#to be fair poseidon i just kinda made up on the spot but i knew what i was. doing

[ochiody]

timedive concepts so far

[idnek83]

Aid - Chapter 4/13

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham

Tags: Alternate Universe - Island Mode, No Game Spoilers, Masturbation,  Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Semi-Public Sex, Grinding, Wet Dreams, Anal Fingering,  Friends With Benefits,  Getting Together, Internalized Homophobia, Anal Sex

Summary: Everyone is hot and half naked because of their beach vacation. Soda is horny and tries to do something about it. Gundham tries to help and does. It all gets a little out of hand.

Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Read on Ao3

This Chapter: Soda is slowly realizing his relationships might be changing. Soda has some feelings, Gundham has a secret, and both of them blow off some steam.

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Once he was out of Nagito’s sight, Soda stopped and looked around. Gundham had gone to the beach? He said he didn’t like the ocean or whatever, but now he was apparently going to the beach on his own? Had he just made an excuse earlier cus he didn’t want to hang out with everyone?

Had Gundham just not wanted to hang out with him?

Soda hesitated. Gundham might just get even more annoyed with him if he showed up and crashed his secret beach time. Maybe he really should just take the food back to his own room, eat way too much, maybe cry a little, then pass out for the night. That sounded like an alright plan…

But his dumbass already had told everyone he was taking food to Gundham, meaning Gundham would definitely find out that Soda had purposely not looked for him and get even more pissed. God damnit. He really couldn’t deal with it if Gundham hated him.

He started walking towards the beach. If Gundham got mad he could just play dumb and say he was going for a swim, he was still in his swimsuit after all.

It wasn’t a great plan but, hey, it was a plan.

He wasn’t really sure what he’d find; Gundham swimming, or exercising, or taming animals, or like, trying to summon a demon. But when he got to there, Gundham was simply standing still, dressed once again in his swim shorts and scarf, staring out at the ocean with a troubled look on his face.

Something about it made Soda feel like he was seeing something private. Like Gundham really wouldn’t want him there.

Before he could even think about leaving, Gundham turned his head and caught sight of him. He looked surprised and… embarrassed?

“My… Kazuichi, for what purpose have you disturbed my dark meditation?” He didn’t look mad, but Soda could tell he wasn’t happy to see him. Ouch. Fair, but still ouch.

“Uh, Teruteru made food for everyone so… I thought maybe you’d want to eat some too?” He awkwardly shifted the bowl in his hands.

“Ah, if you are simply here to deliver sustenance, you may do so and leave.” Gundham gestured dismissively to a spot on the ground where he had laid out a towel.

Oh shit, he was actually super mad wasn’t he, Gundham must be one of those guys who just never yells when he’s actually pissed, just gets quiet and scary. Shit. Fuck. At least he was used to being yelled at, he didn’t know how to deal with quiet angry people. He really needed to apologize.

“Look Gundham, I’m really fuckin’ sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“You are sorry?” Gundham looked surprised. God, he must think Soda is a real piece of shit to be surprised that he’d try to apologize. Soda’s chest felt tight. He was actually gonna cry. Gundham definitely already hated him.

“Y-yeah, I- look it was stupid and I’m stupid and I really didn’t mean to be so god d-damn shitty to you, I was just…” A stupid selfish asshole? An idiot chasing tail? The same useless fuck-up he had always been? God he wasn’t even worth the time Gundham was giving him to apologize. And now he was crying like some kind of pussy.

Gundham was standing in front of him now, Soda looked at the ground. Gundham didn’t need to see how ugly his face was when he was crying like a little bitch, and Soda didn’t want to see the look Gundham’s face when he realised just how truly pathetic he was.

“I just so- so fucking stupid and useless and-” He felt a hand on his naked shoulder.

“My sweet companion, I do not know what it is you are trying to apologize for,” Gundham pulled him close to his bare chest and began to gently stroke his hair “but I am certain it is not worth shedding your precious tears over.”

Soda sniffed, grossly, against Gundham’s shoulder “I t-totally ditched you today. I invited you out and the I just f-fucking left you.” His arms were just hanging at his sides while Gundham tried to comfort him. He had dropped Teru’s food. He felt incredibly stupid. He was incredibly stupid.

“I believe it was I who deigned not to accompany you.” Gundham moved his hand from Soda’s hair to his cheek, gently shifting his head so he was able to look into Soda’s eyes. “You have inverted the situation, dearest friend, I fear it is I who must ask forgiveness of you.” Gundham smiled in that soft way that made Soda’s chest hurt.

“I- huh? B-but I should have-“ He averted his eyes from Gundham’s face, he didn’t deserve Gundham’s kindness.

“Then I forgive you, if that is what you wish to hear. I forgive you for all that you believe you have done wrong, and I only ask that you to grant me the pleasure of your smile in return.” The hand on Soda’s cheek slid under his chin and lifted. Soda had stopped crying, but he didn’t smile. “Do not make me call upon my Deva’s, Kazuichi, you will not be able to withstand their wrath.”

Soda laughed weakly, turning his head to rest it against Gundham’s shoulder. “You didn’t a-actually bring them to the beach right?” He sniffled a little, feeling his tears drying on his cheeks “Isn’t it dangerous for them out here in the dark?”

“Ah, you once again prove to be wise beyond my perception. The Deva’s remain safely in their lairs.” Gundham’s hand was back in his hair, stroking.  “You’ve bested my deception with your dark insight, well done.” Gundham stepped back so he could look at Soda again. “Shall we partake in the rations you have fetched? Perhaps it would be best to converse after sating our hunger.”

Soda looked down at the food he had dropped, it looked like the lid had stayed on at least.

“Okay, y-yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

They sat on Gundham’s towel and ate in silence, as Soda’s shaky breathing slowly returned to normal. He always felt so unsteady after crying, it was embarrassing. At least Gundham wasn’t making fun of him for it.

“Hey, um… Sorry about all that.” He said, staring at his feet. “I swear I’m not usually such a pussy, I just… had a weird day, I guess. Shit just kinda piled up and, well… I dunno, I guess I was worried you like, hated me or something?”

“I am… quite far from hating you.” Soda looked up, but Gundham turned away from him. “Why would you think I held such a feeling for you?”

“Cus of how I ditched you earlier! Like a complete asshole! What kinda friend does that?”

“So, the guilt you felt, believing you had abandoned me, that was what caused your emotions to spill out so violently?”

“I guess, kinda… yeah?”

“Ah, then I truly do own you my most sincere of apologies.”

“What? No man, it’s fine, really.”

“But it is my weakness which caused you such sorrow.”

“Your weakness?”

Gundham stood and turned towards the ocean. “As I said, it was I who chose not to accompany you. I… wished to partake in the ritual which our comrades suggested, however, I would not have been able to.”

Not able? Didn’t Gundham just hate the ocean or something?

“It is shameful but… I am unable to traverse Poseidon’s realm.” Gundham hid the lower half of his face in his scarf as he spoke.

‘Unable to traverse’? Wait, did he mean-

“You can’t swim?” Soda was sure he was misunderstanding.

What little Soda could see of Gundham’s face turned red.

“As I said, it is quite shameful. That is why I ventured here this dark night; I wish to overcome my weakness, so that I may partake when next I am bade to an aquatic ritual.” Gundham sighed “However, it is proving quite difficult.”

So he was trying to teach himself to swim? So that he could hang out with everyone next time they wanted to play in the ocean? That was… pretty cute.

“I could teach you.” Soda had spent some time checking out a busty swim instructor at a pool one summer, he figured he probably picked something up.

“You would aid me in this?”

Soda’s heart skipped a beat when Gundham spoke that word, and he knew he was blushing. He told his dick to shut up for a minute so he could help his friend.

“Course, I don’t mind. I missed you at the beach today anyways, so it’d be cool if you came next time.” Soda scratched his face and tried not to think too much about Gundham coming. “You wanna do this now or?”

“It was my intention to begin my training tonight. Does this suit you?”

“Sure, I could go for another swim.” He smiled at Gundham. Gundham smiled at him.

“Thank you, my dearest-”

A loud laugh could be heard coming from the direction of their cabins. Apparently their friends were returning from the other island. Soda saw the embarrassed look on Gundham’s face and realised he probably didn’t want the others to know about his ‘weakness’.

“C’mon, grab your stuff and let’s find somewhere else to do this.” Soda picked up the empty bowl they had been eating from and headed towards the rocky outcrop a little further down the shore. He could hear Gundham just behind him.

The “beach” on the other side of the hill wasn’t nearly as nice. It was essentially just a small patch of sand, surrounded by the rocky outcrop so you couldn’t enjoy the cool sea breeze during the day. But that also meant it was relatively isolated from the rest of the island and they wouldn’t have to worry about the others catching them here.

Swimming, they wouldn’t have to worry about the others catching them swimming here.

Gundham spread out his towel again and Soda bent over to set the bowl down next to it. When he straightened out, Gundham was behind him, staring. There was a moment of awkwardness between them.

“Uh, I guess we should get started then?” Soda laughed awkwardly and gestured towards the water, what was with this atmosphere?

“Yes, you are right.” Gundham removed his scarf, turned, and walked towards the ocean. Was Soda imagining it or did Gundham look a little… disappointed?

Weird.

Soda followed him into the water. The sun had set like an hour ago, but it was still plenty warm out and the coolness of the water was nice. Soda waded out until the water was at his waist, before diving forwards and enjoyed being submerged in the refreshing feeling for a moment. When he resurfaced he found Gundham staring at him with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry dude, it’s not even that deep here. If you think you’re gonna go under all ya gotta do is stand up.” Soda reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. Wow, he always forgot that Gundham was actually kinda jacked. His biceps were-

A topic for another time when he wasn’t trying to help his friend learn how to swim.

“Ok so uh, I guess we should just start with floating? Or do you know how to do that already?”

Gundham looked apprehensively at the water and shook his head.

“No worries man, just like, lay back and let the water catch you.” Soda demonstrated, then righted himself. “See? Easy. Your turn.”

Gundham slowly laid back, then promptly sunk below the water. Oops. Not easy apparently.

Gundham re-emerged, blushing and gasping. He turned his gaze to the shore.

“Perhaps-”

“Don’t worry about it dude, that was my bad.” He wasn’t going to let Gundham give up that easily. “Try it again, I’ll help you stay up this time.” Soda moved next to Gundham and put his hands out to catch him. “Just lay back again, I won’t let you go under, trust me.”

Gundham took a deep breath before laying back again. Once he was on his back Soda could tell his hands were the only thing keeping Gundham above water.

“Ok, so now you gotta just, kinda, spread your arms and legs.” He though back to the swim instructor, “Like a starfish.” Gundham complied and Soda felt the weight on his palms lessen. Almost there.

“K’ now you just gotta relax.” Gundham gave him an uneasy look. “C’mon, just like, take some deep breaths and close your eyes. I’m here dude, it’ll be fine.”

With a heavy sigh Gundham closed his eyes. He began taking deep breaths and Soda could feel the tension slowly leaving his body.

Soda felt kind of proud of him. This was probably pretty tough for Gundham, opening up and trusting another person like this. Soda wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do the same thing in his place.

Looking down at Gundham, Soda felt his heart beat a little faster. His face looked almost peaceful and his hair was a little messy. Apparently whatever product Gundham used to style his hair wasn’t waterproof. Soda let his gaze wander to the rise and fall of Gundham’s chest. He swallowed. Gundham had really nice pecs. And great abs. And thighs. And from what he remembered-

No, bad dick, helping Gundham comes first.

But maybe Gundham wouldn’t mind some help from his dick too?

“Is my form off?”

“W-what.” Gundham had opened his eyes at some point.

“I feel as though I am properly ‘floating’ now, but you seem to be examining my form quite closely. Am I doing something incorrectly?”

“Oh, no. You’re doing great. I was just…” Thinking about your dick. “Uh, anyways, why don’t we try a front float now?”

Soda waited until Gundham was standing and demonstrated floating on his stomach.

“So same deal as before, I’ll hold you up, so just focus on letting your body relax.”

Gundham lay forward, with much less apprehension than before, and Soda placed a hand on his stomach to support him.

God, Gundham’s abs. Soda couldn’t help but rub his hand over them a little, pretending he was adjusting his grip. Yeah, he was trying to focus on helping Gundham, but it was okay to be a little turned on right? Staring at Gundham’s back muscles wasn’t really helping the situation either. Why was Gundham in such good shape? Was training animals really that much work?

Focus Soda.

“You alright Gundham? Ready to try actually moving a bit?”

He felt Gundham tense up a bit, but he nodded anyways.

“Ok, I’ll keep holding you up for now so don’t worry. Just try kicking your legs a bit.”

–

Soda wasn’t sure how long they had been out there. He just knew Gundham was now able to do a passable breast stroke and that he had lost track of how many times he had blanked out just staring at Gundham’s body. He did know he had been caught more than once though. And that he had caught Gundham doing the same thing at least twice.

Gundham definitely didn’t need Soda to hold him up while he floated anymore, but he asked to do it again anyways, saying he wanted to focus on his form. Soda obliged, and Gundham didn’t ask why he placed one hand under his thigh this time, didn’t ask when Soda began to lightly squeeze and rub. Soda didn’t mention the quiet moan that escaped Gundham’s lips when he moved his hand to his ass, didn’t mention the growing bulge in Gundham’s trunks, just moved closer so Gundham could feel the one in his. Gundham didn’t stop him, instead he just stood, slowly, and pulled Soda in by his hips.

“Aid me.” Gundham pressed his cock into Soda’s hip, and breathed against his ear. “Please.”

Soda didn’t even have time to think about the way that word had gone straight to his dick. He grabbed Gundham’ hand and headed for shore.

He sat on Gundham’s towel, only to be pushed onto his back a second later. Gundham kneeled between his thighs and cradled his cheek.

“My sweet companion.” He whispered before ducking his head and kissing down Soda’s neck. Soda bucked his hips a little and slid a hand into Gundham’s hair.

“Fuuck, Gundham.” He moaned his name and bucked his hips again, the angle wasn’t right, he wasn’t getting the friction he wanted. He let out a frustrated groan.

Gundham must have understood what he wanted though. He slid his hands down Soda’s body and grabbed him by the hips, lifting them and pulling them flush with his own. Gundham lightly bit down on his shoulder and began thrusting against him. It wasn’t perfect, their cocks weren’t quite lined up right, but the friction caused by their swim shorts rubbing against each other as Gundham moved was still maddening.

“A-ah… my dearest… I- hah.” Gundham was moving quickly, nipping and licking at Soda’s neck and shoulders as he drove his hips forward. He was quietly moaning, his grip on Soda’s hips began to tighten, and his thrusts were growing stronger as he pulled Soda against him. He looked like he was already about to cum.

Gundham must have already been pretty turned on if he was getting close that fast. As hot as that was, Soda wasn’t ready for this to be over so quickly. He remembered he still needed to make Gundham scream.

“Gundham- ah- wait.” He ran a hand down Gundham’s back and squeezed his ass. Gundham slowed his thrusts. “What’s the rush? Lets slow things down a little.”

Gundham swallowed and stopped moving his hips. “Ah, my dark consort, I apologize. I was-” Gundham slid a hand back up to Soda’s cheek “Overcome.”

Soda shivered at the word. He didn’t think he had ever heard that tone in Gundham’s voice before. And ‘dark consort’ was new too, wasn’t it?

He wasn’t here to analyze Gundham’s speech though.

Soda squeezed Gundham’s ass again and moved his hands up to his chest, shoving slightly. Gundham got the hint and leaned back, only for Soda to follow him up. He placed his hands on Gundham’s shoulders and pushed him back until he was sitting so Soda could straddle his hips. Soda had planned to take the initiative, but Gundham didn’t give him time to.

Gundham’s hand found Soda’s hip, rubbing slightly before slipping onto his ass and kneading. He ran his other hand up Soda’s chest, teasing a nipple with his thumb before replacing it with his mouth. Soda gasped and tightened his grip on Gundham’s shoulders. He had though about sucking on girls’ tits before, but he never realised it would feel so good to have someone do it to him.

“Shit, Gundham.” He ground his hips down into Gundham’s. Gundham hummed in response, his deep voice resonating through Soda’s chest as he switched his attention to his other nipple.

Soda started grinding in earnest, enjoying the way he could feel Gundham’s breath catch against his skin. He reached down to free his cock from his shorts, then moved to do the same for Gundham. He couldn’t really see with Gundham still mouthing at his chest, so he did a bit of feeling around first instead. He traced Gundham’s abs with his fingers and used them as a guide down to Gundham’s cock. God, he forgot how big it was. He rubbed it through his shorts before finally freeing it. He couldn’t help it, he pushed Gundham back a bit so he could see his cock properly.

No fucking wonder he had sucked Gundham off in the beach house. His cock was just so… appetizing. He could literally feel himself salivating at the sight of it. He remembered how thick and warm and heavy it had been in his mouth last time. He wanted that again. He wanted it and he wondered if it would feel just as good in his ass.

His dick twitched but his mind froze. He probably wasn’t ready for that.

Yet.

Gundham was watching him. Waiting.

“What do you desire my consort?” There was that hand on his cheek again. He looked from Gundham’s cock to his face, his beautiful, flushed face. Gundham licked his lips. Soda followed the movement of his tongue with his eyes, and found himself focusing on Gundham’s mouth.

Fuck, he kind of wanted to kiss him.

Was that allowed? They had never really laid down any ground rules for their… relationship? No. Pact. That’s what Gundham had called it, and it was probably safest to just keep calling it that. Nice and vague. Obviously getting each other off was the main thing with their ‘pact’, they were just two bros helping each other relieve some tension, right? Did that make them fuck-buddies? Did people kiss their fuck-buddies? He’s pretty sure they did in movies, but then they always ended up falling in love, and he didn’t want that.

Right?

“Dearest consort?” Oops, guess he had been spacing out.

“Sorry, it’s just-” Probably best to just ask if they could kiss right? “I was um, t-thinking about your tongue? And like, uh y-your lips? Um- sorry.” or not. He had sucked this mans dick but somehow thinking about kissing him was turning him into a stuttering mess.

“Mmm, fret not, my consort, I understand.” Gundham gave him one of those soft smiles that did things to his heart and slid a hand down Soda’s neck, the back up, resting it on the back of his head.

Oh shit, okay. Here goes nothing then.

Gundham brought his other hand up to Soda’s chest and pushed him backwards. They ended up in the same position they had started in, only now with their cocks out and Soda’s legs spread wide. He wasn’t sure why they had to be in this position to kiss, but he wasn’t about to complain. He was all to aware how easy it would be for Gundham to fuck him in this position, and he was too distracted by how turned on that thought made him to notice Gundham was currently moving away from his lips.

Gundham was kissing his chest again, pausing to lick one of his nipples and give it a light suck before moving his head lower.

Oh.

No kissing then.

Soda felt… complicated. And complicated could wait.

The lips on his stomach reminded him he was about to get blown, and the hand wrapping around his dick reminded him that he was horny as hell.

Yeah, complicated could definitely wait.

Gundham was just barely pumping Soda’s dick. Teasing, Soda realised, getting him extra excited for the main event. Gundham kissed just below his belly button, then pulled away, making Soda whine. Gundham smiled and shushed him, pulling Soda’s swim trunks all the way off and moving back to where he had been, punctuating his action with another kiss below Soda’s belly button and a squeeze of his dick.

Gundham resumed his downward path, planting more kisses on Soda’s abdomen, each one getting just a little bit closer to his cock. Then, right when Soda thought there wasn’t anywhere else for Gundham to kiss, he lifted one of Soda’s legs and began to kiss along his thigh instead.

More teasing?

Soda couldn’t stand it.

He loved it.

He let out a frustrated moan. Gundham laughed and hummed into his thigh, then bit down gently. Soda couldn’t stop his hips from bucking a little, up into the barely moving hand Gundham still had on his dick. The friction felt good, so he did it again. Gundham used the hand he had lifted Soda’s leg with to hold his hip still and switched his attention to his other thigh. Soda couldn’t take it anymore.

“Gundham please! Stop teasing!”

“Were you not the one who said we should ‘slow things down’?” Gundham laughed against the spot where his thigh met his groin. Soda loved it and hated it.

“Y-yeah but c’mon, isn’t this a little too slow?”

“Mmm, then if that is your desire” Gundham finally put his mouth on Soda’s cock.

He kissed the tip gently before running his lips down the side and licking his way back up. Then he opened his mouth and sucked.

“Ah Gundham.” Soda couldn’t believe how good it felt. Gundham took more of his cock into his mouth and began to bob his head. Soda’s head shot back, and he felt like he was going to die from pleasure.

Gundham’s mouth was wet and warm and tight around his cock, and his tongue kept working along his shaft, making him feel things he could hardly describe. Soda knew he was moaning Gundham’s name, over and over, but he couldn’t stop. Every time Gundham pulled back he sucked hard on Soda’s cock and the only thing stopping Soda from thrusting up into Gundham’s mouth was that strong hand on his hip. He didn’t know where the hand on his thigh had gone, he couldn’t focus long enough to find it. He reached for the one on his hip and covered it with his own. Gundham moaned around his cock and laced his fingers through Soda’s, shifting so he could use his forearm to keep Soda’s hips pinned in place.

He was going to cum. He squeezed Gundham’s hand and looked down at him, trying to get his attention, trying to warn him in case he didn’t want Soda cumming in his mouth.

But the second he saw Gundham’s face, lips wrapped around his cock, eyes locked with his, and flushed the same way it had been when Soda had been sucking his cock, it was over. His hips were bucking against Gundham’s arm and he was cumming down his throat, his name on his lips. He could feel more than hear Gundham moaning around his cock, and the vibrations kept him at in ecstasy for just a little longer, before becoming to be to much for his sensitive cock.

“Gundham, please, it’s too much.” Gundham moaned again and pulled off his cock. He went back to Soda’s thighs, no longer gently kissing and teasing, but sucking and biting. Soda was vaguely aware of Gundham’s shoulder shifting rapidly.

“S-soda!” He squeezed Soda’s hand and buried his face into the crook of his thigh. He was so taken aback by Gundham actually calling him ‘Soda’ that it took him a moment to realise Gundham was cumming.

Oh, so that’s where that hand went.

Gundham kept his face pressed into Soda’s thigh for a moment, panting, before kissing it for a final time and crawling back up Soda’s body, releasing his hand only long enough to unhook his arm from around Soda’s leg before intertwining their fingers once again.

“You know I could have, uh, done that for you.” Wasn’t the whole idea of the pact thing to get each other off anyway?

“I’m sorry, my dear companion.” Gundham raised their clasped hands to his lips and kissed Soda’s fingers. “I simply could not resist. Between how beautiful you appeared in your ecstasy and sweetly you were calling my name-” Gundham sighed and smiled, looking into Soda’s eyes “I was bewitched.” He twisted their hands to kiss Soda’s knuckles without looking away.

It made Soda blush harder than anything else they had done.

That complicated feeling was coming back.

He never asked if it was alright to kiss him. He still hadn’t made Gundham scream.

Next Chapter

[jane-the-zombie]

A Wolf in Thief’s Clothing || Ariana (Megan?) & Jane

TIMING: Present

LOCATION: Store

PARTIES: @letsbenditlikebennett & @jane-the-zombie

SUMMARY: Jane runs into Ariana (Megan????) shoplifting at the store.

While impulse control had never been something Megan had been great at, most of her impulses at least didn’t drastically break any human laws. Sure, hunting seasons were a thing, but who the hell was going to tell a wolf they couldn’t eat a deer? That’s right, no one. Well, except maybe a beast hunter, but fuck most of them. The weird thoughts in her head that didn’t feel entirely like her own paired with the amount of stress she was under made it hard to ignore the temptation to shoplift. At first, she’d been a little appalled with herself, but now it was becoming a bit of a game. Their fridge was already full of steak and herring, so she decided to go for hair products today. She was in a crisis and the purple clearly had to go. The reminder that she wouldn’t ask Winston to do it because she wasn’t ready to see Rio yet stung as she looked over the hair colors. This time she’d go for a color she could actually see. Looking through the blues, she opted for the brightest looking one which was Poseidon by Arctic Fox. She still had a bleach kit at home, so she discreetly shoved the hair dye into the pocket of her leather jacket when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Had she been that distracted? She whipped her head around to see Jane there. Shit. “Jane, hey, hi, how are you?” Smooth, Megan, smooth.

Jane had her hands on her hips as she stared at Ariana Bennett stuff the hair dye in her jacket. She had originally been planning on saying hi to the young woman, to check in, while she was here getting more salt (for French Fry) and nail polish remover (for herself) and yet… Shoplifting. They had all been there at one point or another. Jane herself had done it when she was a teenager, and Lizzie had done the same far past her teens - specifically from clothing stores. Jane plugged her ears and pretended not to listen as she described how to get magnet tags off swimsuits, before dutifully reminding her little sister that she was in fact a cop. Jane stood, looking at Ariana with the best disappointed face she could muster. How many blood bags can go missing this week before someone notices. Wait, what? Why did she keep having thoughts like that? Crap. Jane shook it off and let out a low sigh. “You want to hand me that hair dye, young lady?” She said, feeling like her father. Oh, weird. She hated that.

Eventually, Megan knew this whole shoplifting thing was going to catch up with her. She’d been trying to get whoever was in her head out, but it seemed to be of no use. At least it seemed to be a somewhat widespread thing and she wasn’t the only one experiencing it. Which hopefully meant it would get solved because she sure as hell didn’t know how to fix it. She was a fighter not a thinker. With a defeated sigh, she handed the hair dye to Jane. “Not really, I can just buy it. I don’t normally do this by the way.” She fidgeted nervously with her hair hoping she wasn’t going to get arrested this close to the full moon. “Kinda have someone else in my head right now, it’s a time and half.” She couldn’t stand still. “The full moon is tonight. Please don’t take me to the station.”

Ah yes. The wolves and their little moon problem. “Lucky for you, I happen to have better things to do than fill out the paperwork taking you in, Ariana,” she said, tucking the hair dye under her arm. Besides, none of the ‘scared straight’ crap worked anyway, and Jane wasn’t about to put Ariana through something that anyway - even without the moon problem. “C’mon, kid. Why don’t we go check out,” Jane said pointedly. She glanced at the blue hair dye. “This is a pretty color,” Jane commented as they started walking towards the self check out. “What sparked Teen Wolf Rebel? Is this some sort of moon thing?”

Megan’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “Wait, who’s Ariana? I mean, thank you for not bringing me in.” Somehow, the adrenaline of being caught brought a satisfying thrill. Fuck, this was not the kind of mind state she needed to be in right now. She had actual problems to take care of. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I do totally have money with me.” She relaxed a bit when she realized she wasn’t in any real trouble. Jane really was pretty great and she felt bad to have put her in an awkward situation. “Thanks, figured I’d go for a color I can actually see this go round,” she said trying to keep her tone calm. She shrugged and explained, “It’s definitely not a moon thing. I’ve got like… someone else’s thoughts in my head? With how much else I have going on right now, it’s hard to like just ignore whoever the fuck is in there. Apparently like it’s a thing that’s going around though so who knows. This town is wild.”

“Very funny,” Jane replied, looking at Ariana pointedly. “But I have more things to worry about than a little shoplifting…. That gets worse by mind crap.” Jane frowned when she realized that Ariana was having similar mind experiences. Thoughts of hunters and people and blood kept filling her mind, and she was certain that Harsh wasn’t human. He had to be a zombie. Jane shook her head, pushing her hair out of her face as they approached the self check-out line. “I’m actually experiencing something similar. Wouldn’t be fair to bring you in over something like that.” Supernatural related. Her stomach twisted and she let out a low sigh. Supernatural and law didn’t go together, and Jane was still trying to work out what her place was in everything. She glanced at Ariana. The poor girl was so young to be dealing with so much, especially with her sister’s death let alone organ trafficking. Something stirred inside her, and she wasn’t sure what it was. “Let me spot you on the hair dye, hm? And then we can go talk, if you want.”

“I wasn’t joking,” Megan explained as she looked at Jane some incredulously. She didn’t know what her real name, but it definitely wasn’t Ariana. “That makes sense considering well… literally everything that happens in this town.” It wasn’t exactly comforting to know Jane was going through the same thing. While the previous town-wide problems had been taken care of, it always still left her feeling there were things far too powerful for any of them to face. It only further cemented the idea that they needed to stick together. She refused to lose someone else she cared for. “I don’t love that you have someone in your head, too, but I guess there’s not much we can do about it. Trying to see if any of my spellcasting friends know more.” Magic was something that both intrigued and frightened her to an extent, but she trusted the spellcasters she knew. Megan smiled brightly when Jane offered to get the hair dye for her. It wasn’t necessary, but Jane caring and helping was always welcome though she wasn’t too excited to talk about an organ selling ring of all things. “Thanks, Jane. And yeah, we probably should talk. I wish it was better news” She followed her to the checkout counter and offered another thank you as Jane paid for her hair dye. As they made their way out, Megan pointed out a little bench not far off that seemed private enough. “How about here,” she asked.

“What’s your name then, if it isn’t Ariana? Malory?” Jane replied, sarcastically. Kids sure were funny these days, with their memes and their tiktoks “Does everyone in this town have spellcasting friends?” Jane asked, though she wasn’t sure she would call Otto and herself friends. He was more a big thorne in her side. A pain in the ass. She shook her head, running a hand through her hair as they entered self check out. For good measure, Jane grabbed a couple bottles of water and a small bag of potato chips to go along with the hair dye. She could come back for her salt and nail polish remover some other time. She bagged the items, handing Ariana the bag with the hair dye, and walked out with her. “That’ll be fine enough, I think. As they sat down, Jane reached into the bag and handed her one of the bottles of water. She leaned against her knees looking over at Ariana. It was hard - Jane didn’t typically like kids, and she definitely didn’t like interacting with them - though, Ariana was eighteen, and that definitely wasn’t a ‘child’ anymore. Back in Portland, her old partner had always been the one to deal with the child witnesses. But Ariana was so young and had been through so much, and she didn’t have anyone here anymore… Something about that tugged on Jane’s heartstrings. Ugh. “You can start anywhere you want, okay?” Jane told her. “Even if it’s not about what you told me before online.”

“I don’t actually know because my name was stolen, but Ariana doesn’t sound right. You can call me Megan until I get my real name back,” Megan explained even though she realized Jane didn’t quite believe her. It did sound pretty wild if you didn’t know about the supernatural. Hell, she knew about the supernatural and she was shocked to learn that fae could just yoink your name. She shrugged, “I mean, the fellow supernatural folks probably. Humans, I couldn’t tell you. They probably wouldn’t know if they did.” She noted that Jane picked up some chips and waters for them which was a much nicer reaction to being caught shoplifting by an actual cop than she would have ever expected, but she guessed it wasn’t that surprising. In the short time she’d known Jane, she’d always been nothing but kind and understanding to her. It was a warm feeling that reminded her of why she was continuing to push through these days that seemed to grow more and more exhausting. She happily took the bag with the blue hair dye and noted she’d need to message Winston for further hair help. It seemed to be their thing now. “Thanks, Jane,” she said as they walked outside and took a seat on a lone bench. She leaned back and made herself comfortable. She let out a soft sigh, “That’s a tough one… because I don’t want to get the person who’s literally being threatened to do said harvesting in trouble, but I do have a name and was promised more. Kind of started with me sticking my nose literally where it doesn’t belong because I smelled dead werewolves, but apparently it’s not just werewolf organs… ours just happen to be more valuable which like ugh.”

Megan. Jane’s brows furrowed. Name stealing? Not for the first time, Jane thought that White Crest was the bad place. “Megan… got it.” Somehow, Jane didn’t think it would be all that helpful to tell her that Ariana’s - er, Megan’s name was actually Ariana. Something about that whole nonsense made her think that no matter what she said to Megan, she wouldn’t believe her. Jane glanced at her, leaning on her knees as she stared at the young woman. She had her whole life ahead of her, and she didn’t deserve half the crap that was on her shoulders. Jane could at least help take the burden off her shoulders - that was her job, wasn’t it? The whole reason she wanted this job to begin with. Maybe not here in White Crest, but it was still the same. What was an eighteen year old girl doing dealing with organ trafficking? Jane shook her head. “Aria - Megan, I want you to know that I’m going to do everything I can to help you. I know you don’t want to get anyone in trouble, and I’m not going to push for you to tell me who’s harvesting the organs, but I’d like to be able to help them too.” Especially if they were being threatened. “So think about it for me, at least a little.” Jane considered where to go from there, for just a moment, before she sat up a little straighter and looked at her. “But, for now, let’s start with that name.”