#update from later it's midnight and i Just got on the train

[qyriaha]

also lit rally i told my dad i was gonna go to uni might be late coming back. and it's 11.30pm and this man has not contacted me in any way. are you not concerned

[f1byjessie]

HE LIKES MY AMERICAN SMILE ━━ OP81.

love is a wild ride, and logan sargeant's sister is about to find this out the hard way.

( oscar piastri x sargeant!reader )

━━ part nine.

Bahrain is just as beautiful as it was the first time. There’s a palpable energy to the streets of the city in the days leading up to the Grand Prix, and you find yourself filled with anticipation and excitement.

A lot has happened in the year it’s been since you were last here━ enough that it almost feels like a lifetime ago━ but the ups and downs have culminated into something pretty great.

The night of your birthday, when you and all of Lando’s friends had crammed yourselves into Lando’s living room and cheered as the clock turned midnight to herald in the new year, Oscar had pulled you in and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. It hadn’t gone further than that, perhaps out of respect for your earlier breakdown and the still tentative thing between the two of you, but nonetheless just the feeling of his lips against yours had made you feel alive.

It had reminded you a bit of your first kiss outside the hotel, but instead of awkwardly dancing around it after the fact, you’d woken up the following morning with him wrapped around you, and this time you’d allowed yourself to savor it. He’d woken up to you running your fingers through his hair, and then you’d spent the morning cuddling beneath the sheets and talking things out before Lando had, eventually, burst into the room with his hand over his eyes, demanding the two of you “get decent” so you could all get lunch.

This weekend will mark two months of being together, and it feels surreal.

“You look insane right now,” Logan announces out of the blue from where he sits across from you in the booth. The restaurant you’re in is relatively close to the hotel where you’re staying, but with it still being nearly a week until race day, it’s practically empty so early into the afternoon, which makes his voice seem louder in the quiet peacefulness around you.

“What?” You glance up from your phone and raise an eyebrow. He isn’t even looking at you. He’s looking at his own phone, thumb sweeping across the screen while he picks at the few remains of his food mindlessly with his fork.

“You’re smiling at your phone and it’s making you look insane,” he elaborates nonchalantly, like it’s common sense despite him still not even looking up from whatever video he’s watching.

You scoff, “You aren’t even looking.”

He finally lifts his gaze, but it’s only to make a face at you. His features scrunches up, exaggerating his disgust with twisted lips and narrowed eyes. “I don’t need to. It’s like an aura. I can feel it from here. It’s gross.”

“Whatever,” you say, rolling your eyes. Ever since getting with Oscar, he’s been getting more and more dramatic with his feigned disgust, and now it’s mostly just a bit he thinks is hilarious to pull out every time you’re even mildly entertained by something pertaining to your boyfriend. It would probably still be funny to you if you weren’t almost always texting him, or keeping up with the McLaren Instagram account’s updates of his training, and therefore almost always mildly entertained. “I’m so terribly sorry you have to deal with your sister being happy.”

He rolls his eyes back at you, but there’s a smile pulling at his lips and you know his act is falling apart. “Are you and Oscar gonna meet up later?”

“We’re trying to schedule things,” you answer with a shrug. Oscar’s flight got in late last night, too late for him and his team to get around to the typical obligations expected of him, so he’s spent all of this morning getting caught up and according to your current text chain with him he’s only just been released and given free reign to do as he wishes. “I’m texting him about it right now.”

“That tracks.”

You raise an eyebrow once more, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

It’s Logan’s turn to raise an eyebrow, as if he can’t believe you’re really asking that. “Whenever you text him you get all disgustingly happy.” He scrunches up his face again. “You’re like a real life Hallmark couple. I half expect the two of you to move to some small town with a coincidentally holiday themed name in the middle of nowhere. And there’s a Christmas tree farm, or a reindeer lodge, or something.” He ends his mini tirade with a forced and exagerated shiver.

“You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you.”

He deadpans. “Everytime I see you two together I find myself disturbed by the sheer imensity of your joy.”

“Aw,” you coo, “I love you too.”

It’s only Monday, which gives you a few days before things start getting underway at the track. It also means you’ve got a decent amount of time to share between Logan, who’s grown increasingly grumpier at the idea of you potentially switching aliegences to McLaren, and Oscar, who’s just happy to see you whenever he can.

When you’d left Monaco a few days after the party, it had been with the knowledge that this new and still fragile relationship was going to have to withstand the stressors of long distance. You’ve called one another nearly every day since then to try and replicate some semblance of normalcy, but time zone differences often saw one of you getting into bed while the other was getting out of it━ at least, when he was back in Melbourne making the most of the time he had with his family. Things got slightly easier when he was called back to England to start pre-season training and testing, but it also meant lots of meetings and PR events that kept him away from the phone and left him exhausted by the time he was finished.

Needless to say, this is the first chance you have to see him again in person and it feels like torture knowing the only thing keeping you apart is a few city blocks.

“Real talk though, have him around to the hotel,” Logan speaks up again, just as the waitress comes and clears your plates away.

You spare her a smile and a quiet thank you, and then turn back to him. “Why? You and Dalton already gave him the shovel talk over videocall.”

“Just because you two are ‘involved’━” he says it like it’s some sort of bogus conspiracy theory, “━doesn’t mean I can’t still hang out with my friend.”

“I thought you were disturbed by the sheer imensity of our joy when you see us together?”

“Okay and?” He makes another face at you, but it’s less like he’s disgusted by the reminder of you and Oscar’s relationship, and more like he’s annoyed that you’ve used his own words against him. “I’m disturbed by Alex’s taste in music too, but I still put up with it when we’re in the car together.”

The two of you fall into peals of laughter.

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yourusername he loves me AND my crippling hat addiction

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logansargeant hm, interesting how one is blue and none are orange 🤔

↳ yourusername hm, interesting how i know where you sleep 🤔

mclaren Looks like you’re missing some papaya Y/N! We can fix that 😁🧡

↳ williamsracing Sorry! She’s already ours 😊💙

↳ yourusername omg guysss don’t fight over meee 🫣

user RAHHHH USA USA WTF IS A KILOMETERRRRR 🦅🦅

user need me a boyf who buys me hats

user guyssss it HAS to be oscar

↳ user what?? no it’s literally lando did you even see the comments between the two of them from a month ago?? she went to monaco with him??

↳ user y’all are crazy fr it’s obvi a nobody and y/n is just milking the drama from ppl thinking it’s a driver bc it means more interactions on her posts and therefore it’s better for her career

↳ user i think it’s max!!

↳ user what.

user LIVE LAUGH LOVE Y/N’S HAT COLLECTION

landonorris crippling indeed

↳ yourusername i’m trying my hardest 😔

↳ landonorris the first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem

oscarpiastri 🧢

↳ yourusername x10

Oscar’s running his hands through your hair and you’re flipping through the channels on the hotel TV when the subject comes up. There’s nothing that’s really catching your interest, and half of it is in languages you don’t know, but just sitting here and enjoying Oscar’s presence is enough to stave off the boredom. Logan's been gone for just over an hour, having left to go meet up with Alex for some Williams promotional content, and you’ve been drifting a bit when your boyfriend speaks up from behind you, asking, “Are you gonna visit McLaren hospitality this weekend?”

You pause your surfing, landing on a cooking show that’s in French. His fingers are still tangled in your hair, but he’s momentarily stopped too.

“Do you want me to come to McLaren hospitality?” You ask, looking up at him from where you’re leaning back against his chest. “Because I will,” you hurriedly add, “if you want me to. But it’ll just add fuel to the fire and further encourage the speculation online about which one of you I’m with.”

“I do think it’s funny to see people go full detective mode in your comments,” Oscar smiles down at you. He looks shy, hesitant almost in the way his eyes flicker across your face. He clears his throat nervously, “But I was kind of thinking that maybe you could visit as my girlfriend. Publicly.”

You sit up immediately and turn to face him, ignoring that his fingers catch on your hair as you move. He looks just as surprised by your sudden movement as you feel by his sudden announcement. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, if you’d rather not━” he starts, uncertain.

“No!” You interrupt, reaching out to take his face in your hands and silencing him. “I would absolutely love that, but are you sure you want the attention this will get you? We’ve been lucky with avoiding the negativity so far, but you know that it’ll come the moment we announce it.”

He brings his hands up and places them on top of where yours rest, and then he interlaces your fingers and pulls your hands away so he can speak again. There’s a soft smile on his face and a gentleness in his eyes that you’ve come to recognize as a look that’s exclusive to you and you alone. “I want the world to know who my heart belongs to.”

A grin tugs at your lips, and then you’re falling into his arms with a laugh.

It feels good knowing you can do this whenever you want. Just last year you hadn’t even realized you’d wanted something like this with Oscar, but then the kiss had happened and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it━ about wanting more and not being able to have it. It had been torture, honestly, pining after him like a lovesick school girl, too afraid to make the first move and risk the balance of it all.

You’re still embarrassed by what all had needed to happen before things had been cleared up, and part of you still kicks yourself for not just taking that leap and going for it, especially when it would have given you moments like this, wrapped in his arms, so much sooner.

“I know we’ve already talked about it, but I was really worried that you would hate me for kissing you that night,” Oscar murmurs against the top of your head, as if he can read your thoughts. “I thought that you had only kissed me back because you were, like, too drunk to know better. And then, I realized what I’d done, and I pulled away before it could go any further. And then you never mentioned it, and I figured you wanted to just forget about it, so I never mentioned it either.”

You shift just enough to let your arms drape over his shoulders, and then you let your fingers tangle in his hair the same way his had been in yours. You scratch at his head for a moment, letting his words settle before you say, “I thought you’d only kissed me because you got caught up in the emotions of it all, and then when you never mentioned it I thought it’s because you regretted it, or thought it was a mistake, and you just wanted to forget it. I really wish I would’ve just gotten over my fear and talked to you about it.”

You feel his heartbeat against you where you’re leaned up against his chest. It’s strong and steady, and it’s the nicest thing you’ve ever felt.

“It would’ve been nice to celebrate in other ways after I podiumed in Japan,” he adds suggestively, laughing when you pull one of your hands back to swat at his arm.

“Podium again this year and maybe we can celebrate in those other ways,” you whisper against his neck.

He groans, “Well now you’re just being mean.”

You pull away from his grip, an innocent smile on your face. “I have no idea what you mean, babe.”

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oscarpiastri the luckiest guy and the prettiest girl

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yourusername the prettiest* guy and the luckiest* girl

↳ landonorris literally throwing up rn 🤮

↳ yourusername mind your own business 😒

↳ landonorris mInD yOuR oWn BuSiNeSs 😒 you made it my business when you posted that disgustingly sweet comment where i could see

user OMG IT WAS OSCAR ALL ALONG

user Y/NOSCAR NATION RISE UP AND REJOICE 🙌🙌🙌

user we literally clocked it from a mile away

↳ user i know damn well you were in the comments saying it was lando don’t even try and pretend otherwise

landonorris so glad ppl can stop thinking i’m with your girlfriend now mate

↳ oscarpiastri it’s the closest you’ll ever get to a gf of your own

↳ landonorris why am i taking shots out of nowhere??

user this is literally my roman empire

mclaren Welcome to the McLaren team, Y/N! Looking forward to hopefully seeing you in some papaya around the paddock 🧡

↳ logansargeant pls she’s all i have left you can’t take her too

user WISHING THEM THE BEST

user i don’t understand why oscar would be with someone who willingly flirts with other men?? like is that not hoe behavior?? make it make sense ffs

↳ user lando and y/n are friends as this post proves. the fact that you saw friendly banter as flirting says more about you and how you view ppl than it says about either of them, and i think you might need to look inward before you can judge someone else. and even if it had been flirting, we don’t know when y/n and oscar got together, which means it’s entirely possible that she was single when she was “flirting” with lando which wouldn’t be cheating at all.

↳ user they’re just butthurt that oscar would never spare them a glance

user been here from the start and i gotta say this is more euphoric than any award could ever be

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yourusername been waiting for the moment to pull out these bad boys and now i can 🤭 thx babe love you 😘

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user y/n 🤝 mclaren admin

oscarpiastri so this is a game you want to play

↳ logansargeant i got you mate don’t worry my arsenal is at your disposal

↳ yourusername WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT

user y/n is THE wag pls she’s gonna be feeding us so well

user MANIFESTING MCLAREN WINS FOR 2024 💪😤

↳ user MANIFESTING WILLIAMS WINS FOR 2024

user wait so like gen who is she gonna root for???

landonorris you’re doing god’s work today y/n

↳ yourusername someone had to give the ppl what they want 🫡

user couple of the century right here folks

━━ tags: @f1-is-lovely-33 @chasing-liberosis @405rry @aquangxl @bellezaycafe @peqch-pie @formulaal @chonkybonky @mess-is-my-aesthetic @flippingmyshit @peachiicherries @spacegirlstuff @myxticmoon @landosgirlxoxo @k-pevensie28 @moonypixel @lewisvinga @81vas @maih23 @thatoneembarrasingmoment

━━ a/n: and there we have it folks! the ending to this lovely story! i will probably do a few little blurbs for them eventually, but in the meantime this is where we leave them. thank you for reading!

[vendetta-if]

Hello!

Just wanted to say the IF is amazing, i just spent 3 days straight binging it and loved every second. Please ignore if it has already been asked but what is all the RO's preferred genre of music? And favourite songs if they have any?

Keep up the amazing work!

Thank you for the kind words! And I just wanna say, your ask is the final push for me to actually scour through most of my songs on Spotify and finish assembling playlists for Rin, Santana, Skylar, and Jackal 😆 But I had so much fun doing so and I'll keep adding more and updating all of the characters' playlists as I discovered more new (and old lost) songs that fit them.

I have the links to their spotify playlist which contain a mix of their favorite songs and some songs whose lyrics fit them. I don't think I can link too much stuff in one post unfortunately, so I'll make a separate post to announce the rest of the characters playlists later on 😁But I'll try to link one song that either perfectly encapsulate their music taste or whose lyrics fit the character--or at least a song that they'd enjoy listening to.

Also, I basically have to split up my own music taste and favorite genres among all of my characters and I'm running out of genres 😭 But as for your question, I don't think I've answered something like that before--at least not in detail.

Sorry in advance for the long post (I just love being able to gush about my characters and music 🤭)

Ash

Ash enjoys quite a wide variety of genres, but mostly, their go-to are genres that are more energetic and/or aggressive. So, think like Rock, Phonk, Dubstep, Trap, Drum and Bass, Metal, that kind of stuff. But usually, they listen to songs whose vibes and/or lyrics kind of fit the mood they're in at the moment.

Also, fun fact, they did have some kind of an emo phase during their angsty and edgy teenage years 😂 It wasn't really too apparent (like no, they didn't have that typical emo hairstyle or wore those iconic eyeliners), but they just relate to quite a number of the lyrics of songs that can be considered to be emo anthems.

The song that fits the genre they like to listen to and the lyrics also matched their feelings and obsession love for MC is "So Sick" by Johnny Goth.

"So Sick" - Johnny Goth

Rin

As the child of a classically-trained musician, Rin mostly enjoys classical and instrumental music. One of their favorite instruments is the piano and they used to enjoy learning to play it. Maybe in the future, when they won't be so busy anymore, they can pick up their piano lessen again...

Also, they tend to gravitate towards more soothing and calming songs in general because of the headaches they usually got after using their power too much or to see to far into the future. So most of their playlist is filled with instrumental songs, either piano, cello, or violin, or a combination of those.

As for the song that fits them, I'd say "The Belt of Faith" by Jung Jaeil kinda fits their vibe and the gravitas they carry (Yes, the main soundtrack for the film "Parasite" and yeah, I can see the irony 😂 )

"The Belt of Faith" - Jung Jaeil

Santana

Santana loves that tinge of old-school songs that they were often exposed to whenever their parents listen to in the radio. So, the genres they enjoy are synthwave and retrowave songs 😎

As for the song that encapsulates their favorite genre and whose lyrics fit them quite well is "Gloria" by The Midnight.

"Gloria" - The Midnight

Skylar

Skylar is a pretty chill and upbeat person who loves and enjoys nature, so their favorite genres include those upbeat summer music and Indie/Alternative Folk music. They also enjoy the occasional pop songs.

As for the song that fits their vibe and desire to just fly off and be free is "Get Away" by Surfclub.

"Get Away" - Surfclub

BONUS

Luka

Luka enjoys Electronic music, including Phonk, Post-Punk, and Alternative/Indie. So, yeah, quite a variety of genres. But for one song that fits him the most, from the lyrics to even the title itself is "Everything Black" by Unlike Pluto 😆

"Everything Black" - Unlike Pluto (feat. Mike Taylor)

Jackal

Just like Luka, he also enjoys Electronic music, especially Phonk. But unlike Luka, he sometimes loves Hip-Hop music as well. One of the few songs that kinda encapsulate both of those genres and fits with his personality is "Heartless" by UNAVERAGE GANG.

"Heartless" - UNAVERAGE GANG

[writing-whump]

Super sick

Dylan's high fever part 2. Dylan can't keep anything down, forcing Rip to some drastic measures. Emeto warning.

"-I have given him paralen and brufen and everything...no he won't keep it down, it has no effect-...then what am I supposed to do?"

Rip rubbed at his face. It was close to midnight and his eyes hurt. Which was ridiculous cause he didn't get tired. He blamed it more on the stress, the anxious squeezy feeling around his chest that got its hold on him since Dylan became all incoherent.

A quiet moan from Dylan's room got him quickly hanging up and hurrying back.

Dylan kicked the covers off himself, sweating through another shirt and was currently shivering. His eyes were open to slits and his hand was reaching out blindly. For him.

Rip sat up on the edge of the bed and took it. "Hey, hey, man, it's okay. I'm here."

"...where did you go?"

"I was calling your sister for the umpteenth time. No updates."

Dylan scrunched his face like the information was very complicated to understand. "Are they home yet?"

Rip sighed. He had been explaining it for the third time this night at the least. "The trains aren’t working, so they are stuck in Salzburg until the morning. It's just the two of us, buddy."

Dylan didn't seem alarmed, closing his eyes again. His grip on Rip tightened for a second which had his heart clenching again. It was way too weak of a grip to even call it that.

"How did I get into a bed?"

"You threw up all over the blankets, remember?"

Dylan shook his head, a tiny distressed noise making its way out through his clenched teeth.

"Shhhhh. It's alright. It's more comfy here, isn't it?" Rip held his feverish warm hand in both of his.

Keep him comfortable was the main advice he got. Cool Dylan down, keep him comfortable. Try to get him to drink the fever reducers and hope they stay down.

But Dylan wasn't keeping anything down and he seemed to deteriorate in front of Rip's fucking eyes. What kind of crazy flu was this? The fever hit so quickly and was so intense, not wanting to back down.

The hives were still present, but Dylan was too out of it to scratch at them. Or maybe they didn't itch, what did Rip know?

He reached for the cold wet towel on Dylan's forehead, adjusting it. There were small ones around his ankles and wrists and because he kept squirming, Rip had to adjust them a lot.

It was also challenging for organisation to replace them, since Dylan got all worked up whenever he couldn't feel Rip by his side. Contact in any way calmed him down.

Dylan's muffled moan interrupted his thoughts. He curled up on his side, around his stomach, one arm wrapped around his middle and tightening.

Rip shuffled closer to lean against the headboard and Dylan immediately rolled to him to press his face against Rip's tigh. There was a loud audible swallow.

Rip brushed Dylan's hair back, adjusting the towel to the side of his face. "Nausous?"

"Hurts," Dylan said, face turned into the fabric of Rip's sweatpants. He grabbed at the leg next, riding out a wave of cramps with a groan before relaxing slightly.

"We could try the pain meds again-"

Dylan shook his head immediately. "Won't stay down. Can I just sleep?"

"You can sleep, it's alright." Not that it was working, Dylan was too restless and kept tossing, woken up by his stomach.

Another 20 minutes later and Dylan still wasn't asleep. This was proper torture, Rip realized. Not letting him sleep and burning up like this.

"Come on, let's try the meds again," Rip said when he couldn't stand it anymore, sliding his hands under Dylan's back to prop him up against his chest.

He grabbed the glass with water and the pill on the nightstand. "Just one little sip, D."

Dylan didn't bother opening his eyes, eyebwords furrowed as he leaned so much as possible away from Rip's hand. "Don't wanna..."

"You have to. Please, D."

Dylan grimaced, like that wasn't a word he could stand to reject, cracking one eye open. He nodded and Rip quickly pressed the pill between his lips, following up with the glass.

Dylan took a small sip, tensing up, his fist curling into Rip's shirt.

"Try to keep it down for me," Rip pleaded, putting the glass away.

Dylan gave him a tight nod, but his face was clouded over with queasiness.

Rip held him upright, arms around his torso, careful not to put too much pressure. Because of the closeness, Rip could practically feel every reaction and move Dylan's body made.

The sick boy's breathing picked up, chest rising and falling rapidly. He pressed the side of his face into Rip's chest, lips in a tight line. His fist was still scrunching up Rip's shirt like he wanted to tear it to pieces.

And then the fight was lost. The gags came, tiny at first, just shakes of his body that grew in intensity. His chest was heaving soon after, with strength and urgency Dylan currently didn't possess consciously.

Total autopilot.

Rip reached for the trashcan on the floor, holding it under Dylan's chin just in time for the sip of water and the pill to fall out. The heaves were way too strong for that small amount and Dylan kept gagging for 2 minutes straight in empty.

Shaking from extertion, he fell back against Rip who thought his heart would soon burst out of his chest with anxiety.

As the night ticked by, Rip figured out another distracting technique. Stroking little circles on top of Dylan's forehead with his forefinger.

It gave Dylan something to focus on, it seemed, cause the little groans sounded more pleased than distressed, his face turning towards Rip as if to follow the movement.

Rip drew the little patterns around Dylan's eyebrows, his cheekbones, then followed into his hair, leaving trails inside the sweat.

He couldn't remember the last time he felt this helpless.

...

Around 5 a.m. Rip couldn't bear it anymore. He kept imagining the road to the pharmacy, visualising it in head in detail. Staring at in in Google maps meant he knew exactly where it was and he came up with several ways on top of the buildings to get there.

Minimising any contact. It would be early in the morning, there wouldn't be a crowd and he could climb up the balconies and take the roofs just fine.

There was just the direct contact with the pharmacist to worry about.

But Isaiah said his shadow was in synch with him. And this was something Rip cared about so how could his soul, his heart and his essence stand in his way?

That boy was his whole fucking world now.

He waited till Dylan fell into a less than peaceful slumber, easing him down on the pillows and sneaking out from his hold. Took money and a bag on his back and opted for the window for the better ledge.

The whole mission couldn't take more than 30 minutes. It was shameful to death he had to gather his courage for the whole night to do it.

Climbing wasn't a problem. Vienna houses were so intensely decorated, there was always something to hold on to and once he reached the top, he could run almost the rest of the way.

It wasn't dark anymore, more of a morning grayness with first pink on the horizon.

Rip reached the pharmacy from the rooftop and scanned the street for people. It was sleepy and empty only one runner jogging nearby.

Rip waited for him to pass before climbing down. Normally, he would jump with the help of his shadow to soften his landing, but he didn't dare reaching for it.

All he could focus on was keeping it shut, tight, away. Suppressed as much as he could.

He stopped in front of the door. Held the handle emerassingly long time. What if this was the end? What if he hurt or killed that woman inside and ruined everything for this pack, for the Executioner?

What if Isaiah was wrong to believe in him? What if Rip was simply not someone who could be saved?

What if he was but this was pushing it? Was it too soon to try to talk to a human?

Worse even, what if Dylan had been wrong about Rip all along?

And maybe all of it wouldn't matter if Rip couldn't make himself get him some fucking medicine before his brain fried.

One more breath. Rip looked down and went inside.

...

Rip couldn't remember the way back. Or the talk itself. It was as if all sound was muffled, as if the world turned black-and-white. Colourless.

But he got back, climbed into the window in the living room. He had a bag filled with anti-nausea meds and fever reducers and aloe vera cream for the hives.

He managed to have a freaking conversation with the elderly lady behind the counter. Who had nothing but sympathetic smiles for him, like he was taking care of his brother for the first time.

Rip shut the window behind him. Sound was coming back to him and it was ringing in his ears. His shadow was a string held back too tightly, cutting blood into the palm around it.

He should hurry.

Shooting for the living room, he pushed the flat thin pill into his mouth. "Don't swallow. Let it dissolve. There you go. Hold it for half an hour and we can try the fever meds again."

Dylan's eyes were shut but he complied. Rip got him new towels for his forehead, neck and ankles.

He got it. Dylan would get better now. They were safe.

The ringing turned to shrieking in his ears. Rip dashed to the bathroom, closing the door. His shadow spilled out, covering the floor and the walls.

Rip pressed his palms against his cheeks. "What?! Happy now? What was so damn hard about it?"

He couldn't say. It was like he was outside of his body when he talked with the lady. The sound of his voice, the sound of her voice, it was lost on him. His vision was blurry. But somehow they communicated long enough to get what was needed.

His stomach turned fiercely and Rip fell down to his knees, heaving over the toilet.

His skin was itching. His thoughts were buzzing wasps in his head and there were snakes inside him, slithering out.

He gagged and heaved, not fighting the onslaught of what he couldn't even name. A wave of snakes got its way out, stinging his throat on the way.

...

Rip woke up to a warm hand on his forehead.

"Don't tell me you caught it so quickly?" Dylan croaked, voice shot from vomiting.

Rip opened an eye. He was lying on the rag in the bathroom, fingers clawed into it. His insides were shaking and he still felt nausous and pained and burned, but also weirdly empty.

"You-" he gagged, but swallowed it down. "You shouldn't be up yet."

"Finally not nausous. I took some paralen an hour ago," Dylan said with a relieved sigh. His cheeks were hallow and still pale, but he looked a lot more like himself already. "What's wrong with you?"

Rip squeezed his eyes shut. "...went to the pharmacy to get you the anti-nausea meds."

He didn't see Dylan's face, but the shocked gasp was enough. Then came the hand, too warm, palming his cheek. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have-"

Rip grabbed onto Dylan's hand on his face. "Don't- don't fucking say it. I am the one who's sorry. The whole night you had to- cause I-" Another gag, more forceful this time.

Rip forced himself up on one arm to burp over the porcelain rim, shaking all over.

Dylan rubbed the center of his back, tilting to the side woozily. "Shhhhh. It's okay." He propped his chin on Rip's shoulder, eyes closed. "We are okay now."

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

May 2024 - Part 1

May 1 - Taylor joined Travis in KC

May 3 - Taylor flies to Paris, France in preparation for the European leg of the Eras Tour

May 4 - Travis attends the Kentucky Derby

Travis purchased a Horseshoe necklace and sipper at the Derby for Taylor - confirmed by the Jeweller on their IG story May 12

May 5 - Travis attends the Miami Grand Prix F1 race as an investor in the Alpine F1 Team

May 8 - Travis on set filming Grotesquerie (x x)

May 9 - Travis shows support as Taylor's guitarist Paul Sidoti looks forward to The Eras Tour European leg beginning...

The Eras Tour, Paris La Defense Arena, Paris France N1

Taylor launches a new look for The Era's Tour including:

Adding "The Tortured Poets Department" to the introduction

New costumes for most eras including Lover, Fearless, Red, Speak Now, Folklore/Evermore, 1989, Midnights,

Altered order of Eras: Lover, Fearless, Red, Speak Now, Reputation, Folklore & Evermore amalgamated, 1989, TTPD, Midnights

Songs have been cut from the set: The Archer, Long Live, The One, The Last Great American Dynasty, Seven, Tis The Damn Season.

The Tortured Poets Department era was added! songs added to the set list: But Daddy I Love Him, So High School, Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? Down Bad, Fortnight, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.

Surprise songs: Paris (guitar), loml (piano)

It is later revealed that Travis was watching a livestream of The Eras Tour supporting Taylor whilst filming in L.A. (x) Oct. 2024

May 10 - The Eras Tour, Paris La Defense Arena, Paris France N2

Is it Over Now? x Out of the Woods (guitar), My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys (piano)

Travis likes Louboutin's IG post featuring his girl (x)

May 11 - The Eras Tour, Paris La Defense Arena, Paris France N3

Hey Stephen (guitar) & Maroon (piano)

Taylor Nation post to IG stories commenting on swag surfin', a fan singing "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs!" , and a sneaky snippet of a fan dressed in a Chiefs jersey. Is TN jumping on the Tayvis train????

May 12 - Travis seen out in Paris before show

The Eras Tour, Paris La Defense Arena, Paris France N4

Travis attends with Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Andrea Swift, Lenny Kravitz & Ross Travis.

As Taylor said “Can you believe it’s the 87th show of the Eras Tour!” ❤️💛

The Alchemy x Treacherous (guitar), Begin Again x Paris (piano)

Tay & Trav - so much PDA!!

Heart eyes, glances, blowing kisses, heart hands and pointing at each other. Travis got to see TTPD era featuring Taylor singing to him in But Daddy I Love Him & So High School for the first time. We also heard once again that "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs"

May 13 - Taylor and Travis papped enjoying a private dinner together at the exclusive Villa Sola Cabiati, on the grounds of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy (x) and later seen strolling in the evening.

May 15 - New Heights Ep. 90 airs. Travis and Jason discuss the Paris Eras Tour show but do not disclose where in Europe Travis is currently staying (later revealed to be Lake Como, Italy).

As for Taylor's Paris show, Travis gushed that "it was an all-around lovely night."  "I don't know if they're just getting better or if I just keep forgetting how they are. It was electric." 

Go to previous update -> April part 3

Go to next update -> May part 2

Return to the timeline

[megaderping]

The next few days passed with little fanfare. Akechi went to school, performed well in classes, smiled when addressed by peers, but never stopped to give them much time. He had simple enough excuses. Studying, family matters, and off-campus extracurriculars, none of which were lies. After all, when Kanji wasn't too preoccupied at the textile shop, he and Akechi continued their training. The many jogs up the hill strengthened his endurance, and the more he sparred with Kanji, the smoother his movements became.

Each session left him a sweaty mess by the end, but that simply proved his efforts were paying off. No doubt it was helpful cardio to boot.

When school let out on the 26th, Akechi walked Nanako home with an unwavering smirk and a spring in his step. Today, he'd visit Marie again, and tomorrow… oh. Tomorrow, the fun would truly begin.

But for now, it was time to high tail it to the shopping district. The vacant gas station only briefly registered, as the sight of a familiar blue hat propelled him forward.

"Marie-san!" he called, hoping to not catch her completely off guard this time.

She pivoted on a heel, calm for a change. His tactic clearly paid off, then. "Oh, hey." Digging into her shoulder bag, she pulled out the borrowed book. "So… I finished it."

Akechi accepted it and tucked it into his own school bag. "And what did you think?"

"It was… freaky. Some of those stories were just…" She winced. "There was one about a kid who got abandoned because his parents were too poor. He… died, and his spirit went on to haunt the ones who left him behind. And all I could think was, 'who would do that? Are humans really that cruel?'" Full Chapter | Read from the Beginning

New interlude chapter featuring Naoto drops a little later today! But first, the main chapter update for this week. :) Akechi finally confronts the gas station attendant with his findings, in hopes of proving himself.

[wyrdstonethenovel]

CH 9: THE PONTUS

AN: Wyrdstone is a serial fantasy series updating every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here on Tumblr. Wyrdstone is a classic RIVALS FIGHT FOR THE THRONE TM. With magic. And gods. And oaths. And rivals. And gayz. Did I mention the gayz? Enjoy:

IX. THE PONTUS 

Admrilia walked to the Pontus’ bow just as dawn yawned across the horizon. She existed for this calm as the first rays of sunlight reflected off the dark waters of the Semperimar. Here, just as the world awoke she could be alone with her thoughts. Admrilia nodded to the helmsmen, inhaling the sharp salty breeze and threw her hands over the railing. Minutes later, life aboard the Pontus began with military precision. Neptori rose to release the night crew and took their stations along the deck. As visibility improved, Admrilia spotted the rest of their fleet behind them, prepared for another day sailing along the coastline. 

Admrilia too, should get about her duties. She confirmed with Ros, the helmsmen, about their days course. Over the past days, she had dived into helping command the Pontus. She had hoped that if she showed her trustworthiness, the Conqueror would call upon her. He hadn’t. The Conqueror had grown accustomed to secluding himself inside his tent with his council. He had left her and Asho up to their own devices. Admrilia rarely saw her cousin. He spent his days in the sails, watching the waves or dozing. Once she had ran into him in the kitchen, hand in a bag of dates while the groggy cook wasn’t looking. The prince had merely raised an eyebrow at her, mid-chew. 

Admrilia broke her fast, and spent the afternoon training with Flavius and Alexandros under the guidance of the conqueror’s centori. Their instructor, Tygris Gaius Agrippa, was unusually young for the post. Only in his thirties, but he was ruthless in his command of the legionnaires stationed on the Pontus through their exercises. He barked out the various attacks and blocks, Admrilia took refuge in the movements. She normally preferred the spear and nets assigned to neptori, but she knew she would have to strengthen her proficiency with a gladius. The Silver Islands had taught her that. 

When Tygris dismissed them, Admrilia took her sore muscles back to her small cabin. She spent her nights reading up on the complicated entanglements of the Empire. Admrilia shuddered at the thought of not having a response if the Conqueror called upon her. If every action taken in the next year was cumulative in his decision, then there were only one steadfast direction forward. 

The days slid into a week. The first neptor abandoned the coastline for the open sea. Admrilia grew eager for their first stop at Thrysne Island to pay homage to the Stormlord before they headed to Sugia Territory. She ran laps around the trireme, trained underneath centori Tygris and his men, and waited outside the Conqueror’s tent, hands clasped behind her back, waiting for the call. 

Admrilia was unsure what had awakened her, but the dream had left her cold and breathless. The premonition fading from her consciousness as quickly as it had formed. She rubbed against her chest, forcing herself to breath. Admrilia got dressed. She pushed past the sleepy oarsmen to the main deck, expecting solace at the bow. 

Asho laid with his back on the deck, hands in his unruly hair. He tilted his head over as she approached. “Admrilia?” 

“What are you doing out here?” 

“Stargazing.” He said as if it was obvious. 

“Oh.” Admrilia’s feet slid backwards. “I won’t intrude.”

“No.” Asho patted the deck. “Join me.”

Admrilia sighed and lowered herself down on the cold planks. She gazed up at the midnight sky. It wasn’t particularly impressive, the little anklets of light as inspiring as the freckles on Asho’s face. Asho’s eyes darted over. “There’s the Tyrysian stag.” Asho pointed to a square collection of stars to the north. “The hunter, he’s over there, kills it and gives it to the Maiden.” Admrilia muttered something incoherent that he mistook for permission to continue. “Over there is the crab.” Asho’s toe snatched towards her achilles. 

Admrilia curled back her toes. “Don’t.” She warned. “So you really do this to entertain yourself?”

“Yes.” 

“Gods below, I never knew you could be so boring.” Admrilia blew away her hair. 

Asho grew quiet. “They remind me of my father.”

Ashen. Admrilia’s face grew uncharacteristically hot. “Oh.” 

Asho pushed himself to his feet. He wasn’t looking at her. “I’m sorry to bother you. I should go get some sleep.”

Admrilia grunted a noncommittal “no, don’t,” as he turned. She sat up, but Asho was already stalking back towards the sails. 

[that-one-weeb-buts-its-the-main]

Being Franks Daughter in Hawkins pt 14

Gif Caption: Top Gif: Daredevil and The Punisher from Marvel Bottom Gif: Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson from Netflix's Stranger Things

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Reader: 18-19 | female

Characters Mentioned: Im not doin it right now lmao I'll update it later when I go back and edit mistakes

A/n: I needed to get this out lmao,

Warnings: a HUGE amount of spelling mistakes, Neil's Existance, Mrs.Wheeler and her friends existance at the pool

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Yay...officially a midnight son now

But that means you can go home right?

Nope

Damn it

Stephen's intent on you doing a few missions with the Avengers to "get you battlefield ready" whatever the hell that means

"I don't have my vest."

"Don't worry about it."

Y/n turned around, "Matt!"

"Hey-" he smiled, Y/n pratically tackling him in a hug, "wow...you really must've missed me."

"You have no idea. I've been training none stop."

"No wonder you feel diffrent." He spoke hand on her arm, "Gettin some Muscle are we now?"

"She was completely jacked, to begin with." Hellstrom argued, a glass of scotch in hand then mumbled into his glass: "surely didn't help my pride..."

"What was that?" Y/n asked.

Hellstrom rolled his eyes drinking the glass in one go.

"I've got a surprise for you." Matt explained, "take me on a walk to my place?"

Y/n looked at Stephen, "she gets a few days off till her mission with Stark. Might as well as have fun."

"Alright!" Y/n cheered, "Matt! We should take my motorcycle!"

"I. Motorcycle?" Matt asked, "Where'd you get the money for a bike-"

"I built it from scratch with Rider." Y/n spoke, "come on!"

"Good luck with that one." Hellstrom spoke kicking his feet up.

"Get your feet off my table."

"Get your feet off my table- Ow! Fuckin cloak! That hurt!"

Matts terrified of you on a motorcycle

Like. He thinks your gonna crash

He feels over it to make sure you know. It has two wheels and is actually put together.

Okay..yeah it's good. He's good.

He's gripping you for dear life as you drive him throughout new york and to hell's kitchen.

But when you're serious and not messing with him he thinks your a pretty good driver.

"So. What am I here for?" Y/n asked, the two stepping into the apartment, he feeling along the wall.

"Well there's the newest Avenger-"

"oh great its you." Y/n spoke crossing her arms.

"Ouch." Stark mocked, "You know I was so sentimental about your suit and your just so mean."

Suit?

Tony Stark created a suit. For you

You're worried to open the box, you've been played multiple times by boxes

But when you open there it's a black suit ribcage and replacing what would of been flowers was the midnight sons brand

"Mostly Bullet proof." Tony informed.

"Mostly?"

"Bullet could still past through if strong enough and close enough. Important areas. You know where you get shot and bleed out the most are double layered, harder to pierce." Tony informed, "and this is for you."

Y/n looked at the mask he held in hand, "Be better that you wear something for the time being. Especially if you're gonna be rolling with us for a few missions."

Y/n nodded looking down at the mask that would cover most of her upper face, hand painted with what skull could be showing and devil horns matching Matt's, "yeah. Nice touch on the paint."

"The kid wouldn't give it any of it up until he finished painting it," Tony spoke.

"Peter?"

"On the dot."

"Now he's one more question. Why meet me at Matt's place?"

"Would you believe if I told you Strange has banned me from the sanctum?"

"Absolutely."

So you're going on missions now

Its nothing special, not to you atleast.

But You had to admit getting in the feild with Peter and Kate who snuck her way aboard was fun

The News papers had started to come out too.

The "Newest Avenger" spreading fast througout the country

"She's back!" Will shouted running down the basement stairs, "She's back!"

"Who's back?" Mike asked.

"Y/n! Y/n! She's back!"

Will slammed the news paper on the table.

"Woah! New Suit!" Max spoke.

"Total badass!" Lucas cheered.

"Who's she with?" Max asked quickly.

"The Avenger's! See! There she is with the Falcon!" Mike cheered "Oh she so cool!"

"You think this means she'll be back soon?" Will asked asked.

"Be back?" Eleven asked, "She will. Be back? Soon?"

"Hopefully!" Lucas cheered, "if she's back! Imagine all the bullies running! We should call her!"

"No!" Mike argued.

"She said she'll always have to call us." Will added, "She's clearly busy."

"You." Lucas started, "You think she forgot about us?"

"Y/n? No. No way." Max spoke, "look! Dustin's gonna be back in a few weeks and Im sure Y/n will follow right behind him."

"Yeah." Will added, "Y/n's a good person. She doesn't forget something like we went through together."

It was true, you didn't forget.

But others were starting to think so.

Billy Hargrove had become aggravated just seeing what he knew was you in the newspaper

Why?

Well. Because he saw you, on a newspaper, with some shit-head Avengers rather than drinking a beer with him by the pool

Plus he knew what you'd do seeing the way too old women looking at him the way they did.

You'd push them all in the pool, In the shallow end specifically

He had tried calling you, but no answer from you

Steve too had started to lose faith.

You had stopped sending him letters or postcards

Or anything for a matter of fact

Not a call, or a message left behind

He too saw the papers knowing it was you the moment he caught sight of the figure walking in the photo

You were sure he reread that article time and time again.

Newest Avenger? Did that mean you were staying longer?

No infact. It means you were going home quicker.

With the number of missions you handled yourself in and others, you were cleared by the Avengers and The Midnight sons.

Tony, once again. Threw the biggest fuckin party in existence and dedicated it to you: saying you had graduated college hiding your identity.

This one you had much more fun at.

Everyone congratulated you, wished you luck, and asked what was next in your now "adulting" life.

Most of the Midnight sons had shown up, Besides Frank of course and you all toasted together to the blackest suns of the earths years and you all chugged what you had in hand either it be a soda or a cup of gin

"Welcome to the shit show." Morbius congratulated.

"You did good kid." Hanniable praised, "you did good."

Y/n smiled, "Yeah lucky I didn't have to come and have a jab at her eh?" Steven teased.

"Oh please..." Blade mummbled into his glass taking in the drink.

"It's not every day we get a new Midnight Son." Jennifer praised with a smile, "You're probably the worst of us."

"One Soul worth a thousand damned!" Hellstrom shouted, glass raised in the air.

"And you wonder how I'm the normal one," Stephen mumbled to Johnny.

"You're not normal Strange. Its in your name." Jonny told.

So. Surprisingly, with the party out of swing at a decent time, you're leaving for Hawkins immediately.

Saying goodbye to the Midnight Sons thoroughly thanking them for everything.

Then the others

Matt's was a proud moment, he was still sad to see you go, but like he always did, he said he was proud of you

Kate, only looked at you, and started crying, you laughing as she hugged you tightly,

"You. Better call me!" She threatened.

"Alright kid." Clint spoke pulling her away.

"Call me!" She shouted

Bruce's was also family-like, he taking the favorite cousin spot on the list. Between your big appetites and talk for different realms.

Thor. Also cried, and Loki almost followed.

"Well..." Loki spoke, "You're...."

Y/n cocked up an eyebrow, "You're one in a few, few broad million,"

Y/n chuckled, "and You Are one in a universe."

"For you." He spoke, "I am not the best Wrapper...there is one for Max as well."

Y/n took the two wrapped items, "Thank you. I'm sure she'll love it."

He nodded, trying to avoid crying, "I'm gonna. I'm gonna go...find Thor."

And he walked off.

Leaving you there smiling and moving on to the rest of the group

Steve and Bucky were like brothers, unsure if they were older or Younger you had a tight bond with them.

And You and Sam, ah you loved being assholes to one another add Tony and you three were a real shit show.

Then there was Natasha, unsure if she was happy or sad to see you go. Happy for you. Sad for herself.

"You gonna wear a bikini with those scars?" Natasha asked.

"Maybe." Y/n told, "you should try it sometime. It looks cool."

She laughed, you both had your fair share of old scars.

Peter was next, handing you a box,

"Yeah. With all that Goin on in Hawkins, you'll need them." He explained, y/n opening the box, "Older model, but they work."

Y/n smiled, "I'll keep 'em on me then. Never know when you're gonna need to web up a demo dog."

He laughed, "Gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too."

You both hugged each other tight

And then there was Wanda who said she'd ride down with you, you saying one last goodbye to everyone with a solemn smile and left.

It was an awkward ride down. You and Wanda...didn't talk much for reasons.

She walked you to your bike, and you strapped your bag to the back, making sure it was tight.

"He'd be very proud of you."

Wanda raised an eyebrow, "Im sorry?"

"Of what your doing. Helping people." Y/n commented, "Pietro..."

She smiled weakly, "and he would hate to see you go. But he'd want you too."

Y/n nodded throwing a leg over her bike sitting in its seat, revving up the bike.

"Goodbye Y/n."

"See you later Wanda."

They smiled one last time at each other before Y/n drove off.

Hawkins, here you come

Again

You could have just portaled there, but riding seem way more fun, stopping for Gas occasionally and for a quick snack

It was a good 12-hour drive and you stopped to sleep once.

You hadn't told anyone you were coming home it was meant to be a surprise.

So when you pulled up to your home,

Frank had heard your bike and walked out with a pistol of all things.

"Is that for me?" Y/n asked, "I come to surprise you and you bring a gun-"

"God damn it." He spoke.

Y/n smiled, "What miss me-"

Before she could even finish her sentence he was down the stairs and hugging her. She smiled as she hugged him back. He kissed her long on her temple.

"It's good to have you back kid."

Y/n smiled, "It's good to be back."

You guys spent the rest of the day catching up, it was good to be back.

You told him as much as you loved New York, you don't think you'd miss it all that much

You had your dad here after all.

Frank made you your favorite for dinner as you both caught up.

Sitting down with him and having a good meal made your year

You told him about training, getting the litteral shit beat out of you

And you told him about Russo.

And he listened but didn't say anything

It felt better to let him know and to let your brother go

He surprisingly wasnt angry when he truly had every right to be angry

But it was always a touchy subject.

Which you changed almost immediately. Asked how he's been

He said he's been better, but it'll change now that you are back under the same roof.

You wholeheartedly agreed

And like usual, you two ended up playing a board game after dinner, like two of you hadn't even been apart for a day.

It was nice, just to settle back in and talk.

"Anyone else knows you're back?" Frank asked.

"No." Y/n responded, "Not yet. I was thinking tomorrow I'd go and say hi to everyone."

He nodded, "I still have the same schedule. I'll be out tomorrow."

Y/n smiled drinking some of her water, "Well then it seems we'll both be busy."

You both ended up falling asleep on the couch together, your head in his lap, and he had thrown a blanket over you.

You woke up the next day late, looking around for Frank just to see had left.

There was a plate of waffles on the table, cold, indicating you slept way longer than you had assumed.

Eating your cold waffles, took a shower for the day, get dressed, brushing your teeth.

You grabbed your brown leather jacket on the way out and were ready to go.

You wondered who's house to stop at first.

So. With...hope. you stopped at the Byer's house first.

Joyce was shocked when you took off the sunglasses.

"Hi Ms.Byers" y/n spoke.

"Wow." She spoke, Y/n laughing, "Would you look at you!"

Y/n smiled as Joyce hugged her, pulling her in, excited to see her again.

She had told you, that Jonathan was busy at work, and Will was at Mike's place.

But you were more than glad to sit and talk with her and talk over a cup of tea.

"How's it go?" Joyce asked, "how was it all?"

"Tiring." Y/n told, "But I'm glad to be back."

"Will will be so glad to hear you're back." Joyce told her, "You know they all have anything superhero related on their walls. Especially as of recent."

"The Avengers Missions." Y/n asked.

"Yep."

"Must've recognized the paint job." Y/n smiled, "I was on those missions."

"Wow! Look at you!" She praised, "Rollin with the big boys now?"

Y/n laughed, "yeah...it was somethin' else. Hanging out with all of them again. Just hope the next time any of you meet. It's for dinner and not to save the world."

Joyce smiled holding her hand, "I bet there all wonderful."

Y/n smiled, "yeah. They're all something else."

You talk with Joyce for about another hour. You'd be playing a lot of catch-ups today.

Yet with that hour gone, you said your goodbyes and went to go say Hello to others.

You took yourself to the Hargrove-Mayfield house next.

Walking up the small path you knocked, expecting Max or even Susan, you got Neil.

"Well...if it isn't Mr.Hargove." y/n chuckled taking the step up and taking her shades off.

"I did what you wanted." He argued.

"Hm." Y/n spoke, "Today's your lucky day. I'm in a good mood. Where's Billy?"

"Work."

"Work?" Y/n asked, "More details here Neil. I've been a very. Very busy little lady you see."

"The Pool."

"Hm." Y/n hummed, "and Max."

"With a friend." He told.

Y/n hummed once more, "Not that hard now is it Mr.Hargove?"

She turned around, but then remember something, and turned around, reaching inside her jacket, causing him to take step back.

"For the Missess. From New York."

It was a baggy of old fashion lemon drops. He looked at her, and carefully took the bag, she grabbing his wrist, bringing him closer "You should be afraid.l After all, I would."

She pulled away, "Bye Neil."

So you were off to Mike's house, you knew that was the designated hang out spot.

Knocking on the door Mr.Wheeler answered.

He seemed. More attentive when talking to you this time about.

"Hey Mr. Wheeler. Lookin for Mike, him and his friends here?"

"Mike!" He called.

"What!?" Mike answered.

"Basement. Through the kitchen on the left."

Y/n smiled, "thanks."

Walking inside she took off her shades, she walking through the kitchen and down the stairs.

"What dad?"

The group went silent seeing you, "Y/n!?"

"In the flesh!"

A group hug was definitely called for

They all jumped at you, hugging you happily, especially Will.

And Max, oh you were so happy to see Max.

"I have this for you." Y/n spoke handing her the wrapped gift.

"What is it?" Max asked.

"I have no idea." Y/n responded, "it's from Loki. He misses you."

She smiled, "Really?"

"Yeah. I think that you and him have quiet a bit in common." Y/n told, "He'll take you to Asgard next summer if you'd like."

The others couldnt stop talking your ear off, abour how cool you were they saw you on the news and just knew it had to be you

They're like your own little fanclub

Except Eleven, she doesnt exactly know who you are.

But she does say thank you for protecting her friends

She was trying to warm up to you, but too many girls together make her feel werid, shes not use to it is all.

They want to do everything, see all your new weapons

You had to eventually stop them, telling them you'd have a few more people to see. But. Since you were back now: you would be glad to hang out with them

And show them the really cool weapons you had aquired since you did have other people to see.

You were there for a good few hours, telling them stories and about the people you've met.

And Mike brought up Steve in one of his stories.

"He works at the Mall! Helps us get inside the movie theater for free all the time!" Mike told.

"Does he now?" Y/n smiled looking at the tjme, "Unfortunately. I do have to leave."

They booed, and all said there goodbyes, she promising to come and hang out with them again.

Will followed you out, trying to catch up with you.

"Y/n! Y/n!"

She stopped, looked back and smiled, "hey."

"I know they asked you to go to the movies with us. But you don't have to." Will told, "I know things are...werid with Steve."

Y/n chuckled, "don't worry bout that. If I go. Im goin to hang out with you guys."

He nodded.

"And." Y/n spoke, "Im sorry I stopped the letters."

"No! No! We all understood you were busy." He told, "Im glad your back."

"Me too." Y/n told, they hugging once more, " and Im not goin anywhere anymore."

It was a sweet thing Will even thought about your feelings in such a way.

But if you want to hang out with them. Nothing in the past would get in your way.

You were off next to Hawkins Pool

Lots of eyes on you as you kicked your stand up, casually walking past people who stared.

Little did you know it people were looking at Billy the same way, older women especially.

"Hey hotshot." A lifegaurd spoke he sitting at the front desk, "whats a thing like you doin alone dressed all in leather- aint it hot-"

"Im looking for Hargrove. "

"Of course you are." He sighed, "He's workin. Up on the Lifegaurds post."

You went into the pool area, lookin around kids and adults looking at you when you spotted him lazying up on his post.

"Who's she?" One of the older ladies asked.

"She's looks like she's goin after our show." The other commented.

Y/n walked past the group, stopping infront of Mrs.Wheeler's view.

"Wow. Mrs.Wheeler." she spoke up.

"Do I know you? Im try to watch my daughter." She explained really just angry that Y/n was blocking her view.

Y/n took her glasses off, "Hi. Mrs.Wheeler."

She was shocked to see y/n standing there, dressed in tight black jeans and an open shirt with a leather jacket on.

"You look..."

"Different? Thanks. Picked up the new style after Billy gave me his jacket." Y/n spoke, rubbing it in her face, "so how are the kids?"

It was only poliet to ask how the kids were.

"Fine." Mrs.Wheeler spoke, Y/n nodding with a shit eating smile. "Well. I'll see you lovely ladies later. Love the bathing suits."

Oh they were so mad at you.

You not only were Billy's age but had his chlothing and wearing it proudly like you were his little girl friend or something.

"Hey Hargrove!" She called walking towards the Life gaurds station.

He sighed, "can I help you?"

"Well if you're acting like that." Y/n spoke, he looking to the side to face her, "Where's the nearest Exit."

"The way you came in." He answered.

It took him a mintue as Y/n raised a eyebrow.

"Oh Shit!"

Y/n laughed, looking at him he climbing down with ease.

"Would you look at you." Y/n spoke, "got a job and everything."

He gestured for her to follow, he shouting at other workers that he was taking off for the day.

As soon as he was in the locker room with you, he gave you a hug.

God it felt so good to hug him again.

"Dont you ever leave me here for almost eight months." He argued.

"Aw? Someones counting the days Hargrove?" Y/n asked leaning against the locker as he got his stuff ready to leave.

He smiled the small locker luckily hiding that smile.

Its exactly how he pictured it, but even better.

Neither of you had really changed.

So the two of you left, he asking how you got here in the first place after all you didnt have the truck.

You told him Motorcycle.

He laughed. Motorcycle?

Oh shit Motorcycle, he was expecting it to be something from the junkyard

But this? THIS IS NICE

"Wanna take a ride?" Y/n asked.

"Take a ride?" Billy asked still memorized by how thr fuck Y/n got her hands on such a bike.

Y/n chuckled, "Yeah. You know...take a ride. Perhaps...tommrow for a long one, now that I can open portals across the world we go around and-"

"Wait." Billy told, "you just said you can open portals? How-"

"Magic. Duh." Y/n spoke holding up her sling ring, "Did you think I was in new york eating pizza this whole time?"

She tossed it to him, he catching it and looking at the odd ring.

"So. We can get on the bike and go wherever. Or. We can stand here all day." Y/n told, "I heard San Francisco has excellent weather today. Along with Shang-Hi, but you know. I've always wanted to got to Mexico. Then again. New York is always opened for an option."

"Seriously? New York."

Y/n shrugged and leaned on her bike, "New York it is then? Tommrow? Lunch?"

"You sure you dont got a jack rabbit date with Harrington?" He teased, Y/n going quiet.

"Yeah me and him arent together no more." Y/n responded, "i broke up with him before I left."

"Oh shit..." he responded Y/n raising her eyebrows in a "yeah" matter.

"Come on I didn't come here to talk about him. Get on." Y/n spoke getting on her bike, Billy following her and hopping on the back, "You hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Gimmie the ring."

hell yeah, you ended up taking Billy out for a late lunch at his favorite spot in San Fransico.

You both sat in some hole-in-the-wall place downtown, eating Pupusas

You both talk about what's been happening, him about how the school sucked ass and the new mall that opened up in Hawkins, and you about your training and about some of the places you went while doing missions

It was nice to hang out with him again.

You both ended up going to the beach to relax, sitting on the sand lethargic from eating such a good meal.

"I use to surf."

Y/n opened her eyes, she laying in the sand with closed eyes, the breeze perfect.

"Hm? Really?" Y/n asked, "any good at it?"

He shrugged, "May still figure it out."

Y/n smiled closing her eyes, "we should do it."

"What?"

"Some surfing." Y/n told.

He laughed, reaching in his pocket for his cigrattes, pulling out his pack.

"Be fun." Y/n spoke, "We could make a weekend out of it. Go to diffrent beaches. Heard Miami''s got some killer beaches."

"You're shitting me?" He asked, forgetting about his cigrattes.

"Well duh. We're in San Francisco right now aren't we? Why not Miami. Or Bali? The Bahamas, Hawaii? Maybe even Asgard?"

"Asgard?"

"Home of the gods. Its in space." Y/n told, "they got a killer ocean."

He chuckled, "Not every day you have a hero as a friend."

"Im not a Hero." Y/n corrected.

"You sure about that?"

Y/n sat up, "yeah." She spoke with a smile.

"I think it's time I finally try and focus on what I want rather than try and save the world."

"Oh so Harrington-"

Y/n scoffed and laughed.

"I don't like him." Billy told, "But you were real happy with him."

"Yeah well he doesn't even know that I'm back. Plus. Im sure he's back with Nancy Wheeler."

It was Billy's turn to scoff, "Please. That families all fucked up in the head."

"You don't even know them." Y/n told.

"Mrs.Wheeler's a whore." He spoke, "i should know. Apparently thats all I can attract...Plus. They're rude to you. Thats enough for me."

Y/n looked over at him, "I think you'll find a nice girl. Someone that cares about you."

"...yeah...sure." he spoke.

"What?" Y/n asked, "Don't believe me?"

"I think I found that girl... a long time ago." He responded looking at her, "don't think I gotta be in a realtionship like that to be loved by her though."

Y/n smiled, "Good. She sounds like what you need."

Billy raised an eyebrow,

"Wait you talkin shit about me?" Y/n teased.

"Wow. You figured it out." He spoke, Y/n laughing as he followed suit.

"Yeah...I got your back Hargrove." Y/n smiled, "but we're totally fake dating if one of us needs it?"

"Absolutely."

The two chuckled, Y/n getting up, "come on. Hawkins is waiting for us."

"Ugh."

"Its not that bad. Come on. You can spend the night at my place." Y/n told, "we could play Life."

"Never again."

You both played life again in your room with the window open.

He lost

Again

Thank Stark for teaching you capitalism in full detail

You guys from move from life to Monoplay to Black jack

He beats you in Black Jack but not Monoplay.

By the time Frank gets home you're both knocked out together on your floor.

Franks glad you're back home, he rather walk in on you passed out on the floor with a board game than not see you at all

The next day you wake up, you left your window open so its a bit chilly in your room but you smell bacon and eggs

Getting up you walk out the room to see Frank cooking.

"Hey." Y/n catches his attention

"Morin," Frank spoke.

"Morin." Y/n yawned, walking over to steal a piece of bacon, "You seem happy today."

"Hey morin." Joyce spoke walking in the kitchen from getting dressed.

"That makes sense." Y/n told Frank, he elbowing her.

"You never change." Frank told.

"You'd missed me to much." Y/n teased, taking a bite, "Mhm Good bacon."

Joyce watched, smiling at the two as they went back and forth at each other.

"You off today?" Y/n asked Frank.

"Late shift today,"

"Mhm."

Y/ brushed the crumbs from her fingers over the sink, "What's the plan then?" Y/n directed towards Joyce.

"Just to hang out here. Will's at Mike's house."

"Mhm. I seen him yesterday." Y/n smiled, Frank pulling her back, conveying quietly to her.

"Date?" Y/n asked, "Oh you guys are goin on a date? Where?"

"Oh! No! No!" Joyce spoke quickly, "we're reschedule-"

"Don't let me ruin your plans." Y/n told, "The kids asked me to go see a movie with em anyways and I got unpackin to do."

"What kind of Unpacking." Billy yawned walking out the room, "emotional or Physical?"

"Haha." Y/n laughed, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Oh-" Joyce spoke, "I thought. You and. I didn't know you were-"

"What?! Oh! No no!" Y/n told, "we fell asleep after San Francisco."

"San Francisco?" Frank asked.

".....i mean what..."

"Did you steal another sling ring from Strange?"

"What? No!" Y/n argued, "It's mine now. I learned how to properly use it."

"Strange gave you magic. For gods sake." Frank spoke, Y/n laughing after pouring two other cups for Joyce and Billy, refilling Frank's.

"I train in it." Y/n shrugged, "Just portals."

"Im shooting him next time I see him." Frank told.

"Trust me. I tried that. Also. Vampires just don't like bullets. Tried filling Hanniable with Led. And be did not like that."

So while you and Frank talked about unloading Bullets Joyce and Billy kinda just sat there.

Its still odd to hear about just casually shooting people even if they both respect who you are.

But with breakfast done the four of you sit to eat.

Frank's cooking is superior.

Turns out Joyce and Frank we're going to spend "quality" time together.

"Where are you guys going to do? Downtown is nice since the mall closed." Billy told trying to be involved in the conversation.

"No. Billy you don't get it. There gonna f-" Y/n was kicked under the table, "Ow!"

"Change topics." He told.

"Okay. Okay." Y/n spoke, "Downtown really that much of ghost town now?"

"Unfortunately." Joyce told, "putting alot of good people out of bussniess."

You felt kinda bad.

Downtown is where you and Billy hung out for the first time

You guys contuined to talk until you had to take Billy back to his car parked at the pool.

Plus you were sure Frank wanted to spend his "alone time" with Joyce.

So with Billy you leave, dropping him off at his car asking him to use the pool phone

You called the kids, Mike's house specifically knowing thats where they hang out.

Luckily Mike answered instead of Mrs.Wheeler.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mike-"

"Y/n- Hey! Guys it's Y/n!"

"Y/n!"

She smiled, "Movies?"

"Yeah!" They all cheered over the phone, "we'll meet you there! Twenty mintues!"

The line was cut, "hello?" Y/n asked, yet no one answered.

With saying Bye to Billy one last time, you went seperate ways, you on your bike and him in his car.

You made it to the mall fairly quickly. It nothing new to you due to you living in New York.

Walking in people stared, you putting your shades on your head as you might as well as look around, while you wait for the kids.

But before you could even do such a thinv you're grabbed.

"Ah! Okay! Okay!" Y/n laughed, Max had jumped on her back.

"Look." Max spoke showing Y/n her necklace.

"Oh wow..that the one from Loki?" Y/n asked setting her down.

"Yeah." She spoke, "do you know what it is by any chance?"

"Hm." Y/n spoke, looking at it closely, "symbol of Jotunheim."

"What's that?"

"Loki's Home relam. You two must've made great friends." Y/n smiled, "I'll find some of my old books from Asgard. That I oh so graciously stole from the libary."

"Y/n!"

Y/n turned her head, the group of kids runninv her way, "Hey!"

They all hugged her quickly she happy to see them all, they talking about which movie to see

Specifically a horror movie

You were cool with whatever they wanted to watch.

But as you were taking your wallet out to buy said tickets they stoped you

"We get in for free." Lucas told.

"Free?" Y/n asked, "how?"

"Connections." Mike told.

"But I think we should go in the right way! You know since Y/n is old enough to vouche for us." Will cut in.

"What?! No way!" Lucas complained.

"It's fine Will.' Y/n smiled, "I don't mind a bit of back street walking anyways."

So they pulled you along happily, you following as quick as you could.

Icecream, you havent had it in so long.

"Okay. If we're using a back way to get in. I could atleast get you all icecream."

"The movie!" Lucas told.

"Come on we'll just miss the ads anyways." Y/n told the group next in line.

The couple infront of them moved after getting there icecream.

"Alrights whats the orders?" Y/n asked.

"Mint Chip,"

"Cookie dough"

"Sweet Cream please."

"Blueberry?"

Y/n smiled, "alright then."

"Hello. Welcome to scoops-"

The woman with red hair paused, Y/n smiling, "Hey."

"Hi..." she spoke, "uh...what can I?"

"Well." Y/n spoke looking at the name tag, "Robin. Can I get a Mint Chip, Cookie Dough, Sweet Cream and Blueberry all in cones please."

"Uh...." she spoke, "yeah...one..."

Her eyes adverted from Y/n, "aw. Shit. Steve! Your Kids are here! Come and help me!"

Y/n was silent as Steve came out, dressed in Uniform.

"I swear- if you all get me fired by doing this-"

He paused, seeing Y/n standing in all her glory, open shirt tucked in loosely, with tight slightly glared jeans and a brown leather jacket on.

"Um...can I have my icecream please?" Y/n asked.

"Right. Right!" Steve spoke, "Sorry!"

The two got the icecream made, handing each one to the kids.

"Go ahead." Y/n told, the kids rushinv in the back before anyone could get them in trouble.

"Robin could you?"

"Yeah." She spoke going to open the back door for the kids.

"And one more. Of your prefence in a cone please."y/n asked.

"Thats quiet a bt of money on icecream." Steve commented.

"Yeah. Well. Gotta treat the kids some days." Y/n told.

"Didn't know you were back in town." Steve spoke, "visiting?"

"Offically a midnight son now." Y/n told, "so Im back in town now as long as I want."

"Wow." He spoke, "Congrats..."

Y/n smiled, "thanks."

"One carmel with crunchies." He told handing her the cone.

"Thanks." Y/n smiled, handing him the cash for all the icecream.

"It uh has little pieces of cone in it, covered in chocolate." Steve explained handing her back change, "I just call them crunchies."

Y/n chuckled, "good idea."

She took a tatse, "not bad. I like it."

Steve smiled sheepishly, "yeah its pretty good....hey I was wondering...."

Y/n looked at him, "yeah?"

"Since your back in town. And Ya know. I know....we...didnt exactly split because-"

"Y/n!" Max called.

"Im coming Im coming." Y/n smiled, following Max, and looking back at Steve.

Her stare piercing, sharper than the last time he had seen her, she had grown much, despite her face looking the same, her gaze a deep one as she made her way towards the back.

"Bye Harrington." She smiled.

His gaze followed her and even ran himself into the back to see her vanish behind the second door into the mall's private hallway.

"Robin."

"Yeah yeah one for the loser board."

So you and the kids ended up watching some horror movie they were dying to watch

You guess it was cool, it just seemed to glide right over you though, the whole Ax Murder thing

Just seemed so unrealistic.

But they all enjoyed it, jumping up and down watching it.

So you stick through it for them.

You did enjoy your icecream though

Steve has good taste

But as you finish it you're kinda...well. bummed.

The sweet taste gone, leaving you wanting more despite being comfortably full.

It was gone too soon, and you were enjoying it.

When the movie eas over you walked out with all of them,

You'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 on the movie.

And as you walked out, following far behind the group who was running into some nerd store.

Suddenly she was grabed in a hug, "It's you! Oh! It's really you! Haha!"

Y/n looked at the dark hair, feeling a mix of leather and jean on the mans back and arms.

"Munson?"

"Hah! Look at you!" He spoke pulling away, "Wow. You got about shredded..damn....Not the point! Where have you been! No word for almost 8 months! Who else was I suppose to bomb class finals with!?"

Y/n chuckled, "Yeah. Had some shit go down ya know."

"Oh please." Eddie spoke, "I get it man."

Y/n smiled, Eddie smiling back.

"What are you doin at a mall?" Y/n asked Eddie, "Dossn't seem like your style. If ya catch my drift."

"Eh." Eddie shrugged, "They got a new music store. Had to look at the guitars ya know."

"Right....The Coroddied Coffin."

He laughed in excitement, his body moving with his feelings, "haha! You remember! You have to come see us sometime!"

"Yeah I wouldnt mind. Plus You always talked about it." Y/n shrugged.

"The Freaks words stuck woweza." Eddie told, "You're flatering me here babe."

Y/n laughed, "I have to go. But."

She leaned into his ear, "The freaks always were better."

She started walking away waving to him as she did so.

"Hey! Wait! I'll come with!" Eddie called quickly following her.

So maybe this mall was slightly better than the other malls you've been too.

You were looking at comic books with the kids in the store, Will showing you one that was ment to be you

"They think your a dude." Will told watching Y/n flip through the book.

"Eh..there scared a woman's gonna over power Thor."

"Can you?" Will asked.

"Depends on his mood." Y/n chuckled smiling Will's way as she handed him back the comic book.

Little did she know Steve's watching her across the way, it a perfect view watching you at the window flipping through a comic book.

You were flirting with him again? Right?

His daydreaming intruppting his job.

Wasnt till a guy came over handing you a comic book.

You two obviously laughing as you flipped through the pages.

You were laughing at this "Skull and Bones" comic someone had created though it only went one edition it was hilarious

Everything was so wrong starting with how you both even got into doing what you do

But they got one thing right: the banter

You kept looking through them with Eddie, wasnt a surpise but he read comics here and there.

His favorite Ghost Rider, which made sense.

But soon his band called him pulling him alonb back to the music store as you waved goodbye with a laugh.

Watching them pull his away through the window caused you to watch the show, then look around a bit, spotting the Icecream shop along the way, and a familiar figure across the way.

You waved to Steve

"Hey is this a good book about the necklace?" Max asked Y/n looking over, taking the book from Max flipping through it.

"Yeah actually." Y/n told, "specifically this chapter."

Y/n handed her back the book to show Max the chapter and then looked back to find Steve gone.

✧▬ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ▬▭▬ ▬✧

Tags: @raelwrites @miiikkeey @beebslebobs @ah-witch @supernaturallover2002 @pearlstiare @simonsbluee @stilllivindue2spite @lvbred @dancingqueen21 @writerdream22 @i-reblog-fics-i-like @knivqs @xxlaynaxx @3-spurr @eliskakratochvilova @sunshinepower17 @marssssaturn @howlerwolfmax @mxltifxnd0m @varientlyvisual @givemylovetoall @faithm120601 @abbiesxox

[the-iceni-bitch]

OMG i just realize puppy was a stripper when he and jake were together. thats so hot🥵😳 can i ask what was jake's thoughts about it? did ransom ever give him a lap dance like with ninja? btw, i am SO enjoying your birthday domme week! i can't wait for day 5!

Jake was very into having a stripper boyfriend. He loved that Ran always came home to him even when there were all these guys throwing themselves at him and offering him tastes of the life he had while he wasn’t cut off. And of course he got lap dances, are you kidding?!

This made me want to do a little drabbling… Even though I should be working on my series and challenge entries.

Warnings: explicit language, mentions of sex work, mlm, fluff

“Christ, I’m gone three months for training and you managed to completely fuck up your security system.” Jake shook his head at Zach as he bumped him out of the way so he could take over the computer. “What’s your password?”

“Password1234, with a capital p.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Oh my god.” Jake ignored Zach laughing softly at him as he frowned at the screen. “Do you use the same one for everything? Don’t answer that. Just… change them. And you haven’t installed any recommended updates.”

“Nothing bad happened.” Zach held his hands up in surrender when Jake shot him a venomous glare, turning his attention to the dancer that was walking up to the bar. “You off, Gem?”

“Yeah, gimme a shot of Patron.” The dancer took the shot Zach handed him and tossed it back. “Williams is getting kinda handsy, might wanna keep an eye out.”

Jake stood up to start scolding Zach about something else when he finally got a look at who the bartender was talking to and choked on his tongue. Oh god, he was pretty, those long eyelashes that fell across his cheeks beautifully every time he blinked and high cheekbones and pretty much the definition of dick sucking lips (Jake chided himself in his head for that particular thought). Plus he was wearing this fishnet body stocking and tiny glittery thong that just highlighted how goddamn built he was. Then the man knocked on the bar top and walked away and Jake hated himself but he could not stop himself from watching the way his ass swayed back and forth temptingly.

“Who’s that?” Jake’s attempt at innocent curiosity failed horribly when his voice cracked, wincing to himself before bending back to work while Zach gave him an indulgent grin.

“That’s Gemini, started here while you were still at training.” Zach shook his head when Jake did his best to appear uninterested. “Kid’s a natural but also kind of an ass.”“

“Right, sure.” Jake tried to act like he was just focusing on beefing up the club’s security, but all he could think about was coming back later in the week to watch that pretty thing dance.

He left thirty minutes later after giving Zach a final lecture about internet safety, jumping when “Gemini” was right next to the back door smoking with his collar pulled up against the cold and looking all kinds of pissed.

“Uh, are you ok?” Jake didn’t know why he didn’t just keep walking, this man did not look like he wanted to talk to anyone.

“Fine, just missed my bus.” The dancer huffed as he dropped the butt of the cigarette and stamped it out, not making eye contact with Jake as he sniffled a little bit. “Another will be by at some point, get the fuck out of here.”

“Ooookay.” He didn’t know what he expected, this guy was probably sick of strange dudes chatting him up. But then it started raining a little and Jake couldn’t just leave. “Service is pretty spotty after midnight, though. I could give you a ride.”

“I don’t think so.” Gemini snorted at him and pulled out another smoke. “Williams over there made the same offer if I sucked his dick, I don’t trade favors.” He finally looked at Jake and cocked his head to the side, smiling a little around the cigarette at how uncomfortable the other man looked. “Course, he’s a disgusting married lard ass and you’re kinda cute.”

“Wasn’t looking for a favor, god. Wait…” Jake peered around the parking lot and spotted the aforementioned lard ass sitting in his car and glaring at the two of them while the motor ran. “You told him to fuck off and he’s still hanging around and watching you?”

“Chrissake, I’ll be fine.” The dancer rolled his eyes at Jake as he scowled at the car. “I can take care of myself.”

“Didn’t say you couldn’t.” Jake chewed on his lip before pulling his gaze away from the creep who didn’t want to leave, shrugging uncomfortably and taking a deep breath before leaning next to him against the wall. “Think I’m gonna hang out here for a bit. Always been a fan of freezing, wet weather.”

“You’re fucking kidding me. What kind of white knight bull shit are you on?” The other man just stared at him as Jake crossed his arms petulantly, frowning at the car again. “You’re gonna catch pneumonia.”

“So will you, then.” Jake could be a stubborn ass too when he wanted, and he didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone with some weird old man who didn’t like being told no watching them. “I can take care of myself, too.”

“You’re really not gonna leave?” He scoffed when Jake shook his head, tossing the cigarette butt aside and pushing himself off the wall with a groan. “Fine, you can drive me home, but only because I don’t feel like hearing Z bitch about me getting his IT boy sick.”

“I’ll take it.” Jake couldn’t stop himself from giving him a crooked grin and he could’ve sworn he saw him fighting his own. “No smoking in the car.”

“Whatever you say, blondie.” The man sprawled across the passenger seat and stared out the window, ignoring Jake’s expectant stare until he finally pulled out with a sigh when he didn’t put his seatbelt on.

“So, have you been dancing long?” Jake had to do something to fill the awkward silence in the car, he didn’t think this man would appreciate his collection of 80s power ballads.

“No.” Jake didn’t even notice the way he was staring at him sideways, too preoccupied with his own nervousness and tapping his fingers against the steering wheel while the other man checked him out.

“Slaughter’s is your first dancing job then? That’s cool.” He really wished this dude would offer him some more information so he didn’t start babbling like he always did. “I myself don’t dance, except at home, don’t think that counts, though. What did you do before?”

“School, turn left here.” Jake turned a little to look at him to see where he was indicating and when their eyes met for just a second, his breath stopped. They were so blue.

“For, um, for dancing?” What a stupid question.”

“No.” The man spotted the flush creeping up Jake’s neck and decided to take a little pity on him. “English lit.”

“Wow, that’s really cool.” Jake took another turn when he told him to and stopped in front of the brick apartment building. “Well, uh… see you around?”

“Yeah, gimme your phone.” Jake blinked stupidly when he handed it over, his mouth opening and closing with unasked questions while he watched him tap on the screen. “Text me and ask me out to dinner once your brain resets. Bye blondie.”

“It’s Jake… wait, what?” Jake almost dropped the phone when he tossed it back to him, spluttering while the dancer gave him a wicked grin before getting out of the car. “You’re kind of cocky!”

“I know! I should be! Have you seen my ass?” He slammed the door behind him and waved back at Jake as he kept staring at him in shock.

“Well… yeah.” Jake couldn’t stop himself from laughing as he looked between the phone and the man who was walking away from him, rolling down the window and shouting after him. “I don’t know your name!”

“It’s Ransom, you shut the fuck up Mark! I know what time it is!” Ransom screamed at his neighbor as he walked into his building after winking at Jake.

Jake grinned to himself when he typed the name Ransom into his phone with the new number, fighting the urge to put little heart emojis around it.

——————————————————————————

A/N: Shit, should I write more of this? Even though it’s gonna have a crazy angsty ending? Maybe I should do all the exes for both ninja and puppy. Send me your thoughts!!!

[shepherds-of-haven]

I hope you’re having a great day Lena! I was just wondering if we could have any fluff facts about the shepherds as a whole! Like fun tidbits of how they interact with each other, what some of them do if they have the same day off, does anyone host weekly game nights?? I hope that makes sense! Reading the recent short story on Patreon I love seeing how the characters interact with one another and now I need moreeeeeee🙏

Ooh, great question! I’m feeling curiously tapped dry at the moment, so I’ll probably have to reblog this as more ideas come to me; I’m so happy you’re enjoying the short story, btw!! 💖

Some group dynamic headcanons:

Many of them steal clothes from each other. Briony wears a cute sweater of Shery's (she asked), Ayla gets cold so she just takes one of Red's jackets from a chair (she didn't ask), Chase gives Tallys his scarf one day and Riel corders Trouble a pair of gloves from a fashion line he favors because his old ones are holey and they get into an argument about it... This leads to some recruits mistakenly thinking that the captains are all involved in some sort of mass relationship because they keep walking out of each other's rooms wearing each other's clothes. (The recruits believe a lot of really dumb stuff, if you couldn't tell. They LOVE gossip. It's like a competitive sport in the compound)

There is a weekly card game night, initiated and organized first by Chase, but it grows bigger over time, with snacks, cakes, drinks, and new games being procured! I'd actually say it's more like every ten-fourteen days or so than on any set weekday, and is typically proposed by anyone who senses that they or others need to blow off some steam. They all tend to meet in a private common room and either just chill and play some card games and casually drink and listen to music, or they get LOUD and raucous and play more risque non-card games (like Question or Command/Truth or Dare). The loud nights are more like once a month or bi-monthly, though! They take place in the captains' lounge so dumb recruits don't get to join! It's rare that they're in there all doing the same thing, though: maybe half will be at the table playing card games while others will be broken up into smaller groups, say arm-wrestling in the corner or playing chess at the smaller table or reading, but they're all there! Game nights are almost never held unless everyone is there, which is extraordinarily difficult to schedule, but they all make an effort to make it happen--even those who first had to be dragged into it, like Blade or Riel!

Speaking of chess games, Red and Riel have a standing game where they complete at least four more moves every night that they're around and able to meet up after dinner. Planning their next move helps them both break up the monotony of the day, and it's something they enjoy immensely. However, whenever he gets called away on a mission, Red gets sick with worry that Riel's been cooking up all sorts of schemes while he's been gone, so sometimes on the road he has, like, a schematic that he doodles on trying to anticipate Riel's next move, and it's very nerdy and ramps up in joking Anxiety. Riel, graciously, goes easier on him on nights after he comes back from long trips, though he denies it

Similarly, Blade and Trouble have a standing training session once a week where they just beat the crap out of each other. This is generally where they do the majority of their talking

Briony and Ayla first had an agreement that they would get the other one up if they overslept (Briony tends to be the one who oversleeps while Ayla is better about being up at dawn, but Ayla is really grouchy if she went to bed late and Briony is the only one who can handle her), which morphed into doing runs and sparring together at dawn and having breakfast frequently!

The girls have a standing spa night once a month where they all get together in a room (usually Shery’s) and basically do sleepover stuff and relax and chat and catch up for a few hours. This also sometimes involves showing each other new outfits that they bought that month! Sometimes there are even group baths in the big common bath, but these are rarer because Shery is shy and Tallys doesn’t like sitting in hot water getting pruny

Chase and Trouble drag Red and Halek to go drinking with them around once a month; sometimes Blade is persuaded to go if Trouble can get the drop on him and punch him hard enough to wind him. It’s complicated

Riel and Shery, of course, have tea together once a week! You’re not allowed if you can’t bring a chill vibe (Riel’s rules). Tallys, Lavinet, Halek, and Red are occasional visitors; Briony is allowed on a good day. Blade would be allowed but he has 0 interest

Similarly, Lavinet hosts a weekly brunch, either in a courtyard or at some restaurant in town! Typically it’s a girl thing and Ayla, Briony, and Shery are the most consistent attendees, but Chase has snuck his way in there often, and Riel, Halek, or Red pop up occasionally!

Tallys and Halek cook together! It’s not all that often and doesn’t seem to have any set way of materializing--it just happens somehow--but they both very much enjoy it! Sometimes they cook dinner for the whole group and have a little dinner party that they both secretly get excited for! Sometimes Shery bakes the dessert!

Riel noticed that Tallys has a little garden that she spends time weeding, so he sends gardening tools or special seeds when he thinks she needs them and she leaves baskets of vegetables or vases of flowers in his office. All of this is done without exchanging a word

Chase sporadically teaches Briony acrobatics and things like tightrope walking, just randomly whenever they’re both idle. She teaches him how to gut people with bare fists and also sometimes they paint! 

Caine caught Red grazing in the pantry late one night and now it’s like a Thing where they pass each other in the kitchen and Red sort of just looks the other way re: Caine’s bedtime and what on earth he’s doing up so late and Caine doesn’t tell anybody that Red is just absent-mindedly eating a loaf of bread at 2 AM because he was too busy working to remember to eat dinner. It’ll be like, “there’s some turkey leftover from dinner in the cold box” “oh hey, Caine. thanks. ...so, what’s the news from the midnight watch tonight?” “i’m going to go hunt ghosts on the seventh floor with my friends!” “...okay! have fun!”

Lavinet has a monthly shopping trip where she updates her wardrobe, and it is very common for others to accompany her around the city and just shop while they drop! Common partners are Shery, Briony, Riel, Chase, and once memorably Blade, who didn’t know what he was in for!

Trouble and Ayla are wildly competitive and keep arm-wrestling each other for money; this becomes a bi-weekly sporting event that is eagerly attended and bet upon by third parties

There was ONE group karaoke night. ONE. Most of them got so blackout drunk that they swore to never do it again. Even now, several of them go green whenever they hear a popular bar song (“Don’t Piss Where You Plant Your Flowers”) being sung, especially badly

The game of "telephone" gets really bad in their group. It's like, Shery will say to Briony that she's worried because she thought Riel looked a bit peaky and feverish. Briony will say in passing to Trouble that Riel is getting sick and Shery is worried. Trouble will say to Tallys that Shery is worried sick because Riel is bedridden. Tallys will be mixing herbs and Chase will ask what for and Tallys will reply that Riel is sick, but because she's mixing herbs, Chase will surmise that the sickness must be quite advanced, and will later say, "Damn, have you seen Riel? Seems like he's really sick." Red will interpret this as "I have seen Riel for myself and have determined that he's extremely ill." At least four people will bust into Riel's room, expecting him to be on the verge of death, despite the fact that they saw Riel that morning. Riel will be fine and very annoyed at the intrusion.

They rarely go out as a group to bars and establishments outside of the compound (too chaotic as well as risky, for one thing, and also, recruits don't need to see their superiors like hanging out of bushes and dancing on tabletops drunk out of their minds, and also, "Mages can't drink" (lol)), but when they do deem it a worthy occasion (Trouble's birthday, say), the girls are very punctual when getting ready, and the boys are almost always extremely late due to various shenanigans (Chase forgot that he put a booby trap on Red’s door, covering Red with flour, or a cat somehow slips into Trouble’s room and steals, like, a detonator or an important key, and they have to go chasing it across the city). This has led to the girls coming late on purpose in order to even out their arrival, but mysteriously, this has only led to even later start times, meaning they often don’t get started until like 10 or 11 PM when the most well-intentioned souls meant to be in bed by midnight... that never happens, either!

One such night once led to them ending up on a ridge in the Sun’s Embrace, like a mile outside of the city, in order to watch the sun rise together, because hiking in the dark while blasted out of their minds sounded like a really good idea. They all made it, and the dawn was spectacular, but the moment was ruined when Tallys said softly, “It’s the beginning of a beautiful new day--” punctuated by Trouble abruptly throwing up in a bush and Riel just flat-out passing out

[uncpanda]

Small Town Moose: Part 2

Prompt: When your best friend convinces you to move to DC with her, you’re more than a little lonely. You’re used to life in a small town, not a big city. For the first time in your life you’re mostly alone with your only company being your dog Moose. Then you meet a single dad and his son, and you realize maybe you’re not so alone?

AN: After watching the show, I noticed that Hotch is fairly open outside of work, he’s not as serious and he smiles more. This is taking place about two years after Haley’s death, Jack is six. Reader is around 25-28. This chapter has quite a few POV changes. 

If you want to be notified when this story is updated you can subscribe to it on AO3. Thank you to everyone who commented, reblogged, and liked the forst part. It really motivated me to write more!

Part 1   

When you come home from taking Moose on his third walk of the day, you’re tired. You’d been working on a new site all day, and your walks had kept your back from hurting too bad. You’re just about to enter the lobby when someone calls out your name. 

It’s Aaron. You hadn’t seen him since dinner four days ago. He was dressed in a suit, and you realized he must be getting home from work. You wait for him by the door. Moose settles at your side. He smiles when he reaches you, and you can’t help but tease him,“Well don’t you look all fancy.” 

He scoffs, “I have four days of motel and plane on me, nice try.” 

You shrug, and motion to yourself. You’re dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt from your university. He shakes his head, “You look nice.” He reaches down and pets Moose, before opening the door to the building for you. 

“So you’ve been out of town?” 

“Yeah. For work. Sometimes it has me away for longer than I’d like.” 

“And Jack?” 

“Is with his aunt. She’s going to drop him off in an hour. Which gives me just enough time to shower, and get dinner going.” 

You smile, “So, you’re superdad.” 

“Not even close. How’ve you been?” 

“Good. Working a lot.” 

“Did your roommate ever show up?” 

You shake your head, “Nope, her job ended training early and got her to her position early. She texted a little while ago, she has some paperwork to finish then she gets to come home, but I doubt I’ll see her before midnight.” 

“So then you’re in need of dinner company?” 

It’s said so off casually that you almost freeze. Aaron notices, “I’m putting a stouffer lasagna in the oven for dinner. There’s more than enough if you and Moose would like to join us.” 

You’re not quite sure what to say. Was he just being friendly? Was he flirting? Moose answers for you when he pulls the leash out of your hand and goes to sit next to Aaron. His tongue flops out the side of his mouth, and you laugh. “That would be a yes, in Moose speak.” 

You get a genuine smile this time, “6:30 work?” 

“Sounds good.” 

You recapture Moose’s leash and head back to your apartment.You feel Aaron’s eyes on you until your door closes behind you. You get a little more work done and then start to get ready. You throw on some jeans and a decent blouse. Comfy, cute and casual. At five minutes till, you get Moose ready to leave. 

You knock on the door at exactly 6:30. You can hear Jack on the other side yelling that he’ll get it. You then hear a woman laughing. A second later the door flings open, and Jack has Moose wrapped in a hug. 

Your golden boy’s tail swishes back and forth, and you can’t help but smile. You look up to see a woman. She smiles at you, “You must be Y/N. Jack has been talking about you and Moose non-stop. I’m Jessica, Aaron’s sister-in-law. The woman is friendly, and she’s quick to earn Moose’s stamp of approval when she rubs his belly. She’s gone twenty seconds later with a promise to get to know one another later.

Aaron is a bit sheepish about it, “Jessica has always been a bundle of energy.” 

Jack interputs before you can say anything, “Can I show Moose my room? I’ll share my toys with him.” 

Your heart melts at the sentiment, and you shoot Aaron a look, because a kid should not be this adorable. He’s snickering, and you silently promise retribution later. “You are more than welcome to show Moose your room. Just be careful, because he likes stuffed animals. He might try and take one home.” 

“Really?” 

“He has an entire bin of them.” 

Jack finds that hilarious, and he heads down a hall with Moose hot on his heels. You stand in the entryway for a minute before you say, “You know, with your kid and my dog, we could book a stage and people would shell out money for the cuteness overload.” 

“Jack gets top billing.” 

“Of course! He’s the one that can talk.” 

You’re easy to be around. It’s the first thing Aaron notices about you. You have this sense of calm and he finds that he’s able to be happy around you, he's able to forget the horrors he’s seen at work, and he’s able to just live in the moment. That’s not something he’s able to do easily, and it isn’t something he’s found in a woman in a long time. 

During his last case, while chasing a horrible, horrible man, he’d thought of you and Jack to regain his head. It had helped him refocus. He’s certain that Rossi noticed, and he’s certain that he’ll get questioned when he returns after their mandatory two days off. He’s not quite sure how to explain it. He just knows he likes you. 

He leads you further into his apartment, and he offers you something to drink, “I think I still have some wine, maybe some beer?” 

“Been a while since you’ve been to the store?” Your teasing makes him smile.

“We’re lucky I had that lasagna in my freezer, otherwise we’d be eating grilled cheese and soup from a can.” 

You settle on the couch, “A man of many talents.” 

He pulls two beers from the fridge and sits down next to you. You take one, but you don’t open it. He stops himself from profiling you. 

“You travel a lot on business, right?” He nods, “You have a favorite place you’ve been?”

He doesn’t want to tell you what he does. You’re separate from that part of his world, and he loves that. You hasn’t been hurt by what he does, not like Jack or Haley. 

“I don’t actually get to see the places all that often, to be honest.” 

“Stuck in meetings?” 

“For the most part.” It isn’t a lie. “What about you, have you traveled at all?”

“During college. My friend and I went backpacking around Europe one summer. We just picked up and left in the middle of the night. My other yelled at me for three straight hours when I got home, and cursed me with the sentiment, that she hopes I have a daughter just like me.” 

He can’t help but laugh at that, “And this friend, she’s the roommate?” 

“Yep. We grew up together.” 

“What’s the job that brought her here?” 

“FBI, she got moved up to profiling, the BA. . .something.” He stills at that, but you don’t notice. “She talks about work a lot and it gets kind of lost at some point. She went on and on about her new boss, who is apparently a bit tough.” 

“She wouldn’t happen to be Gwen Murphy, would she?” 

Your face takes on a puzzled expression and he takes that as confirmation. Gwen Murphy was the newest member of his team, brought in by Strauss. She had excellent scores, was tough, and she had handled herself well in the field on their past case. He’d been impressed, if he was honest, she had gotten info out of a suspect with ease. 

“How do you. . .?” He watches as it dawns on you. Your cheeks go bright red, and his lips quirk up, because it’s adorable, “You’re the hard ass, aren’t you?” 

“I’ve been called worse.” 

You take a deep breath, “Well, this is awesome. She’s going to kill me.” 

“That might be a deal breaker for the agency.” 

Your eyes narrow at him, “Might be?” 

He can’t help but tease you now, “She did a really good job in the field this week.” 

You beam at that, and he likes that you’re happy for your friend, then your face sinks, “She’s still going to kill me.” 

“Because you told me she thinks I’m a hard ass?” 

You shake your head, “Because I moved us into an apartment, right next to her boss.” 

He breaks down laughing at that and you join him a minute later. He watches as you finally reach for the beer, “Just promise me that you’ll open a full investigation when you find my body.” 

He rolls his eyes, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” 

The timer for the lasagna goes off a second later. You’re off the couch in a split second, and he watches as you go down the hallway to get Jack and Moose. Dinner is a fun affair, where you engage with him and Jack equally. He likes that you care about his son, that you care about Jack being heard. He really likes how you explain that dogs don’t sit at the table, and Moose can’t have lasagna because it’s people's food, and it isn’t the best for his tummy. You don’t lie. 

By the time dinner is over, and ice cream is served, it’s nearly nine o’clock and you’re busy wiping chocolate off of Jack's face while Aaron does the dishes. Jack begs for you and Moose to stay longer, and you’re quick to appease him by saying that he and Jack are welcome to come visit you and Moose any time. 

That satisfies his son, who gives you a hug first, and then Moose, before wishing you both goodnight. Aaron walks you to the door. 

“Thank you for the invitation. It means a lot to him.” 

You shrug it off, “Moose and I can use every friend we can get.” 

“We’re friends?” 

You nod, “On our way to it.” 

You were Moose’s person. He had found you all by himself, with small little wines from where he had been tossed for being the runt of his litter. You had been warm, and safe. He remembered being small, you giving him a bottle, and cuddling him close. You brushed his golden fur, and played with him, you loved him. You were his, and because you were his, he knew what you needed, and he was determined to make sure you get it. 

He likes the man in front of you, and he especially likes the little boy who sneaks him food from the table and gives him belly rubs. He nudges the man’s hand with his head, and is satisfied to get a few scratches behind the ears. It’s okay, he’d make the man and the boy his too, soon enough. 

You’re feeling light and airy as you open the door to Aaron’s apartment. You’re in the middle of saying goodbye, when someone runs into you. You reach out to steady the person, and find Gwen. She looks a little worse for wear; tired, her hair of place, and her clothes wrinkled. 

She smiles at the sight of you, and hugs you. You hug her back, and then you feel the exact moment she notices her new boss. Her voice is a whisper, “Agent Hotchner.” 

You look back to find Aaron much more serious than before, any trace that he’s ever smiled or laughed is gone. It’s a little startling how quickly he flips the switch. “Agent Murphy.” 

“You live here?” 

“You tell me.” It’s a test if you’ve ever seen one. 

You start trying to wiggle out of Gwen’s hold but her hands have you in a death grip, “YOU MOVED US INTO THE APARTMENT NEXT TO MY BOSS???” 

Whelp, you weren’t going to bed any time soon. 

[suhayavishnya]

The Promise

Characters: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody.

Summary: During one of the battles, the three aurors make a little promise.

All the characters belongs to J.K. Rowling

"Stupefy!"

A bright beam of light flew straight into the enemy's chest. The pink-haired girl threw her head back, removing a strand of hair clinging to her bloodied forehead. Even though the fighter herself was covered in attack marks, breathing heavily and aware that her strength was at its limit, she didn't let herself give up. Feeling some sort of protection from behind her, she only pressed her back harder against the two sturdier backs, helping to hold on to all three soldiers.

"Tonks, Kingsley, don't relax! One last wave to go", Alastor Moody's voice boomed.

The girl and the boy, who were moving faster than lightning, had a manic smile on their faces. Yes, they were exhausted from the long fight, but they would be damned if they gave up now.

"Aye, Captain!", There was a synchronized response.

One repelled the blow, two sent out a spell.

It all started very quickly. An urgent call from the Order about an attack on an entire street of Muggles. A trio of Aurors apparated right into the thick of it, and for good reason: several Death Eaters were already preparing to cast unforgivable spells right through the windows of the houses. There were seven of them, clearly at an advantage. Having already been in such situations, Dumbledore's supporters got into a fighting stance and, taking 2-3 people each, began to fight back. Fortunately, it was past midnight now, so there were no civilians on the streets.

"Tonks, I swear, if you don't show up at the Ministry by 8 a.m. tomorrow, I'll come after you personally. Don't you dare oversleep!", Kingsley tried to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry, Shacklebolt , you won't have to make up excuses for my absence; I'll be as good as new!", Another beam of light flew from the wand of the sorceress.

"Concentrate, both of you. Let's just get this over with, I don't want to waste any more time on this filth. Constant vigilance!"

"That's right!"

With those words, all three of them took decisive steps forward, increasing the force of the blow...

***

"Piece of shit", Mad-Eye spat out, kicking the last Death-Eater that had been obliviated.

"And the Ministry doesn't want to notice! We have trained Aurors, but all we do for Minister's fear of looking bad in the eyes of the people is track down Black and investigate petty purse-snatching. I can't imagine how this is going to end," Kingsley said authoritatively, trying to catch his breath. His robe was torn in several places, his face showed a cut from a missed spell, and his hands were covered in tiny cuts.

"Don't worry, King, when this is all over, the three of us will have to completely change the way the Auror Center works," Tonks said with a hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be quite a job," Moody muttered.

The old Auror walked over to the youngsters, and placing a hand on each shoulder, gave them a confident squeeze.

"But it will be worth it. This place has been in need of change for a long time. We will do it. We will make it."

That night, friends and co-workers came to Grimmauld Place with hope in their hearts.

***

Five years later...

"I am pleased to announce that the Wizengamot has adopted a new arrangement for the Auror Center!"

A burst of applause broke the momentary silence in the hall. After shaking hands with all the important faces of the magical world and taking pictures for correspondence, Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt walked down the corridors of the Ministry of Magic to his office. No one would disturb him at the end of the day, especially not today - today the Ministry had completely finished updating its internal policies and mode of operation. No one wants a repeat of the two wars, and strong power and quality law enforcement is one of the main points of a peaceful sky overhead. Opening the door of his office, the last head of the Order of the Phoenix sat down at his desk and sighed heavily. Then his gaze fell upon the photographs. The first was a picture of his wife with their son and daughter, the second was a picture of the members of the second Order of the Phoenix, and the third picture had three figures in red auror robes. Alastor Moody stood with a serious expression on his face, Kingsley had a smirk playing on his face, and the pink-haired girl in the middle was smiling in all her 32 teeth, wrapping her arms around each man. One second, and Tonks' hair changed color to acid yellow, Mad-Eye rolled his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible, and Kingsley, unable to stand it, laughed.

The minister's eyes stayed on the last picture for a few more seconds. A sad smile appeared on his serious face and he closed his eyes, imagining his friends.

"We did it"

[prof-peach]

Can you tell more about the Lycanroc that you just rescued please?

He came in as an aggressive patient, no one else would deal with him, I got an email from Kukui about a week ago about him, apparently so angry no one could handle him to check his health or wellbeing, and rehiring was out of the question at this point. He occasionally sends me cases like this to save them being put down, so I took the big guy without too much info.

He got sent with a file about a day later, the file had limited information. His name was once Rocco, though he has no response to it, he lived in a dog pokemons hoard, and seemed to be mixed with a lot of other, far bigger, far meaner Pokemon, so he became aggressive as a means of defence, like a lot of pup Pokemon can tend to do when pushed like this. He killed another Pokemon while in the care of this trainer, and thus got moved on, as they deemed him too much to handle. Quite frankly the trainers facilities were questionable, with further investigation Kukui had called Pokemon protection on them, and had 27 other Pokemon taken away from them, all with various different issues, luckily none as bad as this Lycanroc apparently. They got moved on to better homes, and from what I’ve heard, they’ve made good progress.

Now this Lycanroc is a midday form, a bit tatty looking and skinny at this point in time, he’s been with us a week, and has never been walked apparently, no vaccinations, no real core training other than brute force battling. First day in the facilities he bolted and went for Valka my dear vulpix, to no avail. She just picked him up and put him back in the kennel space, didn’t even flinch at him. Day two I made a critical error of trying to get a muzzle on him without Val as backup, damn thing slipped my hold and cracked me with his rocky collar, leaving me needing many stitches, and from the looks of it, probably permanently scared now. I went back after getting sewn back up the same day and confronted him, this time with a more functional team with me to handle him. Got a muzzle on him, got a good look at his body after he tired himself out thrashing around. Covered in fleas, utterly riddled with old bite scars, he was no doubt picked on by the other Pokemon he lived with. He is nervous as all hell, that’s all his behaviour is, fear.

Often aggression from Pokemon is just a way of expressing deep seated fear, nervousness is a real issue with Pokemon who aren’t socialised, who are picked on by other species, and who don’t get exposed to the world around them. After checking him over we left him to chill out, for the first time in his life as far as we know, alone from any other Pokemon, while we decided the best method for healing him, and who would suit his temperament best. I’ve personally got a midnight Lycanroc who came back with me from Galar not too long ago, so I was the one to take his case, being a bit use to the breed compared to the others, plus personal pride didn’t like that he got that hit on me so easily. Perhaps it’s wrong of me, but I don’t like to let this kind of behaviour beat me, so I dig my heels in normally when I get clipped by something.

Day 4 of his stay, he’s snapping at any Pokemon who comes close to the secure unit he’s staying in, Val is with me at all times now to make sure he’s kept in check when I’m not watching. She’s fearless, and he hates it, but now, after 4 days of her being stoic and unnerving, he’s not confronting her, and in turn looking at me with a bit more hesitation. In the Pokemons mind he’s probably looking at her like ‘oh shit you and that human are a team? Well I don’t want to mess with that right now’ and he’s skulking off to the back of his kennel space, instead of going nuts at the fence towards us. Good progress, less confrontational for now.

Day 5 we tried to get a walk in, short lead, muzzle, generally quite controlled, he didn’t like it to start with, but the island has...I don’t know, something oddly calming about it. We took a few laps, and he spent most of it fighting me for control, until we hit the lake, where he seemed to mellow out for a short while.

It’s going to be a long schedule of daily training, constant assertion of the pack and who’s boss, which is me, not him, much to his dismay. He’s got a huge prey drive, and is nervous with other Pokemon, but otherwise he’s just stressed out. I think time here will do him well. We’re working on respect and hierarchy, basic stuff like ‘sit’ and ‘hold’ for the most part. He’s snapped at me since but not as much.

I will try to update folks as he goes along his recovery, he’s not ready for other Pokemon yet, and certainly not one I’d have out and off a good strong lead, without other team mates around. Hopefully we can get him manageable and find him a good home. Building trust between him and other people is the start right now, he knocked me back but didn’t scare me off, and that rattled him, so he’s behaving a BIT better for now. Want to chase Tauros though, like, fiercely.

His fleas are being treated, he’s getting good meals he doesn’t have to fight for, and despite guarding his food (which is understandable) he’s not showing any physical illness luckily.

[shutupanddance]

ahhhhh #17 with Larry Dailey from night at the museum??? Ty <3

Sure thing hon! Here goes nothing!

Also, challenge is still on! Keep those requests coming!! :)

- It was midnight when he first noticed you. The downpour outside was drowning out the noises of the exhibits, but he could see your lips moving as you talked to Ahkmenrah casually. - His first thought was, who the hell is this woman? She must be crazy to break into the museum, let alone stand there talking to living exhibits…

- Then Rexy came barreling through the lobby, and you shouted out over the rain and the other exhibits,

“REXY! Learn to walk, ya overgrown dog!”

- Rexy slowed down, and nuzzled your face as an apology. You were all grins.

- Larry walked up to you with a whole speech prepared, but once he got to shaking your hand, it all melted away. Your eyes, somehow, had done something to his brain. Or maybe it was the little-too-firm handshake you gave him. Either way, he was at a loss for words.

”It’s nice to meet you, Larry. I’m Y/N.” You smiled some more. “I know we haven’t met, but I’m Gus’ niece. He used to take me here when I was little.”

- Larry was a little put off at first, just remembering all that had happened on his first few days of the job, but he quickly realized that you weren’t a whole lot like your uncle, and had no desire in taking the tablet.

- You had been caught in the rain, waiting for a late-night train that never arrived, and decided to camp out in the museum for the night. Most of the exhibits knew you, and you knew all the secret ways of getting in, so you figured you could just hang out for awhile. - Larry offered to show you some of the new renovations and a couple exhibits you hadn’t met yet, and of course you agreed. Ahkmenrah came too because he had never met you when you were a kid since the old night guards kept him locked up.

- You and Larry spent a lot of time discussing the exhibits, and he found out that you knew even more about them than he did! You could even speak a bit of Hun.

- Larry was entranced by the way you navigated the museum effortlessly, and how much the exhibits loved you. Even the Easter Island exhibit called you “bun bun” — an old nickname.

- He found out that you took the same late-night train every Friday to visit Gus in a nursing home. Luckily for him, Ahkmenrah suggested that you come every Friday, and you agreed. You just changed your train to an even later time, and could spend most of the night at the museum.

- Naturally, you exchanged phone numbers, so Larry could “make sure he could let you in the front door” (really he just wanted your number).

- He finds himself calling and updating you on the exhibits every night when you’re not there.

- He’s never had anyone he could talk to about the museum the way he can talk to you. It’s a fast friendship, and on the nights when it’s raining again and he walks you to the train station, sharing an umbrella, and you lean close, and you kiss his cheek goodnight, he wonders if it could be something more.

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style 😎#11)

Gonna go rob a bank~

FUCK I forgot this is the mission where I have to go back and see Edith FUCK

Alright time to finally go get Tilly’s necklace and Sadie’ Harmonica because I keep forgetting…

Found out the stage coach is still in that river Micah and I left it in… oh and so is that TREE across the road (owwie…)

Got the items and since I had to deal with Emmet Granger to get Sadie’s I’m gonna go deal with the other three, get those outta the way. I do have to do EVERYTHING I can as Arthur to get all his journal pages, the second playthrough he will do absolutely nothing extra, only the bare minimum so john can do everything.

First up is Flaco and OMG I DID NOT NEED DRAMATIC PIANO TO BLAST MY EARDRUMS THANKS

From Flaco yelling from the shack some of the Del Lobo we killed outside were named Anselmo, Elisio, and Gonzalo. No idea which was which unfortunately..

Alright so… I’ve never been good at drawing against Billy Midnight… Arthur I am so sorry for this recurring nightmare you’re about to have.. I SWEAR I’M TRYING- I did it on the second try O_O

*lil Jack voice* I’m getting better! =D

Arthur jumped off the train, knowing it would hurt… but NOT knowing he would get up in just the right way for the train to BONK HIS BRAIN.. He’s okay…he’s okay…

Alright, saved the best and my favorite for last. Into da bayou I go… yet again…

I love Mrs Belle she's so cool.. and pretty… and I like her clothes

I plan on getting through the chapter so I can get to Shady Belle for those camp photos (cause I'm sure the outfits are similar for there if not the same, it's pretty much the same temperature I think. I really wanna get photos of the house.

Great now that Dutch is back in camp he and Molly are fighting… awesome… I got a scene where Molly asks Abigail for advice and Abigail gives it to her straight but Molly isn’t having it… oh Molly..

On the other hand Karen and Sean were hanging out looking out at the water. They did the she looks at him when he's not looking then he looks when she's not looking… she did look mad a few times though…

I'm very curious about why Karen is drinking so much in this chapter.. like it makes sense for after she loses Sean but- ... does she think he only likes her when they're drunk .. cause he thinks she's too much when she’s sober that’s what he said at the party that night… or she just thinks she’s no good when she’s sober... omfg… Karen no Q-Q

Pupper! Doggo! Cain! Woo!! 

(Fuck Micah, fuck him to hell, let me kick HIM)

As much as I need to get to the next chapter… knowing what comes next… I don't wanna go to the next chapter.

I'm gonna get a few more pretty photos then I'm doing the next mission. I swear. 

*Two hours later*

(That better have been read in your head as the SpongeBob guy… that's how it was typed. XD) 

Yeah… so about that thing I said I'd do… I didn't. *Insert John Malaney meme "and then I didn't!"*

Decided to go get Trelawny before going to do John or Hosea's missions so that way I can get him and his scenes at camp before moving.  

Did both his missions… he should be in camp… where the fuck is he?

Bill’s optional stage coach robbery with Tilly popped up so I wanted to get a photo of him with the map before greeting…. Bill… my dude… you know how to read that thing right? Map’s upside buddy…

Tilly, honey, your voice is too nice, you do not sound threatening at all… (I mean she’s probably not actually that mad at Bill… but still) -  Also I would have photos of the map and of Tilly on a horse but I deleted them all by accident T-T

Hopefully Trelawny will be at camp when I get back so I can get some photos of him… swear I had at least a few… but they’re gone…and this was before I deleted the other photos… (Damn magician…)

My journal on the companion app isn’t updating anymore… which sucks because it gave me really clear photos of the pages… maybe if I do another main mission…

SINCE WHEN CAN YOU DANCE WITH KAREN?!

AW I missed Trelawny pulling a crow from Susan’s ear to make Karen laugh! DX

Anyone else make sure they walk past people with camp chores (sack, hay, bucket) so that people will comment. Like a child trying to impress their parents. “Look! I do good thing! Praise me!”

Trelawny came up to me “I know you saw me in town with my wife” like dude… if you’re talking about Saint Denis… I’ve seen EVERYONE in that town. But also i never heard the dialogue you hear when you get close enough to where she lives. I don’t think you CAN hear it until Trelawny is in camp/more with the gang.

I still have no idea where the fuck he sleeps. He has no tent… it hasn’t been night yet. I’m just hoping Dutch and Grimshaw don’t yell at me to leave before it becomes night.

Okay i’m bored.

I swear I had Valentine bank photos… now I gotta go BACK ugh.

Uhhhhh I got the photos and decided to give Arthur a haircut

“Good job I sharpened my scissors this morning” (Cause I’m at max length)

Bruh… What happened to your head? (Doesn’t this happen when essential NPCs get shot? Who shot him????)

…found the bank photos.. I didn’t need to come back here… eh I need Downes photos anyway…

Okay had to break the lock but *hacker voice* I’m in.

Well either Archie smokes or he shared this bunkbed with someone. (one of each pack in the nightstand) Only a pillow in the wardrobe and open horse medicine in the cabinet.. Wild West Heroes, no. 132? Cool. There’s a booze box inside… beer… no one to chase this time. Can’t go into what I assume is the kitchen..

Okay, back at camp I saw Bill standing by a tree (bright red shirt so I knew it was him) and I get over there and Jack is sitting on the ground behind him “Hiya Arthur” Arthur’s response “Gentlemen” then Jack does the cutest little finger gun in the entire universe LOOK AT THIS PRECIOUS BOY T_T

Well… time to finally head over and help Hosea and get some shots of the manor…

[limitlessgojo]

Blood Bound: Red Strings of Fate (Ch 10)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Wait For Me

Next Chapter: Kyoto-Tokyo Goodwill Event

Tags: Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, please mention it in the comments below ty <3

We are halfway through the story~ I never planned for this to be over 40k😅 but I've added some integral scenes in the later chapters. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10: Invisible Ties

You couldn't sleep at all the few nights that followed. Mai and the others noticed your fatigue. They worriedly asked about you and let you cuddle into them and nap when you had some free time.

Miwa even let's you stay with her in her room at times, and it does help for a bit, but you don't want to bother them. And something was telling you it wasn't just regular fatigue.

You sometimes zone out in class and could barely stay awake during physical training. Eventually, you consulted Utahime about your possible insomnia.

You had a feeling it was tied to your feeling of unrest over your soulmate bond. It didn't help that your soulmark was stinging and all your heart wanted was to be with Noritoshi. There was a strong sense of unease over this bond.

You pulled down your sleeve to reveal the mark on your wrist flashing madly like a broken stoplight. You groaned and shoved your face into your pillow.

You've taken to wrapping a black velvet ribbon on it during the day, to not attract attention. If this light flashing keeps up, you might have to use a thicker fabric.

◇◇◇

Noritoshi was feeling the same uneasiness you did. He tried to shake it off and act as natural as he could around you, but even he was still shook at how quickly your negative emotions transmitted over the bond.

He was in his room and it was past 11. He tried to get to sleep, but found that he couldn’t so he tried studying. He was actually distracted for once, looking over his desk at the soulmate record and diaries of Hotaru and found himself reading them.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, you were restless in your room.

"I shouldn't bother Noritoshi senpai but..." You glanced over at your clock. 12:06am. Just past midnight, he was surely asleep. And yet you found yourself grabbing your pillow and blankets, and quietly making your way to his dorm room.

It was as if your body was moving under the command of your red strings. Pulling you back to the man who was responsible for messing you up like this.

You stood outside for a good 5 minutes, contemplating on whether or not you should knock. You haven't had a proper sleep in nights and it is starting to show in your studies.

Finally, you decided to quietly knock a few times. A beat passed and there was no response. You were about to walk away when the door opened. He was awake to your surprise.

He was in his dark navy Kimono, hair wrappings undone. Some strands of his hair fell over his eyes. At that moment, you thought to yourself that he was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.

“Can I help you y/n?” He was staring at your pillows and blankets.

Ah right. All of the sudden you feel so small and dumb for coming all the way here for no good reason. “Ah, Noritoshi senpai. Um, good evening.” You scrambled for words.

“I, uhm, I’m sorry I can’t really sleep- Ah what I mean to say is that I haven’t been sleeping well lately and I was wondering if I-” a cold gust of air blew past you and you shivered.

Noritoshi’s eyes widened at this and he pulled you into his room and closed the door behind you. He was so close, your face turned bright red. Way too close for comfort.

He seemed to get the hint and took a step back from you. “So you want to stay the night with me, is that what you’re getting at?”

You stayed still before slowly nodding, then looked up to see his reaction. His face was like stone, nothing was giving anything away. He didn’t look so happy to see you in your opinion.

“I’m sorry to disturb you…. I was gonna…. ask… if I ….. could … sleep …. on … your floor…, “ your voice was getting smaller and softer with each word, heart clenching painfully. Your fists tightly scrunched up in your blankets.

Suddenly he leaned down close to bring his face to yours and raised his hand. You flinched and closed your eyes tightly, expecting a “no.”

He cupped your cheeks gently and touched the bags of your eyes with his fingers. “You’ve been looking so exhausted lately, I was actually going to bring it up to you, but I wasn’t able to catch you earlier today. Just share the bed with me.”

You blinked. What. Did you hear that right?

You looked at him with wide eyes. His face was red too. “Is this okay with you? I really don’t want to overstep my boundaries… Last time….” you opened your mouth then realized you didn’t come here to dump all the shit that’s troubling your mind onto Noritoshi.

‘I’m sure he also has it hard on his end’. “Ah, never mind. Thank you so much senpai.” you smiled up at him.

Noritoshi’s chest hurts to see you fake a smile towards him. Time and time again, he’s loved watching how expressive and honest you are with your emotions.

He’s seen your genuine smiles more often than not. Seeing you like this just felt wrong.

“Tell me.” He said.

“Ah- it’s really nothing, I know you’ve been dealing with so much on your end, you’re also stressed, I’m just thankful that you’re letting me stay here in your room-” you were rambling without realizing it.

“Tell me. Don’t hold back. I can feel your unease through the soulmate bond.” he said sternly.

Noritoshi was starting to understand that you both had to work through the negative emotions each one feels together. That’s the reason for the soulmate bond. Ignoring it would be like dragging yourselves through mud.

You got the gist of his line of thought, having the same realization at the same time. You spoke cautiously so as not to offend him, "This has been bothering me. Last time in your room, it just felt like you were treating me as an outsider and it hurt. Like I thought that we were more than that, but maybe it's just me. Also, you once said I didn't know who you are. So I just…. Wanted to understand you better..."

Noritoshi’s eyes softened, and he just couldn’t resist you anymore. He pulled you towards his bed and set down your blankets and pillows. Then turned back to you, “Can I hug you?”

“Of course.” It was fun to see him blush and awkwardly hold his arms out towards you. You stepped into his space, grabbed one arm to throw around your shoulder, and the other around your waist. As he didn’t seem to know where to hold you.

"I do admit I have my secrets and I’m not ready to tell you about them yet. For that I apologize, you have to wait a bit longer until I’m more comfortable with you. But you're not an outsider to me my dear. You could never be. I also believe that we are more than friends, like I said before. I need you to trust me a little more. And I’ll do the same with you, I’ll trust you a bit more. I want it all and this soulbond, as long as it's you."

Your eyes widened and sparkled upon hearing his words. Your bond finally settled into something of a quiet hum underneath your veins. You hugged him tighter, which he smiled at.

"I'm sorry, I should have explained to you how I felt senpai." You whispered sadly. But he just hushed you and held your hand. "It's okay, next time we can do better. Let’s start anew shall we?"

You spoke out a soft yes in response. It was honestly still a disjointed relationship. Like you’re both just two parts of a whole trying to find their way to each other.

"Let's face the truth. This is really an unconventional relationship. We can't really abide by the normal fall in love then confess situation can we?" You said.

"Why can't we?" Noritoshi asked, looking a bit surprised. "It's unconventional and gives us a fair share of problems, that's true. But we can still fall in love and confess the normal way. With time." He added.

You just hummed and nodded.

You pulled back from him, “Anywayss, Why are you still awake at this hour anyways senpai? It's bedtime.”

“Reading the diary of a man who was my past life.” Your eyes widened at that. “Let’s read a bit of it together, then we can sleep?” You nodded.

He set up the pillows so both of you could lean side by side in bed while reading the diary entries. The story was not a nice one. Hotaru eloping with his lover, on the run from their families, curses and curse users. Constantly taking odd jobs to get money, and hiding in old inns. It sounded so exhausting.

You found yourself looking over at Noritoshi every now and then, wanting to lean closer, your eyelids getting heavier.

He turned to you then looked at the clock. 12:47am.

No classes tomorrow, since it's the weekend but you looked terribly sleepy. So he closed the book, set it aside. Closed the lights before climbing in beside you.

You stretched out like a cat before tucking yourself under the sheets. "Sleep time??"

He smiled at you. "Yeah." He laid down beside you, and you were both lying on your sides, facing each other.

"Good night darling." He whispered. Your face heated up but you thanked the darkness that he couldn't see your blush at the pet name.

"Good night Nori- ah senpai." You whispered back.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Drop the Senpai, just call me Noritoshi."

"Okay…. Noritoshi."

"Mmmm."

2 minutes passed, but you're both still staring at each other.

"Noritoshi."

"What is it?"

"Nothing much… Just saying your name feels nice. Can we hold hands while we sleep?"

He chuckled and reached to clasp both your hands in his. Your mark has long stopped flashing wildly. It's now a warm dark red glow.

You smiled at your marks.

"Can I kiss you? Properly?" He asked hesitantly.

Oh. You would like that very much. Your heart is literally in your throat, beating so furiously Noritoshi could probably feel it.

You could feel some of his stronger emotions through the bond. He really wants to hold you in his arms, you realized. You never felt so bare with another person before. He could probably feel your emotions too, so no point in hiding it.

As you nodded, he slowly crawled over you, caging you in with his arms. Slow, he was too slow.

You grabbed the front of his Kimono and pulled his lips down to yours. His eyes widened, but soon closed shut as he finally finally got to taste you. He was careful not to crush you as he pressed you into the sheets for a deeper kiss.

You both found yourselves running your hands over the other's body. His tongue entered your mouth and played with yours. Dangerous. Your hands tugging at his hair. It was getting dangerous.

Noritoshi quickly pulled back, chest heaving against yours, and tucked you under his chin. His heartbeat was beating furiously before quickly calming down.

"Darling I'm-" how could he tell you that he wants you right now. This wasn’t good, he had to hold himself back. He kissed you on the forehead.

"Shhhh, I'm right here." he whispered sweet nothings into your ears as you whined out at the loss of his lips on yours. "Time for bed as you said. Good night." He kissed you once more on the cheek.

You pouted and looked up to see him cuddle you with such a soft expression. So you relented, "Okay. Good night Noritoshi." And fell into a deep sleep in his arms.

◇◇◇

"Nnnghhh…."

"Mmnghhh…."

…. You opened your eyes to see Noritoshi groaning above you. It's like 3am, in the middle of the night, and you accidentally shoved your knee in his gut.

He was still asleep, but he could feel the pain. You hurriedly retracted your knee, reaching over to pat him on the back. Then moving to stroke him gently on the head.

As he finally settled back into sleep, you subconsciously moved forward to tuck your head under his neck. He is feverishly warm and comfortable. It’s gonna be hard going to bed without him.

And as you fell back into a deep sleep in his arms, Noritoshi, still asleep, wrapped his arms tighter around you and then continued dozing off.

◇◇◇

You felt yourself wake up with the best night’s sleep you’ve had in years. And that was saying something.

Noritoshi was still sleeping. He looked like he was having a rather nice dream. You traced the outline of his features with your fingers until his eyes snapped open.

You jumped back, shrieking and almost falling off the edge of the bed. But Noritoshi had fast reflexes, hand reaching out to grab your waist and pull you close to him. Your face smacked into his chest.

"Morning." His voice was so deep and raspy, you shivered at the sound. His eyes darkened.

"Morning senpai." You whispered, feeling so small.

"Do you make it a habit to play with other people’s faces while they’re asleep?" He whispered.

Goosebumps prickled along your skin as he stroked your arms slowly. "Ahh, I didn’t know you were awake, I’m sorry." You blushed.

Both of your stomachs were kind enough to growl and save your sorry ass. Noritoshi laughed at this.

"My darling needs some breakfast. I'll have the Kamo household prepare and deliver some for us." He said as he reached for his phone.

"Noritoshi, you don't have to, I don't want to be a bother really." You tugged at his sleeves.

“I already said you're never a bother to me haven't I?” He slumped over you as he typed out a text.

You groaned from underneath, "You're heavy Noritoshi."

"That's to stop you from leaving my room without breakfast." He deadpanned.

Blood Bound: Table of Contents