#unlocked: father-in-law's approval

[llamagoddessofficial]

Based on your recent reblog, how would Killer react to his significant other wearing the same clothes as him?

Did somebody say power couple? You could do matching colour schemes or fabrics, coordinate your jewellery to each other's, or style your outfits around the same base piece (like a sleeveless top or a leather jacket). The two of you can be the extremely attractive intimidating couple that the entire party is equal parts jealous and afraid of.

I think my version of Killer would delight in a significant other who also wanted to dress up. Not only is it fun, getting to coordinate with someone he adores - especially considering the other two bad guys can hardly muster up the energy to change their shirts more than once a week - but it's also a creative way to show the whole world you're his. It soothes his itchy jealousy and possessiveness. All he has to do, if he sees someone getting too chummy with you, is come up and stand beside you; it couldn't be more clear you're a matching pair.

It's definitely an unusual way to mark someone. But it works.

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Over 8,500 rockets have been fired into Israel on Oct 7 and since. Over 10% of those malfunctioned and fell inside Gaza.

In the last twenty four hours, 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in battle with Hamas terrorists. One of them was fatally wounded yesterday, and died of his wounds today. His name was Pdaia Mark. In the pic below, you can see him on the right, with his sister. Both of them were in the car with their parents when Palestinian terrorists attacked in 2016. On the left is their father, Rabbi Michael Mark, who was murdered in that attack, in front of then 15 years old Pdaia, who was himself wounded in this terrorist attack (as was his sis and mom).

Pdaia's cousin was killed by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7. IDK if I have the words to explain how much pain and grief the death of these young men and women causes to a nation, whose people have been attacked by terrorists since before a state was established here. This is Pdaia at his father's funeral, 7 years ago:

I got to hear his family members talking about him. They said despite everything, they're winning, because Pdaia was fighting for his people out of love, not out of hate.

In Austria, the Jewish section of a cemetery in Vienna was set on fire, with swastikas drawn on the walls. This is again just a drop in the sea of antisemitic incidents rising since the start of the war.

The Iran-funded Houthis in Yemen confirmed and took responsibility for the rockets and drones they launched at Israel. This was known, but now it's official. Just as a reminder, Israel has been continuously fighting off attacks since Oct 7, and since the Houthis started attacking it, this has been happening on five fronts.

Over 11,00 Hamas targets have been attacked by Israel since the start of the war. I watched the other day an interesting interview with an ex pilot in the IDF, he mentioned that every target goes through a team of lawyers, who approve check the data to make sure that it's a legitimate one under International Humanitarian Law.

Hilary Clinton was asked about the idea of imposing a ceasefire immediately. This is what she had to say:

Through an agreement achieved with Israel and the US, Hamas and Egypt have finally started allowing wounded Gazans and those with foreign nationality to leave the strip through its border with Egypt.

On a personal note, it's winter, which is a season I love. I adore rain. Today I was absolutely terrified by the sound of thunder, because for a moment I thought it was a rocket that somehow hit Jerusalem without setting off the sirens. New level of trauma unlocked?

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[101flavoursofweird]

This is, of course, excluding Raphael as a dog parent. Because he’d win by a mile.

Also, I know Alfred cares for Marie but I associate him with Elisabeth.

For anyone not familiar with Rhythm Thief but would like to vote, there’s some spoilers and propaganda under the cut taken from a previous post of mine:

Duchess Elisabeth In her diary, Elizabeth writes that the best day of her life was the day Marie was born. Unfortunately, Jean-François (Elisabeth’s evil cousin) discovered Marie’s true heritage of being the last blood descendant of the Babylonian royal house don’t ask

Fearing for Marie’s safety and the resurrection of the Dragon Crown (an ancient flying weapon), Elizabeth gave Marie away to a convent when Marie was yet an infant, with her only possession being a violin… which miiight have helped Jean-François to identify Marie. (Unconfirmed in game!) Whoops. Elizabeth must have been feeling sentimental and wanted to give Marie something to remember her by. Marie can’t even remember what her mother looked like.

Elizabeth doesn’t acknowledge Marie when JF reunites the two of them later on, but we can see how affected Elisabeth is when Marie plays her violin

However, Elisabeth turns her back on Marie and walks away. Elizabeth has to pretend she has no interest in Marie so JF will leave them both alone. Elizabeth demands to know what JJF would want, theoretically speaking, if he had found her daughter. “Money? Honor?” JF, at some point, tracked Marie down, inserted himself into Marie’s life and paid for Marie to take violin lessons so she could unlock the ancient weapon. Elisabeth knows this and she must be terrified.

Later, when the bad guys threaten Elizabeth’s life in front of Marie, they reveal that Elizabeth has been lying in order to protect Marie. (Even the villain recognises this!) Elizabeth tries to keep the act up, insisting that she is nothing but a stranger to Marie. Marie decides to save her and plays the song anyway after hearing Elizabeth call her name in distress. 

Then, when the giant flying weapon has been unleashed, Elizabeth takes a literal bullet for Marie. Elizabeth reveals the truth to Marie and she calls Marie ‘Ma chère, Marie’ before passing out. Marie weeps for her mother

Fortunately, a pendant Elizabeth wore with young Marie’s picture saved her from the bullet. Raphael remarks that Elizabeth was Marie’s guardian angel. 

After the bad guys have been defeated, in the final scene of the game, Elizabeth can be seen peacefully listening to Marie’s music at the opera house. In Marie’s bonus episode, she watches Marie at her examination to enter the conservatoire. She’s glad to hear Marie’s laughter and she encourages her to enjoy herself. She tells Marie to “play like you were playing for him”- Elizabeth approves of her future son in law, Raphael

-

Inspector Vergier

In Vergier’s first scene, we see him sending in an army of roller-skating police officers to arrest Phantom R. Vergier takes his work very seriously.

At Paris Constabulary HQ, Raphael overhears Vergier talking to another officer about how he hasn’t been home in days. Apparently, Vergier has been on a certain case since his wife died. The other officer basically tells him, “GO HOME TO YOUR KID”.  (Charlie) Vergier clearly hasn’t recovered from his wife’s death but he’s been neglecting the one family member he has left so…

In a later chapter, Raphael again overhears Vergier talking to his colleague. Vergier asks if Charlie has turned up yet. He knows about Charlie’s mission to hunt down Phantom R, but he considers Charlie’s efforts an impediment to their investigation. Raphael picks up a family photo that Vergier dropped and decides to hang on to it. During his second fight with Charlie, Raph comments that Charlie is just like their father. Charlie snaps at him to “LEAVE MY FATHER OUT OF THIS!” (It’s not like Charlie’s trying to prove their worth or anything- what gave you that idea?)

Raphael goes looking for Charlie after Marie gets captured. He talks to Vergier’s friend from university and learns that Charlie and Vergier just had some sort of argument. Also, the friend comments that Charlie is about Raphael’s age. So... Charlie’s 16-18, maybe. It’s not unheard of for a parent to leave a 16-18 home alone, but Charlie was left at home for DAYS??? Raphael finds Charlie at a cafe and asks them to return the photo to Vergier. Charlier huffs that they don’t want to see their father again, but then they reads the message CharlieMs mother left on the photo. 

During the battle below the ancient flying weapon, Charlie saves Vergier from a bunch of henchmen. Vergier acknowledges that he protects Paris in memory of Charlie’s dead mother. Charlie reminds him that there’s no time like the present, and announces that they’ll help him save the city. Vergier doesn’t refuse this offer. 

In the final scene, Vergier and Charlie can be seen pursuing Phantom R together.

There’s also Charlie’s bonus episode, where they fight off the last remnants (?) of the evil organisation. Vergier announces that the case he was working on is officially closed. He’s realised that no matter how much he warns Charlie to stay away, Charlie wouldn’t listen. He just asks Charlie to stay where he can keep an eye on them.

-

Isaac, Raphael’s father 

The first chapter of the game opens with dialogue of Raphael crying as Isaac leaves him. He left three years ago... when Raphael was fifteen. Raphael’s mother previously died in an accident, so Raphael was orphaned.

Raphael became Phantom R and chased after the mark his father left for him on the coin. 

Raphael reveals to Marie that his father was an artist but he never got a big break. Isaac became a forgery artists, swapping his fake art pieces with their authentic counterparts. Raphael tries to fix his father’s crimes and hunt for the mark by returning the real art pieces.  

Raphael thinks that he sees Isaac beneath Les Invalides and at the Palace of Versailles. He’s distressed and frustrated when he loses Isaac in the crowd. Isaac was in a hurry to escape...

During his final battle with Jean-François, Raphael learns that Isaac has been working with J.F. and the Chevaliers. Isaac made forgeries for J.F.’s organisation when Raphael was young and sickly. Raphael insists that he made those forgeries to pay the doctors. So, it does seem that Isaac initially joined the organisation for Raphael’s sake, but his intentions became warped over the years. 

Raphael couldn’t believe that his father would fall in with the Chevaliers and Elizabeth was close friends with Isaac... once. Isaac couldn’t have shown any obvious signs of going to the dark side years ago. 

In his final scene, Isaac discusses with the seemingly real emperor Napoleon that he wants to begin the next phase of their plan. He quietly warns Raphael to be ready for whatever that is.

Note: Isaac’s motivations and reasons for leaving are never made clear during the game or from his point of view. As we don’t have a sequel, these can’t be confirmed.

[helenadurazzo]

Chapter One: An Unusual Mode of Transportation

Welcome to the first part of my new series The Discoveries of Phineas Hearst which is basically a rewrite of Hogwarts Legacy. Before we begin please note that there are significant changes such as Phineas starting as a first year and the goblins playing less of a role to name a few. In this first chapter, Phineas finds himself in a bit of a predicament, yet his Professor swoops in with a solution to his troubles

Phineas ran through the train station past the muggles who strolled on their merry little ways as oblivious as ever. He could not believe he was running so late and that his brother did not bother to check on him via owl until it was too late. Phineas supposed he did always have a habit of delving into his researches without climbing out of them and reentering real life. He supposed he could not blame his brother, who had spent the last week with the Prewetts as Leander wanted him to provide some tips on some advanced spells to impress Professor Hecat. What a way to start his time as a prefect! What an example he was making to the new comers, surely he would hear an earful about this from his head of house and Professor Black, but Phineas tried to push those worries down deep within him.

He had been the screw up of the family for as long as he remembered, and his older brother Cyrus teased him relentlessly for it, especially when it took him so long to master Lumos in his first year. His siblings took to magic very early on but Phineas was late, almost to the point where whispers of if he was a squib started popping up amongst the community but they were soon turned to be false. Now he was finally paving a way forward to which his parents approved of, perhaps he could forge a career as successful as his eldest brother in wizarding law, Cyrus himself working endlessly and tirelessly to officially become an auror, even his sister Gladys who had just graduated a few months ago was finding success in the field of investigation.

Phineas knew everything was going down the drain as he crossed through the barrier just as the train departed the station. He cursed mentally, once that train left the ways to get to the school reduced immensely. Julius would certainly tell him that his prefect badge would be taken and sent to a more diligent student. In fact, sometimes Phineas wondered why someone like Ominis was not made a prefect, certainly his father’s connection to the headmaster could have made it quite a simple task. And Ominis had always been one to stay out of trouble and misfortune unlike himself and Sebastian who’s middle name was trouble.

“Ah there you are Mister Hearst.” A familiar voice spoke from behind him, his Professor of Magical Theory, Eleazar Fig, he confirmed as the voice’s owner once he turned around.

“Professor Fig!” Phineas exclaimed as he hurried over to him, “What in Merlin’s name are you doing here? Shouldn’t you already be at Hogwarts by now?”

“And shouldn’t have you boarded the Hogwarts express before it departed.” Professor Fig looked at him cleverly.

“I guess you got me there.” Phineas chuckled awkwardly. “But in all seriousness why are you here? I sense you wanted to find me?”

“Precisely.” Professor Fig nodded, “I wanted to personally escort you to Hogwarts myself. You see, I am meeting up with an old friend of mine and my wife’s in London in half an hour’s time. I wanted you to accompany me. You see, he wanted to share an item he found with me that he could not unlock. I sense it might be locked by ancient magic and since you have a knack for uncovering hidden runes, perhaps these abilities could be used for other tasks, such as deciphering a lock.”

“I shall do my best sir.” Phineas nodded as he spoke with officially.

“I am glad to hear it.” Professor Fig smiled warmly, “Now follow me, the alleyway is not too far from here.”

~~

“It appears we are almost ready to depart.” Professor Fig confirmed after checking with the carriage and what Phineas assumed were theastrals that would be pulling it, a remarkable wonder of the wizarding world. “Now all we need is-“

Suddenly the sounds of Apparation made Phineas glanced to the left as a man who appeared to be slightly younger than his Professor appeared in clothing one would expect from an employee of the Ministry of Magic. He looked around his surroundings curiously before turning around, his face more confident upon seeing Professor Fig as he walked towards them.

“Eleazar! Good to see you!” Mister Orsic exclaimed cheerfully.

“George.” Professor Fig smiled as he shook his hand, “Glad my cryptic description of the meeting place did not stop you from finding us.”

“Do not worry.” Mister Orsic brushed off and chuckled, “I have apparated to much more vaguely described places than this. Though I must confess I did miscalculate on my first try, gave some theatre goers at West End quite a fright.”

“It’s been much too long.” Professor Fig smiled. “When I received your owl I must say I-“

“Best to continue this discussion in private.” Mister Orsic abruptly interrupted him. “We should not be speaking here.”

“Certainly.” Professor Fig accepted, “We shall speak on route to Hogwarts. We have a start of term feast to get to after all, and I would like to show you some new things I collected in my office as well that could help with this mystery.”

“Wonderful idea!” Mister Orsic cheerfully agreed, “As long as your young charge here does not mind me tagging along. It would be good to see that old pile of rocks, I have not been to the castle in ages.”

“Not at all Sir.” Phineas spoke politely.

“Now, after you.” Professor Fig graciously let Phineas himself and Mister Orsic board the carriage before getting in himself and soon enough they were off. Phineas had flown before on a broom but surprisingly rarely in carriages, so the sight of how the ground and people became smaller and smaller was quite fascinating.

“Glad I caught you before you left for Scotland.” Mister Orsic was the first to speak following the takeoff, “I apologize for it being so last minute.”

“Do not worry yourself about that.” Professor Fig assured him.

“Now, I do not believe you have introduced me to your traveling companion Eleazar.” Mister Orsic looked curiously at Phineas.

“I am Phineas Hearst sir. A fifth year student at Hogwarts.” Phineas politely introduced himself to the man.

“Hearst.” Mr Orsic repeated as he pondered. “Your family mostly has found success in the auror office if I recall correctly, is Phoebus Hearst your father?”

“He’s my uncle.” Phineas confirmed, “and currently mentoring my brother as he becomes an auror. My father works in the Portkey office.”

“Splendid!” Mister Orsic remarked, “Takes talented wizards and witches to craft those.”

“I have taken Phineas under my wing for the past few years.” Professor Fig elaborated, “He possesses an extraordinary ability to see magic that is hidden from most eyes, I have never seen anything quite like it. I figured he could assist in figuring out how to open that item you found that Miriam sent.”

“Nor have I heard of such an ability.” Mister Orsic breathed with wonder. “Besides the point.” He turned to Phineas, “I am sure by now you see that you could not have asked for a better mentor. He is one of the most gifted and intuitive wizards out there.”

“Mister Orsic is rather prone to flattery.” Professor Fig gave a rather humble response “and it certainly one of the reasons he has risen so high up at the Ministry.”

“Well, let’s get back to the matters at hand.” Mister Orsic took to a more serious tone as he turned back to the Professor, “Miriam wrote to me before she died, alerting me about a recently formed group of dark wizards and witches who have been causing trouble in numerous hamlets in Scotland with suspicions they might expand and wondered what the Ministry knew about their activities. Before I could respond I revived this.” He continued, pulling out a cylinder container with cone shapes on both ends and a peculiar symbol on the one part of it that seemed to have a slight blue hue to it, almost glowing. “It was the last thing she sent me, Eleazar. It came to me by her owl but with no correspondence, I can only assume.”

“That she had to get rid of it quickly to keep it safe.” Professor Fig finished as he took the container into his own hands as he observed it intently.

“As I told you.” Mister Orsic reminded him, “I cannot open it no matter what I try, every unlocking charm is useless. It is protected by powerful magic.”

“Looks to be made of goblin metal.” Professor Fig observed, “Perhaps someone at Gringotts could know more about it, and that symbol-“

“It’s glowing.” Phineas commented, observing the blue glow more closely as Professor Fig held the container.

“Glowing?” Professor Fig raised an eyebrow as he rotated the container, “I do not see a glow? Is it the symbol or the entire container.”

“Just the symbol.” Phineas specified as Professor Fig let him hold the container to study for himself, the metal was strangely cold to the touch. Yet once the container was in his hands, the symbol highlighted the ends in the same blue glow and unlocked itself on its own, revealing some sort of key.

“Merlin’s Beard!” Mister Orsic exclaimed as Professor Fig took the container back to look at the key. “How did you-“

Yet before they could continue a large force broke into the carriage, splitting it in two. Phineas could only see a fierce dragon with his terrified eyes as he hung on to dear life, watching as the side of the carriage that Mister Orsic was beginning to fall as it succumbed to the force of gravity, while they only remained in the sky due to the invisible thestrals and sheer luck. Phineas could barely hear Professor Fig amongst the loud wind and the intense roars, watching helplessly at the collared dragon who dove down are gobbled up the other side of the carriage as if it was a small candy from Honeydukes. Phineas watched as the thestrals took form, just as how the pictures in textbooks describe them as black, almost skeletal like figures with bodies similar to that of a horse. Yet as the dragon breathed fire once again, he was forced to jump and hope that somehow his life would be saved miraculously.

“The Key!” Professor Fig called out as he lost his grip Phineas assumed meanwhile he was simply trying to stay conscious. “Give me your hand!” He called out in a hoarse voice to which Phineas hesitantly agreed, yet he did not know what was holding back his actions other than fear, surely some adrenaline would have kicked in by now, “Accio!” He casted wandlessly before apparating away to a much safer locale before they became the dragon’s lunch

[kellanved-ammanas]

Sniper Ships & Pals: Spy - Tides of Time

“So you’re intending to propose to Scout.”

Sniper jumped, reaching for a weapon he wasn’t currently carrying as he snapped around to face Spy. He relaxed a little at the sight of him. “I literally just bought the damn ring a few hours ago, how the bloody hell do you already know about it?”

Largely it had been luck. Spy had just happened to in be in the right place at the right time to spot Sniper sneaking off. He’d followed of course as he always did when such a thing presented itself to him. “I have my ways,” was what he said though.

Sniper glanced around, his frown deepening. “Well, if we’re gonna talk about it, come in I guess before someone overhears and goes to tell bloody everyone.” He turned back to his camper van and resumed taking out his key to unlock it.

Spy had approached after checking to make sure no one was likely to come by and overhear. He followed Sniper in anyway, though immediately regretted it a little upon the door closing behind him. The space was small and smelled distinctively unclean.

“So you got a problem with me asking Scout to marry me?” Sniper asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back against one of the walls.

“No.” Spy had disapproved when they’d started dating but it hadn’t been his business so he kept it to himself. But over the past few years he’d gotten more used to the idea and even approved now; the two of them were good for each other.

“Then why are you talking to me about this?”

Because it was strange that Jeremy was a full grown adult about to get married. It still felt like just a few years ago Spy had been telling himself that as soon as he cleared up his latest bit of business he’d return to Jeremy and his mother and do better as a father and husband now that he’d taken out more of his enemies who might want to hurt him through hurting them. There’d always been just one more danger or one one more thing he wanted to do as a spy before fully settling down though. Somehow during all that Jeremy had become and adult, making it too late so Spy had joined RED with him instead. Now, he’d fallen in love and was about to get married. The tides of time never slowed, if anything, they only ever eroded away at one’s life faster and faster until it was all just a blur.

The silence stretched as Spy was unable to find a lie to answer with. A unusual position for him to be in, making it all the more uncomfortable. Eventually, Sniper broke it.

“You’re thinking of telling him, aren’t you?” He didn’t clarify what he meant but he didn’t need to. They both knew what he was talking about.

“I am thinking about it, yes.” He’d been thinking about it on and off for years now. This was only the latest thing to push him towards wanting to.

“He’ll be mad.”

“I know.” He had a right to be. “But… I’d like to attend his wedding as his father if he’d let me.” Being that honest almost made him feel like he was going to choke on his words. But Sniper would soon be his son-in-law and thus family and if he wanted to be more honest with Scout, that meant he had to be more honest with him too. So this was good practice.

“You say that like you know he’s gonna say ‘yes’.”

“Do you really think he might answer any other way?”

Sniper’s frown returned as he looked away. “I don’t know. He might. But look, I support you telling him but if he decides he doesn’t want you there, assuming he even says ‘yes’, I’m taking his side. Though uh… when he asks if I knew, I’m gonna have to be honest and so… there might not be any wedding at all. So thanks for the heads up, I guess.”

“Sorry.” Spy coming here to talk to him about the weird feeling he was having had been a mistake. He’d had no plan and really no idea what he’d wanted to say.

“Eh, it’s whatever. I’ll sort it out with him when the times comes. I wish you luck in figuring your stuff out with him.”

“Thanks.” And with that, Spy left. Given that conversation, he was basically committed to telling Scout the truth now. Perhaps that’s subconsciously why he’d sought it out to make it that much harder to continue to run away from it.

[jasmineleeplays]

King Fernando's grandson, vassal and ward, Count Diego Gotrudez of Castellon confessed his secret attraction to his friend Beatriz Henriquiz de Sobrabe, but he got rebuffed and friend-zoned. This event made him Chaste.

What is unknown is that Count Diego has crushes on 2 other girls, one of which is Aiza bint Talha Talhid who is Frail. Aiza just happens to develop a crush on Count Diego too. King Fernando arranges a betrothal between Aiza and Count Diego and Aiza's father Count Talha is also accepting of the match as he wishes well for the two Lovers.

Meanwhile, we finally researched the innovation of Heraldry which grants us access to High Partition and House Seniority Succession Laws. King Fernando immediately puts into motion the High Partition Succession Law which is approved by all his powerful vassals, and lets the Player Heir inherit at least half of the late Ruler's titles.

We also unlocked the Defensive Negotiations perk which allows us to make one alliance without marriage. We chose to enter into alliance with Emir Micipsa ibn Tamim of Garnatah even though he has lesser troops than Isbiliyyah. This is to balance out the Muslim powers in the region and prevent Garnatah from being swallowed by Isbiliyyah.

We have an inspired person enter King Fernando's court, Anna Komnenos-Antioch an elderly lady of Orthodox faith and Greek origin who wants to make a regalia. She is not too happy with King Fernando's Antiquarian Sebastian intervening to check on the construction of the regalia, but King Fernando stands by Sebastian's quality check.

[stingslikeabee]

‘ wow. you look amazing. ’

fake dating prompts . accepting

The 65th birthday of the Dojima matriarch had been an occasion that Melissa had been helping prepare for quite some time now. As the sole daughter-in-law to the once interim chairwoman of the Tojo Clan, Yayoi had not really requested any sort of lavish ceremony or extended guest list – but it was also a very important milestone to be celebrated.

Once someone who had terrified Melissa in a way none of the scariest yakuza of the clan had been able to, Yayoi had warmed considerably to the foreign woman over the course of the years, particularly after her wedding to Daigo when she had sponsored and guided the ex-hostess with perfection. It had been a very traditional ceremony – and Yayoi personally ensured Melissa knew exactly how to dress, speak and behave. The success of her Japanese wedding was owed in no small amount to Daigo’s mother, and the club owner felt like her birthday was a proper occasion to return some of that kindness.

The relationship between both women was currently at its best – with the recent addition to Kazuya to the Dojima family, Yayoi had transformed in a way as grandmother that Melissa had frankly not anticipated. There were a softness to her voice and a gentleness to her eyes that had been seemingly unlocked by her grandson – a healthy, lovely boy that had filled the matriarch with pride and joy.

Kazuya was with Daigo while she dressed for the actual party – Okamura’s help had been enlisted and the ex-chairman had said nothing of it; he had confidence in his wife’s ability to look beautiful (as he continuously said, Melissa would make a potato sack look stunning, even if it was hardly an adequate outfit for his mother’s birthday celebration), but he also knew how sometimes girls preferred to have company for such occasions. He was more than content to look after Kazuya while the newly-turned mother dressed in their room, the baby quiet and behaved as he traditionally was – but Melissa was sure that the boundless love that father and son already shared did wonders to keep the child soothed and happy.

At the sound of the door to the bedroom being opened, the former hostess slipped out and went over to the living room, seeking Daigo to gauge his approval. She was confident on the choice made – but she wanted to see it on his face. Okamura trailed behind with a curious yet mischievous expression, obviously taking pride in her work with her friend, and stood a few steps behind Melissa when they found father and son playing on the floor.

“Anata,” the ex-hostess called to her husband softly, her face turning gentle even before he looked at her given the cutest display of her growing family on the living room, “How do I look?”

Her question was entirely rhetorical – the moment the ex-chairman turned and gazed at his wife, he immediately recognized the clothes and went still for a full minute, eyes roaming over the figure that the woman cut in the yukata he had once commissioned for Melissa and gifted to her during their honeymoon. Until that day – there had not been an occasion fitting of the beautiful traditional piece of clothing that had been part of a wardrobe created under the hopes (or even expectations) that they would have married during his tenure as chairman.

But now – Yayoi’s 65th birthday called for the observation of certain preferences, and Melissa thought it would be the perfect opportunity to wear the exquisitely manufactured yukata, with the beautiful blooming petals covering the expanse of fabric and favoring the purple shade that was Daigo’s favorite. The golden details, particularly at the obi, had been paired with some of her jewelry (also gifted by the ex-yakuza at different points of her life), and the make-up was elegant but tailored to the color pattern of her choice of attire. Okamura had been responsible for the obi and the knot – Melissa would have never made it correctly alone, and her friend’s assistance and advice with the rest of the accessories had been invaluable.

“Wow,” Daigo said at some point, and his voice was low, heavy with emotion. Kazuya had been temporarily placed on the ground, his hands ensuring that the child remained safe while he looked at the woman he so fiercely adored enveloped by the fabric and colors he had chosen for her so long ago. It had been a love letter from the then chairman to the civilian he had chosen to be his partner – and now replied by Melissa in the first occasion she had selected to wear it, honoring his family and legacy, “You look amazing.”

“Please, Daigo-san. Monaka looks amazing on a daily basis - today she looks like a queen, if I say so myself,” the former aide to the chairman smiled, pressing a kiss to her friend’s cheek affectionately while adjusting the strap of her bag over a shoulder. Okamura was ready to leave, her work clearly done – and fantastically so given how Daigo was still visibly struggling to speak anything more coherent, “You three have a lovely time – I’ll be expecting pictures.”

The couple exchanged greetings with the blonde heiress as she left, and then Melissa went over to Daigo, kneeling by his side. The intensity of the emotions he was experiencing were visible in his eyes – they were dark, but full of light right then. The molten, rich brown that colored his gaze under the right type of illumination was warm and looked like home – and he embraced her from their position on the floor, surrounding Kazuya and bestowing a kiss over her forehead. A traditional, loving gesture of his – and one that was also strategic to preserve her fresh make-up.

“I love you,” he said eventually, words now coming easier to him in the absence of any third parties but for his family. His hand moved to her face, a thumb caressing Melissa’s left cheek fondly while Kazuya was then gently passed on his mother’s arms. “Can you two keep me company in the bedroom? I’ll have to change into something else for the party,” a small smile broke through his façade, the depth of his feelings now reverting to more normal levels but with tenderness lingering at any rate, “I have just the thing to match your yukata.”

[sunset-curve-fantom]

Could I request one where the reader comes from a rich family and her parents disapprove of Luke, since they see him as a punk. They don’t think he fits into their social class status, so the reader breaks the rules with Luke and even ditches with him to like make out or something? 😂👀👉👈

                                    Status- Alive!Luke x Reader

A/N: IT DOES HAVE A LITTLE MOMENT AT THE END SO HEADS UP!! I REALLY HOPE YOU ENJOY.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN.

Your parents never approved of any of your boyfriends in the past, and Luke was just another one. They felt he was a bad influence and that he was going to lead you down a path their 17-year-old daughter shouldn’t be on. But no matter what was said, you stood your ground. Luke was the love of your life, and you knew that deep inside of you. No measure of money was going to change your feelings. He was everything to you.

But no matter how many compelling conversations you had with your parents; they still saw him as punk. A boy who was unable to care for the daughter with the level of care they expected. They were so prejudice because of their social status; they didn’t want him to be involved with you.

You had gotten into more trouble recently, grades slipping and even egging someone’s house. You were a teen and for once, you wanted to act like one. Without your parents trying to reprimand you for every tiny thing. You knew where the balance was in your family, and it was clear Luke would never fit into the fold, which is why you were fighting with your dad again.

“Dad you are being ridiculous, Luke is a great guy. All you see is the fact he’s in a band and trying to make his dream come true. His decisions in life don’t change my life choices. For once, I just want to act like a teenager without you picking me apart.” You fought back, trying to prove a point to your father, he was so caught up in Luke’s choice of career and lack of money he didn’t see how happy his daughter was.

“Y/n, you are acting like a child. My opinion has nothing to do with you, but Luke is a punk. You are my daughter, and you deserve more in life than a washed-up musician who is going to begging on the street corner.” Your father screamed back at you, in all the time you had been with Luke, he never once raised his voice at you until this conversation.

You knew he was going to be anger, you wanted to take a year off after high school, not only for Luke but for you. A moment in time to focus on yourself and what path you wanted to take in life. But your dad did not approve, he felt taking a year off would just lead to more excuses. Swearing up and down that it was Luke’s idea and not yours.

The tears ran down your face as you tried to find the words, “No amount of money matters to me, Luke is what matters. My life will always be intertwined in his, no matter what his status is. I love him daddy, and if you can’t see that, then god I pity you. You wouldn’t know what love is if it smacked you in the face”

With that you took off running up the stairs in your home, trying to escape the anger boiling over in your father. He was angry and it was understandable, but you were his daughter, and he should care about your feelings too.

You slammed your bedroom door behind you, locking it swiftly. You didn’t want to be here any longer, you wanted to be with Luke. He was the only one who understood you, the money never mattered to you, even as rich as your family was. You swiftly unlocked your window, sliding down the roof and onto the patio, if he wasn’t aloud to come to you. You were going to go to him in a heartbeat.

Swiftly jogging down the street, you made you way to the Molina’s. More specifically you were looking for Luke in the garage, he had been crashing there for weeks after the fight with his parents. You swung the doors open and found the band rehearsing, when Luke saw you standing there with puffy eyes. He immediately took off his guitar, taking you into his arms. He knew things were getting rough at home, but he never thought it was this bad.

“Baby, what happened? Why are you crying?” he questioned, taking your face in between his calloused hands. You were sniffling, trying to contain yourself. Being angry was always the worse shade of your personality and you didn’t want to take it out on Luke.

You looked deep into his eyes, trying to find the words, “Luke… I-I I just.” You were struggling to find the perfect words. You knew it was going to crush him when you told him your parents’ opinion of him.

Taking a deep breath, you began again, “I snuck out after we got into a huge fight and my dad, he thinks you are a punk. He thinks you are going to ruin my chances of getting into a good school and expanding my future. He is so caught up in his world, to even consider how I am feeling for once in his selfish life. God, he is so caught up with money and status, that he doesn’t care what I want in my life. Because I want you Luke, the good and the bad. No matter how far you go or how much money you make, I just want to be with you.” The words finally flying out of you. Luke was just nodding along, letting you express everything you were feeling in that moment.

Luke pulled you close to him as you finished, he just sighed. He was going to give you the world and he knew that. He knew he was going to sell out shows, but most of all he knew he was going to make you proud. Sadly, your father who couldn’t find the stick shoved so far up his ass didn’t know that reality yet. As Luke knew he was going to marry you one day and support you no matter what your dreams were. He was your equal and no amount of money was going to change that.

You sighed, wrapping your arms around his neck, “Luke, you are worth so much more than any amount of money. I love you for you, and that is what matters to me”

Swiftly you pressed your lips to his, the electricity surging through the both of you. It felt so right, it always had between you. He carefully picked you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. He sat down on the couch, with you straddling his hips and he gripped your hips tightly. You knew he was going to leave bruises on your hips, he always did when he was passionate about something.

You continued kissing, the butterflies pooling in your stomach as you became overcome with passion. He was the one for you, he was always going to be the one you wanted in life. You pulled away, resting your hands in his hair, this was a normal position for you.

“Luke, when I say I love you. I mean that, I know in my heart that I am going to marry you one day. I don’t care what my dad has to say about it. You, Luke Patterson are the one for me” You said softly, as you watched the red blush cross his cheeks

“Well you should know that I love you too, more than the music running through me. I am going to marry you one day, I knew that the moment I met you. As for you dad, he’s going to have to get used to the idea of a punk being his son-in-law” Luke said with his signature smirk embedded on his lips.

You knew in that moment; Luke was yours no matter what any status said.

[shyvioletcat]

71) “You look good in that.” for the firefighter au!!!!

Here’s another Striking Matches Drabble for Firefighter Friday! I promise Light the Sparks is coming, I just haven’t had a moment to get the outline sorted.

You’ll probably want to read THIS drabble beforehand

Striking Matches Masterlist

~~~~~

There was a pile of discarded clothes on Aelin’s bed that she could see behind her as she looked over her current outfit in the mirror. She was sure this was the one. It was a mustard coloured flowy, knee length dress, the top overlapping to give a false wrap effect. The tie at the waist was the real selling point though, meaning she could leave it a little looser than she would probably usually have it. At 12 weeks pregnant she had just started to show and her wardrobe was starting to be compromised. Aelin couldn’t help herself and turned to the side, smoothing the fabric over the dress over her stomach to see the slight change in her body and smiled. Unless you were really looking for it, it wasn’t noticeable. But Aelin was always looking at it when she could.

“You look good in that,” Rowan said from the doorway and Aelin looked over to see him leading on the door frame.

She smiled at him as he smiled at her. “Thank you.”

“You ready to go?” He asked, moving into the bedroom. “You’ll need a coat. There’s a chilly wind out there tonight.”

Aelin checked the tie on her dress and watched as Rowan flicked through the jackets and coats that hung in her wardrobe. He pulled out a simple black coat and Aelin nodded her approval of the choice. Holding it out for her he helped her slip it on, making sure it didn’t catch on the brace she was still wearing on her wrist.

She untucked her hair from the collar and checked herself over in the mirror one last time. “Alright, let’s go. We don’t want to keep the grandparents waiting.”

Rowan positively beamed at those words.

Tonight they were going out to dinner with both sets of their parents and would announce the pregnancy to them. Besides Rowan’s team and Elide, the parents would be the first to be told. Aelin felt a little bad that they weren’t the first to know, and she knew Rowan felt the same, but they couldn’t help what happened. After Aelin had sworn them all to secrecy they had all managed to keep the news to themselves. 

Aelin’s mother had been beside herself when she’d heard about the accident. They had been visiting family in Varese when Aelin had called from the hospital and Evalin had been ready to get on the next flight back to Orynth, but Aelin had assured her she was fine, and also left out the fact that she would be staying in a few days for observation. Rowan’s parents had been just as equally distraught but they had already planned to visit a few weeks later so they held out, very conveniently arriving around the same time as Aelin’s parents. It had been too easy to suggest that they all have dinner together.

Hand in hand the parents-to-be walked out of the apartment, down the flights of stairs, and onto the street. They were meeting at a restaurant that was walking distance from their apartment which was all part of the plan. When Aelin and Rowan arrived, both sets of parents were waiting outside chatting together. When Evalin saw Aelin she immediately broke from the group, gathering her daughter into a hug.

“Careful, Mum. My ribs,” Aelin squeaked and was then immediately being held at arm's length, her mother’s scrutinising eye running over her.

“I thought you said you were okay now,” Evalin said, a hand coming to rest on Aelin’s cheek.

“I am, just healing,” Aelin insisted. 

Evalin narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

Aelin’s answer was an eyeroll, bluffing her way through the physical toll her pregnancy was taking on her body. 

“Yes, Mother. I am absolutely fine,” Aelin assured her. “I’ve had this one fussing over me non-stop so.”

Evalin finally let go of Aelin and looked away from her to Rowan. “Hello Rowan. How are you?” 

“I’m good,” Rowan replied and they hugged each other briefly. 

By then everyone else had wandered over, with more greetings and reassurances that yes, she was fine Aelin returned to Rowan’s side. Rowan was just smiling knowingly as he let Aelin deal with the situation. She knew that if she didn’t get him inside soon and distracted by food he would spill the big secret before the big reveal she had planned.

“Shall we?” Aelin said and led the way into the restaurant. 

Dinner had been lovely. Aelin was eternally grateful that her parents and her in-laws actually got on. They were so distracted by the conversation they didn’t notice that Aelin had ordered a chicken instead of steak, like she usually would. But the only way to eat steak was medium in the very least and her doctor has been insistent that all her meat be fully cooked. They also managed to miss the fact she had kept to water instead of a glass of wine, although her father had looked very confused for a second there as Aelin told the waiter her denial.

Now they were trekking back up the stairs, almost to their floor. The parents were coming in for more chatting and probably another drink, Aelin was really counting on that drink part. Rowan’s eyes were brimming with excitement as he unlocked the door. He was too adorable.

Aelin breezed into the apartment heading towards the bedroom to drop off her coat, as she got to the door she heard Rowan offer everyone a drink. There was a general consensus which had Aelin grinning.

“Just water for me please,” Iris chimed in.

“Of course, Mum,” Rowan said from the kitchen.

Aelin met him there, where we had four tumbler glasses and a bottle of wine on the counter as he was grabbing a jug of water from the fridge. Aelin looked at the glasses, glad they had arrived in time. Each one read their respective grandparent name with EST April and the year engraved delicately on the glass. Rowan poured out the drinks, practically humming with restrained excitement as he did so. When he was done he picked up the glasses for his parents and Aelin did the same for hers. They were all sitting on the couch, Iris, Evander and Evalin on the seats and Rhoe was on the arm of it next to Evalin. Rowan sat in the single armchair once he relinquished his drinks, Aelin perching on his lap a moment later.

“How’s the station, Rowan?” Rhoe asked and the conversation started flowing again. 

Aelin was hardly paying attention, she could sense Rowan doing the same as they waited for one of them to realise. Her eyes kept jumping from parent to parent when finally she saw Iris go perfectly still and look at her glass, the water more easily showing the words, when her eyes went wide Aelin knew it was about to get going. 

“Evan,” Iris breathed, but her husband didn’t hear her. Then she started tapping his leg furiously as she said his name again. “Evan, Evan. Look at your glass.”

“What? Is it dirty?” He said and Aelin almost burst out laughing, Rowan was hiding his smile behind his hand.

Then it was Evalin who squealed.

Aelin looked over at her mother and already saw tears brimming in her eyes.

“Oh,” Rhoe’s deep voice said quietly as he turned his glass in his hand. “Oh.”

“Wait…” Evander said, still not quite getting it and held the glass at arms length as he squinted to read in engraving. When he did he almost dropped his drink.

“You’re pregnant?” Evalin finally said, her voice thick with emotion.

“You bet, Grandma,” Aelin told her, trying to cover her own fraying emotions with a little bravado. Rowan’s firm squeeze to her hip told her she had failed. 

There was a flurry of movement and then Aelin was being pulled off Rowan’s lap and being embraced by both her parents, very enthusiastically but gently. They let her go and congratulated Rowan while his parents congratulated her, then eventually Aelin was tucked into Rowan’s side, his arm snaking around her waist as he dropped a kiss onto her head. The newly announced grandmothers were wiping at their eyes and Aelin noted that he father’s eyes were shining in the light.

Then Evalin whirled on them, something akin to devastation on her face. “You were pregnant in the accident?”

Aelin held onto Rowan a little tighter as she nodded. 

“Oh, baby,” Evalin whispered and Rhoe pulled her in for a hug.

“That would have been terrifying,” Iris added.

It was Rowan who answered. “It was, but we were very, very lucky. And now we’re excited beyond belief.” 

Aelin looked up at Rowan then and he looked down at her. They had been incredibly lucky that Aelin had walked away from that accident with minimal injuries and that the baby hadn’t been harmed. As Rowan smiled and then kissed her, she knew she was truly the luckiest woman in the world. 

~~~~~

Thanks for reading *blows kisses to you all*

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[i-need-entertainment]

Overhaul + “Rude”

This is the 4th Oneshot for the Valentines Day Event thank you so much for requesting!!

Character: Overhaul x reader

Overhaul’s eyes fluttered open as he adjusted to the sun shining in through the curtains. He groaned as he rolled onto his side, checking the clock to see what time it was. 7:05 He rolled back onto his back while his hands came up to rub at his eyes, sighing as he gave himself a mental pep talk before rolling out of bed and getting ready. Today was an important day, the day Overhaul would be asking your father for your hand in marriage. 

You and Overhaul had already agreed you’d be getting married, I mean he did propose and you did say yes, but he still had to ask for permission. Your dad is pretty old fashioned, which isn’t always a bad thing! He believes in respect and chivalry, both good things! But he can also be a little bit too old fashioned, like the ‘no dating until you’re 18’ or, your personal favorite ‘no man will marry you until he has been approved by me’. 

Now, some of you may be thinking ‘uuHHmm why don’t we just go BeHiNd HiS bAcK aren’t we yakuza?!’ and yes you are, but you met Overhaul in high school. And while he was in the Yakuza and a little rough around the edges, he wasn’t the leader of the Shie Hassaikai. And you have a good relationship with your parents. So, it was also important to you that your parents be as happy for you as you are for you and your beloved fiancé. 

Overhaul walked out of the bathroom after a refreshing shower and over to his closet. He was standing in front of the open doors, looking and searching for what would be the right thing to wear to your parents. He was thinking hard, thinking of how every little thing he did would be scrutinized, how they’re probably already against him, how-“Boo!” He shouted as he slightly jumped, grabbing the towel that hung around his waist at the last second before giving you a chilling glare. 

You held your hand over your mouth while you tried to stop laughing. He shook his head muttering a ‘child’ while he returned his focus to the closet, continuing in his search for what to wear. He slightly tensed before relaxing into the feeling of your arms wrapped around him, your chin resting on his shoulder while you looked for clothes from your spot behind him. “Hmm….Go with the black one and pair it with a white shirt and black tie, that ones my favorite~” 

You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving to take your own shower and get dressed. It was now 7:47, you and Overhaul were currently parked outside of your child hood home, you holding his hand tight while he looked to the door in contemplation. Signaling the driver to unlock the doors, Overhaul exited the car while you stayed. He walked up the nice driveway and up to the front door. Ringing the doorbell he took a small step back. The door opened to reveal your father. 

“Chisaki…may I ask what you’re doing here this morning?” Overhaul cleared his throat, “I came to ask for your daughters hand in marriage sir.” The older mans eyes widened before his expression turned suspicious and reluctant. “…my answer is no. You’re not good for my daughter, you put her in danger and quite frankly I don’t trust you to get her out of it.” Overhaul’s eyes widened as he felt his fists clench in frustration.

 “Sir, I assure you, your daughter is in good hands-“ “I gave you my answer, now unless you have other business with me, I suggest you leave.” Deciding not to pick a fight with the man he hoped to be his future father-in-law, he bowed his head before turning on his heel and walking back towards the car.

That was the first attempt to get your dad’s permission.

2 days later Overhaul found himself back at your fathers doorstep. This time he was dressed in a more casual black button up and slacks, of course daunting the usual mask and gloves. He knocked, hands going into his pockets as he waited. The door opened and your father leaned against the door frame an unimpressed expression on his face. “Sir, I’d like permission to marry your daughter.” The older man sighed as he shook his head, “I already said no. I already gave you my reasoning.” 

The older man went to close the door, but Overhaul was quick to put a hand out to stop it. “...You know refusing is pointless, she’s in love with me as much as i’m in love with her so why bother refusing?” The man narrowed his eyes, “My answer is no. Goodbye Chisaki.” The man shut the door and Overhaul sighed, running a latex covered hand down his face. He turned around and walked back to the car. “I take it he said no?” Overhaul nodded as Chronostasis hummed, “Y’know, as much as she loves her dad, i’m sure she’ll marry you anyway.” 

Overhaul shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I need his approval...i’ve already gotten her into a big enough mess as it is, the last thing we need is her to lose her connection to her family too.” Chrono nodded, starting the car and driving back to the base. “...Kai?” Overhaul looked into the rearview mirror, locking eyes with his oldest friend. “You know if that happens you guys have a family in the Hassaikai...” Overhaul nodded, the smallest upturn of his lips hidden by the medical mask he wore. “...Thanks Hari..”

That was the second attempt to get your dad’s permission.

This would be it. This time he would get your dads permission to marry you. He fidgeted with his gloved fingers in the car on the way there before you reached over and gently held his hands in yours, rubbing your thumbs over his hands. “It’s going to be fine. I’ll be right there beside you so don’t worry.” He nodded, looking out the window and slightly squeezing your hand. The nice car once again parked in front of your old house. 

Overhaul got out first turning to offer his hand, which you gratefully took, before you looped it through his elbow. Taking one more deep breath he began to lead you up to the steps. Knocking on the door he was met with your father, but before the older man could shut it he was lightly slapped by his wife. “Dear, at least hear them out will you?” The older man grumbled, waving his hand as if to signal Overhaul to continue.

 “Sir...I ask you permission one more time to marry your daughter. Before you speak, I know you have your concerns but I assure you, your daughters well being and happiness is always, and will always be my first priority. I love your daughter more than anything else and I swear on my life, she will be protected and loved the way she deserves.” He deeply bowed while you shed a few tears at his heartfelt proclamation. 

You heard a groan mixed with a sigh before your dad stepped onto the porch and clapped Overhaul on the shoulder, “Stand up young man, no son-in-law of mine needs to be so formal...” Overhaul’s eyes widened as he stood up straight, thanking both of your parents before turning to you, who was quick to hug him.

 Was it a process? Sure. Was it a fun one? Definitely not. But even if your dad had said no, and continued to say no, Overhaul would have continued to fight for the chance to be your husband, because there was no doubt in his mind that you, Y/n L/n, were more than worth it.

“Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life say yes, say yes, ‘cause I need to know. You say i’ll never get your blessing till the day I die...Why you gotta be so Rude.”

[imagine-that-one-thing]

Her Majesty || 19

Aces and Spades

Smut Warning

May

Three times every Summer, the grounds of Buckingham Palace are awash with scones and fascinators as the Queen hosts her annual garden parties. The events recognise those in public service — so guests include charities, organisations, and the civil service. As Queen, this is now MY garden party.

Just under a year ago, my father was hosting this identical garden party in debut to telling everyone who my boyfriend and soon to be husband was. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned, nor did the series of unfortunate events that followed suit.

Today, there's a distinctive atmosphere to the event. It isn't as articulated and controlled. Today it's an event that doesn't bother me as much as it worries Harry. He despises events held at the Palace because it implies there's constantly a flow of people in and out of the grounds. The garden parties customarily host around eight thousand guests, but today we have a little extra. Harry has been operating nonstop doing his dues for the Palace, revising plans with Matthew and specific insurrections for today in case of emergency.

I wander the grounds, viewing as the staff hustle around in an attempt to make sure the settings are immaculate. Finally, the tents are up, the flower arrangements are in sequence, and all that is left is for the food and little things to be settled into place. I beam as the crew pass me, their hands abundant with an array of various items. They do deserve so much acknowledgement for these functions. Without the team, these events wouldn't transpire. They indeed are the masterminds behind it all.

I have not possessed substantial control over the garden party. I know my mother habitually plans the event for my Father, but my mother had no desire to plan the event to the extent she usually does due to circumstances. I enabled the staff to plan the event and have most of the say with all decorations and foods. The only thing I requested was for my father’s chosen flower to be the tables' centrepieces. He always loved blue orchids, so did I, but that is one of the flowers not grown in the gardens. Perhaps the reason for him not desiring orchids in the gardens is because, in Victorian-era England, the orchid was a symbol of luxury and decadence— My father never threw around his luxuries, he never overstepped and became entitled or snobby, he stayed humble throughout his life as a royal. The colour blue is associated with peace and tranquillity, something that my father did not observe towards the end of his life. I believe orchids to be elegant of all colours, no matter their meaning or their status of luxury or wealth.

"Excuse me, can you help me?" I discover a bass voice question. Without a second thought, I turn on my heel to recognise a gentleman carrying boxes stacked higher than he can view.

I take the top box from him, allowing him the ability to meet my gaze. The man has voyager-blue eyes that are as clear as a fresh pond. Although they are vibrant and clear, something about him is cloudy, something I can't quite put my finger down on. His eyes are beautiful, but I can't ignore the unsettling feeling he leaves me with when he makes eye contact with me.

"Oh, my, your highness, I am so sorry," the man begins to apologise profoundly.

I draw my gaze from his eyes, scared I have spent too much time staring into the eyes of a man who has a front that I cannot figure out. Staring into the eyes of someone can lure you deeper into a pit you don't always want to be in. "Don't mention it," I shake my head, staring at the rest of his figure for a moment, attempting to grasp where he's from. He appears familiar, but I'm not sure what about him is drawing my curiosity.

"I'm trying to get these insides before they dry out."

"What are they?" I question, beginning to walk back towards the palace doors.

"Flower centrepieces for the tables," I'm informed.

I gawk at the man and nod my head, my emotions wanting to take grasp of me, but I halt them in their track. This is a felicitous day; there is no room for tears or sad emotions. In my hands, I hold the orchids that I insisted on, and for a brief moment, I don’t feel alone in the royal world. I feel the sense of tranquillity and peace wash over me. I don’t think my Father ever intended for things to pan out the way they have; he had no intentions of surrendering me into this world of monarchy distress. It happened, and I can do this.

We reach the palace doors, and I slide my finger over the thump print. I shift the large, gold-lined door, enabling the man to wander into the Palace before me. "Thank you. You can place it right here. I'll come back for the box."

"Do you know where you're going?" I raise a brow, unsure how this poor man will discover his way around the Palace. Sometimes I still get lost roaming the Palace grounds. This place is like a horrible maze to newcomers.

"Uh, well, no. I don't believe your highness should be carrying boxes. So I figured I'd get inside and wait for someone to help me."

I lift my shoulders into a shrug. Carrying a box or two isn't going to kill me. "Excuse me," I seize the awareness of one of the manor staff affiliates, "Would you mind showing this gentleman where he needs to go? He has the centrepieces for the tables."

"Certainly," The staff member nods, taking the box from my hands.

I leave the two of them to figure things out, making my way back upstairs to my room.

♛ ♛ ♛

The trek to my room is reserved and tranquil, something that is quite surprising. I expected to run into Madeleine or Louis attempting to sneak around the Palace in an attempt to keep their relationship ambiguous. I know what is going on between them, so does Harry, but the two of them act as though they are smug for trying to keep their relationship quiet. I think the award for best relationship honoured quiet is mine and Harry's. We did manage to fool my parents and the monarch.

I travel down the long-drawn hallways adorned with various paintings and decorations, the man, however, in my thoughts and driving me bonkers. Perhaps it was the eyes, but I want to know more. I am intrigued; I crave to learn who he is.

Is he a florist?

Is he attending the event?

What is his name?

I shake my obsessive thoughts away as I find myself at my door. I unlock the door with ease and step into my quiet room, just as equally bewildered. I suspected my room to be bustling with staff striving to shove me into a dress and get my hair done. Instead, I regard Harry on our bed with the covers draped over half his body and no staff in my room.

This is a first.

"Did I wake you?" I challenge, noticing him move insignificantly between the soft sheets, the rays of the sun peeking through the sheer curtains, forcing their way through the crack of the blackout curtains.

"Mm, no, been awake for a few minutes," Harry responds tiredly and with a soft voice.

"Oh, I was just downstairs looking at the setup."

"I know," Harry responds, his hand gesturing towards his phone. "I can see the cameras from my phone. Just wish you wouldn't stand in the blind spots every bloody time," Harry softly snickers.

I roll my eyes as I shift the heavy, red curtains to each side to induce light into the room before I shuffle closer to the wrack of clothes that were left in my room last night for me to go through. I have seven dresses I can choose from to wear today, all of which have been pre-approved by my mother already. Even as Queen, I have to have my attire pre-approved by her. I don't think I'll ever be able to wear what I want without approval, no matter how long I reign. "Shouldn't you already be with Matthew?" I challenge, shocked Harry is still in bed at this hour.

Harry shakes his head, not bothering to move in the bed as I gaze at each dress, taking them off the wrack and holding them up. "No, I was allowed to sleep in," Harry responds.

"Which dress?" I turn around, holding up two dresses that I can’t decide on.

One is The Reiss Peacock dress with lace and cording embroidery detailing on the bodice, a wide neckline and a heavily lined, full skirt. The second dress is a red and white Alexander McQueen dress, with a knee-length skirt and slim-fit sleeves with white cuffs.

Harry moves insignificantly in the bed, the sheets sounding with each slight movement. Harry grimaces as he relaxes upon his forearms to get a better glimpse.

"The lace," Harry answers with a petite smile, "Swear your mother picks the most horrid dresses sometimes," Harry continues, relating to the green gown at the end of the wrack that I didn’t touch.

My mother has a way of trying to dress me up to par with royal protocol. I do my best to stick to the protocol without looking like I am in my sixties.

I am not entirely convinced that the only reason Harry is in bed is that he got the morning off. It is rare for him to still. be in bed, for the most part, on his day's off, he gets up and starts moving. Something about him doesn't seem quite right. Perhaps I am reading into things a little too much, but I feel uneasy when I shouldn't. Harry doesn't just take days off or stay in bed unless there is a reason for it. Sometimes it is to keep me occupied while protocol takes place, sometimes it is because he has worked too many hours and legally has to stand down, and other times, on that very off chance, it is because something isn't right with him.

"I can see you're stressing already. Relax."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Harry sighs and nods his head, "Yes, I'm a bit tired, that is all, I promise." ... "Your mother said I was to attend as a husband today. I never knew marrying you would entail your mother controlling my work schedule." Harry informs me, "I am not mad, just amused. She won't do this often, will she?"

I shrug my shoulders in response. I am not sure why my mother decided to inform Harry that today was an event as a husband. I am confident she has some purpose. I can only imagine she is delighted to show him off as her son-in-law to the several people who do know. Perhaps she intends to show the world that we are together, I am not quite sure. I frankly do not want the media and the people to draw much attention to us. I know the balcony from the night of my coronation has people talking, but I don't want the spotlight on us or myself. I don't want the spotlight at all.

My door opens, and my ladies-in-waiting unobtrusively walk in, smiles adored across their lips and bright eyes as they notice the dress I have chosen. I don't know how they appreciate the process of getting me ready and looking like a royal, I am over it, so I assume they would be too. From the anticipated expression on their faces, it is safe to say they relish this a lot more than I do.

"I am going to get for a walk or maybe get coffee, enjoy whatever you lot do," Harry gestures around us as my hair is already being touched and hairstyles discussed. Harry kisses my cheek and promptly leaves, allowing me to be forced into a chair.

The ladies assist me with getting prepared, making sure my hair, makeup, and attire match perfectly. They smile happily with each moment, asking questions to help prepare me for any sort of conversations that may take place. They enjoy the questions and keep me occupied so that I don't freak myself out. I chuckle and roll my eyes as Eleanor exposes the glass boxes that contain jewellery pieces. "She wants to wear a tiara," Harry pipes up, ultimately making himself known in the room after his coffee walk.

I raise a brow and shake my head, "No," I mouth to Eleanor.

"The sapphire one that I like." Harry presses.

"The Dubai Looped Sapphire Demi-Parure?" Eleanor challenges with a raised brow as we all glance at him. He doesn't typically comment when the ladies are around. He tends to let them do their job and choose for me unless otherwise specified.

Harry nods his head and steps closer to me, placing a warm cup in my hand, the scent of tea filling my senses. This man always knows when to bring me what beverage.

"I will have Matthew get it from the vault with the earrings," Eleanor smiles, and I nod my head. "Now for the dress," Eleanor gestures towards the dress that I picked out.

Eleanor helps me into the dress; it doesn't take much assistance, unlike some of the ball gowns I have had to wear in the past. This dress is quite simple and slips on perfectly. The only issue is the buttons down the back.

I glance over and view Harry once again grimacing as he stretches his shirt around to draw the sleeve up to his arm. Then, finally, he catches my stare and softly grins, "You look lovely," he compliments me as Eleanor proceeds to button up my dress from the back, tightening it with every moment.

"You look like you're in pain."

"Just a little sore, it's normal," Harry shakes his head, "Plus, this suit is not my usual look. It's not black." Harry half-smiles, attempting to hide the pain laced in his eyes.

Harry is notorious for wearing the same damn suit. I don't know why he wears the same one, he can afford to buy different suits, but he doesn't. I think he has duplicates of the same suit, to be honest. The man can afford to buy horses and have a nice car, but the man will not buy a different suit. He won't even change the colours. He is a simple man; a straight black and white suit is more than enough for him. I am surprised I got him to wear suspenders on our wedding day.

"Well, your hardcore black and white suit isn't going to cut it for today's event. Get over it."

"Feisty," Harry chuckles, "What am I meant to do? I am prepared as security, not a husband, so I need some pointers," Harry reminds me of the fact that he has not been introduced into the royal world as more than his career. He only understands how to act as my security detail. "Do I curtsey? Do I act posh? Do I carry one of those umbrella things around?" Harry questions. He is spiralling. The man who isn't frightened of much is somewhat panicking over how to present himself in the royal world.

I chuckle and shake my head, "Next, you're going to ask if you have to play polo."

"Well, if I do, I cannot, "... "Not only am I god awful, I can't play with my shoulder."

I roll my eyes as Harry works to arrange his tie, "Just act like you."

"The royal's do not want to see me as an asshole who will call a level four protocol if I seem fit."

"Harry," I breathe.

Harry huffs and shakes his head, "I like this better as security."

"Just stay with me, talk to people and try to enjoy yourself."

"There are thousands of people on the grounds. I cannot enjoy myself." Harry is in security mode and not husband mode. It doesn't matter how many people are on the grounds. It isn't his problem.

I restrain myself from glaring at him and huffing. Instead, I offer him a small smile to conceal my frustration, "Are you going to be a grumpy ass all day?"

"I am sorry," Harry sighs, "I will do my best."

I walk away from Eleanor and step to Harry, taking his suit jacket from his hand, "Allow me," I instruct, moving behind him and helping him put the jacket on without having to move his shoulder too much. I know he is in more pain than he leads on. I know he struggles daily with his shoulder; it seems to be getting worse.

Harry turns around and nods his head, "Thank you," he kisses my cheek.

"You should get your shoulder checked out again."

"When I have time," Harry responds, dismissing the conversation and stepping away from me instantly.

♛ ♛ ♛

The Palace is bustling with staff hurrying to get last-minute things under control, and the rest of us in the Palace are getting ready, more so the ladies adding any last-minute touches to things. For once, I am ready early and without restraints. I am not hurrying to find pantyhose or trying to find ways to see Harry before we are whisked away for a day apart.

I escort down the endless hallway, my heels silenced under the red carpet that has been rolled out for today's occasion. God forbid if this marble floor is scratched by anyone who cannot walk in heels.

When I recognise Harry walking in my direction, I smile to myself, his physique adorned with the navy blue suit he left my room in. He is dashing with a rascal's smile, and his hair is a casual jumble but mostly neat and flowing. Harry prowls typically around with a lion-like power when walking the halls, but today he eases about the hallways with grace, seeming more relaxed and not so dominant.

As he steps closer, Harry’s eyes are a-twinkle with the ‘Joie de vivre’ as he graces me with a confident smile.

I grasp Harry's hand and sway us away from the hallways leading to the event of people commencing to assemble outside in the gardens. I drag us into a hidden passageway with no warning.

"Why are we here?" Harry questions, confused as he locks the door behind him. “I didn’t call a protocol,” Harry informs me.

I lean up and kiss him fearlessly, wasting no time with my intentions.

"Anna," he draws away, gazing at me with bewildered eyes.

"Harry, I'm in a dress," I point out the obvious, motioning towards the white dress that caresses my body in the superfluous yet modest way.

Harry nods, "And you look lovely."

"I'm in a dress, so please, for the love of God, give me attention," I breathe out, "Give me you," I demand, causing him to raise a brow. "We have a few minutes." I remind Harry that we still have time before we need to make our entrance into the garden and begin mingling with people who have been invited.

"Right here?" He is shocked as he gestures around the passageway I have drawn him into without any sort of warning.

Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do. There is nowhere else that we will be adorned with privacy. My room is clustered with the staff cleaning up and taking out the dresses I did not choose, the team are all around the palace, and I am sure security has every damn camera working and being watched intently.

"Any other time and place we are interrupted, right here, right now," I confirm. “There are no cameras, no staff, no interruptions.”

Harry stands in front of me, blinking owlishly. I sigh and shake my head before moving to the side, my hand reaching for the door we entered from.

He isn’t interested.

Abruptly, he seizes me and pushes me against the wall. My back hits the wall as one hand cups my neck and the other rushes to my hip, leaving very little space between us. His lips waste no time with leaving rained kisses on my exposed skin, butterflies in my stomach soaring with every luscious kiss settled to my skin.

He caresses my shoulder and bequeaths a trail of kisses leading to my collar bone, my fevered skin shivering at each moment his raspberry-red lips leave their mark. I tilt my head to the side as he advances to kiss the slender skin column of my neck, producing a meagre exhale to escape my lips.

Finally.

He urges his body closer to mine, and my breath hitches in my throat while he bites my neck mildly, just enough to enthral me. My chest rises up and down, and I sense his breath brush my skin with every moment that transpires. He takes bold possession of my lips, kissing me vigorously and passionately with his sumptuous, sensuous and velour soft lips that drip with honey. My hands' haste to Harry's physique, which deserves to be on statues, chiselled by the greatest artists. My leg encloses around his body to draw him closer, a wild desire and yearning taking power. His hand drifts to cup my boob, my body continuing to advance into his as tongues slip and surge in superfluous movements.

He takes his palm and glides it up to my inner thigh, my dress being of no concern to him. He takes his time, welcoming every inch of my inner thigh that he can, feeling every inch like a map for him to follow. Finally, he discovers the lace beneath my dress, and my palms clutch his shoulders. He glides a finger across the lace, my leg wrapping tighter around him while the other holds me up, keening anticipation humming through my veins.

I draw away from our kiss and let out a breath, my chest rising rapidly as he teases me with extremely light glides across the lace. "How much do you want this?" Harry challenges with a soft voice and a grin on his face. "Because I don't think you want this enough."

"I need you, now," I murmur, my fingers burrowing into his shirt while he brushes his finger over the lace of my underwear.

"You sure?" … “Tell me how much you need me,” Harry instructs, gradually positioning himself on his knees and thoroughly pressing his hand to the back of my thigh.

“Don’t do this,” I whine as he begins to kiss my skin, slowly making his way up my thigh.

Harry gently squeezes his hand on the back of my inner thigh and leaves a few more sweet kisses on my skin. I tilt my head back, my mouth allowing a small groan to escape as I am enthralled with him getting closer and closer to where I want him.

“I’m still waiting,” Harry responds, his breath tapping my skin, driving me crazier.

"Harry, just put me out of my misery and—"I begin, frustrated with him, but my words trail off as he slides the lace to the side, ever so nonchalantly.

"And?" Harry questions, standing back to his feet, his hand pressed to the lace band of my underwear, tampering with my sanity.

"And do what you do best. Why do you make this so fucking frustrating you're—, oh," I trail off the moment he graces me with his presence and slides a finger inside me, shutting me up instantly. I tilt my head back and softly moan.

“Is that what you wanted?" He grins cockily, working his fingers in a circular motion, causing me to want more and more of his breathtaking movements.

“Don’t stop.”

Delighted with excited anticipation, he slides in another finger, my toes curling within my heeled stilettos, my hand clutching fistfuls of his shirt, my body focusing on the sensation he’s dominantly advancing, his fingers twisting in a circular motion. My eyes narrow to half-mast, my head is tilting back, my nails digging into his shirt as he continues to grin.

Harry chuckles quietly as I begin to dance my hands along with the band of his pants, hinting at what I want next.

“Gettin’ ahead of yourself already,” Harry grins, “I’m not done,” He continues, catching me off guard as he slows his circular motions and lowers himself back down to his knees. He rides my dress up and grasps the back of my thighs, kissing his way up my thighs. My fingers press his shoulders while my other hand holds my dress. He bites gently on my inner thigh, a small chuckle escaping his lips before I go weak at my knees, enthralled by the motions of his tongue.

His hands squeeze the back of my thigh harder, in turn, my fingers squeezing his shoulders as my legs begin to quiver. I feel the rushing, narcotic power building in my body, “Harry,” I moan his name, fighting the power and squirming as he gets closer and closer to finding the exact spot I have been demanding.

I feel the building pressure, the climax coming at me in digging waves, but Harry stops. He stands to his feet, and I go to protest, but I’m stopped the moment he unbuttons his pants, thrilling me further and entering slowly. His hand presses against the wall, and we work together, at first going slow before he gradually inclines his thrusts, my hips moving to work with his.

My eyes roll to half-mast as my residence is broken and my body weakens, entirely falling into him with pleasure.

I catch my breath as he holds me up, my nails removing from their emended position on his shoulders.

I give him a smile as my dress falls back to its original length and my leg unwraps from around him. He holds me tighter, my legs shaking even further.

"You okay?" He breathes, pressing me back against the wall while holding me securely.

I nod, “Just for future reference; I’ll be getting you back for demanding praise before pleasure.”

Harry shrugs as he drops his arm from me and begins to adjust himself and his pants. “You dragged me in here.”

“If I had to wait for you to drag me in here, we’d never get anywhere.”

“I’m sorry I prefer to pleasure you in complete privacy.”

“Up your game, Styles,” I smile, adjusting my dress.

Harry rolls his eyes, “I look forward to your revenge, darling.” Harry winks as he cocks his head and looks me up and down, “Your quivering legs say you’re satisfied.”

“Very,” I nod, “Next time, it’s my turn to pleasure you.”

Harry grins and agrees, “Revenge and all.” ... "You have an event, Queen," Harry winks, gesturing to the door, reminding me of my other duties.

Harry's POV

When I woke up this morning, I had not intended for the events of the morning to go as they have. I didn't anticipate Anastasia to drag me to the royal office right before the garden party to take care of business. Then again, I didn't expect her to lure me into a passageway and demand I please her, not that I'm complaining by any means. Intercourse is infrequent these days. Finding alone time is like attempting to find a pot of fucking gold.

I stand in front of her, waiting for answers, just as Pippa and her mother do as well. My mother in law steps closer to me, "What is going on?" she questions, and I shrug my shoulders.

"No clue," I whisper.

"It is rude to whisper," Pippa remarks, causing me to cock my head to the side and glared at her.

Before I can speak, my mother-in-law speaks for me, "Nobody asked your opinion," she mutters.

"The only way to become KingKing is to inherit the title; I hereby change the ruling. If any Queen wishes to title her husband as KingKing, she can do so on the conditions she rules the majority of the monarch, and they can co-monarch successfully. I am still higher ranked than him." Anastasia states, signing her name effortlessly across a piece of paper, taking all of us by surprise.

I watch as Anastasia signs a warrant authorising the preparation of the letters patent and approving the draft text of the letters patent. "What? Anna… What?" I utter, confused as to what is happening as Anna hands me the letter that will be written in ceremonial calligraphy on vellum in the next few hours.

"You cannot be serious, Her Majesty," Pippa laboriously huffs.

I am not sure how any of this affects Pippa. It isn't like I do anything to bother her.

"I am changing your title," Anna responds, glancing towards her mother and Pippa, who have witnessed the moment, "Any objections?" Anastasia raises a brow, narrowing her eyes towards Pippa.

Pippa shifts her weight from foot to foot, evidently troubled with Anastasia's smartass remarks and comments. Pippa shakes her head, and I take a moment to glance down and read what Anastasia is ordering.

In the name and on the behalf of Her Majesty.

Anastasia Annette Leanor, Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen Defender of the Faith etc. To all to whom these Presents shall come greeting: Our Will and Pleasure is, and we do hereby declare and ordain, that from and after the date of this warrant, Harry Styles, shall be styled, entitled and called "His Royal Highness, King of the United Kingdom," before his name and such Titles and appellations, which to Him now do, or at any time hereafter may belong or appertain, in all Deeds, Records, Instruments or Documents whatsoever, wherein He may at any time hereafter be named or described. And We do hereby authorise and empower the said Harry Styles henceforth and at all times to assume and use and be called and named by the style title and appellation of "His Royal Highness" accordingly.

Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace the Fifteenth Day of April 2022.

I place the paper down on the desk, "Anna, Are you sure about this? I don't know about all this," I gesture, unsure of what to do or how to act.

I don't want this at the expense of pissing Pippa off.

"Yeah, I am unsure too," Pippa steps closer to the desk.

"Nobody asked your opinion, and this has nothing to do with the Priminsiter. Why is she here?" I cross my arms over my chest.

This woman is a pain in my ass.

"I think I liked you better as a security detail."

"Yeah, well, I liked you better when you weren't up my ass and pissing me off all the time."

"That is no way to speak to a parliament member," Pippa responds.

"Parliament can kiss my royal ass," I respond, "I believe this is a conversation between my wife and me, so please, respectfully, shut up," I smile through my teeth, trying my hardest not to be an outright asshole to her, but my patience is thin right now.

I look back towards Anastasia and Anna stands from her position at her desk, "I am sure, we have a garden party to attend," Anastasia smiles before she steps towards me and kisses my cheek, "Are you escorting me or are you going to argue Pippa?"

"Do I get a say in this?" I softly challenge.

Anna shakes her head, "No, take it," Anastasia responds, her eyes narrowing down on me, indicating that I need to shut my mouth and let her do what she is doing. Perhaps there is a method to her madness, or maybe she wants to give me the damn title, either way, I will stand by her, even if it means I become a fucking King, formally,

♛ ♛ ♛

For the first time, I trail Anastasia's lead, doing my amplest to empower myself to be in the moment and not destroy things by being her security detail. I try my best not to keep track of the number of people in the gardens or that with every second that passes, there's an extra set of eyes on Anastasia.

Matthew is in charge of keeping Anastasia safe in the event of some catastrophe, and Oliver is in charge of keeping me safe. Quite frankly, as her husband or not, I do not care about myself in situations; my main focus is her not just because it is my profession but because she is the woman I love. Therefore, I will put my life on the line for her no matter the circumstances.

"Eaglette, any threats?" I softly question Oliver as Anastasia is occupied with one of the other Princess' that have appeared.

Oliver clears his throat and steps closer to me from behind, "Will she fire me if I tell you?" Oliver whispers, and I can't help but laugh. Anastasia and Princess Charlotte view me with raised brows, and I begin to softly cough into my hand, proposing to divert the attention.

"No, Oliver, she will not fire you. Give me the rundown," I instruct, moving to the left so he can stand beside me.

I begin to glance around, exercising close surveillance of the physiques around us. "One woman was denied entry, and that is all. Nothing dangerous or threatening."

"Who has their eyes on her mother?" I question, unable to locate Anastasia's mother where I am.

"She is sitting under the tent with her lady-in-waiting. She will not be moving. Everything is running smoothly."

I nod my head and march towards Anastasia, joining her conversation.

I feel out of place. I feel as though I should be standing with Matthew or Oliver. I shouldn't be participating in the events as more than security detail. My marriage to Anna doesn't modify my stance on things. I don't want to be known as the man who abruptly gains a title and completely changes; I am no better than anyone else and don't like the idea of being more than just security. Most people would love to have some sort of title. I don't.

I excuse myself from Anna and walk away, leaving the crowd of minglers for Oliver to handle. These events have always bothered me, not just from a relationship stance but from a security detail stance. It is rattling my nerves not being in the loop and knowing where everyone is or who is here. Matthew didn't want me a part of today's service, as requested by my mother-in-law but not knowing makes me want to panic. I weave in and out of the gardens, well aware of Matthew's sneaky path, and I eventually locate him.

I offer him a grin, and he shakes his head, "What do you want? You're off duty."

"Can I please just have my in-ear? It would give me peace of mind," I ask politely.

Matthew rolls his eyes and shoves his hand into his pocket, "I figured you'd ask," Matthew chuckles, "Can't help yourself, can you?"

I lift my shoulders into a shrug and take my in-ear from him, "Makes me nervous not knowing."

"I understand, but if Anastasia sees you being her detail, she is going to get upset with you. She wants her husband."

"Yeah, well, her husband is struggling with this… What the fuck am I meant to do? I don't know these people." I question, needing some sort of advice. "Do I curtsey?"

I am the kind of person who likes to be prepared, and I haven't been prepared for anything. I don't know how to start conversations with royals, I don't know how to act as anything other than a security personal, and most of all, I don't know who I am meant to curtsey to and who I am not. Things are more manageable when I am security. As Anna's security, I knew every single person who was meant to curtsey to Anna and every single person who did not have to. Everyone who does not hold an HRH title has been required to bow to Anastasia even when she was young, and anyone without an HRH title will have to curtsey to our children. Now that Anna is Queen, everyone is to curtsey to her no matter the title, and now that I have a title, I have no clue who the fuck I am meant to bow to or who is meant to bow to me, not that I want anyone to bow to me.

Matthew chuckles to himself before placing his hand on my shoulder, "Harry, relax. It is okay."… "Anna had to only bow to her parents; now her mother has to bow to her… As reigning Queen, everyone curtseys to her, and when you two are together, they curtsey to you. You are titled His Majesty, and as King, everyone curtseys to you as well when you are both together."

"So I do not bow?"

"No, Harry, and there is no way I am bowing to you either."

I laugh at Matthew's comment, "Royal protocol says otherwise."

"You can shove it up your ass; I am not bowing," Matthew continues, causing me to laugh a little harder. "Now that you are relaxed, just breathe. Don't worry about the royal rules. Anna doesn't want you to be moulded to those rules. She just wants her husband; she doesn't expect you to act like a King on your first day."

"Nobody even knows I am King, oh God, is the media going to find out? I don't think I am up for this. I don't want to be formally known as King."

"Would you prefer the title of an asshole? I think it is still available unless Pippa took it," Matthew continues to endeavour to lighten the mood and stop me from spiralling with my thoughts and feelings towards the situation. "Look, Anastasia knows what she is doing. It doesn't change anything major right now, Harry. It isn't like you have to make speeches and attend public events on your own. Just stand with her and smile."

"I prefer to be on security. Can I just do security?"

Matthew shakes his head, "You need to do this for your wife, so suck it up."

I nod my head, "Can I just get a few minutes to recoup?" I question, requiring a few extra minutes to amp myself back to go back to Anastasia and the swarming crowd of guests.

"I am going back to Oliver. If you're not back with your wife in ten minutes, I will make you regret it."

"How so?" I curiously ask, purposely being a shithead.

"I will stick you on watching the cameras between two and six in the morning, your favourite shifts," Matthew responds, causing me to groan. "Figured you would see it my way and get back to being King," Matthew smirks, shuffling away from me.

I stand in the extensive gardens, taking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm my racing thoughts.

What have I gotten myself into?

I struggle to wrap my head around this morning's events. I just gave up the crown and being in charge of the monarch, and somehow I gained the title of King- a title that has never been obtained by a man who hasn't been royal by blood. I am sure the parliament will dispute it the best they can, but ultimately, Anastasia has the last say.

I observe a man and take it upon myself to walk closer to him, "This area is off-limits," I immediately begin, startling the man as he turns to stare at me.

"You're in here."

"I am allowed to be here. I would suggest you go back to the public and leave the flowers alone," I command, pointing to the flowers he had been touching, "If I catch you here again, I will have you arrested." I threaten the man, not wanting to cause a scene. Anna would kill me.

"No need, Harry," the man shakes his head.

"How do you know my name?" I instantly challenge, narrowing my eyes on him and stepping closer to the man who appears familiar, but I know I have never met him before. He isn't in any of our files for looking out for and for someone who can't be trusted.

"I read social media. I am not from the seventeen hundreds, Mr Styles," the man chuckles.

I nod my head, "Careful what you touch, might be poisonous," I cross my arms over my chest, making it known that I know he is up to something, but I am not quite sure what it is. I don't know what he could want with a few flowers or what he was doing out here, but I do know that I do not like it.

"Likewise, wouldn't want any Aces in the hole," the man grins.

"You seem a bit lost in the shuffle there, mate," I respond, irritated by his use of idioms.

"Have a good day," The man proceeds to walk away, leaving me intrigued. Part of me wants to grab him and force out of him what he means by an Ace in a hole. The saying represents a hidden or secret strength or unrevealed advantage, but what could this man mean?

What Ace is hidden in the gardens?

What Ace is hidden in the flowers?

What Ace is hidden?

I shake my thoughts and force myself to forget about the man, a man who is just someone attempting to get some sort of attention at the Palace. I walk the pathway and head back towards the area where the guests are gathered. I weave in and out of the bodies, trying to locate Anna or her mother, whichever one I can manage to find first.

I find Anastasia standing under one of the tents on her own, standing beside an ice sculpture that is just for looks. "I was looking for you," Anastasia begins, "You okay?"

"I am fine," I kiss her cheek.

"I know that is a lie," Anastasia sighs, and she takes my hand, lacing her fingers with my own.

I heavily sigh before speaking, "I don't like not doing my job, it is… weird," I trail off into a whisper as we are interrupted by Princess Madeleine. "Princess," I nod, acknowledging her as she smiles towards Anastasia and glares as her eyes meet mine.

"I believe you have the title wrong," Madeleine informs me, purposely irking my nerves as she did the first day I met her.

She has lived with us for a little while, and I do everything in my power to avoid her at all costs; she and I don't see eye to eye, and her sarcasm pisses me off nine times out of ten. The only time she has come in handy was when she scared some of the new guys I am trying to train.

I clear my throat and look at her, "Madeleine Noelle Veil of Denmark," I correct myself, "As I call you by your official title, I believe you must curtsey," I gesture with a grin, "Go ahead, don't be shy."

"Harry," Anna nudges me, signalling for me to stop playing the same petty game as Madeleine.

"I Madeleine Noelle Veil of Denmark do not bow to you, but as for your royal title, I shall curtsey," Madeleine mutters unhappily, bending her knees and curtseying.

I chuckle and nod my head, "Thank you, Princess Madeleine Noelle Veil of Denmark. Your presence is always a joy."

"Do you two do anything but bicker?" Anastasia interrupts before Madeleine can comment.

Madeleine and I both lift our shoulders into a shrug, "No," I shake my head, "I am going to find Prince Louis," I inform the two of them as they grab more drinks, "Madeleine, who is watching you?" I ask.

Madeleine raises a brow before looking around, "Are you not on my service?"

"I am serious, Madeleine."

"Nobody was assigned to me. My guard never showed."

I run my fingers through my hair and shake my head disapprovingly, "Stay with Anna. I will have someone put on your service." I inform the two of them before walking off, on a mission not only to find someone for Madeleine's service but also to figure out who the man in the gardens was. He has left a bitter taste in my mouth, and something about him doesn't settle with me.

♛ ♛ ♛

The garden party ended an hour ago, and as the evening concluded, I couldn't help but have this begging need to go to the security office and grab some paperwork. My thoughts have been racing since the man in the gardens. I haven't been able to shake his comments off.

I rummage through a few files, doing my best to locate what I am looking for.

I turn to observe Anastasia sitting down; her head bowed as she stares at her lap. I watch her for a minute and cock my head to the side. At first glance, I assume she is tired from a long day; hell, I am exhausted from today, and all I had to do was stand there and look pretty. But, instead, I was merely just the man who stood beside her all day. "Baby, are you okay?" I challenge, walking closer, realising that something about her doesn't appear the same. Minutes ago, she was smiling, had energy to her, and now she seems as though her light has dimmed.

I step closer and notice what Anna has in her lap that has caused her to gaze down thoroughly. "Anna, you can't just go through things," I raise my voice insignificantly, panic mode setting in.

Anastasia was not intended to perceive anything in that folder. I lean down and snatch the file from her hands and arrange it back on my desk. She gazes up at me, all the colour drained from her face, her eyes sullen, and her hands shaking as she attempts to disguise them by adjusting the length of her dress. "I'm sorry for raising my voice," I apologise, not knowing where to begin with what I have to handle. I thread a hand through my hair while she twists the wedding ring on her finger anxiously.

Anastasia stands to her feet and wraps her arms around her. I can't tell if it is out of comfort or for the fact it is chilly down here. I know she viewed information in the file she was never meant to perceive, there is a reason she isn't meant to be down here, but I didn't expect this file to be left in plain sight for her to recognise. "Anna?"

She doesn't want to speak, I don't blame her, but she can't keep shutting down on me any time an inconvenience occurs or she finds things out she doesn't want to acknowledge. At this rate, her life is a series of unfortunate events, and I am doing everything I can to shield her from it. But it isn't my fault she is in the mess she is in. It all originates from her family line. Finally, Anastasia steps to the door and waits, not bothering to turn back to glance at me as I stand in the middle of the surveillance room at a loss for words. I don't know how to comfort her.

I take my jacket off and step closer to Anastasia. I drape my coat over her shoulders from behind before I grab my keys from my pocket, "How mad are you at me?" I question, flipping through my keys to locate the one I am looking for.

"Harry, I don't want to talk." Anastasia's lips set in a grim line.

"I don't want a lot of things, but I have to deal with them, Anna."

Anastasia glances at me and takes my jacket off, handing it to me out of spite. Her usually effervescent eyes now burn with contempt. "Leave me alone," Anastaisa mutters.

My body stiffens at the remark; it breaks my heart, but I know deep down this has nothing to do with me. I am just the middle man attempting to figure out who the fuck killed her father and who I need to deal with so they don't take Anastasia.

I unlock the door and permit Anastasia out, "As you wish," I gesture for her to step out, allowing her to march out of the security room and into the tunnels. I close the door behind me and place the keys in my pocket. I heavily sigh, and I lean on the door as I watch Anastasia walk off without me. I should follow her, but I know the tunnels are relatively safe, at least the ones on this end— I know that sometimes she needs space. I can't smother her, and I can't shield her from everything as I try.

After a few minutes, I begin to walk.

I recognise Anastasia on the cold ground, and I wander closer to her before I kneel in front of her, her cheeks tear-stained with mascara, her arms wrapped around her stomach, and her legs tucked under her dress. Her chest rises and falls with rapid breaths. "Don't ask if I am okay," Anastasia snaps before I can bother to open my mouth.

"Didn't plan on it," I respond before I stand up, leaving her to her own defences and beginning to step away. I may walk away from her, but I can watch guard without her knowing. I don't want to push her over the edge or start an argument with her.

Sometimes you have to pick and choose your battles, especially in relationships; this is a battle I do not want to fight. I don't want to argue herewith in the tunnels because of her emotions.

I catch her weeping, and it breaks my heart, but I can't always be the one to pick up her pieces if she doesn't want me to. I cannot fight her and urge her to understand things. "Harry, wait," the painful vibration of her voice causes me to stop in my tracks. I stand with my back to her, unsure of whether to turn around and go back to her or to leave her where she is. "I'm sorry," her apology causes me to think for a moment. She is furious and sad at the same time, and I am frustrated— neither of us is better than each other— we both have emotions that we can't always control. Finally, I turn around and begin to walk back towards her.

Anastasia gazes up at me, her usually alluring eyes harbouring nothing but grief and sorrow. I kneel again, this time noticing the blood spots on her dress. "What happened?" I request, lifting her arms to take a glimpse at her dress.

"I was coming back to apologise," Anastasia breathes, bowing her head in defeat, "I tripped over the uneven stones."

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" I ask, gingerly shifting her arms from their position from around her stomach, scanning every inch of her.

"It's no big deal," Anastasia responds, "Life likes to knock me down."

"Happens to the best of us," I respond, "Can you get up?" I request, unsure of how she fell or if she had hurt herself aside from a few scrapes.

I place my hands at her waist and mindfully assist her where I see her dress is torn, and she scraped her legs on her fall. "If you hadn't walked off, this may not have happened."

Anastasia's eyes roll skyward, and frustration crinkles her eyes. "Sure, because prince charming would have saved me as always."

"I am not sure why you're angry at me," I shake my head, kindly placing my jacket to slide up her arms before I bring it to her front. I button my coat up so the tear in her dress isn't exposed.

Anastasia gazes at me and looks down before peering back up at me, "I don't know who else to be angry at…."

I don't respond, mainly because I do not know how to. So instead, I swallow any sly remarks I have and place my arm around her before we quietly walk the rest of the tunnels.

The walk was silent; the only thing that we could hear was the echo of her heels tapping the stones with every step she took. I know the fall to the stones hurt, and I know she was doing her best not to lean on me, but even when she is pissed at me and I am frustrated, I don't want her ever to think I won't be there for her to lean on, whether that be literally or metaphorically.

Life is troublesome, and it is even harder when you're attempting to avenge your wife's father's murder. I promised her I would get to the bottom of things, I promised her father I would keep her safe, and these go hand-in-hand. I will stop at nothing to make sure Anastasia is not next. It scares me every day to wake up knowing that there are people out there who don't want her in the monarch. It terrifies me that she took control of something much more significant than her. It scares me that there are members of parliament who are evil and corrupt— I plan to deal with them the second that I can, but for now, Matthew and I are taking things one step at a time. Anastasia can't stay enraged at me forever. I didn't tell her to scan through files; she took a seat to get off her feet, resulting in disaster. I didn't expect her to open the one fucking file with pictures of her father the night the unknown killed him. I didn't expect her to somehow turn things around on me. I didn't anticipate becoming the inferior guy in the situation because her emotions are ramped.

♛ ♛ ♛

Anastasia rummages around the bathroom, and I observe her silhouette with every move while I undo the tie around my neck. Every so often, I notice her wipe her reddened cheeks and shift her hair away from her face. I want to comfort her and stop her from crying, but nothing I do will help. Finally, she bends down to take out bandages from the drawer, and a groan escapes her lips, her hand grabbing the edge of the marble counter for balance. I stand to my feet instantly, discovering myself in the bathroom before I can think twice.

"Here," I sigh, placing my hands on Anastasia and sitting her on the bathroom sink. I've watched her struggle enough with trying to clean herself up.

I take the cotton from her hands, the smell of rubbing alcohol causing both of us to screw our noses up. I am not sure what it is, but the sterile smell of rubbing alcohol bothers me. I take her arms and begin to clean her forearms off; I dab delicately. "I know it burns," I soften my gaze on her as she jerks away from my touch, pulling her arms back with a hiss. "Rubbing alcohol burns, but it's all we have unless you want to go-"

"No," Anna cuts me off before I can finish speaking, her voice rough with pain. I know she doesn't want to go to the doctor at the Palace. I know all she wants is to get in bed and forget this evening ever occurred. Anna gives me back her arms and glances away, focusing her attention on something other than the burning pain.

"Can I take your pantihose off? They're all ripped, sweetheart," I softly request, not wanting to take them off without her permission. Anna nods and lifts her dress just enough to take the thin layer of material between my fingers and slide them down her legs, doing my best not to touch the tender skin at her knees where she befell.

Her knees remind me of a time when I was a little kid.

I was running with my sister, we had both been told to stop, but neither of us listened. Instead, we competed with who could reach the neighbours first. The giggling between my sister and I grew louder and louder, and my mother's pleas fell silent the further we got. Finally, I tripped over my own feet, and I went straight into the concrete. I skimmed both my knees that day, I still have the scars, but I remember trying so hard not to cry because I knew my mother was precise. I should have listened to her. The moment my mother got to me, I cried, and I cried. The fall destroyed my pants, and my knees stung like thousands of needles pricking my skin. I attempted to focus on something other than the agony of the minor incident, but I couldn't concentrate on anything besides my skimmed knees.

I remember the fall and the discomfort, and I remember my mum taking me home and cleaning me up in the same way I am with Anastasia. The only difference is I was six, and Anastasia's cuts and scratches are a little more vicious than what six year old me managed to do.

Anastasia winces and hisses as I start to dab her knees. I look at her, and she's biting down on her lip while her hands curl and hold the edge of the countertop. "I'm sorry, baby," I again sigh, apologising for a pain I did not inflict. But, of course, this could have been averted if she wasn't stubborn and marching away from me. Perhaps then she wouldn't have been so emotional and stumbling over herself.

"It's fine; we've both been through worse."

I nod my head and agree, "Perhaps, but scrapes deserve credit. They're fucking painful."

"The tough security guard agrees scapes hurt?" Anastasia softly questions.

"Still recovering from mine when I was six," I wink, attempting to lighten the mood, but she goes withdrawn as I continue to tend to her scrapes.

I clean Anna's legs, bandaging them with bandaids before standing in front of her and benevolently placing my hands at her hips. "Look, you can be mad at me all you want, you can give me the silent treatment, you can yell, do what you need to do, but— hey, look at me," I softly trail off, touching my hand to lift her chin, "I'm not going anywhere. I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't tell you to look through the stuff. I never intended for you to see what you saw. This is why I don't let you down there." I begin to explain my train of thought. She can be bitter, but it doesn't change the outcome of anything at the end of the day.

"What if it's you?"

"Excuse me?" I am taken aback by her question.

Is she referring to me as the person who killed her father?

"What if it becomes you, like him?"

"I don't understand." I shake my head, still unsure of what she's alluding to.

Anastasia becomes reserved for a minute before she shakes her head and places her hands on my shoulders, propelling her body forward, signalling she wants to get down off the counter. I help her off, but I retain my hands on her, "Please explain." I caress my hands to hers that rest on my shoulders, and I hold them as she releases her grip on my shoulders.

"What if… What if they do to you what they did to him? Since you're on track to knowing what happened." Anna is fighting a rising panic, but I don't know where she is going with it or where it stems.

"Anna, you told me this is what you wanted, for me to find who did this."

"I don't want to see pictures of you like the way I had to see pictures of him."

"I know what I am doing."

"So did he," Anastasia whispers, "I am going to bed. I don't want to keep having this conversation."

"Hey, you can't just walk away every time you get uncomfortable with something," I inform her as she steps towards the bedroom.

Anastasia halts in her tracks and turns to glance at me, "I'm not coddling you. I am done coddling you so much with certain things." I stand my ground, not wanting to be an arse but not wanting her to keep shutting down conversations. It isn't healthy for her to do this.

"Okay, would it help you sleep better to know that one of the two of us is likely next? I won't sugar coat it; I know that no matter where I go or how good security is that I am a threat. So perhaps it would help you sleep to know Dad, Victoria, and Henry are all dead, and it all boils down to me."

"No, that doesn't help me sleep, but you know what does? Knowing that I do everything humanly possible to make sure you are not touched."

"You're missing the point," Anastasia exclaims, "What about you? Who is keeping you safe? Matthew and Oliver's main concern is me. So who the fuck is making sure that you aren't going to be joining Henry and my Dad?"

"Anna," I sigh, working my hands through my hair. "I signed up for this. I knew signing up for the job that my life would always be on the line to save yours."

"You signed up for your job; you didn't sign up to be in harm's way because you married me."

"Well, that's just one of the perks I have to deal with. I will be fine, damnit… This conversation is over."

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black, uncomfortable?"

"I love you."

Anna shakes her head, "You don't get to end things with an I love you. No."

"You end it as you wish," I respond, stepping around her and beginning to unbutton my shirt.

Even on my worst days, I love her. My love for her is immeasurable. I don't care if we are bickering like cats and dogs. I still love her. Neither of us is perfect, and we are going to fight; it's inevitable. We don't see eye to eye on everything; right now, I have no fucking clue what eye she is even using, but I will figure it out. I vowed to love her through everything, even the moments she is spiralling with emotions.

"You don't understand, do you?"

"I understand that you are hurting, I understand that you're scared, but arguing with me isn't going to help… I don't even know why you're mad. It isn't my fault. This is how things panned out."

"It isn't my fault either."

"I never said it was, Anna," I respond, letting out a grunt, pain branching across my shoulder like lightning as I move my shoulders back and take the damn shirt off. A sharp breath escapes my lips while I lean forward and massage my shoulder. "Don't worry. I promise I am not dying," I mutter, glancing up to notice her staring at me. Damnit.

"Insensitive," Anastasia rolls her eyes.

"Fuck me," I sigh, leaning down to lay on the bed.

I peer up at the ceiling and begin to wonder where I went wrong with this evening. Today went well. There were no significant issues that arose, no protocol I had to call, and everyone complied with the garden rules. I didn't have to throw anyone out, nor did I have to lock down any parts of the Palace. Today is a day that rarely happens when events happen, today was successful without any errors. Rare.

Anna and I had a decent time; I did my best to escort her around and speak with people who I wouldn't usually be entitled to talk to if I was only her guard. So, for once, I somewhat appreciated a royal event... up until now.

"Are you alright?"

"No, Anna, I am not," I respond, "I have a wife who I have no clue how to make feel better and who thinks I am going to be assassinated in my sleep. I also apparently have a monarch and parliament after me, not to mention a job you make a bit difficult."

Anastasia grows silent, and I realise I am only digging my grave deeper with her. If I don't watch it, she's likely to smother me with a pillow in my sleep. But, of course, I wouldn't blame her either. "Just turn the light off when you're ready," I mutter, not wanting to get up to turn it off or to get up to do anything. I am pretty comfortable with my legs dangling over the edge and my back against the bed.

The lights turn off, and I continue to stare up at the ceiling, thinking of how to defuse the situation when we wake up in the morning.

It is my honour to keep Anastasia safe. I started this job due to needing money and a job; I never expected to fall in love with the Princess and get married, but I did. I wouldn't change my job or my decisions to marry her for the world. I'll put my life on the line for her whether it means I get paid or not. At this point, I do my job because I have grown to enjoy the career path I chose. I do it to keep me occupied; keeping her safe is a bonus now. Whether I am on her service or not, I will do everything to make sure she is safe. I don't need to be in a suit and tie with an earpiece to look out for her. I am trained for all conditions and emergencies, whether I'm on the service or not.

I have never thought twice about my life or hers.

It's always going to be hers over mine, not just because she's Royal but because that's how I am as a man. I won't hesitate to take all pain from her. Love isn't just about the sweet kisses, the dates and the honeymoon phase. It's about knowing how to take care of the other person in all aspects; it's about putting them above yourself when it's appropriate and being selfless. Don't get me wrong, I'll put my life on the line for her and take a bullet for her, but dammit, it irks my nerves when she says she doesn't want anything and then drinks my coffee. Being selfless doesn't have to happen constantly; just because I'll take a bullet for her doesn't mean we are perfect or that I devote everything and give her everything. There's an appropriate time and place for each selfless act. Right now, I'm selfish by letting my emotions and feelings rise to the occasions— and that's okay.

I observe the bed dip, and surprisingly, Anastasia lays beside me, closer than I ever anticipated. She thoughtfully wiggles close to my body before she rests her head on my good shoulder, her arm carefully draping over my stomach.

I thought she would prefer to sleep as far from me as possible. I don't move. I lay on my back, still staring at the ceiling and wondering what the fuck to do. I don't want to give up my job to give her peace of mind, I want to stay in security, but I don't think I'll be able to. If I were to give it up for her, what would I do? Sit around in a robe and drink coffee while dubbing people knights?

After a few moments of silence, Anastasia pushes away from me. I realise she's moving away because of my lack of words and emotions. It wasn't intentional; I didn't aspire to push her away or make her believe like I didn't want her around. I'm merely attempting to figure out my circling thoughts, "Anna," I breathe out, "Come here," I whisper, opening my arm and enabling her to nestle back into me. I wrap my arm around her and caress a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," I respond.

Me too, baby, me too.

[oscars-wifeyyy]

The Innocent 17

The group sat at a table during lunch, discussing how they were going to wash the money, but they weren't able to come up with a solution until Jasmine came into the picture. Monse looked at Jasmien in alert, "what are you doing?"

"Chopping it up and chowing it down with my crew!" Jasmine said, "is it my pits? I just switched to natural deodorant," Jasmine smelled her pits as she sat down, "I knew that shit didn't work,"

"We need a rain check," Ruby said.

"Nothing personal, but it's personal," Monse said.

"What's on the agenda? Cleaning some green?" Jasmine looked at Monse, knowingly.

"How do you know?" Jamal asked as Jasmine lifted up his notebook with the exact words of what they were doing as the crew looked at Jamal with a face, "what? I'm a visual thinker,"

"Don't get your chonies in a twist. Ain't nobody worried about a few dollars," Jasmine said, but saw everybody look away, "it's not a few dollars? Are you guys involved with the Freeridge Savings Heist? Don't tell me, I don't wanna know. What you should know is you don't wanna get involved in that shit. It's marked money,"

"Thanks for the useless info dump, but we need to get back to our crisis," Monse turned to Jamal, Ruby, and Elizabeth, "how are we going to clean the money?"

"Money Bunny, Money Bunny," Jasmine sang as Jamal did the beat on the table, "gotta hop to it fast and get your money,"

"Money Bunny is a shitty company that takes advantage of people who have no other way to get money from one place to another. It's a racket and-" Monse stopped in realization, "a great idea!"

"Yes! Outgoing dinero, incoming clean clams! Minus the three percent fee, scrub-a-dub, bitches!" Jasmine yelled out.

"Ok, I'm not following," Ruby said.

"Ok, say Jamal want to help a certain fashion challenged friend new fits," Jasmine coughed out Monse's name, "Money Bunny takes his hundie and they give Jamal a code. Then Jamal gives the code to monoboob Monse, takes it to the store and, bam! She's got 100 bucks to ditch the sports bra and buy some lace. Underwires your friend, girl," Jasmine booped Monse's nose.

"But wire fraud. That's a felony that carries at least five years," Ruby said

"I'm in," Monse said.

"Me too," Jamal nodded.

"Me three," Elizabeth shrugged, "I just want Cesar to be safe,"

"Do you want this nightmare to stop?" Monse asked Ruby as he nodded, "then we go big or Cesar never goes home,"

Ruby nodded, "I'm in,"

"Damn! You guys are ride or die! But you still gotta be 18 to send and receive the dough, so you guys got some fake IDs? No, no, no. Don't tell me. I'm law enforcement," Jasmine shook her head.

"But you just taught us how to commit wire fraud," Jamal said, confused.

"Because, sometimes, I like to get dirty and straddle things, like the line. I'm a complicated woman, Jamal," Jasmine sat up.

"Which means you probably know how to get a fake ID," Elizabeth smirked.

"No!" Jasmine scoffed, "no way, I don't. But Mona Mardukas has a guy," Jasmine held out her fake ID as everyone smirked.

It was after school and they went to a house that Jasmine guided them to. They knocked on the door and a Hispanic man answered the door as Jamal screamed no as if it was the end of the world.

"You want three IDs?" the man asked.

"I texted you. We need four," Jasmine said.

"I only see three people,"

"Oh, don't act like you don't see me standing here, Chivo!" Jamal scoffed.

"I'm ghosting you," Chivo sang

"Chivo? As in Chivo Chivo?" Elizabeth asked, causing Jamal to hum.

"No. Chivo as in Chivo Ramirez,"

After everyone got their IDs and got home, Elizabeth did all her homework during her electives and was able to get a week off so she had some time to hang out with her friends and Oscar. She unlocked her door to see Oscar inside sitting on the couch so she smiled and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, "how was your day?" "It was good, mamita," Oscar grinned, "better now that you're here with me. How was hanging out with your friends?"

"It was good. Didn't really do much except talk and stuff," Elizabeth stood up with her hand out, "c'mon, let's go bake some stuff since I got a week off from both Dwayne's and the taco joint,"

"You did? Good. You need a break," Oscar stood up, kissing her head.

The two were in the kitchen trying to make cookies, but it ended up with a flour fight and music playing as they danced around the kitchen. They didn't hear the door unlock as her mother walked in, pushing her father inside. The parents watched as the two danced with flour all over their hair, face, and clothes, Leticia with tears in her eyes as she saw the pure love between the two and Armando with a look of approval once he saw the look in Oscar's eyes.

The couple saw the parents and jumped away from each other as if they were caught doing something bad. Elizabeth saw the tears coming down her mother's face, "ma? What's wrong?"

Leticia laughed, "nothing, mija, nothing at all,"

Elizabeth looked in concern, but looked around her as well, "oh... we will clean this up right now. Oscar! Start cleaning,"

Oscar looked at Elizabeth weirdly, "you start cleaning too then!"

It was after school the next day and the crew went to get the money in so they could get clean money. Jasmine and Monse went inside a Money Bunny to get the money as Ruby, Jamal, and Elizabeth waited outside. The two girls came out and motioned for the boys and girl to follow so they followed and Monse pulled out the cash. It worked. So now they were on their way back when Prophets rolled up.

"Hey, Monse!" A voice called out, "where is that bitch ass boyfriend of yours at?"

"We already know he ain't at your pops spot no more, so where he at, then?" The Prophet asked then the group chuckled, "yeah, and we already know what's up with you, Ruby and Elizabeth...bang!" The four flinched, "santo killer, though."

Everyone was at home except for Elizabeth and Ruby. Elizabeth went to Oscar's place while Ruby went to Chivo's place. When Elizabeth arrived at Oscar's place, she ran inside and started hyperventilating. Sad Eyes, Rico, and Lorca were there while Oscar was out doing some things for the Santos so they quickly grabbed her and put her on the couch. Elizabeth wouldn't stop until Sad Eyes went up to her and held her cheeks.

"Hermanita, you need to slow your breathing. Follow me," Elizabeth nodded and tried to follow Sad Eyes breathes until she finally calmed down, "now, tell us what happened."

"I-i-i was with my friends and-and-and the P-Prophets rolled up on us and they knew m-my name! They knew me and h-how I got shot and when is this going to end! Guys, I just want all of us out of here and in a place where we don't have to worry about this!" Elizabeth ranted as the door opened and Oscar walked in to see Elizabeth crying.

He dropped everything and kneeled in front of Elizabeth, "hey, hey, babe. What happened? Who did this?"

"I just want everything to stop," Elizabeth let the tears roll down her cheek, "all this violence and everything. I want us out of here. You, Cesar, my friends, Sad Eyes, Rico, Lorca. I just want us out,"

"Ok, ok, ok," Oscar cooed at his lover, "one day we are going to have a house and you're going to be an athletic trainer and I'm going to be doing whatever job that will hire me. We can get one big house with everybody inside, including your ma and pops. One day, we are going to have it all,"

It was the next two weeks and Elizabeth stayed with Oscar those weeks as the two just held each other at night, not knowing what was going to happen the next day. Ruby and Jamal texted her asking where she was at so she just replied that she was with Oscar, but they told her that Monse didn't go to school. Elizabeth went to Monse's house with snacks and things as the two cried after Ruby and Jamal left.

Night fell and she went back to Oscar's place to see him working on his car so she went behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He continued doing what he was doing, but stopped as he heard footsteps so he quickly pulled Elizabeth between him and the car while pointing his gun to see Cesar panting. Elizabeth sighed out a breath of relief and ran to hug the boy that was like a brother to her.

Oscar grimaced while tucking the gun away, "get outta here,"

"I need protection," Cesar said.

"You came to the wrong place," Oscar said, wiping his hands.

"I found Latrelle," Cesar said as Oscar stopped and turned back to his little brother, "I went to go finish the job,"

"And?" Oscar waited.

Cesar looked away, "the gun jammed,"

Oscar turned back to the car, "you're oh for two. Ain't gonna be number three. Go," Oscar said with finality.

"Where?! I have nowhere to go!" Cesar yelled.

"Not my problem," Oscar said.

"Not your problem?" Cesar had tears in his eyes.

"There's nothing I can do for you. It's not just about you anymore. Everyone you care about is in jeopardy if you stay, so leave, and don't come back" Cesar started walking out.

"You know what, Oscar?" Cesar said walking back, "you should've handled this for me. You're not just my big brother. You're my big homie,"

"Shut the hell up," Oscar walked up to Cesar.

"You could've taken out Latrelle, but instead you sent me! You sent me to do it!" Cesar pushed Oscar away.

"Hey! Do you know what the hell you did? How badly you messed up? Hey." Oscar shook Cesar, "you put me in an impossible situation with Cuchillos,"

"Oscar, please," Cesar hugged Oscar tightly, "I don't know what to do,"

Oscar quickly whispered a plan into his ear before pretending like he was going to leave Cesar out to dry, "hey, hey. I love you, mano. But you're done," Oscar fixed Cesar's clothes, "happy birthday," Cesar started leaving, but Oscar started speaking, "you need to do something bigger than the mess you made,"

Cesar walked back, "what?"

"To undo this, you gotta do something bigger to prove yourself,"

"What if I got you fifty grand?" Cesar asked.

Oscar looked confused, "where are you gonna get cash like that?"

"What if he already had it?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm listening," Oscar looked at Cesar.

"Our friends found the RollerWorld money. They washed it, including Elizabeth," Cesar said, "it's clean,"

"RollerWorld? Don't shit me!" Oscar spat, but Cesar and Elizabeth shook their heads, "for real? RollerWorld? Is that why your boy kept asking about Lil Ricky?" Cesar nodded, "damn. Damn! How far are you willing to go?" "I'll do anything," Cesar said.

"Then this is what we're going to do. I'll run the plan through Cuchillos. Without a blessing, there is no point in taking the risk. You gotta be incredibly careful. Your friends have to think that you're going away forever. This protects them and if anything happens to you, they won't know you're dead. Make it look like you're leaving. When it's clear, I'll be there. You make contact with the Prophets and I'll exchange your clean money with the marked bills from the Freeridge Savings Heist,"

It was the next day and the plan was in full motion and Elizabeth was away for most of it because she had a shift at the taco joint until four pm. After her shift, she took her penny board and skated to Oscar's house since Ruby and Jamal were there with Oscar and Cesar. She just walked inside and set her stuff down on the couch, walking to the dining room table and putting a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

"You gave out RollerWorld money to the Prophets!" Jamal yelled.

"No, I gave them the marked bills, from the Freeridge Savings robbery," Oscar put down the lime.

"Oh, thank God," Jamal sighed, "for a second, I thought you gave our money away,"

"Nah, nah. I didn't give your money away. You gave your money away. And now it's mine," Oscar held Elizabeth's hand, giving it a kiss, "hola, bebe. How was work?"

"It was good," Elizabeth kissed his bald head, "nothing exciting,"

"Ruby! Turn me to Jamal," Monse's voice sounded through the phone, "am I hearing this correctly? You used all of our money for nothing? Even my 50k?"

"It wasn't for nothing," Jamal argued, "it was for Cesar, and yes, even your 50k," Jamal mocked Monse.

"Turn me to Spooky," Jamal turned the camera to Cesar, "more, I still can see him," Jamal turned it more to face Elizabeth and Spooky, "Hey, Elizabeth. Anyway, Spooky. I did not sign off on my 50 grand of that gift to you. Can you be decent and give it back?"

"No," Spooky smirked.

"This is bullshit," Monse seethed.

"Look on the bright side. Cesar's alive," Oscar smirked at Cesar.

"Hurray! Turn me to him," Monse said sarcastically.

"No, no," Cesar started, but Oscar already turned the phone to him.

"You might be alive, but you're dead to me," Monse said.

"Monse, I am so-" Monse ended the call, "dead,"

"Spooky, do you really think that giving the Prophets a bunch of marked bills was wise? Once one of their guys gets arrested then they'll know it was you. And by extension, us," Ruby said.

Oscar looked at Ruby, weirdly, "they would never connect it to you," Oscar smirked.

"I still don't understand why you needed to cheat us," Jamal said

"I didn't. I did exactly what you wanted. I saved Cesar," Oscar nodded.

"But you knew you were gonna do that before you took our cash," Jamal said.

"And your point is?"

"Taking our money is unscrupulous," Jamal said.

"How many times do I gotta spell this out for you?" Spooky said, annoyed now, "your money is actually my money. It belongs to the Santos,"

"Oh! You really want to play that game? Well, if we get into logistics, it's really Prophets money that you stole from us!" Jamal yelled.

"Well, actually, it's a bunch of random people's money who paid way too much for a bad concert," Ruby reasoned.

"Shalamar's the shit! These people probably didn't pay enough," Jamal said.

"Relax," Oscar said, "we're not gonna forget you helped us,"

"I don't care about your goodwill! I want my money!" Jamal yelled

"But I cooked for you,"

Elizabeth looked at the table and only saw ceviche, "baby, you only did ceviche," she started laughing, "the juices do all the cooking,"

Once Ruby and Jamal left, Elizabeth walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers and an iced tea to bring it out to the dining room. She set the drinks down as she sat on Oscar's lap. Everyone cracked their drinks open and cheersed.

"Hey, thank you," Cesar said.

"It was no problem," Oscar had a small smile.

"I'm not talking about the food," Cesar paused, "I don't say this very often, but I, uh,"

Oscar cut him off, "I know,"

"I'm not made for this life, Oscar," Cesar shook his head, "listen to me, please. When that gun jammed, God gave me a second chance. And I can't ignore it,"

"And?" Oscar said.

"And I never want to be a liability to you ever again," there was a brief silence, "I love you, mano, but I am not a killer,"

The three continued on in silence, eating until Cesar excused himself to sleep. After that day, the next couple days have been spent doing multiple homework assignments, work, and sleeping. It was stressful, but Elizabeth felt fine as she was back into her place once she felt safer to go back and not put her mother in danger.

Monse had told Elizabeth about her going into an all girls boarding school after the year was over and she couldn't be more happier for Monse. Elizabeth wanted to ask her what was going on with her and Cesar, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask so she let it go and decided to let them handle it for themselves. It was night time and Elizabeth was hanging out with Cesar, Oscar, and some Santos as Oscar was telling a story. She stood in front of Oscar with his arm around her shoulder, going across her chest as he smoked a cigarette and drank a beer.

"So she pissed the bed," everybody laughed, "you know what my boy, Angel, does? He piss on the bed too," Elizabeth laughed as she scrunched her nose at the details.

The noise stopped when the group caught sight of Monse so Elizabeth smiled at Monse and mouthed good luck as she nudged Oscar to take everyone inside. "Hey," Oscar said to the boys and all of them except for Cesar walked inside.

After a few moments, Cesar came inside and into his room so Elizabeth stood up from the couch, giving Oscar a kiss on the cheek, before whispering in his ear, "I'm gonna check on him,"

Oscar nodded, continuing with his conversation, as Elizabeth walked to Cesar's room to see him with tears going down his cheeks so she sat down and rubbed his back, "What did she say?"

"She said that she forgave me," Cesar sniffled, "but if I did it even when I loved her then what else would I do,"

Elizabeth nodded, "she makes a good point. Look, Cesar, all I can really say is move on and I know it's easier said than done, but one day you're going to be super happy with a girl that you're going to marry. It can be Monse or it won't be, we don't know, but you can't not live your life," that was when Elizabeth softly smiled at the young boy before leaving the room and continuing with the conversation in the living room with her boyfriend and the Santos.

It was the next day and Cesar and Elizabeth were walking out of school when they met up with Jasmine, Monse, Ruby, and Jamal in the front. "The cash, the drugs, the guns, and illegal ferrets. The place was a scene. It was sick!"

"But why are all the Prophets getting arrested?" Ruby asked.

"Remember the robbery at Freeridge Savings? The guys in the monster masks? Well, that money was marked and we've been tracking any money spent. First, we caught Mr. Gutierrez in his liquor store with the dough. Turns out that money was from a customer. And when those marked bills started popping up all around the town right before the Prophets hood day, we were able to trace it right back to them. So now the Prophets are no mas," Jasmine smiled.

"All of them?" Ruby asked.

"Hell, yeah! We took them all down. The Prophets are Donezel Washington,"

"Holy, shit!"

"Actually, check out this link. It's got the best footages," Jasmine showed the phone to them, showing the Prophets sitting on the curb with Latrelle in handcuffs going to the back of the car.

"Yeah. He's going away for a long time," Jasmine put a hand on Ruby as well as look at Elizabeth, "hey, yo, Esteban! Why no call back? I don't send pictures of my chonies to no phonies!"

Everybody turned to the two people that were shot in the group, "how are you guys feeling?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it feels surreal. I don't understand the violence and all that because we're not worrying about Cesar's life or anything big," Elizabeth sighed.

"We lost sight of the bigger picture. We should be grateful that we have our friends and family with us," Ruby continued, "it's time to move on,"

"Agreed," Monse said, "I'm leaving Freeridge," the guys turned back, "I'm starting boarding school at the end of summer,"

"Wait! Are you serious?" Cesar asked

"Not talking to you," Monse sighed.

"But you forgave me," Cesar said.

"I changed my mind. Anyway, I finally realized that it doesn't matter if any of you are on Team Monse because I'm on team Monse. And that's all I need so...I'm out," Monse shrugged.

There was a silence until Jamal broke it, "ok,"

"Good luck," Ruby said.

"Hope you have a fun time," Elizabeth grinned.

"Ok? Good luck?" Monse said Elizabeth didn't matter to her since she already knew and has been supportive.

"Yeah, you've left before," Ruby said.

"Writing camp, Brentwood," Jamal listed, "this is schmuck bait, you always come back,"

"Not this time," Monse said, "I'm gone for good. Things just aren't the same around here and I think we've outgrown each other,"

"Ruby, what kind of snacks you got at home?" Jamal asked Ruby, "did your mom get that good spinach dip from Costco?"

"No, better. She got the jalapeno artichoke," Ruby grinned.

"Oh! The extra creamy one that you gotta use the thick chips for?" Elizabeth asked, excited.

"She picked those up too!"

"I'm serious!" Monse said aloud.

"So are we! That dip's bomb," Jamal said.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm really out of here, I'm done with the gangs and bullshit and the nonstop drama that you always get me into," Monse accused.

Ruby stuttered, looking around as if she wasn't talking to them, "we get you into?"

Monse mocked him, "yeah."

"Goodbye," Ruby said.

"Uh, no, no, no," Jamal stopped Ruby, "you shouldn't say goodbye. 'Cause I want to. Buh-bye!" Jamal waved.

Elizabeth laughed at their antics, "boys, stop teasing and let's go,"

"Assholes," Monse muttered.

"Hey, hey, hey. Why don't we all take a breath," Cesar tried to defuse the situation.

"Shut up! No one is talking to you!" Monse said.

"Ok," Cesar backed up, "we'll see you when you get back,"

"Yeah, good luck trying to survive on your own. Without me, you guys are done. There'll be no one to save you," Monse motioned to Cesar.

At that moment, Elizabeth zoned out since she already knew what was going to happen with the whole argument, but when Monse finally started walking away, there was a bag thrown over her head as well as the boys and she was thrown into a van. They were screaming Monse's name until they heard Monse's yell too.The group sat at a table during lunch, discussing how they were going to wash the money, but they weren't able to come up with a solution until Jasmine came into the picture. Monse looked at Jasmien in alert, "what are you doing?"

"Chopping it up and chowing it down with my crew!" Jasmine said, "is it my pits? I just switched to natural deodorant," Jasmine smelled her pits as she sat down, "I knew that shit didn't work,"

"We need a rain check," Ruby said.

"Nothing personal, but it's personal," Monse said.

"What's on the agenda? Cleaning some green?" Jasmine looked at Monse, knowingly.

"How do you know?" Jamal asked as Jasmine lifted up his notebook with the exact words of what they were doing as the crew looked at Jamal with a face, "what? I'm a visual thinker,"

"Don't get your chonies in a twist. Ain't nobody worried about a few dollars," Jasmine said, but saw everybody look away, "it's not a few dollars? Are you guys involved with the Freeridge Savings Heist? Don't tell me, I don't wanna know. What you should know is you don't wanna get involved in that shit. It's marked money,"

"Thanks for the useless info dump, but we need to get back to our crisis," Monse turned to Jamal, Ruby, and Elizabeth, "how are we going to clean the money?"

"Money Bunny, Money Bunny," Jasmine sang as Jamal did the beat on the table, "gotta hop to it fast and get your money,"

"Money Bunny is a shitty company that takes advantage of people who have no other way to get money from one place to another. It's a racket and-" Monse stopped in realization, "a great idea!"

"Yes! Outgoing dinero, incoming clean clams! Minus the three percent fee, scrub-a-dub, bitches!" Jasmine yelled out.

"Ok, I'm not following," Ruby said.

"Ok, say Jamal want to help a certain fashion challenged friend new fits," Jasmine coughed out Monse's name, "Money Bunny takes his hundie and they give Jamal a code. Then Jamal gives the code to monoboob Monse, takes it to the store and, bam! She's got 100 bucks to ditch the sports bra and buy some lace. Underwires your friend, girl," Jasmine booped Monse's nose.

"But wire fraud. That's a felony that carries at least five years," Ruby said

"I'm in," Monse said.

"Me too," Jamal nodded.

"Me three," Elizabeth shrugged, "I just want Cesar to be safe,"

"Do you want this nightmare to stop?" Monse asked Ruby as he nodded, "then we go big or Cesar never goes home,"

Ruby nodded, "I'm in,"

"Damn! You guys are ride or die! But you still gotta be 18 to send and receive the dough, so you guys got some fake IDs? No, no, no. Don't tell me. I'm law enforcement," Jasmine shook her head.

"But you just taught us how to commit wire fraud," Jamal said, confused.

"Because, sometimes, I like to get dirty and straddle things, like the line. I'm a complicated woman, Jamal," Jasmine sat up.

"Which means you probably know how to get a fake ID," Elizabeth smirked.

"No!" Jasmine scoffed, "no way, I don't. But Mona Mardukas has a guy," Jasmine held out her fake ID as everyone smirked.

It was after school and they went to a house that Jasmine guided them to. They knocked on the door and a Hispanic man answered the door as Jamal screamed no as if it was the end of the world.

"You want three IDs?" the man asked.

"I texted you. We need four," Jasmine said.

"I only see three people,"

"Oh, don't act like you don't see me standing here, Chivo!" Jamal scoffed.

"I'm ghosting you," Chivo sang

"Chivo? As in Chivo Chivo?" Elizabeth asked, causing Jamal to hum.

"No. Chivo as in Chivo Ramirez,"

After everyone got their IDs and got home, Elizabeth did all her homework during her electives and was able to get a week off so she had some time to hang out with her friends and Oscar. She unlocked her door to see Oscar inside sitting on the couch so she smiled and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, "how was your day?" "It was good, mamita," Oscar grinned, "better now that you're here with me. How was hanging out with your friends?"

"It was good. Didn't really do much except talk and stuff," Elizabeth stood up with her hand out, "c'mon, let's go bake some stuff since I got a week off from both Dwayne's and the taco joint,"

"You did? Good. You need a break," Oscar stood up, kissing her head.

The two were in the kitchen trying to make cookies, but it ended up with a flour fight and music playing as they danced around the kitchen. They didn't hear the door unlock as her mother walked in, pushing her father inside. The parents watched as the two danced with flour all over their hair, face, and clothes, Leticia with tears in her eyes as she saw the pure love between the two and Armando with a look of approval once he saw the look in Oscar's eyes.

The couple saw the parents and jumped away from each other as if they were caught doing something bad. Elizabeth saw the tears coming down her mother's face, "ma? What's wrong?"

Leticia laughed, "nothing, mija, nothing at all,"

Elizabeth looked in concern, but looked around her as well, "oh... we will clean this up right now. Oscar! Start cleaning,"

Oscar looked at Elizabeth weirdly, "you start cleaning too then!"

It was after school the next day and the crew went to get the money in so they could get clean money. Jasmine and Monse went inside a Money Bunny to get the money as Ruby, Jamal, and Elizabeth waited outside. The two girls came out and motioned for the boys and girl to follow so they followed and Monse pulled out the cash. It worked. So now they were on their way back when Prophets rolled up.

"Hey, Monse!" A voice called out, "where is that bitch ass boyfriend of yours at?"

"We already know he ain't at your pops spot no more, so where he at, then?" The Prophet asked then the group chuckled, "yeah, and we already know what's up with you, Ruby and Elizabeth...bang!" The four flinched, "santo killer, though."

Everyone was at home except for Elizabeth and Ruby. Elizabeth went to Oscar's place while Ruby went to Chivo's place. When Elizabeth arrived at Oscar's place, she ran inside and started hyperventilating. Sad Eyes, Rico, and Lorca were there while Oscar was out doing some things for the Santos so they quickly grabbed her and put her on the couch. Elizabeth wouldn't stop until Sad Eyes went up to her and held her cheeks.

"Hermanita, you need to slow your breathing. Follow me," Elizabeth nodded and tried to follow Sad Eyes breathes until she finally calmed down, "now, tell us what happened."

"I-i-i was with my friends and-and-and the P-Prophets rolled up on us and they knew m-my name! They knew me and h-how I got shot and when is this going to end! Guys, I just want all of us out of here and in a place where we don't have to worry about this!" Elizabeth ranted as the door opened and Oscar walked in to see Elizabeth crying.

He dropped everything and kneeled in front of Elizabeth, "hey, hey, babe. What happened? Who did this?"

"I just want everything to stop," Elizabeth let the tears roll down her cheek, "all this violence and everything. I want us out of here. You, Cesar, my friends, Sad Eyes, Rico, Lorca. I just want us out,"

"Ok, ok, ok," Oscar cooed at his lover, "one day we are going to have a house and you're going to be an athletic trainer and I'm going to be doing whatever job that will hire me. We can get one big house with everybody inside, including your ma and pops. One day, we are going to have it all,"

It was the next two weeks and Elizabeth stayed with Oscar those weeks as the two just held each other at night, not knowing what was going to happen the next day. Ruby and Jamal texted her asking where she was at so she just replied that she was with Oscar, but they told her that Monse didn't go to school. Elizabeth went to Monse's house with snacks and things as the two cried after Ruby and Jamal left.

Night fell and she went back to Oscar's place to see him working on his car so she went behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He continued doing what he was doing, but stopped as he heard footsteps so he quickly pulled Elizabeth between him and the car while pointing his gun to see Cesar panting. Elizabeth sighed out a breath of relief and ran to hug the boy that was like a brother to her.

Oscar grimaced while tucking the gun away, "get outta here,"

"I need protection," Cesar said.

"You came to the wrong place," Oscar said, wiping his hands.

"I found Latrelle," Cesar said as Oscar stopped and turned back to his little brother, "I went to go finish the job,"

"And?" Oscar waited.

Cesar looked away, "the gun jammed,"

Oscar turned back to the car, "you're oh for two. Ain't gonna be number three. Go," Oscar said with finality.

"Where?! I have nowhere to go!" Cesar yelled.

"Not my problem," Oscar said.

"Not your problem?" Cesar had tears in his eyes.

"There's nothing I can do for you. It's not just about you anymore. Everyone you care about is in jeopardy if you stay, so leave, and don't come back" Cesar started walking out.

"You know what, Oscar?" Cesar said walking back, "you should've handled this for me. You're not just my big brother. You're my big homie,"

"Shut the hell up," Oscar walked up to Cesar.

"You could've taken out Latrelle, but instead you sent me! You sent me to do it!" Cesar pushed Oscar away.

"Hey! Do you know what the hell you did? How badly you messed up? Hey." Oscar shook Cesar, "you put me in an impossible situation with Cuchillos,"

"Oscar, please," Cesar hugged Oscar tightly, "I don't know what to do,"

Oscar quickly whispered a plan into his ear before pretending like he was going to leave Cesar out to dry, "hey, hey. I love you, mano. But you're done," Oscar fixed Cesar's clothes, "happy birthday," Cesar started leaving, but Oscar started speaking, "you need to do something bigger than the mess you made,"

Cesar walked back, "what?"

"To undo this, you gotta do something bigger to prove yourself,"

"What if I got you fifty grand?" Cesar asked.

Oscar looked confused, "where are you gonna get cash like that?"

"What if he already had it?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm listening," Oscar looked at Cesar.

"Our friends found the RollerWorld money. They washed it, including Elizabeth," Cesar said, "it's clean,"

"RollerWorld? Don't shit me!" Oscar spat, but Cesar and Elizabeth shook their heads, "for real? RollerWorld? Is that why your boy kept asking about Lil Ricky?" Cesar nodded, "damn. Damn! How far are you willing to go?" "I'll do anything," Cesar said.

"Then this is what we're going to do. I'll run the plan through Cuchillos. Without a blessing, there is no point in taking the risk. You gotta be incredibly careful. Your friends have to think that you're going away forever. This protects them and if anything happens to you, they won't know you're dead. Make it look like you're leaving. When it's clear, I'll be there. You make contact with the Prophets and I'll exchange your clean money with the marked bills from the Freeridge Savings Heist,"

It was the next day and the plan was in full motion and Elizabeth was away for most of it because she had a shift at the taco joint until four pm. After her shift, she took her penny board and skated to Oscar's house since Ruby and Jamal were there with Oscar and Cesar. She just walked inside and set her stuff down on the couch, walking to the dining room table and putting a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

"You gave out RollerWorld money to the Prophets!" Jamal yelled.

"No, I gave them the marked bills, from the Freeridge Savings robbery," Oscar put down the lime.

"Oh, thank God," Jamal sighed, "for a second, I thought you gave our money away,"

"Nah, nah. I didn't give your money away. You gave your money away. And now it's mine," Oscar held Elizabeth's hand, giving it a kiss, "hola, bebe. How was work?"

"It was good," Elizabeth kissed his bald head, "nothing exciting,"

"Ruby! Turn me to Jamal," Monse's voice sounded through the phone, "am I hearing this correctly? You used all of our money for nothing? Even my 50k?"

"It wasn't for nothing," Jamal argued, "it was for Cesar, and yes, even your 50k," Jamal mocked Monse.

"Turn me to Spooky," Jamal turned the camera to Cesar, "more, I still can see him," Jamal turned it more to face Elizabeth and Spooky, "Hey, Elizabeth. Anyway, Spooky. I did not sign off on my 50 grand of that gift to you. Can you be decent and give it back?"

"No," Spooky smirked.

"This is bullshit," Monse seethed.

"Look on the bright side. Cesar's alive," Oscar smirked at Cesar.

"Hurray! Turn me to him," Monse said sarcastically.

"No, no," Cesar started, but Oscar already turned the phone to him.

"You might be alive, but you're dead to me," Monse said.

"Monse, I am so-" Monse ended the call, "dead,"

"Spooky, do you really think that giving the Prophets a bunch of marked bills was wise? Once one of their guys gets arrested then they'll know it was you. And by extension, us," Ruby said.

Oscar looked at Ruby, weirdly, "they would never connect it to you," Oscar smirked.

"I still don't understand why you needed to cheat us," Jamal said

"I didn't. I did exactly what you wanted. I saved Cesar," Oscar nodded.

"But you knew you were gonna do that before you took our cash," Jamal said.

"And your point is?"

"Taking our money is unscrupulous," Jamal said.

"How many times do I gotta spell this out for you?" Spooky said, annoyed now, "your money is actually my money. It belongs to the Santos,"

"Oh! You really want to play that game? Well, if we get into logistics, it's really Prophets money that you stole from us!" Jamal yelled.

"Well, actually, it's a bunch of random people's money who paid way too much for a bad concert," Ruby reasoned.

"Shalamar's the shit! These people probably didn't pay enough," Jamal said.

"Relax," Oscar said, "we're not gonna forget you helped us,"

"I don't care about your goodwill! I want my money!" Jamal yelled

"But I cooked for you,"

Elizabeth looked at the table and only saw ceviche, "baby, you only did ceviche," she started laughing, "the juices do all the cooking,"

Once Ruby and Jamal left, Elizabeth walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers and an iced tea to bring it out to the dining room. She set the drinks down as she sat on Oscar's lap. Everyone cracked their drinks open and cheersed.

"Hey, thank you," Cesar said.

"It was no problem," Oscar had a small smile.

"I'm not talking about the food," Cesar paused, "I don't say this very often, but I, uh,"

Oscar cut him off, "I know,"

"I'm not made for this life, Oscar," Cesar shook his head, "listen to me, please. When that gun jammed, God gave me a second chance. And I can't ignore it,"

"And?" Oscar said.

"And I never want to be a liability to you ever again," there was a brief silence, "I love you, mano, but I am not a killer,"

The three continued on in silence, eating until Cesar excused himself to sleep. After that day, the next couple days have been spent doing multiple homework assignments, work, and sleeping. It was stressful, but Elizabeth felt fine as she was back into her place once she felt safer to go back and not put her mother in danger.

Monse had told Elizabeth about her going into an all girls boarding school after the year was over and she couldn't be more happier for Monse. Elizabeth wanted to ask her what was going on with her and Cesar, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask so she let it go and decided to let them handle it for themselves. It was night time and Elizabeth was hanging out with Cesar, Oscar, and some Santos as Oscar was telling a story. She stood in front of Oscar with his arm around her shoulder, going across her chest as he smoked a cigarette and drank a beer.

"So she pissed the bed," everybody laughed, "you know what my boy, Angel, does? He piss on the bed too," Elizabeth laughed as she scrunched her nose at the details.

The noise stopped when the group caught sight of Monse so Elizabeth smiled at Monse and mouthed good luck as she nudged Oscar to take everyone inside. "Hey," Oscar said to the boys and all of them except for Cesar walked inside.

After a few moments, Cesar came inside and into his room so Elizabeth stood up from the couch, giving Oscar a kiss on the cheek, before whispering in his ear, "I'm gonna check on him,"

Oscar nodded, continuing with his conversation, as Elizabeth walked to Cesar's room to see him with tears going down his cheeks so she sat down and rubbed his back, "What did she say?"

"She said that she forgave me," Cesar sniffled, "but if I did it even when I loved her then what else would I do,"

Elizabeth nodded, "she makes a good point. Look, Cesar, all I can really say is move on and I know it's easier said than done, but one day you're going to be super happy with a girl that you're going to marry. It can be Monse or it won't be, we don't know, but you can't not live your life," that was when Elizabeth softly smiled at the young boy before leaving the room and continuing with the conversation in the living room with her boyfriend and the Santos.

It was the next day and Cesar and Elizabeth were walking out of school when they met up with Jasmine, Monse, Ruby, and Jamal in the front. "The cash, the drugs, the guns, and illegal ferrets. The place was a scene. It was sick!"

"But why are all the Prophets getting arrested?" Ruby asked.

"Remember the robbery at Freeridge Savings? The guys in the monster masks? Well, that money was marked and we've been tracking any money spent. First, we caught Mr. Gutierrez in his liquor store with the dough. Turns out that money was from a customer. And when those marked bills started popping up all around the town right before the Prophets hood day, we were able to trace it right back to them. So now the Prophets are no mas," Jasmine smiled.

"All of them?" Ruby asked.

"Hell, yeah! We took them all down. The Prophets are Donezel Washington,"

"Holy, shit!"

"Actually, check out this link. It's got the best footages," Jasmine showed the phone to them, showing the Prophets sitting on the curb with Latrelle in handcuffs going to the back of the car.

"Yeah. He's going away for a long time," Jasmine put a hand on Ruby as well as look at Elizabeth, "hey, yo, Esteban! Why no call back? I don't send pictures of my chonies to no phonies!"

Everybody turned to the two people that were shot in the group, "how are you guys feeling?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it feels surreal. I don't understand the violence and all that because we're not worrying about Cesar's life or anything big," Elizabeth sighed.

"We lost sight of the bigger picture. We should be grateful that we have our friends and family with us," Ruby continued, "it's time to move on,"

"Agreed," Monse said, "I'm leaving Freeridge," the guys turned back, "I'm starting boarding school at the end of summer,"

"Wait! Are you serious?" Cesar asked

"Not talking to you," Monse sighed.

"But you forgave me," Cesar said.

"I changed my mind. Anyway, I finally realized that it doesn't matter if any of you are on Team Monse because I'm on team Monse. And that's all I need so...I'm out," Monse shrugged.

There was a silence until Jamal broke it, "ok,"

"Good luck," Ruby said.

"Hope you have a fun time," Elizabeth grinned.

"Ok? Good luck?" Monse said Elizabeth didn't matter to her since she already knew and has been supportive.

"Yeah, you've left before," Ruby said.

"Writing camp, Brentwood," Jamal listed, "this is schmuck bait, you always come back,"

"Not this time," Monse said, "I'm gone for good. Things just aren't the same around here and I think we've outgrown each other,"

"Ruby, what kind of snacks you got at home?" Jamal asked Ruby, "did your mom get that good spinach dip from Costco?"

"No, better. She got the jalapeno artichoke," Ruby grinned.

"Oh! The extra creamy one that you gotta use the thick chips for?" Elizabeth asked, excited.

"She picked those up too!"

"I'm serious!" Monse said aloud.

"So are we! That dip's bomb," Jamal said.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm really out of here, I'm done with the gangs and bullshit and the nonstop drama that you always get me into," Monse accused.

Ruby stuttered, looking around as if she wasn't talking to them, "we get you into?"

Monse mocked him, "yeah."

"Goodbye," Ruby said.

"Uh, no, no, no," Jamal stopped Ruby, "you shouldn't say goodbye. 'Cause I want to. Buh-bye!" Jamal waved.

Elizabeth laughed at their antics, "boys, stop teasing and let's go,"

"Assholes," Monse muttered.

"Hey, hey, hey. Why don't we all take a breath," Cesar tried to defuse the situation.

"Shut up! No one is talking to you!" Monse said.

"Ok," Cesar backed up, "we'll see you when you get back,"

"Yeah, good luck trying to survive on your own. Without me, you guys are done. There'll be no one to save you," Monse motioned to Cesar.

At that moment, Elizabeth zoned out since she already knew what was going to happen with the whole argument, but when Monse finally started walking away, there was a bag thrown over her head as well as the boys and she was thrown into a van. They were screaming Monse's name until they heard Monse's yell too.

@moneybagmara​

@sesamepancakes​

@pinky369​

[prodtrouver]

Coffee Thief || n.jm

Jaemin gets off the car and notices a few guests already. He takes a deep breath to prepare himself from talking to your parents. Knots of anxiety was being formed in his stomach, thoughts clouded his mind, and his hands were shakey. He doesn't know how to act.

He takes a step into the fancy hotel where the gala will be held. As soon as he connects to the internet of the hotel, he receives a message from you of which floor and room you are in. He spots the elevator and presses the 3rd floor button where you are.

You, on the other hand, was nervous as well. Your parents are judgemental, very judgemental. They never wanted you to stop university and was greatly disappointed when you started Youtube. Of course, they don't act like that infront of business partners; they're always putting on a mask.

Your hair was being done by one of the stylist your mom hired. Although, you are fully capable of that, you can't guarantee that being treated like a princess is nice for once. You sigh and check the time on your phone; 4:33 pm.

"You keep checking you phone, lady y/n. May I ask what's the reason?" Your hair stylist asks, "I'm waiting for my date, he should be here-," Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Are you done with my hair?" You ask her and she nods. You stand up from your seat and make your way to the door. You unlock the door, hoping it is Jaemin or else, you'll just be humiliated. You open the door and a relieved smile made it to your red-pink lips.

"You're finally here, come inside." You smile and take Jaemin inside. Jaemin wows at how spacious the hotel apartment. You drag Jaemin to your bedroom and he was able to see the dress you have improvised.

"Let's discuss some things, shall we?" You ask and Jaemin nod his head. He sits down on the chair and kept his eyes on you. "Okay, first of all, do not say anything unnecessary. If they ask you, anything personal about yourself, you either have to say the truth or lie, it depends on the question. Second, do not tell them we met on a university or something school related; anywhere but school. Third, do not embarrass or humiliate yourself." You say and Jaemin nods before he lets out a sigh.

You start to walk towards him, your hand starts to brush his soft blonde hair. He looks handsome, very handsome. His tinted lips made his lips look softer than it already is. You both were just staring at each other's eyes. You realized what you were doing and cleared your throat.

"Let's fix your hair a bit before you meet my parents."

An hour later, you had your stylist help you put on the dress. You exit the room to face Jaemin who has his mouth agape at how gorgeous you looked. "You look stunning-,"

"M'lady y/n, your parents are here." One of the girls say. You grabbed Jaemin's hand and intertwined your fingers. His hand was warm and larger than yours, it made you smile.

"Ease up, it's just an act." You say and Jaemin nods. You both made it to the living room, only to come face to face with your parents. Jaemin's anxiety came rushing back.

"Mom, dad, good evening. I want you to meet Jaemin, my significant other." You softly smile to make it less obvious it's all an act, even though, Jaemin never wanted it to be an act.

"Hello, Jaemin! You are a very handsome boy, my daughter sure has amazing taste in boys." Your mother hugs Jaemin. Jaemin thanks her and he looks at your father. "Nice to know my daughter has a significant other. I was afraid she would be embarrass me again." Jaemin looked surpised at what he said and he turned his head at you.

You were avoiding eye contact with them. Jaemin thanked your father as well before he goes to your side. "I'm very glad that you approve of me for now but I don't think y/n is an embarrassment and will ever be one. I may not know y/n long enough to know what she has gone through and what you have been telling her. I understand you are her father and you have the right to say anything to her but y/n is now 20, she's now an adult. I would love to think of you as my future father-in-law but please, do not think of my girlfriend that way." Jaemin says and for once, you were surprised, and you wanted to cry at what he said.

"I apologize for my rudeness but I dearly love your daughter. I hope one day, you would be able to let me have her hand in marriage." Jaemin says with a smile and your parents look very shock. You managed to take in what he said and shake your head.

"Mom, you must be so busy. Please, take a rest before the gala starts. We will follow when it's time." You say before pushing your parents out. You look at Jaemin whose frown was prominent.

"I know that was very reckless of me but-," you immediately hug him. "That wasn't reckless at all. I'm very thankful you said that." Jaemin smiles and hugs you back.

"Anything for you." Oh, how much he wanted to tell you that he meant those words.

Twenty One || the meet up

Previous • main.m • next

synopsis: busy with the editing of your videos, you unknowingly took someone else’s order, not thinking it wasn’t yours. It only hit you when you took a sip of the extremely bitter coffee and realized it wasn’t yours. You talked to the barista, only to be approached by someone who called you a coffee thief after seeing his order in your grasp.

pairing: photographer!na jaemin x youtuber!fem reader

genre: fluff, crack, angst in some chapters, social media au, neighbors au, neighbors to lovers

warnings: swearing, a lot of teasing, childish arguments, inappropriate in some chapters

Updates: Monday/Wednesday/Friday- 6:00 (UTC+03:00)

If you want to be on the taglist, just send me an ask or a dm!

@valntynelisa @cloudychannieee @yuuuumiiin @colpen @mxrcayong @celinine @lokideadontheinside @jaemshyuck @jaeshatshop @neogotmyapplejuice @urblackorch

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 9/25/2021

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#08 - A Knight's Vow: The Bonito II rushes to port at Chaouen, making it just in time to get Yukimaru to a doctor they know who takes the bullets out of his body. While Yukimaru recovers, Shitan calls Fena a witch for her role in nearly getting Yukimaru hurt twice in a span of ten years. Shitan reminisces over his past about him watching over Yukimaru when he was just saved, Kei making negative comments over his swords fighting toward Shitan by calling him pathetic, and how he picked up the bow. With Brule by her side, Fena later manages to reconcile with him. Eventually, Yukimaru wakes up thinking his legs were paralyzed and bonking Fena and Brule over their head after he failed to wake them up gently. Fena and Yukimaru have a conversation on the roof and Fena confides in him that she is confused of who she is and is afraid of moving forward. Yukimaru tries to assure her and he swears that he will protect her and keep her safe, then he kisses her hand. Fena falls backwards shocked over his gesture. Elsewhere, Abel is painting a portrait of a still life of a bowl of fruit with Helena's portrait behind him and promises her that they will meet again soon.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon EP#13 - The Delicious Feudal Monks: Tōtetsu, the last member of the Four Perils, is eating virtuous monks to increase his demon power, even though he possesses the orange Rainbow Pearl. Taking heed of this, Kohaku sends Hisui, Towa and Setsuna to protect his brother-in-law Miroku, who is participating in a 1000-day training course to increase his spiritual powers tremendously, while Moroha is assigned by Jyūbei to protect another monk. Hisui is dissatisfied at first with meeting his father, as he does not approve his behavior. While meeting Miroku, they also meet Hisui's older sister Gyokuto, who is paying a visit to her father. Tōtetsu appears to attack Miroku and attempts to eat him. While protecting his father, Hisui is afflicted by some poison they used on Tōtetsu and the sisters keep fighting the enemy while Miroku tends to him. Knowing that they are in as disadvantage, Setsuna asks Miroku to undo the seal he put on her to restrain her demonic blood, which unlocks her true powers and she forces Tōtetsu to retreat, with Miroku restoring the seal afterwards and Hisui starts seeing his father in a better light. After the battle, Hisui, Towa and Setsuna bid farewell to Miroku, who now must clean all the mess caused by the battle and Hisui informes his mother Sango that Miroku is safe and continuing his training, while Moroha is disappointed that once again she could not get any bounty or money.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (My Villain Academia: Paranormal Liberation War Arc) EP#109 (21): Revival Party: Deika City's welcoming party for the League quickly turns into an ambush, causing everyone to get separated. Toga is soon surrounded by Curious and her supporters. Intending to understand why Toga is the way she is like why she attacked and drank the blood of a classmate in middle school, Curious overwhelms Toga with her explosive arsenal. Toga doesn't know what a normal life is, just that she wants to be the people she loves. Due to her near death state, Toga's Quirk evolves, unintentionally allowing her to use Uraraka's Zero Gravity, dropping Curious and her supporters from the sky. Elsewhere, Shigaraki demonstrates his evolved Quirk as well, killing those beyond who he has touched. While Dabi begins his battle with the ice user Geten, Twice finds an unconscious Toga only to be surrounded by Skeptic's puppets that were modified to look like an unmasked Twice.

Food Wars: The Fourth Plate (Promotion Exams Arc) EP#67 (06) - A Single Blade: Soma and Saitou continue their match. Saitou starts off by juicing oranges, while Soma makes a white sauce using kirimochi. Saitou finishes his dish first, presenting a buttered seafood rice bowl. By using lemon and orange, he is able to incorporate large amounts of butter into his dish without affecting its taste. Satoshi explains that Saitou honed his skills running his mother's sushi restaurant when she fell ill, defeating all the old fashioned, traditional sushi chefs who disrespected his mother because she was a woman. Soma asks Saitou why he sided with Central, and he explains that he was motivated to protect those who suffered at the hands of the cooking establishment. Soma then presents his own dish, Yukihira-style Toasted Butter Pilaf Inari Sushi. The judges and Saitou are amazed at Soma's incorporation of techniques he learned from his classmates to maximize the flavor of his dish, and declare Soma the victor.

Black Clover: The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc EP#167 - Black Oath: Vanica decides not to kill Loropechika but to take her to the Spade Kingdom and recalls fighting someone similar to Noelle, and remembers the person to be Acier Silva, Noelle's mother. Using a curse-bomb Vanica kills all of her subordinates and cause explosions all over the Heart Kingdom and tells Noelle to get stronger and she’ll be waiting for her in the Spade Kingdom and takes Loropechika with her. Back at the Black Bull's headquarters Asta and Yami fight Dante. Asta decides to awaken his dormant power, in doing so he meets Liebe. Asta converses with Liebe, who agrees to give him some of his true power in return for a part of his body. With renewed power Asta fights Dante, who is supported by Yami. Asta manages to get close to Dante and slashes him using Yami's katana, nullifying Lucifero's power. Grey is overjoyed to see Gauche alive. Before Yami can finish Dante, Zenon arrives with a still unconscious and captured William Vengeance and restrains him while recovering Dante. Zenon also tries to capture Asta but is stopped by Finral and realizes he’s still injured from his last fight with Yuno so he decides to retreat. Enraged, Gauche and Henry attack Zenon but their attacks fail to hit him. Liebe rejects Asta's plea to trade more power. Vanessa also tries to use Rouge to save Yami but Zenon sends Rogue back, Zenon escapes taking William and Yami with him leaving the Black Bulls devastated.

Slightly Damned Page 1026: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1026

[teacherunicorn]

Delores Theadosia Hargreeves

Chapter Fifteen

Italics = memories

@tomisbaeholland

A/N: I am aware of Elliot Page coming out as transgender and am fully supportive of it. With the future of his character still in the wind however, I will be using she/her pronouns for Vanya for my writings at least for the time being. If rumors are true and the character will be transitioning as well, I will wrap it into my story accordingly. For now, I'm just following the plot of season one.

Diego was one of two Hargreeves children left in the city, and was the first to arrive back at the manor. The place had always been too big for comfort, but it still seemed strange seeing it so empty.

Not for the first time, he wondered what Delores' life here had been like before they'd come into it.

Traditionally, boxing was a more serious sport. The kind that attracted harsher people, under the counter bets and the like. Then again, Delores Theadoisa Hargreeves had never been traditional.

She stood just outside the fighting ring jumping up and down, and waving a handmade sign over her head. "Go Diego! Boo everyone else!"

Diego's opponent of the night; a burly man with full sleeve tattoos, looked between him and the tiny blonde.

"Your girl's got a lotta faith in ya."

Diego smiled but didn't drop his guard. "Wouldn't wanna disappoint." he said before throwing a heavy right hook into the man's jaw.

“Diego my boy.” Pogo’s voice broke him from his memories. “Good to see you.”

“Hey Pogo.” Diego smiled and hugged the chimp. “Anyone else turn up yet?”

“You are the first, but I expect your siblings shall be along shortly.”

“Delores?”

“The news got to her rather late, but she assured me she’d be on the first available plane.” Pogo informed. “Till then, she’s tasked me with keeping the rest of you in line.”

Number Two laughed. “Yeah, good luck.”

******

Next to arrive was Alison. Getting the news about Reginald’s death via paparazzi hadn’t been pretty, and frankly if it hadn’t gone down that way she probably wouldn’t have come. She had enough of her plate as it was.

“Onward to desert!” Delores ran across the large backyard, a then one year old Claire ridding piggyback. Patrick, who had been manning the grill for the barbecue, laughed and held the package of oreos over their heads. He was taller than Delores, so even with Claire on her back they couldn’t reach them.

Things had been a lot simpler when ‘Gammy Lori’ could be called any hour of the day. Having raised seven kids, Delores was much more capable of dealing with Claire than Alison was. It was hard sometimes not to take advantage of that.

It was even harder to stand by the lessons Delores had taught her and not take the easy way out.

“I want Gammy Lori!” a three year old Claire whined.

“Gammy Lori is working sweetie. She’s in Pennsylvania.”

“Where’s that?”

“A really long way away.”

“Can we go get her?”

“No, we can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s busy.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s very smart and works with smart people.”

“Why?”

“I heard a rumor that you stopped whining.”

******

Klaus tumbled in through one of the back doors and was immediately skimming the place for valuables.

"Really?" Ben's spirit said over his shoulder. "Didn't you tell Dede you'd keep at least a two month period between troubles with the law?"

"Hey, it's not like the old man is around to report anything stolen anymore. "God knows DT isn't gonna miss any of it; she hates this gaudy shit."

Every remaining member of the Umbrella Academy had a key to Delores' condo in the city. As such, it wasn't uncommon for her to come home to find one of them on her couch.

It was usually Klaus.

Number Four groaned as he blinked back to consciousness. His blurry vision focused in on the figure sitting on the coffee table. "Oh, hey DT. How long have you been here?"

"Couple hours. I came to check if you were alive again. You've been kinda in and out." While she didn't approve of Klaus' drug habits, Delores was the only one -- apart from Ben -- who understood why he had them.

"I didn't say anything stupid, did I?"

"You don't need drugs for that, Klausy."

"She's right, you know." Ben chimed from where he leaned against the couch's armrest.

Klaus threw a glare at the spirit over his shoulder before turning back to his caretaker. "Sorry, shady asshole must've mixed something in with the product. It's usually not that heavy...."

"Haven't I told you stay away from those types?"

"Com'on DT, I am one of those types!"

"Those are the rock bottom types that end up in a ditch somewhere." Delores flicked him in the head, making him wince as she rattled his hangover.

"Thank you!" Ben exclaimed.

"The type that don't have their big sister to push them into rehab. Speaking of, didn't you just get out of it like a week ago?" She continued, unaware that Number Six was even there.

"Maybe...." Klaus muttered. "But I'm not really the cold turkey type; you know that."

"There has to be something better." Delores sighed. "If you would stick around for more than a few days sleeping off a bender, you and I could figure it out! I've been riddling out your powers since you were born."

"No." Klaus said firmly. "Alright, I may be a deadbeat addict, but you are the one person who I refuse to mooch off of."

"Klausy --"

"Klaus --"

"Non!" He cut off both of them. "It took you way to long to get out from under dad's ass. You've finally got a life for yourself! Majority rules; you were out voted. No more mother henning!"

*******

Having the furthest to travel, it wasn't surprising that Luther arrived late to the mansion.

He had been the last of the Umbrella Academy, chasing the heroics dream Reginald kept feeding him. He and Delores had gotten into more than one argument regarding this, but she had always been there when he really needed her, wether she was angry with him or not.

Unfortunately, he had been out voted and she had left too.

Logically he knew it was good for her. She sounded so much happier on the phone than she had living here. The stubborn part of him that believed in the Academy's roles however knew her place was with them, even if they weren't kids anymore.

Delores hadn't been informed of his mission gone awry; his near death experience, what had brought him back, and the side effects of it. Reginald had done something or another to keep that out of the media, and Luther himself certainly wasn't looking to tell her.

The real kicker had been the moon mission. Reginald had sprung it on him so suddenly that he hadn't had the chance to call Delores beforehand.

He stood hunched in the doorway of her old room, eyes drifting over the relics she had left behind. Since Delores traveled so much, she hadn't taken everything with her when she first left. The majority of her things were now in her condo in the city, but there were still a few dusty pictures on the walls.

Moving forward caused his fingers to brush against the scritches on the doorway. Carved into the wood with one of Diego's knives were a series of dashes and dates marking the life of the Umbrella Academy.

Luther strained to stretch as straight as he could, resisting the urge to get on his tiptoes. He'd tried sneaking that past Delores and she'd smacked his head with the ruler.

The flat of a blade cut into the wood behind him and he immediately jumped forward to see her scratching the day's date next to it with a practiced hand.

"So?" He asked eagerly.

"Hmm." Delores held the ruler between an older mark and the mark she'd just made. "One and a half inches."

"Yes! I'm still the tallest!"

"Second tallest." Delores said, leaning her elbow atop his head.

"I told you to stop doing that!" He swatted at her, taking a step back to be out of reach.

"But you make such a good armrest!"

"Just you wait Dee; some day I'm gonna be even taller than you and you'll be the armrest!"

"Whatever you say squirt."

*******

Hesitant to come at all, Vanya was the last of the siblings to walk through the front door.

Ever quiet as a mouse, she stepped into the entry hall in near silence. Her sister was less so however.

"Vanya." Alison said in surprise as she came through the doorway of the living room. "You came."

"Hey Allison." Vanya smiled and accepted the hug offered to her.

Her flicker of confidence evaporated when Diego walked through the room and glared at her. "What's she doing here? You don't belong here, not after what you did."

"Diego now is not the time for fighting. And way to dress for the occasion by the way!" Alison called to his retreating back.

"At least I'm wearing black!"

"H-He's right, I shouldn't be here..." Vanya shook her head, wondering why she'd bothered. It wasn't like Delores would leave the country again without coming to see her -- she was the only family member who was still talking to her after all.

"No, hey." Alison cut her off. "I want you here."

The smile Vanya gave her sister was small and somewhat forced. The sentiment was kind, but patronizing. Everyone had been mad at her after her book had been published; even Delores.

Vanya unlocked her apartment door and jumped out of her skin at the sight of Delores sitting on her couch. She shouldn't be surprised at this point really, the older woman had mad it a habit since she'd been given a key.

"You should have locks on your windows." the caretaker commented idly.

"I live on the second floor."

"Rapist can climb."

"You are so weird." Vanya shook her head as she locked the door behind her.

"Oh now that's a simpleton word. You got much more creative as I recall. What was it? Apathetic, obtuse, and desperate to keep control?"

"M-my editor didn't like me making you a good guy when everyone else --"

"Oh will get to everyone else; you had no right to say what you did about them either. Airing out the dirty laundry for all to see....I'm really disappointed in you, Vanya."

*******

Vanya was the last of the Hargreeves siblings to walk through the front door, but certainly not the last to arrive.

After a very tense conversation about their father's death -- Luther was convinced it was murder, and while he didn't accuse anyone outright it was clear he didn't put it past them.

Everyone had split off to different areas of the house, and Luther thumbed through the records on the shelf in his room. The group really didn't do well as a group without Delores, but maybe he could at least minimize the hostility while they waited for her.

Finding the one he was looking for, he set it onto the player and turned the volume up as high as it would go. Soon enough, Delores' favorite song was echoing through the manor halls.

I think we're alone now

There doesn't seem to be anyone around

I think we're alone now

Alone now

The beating of our hearts is the onl-

The music was cut off rather abruptly as the walls and floor began to shake. Everything metallic went flying, and a large wave of something was glowing a familiar blue color in the backyard.

Next

[gwens-fiction]

3 and 7 :-)

Novel Writing Meme

3. describe the main character(s) of your current wip

I suppose Tropical Storm would be considered my most current wip since I've done more writing on it. So here's the squad!

Scout- she/her, bush dog, bisexual, leader of the team. Stern but caring, a mother. She would try to hold the world on her shoulders while keeping her usual appearance, but deep inside it's just because she's been scarred by so much in her life and she tries to be stable and strong for her team and daughter. Has some criminal past due to her family.

Pixie- she/her, opossum, straight, Scout's adopted daughter, usually distraction for the team. Very outgoing and friendly, hopeless romantic and enjoys playing Cupid (especially trying to set her mama up with someone). She LOVES bows.

Cooper- he/him, tree monitor lizard, aroace, newly second in command of the team. Generally the quiet, gruff type. Enjoys playing poker with his snake friend, Nate. Has a deep regard for fire. If lizards could be charged with arson, he would have arson on his record from his past. Enjoys drawing fantasy comics as a hobby.

Martin- he/him, humboldt penguin, pansexual, brand new nerd to the team. Tech wiz. Dabbles in inventing at first but lacks the confidence to admit he's an inventor. He's very skittish and has a lot of phobias. He has a sister, Evy, and a brother-in-law, Diego.

(and eventually) Lewis- he/him, maned wolf, gay, ex-second-in-command & nerd of the team. A little emo. Enjoys metal and rock. Leg-amputee. Will have some time of being against his old team, but will eventually come back to them. He and Scout had been best friends and platonically raised Pixie together at first, so he builds up a lot of regrets while away from them.

7. share part of another wip that you’ve already written

Okay! So under this Read More is part of the first chapter of Obscure Science. Haven't worked more on this wip in a while, but here's a chapter segment nevertheless.

“Stupid Vanessa and her stupid pretty face.” Darwin grumbled to himself as he carried a cardboard box full of his desk contents to his secondhand PT Cruiser. He set the box in the back seat with a deep sigh. “Should have seen it coming…” He slammed the door shut and climbed into the driver’s seat. He leaned back and pressed his hands to his face for a long moment before starting down the road.

He should have known better than to get involved with one of his co-workers, especially when that co-worker was eyeing the same potential project managing position as himself. He should have known better than to let her get so close to him. He had thought she was different, perhaps more like him than the others who worked at NASA.

Granted, silently using spare NASA funds towards a secret personal project that was unused from official projects was probably a no-no on his end, but he would have shared his project with the others when finished…If Vanessa hadn’t ratted him out and gotten him fired. Needless to say, she and Darwin terminated their short-lived relationship with that action. Vanessa got the approved project, and he got the pink slip and was lucky to have not been charged for laundering funds. Of course, he was not sure exactly what Vanessa had told them to get him fired, but he was sure it had something to do with that.

Darwin parked outside his apartment complex, getting out with his box of stuff with another long sigh. It would only be a matter of time until news reached his father and then his mother, and then they would be hounding him about the whole situation. One of the drawbacks to his father being an ex-NASA mathematician and engineer: he kept in contact with old colleagues.

He unlocked his door before sliding the box in to the far corner of the room. He stood up, straightening his checkered sweater as he did so, and looked around the sparse room. He never had taken the time to actually decorate…or even fully unpack every box when he had moved in a few years ago. He was far too concerned with his projects and theorems.

However, seeing where those ideas of his had gotten him… Had it truly been worth it? Here he was, unemployed, alone, and broke. His mother would try to encourage him to move back home, but he certainly had no plans to return to living under their shadows. They both had been such successful scientists in their fields… And here he was, a wash-up.

Darwin took out his phone and ordered a pizza as he flipped through his mail for the past couple of days. Bills, junk mail, a rejected research proposal, and some unmarked black envelope? What the hell was this?

He tore open the side of the envelope and pulled out the folded page…….