - “Lovesong” | “The Lovecats”

[gyllenhaalstories]

Hi there! Love your blog 💕 How and when did you get into Jake? What was your first film with him? The film that made you become a fan? Thanks!☺️

hiiiii! thank you, i'm happy to know you enjoy it! oh my god, you're giving me another opportunity to ramble? you're too generous! 🥰❤️ short answer: i started mostly around 2019 and the movie that did it for me is demolition. long answer? this novel i wrote below!

my first jake movie had to be prince of persia although i have no memory of watching it as a kid. i just know i did because my dad played the video game and this sounds like a movie he'd watch too. when prisoners came out on dvd in 2013, i asked my parents to rent the movie because i liked hugh jackman as wolverine. if wolverine is funny, that means prisoners will be funny too, right? WRONG. i was so wrong. i spent almost the entire movie hidden under a blanket, i remember the stares my parents gave me. i was so embarrassed. but i also remember that one good looking man on the screen, wink wink (or well, blink blink) the only jake movies i watched after that were love & other drugs and brokeback mountain. both made me cry, so i loved them. i would stay up late (back in the day when i thought midnight was late) and watch them on television. other than that, my life used to be a sad dark lonely gyllenvoid.

ah, the glorious day when i saw the poster for spider-man far from home. i took a photo, i made sure to crop the guy with the cape, i didn't care for him. pff. i wanted spider-man! i kept telling myself that there was this one dude in the trailer that reminded me of someone, but i couldn't replace him. until i connected the dots!!! that hello quentin / yeah hi honey scene had me shaking in my seat. i came home, i tried googling his name in five different spellings until i got it right. i asked a friend at the time if she knew about jake because i had this new crush on him and she was like "this crush isn't new, you just forgot he existed" (i was juggling with other famous hot men who are double my age, i was busy). so apparently i was into him and i didn't even know about it! anyway! i started looking through jake's tag for gifs and photos, then for fics, then i thought it'd be nice to make a blog to appreciate and reblog the fics (this is when i became a fan of nat and maria from afar! and now they're my friends and i love them so much). a few months after that, i was like sure why not maybe i can write my own stories too. i made this blog at the end of 2019 and here i am, five years later!!! my obsession for jake is stronger than ever.

i stuck to mysterio and jake fics for a while, his filmography was intimidating and it lacked in barbie movies so i was not THAT motivated to get through it at first. i kept an eye on movies that played on television for something he could be in and i found one: enemy. i know jake recently suggested enemy as one of the first movies of his to start with but i could not disagree more. the spiders? yeah no. enemy was my enemy. i saw that it played on a different channel, in english this time, so i gave it a shot. i was intrigued... i went to his wikipedia page and picked one of the shortest movies in his register: demolition. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i loved demolition so much that i watched it twice in the same evening. demolition is the movie that got me hooked. i couldn't understand how underrated it used to be, people barely brought it up! it almost made me forget the spider debacle of enemy, i just wanted to see more of jake.

i'm almost through with his entire filmography now! it's taken me a long time, but i'm proud of myself for watching so many movies that are out of my usual taste. it made me discover so many sides of jake's talent and so many characters that live rent free in my mind. if i could go back in time, i would still choose demolition as the great leap into the jake gyllenhaal multiverse. you didn't ask for all this rambling but shhhh details. i'm curious to know your answer to this question too!!! thank you again, anon! 💖💖💖

[i-didnt-do-1t]

“fine, i get your cereal-soup argument, but there’s nothing you can say to convince me that a hot dog is a damn sandwich.” (from the midnight rambling writing prompts) for Henry and Finch? (does not need to be romantic)

Thanks for the prompt! :D hope you enjoy, this was so fun to write

The lodging house was quiet, and maybe Henry would’ve been asleep by now if Finch wasn’t so insistent on stealing the entirety of the thin blanket that was meant to be shared between the two of them.

In fact, it was a specific condition he’d made Finch promise to before allowing him to sleep at the foot of his bed at all. He’d volunteered, partly because he was a good friend, mostly because Finch’s own bed had been doused in jugs of water that morning and the mattress was still sopping wet. (Henry could sympathise, he needed his sleep. He also took that as a further indication to avoid getting on Albert’s bad side at all costs)

The lack of blankets was bad enough, but then Finch made it worse somehow.

“Hey, Henry.” He was at least attempting to whisper but his voice still felt all too loud amongst the snoring.

“What?”

“You ever think about how cereal is basically soup?”

Henry wanted to cry, actually. If he could’ve pulled the blanket up to cover his eyes he would’ve.

“No.” He said, pointedly, “Because it’s not.”

“It is though right? There’s liquid.” He paused. “With y’know, bits, in it.”

Maybe while Finch was distracted talking utter bullshit Henry could steal back his share of the blanket.

“N’ how would you feel if you went to Jacobi’s n’ ordered soup and got cereal?” He asked.

(God, Finch must've had a fist of steel gripping his end of the blanket.)

“I’d faint on the spot I think,” Finch said, making less of an effort to whisper now because apparently he didn’t have any regard for anyone else’s sleep. “I ain’t had cereal in years.”

“Oh. Your biased then.”

Finch dug his foot into his side. “Stop using big words you learnt from Davey.”

“Skittery actually.”

“Oh.”

“Think he got it from Dave though.”

Henry could practically feel Finch rolling his eyes, and grinned.

“Shut up. Anyway, I’m right.” Finch continued, and Henry began to consider that maybe Albert wasn’t being unreasonable when he decided to douse Finch’s bed in water. “Soup is liquid with bits in it. So’s cereal. So cereal is soup.”

Henry thought about it for a second and wondered what his Da would’ve done if Henry had ever tried to claim that; wondered whether or not he could’ve persuaded him to put it on the deli menu.

He could’t have, it took all of three seconds to conclude, but he knew his dad would’ve looked at him like he’d grown another head. Knew he would’ve ruffled Henry’s hair and turned around muttering about young boys and their ridiculous thoughts and continued kneading the dough for that day's bread.

The thought made him smile a little.

And then Finch made it worse. Again.

“And a hotdog is a sandwich.”

This time Henry sat up, the bed creaking underneath him. “What.”

“Bread. Meat. Bread. Sandwich.”

He stared down at Finch, who was still curled up, blanket pulled to his chin, eyes open staring at the underside of the bunk above him, looking to the world like he was deep in thought.

And Henry had to deal with it.

He flopped back down on his pillow, letting his body mimic the unconsciousness he so desperately wished for as he slammed into the mattress and privately thanked God for both the bed not breaking and the fact he didn’t land on Finch’s feet

“Fine. I get your cereal-soup argument, but there's nothing you can say to convince me that a hot dog is a damn sandwich.”

Finch was silent for a second.

Too long, almost.

.

“Bread. Meat. Bread.”

“Oh my God.”

“Are you gonna try and tell me I’m wrong?”

“You are wrong.”

“I don’t think I’m ever wrong.”

At this point Henry had little to do but accept his fate. No sleep, no blanket, no friends with morals when it came to sandwiches. This was it.

“Oh trust me, we know.” He said.

He waited for a response, five seconds… then ten…

But Finch had seemed to finally go silent.

Cautiously, as to not wake him up, Henry readjusted the thin yet somehow lumpy pillow behind his head, shuffled a little to the left so Finch’s foot wasn’t digging into his stomach, said a prayer to his Da and closed his eyes. He had no blanket, but he would live, it wasn’t even cold anymore coming into June but it was more so the principle of the thing.

Henry could move past that, he decided, be the bigger person.

“Hey Henry.”

His eyes shot open.

“You think water is wet?”

[justhere4kpop]

~Beautiful Stranger~

CHAPTER 3: A Gala, and a Mission

Pairing: Yunho x Reader. (The guys are involved at some point too but not romantically.) NonIdol! AU

Description: A lonely perpetually single grad student working at a museum is approached by a handsome man, he looks expensive. Maybe this is your chance to get swept off your feet. Maybe he wants something else.

Warnings: I don't censor myself so I don't censor the characters, so Language warning. SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER (probably not good smut, it's my first time writing it and I got nervous). Self-Doubt is hinted at. Let me know if I'm missing anything

taglist: @legohwa, @hwaightme, @starillusion13

w/c: 4929

a/n: I got inspired to write at midnight so this is what happened. This is my first time writing anything NSFW it's not a super long part but it's there. Thank you guys for the support! Hope you're having a good time reading. I'm having a lot of fun with it. Thank you to Sky and Bai who constantly listen to me babble about dumb things and get ideas for this series, couldn't do it without you guys, your friendship is something I'm most grateful for. (also Sky told me to add the smut...hehe) okay, I'll stop rambling.

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

“We’ve gotta find a way to get you into that Gala, it’ll be the perfect opportunity to plant the device we need to take out the security systems.” The 8 men met around the table.

“I think the bigger question is who do we send into the gala?” Seonghwa started.

“Actually I think the question is how many?” Hongjjong looked up. “We need at least San and Yunho there, we could probably use Mingi and Wooyoung as well.”

“But if y/n is there it might get suspicious if myself and Yunho show up.”

“Who?” Hongjoong looked at the tall man remaining silent. “I thought we agreed no relationships.”

“Oh come on hyung this is great she works at the museum and…oh my god” Wooyoung stood up.

“What?” Yunho and Hongjoong looked at him.

“Y/n! She can get Yunho is as her date, she’s always complaining about everyone bringing their partners to these things, and the employees get a plus one!”

“Wooyoung if she realizes what we do she’ll call the police in an instant.” Yunho hissed. “Besides we’re not dating, and we won’t be.”

“Oh so she works there?” Hongjoong looked at Yunho…glaring the man down.

“I-It’s just for show. She’ll never suspect me if we’re talking. I don’t even….I don’t even have feelings for her.”

“That’s not true at all. He's totally hung up on her, he asks me about her all the time. She’s really handy and I’m almost done with the painting and it’s not like anyone can tell the difference and then we lay low for a while until the next one comes in.” Wooyoung looked at him.

“It’s just for show Wooyoung! She has to believe it’s real so you do too!” he stood up from his spot on the table.

“Say you don’t mean it.” Wooyoung looked at the table. “Tell me you aren’t hurting my best friend just stringing her along.”

“So what, you don’t have to face her never talking to you again as you set her up on another failed blind date. Sorry Wooyoung looks like you’re the asshole again”

“Okay you two that’s enough” Seonghwa stood up

“And what about her feelings! She called me and told me about how special that first date was and you’re just going to let her be heartbroken? Never trust anyone again?”

“Why do you care so much Wooyoung?”

“Because she deserves someone who could give her the world!!” he threw his sketchbook at the man and San caught his arm. “I thought you’d do that for someone but apparently you just want to die a lonely old man!”

“Okay adjourned for today.” Hongjoong dismissed the group before it could get anymore heated, they didn’t need a brawl like last time. 

~~~~~~~~~

“Hello?” I answered my phone. “Woo it’s 3am.”

“Break up with your boyfriend.”

“Huh?” I groaned. “Wooyoung what are you on about right now?”

“He doesn’t deserve you and I don’t want you getting hurt. Dump him like the sack of shit he’s being.”

“Okay Woo. I’ll get right on that.” I moved my phone away. “I’m not going to be in between your fight so whatever it is, figure it out.”

“Please y/n……I couldn’t stand it if you got hurt.”

“I appreciate the concern Woo…we aren’t dating ok? He’s just some guy I'm seeing.”

“You like him though right? Like a lot?”

“Yeah. I thought that was obvious.” I blushed a little.

“And you’d say yes if he asked you to be his girlfriend?”

“I’m not…opposed to the idea.”

“I just want someone that’s right for you.”

“And weren’t you the one who set us up because you think he IS the right one? Woo I really don’t want to talk about this right now, it’s late I’m tired and you’re obviously very upset right now. Later ok? You don’t have to be worried.”

“You mean a lot to me y/n.”

“So you’d tell me if he actually did something to warrant a break up right?”

“Yes.” he sighed.

“I’m…I’m going to invite him to the Gala so I don’t have to work it this year.”

“y/n…I don’t know it…nevermind. You’ll be happier if you go.”

“You can come too Woo…if you want…I can probably swipe a few invites from work.”

“You? Steal from work?”

“Oh I’ve nabbed a few of those cheesy keyrings and cheap stuff before it’s fine.” I smiled. “Then you can keep an eye on us or whatever, ok?”

“Okay……..y/n?”

“Yes Wooyoung….I love you too.” I smiled into the phone.

“Yeah…I love you.” He hung up. Why did she have to be so happy with him.

“Last day for RSVP ladies.” Marcus said making his rounds. “Y/n I assume we can count on you working?”

“Actually I’m bringing someone thank you very much. I’ve been seeing him for a while now so I’ll have you know we’re coming together.”

“You?....Really.”

“Yes really.” I sighed. “Just because I don’t act like it I have been seeing someone.”

“Oh yeah he has a nice car too.” Lizz nodded. “Definately Mr. Moneybags.”

“Well….I look forward to meeting him.” he said incredulously.

“Yeah I’m sure.” I looked away and back to the computer as Marcus left.

“Is he actually coming?” Liz asked.

“I haven’t asked him yet.” I sighed and hit my head on the desk. “ow.”

Did I wait until practically the last second to ask Yunho to come with me…yes. Did he fortunately say yes. Thank God he did! Oh man it’s a good thing he’s rich or else I don’t think he’d have a suit ready in time.

“Do you have a dress?” he asked over the phone.

“No but I can get one it’s no big-”

“I’ll have someone send one over, you have to look good don’t you.” he chuckled into the receiver. That low chuckle sent a shiver down my spine. Just what has this man done to me already. “Let me know when you get it. This weekend right?”

“Yeah it’s this weekend.”

“Luckily I’m very free this weekend. I’ll see you then beautiful.” he hung up.

“Everything was working out” they both thought, for various reasons.

When the dress came a few days later I swore there was a mistake. I stood there with the man for a good 20 minutes telling him he had the wrong person, house, whatever. I couldn’t believe my eyes it…it’s too much.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I yelled into my phone. “This is way too much.”

“Think of it as a gift. You deserve a nice dress don’t you.”

“Yunho this is too much, way too fancy.”

“Nothing is too much for you.” Did he mean that? He felt no guilt when it came to spending money on her, in fact sometimes he wanted to ask Wooyoung if he thought she’d like what he was looking at…but those feelings weren’t real…they couldn’t be, this is just for a job.

“Yunho there is very much a thing as too much. Especially for me.”

“I’ll pick you up in 2 hours, can’t wait to see it on you.” he smiled.

2 Hours…oh god I’m never going to be ready in time “EMMA!” I called out. “Code Six!...See you babe” I hung up the word slipping out.

“Coming!!” she called from downstairs. “How much time?”

“2 Hours.” I looked at her.

“Lucky me, you just got out of the shower. Okay strip back down, you’re going to knock his pants off.” she smiled.

“It’s knock your socks off.”

“Honey when I’m done, you’ll be lucky you’re both wearing clothing.” she smiled and got to work. “Oh my this is a nice dress. Yeah…def a code six. Okay sit still.”

2 Hours flies by when you really don’t want it to. I felt like I just picked up the phone to call him and now here I am in the most gorgeous black dress I’ve ever worn, it had sleeves so I wouldn’t be too cold, a deep plunge in the front that was just enough it wasn’t a scandal, and a leg split up to my thigh. I wore the best pair of black heels I owned and Emma did a great, beautiful, fantastic job on my hair and makeup. Now all that’s left is-

“Y/n! Your boy toy is here.” Becka called out.

“Coming Becks!” I put in my earrings and left to hear the already long start of the interrogation he was receiving from all 4 of my new parents. “Okay you guys that’s enough, you’ll see him later at the event now stop pestering the poor man.”

“Oh it was really n….” he stopped once he saw me.

“Oh No.” he thought. “My god she’s beautiful. She was made for that dress.” he cleared his throat

“Careful bud, you keep staring like that people will think you fell in love.” I chuckled and nudged him.

“Okay! Get together picture time!” Emma called.

“What?! No Ems, seriously this isn’t prom or homecoming or whatever. We don’t need-” She took about Seven shots right there. “Emmaaa.”

“Smile! Okay now get close. Okay act like you like each other.”

“I think you lied when you said 2 hours wasn’t enough time.” he whispered in my ear and I chuckled only for a flash to go off in my face.

“Oh! That’s the one! That’s a keeper! Oh it’s going in frames and on the fridge!” Emma called out. “y/n’s first gala!”

“Okay okay, I’ll see you guys there before you start badgering the poor guy again now that pictures are over. Go on before they barricade us in.” I laughed and pushed him slightly leaving the flat.

“He’s in love.” Liz looked at Becka. “I know that look fairly well…she’s gone and bewitched the poor man.”

“I think poor is the wrong word here Liz.” she laughed. “He’s definitely got the big L on the brain.”

“I am so sorry about them, I just…I’ve never had a date while we’ve lived together and-”

“It’s fine y/n.” he chuckled and rubbed his thumb over my hand. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you” I blushed. “I really just think it’s the dress though.”

“No, you’re definitely wearing the dress. It’s just you.” he smiled. “I’m very lucky.”

“I think I should be saying that.” he helped me into the car. “Have you and Wooyoung made up yet?”

“We’re working on it, just a spat if you will.”

“Please don’t be too mad at him, he’s just…passionate and caring, and if it’s about me…don’t worry ok. I…I can handle myself.”

“y/n?”

“I’m just saying…like thanks for the dress and going with me but like I totally get it. You don’t have to pretend to like me. We can call it quits after tonight ok.”

“Y/n…I’m not pretending.” Was that a lie? Even he didn’t know anymore.

“Just, don’t be mad at him for being defensive, he’s a great guy and he just…he’s seen me really get hurt by some guys so he gets..brotherly.”

“Y/n. We made up it’s ok, I get where he’s coming from. Seriously, I’m more than happy to go with you.”

The gala was busy, I was pulled aside a few times to talk to some of the people there once they saw me walk in with a man like Yunho. He screamed money, practically begging the Museum to come and ask him to be a donor. So they kept me busy and off to the side to butter up the man since I would obviously tell him if it was a scam of some sort. I ran into a friend of Yunho’s named Mingi, he sure is tall and funny, must be a thing they have, he’s telling me embarrassing stories about the pair growing up, oh if only Yunho could be over here too, so I could see his face in agony as he tells me these.

“I can’t believe you’re going through with this.” Wooyoung whisper yelled at the tall man so as to not alert anyone.

“Wooyoung it’s not what you think ok.”

“No it’s exactly what I think it is. After all this you’re still just going to use her and throw her away while I get hurt too. I don’t want to lose my best friend because you’re a scumbag.”

“Woo seriously it’s not like that.” Yunho pulled the man back. “Please just listen to me ok!”

“And why should I? Hmm?!”

“Because I lied!”

“About.”

“Okay maybe it wasn’t a lie when I said it but…it’s a lie now okay. I can’t stop thinking about her, and now I..I bought her that dress and all I wanna do is take her home and tear it off. God she looks amazing, and my chest clenches everytime I see Mingi make her laugh over there, he’s totally telling her some corny pick up line I mean look at them. I can practically hear her laughing and it makes me want to punch him so bad.”

“...you’re jealous.”

“I’m completely jealous.” he looked at Wooyoung. “I really like her Wooyoung, it’s painful how much I like her…and she thinks I’m just going to…let her go after this event? No way.”

“Mr. Jeong?” a waiter said pulling the two out of the conversation. “This is from the director, he would like to make sure his guests are…welcomed.”

“Yes yes thank you.” he took the drink and waved the man off. “God and everyone here keeps pulling her away so they can talk to me and all I want to do is look at my favorite piece in this whole god damn gallery up close.”

“Oh Mr. Moneybags isn’t having any fun now…serves you right, toying with my best friend just to fall in love with her later.”

“It’s not love….Okay maybe it is I don’t know, god Hongjoong is going to kill me.”

“You’re right.” the man said from behind them. “I am going to kill you. She’s a danger to us Yunho.”

“I just….I am tired of being alone hyung. Wooyoung was right. I…her smile makes me feel…...happy.”

“Prove to me she’s useful and maybe..I’ll grow to be okay with it. Just know what you’re dragging her into Yunho, this world isn’t kind and forgiving….San has the device and is going to plant it.” he walked away to make sure the plan was being followed. 

Yunho started drinking, and by drinking I mean too much, by the time I finally made my way back to him after about an hour and a half he was pink in the face and giggling at me.

“You’re so pretty.” he smiled and held my hand.

“You lose your composure fast when drinking hmm?” I chuckled at the man.

“I’m tired of talking about money to these people.”

“Why don’t we go look around at some stuff then? Get away for a second.” I took his hand leading him away from the party to go and look at some of the art, so it could be quiet. We ironically made our way back to Room 43, where it all started.

“y/n.” he turned me towards him, here it comes, the “break-up”.....Why…why is he kissing me if he’s not interested.

“Yunho.” he kissed me again pulling me back in. “Yunho you’re drunk.” I chuckled and pushed him gently.

“You’re beautiful.” he kissed me again. “I don’t want you going anywhere not for a long time.” he mumbled and kissed me. “I’m an idiot, I like you so much it hurts. Please…please will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yunho.” I looked at him.

“I want to buy you everything those pretty eyes land on, take you out to Paris for lunch because I can. Wooyoung was right, I’m completely head over heels for you, and I really don’t want to let you go.”

“So that’s what you two fought over….you two really are idiots.”

“Please say yes.”

“Why me? There’s so many others.”

“Because in a room full of art pieces, you’re my favorite one to look at.” he leaned in and put his forehead to mine. “I’m an idiot but I want to be your idiot. Please say yes.”

“You really think I’m going to say no after you bought me this dress? God you really are my idiot aren’t you.” I kissed him this time and he pulled me in impossibly close. My answer was always going to be yes.

God men are stupid aren’t they.

“Oh is this the pretty thing Wooyoung was talking about?” the mysterious man came into the room.

“Go away San.” Yunho groaned.

“Oh a friend of yours?” I started to turn around but Yunho pulled me back in. “What? Don’t want me to see him come on Yunho.” I turned around and smiled to the pink haired boy. “Oh hey San.” I smiled

“y/nnnn” he drawled out and came over to hug me tightly.

~3rd Person POV~

San came in to hug Y/n holding the device meant to be planted on the system by the painting, he hadn’t expected to see the pair in the room so, they improvise. San quietly passed the device to Yunho going in for the hug so the man could plant it. Y/n turned back to Yunho to make small talk.

“I didn’t know you two knew each other, oh he’s part of the gang Woo was talking about isn’t he.” she chuckled.

San’s expression fell for a moment while Yunho made a recovery.

“Ah you got me, San is part of our little gang of misfits.” Yunho chuckled back.

“How’s you get in anyways? Oh did Woo bring you with the invite, I told him to be careful bringing people along.” Y/n sighed.

“Yeah basically snuck in you know.” San laughed nervously.

“Did you come up to look at the art?” y/n asked. “Yunho and I were just taking a break from the people.”

Yunho moved closer to the wall again since her attention was back on San.

“Oh yeah, you two sure looked like you were talking.” San joked only to have y/n blushing.

“Oh please it could’ve been way worse. Right Yunho?” she turned around to the man to step closer as he hid the device beind his back once again.

Y/n moved back over to him and San stepped closer once more to take the device back once more in hopes to finally get what he needed. Yunho pulled her in giving it back to San.

“Swapping notes?” she asked.

“Just a fist bump”

“Oh god not a bro move…really?” she laughed at the man.

“Sorry beautiful.” Yunho acted fast and decided it was best to try to distract her, maybe if she was flustered they could finally get this damn device on the security panel. It was RIGHT THERE.

“Anyways San-” Y/n began to turn again but Yunho not wanting her to see him fiddling with the wall grabbed her quickly 

“Y/n” he said and kissed her like his life depended on it…in a weird way it did.

While distracted San had to move with haste, he had to get the panel off the wall and….oh god why are there so many things involved in this! Ok he can do this he can get the panel off and-

“And why did you kiss me?” she asked.

“Can I not kiss my new girlfriend, we were doing that uninterrupted before.” Yunho smiled. “I just missed the feeling. One more?” he pouted and she leaned in and he gave San a look saying ‘I can’t do this forever hurry!’

If only San could just get the corner up and slide it under and

“Got it!” he said a little too excited and loud.

“Got what?” Y/n turned to look at him

Lucky for the boys San thought quickly and took out his phone to make it look lke he snapped a picture of the young couple.

“Just my new blackmail material is all.” he smiled.

“You’re such a jerk.” y/n laughed and hit his arm.

“Let’s rejoin the party?” Yunho suggested. They all made their way back while San and Yunho shared a look of ‘That was WAY too close.’

~Original POV~

“Why don’t I take you home?” Yunho offered.

“Hmm?” I looked up at him. “Sure you don’t want to hear more great offers about donating to the museum?” I chuckled at him.

“No I honestly would rather be Michealangelo and cut off my ear…..Why are you laughing so much.”

“Van Gogh cut his ear off after alcohol withdrawal…and other mental illness. Michealangelo had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.”

“I knew that I was just testing you.” he smiled.

“Maybe I should drive.” I calmed my laughter.

“Oh and let you see my place? Hmm I don’t think you’re ready for my big impressive house.” he smiled. “I can drive, I’m sober.”

“Well maybe I need to see this big impressive house to decide if I’m ready for it or not.” I winked at him. “Come on, these heels are killing me anyways.”

We got up and said our goodbyes, Yunho led me to the valet who brought the car around, both of my bosses Marcus and Henry, and the directors for the Museum came to see us off making sure to let Yunho know they’d love to see him at more events. (Give them more money). We got in the car, he put in the address and made our way back.

“My pretty girlfriend.” he smiled as we stopped at a light.

“Oh so I’ve downgraded from beautiful to pretty.” I chuckled and pinched his cheek. He took my hand and gave me a small peck on the back of my hand.

“Never.” he smiled.

We pulled up to the flat but didn’t move for a second. It was silent

“Everyone is going to be there for a while still, Will loves to attend those events for networking, and Becka and Emma are going out of town this weekend to visit Emma’s parents….if you’d…like to come in? Just for a drink.” I said finally breaking the silence.

“Yes.” he mumbled and got out of the car quickly rushing around to open the door.

We made our way inside and locked the door again. I poured a glass of Whiskey for the two of us and we practically took them as shots..One more for good luck?..... 

“I’m just going to change into something more comfortable now that we’re back.” I said motioning upstairs. “If you want to join me we can watch something on my computer?” he followed me up the small staircase and into my bedroom.

“Oh, it’s tiny.” he chuckled.

“Well it’s usually just me.” I flung my shoes off my feet and sighed in relief.

He pushed me up against the door to once again to capture my lips, they’ve probably started swelling from the bruising nature of the kisses.

“You look so fucking beautiful in this dress.” he mumbled against my lips. “It’ll look better on the floor.”

“Do you always use cheesy lines on girls?” I giggled.

“Just ones who think I’m funny.” he smiled.

“You know your friend Mingi is really funny.” I smiled into the kiss, pushing his buttons just a little. “Do you think he thought I was pretty?”

“He better, otherwise I have to knock some sense into him.” he chuckled pulling me back in.

The dress quickly found it’s way onto the floor revealing the matching set I was wearing.

“Black Lace? All for me.” he chuckled in between kisses.

“To be fair I didn’t know this would happen.”

“Oh but you wanted it to.” he teased.

“Don’t get a big head now, you might faint.”

Yunho’s hand moved to my thighs as I wrapped my legs around his waist, his hands groped what they could kneading the soft flesh he found there. He moved off the wall and made his way over to the bed laying me down and hovering over. I unbuttoned his shirt before he tugged it off the rest of the way, his lips never leaving mine until he started making his way down my neck nipping at the soft skin, surely he could feel my pulse racing.

“Nervous? We don’t have to-” I stopped him with a kiss this time.

“If you leave me high and dry I might stop talking to you for good.”

This man isn’t just good at talking, or looking pretty he knows how to use every part. He looked up at me from his spot between my legs for the last 20 minutes, he had me nearing my third orgasm of the night and I was seeing stars.

“That’s it beautiful, doing so well for me.” who knew I liked being praised.

“Fuck, Yunho.” I moaned and clenched around his fingers again. “Oh god right there, it feels so fucking good.” he was rubbing against that soft spongy part inside me, and fuck was my head spinning. “I wanna ride you baby please.” I moaned out as he held my hip down when it bucked up. “Fuck!” I yelped when his fingers curled again.

“Whatever you want baby.” he smiled and got up kissing back up my body. I could still taste myself on him when he kissed me again.

He helped me up since my legs were already giving up at this point, it’s been a long time since I last slept with anyone and he was making me feel like I was floating. He sat up against the headboard and I moved to lower myself onto him.

“Oh fuck.” I moaned and slipped him inside just the tip at first the stretch was harsh, he was bigger than any of my previous partners and now I realize why he was taking his time. 

“Relax baby, otherwise you’re gonna get hurt.” he kissed my temple. “I’ve got you, and we can stop whenever you want.”

“Fuck, you’re such a gentleman.” I chuckled and relaxed a little sinking down further. “Oh shit.” I bit my lip and pressed my forehead to his.

“You’re taking me so well baby. Feel so good.” he mumbled against my forehead as I rocked my hips forwards and back sinking down again. “That’s it pretty girl.” he rubbed my hips as I fell flush against him.

“Oh my god.” I mumbled and ground against him, my clit hitting his pubic bone, the friction felt amazing.

The minutes passed by as I grew more comfortable with the full feeling and the stretch between my legs, I’m going to be so fucking sore tomorrow. “Fuck I’m gonna cum.” I moaned into his ear as I began to bounce on him gently, if I thought his fingers hit my g-spot well, I was sorely mistaken. I was seeing stars in a matter of minutes, my walls clamping around him as I rode out my high moaning his name.

“Fuck baby I’m so close, come on, one more time.” he reached down to rub my clit with his thumb as I held onto my headboard for support.

“Fuck, Yunho…Yunho…” I moaned into his neck feeling overstimulated, my eyes began watering.

“That’s it baby.” he moaned into my ear. “Come on good girl.”

My eyes rolled back and I felt my hips jerk and a loud moan come out of my throat, fuck was he good. He laid me down and after a few more minutes of  hip bruising thrusts he pulled out and came on my stomach with a guttural groan of my name.

“Fuck.” he breathed out and held himself up on his forearms to keep from collapsing.

“You do this for every girl who works at an art museum?”

“Only the prettiest ones there.” he kissed me gently.

“That was amazing.” I kissed him.

“If you thought that was good just wait until you see how good the aftercare is.” he kissed me nose and helped me up carrying me to the bathroom to take a quick shower and clean up. He held me up practically the whole time since I couldn’t feel my legs and he didn’t let me move a muscle, he was extra careful where it was sore and sensitive, and he made sure to kiss me as many times as he could.

“Yunho?” I looked up at him from under the stream of water.

“Yes y/n?” he rubbed my cheek.

“Don’t go yet?” I nuzzled into his hand.

“I’ll stay.” he smiled.

He dried me off as best he could and went to grab something to wear for me, he came back and the little self doubt I had reared its ugly head.

“Shit.” I mumbled.

“What?” he put my shirt over my head.

“I don’t have any clothes for you to wear.”

“I’ll wear my boxers and then put my shirt and pants back on before I leave.” he chuckled. “Don’t worry.”

“Promise you won’t disappear before I wake up?” I looked up at him while he got in the probably too small for two people sized bed.

“I would never do that.” he took my hand and kissed it. “I meant it, I’m crazy about you and I don’t want to fuck it up……again.”

“Goodnight Yunho” I let out a yawn.

“Goodnight Beautiful.” he pulled me in close and rubbed my back.

They were both in deep, they just didn’t realize it yet.

Prev/Next

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Code Blue - Ch. 14 "Skeletons in the Closet"

Summary: Lee feels his only friend now is the bottle. He gets a call and explains the damage he caused and accidentally reveals something. Josie has a tantalizing dream. Orlando shocks the hell out of her and she lets him know how much. Lee sees an angelic vision, a real one this time. Another moment is shared. Josie meets a potential new landlord as she searches for her own place, but a secret lies beneath. Josie asks Lee out. A secret is revealed to the readers.

*Warnings* language, smut, angst, alcohol use, drug injection, drug mentions, mentions of death

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Chapter characters: Lee, Josie, Amy, Orlando, Megan, Craig, Mystery Person

Salem, Massachusetts

February 24, 2023

Dash had went home just after midnight when his mom got off her shift at the hospital and Lee wasted no time finishing off the bottle of whiskey that you had been drinking earlier that evening. He had hoped you would at least text him to let him know you made it home alright but you didn't, so he reached out to Amy to find out since you wouldn't reply to him. Amy told him that you wouldn't respond to her either so she called Margaret who then confirmed you had came home and been in your room all night. This relieved Lee but made him hurt even more for you. When he told Amy about his father, she immediately called him.

"Hey Ames."

She heard it in his voice. The emotional pain and the slurring due to his drinking.

"Lee…honey I am so sorry about your dad! I had no idea. Are you alright? You don't sound so hot."

"Well now, that's because I'm not. I have lost everything…my son, my brother, my dad, my job, my best friend and now Jo."

"Jo? What happened Lee? That girl is crazy about you. I was there when she read your letter."

"Well if that were true, she certainly isn't anymore because I ruined it. I pushed her too hard and too fast and she couldn't get away from me fast enough. Everything was going so good this afternoon and then it just wasn't. I don't know what set her off, possibly my neighbor that I slept with one lousy drunken time years ago after Jacob died and I don't think Jo liked her very well when she came over."

"Wait what? This girl came over and Josie met her? and…you told Josie about that??"

"I needed to. I could tell she wanted to know and suspected it. Angel isn't exactly inconspicuous about how she feels....and then she asked me to watch her kid...I should have said no."

"She asked you that after you had just lost your father? Wow...bold isn't she. I know who Angel is Lee, I work here too remember? Sometimes, you're just too nice you know that?"

"Apparently, cause look where it's gotten me. Maybe I should just be an asshole and finish off alienating everyone and become a fucking hermit."

"Or maybe stop drinking Lee."

"Ok, I don't need this shit from you too Amy. I have a mother...I mean had."

"Lee...stop wallowing and feeling sorry for yourself and try to fix whatever happened. I know Josie very well, and the girl has got it bad for you. Go to her tomorrow when you're cleaned up and tell her how you feel."

"And what, push her even further away? I have caused irreparable damage already. Like that time with Jess that Jo saw...she made it known that it still hurts her...and now Jo knows that my sculpture was of her...and we were watching sappy love story movies and that upset her too, saying she don't believe in love like that and I asked her why and she said it's all fiction which is why she writes about it and then she was drinking and..."

"Lee, slow down, you're rambling. Now wait, you sculpted Josie?"

He paused for a minute and closed his eyes, picturing your face.

"Yeah....she is so beautiful Amy. I couldn't help myself. I have never sculpted anyone before....but Jo broke it that night when she, and I quote, saw me devouring Jess' mouth. I thought it was she realized it was of herself but found out tonight she didn't know, so I am sure that freaked her the hell out too. I've scared her off Amy. Plain and simple. One minute we were dancing, and I was singing to her and then she started crying and told me I needed to slow down...and I don't know how to...I have never been in love before and I..."

All Lee could hear was Amy squeal in delight, so loud he had to hold the phone away from his ear.

"EEEEEE!! Oh my god Lee, you love her?"

"Now that I'm deaf, I suggest you become deaf too and pretend you didn't hear what I stupidly just said. You CANNOT tell her I said that. She cannot know, that would put the nail in the coffin, if it already isn't. I already I told her I wished for on 11:11 which she told me once before not to reveal what I wished for or it wouldn't come true, so I fucked that up too."

"Of course I am not going to tell her. That's not my place, it's yours...but I am willing to bet money that she feels the same way about you....give her some time and space...she'll come around. I guarantee she won't be able to stay away from you."

Amy knew that you loved him too because you admitted it after you read his letter, but as she had said, it's not her place to tell.

"I'm not strong enough to stay away from her either Amy. How can I try and make this better if you say to give her space and time? What if she decides she don't want this...or me? I can't deal with this right now...Amy I need to go..."

"Lee just wait and....Lee?"

He hung up and cranked up his music, then poured another shot of whiskey. It was now 1:15 and he about choked on his drink when a song played. I Need You Now by Lady Antebellum. Lee never used to believe in signs but after everything he had seen with his own eyes in the past three weeks, he was now a believer.

He began looking through your Facebook photos while listening to the song, fighting off every urge to call you. Staring at the front door, he imagined you walking in like you did that morning...but this time it was into his arms, telling him you loved him so much and kissing him. He then came across a public post you made an hour ago.

"One moment...can change who we are, what we see, how we think and feel forever. One moment...when a definitive line can be drawn between everything in our lives which came before it and after it....He was my moment..."

Lee must have read it a dozen times until his vision was too impaired by booze and tears to see the words anymore, so instead, he stared at your profile picture.

"And you were mine.....still are." he whispered and then soon after, he laid his head down and fell asleep on the kitchen table.

You had tossed and turned all nights with dreams of Lee and had a very erotic one just before waking up. He was lying beside you in your bed, naked with the blanket covering his lower half. His fingertips were gliding up your leg just like you had imagined him doing while you were at his house as he fondled your ankle. He then moved himself between your legs and gazed into your eyes as you held his face. He glanced down between your spread legs, then brought his eyes back to yours.

"What would you like me to do?" he asked in a deep sensuous tone.

Your thumb traced over his pouty perspired lips.

"This. I want to feel your breath, your warmth inside me."

He formed an alluring smile and began to kiss your inner thigh. As his mouth almost made it to your aching entrance, you gasped and pulled his head up, making him look at you as you panted.

"Lee....I....I love you."

His pupils reacted and widened, so much so that you could see your reflection in them.

He resumed his trail down your thigh with his supple lips as you ran your fingers through his feathery hair.

"My Jo...let me show you how much I love you too my sweet girl."

His voice was so deep, so loving and filled with desperation to pleasure you.

You whimpered loudly as he kissed your protruding bud and then ran his hot tongue up through your slick folds and back down to your entrance. Without warning, he plunged his tongue inside of you and swirled it about, sending you head flinging backwards and your hips pushing into him.

Beep beep beep beep beep. 7 am. Your alarm went off, startling you awake as you were intensely orgasming. You grabbed your pillow and buried your face into it moaning and gasping, rocking your hips through the insane pulsating pleasure....and then you just laid there and cried, wishing it had been real. You could still smell him on your hands from the night before.

You immediately sat up and checked your phone to see if Lee had texted or called, but he hadn't....but there was a notification on your Facebook icon. Upon clicking on it, it went to the status you made last night, which was public so anyone could comment....and someone did...Lee. It simply said "And you were mine. Still are."

You dropped your phone and threw your hands over your face, bawling as his name whimpered out of your mouth. You got up, dried your eyes and went downstairs to eat some breakfast so you had some energy for your skating class. As you galloped down the stairs, you came to a dead halt as you saw two pairs of shoes by the front door....and couldn't believe your eyes as to whom you saw in the living room, sleeping on the couch.

Megan...laying on Orlando's lap.

"What in thee fuck!?" you blurted out, scaring them both awake.

Megan laughed. "Oh no, it's not what it looks like..."

"It never is.." you snarked with an astonished smirk upon your face as you walked towards them both.

"We just went out and had a few drinks last night and he was too drunk to drive so I let him stay here. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you went after yet another man who WAS important to me." you reeled as you glared at Orlando.

"Josie, please let me explain.." Orlando finally chimed in.

"There is nothing to explain. Both of you get out of my house right now! before my mother comes down and has a heart attack at this disgusting sight!"

"It's not just your house Josie. I'm moving back in. Mom said I could."

"Oh, well how fucking lovely. I will be finding my own place then, but for now, get out before I kick both of your ass's!"

Megan ran out the back way and Orlando tried to go to the front door where his shoes were.

"No! You are not going out the front door at 7 in the fucking morning for all the world to see of my sister's half naked screw of the week!"

"Josie, I just need to get my shoes and then I'll go out the back." he said as he gently pushed his way to the doorway.

"How dare you...how dare you come into MY HOUSE and fornicate with my slut of a sister on my mother's couch!"

"You have got it all wrong Josie, if you would just listen instead of acting like a crazy person for one minute!"

Slap...the hit he had worried about receiving the other night, he finally unexpectedly got as you smacked him right across the face.

"What, listen to more of your lies??! How could you do this with her of all people after what she did?!"

"Jesus Josie, will you calm the fuck down and listen to me?"

"You cannot be serious right now? Listen to you about what Orlando? It don't even matter if you screwed her or not, it's the fact that you're even associating with the little witch! I'm sure she got your number out of my phone that night...and you just happily accepted to go out with her for some kind of sick and twisted revenge on me when I did nothing to you...tell me, am I getting hot?"

"Ok...fine...yeah, that's what happened....well except for fucking her... SO? You don't get to tell me who I can and cannot see....and why do you even care?"

"Yeah you're right, I don't care...but I do when it's in my own house. You got a lot of fucking nerve Dr. Bloom. Speaking of doctors, did you even know your so called best friend's father died yesterday??"

"W..what?"

"Yeah...Lee...remember him? The guy you've been friends with since high school but now won't speak to over something YOU did? The guy who's been going through nothing but pure hell lately? You're a real piece of work. I actually had believed you were a good guy and that you cared about him. Boy did you have us both fooled. I don't want to hear any more from your repulsive mouth. Get the hell out of my house now before I call the cops."

"Jo? What's going on down there?" your mom called from upstairs.

"Get out of here now!" you whispered through clenched teeth.

"Josie...I'm sorr..."

"Get out!" you cried.

Orlando's eyes teared up as he grabbed his shoes and took off out the back.

"Nothing mom, it was absolutely nothing." you called back to her as you watched Orlando from the window get in his car and leave.

Now you were just too fumed to eat, so you went upstairs, took your shower and headed out.

All the way to the skating rink, you cried. You wanted out of that house now if Megan was going to be staying there indefinitely. You just wanted to go to Lee's instead, but you knew you couldn't right now.

You got inside and put on your skates to do your warm up on the ice before the kids got there and let some steam off. You chose a song that seemed fitting to work your frustrations out too and off you went.

Little did you know that Lee was watching you. When the song ended, you saw him. You skated over to him and did a snowplow stop at the entrance way he stood in.

"What are you doing here?" you asked in complete shock.

"I...wanted to see you skate....and to my amazement, the girl that falls over a divot in my yard, glides and twirls like an angel on the ice."

"Well...I told you I could skate better than I could walk." you lightly smiled and went to sit down.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a minute? I promise, I won't stay long. I have to go handle dad's arrangements soon."

"Sure."

"Great song choice by the way. Adam Lambert is a very underrated singer."

"Yeah..I always choose a song I can relate to. It helps me focus."

Lee knew that was a pun towards him. "Jo...I...I just wanted to apologize for freaking you out or whatever it was that I did and.."

"No...Lee..." you sighed. "You know the saying, it's me not you? Well...it's true. You did nothing wrong and...I'm the one who's sorry. I acted like such a petulant child. I was actually going to call you this morning, but I woke up to quite the surprise."

Of course you instantly thought of your dream of him, but there was no way in hell you were going to tell him about that.

"Oh...you mean...my comment on your post that I saw this morning but don't remember doing. Jo...I'm sorry. I was drinking...and I know I shouldn't have been...I.."

"Lee...you don't owe me any explanations about your choices. Who am I to judge you? I drink sometimes too, and over indulge a lot at times just as you do....I actually was not referring to that though...I found...you're never gonna believe this...Orlando and my freaking sister asleep on the couch from going out drinking the night before."

"Ummm what??"

"Yeah, I know right?"

"Needless to say, I was ready to kill them both and Orlando took the bunt of my wrath on his face."

"Ohhh ouch. You didn't?" he chuckled.

"I did. I would have given Megan one too but she scurried off like the coward she is. I'll deal with her later. Can you believe the nerve of them both? To come to my house and do whatever is they did on my mother's couch?

"Yeah I...uh..got a text from him this morning sending his condolences about my dad."

"Yeah...well he didn't even know until I told him and I tore him a new asshole for being a shitty fake ass friend to you."

"You...did that for me?"

"Of course I did, because it's true. You know, I thought he was so great, the way he took care of you and stayed by your side...until I found out his hidden agenda...and then, to get back at me, he frolics around with the town tramp that's unfortunately related to me. They both claim they didn't sleep together but whatever. He shouldn't even have been around her after what she did to you."

"To us...and yeah, you're right. that's pretty fucked up. He failed to mention all of that when he texted."

"Of course he did. Can we not talk about him anymore? It makes my skin crawl picturing the two of them on the couch like that....How are you doing? Are you ok Lee?"

"Yeah Jo...I am now........I wanted to ask you something. Jo...when the funeral date is set...would...you be willing to go with me? I mean, I totally understand if you don't want..."

"Yes."

"Y..yes? You will? Really?"

"Of course I will Lee. I wanna be there for you. I know how much you're hurting and I would never want you to go through that alone. Thank you...for asking me...after the way I treated you last night. I'm so ashamed."

"Jo..no. Don't be. You're going through things too and I...I pushed you too hard. I swear, it won't happen again. Just please...don't disappear. I'm so afraid that you will."

"I told you once that I wouldn't leave you, and I know that I broke that promise last night...and your heart....but...god I'm so sorry Lee. I just get in my head sometimes, over such mundane things."

"Jo...if something hurts you, it hurts you. There's nothing mundane about it....and if it hurts you...it hurts me."

There it was again...another moment between you both where you just stared at each other.

Another interruption occurred as kids could be heard in the other room.

"Well, I guess that's your que."

"Yes, I think so." you laughed.

"Hey...do you mind if I stay and watch for a bit before I have to go? I promise I'll be quiet and not shout out cheers for you and stuff."

"Ha ha. Sure. Suit yourself. You won't see much but the kids practicing. I'll see you later, ok?"

"Oh and hey. You're amazing, you know." he shouted and laughed.

"Yeah well so are you I guess!" you laughed back and walked out.

Lee was so smitten with you in that moment, just as he was in any other one, but just a little bit more this time.

He stayed for about thirty minutes just watching you talk and laugh with the young girls, stealing glances from you from time to time as you both smiled at each other. He could have sat there all day and taken your beauty in, but he needed to get going. He stood up and waved to you, then blew a kiss. You acted as if you caught it and laughed, then he smiled sweetly and left.

After you left the rink, you spent the day looking for an apartment. There was no way you were going to stay in a house with Megan long term. It would be nice to have a place of your own anyways, so maybe Lee could spend time with you there instead of always at his place....that is...if things came to that....and you very much wanted it to regardless of your fears and insecurities. Now that you had met him, you couldn't imagine a world without him.

You ended up calling a number that was posted outside of a nice lake front loft in a complex that you unintentionally found close to Lee's lake house. A man answered and said he had time for you to come look at it, so you did.

Up the stairs you went to the number he told you. You knocked and the same man's voice shouted over the music to come in. This certainly could not be the place, you thought as you entered to see a loft full of art and paint all over the room...and a man with short dark hair and glasses sitting at a desk deep in thought as a paint brush stroked about in his paint stained hand that was full of silver rings. The classic rock music was so loud, you had no idea how he had heard you at the door.

"Uhh...Hi?" you said but now he strangely didn't hear you.

"Hello!" you shouted.

The scraggly haired man with striking blue eyes and a scruffy short beard looked up over the top of his glasses as if he had never seen a woman before or possibly had even recognized you, yet you had never seen him before in your life.

He then stood up and went to turn the music down, poured himself a glass of wine and came over to you.

"Umm..Josie right? We just spoke on the phone?"

Dear god, this man reminded you of Jason, tall, muscular and wearing a black tee shirt. Even his hair was similar...and his bright blue eyes were almost a match as well. The only difference was his beard, jewelry and....accent. New Zealand maybe? You had to giggle inside that he wore black leather pants that were covered in paint. Overall though, he was a gorgeous man who had good taste in music.

"Hold on a minute sweetheart, let me change my shirt."

He went into the restroom and then came out with a black long sleeved knit and combed hair. You giggled again that he was worried about his shirt when it was his pants that were corroded in chemicals.

"Hi...Sorry bout that. I wasn't expecting you to show up so quickly. I promise, I don't always look like the canvas itself." he smiled as he pointed to one of his pieces that leaned against the wall. "My name is Craig...and youuuu are miss...March?"

'Ohh. That's fine...and yes...Josie March...but just Josie is fine."

"Alright then just Josie. So you are interested in the loft I have for rent?"

"Umm, yes but...this...isn't it...is it?"

The man chuckled and took a sip of his wine. "No my dear, this is my art studio and I have my own personal loft behind it. The one you would like to see is down the hall. Follow me."

He politely opened the door for you and then led you to a door about 25 feet away.

'After you."

He opened the door and followed you inside. It was perfect. Like a studio apartment but much bigger. Everything was in one room except for the bathroom. A kitchen and dining area, living room and a bedroom.

After a few minutes of looking everything over, you made your decision.

"I'll take it....that is if you want to rent it to me. I have references and all that stuff."

"Not necessary. I get the feeling you're good for payment and you don't look like the type that's going to rob me blind and trash the place. I've had too many of those to easily recognize the good, the bad and the ugly. It's yours if you want it."

"Really? O..ok. Thank you...so much."

"Alright then, come with me."

You followed him back to his man cave and went over the payment details and then handed him a check.

"Alright just Josie. When the check clears, I'll give you a call and you can come move in any time after that. Just stop by here and I'll give you the keys."

"Sounds good. Thank you Mr.....?"

"Parker...but you can call me Craig."

"Ok. Um..Thank you...Craig. Hope to hear from you soon."

"You're very welcome just Josie."

He stood holding your check and smiled as you left.

"Jo March....what are the odds of you showing up here? Just what is it that you know....." he muttered to himself.

You were so excited and the only person you wanted to tell was Lee, so you stopped by his place on your way home to start packing, and to break the news to your mother. It's not like you would be far, and you would come visit her all the time....but you needed this. To be on your own and although it wasn't planned, you got the shove you needed to do it.

You went racing up to his door and then stopped to take a breath because every time you knew you would be near him, the butterflies made you dizzy. Slowly, you walked in. He was sitting in the dining room and the look on his face told you he was beyond elated to see you.

"Sorry for just barging in, I just really needed to see you and thought maybe we could go do that lunch, well it would be dinner now, or if it's not a good time, I can go..." you rambled in your nervous state that he always put you in.

He said nothing and came right to you and did what his face said he was dying to do...took you in his arms.

You both stood quietly for a minute as he laid his mouth on top of your head. His warm breath circulated through your hair and his heartbeat raced against your ear.

"Lee...what's wrong, are you alright?" you asked as he held you so tight.

"I...I saw him Jo...I saw my dad."

You arched your head back quickly. "You saw him? Here?"

"Oh...no...I meant at the funeral home today. I went there to make his arrangements after I had stopped at the home to wrap up the financial stuff and gather his things.....He..looked so peaceful. I talked to him for a little while and held his hand...and then I came here and have just been sitting at that train set ever since. The locomotive I gave him for his birthday, I brought back and put it back on the Jacob's set, wanting to turn it on...but I...I just couldn't....Jo...I'm so glad you're here."

You squeezed him extra tight and now both of your hearts were pounding against each others.

"Me too...I am so sorry Lee. I hate it that you're hurting so much. We don't have to go out tonight."

"No, nonsense. I would love to go out with you, and get the hell out of here for awhile. Fixing this place up is dragging on and dragging me down...besides...you said you needed to see me so there must be a reason unless you just couldn't stay away from me." he grinned as he peered down at you.

You giggled shyly. "Both....annnnd...." You smiled and began lightly jumping up and down in his arms. "I got my own place today!"

"Oh my god Jo, that's great. I'm so happy for you. Well then there's a reason to go out after all, to celebrate....you can tell me all about the place then."

"Really? Ok! First, I need to go home and shower and change...I have been running all day since the rink and..."

"Jo Jo...you really don't know just how beautiful you really are do you?"

His fingertips softly stroked your cheek as another moment was happening. You could see it in his eyes that he wanted to kiss you and god did you want him to....until your car alarm went off.

You both ran to the front porch and watched a cat haul ass off of your hood. You threw your arms in the air.

"I..I give up. I give up!" you laughed sarcastically and shut the alarm off. "Come pick me up in an hour. You can meet my mom."

His face fell flat and his eyes widened as he gulped. "W..w..what? You...want me to meet your mother? Jo...after how I showed up that day at your house...I doubt that it's a good idea..."

"Lee...relax. She didn't even witness any of it...and so what if she had? It will be fine..."

"Is that code for...here, hold my beer?" he chuckled.

"Ha ha. I'll see you soon then?" you said as you put your coat on and began to walk down the steps.

"So...is this a date?" he said with a sly grin.

You turned and stared at his precious face...then ran back up to him, and held a soft kiss on his cheek right beside his lips, then placed you hand on his cheek and smiled.

"It is..."

As Lee watched you drive off, the smell of your cherry chapstick flowed up his nose and he could feel the slight stickiness of it on his skin. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as he held his nerve racked stomach, then went inside to get ready.

Craig headed down to the basement of his complex where there were two other units besides his and the one you would rent that were both upstairs. He then sat down and spoke to someone.

"How's it going my friend. I'm unusually early, but there's been an unusual occurrence. It seems we have a new...tenant. At first, I thought it could be a major problem, because...well...I find it quite odd that this person shows up here of all places looking for an apartment, which concerns me as to what they know....Now on the other hand, it could be a plus, because a close eye can be kept on the resident."

A man sat in a wheelchair, unbound and clearly drugged, wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up and a mask that covered his mouth and nose. Upon hearing this news, he became unsettled and tried to get up, but failed as he was too weak.

"Now, now, there's no reason to panic. The person is quite harmless...at this point until I can further assess the situation, that's why I allowed them to stay here.

"N...no...not..the plan..." the masked man muttered and kept trying to get up.

"Are you really going to make me keep drugging you? Because it seems to be the only option at this point to keep you safe....Damn it..."

Craig got up and brought in the nurse who resided in the other unit down the hall.

"Give him a full dose." he ordered.

She did as she was told and injected the hooded man with a very large needle full of ketamine, otherwise known as special k. His arm was already bruised from several other doses.

"You bring this on yourself. I am trying to protect you...and this seems to be the only drug that will keep your hard headed ass sedated since it's used on horses. I know this was not the plan you had, but what does it matter? You're still dead to the world and dead to those who want you dead. How long have we known each other huh? Have I ever steered you wrong? If you go out there half cocked to seek revenge on the Jerome family or any of the other ones now, instead of waiting for the right moment, you won't be only merely dead, you'll be most sincerely dead. If I hadn't intervened, that's what you'd be. You knew that hit was coming and I know you planned for this to go a lot differently....but now, we have bigger problems."

"One of those being the new out of the blue arrival and it makes me wonder how much you told this person....that being of one Jo March...."

@redeemer46