#we need a bigger space so I can keep moving and call her back into heel

[tea-time-terrier]

We...don't have a broad jump.

[leafostuff]

Messes in Distress [Ft. Weeekly Jihan and Zoa]

Tags: BFH, 'Besties'!Zoa&Jihan, No plot all horny, Threesome, Double thigh riding, Double boobjob, Blowjob, Dirty talk, Fingering, Surprise Creampie, Anal, Pussy licking/eating, Mutual orgasm. no beta we die like man

Author's Note: as my august release i have to say: this is the filthiest fic I have ever written, throughout the entire writing process (which only took me two days) I have constantly felt both horny for those two gorgeous girls, but also inspired to keep writing and not stopping at anything.

as its also quite apperant, this is my first ever threesome smut, which I had tons of fun to write, so I do hope you will enjoy reading this fic that I worked very hard on.

PS: yes this was the post that I quickly deleted and responded with "YALL SAW NOTHING", my hand slipped on the post note lol

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This party never looked as colourful and vibrant as it is right now.

Or maybe its just the rave lights Jeonghoon, your best friend installed for his house party. After all of the finals you had to suffer this semester, a proper party is really what you needed, especially in such a big house like his which has more than enough space to party just in the backyard.

But back to what you were saying, there is so much for you to see from you view at the barstool chair. From the football players swimming inside, the cheerleaders eyeing them from the other edge of the pool, probably gossiping about the latest drama or whatnot, some frat boys drinking their 7th shot of the night while dancing to the DJ's (yeah your friend also hired a DJ for the party) music like there is no tommorow, and while some may look at this and call it anarchy, you find it quite enjoyable looking at it.

Then you see them

Two girls, one blondie, the other black haired, neither you have seen before (maybe you seen the blonde one in your 2 am walks back to your dorm, fetching groceries? Eh you don't really know), both of them wearing white tops that expose their bellies and denim blue jeans, both tailored to show their curves from head to toe.

They both look happy, eyes closed while both their bodies sensually move to the rhythm of the music. It's hard not to shift your focus to them, the way their bodies stand closer than usual while they look into each other ,how they lean their faces closer, engaging in a short kiss, or how-

Realize that the black haired girl caught your eyes, the blonde girl joins her, both smiling while their eyes wander downward.

you are a bit puzzled until you look down and realize; your pants now form a visible tent. You try to look away but its too late.

the two girls now exchange a look between each other before leaving the dance floor and heading toward you, their smiles are those of good girls, however you could feel their intentions are anything but.

Eventually they both stand in front of you, meanwhile

"You are Jeonghoon's friend, right?" The blonde asks, her voice softer than you thought.

"Uhhh...yeah? Why?"

"Great" the black haired girl joins the conversation. "We need a favor" she adds, her smile is even brighter than before.

"Sure" you answer, a bit confused "What favor you two need?"

They both grin widely before the blonde speaks again. "A BIG favour..." You could feel her fingers travel upward across your left thigh.

Meanwhile her friend leans her face to your right ear while her fingers mimic her friend's movement but on your right thigh and then her hand finds itself on your currently hard clothed member.

"A favour...only YOU can help us with..." She whispers in your ear.

Take a look at the two girls again, they are even prettier from close as each feature that you saw back then is now presented to you at high definition. From their silky and smooth hair, eyes that look like trouble but you are still in place as if you are frozen and their chests that look a size bigger than what you thought they were.

Their smiles which you could swear you could see them licking their lips.

Their soft, luscious looking red coloured lips that are oh so inviting...

You are not sure if the alcohol is talking right now but honestly, you don't care anymore. "Sure, I don't mind helping you two with your...favor".

The girls' smiles grow wider as you stand up from the barstool, take each one's hand and lead them inside the house and upstairs, thank god everyone else is outside.

"i never really got you two’s name" you said, navigating through the halls of the 2nd floor until eventually you find the door to Jeonghoon's room, but just as your hand gets close to the knob the two girls pin you to the wall, the black haired girl attached her mouth to your neck, alternating between licks, kisses and bites causing you to moan lightly.

Meanwhile the blonde puts her lips on you, engaging in a steamy makeout session while her tongue grazed against your teeth, as if asking for access to your mouth which you humbly accept. It's hypnotic how her sweet lips feel on yours, how her tongue explores inside your mouth, how as soon as she finds your own she initiates a sensual dance of tongues causing both of you to quietly moan.

You both eventually part lips, gasping for air, take a look at one you just kissed, her blonde hair now looks messier than it was when you first met her.

"heh...that was good" she speaks between pants, "anyways, i am Jihyo, and the one who is opening your jeans down there is Hyewon" look down, she already finished popping the last button, leaving you only in briefs.

"Well what are we waiting for, lets get inside" you say, the two girls giggle cutely while you open the room.

in the middle of the room is a king sized bed, big enough to have the three of you on it with pillows on the gar edge of the bed. The two girls lightly push you into the bed before joining you as each one straddles herself on each thigh of yours while their hands work together to take your shirt off your body, throwing it somewhere.

Now the three of you are in a loop.

Starting with Hyewon capturing your lips with hers while her hands rest on the left side on your chest l, admiring both your chest and abs. At the same time Jihyo latches her lips on the right side of your neck, delivering kisses from your shoulder all the way to your earlobe, there eliciting an audible moan directly to your ear before going back to her masterful attack of your neck, meanwhile her left hand wraps around your cock, rubbing it up and down in an attempt to get you harder as fast as possible.

Both of them also start to move their bodies back and forth on each of your thigh, letting you feel their friction getting you closer and closer to your first orgasm.

Suddenly, a switch; now Hyewon does Jihyo's job and vice versa, during those loops, your hands go each one to another girl, appreciating their bodies from their soft bellies all the way to their slander backs, then groping one breast of each girl causing both to gasp in surprise.

Eventually after enough back and forth of them pleasuring you, it gets harder for them to continue rubbing your cock as now they leave your lap, with both of their hands on the hem of your boxers. With perfect timing they pull it down, letting your cock pop out of your cock prison, leaving you the first one being fully naked.

"Wow...unnie, its so big" Hyewon says, looking at your member that is covered with some of your precum with excitement,

"Yes baby...he is so big, and all of it...for us" Jihyo responds, leaning into her friend's lips and pecks her lips lightly.

"I do think its a bit unfair i am the only one naked here" you mention the inequality.

"you are right Oppa" Hyewon replies, "i saw you staring at our tits, when we danced outside" she adds, leaving jihyo with a pretend surprise face.

"Is that so baby..." she questions her best friend before turning her eyes to you "Would you like to fuck them first?" the question might as well be rethoric as without any doubt you say.

"I would gladly want that"

"Then let us get started" Jihyo exclaims, letting you inch your body toward the edge of the bed. Meanwhile she goes behind Hyewon, hands grabbing the hem of her best friend's top, slowly pulling in an attempt to tease you slowly about each part of Hyewon's ample breasts, covered in a lacy purple bra until finally the top is completely off causing her tits to slightly bounce at the recoil, the piece of clothing is thrown at one of the pillows.

Now it's Jihyo's turn to discard her top, this time without any teasing, knowing you can't wait anymore for the show to begin as now she joined her friend being topless, only with a black bra as the wall between your eyes and her nipples.

back at Hyewon, she is now popping each button of her jeans while looking straight at your eyes, biting her lip in arousal and winking to you. Look down and see that her matching purple panties have a wet spot in the middle, making it clear to you that she is excited, and that she is waiting.

And she is not the only one as Jihyo also started quickly working on her own jeans, exposing her black panties and leaving the two girls only with their underwear, both their eyes and panties glistening in what can only be described as excitement.

It's sinful how they are both looking at your cock lustfully like it's their favorite meal waiting to be devoured, how they both kneel down to each side of your thigh while their face get closer to their prized possession.

How they both look at you with innocent eyes one last time before defying it forever.

The scene beneath you is filthy; two girls, both equally as gorgeous and sexy, engaging in a full on makeout session, loudly exchanging saliva with the tip of your cock in between receiving the leftovers. Both of their busts envelop the base, moving up and down, left and right in the rhythm of the kiss, even your balls are not left unsatisfied as both their underboobs take care of that part.

"Fuck...girls..." you mutter, only a minute passed and you are already in a haze, looking at the white ceiling, gripping the sheets of the bed to try and gain some semblance of control. You can't help yourself as you release an audible moan, making sure they know how good they make you feel.

"Unnie...I'm getting wet..." The black haired girl whined, pulling away from Jihyo's lips with an audible 'pop', panting to catch her breath before leaning back into the kiss

"me too baby," she breathily mumbles between kisses. "just a couple more seconds, i can feel him getting close ...".

eventually the first round of the white liquid came out, glazing both of their lips and tongues however they dont stop, even when some of your cum falls inside their mouth they continue, mixing both of their saliva with your cum, making both of their face messier by the second.

More cum erupts from your cock, painting the two girl's faces, some even get on their bras as you can feel yourself relieved with each string you shoot, soon enough the two girls release from their makeout session and rise up to sit on the edge of the bed, finally letting your cock rest, but not for long.

"Oh…you are still hard Oppa..." Hyewon exclaimed, cleaning some of your cum on her face before slightly pushing you closer to the middle of the bed, her previously innocent looking smile now has changed into a slutty grin.

“Let me help you” 

You don't even need words to show you agree as now hyewon hands go behind her back, letting an audible click be heard as her bra falls onto the bed, giving you a front view of her now hardened nipples.

Jihyo, seeing what her bestie is planning, quickly unclasped her bra as well and throwing it somewhere. Then they both, at the same time take their hands to their panties, quickly lowering them down their thighs, to their legs and then out of their bodies, finally joining you in being fully naked

Just the sight of the two girls' boobs being shown to you in their full glory and the way both of their neatly shaven pussies are leaking is enough to get your throat dry, unable to mutter a single word and only stare at them in awe.

Then, their second round of pleasure begins

Hyewon now leans down toward your shaft, letting her slender finger pump you one last time before her luscious lips envelope around the tip of your cock.

Her first slurp is enough to get you to moan loudly and move your head back in pleasure, then she starts moving her lips up and down at a steady pace, making sure every movement is audible with slurps, licks and everything in between. It's even worse when you see how her deer-like eyes stare directly into yours.

You are surprised to see how big her mouth is, as even though a lot of your cock is inside her mouth, she is still able to take more. Eventually your tip reaches the back of her throat, now deepthroating you 

“She is taking you sooo well, isn't she?” You didn't notice when Jihyo snaked behind you, her tits on your back while her hands glide around your pecs. her cloudy lips delivering sweet pecks to your neck and ear as only after processing all of the senses that she delivers you manage to get a small nod and mumble a small “ngh”

She cutely laughs at your attempt at her response. “I bet her lips feel so sweet on your big, thick cock” she whispers directly into your left ear, not expecting a seemingly sweet, adorable girl like her to speak such filth but for some reason, it excites you.

“I can't wait for you to fill both of our good girls holes with your thick, warm and sticky cum, letting you fuck us like your little slu-OH FUCK” but enough is enough as you finally lose your temper, silencing Jihyo by pushing your two left fingers into her wet pussy, your right hand starts groping one of her boobs while your lips connect with her own.

you three are now a mess.

You have Hyewon, her mouth fully coating your hardened shaft with saliva while her hands work diligently to massage your balls and inner thighs. Her eyes aroused by seeing you, fingering and groping her best friend to the points she stop messaging you with her right hand to finger herself to not leave herself out of the pleasure.

You have Jihyo, her eyes closed shut,  lost in the sheer amount of pleasure she receives and gives to you, each time your lips leaves her for attacking her neck she shouts a symphony of moans, but not for long before you continue to kiss her again

And then there’s you, feeling like the star of a porn video with two incredibly hot girls. Which you have never met before and now they are naked, hungry for your cock while you fuck them in various ways.

The only way you can describe this moment the three of you are sharing at the moment is heaven in hell.

“I AM SO CLOSE OPPA,” Jihyo shouts into the air, feeling her climax getting closer with each passing second. Yours is also not so far behind, as the suction of Hyewon's lips is driving you crazy.

However just as you were about to release your load into her throat, Hyewon swiftly lets her mouth out of your cock without any gag, she rises from her prone position and hovering closely above your cock, before quickly saying.

“I'm safe”

“Huh? What are you-OH FUCK” You dont have time to react as the deer-eyed slut impales her slick yet tight pussy directly on your dick, you could swear you see tears in her eyes from the pain she is feeling but its quickly replaced with tears of joy, signaling you that she wants this.

“UGHHH, YES” She curses loudly after the first explosion of cum erupts inside her. Then quickly comes the second, the third and even the forth, each pump gets Hyewon to a level of ecstasy she never felt before as she rolls her eyes backwards and lets her tongue hang out of her mouth while her orgasm flows onto the base of your dick.

At the same time your fingers also get coated by Jihyo's own fluids, moaning unintelligible words but it was clear that she was enjoying every second of her high. Eventually your mutual orgasm comes to an end, as you all fall into the bed, both girls on different sides while you are in between them.

For a moment the surrounding goes silent. No club music from outside the house, no chatter from drunk university students, the only sounds the three of can comprehend are each other’s synced up breathing, attempting to recover from your lust-filled haze. Finally, Hyewon gathers enough strength to talk.

“Oppa…are you…done” a breathy question came from her mouth as for the first time tonight, her eyes looked at yours with pure innocence.

You can't help but giggle at her question and lean forward to peck her lips. “I think with sexy you two are…i dont think i will ever be done” you respond.

“Oh, That's great to hear Oppa…” Jihyo interrupted your small talk with her friend. Take a look at her, her hair messy and ruffled, her entire body filled with a mixture of sweat and cum.

“Because…i haven't got your cum inside me yet…” she adds, her hands now go to her hair, smoothing it from any random strands and then parting it in the middle, creating two symmetrical ponytails from each side of her head.

“But…” another pause as she turns herself face down, letting herself gain control as she raises her body up while keeping her arms and knees on the mattress, her soft and curvy ass pointed up and directly at you before saying.

“I want it in my ass”

And just like that, you could feel yourself getting hard at the view, it's not hard to see how Jihyo's pussy is still wet and is leaking on the sheets, telling you that she is ready for her turn, but before you cave in to her request, her eyes turn toward Hyewon.

“Baby…i want to eat you out, i bet Oppa’s cum tastes as sweet as i think…” She gestures to her best friend, quickly Hyewon shifts in front of her face, sitting in a way that gives easy access to her pussy for Jihyo.

Realize that Jihyo's two ponytails are your handles, you grab each one with your hand, the blonde girl looks back at you one last time with a wide smile and shining eyes, signaling to you that she is ready for you.

And with that out of the way, you begin.

Starting a chain reaction, you pull both of Jihyo's ponytails and slam your cock deep into her asshole. In response, she elicits a moan but quickly she inches her tongue toward Hyewon’s entrance licking out some of your cum that was left over which causes Her to clamp her soft and meaty thighs around her best friend’s head and join Jihyo with her moans.

“Fuck, unnie…it feels so good” The deer-eyed girl moaned, quickly getting aroused again seeing her best friend eat her out while being pounded by you from behind.

“I know ugh baby…he ugh is so deep inside ugh my ass” Jihyo tries to mumble to her friend in between pounds from you and licks from her. Meanwhile, you are silent, lost in the cloudy haze of pleasure from how tight her ass is, only sometimes releasing a groan.

Eventually you start increasing your pace, and it seems that Jihyo’s enjoys it, mostly by the fact that she also starts moving her butt toward your dick, letting you hear breathy moans such ‘yes’ or ‘more’ while still having the energy to pleasure Hyewon, who was holding her best friend's head close to her pussy in order to get eaten out more often.

As you start feeling yourself getting closer to your ends, you mutter loudly. “Shit girls, I am gonna cum”.

“Load it in her ngh ass Oppa” Hyewon managed to respond, struggling to not vocalize her pleasure. “I bet my cock-slut unnie would love getting filled by your thick cum, just like you did to my pussy” she dirty talks, getting you one step closer to where they both want you.

“YES, PLEASE OPPA” Jihyo loudly moans while turning her face back to you. “CUM INSIDE ME, FILL MY SLUTTY ASS WITH YOUR COCK, AS MUCH AS YOU WANT”.

And then, you finally cave in to their requests as for the final time of the night, your cock shoots one last string of cum into Jihyo's ass, one last Lick of Jihyo's tongue into Hyewon’s Cunt and one time where Hyewon clamps her thighs on Jihyo’s head the three of you  moan from the sheer pleasure that overwhelms your bodies and then you all fall into the bed.

Once again the room is quiet, no one dares mutter a word, you all have enough strength to just look at each’s now with tired yet happy eyes.

And in your mind, only one thought pops in your head, and you know that both Hyewon and Jihyo were thinking about the same thing as well.

“Best. Sex. Ever”

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Started writing in 6/8/2024

Finished writing in 7/8/2024

[gremlinmodetweeker]

König's Haunted House Disaster

Inspired by @machveil 's post HERE and my little blorbo of König punching out recruits HERE, I figured that for the day before Halloween I should write about just what exactly went down on the night Horangi, Hutch and Askel took König to a haunted house.

Art from This Post

12:00 - Ten Hours Before the Ban

"Hey König! You gotta check this out!" Horangi called across the cafeteria, enthusiastically waving his phone as he jogged over.

König, already tired of what Horangi was about to say, simply grunted when the Korean man slid into the seat beside him. He tried his best to convey just how tired he was, but it was to no avail as Horangi eagerly crowded into his personal space to show him his crack phone screen.

"You really should get that replaced," König grumbled as Horangi shuffled closer.

"You sound like my Mom," Horangi commented before pressing play on the video.

König winced at the volume as Horangi hurriedly turned it down with a whispered 'Sorry!'.

"You really are a useless-"

"Look!" Horangi jammed his finger at a small sign in the video.

König leaned in and squinted.

"Horangi, my eyes are good but they're not that good. Can you just tell me what it says?"

"This place is near our base!" Horangi explained, "let's get a few guys and we'll go!"

"You want to go to a... A scary house?" König asked curiously.

"A haunted house König," Horangi sniffed, "seriously you moved from Germany over ten years ago and you still don't know what a haunted house is?"

König huffed, "My mind blanked. I know what they are."

"Yeah sure, keep telling yourself that," Horangi drawled before switching tabs to get to a poorly formatted website, "now look, tickets are cheap here. It's only five euros to get in!"

For a moment, König's eyes sparkled.

"Only five euros?" he muttered, "that's not too bad... I could be convinced."

"If we go to the shwarma place fist would that help?"

"... Maybe."

"Alright I'll tell Hutch," Horangi swung his legs from out of the bench.

König watched, slightly stunned, as Horangi swaggered away to the other cafeteria.

"Aren't you going to have lunch with me?" König asked.

Horangi turned to look over his shoulder and scoffed, "Nah, I've got shit to do. I wanna go, but if we don't get enough of a crowd it's just not worth it."

König narrowed his eyes, "Was I only asked to boost numbers?"

Horangi shrugged, "Why are you worried?"

"Don't you consider me a friend?" König asked bitterly.

"Yeah," Horangi said, "but you always push the chair back in the car until it hits my knees."

"Then drive," König stated.

"I don't need you on my case too," Horangi grumbled and walked away, leaving König to sit with an empty tray in front of him.

He glared at the gleaming steel.

"Did I really eat it all that fast?"

17:00 - Five Hours Before the Ban

Hutch took a long swig of water before dropping his arm to his lap. He waved at König fondly, "Hey there."

König waved back curtly and picked up a dumbbell before sitting on a bench and starting his bicep curls.

"You doing another set?" Hutch asked.

"Why not?" König shrugged.

"That's what I keep telling myself, but then I strain something," Hutch laughed, "you best watch yourself old man."

"I am not old!" König grumbled, "I only just turned thirty a month ago."

"You're in your thirties. You're old," Hutch smirked.

"You're what, twenty-nine?" König huffed.

"Twenty-seven and eleven months, thank you," Hutch replied.

"Oh so you'll be old soon enough," König snorted.

Hutch shook his head and wiped a blue towel over her forehead, "Nah, once I hit thirty then thirty-five is old."

"Oh," König rolled his eyes, "I see. So I won't be old for long."

"Did I say thirty-five? I meant thirty-one" Hutch took another sip of water.

"You're worse than Horangi," König puffed as he neared the end of his rep.

"König," Hutch glared down his nose at the bigger man, "nobody's as bad as Horangi."

König put the dumbbell by his feet and set his timer before he admitted, "Maybe not."

"Speaking of Horangi though," Hutch started stretching his arms over his chest, "I heard that he invited you to come out with us?"

"Word really does go around fast here," König muttered.

"When it's with Horangi? Sure does. But seriously man," Hutch eased into a good stretch, "are you coming?"

König drummed his fingers on his thigh as he felt his heart rate relax. He turned his head from side to side and then said, "Why not. I don't have anything else to do."

"Then I guess we got you on a good day," Hutch smiled.

"'We'? I thought this was a Horangi thing," König glanced over at his friend.

"Well, I gave Horangi the idea, but he was the one who really made it happen," Hutch explained, "I was hoping we might schedule something for next week or whatever, but Horangi's too impulsive to wait."

"Strange. When we were out in Iraq I saw him line up a shot for three hours," König shook his head, "but that man works in weird ways. I don't think I'll ever understand him."

"Funny, 'cause he says the same things about you," Hutch commented.

König was about to say something when his timer went off.

"Another rep, big guy?"

König nodded and picked up the dumbbell again, "Always another."

20 :00 - Two Hours Until the Ban

"Oh my God this is so good."

"See? I told you it would be."

"Okay but I saw you flicking mould off a peach last week," Horangi rolled his eyes as he stuffed another forkful of shwarma in his mouth, "your definition of 'good' is fucked."

König bristled as Hutch and Aksel laughed quietly behind him. He glared at the two, but it only served to worse Aksel's giggling.

"It was just a tiny bit," he explained.

"It was not a tiny bit," Aksel snickered, "that was the peach that Stiletto forgot in her locker."

König paled, "Was it really?"

"Yeah?" Aksel shook his head mirthfully, "I mean, it was set out on the counter for a reason."

"I thought..." König trailed off as he turned to glare at his hands.

"Whatever you thought," Hutch interjected, "it was just stupid. Like come on man, it was smellin' and everything!"

König wrinkled his nose, "I don't think it smelled that bad."

"You know you nearly gave Stiletto a heart attack," Horangi added on.

König smiled beneath his hood, "Well, I suppose I'll have to tell her I'm sorry."

"Oh cut the crap," Horangi gruffed, "you just wish you saw her face too."

König nodded from side to side as the others laughed.

It wasn't often that the men could get off base for a bit, but by pulling König's rank card (Horangi swore that wasn't the reason he was invited) and explaining a few things away, they managed to be able to get some time out to look around and enjoy the city. It took about an hour to drive to the shwarma shop, but at least it seemed to be a hit with the whole team. König was glad to at least provide something to the trip. He hated to admit it, but even then he was anxious about appearing good enough for his team.

"So," Horangi put his plastic fork down, "In about fifteen minutes, what do you guys think about heading out to the haunt?"

"Fine by me," Aksel nodded as Hutch swallowed a bite of his wrap, nodding in agreement.

"Alright. König? You cool with that?" Horangi turned to look at the tall Austrian.

"Should be fine," König nodded, "I mean, it might be a bit late, but..."

"We'll be fine," Hutch shut him down quickly, "don't worry about it man."

"I mean, it's just it's a long drive, and-"

"König! If the numbers guy says it'll be fine, then it'll be fine," Aksel sighed.

Horangi patted his shoulder, "Trust us. It'll be fine."

König sighed and relaxed into the seat. He didn't trust them, not in the slightest, but the least he could do was pretend.

21:00 - One Hour Until the Ban

The group of four man stood outside the farmhouse, looking up and down at the dilapidated building. Fog rolled from the windows with winding screams into the night. Occasionally, a bright red flash would come from the top left window. Cheap cobwebs were woven over the ground, littered with tiny plastic spiders that glowed in the green light coming from the front porch.

"You gettin' scared at all?" Horangi grinned as he looked between the others.

"Pft, it looks cheap," Aksel crossed his arms, "saw way better when I was a kid."

"I think that's positivity bias there, Aksel," König muttered, earning himself a short nod from Hutch.

"I think we might've wasted our time honestly," Hutch frowned as he gave the building another once-over.

"Oh come on," Horangi groaned, "we haven't even been inside. It might be a lot of fun!"

"Fun?" Askel shook his head and tutted condescendingly, "in this place? I doubt it."

Hutch glared at the offending building behind a pair of sunglasses.

"The website made it look so much better," Hutch complained bitterly as he squared his shoulders back.

Watching Horangi's face fall, König couldn't help but kick himself for being so negative to the place. Without another word, he put a hand on Horangi's shoulder and cocked his head to the side.

"Maybe it might be better on the inside, don't you think?" he offered his friend.

Horangi smiled back brightly, "See! König has the right idea!"

König shrivelled under the judgmental glare of the others. He hated how they looked almost disappointing in him for trying to stand up for Horangi. Really, even if the haunt was just for kids, what was the harm in having fun with it?

"Well hey, they say there's only groups of two here," Horangi pointed at a poorly painted sign, "so I'll go with König and you two buzzkills go with each other."

Aksel rolled his eyes, but threw an arm around the taller man to his left, "Alright, looks like we're together."

"Get your arm off of me," Hutch grumbled.

Not keen to be dragged down by the others, König decided to follow Horangi to the front steps of the home.

Strangely, as König drew closer, he couldn't help but feel that age-old familiar tingle in his chest. Something about the house set him on edge. He didn't want to admit it, but the house certainly unnerved him. He had the feeling something horribly dreadful waited for him inside.

"You know, now that the other two are gone, I'm really digging the vibes here," Horangi elbowed König lightly.

"Ja," König replied stiffly, "it is different without them."

Horangi looked up at his friend skeptically. After observing him carefully, a sly smile slid across Horangi's face.

"Getting a bit spooked, big guy?" Horangi asked.

König snorted, "No, of course not."

"Sure," Horangi drawled, "whatever you say."

König turned to glare, but they were already being called up.

As he stepped up to the ticket taker, he noticed the man turning to an actor and whispering. He tried to ignore how they both seemed to focus more on him than Horangi before the smaller scare actor was shooed off.

As they walked into the house, Horangi worsened his fears when he blithely commented, "They really seemed to be looking at you back there. I wonder why."

König felt positively dreadful.

21:30 - Half an Hour Until the Ban

König looked around him nervously. About five minutes ago, Horangi had disappeared from his side. He could hardly believe it. One minute Horangi was chatting away and the next he was gone. He didn't even really know when he lost the man, he'd long-since tuned out his rambling. Now, he wished he were paying more attention.

Now that he was alone, König couldn't help but notice all the sounds more. The screams pressed on his ears as the rattling of chains snaked through his feet. Sometimes he swore he heard someone panting in his ear, but when he turned there was only the low green light guiding him forwards.

With each step he took, he felt like he was passing through thick webs. Occasionally, thick tarps would block his vision and he'd have to push forward. He tried his best to not let his heart rate spike, but something had him on edge.

A part of him was kicking himself for being in any way, shape or form affected by the house. It was just a haunted house, it was all fake. He'd seen real horror, so why did this get to him? What was it that had his skin crawling?

He didn't know but it just kept getting worse.

König pushed past a curtain of rusted chains to enter what looked like the remnants of a kitchen. In the strobing red lights, he could see blood splatters cake the walls. The shine of metal on the walls clued him in to the knives wallpapering the room. His knees felt weak when he finally noticed the centre of the room.

There, lying down strapped to the dining room, a woman watched him with bright white eyes.

König couldn't help himself as he dashed into the next room.

Those eyes, bright white, staring directly at him, they petrified him like no other. He felt them boring into him, even as he left. He spared a glance behind him and nearly collapsed when he saw the woman turn her head 180 degrees to follow him.

He slammed the next door shut behind him, swallowing him in darkness.

21:45 - Fifteen Minutes Until the Ban

König panted as he slumped against the door. He held his chest tightly, welcoming the darkness around him. Finally he could get away from those eyes. In this darkness, nobody could ever see him.

König closed his eyes and sighed.

When he opened them, a small candle lit the room, revealing the contents to him for the first time.

When he looked around, he wanted to scream.

Mirrors. There were mirrors everywhere. Some as big as him, some smaller than his thumbnail. Ton and tons of mirrors all glinting back at him.

He could see his form slowly distorting in the candlelight. Old memories rushed through him and he trampled forth, knocking down a couple of mirrors in the process and shattering them on the ground.

21:50 - Ten minutes Until the Ban

König ran until he collided into a wall and stumbled back. Now in the low red lights he could see everything around him.

From the room of mirrors he'd walked into a small pioneer classroom. To his horror, every single pair of eyes was on him. He tried walking one way, and the 'students' turned their heads. He walked the other way and they followed him. He glanced around in widening horror as he realized the only exit was at the back of the room.

Without another thought, he pushed forth.

21:55 - Five Minutes Until the Ban

König didn't know why he ever agreed to come here. This place was nothing but a house of torture. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to do anything he could to escape. Any exit he saw only took him further and further into the maze.

How was a small farmhouse so big? It felt endless in here. Each turn brought him new horrors, new eyes staring at him. He tried to get away, but he could feel their eyes on him constantly, watching him run, watching him stumble, watching him as he desperately tried to find an escape.

He barely took in his surroundings as he charged through the building. He could hear something being shouted, could hear footsteps crashing down behind him but he just kept pushing forth. He needed to do anything he could to get away. He could feel his throat tightening and his heart pounding as he ripped down a curtain to get by.

He stumbled through into another black room and felt himself shut down.

21:58 - Two Minutes Until the Ban

The room was silent. Nothing from the outside came in. It was cold, terribly cold. Never had he been so cold. Why was he so cold?

He heard a door unlock, and footsteps step in.

21:59 - One Minute Until the Ban

"Uh, hello?" he heard a quiet voice, "um, is anyone in here?"

A bright flashlight turned on in his face, momentarily blinding him.

König didn't think as he punched into the light. He only heard a squawk and a curse as the light dropped down to the ground. He stumbled back and all the lights turned on.

22:00 - THE BAN

"Dude!" he looked down to find a straggly teen.

"Shit he got Johann," a woman yelled out.

"I told you this was a bad idea," a man grunted as he stepped forth and hauled the teen up to his feet. He gave König a sharp glare and jabbed a finger in his direction.

"Me?" König could feel the panic draining from his system.

"You! Go follow her and get out of here," the man yelled.

König didn't need to be told twice. He quickly found the tiny purple-haired woman and scurried to her side. She eyed him with disgust.

"Seriously dude, that wasn't cool," she sighed, "like, I know we're an extreme haunt, but you can't punch the actors. That's like, the number one rule here."

"Ah, sorry," König muttered weakly.

"Your friend is outside waiting for you," she grumbled as she led him through the back, "I told the guys not to push you too far, but they just wanted to scare the big guy and I guess they went too far. Still," she opened the final door, "you're banned from the haunt. Permanently."

"Why?" König asked meekly as he stepped by.

"You punched the actors dude," she glared at him, "number. One. Rule."

With that she slammed the door in his face, leaving him to join Horangi outside.

Horangi only had to take one look at his friend to figure out what had happened.

"You punched an actor?" he crossed his arms over his chest, "that's like, the number one rule."

"I panicked," König explained weakly.

"You? You panicked?" Horangi frowned, "what the hell did they do to you?"

König shook his head as he leaned over, "Eyes. So many eyes."

"Eyes?"

"And mirrors."

"And mirrors!? König, what sorta haunt did you go to?" Horangi quizzed him, "I just got led around a haunted barnyard!"

"After they split us up," König sucked in another breath, "it was... I didn't think that it would be that bad." Horangi scrunched his eyebrows together, but thankfully only clapped a hand on his back and helped push his friend forward, "Alright, well, I saw some sorta candy place. Looked like dragonsbreath, so I wanted to check it out. Wanna come with?"

König wheezed.

"I'll take that as a yes," Horangi shrugged and dragged König over to the cotton candy vendor.

Konig Dump

Konig Regular Fanfics

[upat4amwiththemoon]

so i checked out your guidelines and you said that you like plot to be included too so i hope this isn't too much for you.

R is 11 here if that's okay with you.

can i ask you to write an avengers x teen!reader where tony adopts a kid from foster care and the team is trying to get her to open up but she locks herself in her room because she's used to moving from home to home or being abused in the system so she's scared to do anything normal like interact and stuff like that. when they showed her room on the first day she was hesitant to go in bc she's used to poor treatment. Wanda and Nat are the first ones to notice her behavior and they point it out to the rest of the team. they come up with a plan to help her but it only pushes her further away from them bc she isn't used to that much attention. they decide that when she's ready she'll come to them so one game night she tip toes downstairs and peaks in the living room to see them having a good time. wanda or vision senses her energy and she tries to silently sneak back but they invite her in and she reluctantly joins them. she isn't too familiar with the games they're playing so they teach her then afterwards they watch a bunch of movies and they're glad they can give her the family she never had.

Family

Summary: Sometimes it takes a while to find your true family.

Pairing: Avengers x teen!reader

Warnings: none

Word count: 1116

a/n: This is not too much at all! Thank you for the request :) (I’m sorry this is terrible)

Tags: @thought-of-you-and-me @rafecameronswhore

Walking into an entirely new surroundings is always anxiety inducing, but it’s especially scary when the people leading you to your so called new room are the world’s mightiest heroes.

There’s two men and two women in front of her, she knows who they are, of course, but she isn’t going to bring it up. Surely they have already sensed it.

One of the men, Iron Man, or Tony, as he told her to call him, is talking constantly. His hands are moving up and down, side to side as he gestures to different rooms and what’s in them. He is walking right in front of her, creating a sort of barrier between them. Wanda on the other hand, is walking next to her, occasionally glancing down at her.

Y/N keeps her eyes on Tony’s back. She doesn’t want to look anyone in the eyes or seem too fearful by mapping out the place.

“And this here,” Tony stops walking and opens a door, “is your room.” He turns to look at her with a big grin.

Not moving, Y/N stares inside the room. The four of them keep looking at her, waiting to see her reaction, but they get none.

Tony clears her throat. “You can go in, kid.” With small steps, she goes into the room. “We know it’s a bit empty, but you just tell me whatever you need and want, and I’ll buy it.”

She doesn’t need anything. It’s not like this room will be hers for long. It’s usual for her to stay in a home for a month at best. So, it’s better to not get attached to anything or anyone.

Wanda has a frown on her face as she watches Y/N set down her tiny bag. She’s worried of the girl, but puts those feelings on the side, this is a big change after all.

“Should we leave you to settle in?” Steve speaks up when the silence starts to drag on for a long time. “Someone could come get you when dinner is ready.”

With a nod from Y/N, the four of them close the door and leave her alone with her thoughts. With no one around, she lets out a deep breath and starts inspecting the room. It’s bigger than any other room she has had, and cleaner.

It’ll definitely be harder to leave this room behind when the time eventually comes.

After two very uneventful days, Natasha and Wanda have started talking with the other Avengers how Y/N doesn’t seem to get better, even though they’re giving her plenty of space. So, they decide to try another approach.

Wanda knocks on the door with a huge smile. Some of the other team members are behind her with boxes.

Opening the door only slightly, Y/N peeks through the gap. “Hi!” Wanda waves. “We got you something, if you could open the door a bit more?” Her voice is gentle and on the quieter side.

Y/N opens the door properly. Her eyes widen when she noticed the others and all the boxes waiting there. “We bought you some furniture and decorations.” Natasha brings one of the boxes in the room. “Obviously, we don’t know for sure what you like, but I think we got some good stuff.”

She stays frozen on her spot, out of the way, staring at the others walking in and out of the room. There are so many of them at the same time. Y/N doesn’t understand what they’re doing. Is this a test?

In fear of being punish for a wrong reaction, she decides to not react at all. Her hands are shaking behind her back, but she doesn’t let them see her fear. She just stares at them with a stoic expression.

“What do you think?” Wanda asks once the things are set. “You can obviously change things around if they aren’t to your liking, but this is a good start, yeah?” When Y/N just nods mutely, Wanda’s smile falls.

A silence falls over the room. Very uncomfortable and heavy silence. “Well,” Natasha clears her throat. “We’ll let you be.”

When the door closes, Wanda and Natasha glance at each other. “That didn’t work out the way I wanted.” Wanda mumbles. “I really thought that’d help her get out of her shell.”

“Maybe we just need to let her be.”

She huffs. “I know, it’s just so difficult when I can basically hear her worries.”

“It’ll happen, lets just do it on her terms.”

A week goes by where it almost seems like Y/N pulled into her shell even more. She wouldn’t speak to anyone, or even want to physically be in the same room as someone else. One of the team members always had to go knock on her door and leave a plate of food in front of it, so she would eat.

Most of the team got back into their regular routines, though their worry stayed the same, but they couldn’t stand outside her door forever. Wanda and Natasha would talk to her through the door at times, even if the conversation was fully one sided.

Today, the Avengers decided to spend the evening playing different board games. It’s not unusual for them, as they like to do bonding activities together.

Tony knocked on Y/N’s door to ask her to join them, but only got a small head shake as an answer. However, after an hour and a half, Y/N opens the door carefully.

She sneaks towards the living room, being cautious not to make any noise. Stopping right before the room, she peaks in. All the team members are laughing and shouting together.

Y/N takes deep breaths to calm herself down, these kind of situations still make her incredibly nervous. Suddenly, Wanda turns to look at her.

Her eyes turn wide and she is just about to turn away to go back to her room’s safety, but Wanda speaks up before she can. “Hey, sweetheart. Do you want to join us?” Now some of the others turn to look at her.

With hesitance, Y/N starts walking towards them. They’re surprised by this, but try their best not to show it. “We’re playing Monopoly. You ever played it?” Tony asks as Y/N sits between Wanda and Natasha.

“No.”

“That’s alright, we’ll teach you.” Wanda smiles, putting one more pawn to the board.

Y/N stays quiet for quite some time during the game night, but when the evening goes on, she starts initiating conversation more and even leans on Wanda’s side at times.

Maybe this family is different after all, it certainly isn’t ordinary.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

all can we get a part 4 of all i wanted was you when they have a baby 😩😩 that would be so cute

Love - Chapter 1

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS

Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤ 

Janelle is played by Justine Skye

Hopefully this is only 2 chapters but you know me lol it might be more.

Sequel to All I Need Is You: Read Here

Taglist: @christinabae @southerngirl41 @reci24 @jeyusos-girl @jeyusosgirl @melaninsugababy @baconeggndcheez @bemybabiibish @jstarr86 @nbanenefrmdao @purplehairgawdess @arination99 @alyyaanna @m3llowww @gomussy @jeysbae @hennyyybarb @babysyhsy @bebesobrielo

“I think I'm pregnant.” Janelle said out of the blue, causing Trinity and Sefa’s wife Maya to choke on their drinks and look over at her. 

“Girl what! What do you mean you think?”  Janelle sighed and looked over to where Josh was playing football with his brothers and some of his cousins. Josh and Janelle had just moved into a new house and Josh had wanted to throw a housewarming party. 

“I mean we haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other lately and my period is late.”  Trinity sat up in her lawn chair and stared at Janelle. 

“Did you take a test?” Janelle shook her head. “Why not?” 

“Because..” She said trailing off and shrugging her shoulders. 

“I mean you and Josh moved into a bigger house for a reason right?” Maya asked, arching her eyebrow. Janelle rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, better schools in this county for Xavi and more backyard space for stuff like this.” She said, nodding her head towards the backyard, where damn near all of Josh’s family had gathered. 

Trinity rolled her eyes. “Ok if the last part was true y’all could’ve gotten a house with 4 bedrooms like the old house, instead yall got 6 bedrooms. What y'all need 6 bedrooms for?” 

Janelle sighed and looked back over at Josh. “I bought the test. I’m just scared to take it.” Trinity jumped to her feet and grabbed Janelle pulling her into the house and Maya followed them. 

“Come on, take the test.” Janelle let Trinity lead her to the bedroom. 

“Lock the door behind you.” Janelle said to Maya as she walked over to her dresser and pulled the pregnancy test out. She looked over and Trinity who pointed to the bathroom door. Janelle ground as she made her way to the bathroom. 

What if she was pregnant? She wanted to have kids with Josh but what if she wasn’t a good mom? What if she actually turned out to be like her mom? 

She jumped when the timer on her phone went off. She wiped her palms on her tights before standing up off the toilet and grabbing the test. She let out a gasp when she seen the plus sign. 

She jumped again when Trinity called her name . “J? What's taking so long?” 

Janelle opened the door and handed Trinity the test. “I’m pregnant.”  Maya gasped and tried to contain her smile.  Maya looked between Trinity and Janelle. Trinity had a wide smile on her face and was bouncing on her toes. Janelle looked scared. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking a bit. 

“Janelle, calm down.” Maya said as she grabbed a hold of Janelle’s hands and let her over to the bed. “Here, sit down.” Janelle sat down and stared down at the test in her hands. Pregnant… She was pregnant. 

“What am I going to do?” She asked looking up at Maya and Trinity. 

“Well for now we’re going to go back outside and continue on with the party. Then you’ll tell Josh and you guys will decide from there.” Maya said rubbing Janelles shoulder comfortably. “Everything is going to be okay.” 

Josh’s face was scrunched up in confusion as he looked around for Janelle. Maya and Trinity were missing too. 

“Hey, have you seen Janelle?” He asked one of his aunties who shook her head. Josh shrugged and made his way into the house, needing to use the bathroom. He decided to use the one in his bedroom. Before he could open the door he heard Trin, Maya and Janelle talking. 

He knew that It was wrong to listen in on their conversation but Janelle had been acting off all day. His eyebrows furrowed when he heard Janelle ask what she was going to do. He was about to walk away when the door opened and Janelle stood in front of him. 

“Josh. What are you doing?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Me? I was coming to use the bathroom. What are you doing?” He asked, peeking into the room. 

“Talking.” She said as Maya and Trinity walked out of the room, giving them privacy. 

“About what?” He asked and she sighed. It was now or never. 

“I’m pregnant.” She blurted out. He froze mid stride. 

“Josh?” She said when he didn’t move. She got off the bed and walked towards his placing a hand on his shoulder, breaking him out of his trance. 

“I uh. I have to pee.” He said pointing towards the bathroom and walking in, shutting the door. Janelle stared at the closed door, she honestly didn’t know how to feel about his reaction. She sighed and plopped down on the bed, resting her head in her hands. She looked up when the bathroom door opened and Josh walked out the bathroom. 

“So” He said, coming and squatting down in front of her. “We’re having a baby.” She nodded. 

“Yeah I think.” She whispered. “Are you okay?” 

“Are you okay?” He countered with. Grabbing her hands and squeezing them. She nodded again. 

“Yeah I'm just..” She trailed off shrugging. “Scared I guess.” He placed a kiss on the back of her hand, 

“That's understandable J.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. He placed his hands on her stomach and smiled at her. “I love you.” She smiled and placed her hands over his. 

“I love you too.” 

“Are you okay?” She asked placing her hand on his knee so he would stop bouncing it. He nodded and shifted in his seat. 

“Yeah, I just wish they hurry up.”  She laughed and looked back at the magazine she was reading. 

“Josh, we only been here for 5 minutes, relax.” He huffed at her and shifted in his seat again. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard her name being called. She and Josh stood up and followed the worker into one of the exam rooms. 

“So I see you’re here because you took a pregnancy test ?” She asked typing on the computer. 

“Yes. We just wanted to make sure it’s not a false positive.” The nurse nodded her head and typed something else. 

“Completely understandable.” She turned in her chair and smiled at Janelle and Josh. “I’ll be right back.” She said getting up and walking out the door. 

Janelle nodded and let out a breath that she was holding. She looked over at Josh who smiled at her. “You good?” He asked her and she nodded. 

They both looked towards the door when it opened and the nurse walked in handing Janelle a urine cup. “The bathroom is this way, you can follow me.” 

“How long does it normally take?” Josh asked once Janelle came back in the room. She shrugged and sat down on the chair next to him. 

“I don’t know.” She said chewing on her bottom lip. “It shouldn’t be that long.”  He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. 

“No matter what. I love you Janelle.” 

“I love you too Joshua.” She said as she leaned over to kiss him. They broke apart once the door opened and the nurse walked in. 

“Hi Ms Porter. So I have your results and you are indeed pregnant.” Janelle let out the breath that she had been holding. “I sent some prenatal vitamins over to the pharmacy we have on file just make sure you take one every morning, preferably in the morning and make sure you take it with food, never on an empty stomach.”  Janelle nodded and smiled at Josh when he placed a hand on her stomach. 

“Let's set you up for a follow up appointment.” Josh leaned over and kissed Janelle on her cheek. 

“We havin’ a baby Nelle.” 

Hey guys. I've been working on this for a minute. Hopefully you all enjoy ❤️

[trancylovecraft]

Um hello, could you write some relationship headcanons for Lucifer from Blue Exorcist with a half human/ half angel s/o? If that’s alright with you, please and thank you. I liked your recent Blue Exorcist headcanons and I’m also excited for season 3!

(BLUE EXORCIST) YANDERE LUCIFER x HALF-ANGEL! READER: Headcannons

Thank you for ordering!

Come again soon!

• Thank you SO much for requesting aoex lucifer like OMG we need more yandere fics of him (and aoex) and I'm willing to provide

• Since angels don’t exist in Aoex as a reference I’m gonna use the stereotypical angel as a guide.

• This takes place following my other headcannons of him once he finally captures you.

• As soon as he does he notices something off about you. A lump in the back of your clothing that seemed to twitch or the way your wounds bled golden.

• Firstly he’d be absolutely stunned. Angels exist? Ridiculous! Yet as he sees your unconscious form, Wings splayed out and all there was no denying it.

• He’d totally be into it though. Lucifer views himself as perfection and you being such a holy and pure being just matches him perfectly.

• Even though you are only half, Though.

• He has a lot of questions about your heritage. Which one of your parents are an angel? Have you met them? Do archangels exist too? Are one of them your parent?

• He asks these questions in such a monotone voice yet he’s really intrigued by who sired you.

• Lucifer also asks about heaven, if you’ve been there and If there really is one and there is a god

• He asks about your wings too. Lucifer thinks they’re absolutely divine and asks (Near pleadingly) to touch them. To which you back away in aversion until his guards bring you forth, He doesn’t care whether you say yes or no. You’re his so he can caress your wings all he wants. 

• Unironically calls you “My Angel” with a straight face.

• When your forced to sleep in the same bed as him he constantly strokes the feathers of your wings, Finding comfort in them.

• Will be testing your blood for any healing properties for his elixr’s. If you do then there is absolutely no way you’re getting out of this place.

• You move to a bigger room so you have more space for your wings.

• The clothing he gets for you will be much more ‘Angelic’ with mostly whites and pastels. Its all for his delusion of divinity with you, Even if you are only half.

• Youll live longer because of your blood. Lucifer is glad about that because it gives him more time to find a way to make you immortal alongside him.

• Homare now goes to bird care classes on her time off.

• Lucifer, When he has a good body, Likes to take you around museums (Which he rents out so you two are alone) and gets you to explain what happened in the religious sections.

• Even if you have no clue since you’re half human and weren’t born around that time, He’ll believe any gibberish you make up and listen with interest.

• Even though he is a demon, He does view himself as more of an angel so he doesn’t see any issue when you say you cant be together due to your conflicting sides. (And that he kidnapped you and touches your wings without consent, But he wasn’t really listening to that part)

• If you ever try to escape him by flying off he will catch you. Both his siblings, Their kin and the Illuminati will have no problem tracking you down.

• The worst part is when you kneel before him after being recaptured, Surrounded by the entire Illuminati as he softly threatens to clip your wings if you do it again.

• Afterwards you now wear leg weights to make it more difficult. While he would definitely clip your wings he wants to keep them in perfect condition, So you’re safe another day.

• Good luck trying to cry for your angelic parent when you’re locked in a angelically warded room!

[its-in-the-woods]

Coyote Head - Part 3 - Head on a pike

master list

Part 1, Part 2,

Pairing: Cooper Howard x Lucy Maclean 

Alternative Universe where I make things up cause I can

Synopsis: Things are not always what they seem, a tossed house, a walk through the woods. What will they find...

MINOR GET OUT. Rating/Warning:  Animal death, blOod/G0re, Alternative Universe, Slow Burn, Death, Aging, Family Feuding, Eventually: Older Man/Younger Woman, Horror themes, long form fic,

Note: that I will not be spoiling any of the reading. So you have been warned. I will keep my tags relevant without spoiling what is happening in the story.

Getting out of the truck, the door squeaks, as Lucy makes her way up the set of steps. She could see the madness of her living space, bookshelves toppled, art and paperwork strewn about the space. Dozens of large dents are in the drywall. Every kitchen cupboard had been opened and tossed. Her bed flipped against the window, blankets scattered, pillows torn, stuffing covering the floor. It was as if a tornado had gone through her home and rucked up everything. She stood in the living room trying to comprehend what had happened. Her stomach revolted as she made her way to the sink, what little breakfast she had coming out into the sink.

“Whoa, whoa,” Cooper said, coming over and rubbing her back, “It’s gonna be alright.”

Lucy's head hung as she turned on the tape, willing the sludge to go down the drain. She moved to grab a glass and filled it up. The man removed his hand much to her disappointment.

“I was only gone for a few hours,” She mumbles, taking a sip of water, tears poking at the corners of her eyes. The whole house was upside down, it was as if someone had hit her in the stomach. She hadn’t lived there long, but it was still her home, the loss of privacy feeling so intimate.

“Sure looks like they were lookin’ for somethin’,” Cooper says, watching Lucy as she sips the water, his eyes moving over the scene in front of them.

“Nothing here but papers,” Lucy hisses, her head still spinning from the vomiting. The reasoning escaping her grasp, she had little to no possession, and it wasn’t like she kept money lying around. Her mind drifted to the reaction of her family members in the small lawyer's office. Was it possible this was something they had organized, maybe in a bid to scare her out of the place?

Cooper looks around, “Did they take anythin’?” His head turning toward the front door. The sound of gravel crunching under tires had them both looking out the window. Uncle Harris was out of his old truck with his 2-70 in hand. Face set in a firm grimace, as he made his way quickly to the front door.

“Don’t shoot,” Cooper chuckles as the man makes his way up the steps, holding his hands in the air in mock surrender.

“Should shoot you on-site, you lead-footed bastard.” Harris grins at the man before his eyes went wide at the scene before him. “Jesus, Lucy, what happened.”

Lucy shook her head, digging around the upturned cabinets for ginger pills. She needed something to take the edge off her nausea.  “Not sure, left about two hours ago and came back to this.”

The two men walking up and down as Lucy took stock of everything around them. Despite the horrid mess, nothing seemed to be gone. The maps were destroyed, and a handful of bookshelves were mangled beyond repair, but that was minor. There were several large holes in the walls, bigger than a man's fist but smaller than a head. Not including a dozen smaller ones that could be mudded over. They’d need to be patched sooner than later. Of course, there was the front door and the fact that half the cupboard doors were off their hinges.  It all felt so daunting to look at, where would she even start with all of this mess?

“I am gonna call Margie, get her to come help with this. I think I may have a door in the barn we could use for the front temporarily. Even if it’s just to keep the mice at bay.” Harris rattles on as Lucy gathers up things. She digs around and finds garbage bags and a broom to start cleaning.

“At least the table and desk are okay,” Cooper notes, helping Lucy pile all the papers onto the flat surface. His fingers lingering on hers as he hands her another stack.

“What do you think did this?” Lucy asks, her hands shaking as she makes sure all the papers are there. Thanking herself for having backup copies stored in a cloud online, at least she didn't have to worry about any losses there.

“Looks human to me,” Harris said as he flips open his phone to call his wife while leaning against the broom.

Lucy looks at Cooper, his hand up as if measuring the hole, “I’d agree with you Uncle. Thinkin’ if t’was an animal there’d be scat or other marks.”

Lucy looks at everything, there was no hair, blood, scat, or anything indicating that it was an animal. But it also didn’t feel right, predatory, and clinical, as if something was trying to get under her skin. Not human, but not animal either. It had gotten to her if she was honest, between the lack of sleep and hallucinations of black shadowy creatures. She was about ready to turn tail and not look back. But where would she go? This was her home now, and yes it had been turned upside down, but it was still hers. How could she leave the place her Grandpa had given her? She had never run from anything in her life, despite any hardships she had faced.

Her Uncle left to pick up Lucy’s Aunt, as well as grab a door, some putty for the holes, and a few other pieces to help repair the damage. Lucy and Cooper spent the time gathering up what was salvageable and removing what wasn’t. Ever grateful she had kept the large garbage bin in the yard and had help to move stuff out. It would be a few hours of cleaning before the place was sort of right. It wasn’t really, the place felt darker, like the sun couldn’t shine through the windows. As if a heavy fog had been dropped over them. No matter how much they cleaned, it felt like the stain wouldn't lift. It was like a greyscale filter being slotted over the space.

As Margie and Harris came down the drive; Cooper left to grab his kids, he'd promised to be back with them. Lucy tried to focus on one stack of trash at a time. She really regretted quitting smoking right now, a smoke would be amazing. At least it would help calm her down for a few. She helped her family unload the truck with all the bits and bobs they’d need to make it somewhat livable, or at the very least keep out the mice. Maybe she needed to get a cat on top of a dog or two.

Cooper came in with his two kids in tow, a little dark-haired girl with freckles, and a brown hair boy who loorked strikingly like his Dad. Somewhere along the way, he had also grabbed his hat. Lucy found herself liking that hat, something about a man that could wear one without looking ridiculous was hard to ignore. They were both polite and said hello. It was not lost on Lucy how they took in the place, it was clear they had concerns. Margie had offered to make dinner for everyone, which Lucy and Cooper agreed to. Harris had also insisted that Lucy stay at his place for the night. Lucy was more than happy to take up the offer, the last thing she wanted was to stay overnight here without a lock on the door.

Many of the cupboard doors needed to be fully replaced. Where the front door used to be was now a heavy steel one; that Uncle Harris had bought several years ago for a shed. They had even replaced the door frame. There was no deadbolt, just a handle and hole, but that would have to do for now until Lucy could get back to town. The smaller holes had been mudded, the large ones would need pieces of drywall. Despite everything the place looked somewhat okay. Lucy had even managed to put her small amount of groceries away. Despite the mess being gone, it still felt like the place was dirty. Like somehow the holes would reopen and the papers would throw about spontaneously.

“Why don’t you kids head over to Granny’s place? Let her know we will be having dinner at Margie’s,” Cooper said firmly, handing the keys to his truck to Matthias. Janey whining about never getting to drive.

“Don’t you worry, once you can reach the petals I’ll teach you,” Cooper said with a smile, rubbing Janey’s head of curls. “Now run on home and make sure you’re cleaned up for dinner.”

Magie stood, stretching and kissing Harris, “We should be heading to make sure these hard-working folks got some food.”

Harris nods, before looking at Lucy, eyebrows raised in concern. “You gonna be okay with just Cooper?”

“Yeah, I think I will be fine. I am sure the two of us are more than capable” Lucy replies, plastering on a forced smile. “Just gonna walk the fields and see what we can see.”

Harris walks over to the new door, where he had set his gun, “I am gonna leave this with you along with a spare clip, alright? Get your gun license renewed, and some more ammo. But for now, I will leave that there just encase”

“Thank you, Uncle Harris,” Lucy said with a nod, adding it to her mental checklist. “I will make sure it gets back to you.”

“Hopefully you won’t have to use it,” Margie sighs as she follows her man out the door.

Cooper watches them leave, before turning back to Lucy. “You good if we go for a walk? See what we might find,”

Lucy nods, Cooper grabs his gun placing it over his shoulder, and Lucy does the same along with the spare clip. It felt heavy, an uncomfortable comfort, she had hunted with her Granddad for years. But this felt different like she was the one being hunted. it felt like she was being stalked. Lucy was incredibly grateful that Cooper had offered to come along, she doubted she’d have the nerve to walk around here on her own. In fact, she knew she wouldn’t have gone out there without him beside her.

Cooper turned towards her as they walked towards the edge of the forest, “You mentioned you thought ya saw somethin’ last night?”

“I was tired, thought I saw maybe a dog? Run through the yard.” Lucy answers, shifting the rifle onto her other arm. “I kept feelin like something was watching me ya’no.”

“Mmmhmm, maybe a mountain lion came down,” Cooper adds as they look down at the ground, a well-worn trail in front of them.

“Haven’t been mountain lions sighted here in years,” Lucy adds, she had never had to worry about cougars. Bears, wolves, coyotes sure, but cougars were different.

“The Roths said they saw a Mom and cubs last spring.” Cooper ponders, Lucy liked how he took things seriously but kept his head on him. He never dismissed what she had to say.

“Really? This far east of the mountains.” Lucy spoke, amazed that great feline beasts were back in the prairies.

“Yeah grizzlies too,” Cooper said, stopping to look at some footprints, “Looks like coyotes were here. Not too surprising like rats.”

Lucy took a look at the tracks, it had rained a few days ago, and the mud showed clear impressions of the canine. There were a few smaller ones that looked like rabbits if she peered into the densely wooded area she could make out game trails. Cooper had moved up a bit, looking down into the woods himself. His body ridged like he had spotted one of the mountain lions they were just talking about. Hat tipped up and eyes transfixed on whatever was ahead of him.

“Whatcha see?” Lucy asked, coming to stand beside him and looking into the woods. Down a game trail almost out of sight was a stump stripped of bark. Sitting on top of the starkly white wood was a coyote’s head, not old, but fresh. Its eyes were wide as if its last moments had been full of fear, blood, and gore dripping down the sides of the stump. It was a grotesque scene, something more akin to a horror movie than real life.

“What in the-” Lucy said, going to step down the trail. Cooper’s big hands pulling her back, she turns to see Cooper staring at her, hazel eyes wide with fear.

“Don’t go in there, Lucy.” He said voice low, but forceful. The man was scared and holding onto her arm to stop her from entering the woods. She could feel the way his fingers were digging into her arm.

“It’s just someone trying to mess with us,” Lucy said, trying to brush him off and move past him but he wouldn’t budge. He made sure to keep himself between her and the woods, she would have been offended if it was anyone else.

“No, that’s a warning,” The man said, tugging her away from the place. Lucy looks back at the poor creature. Coyotes were walking vermin for most farmers, but they didn’t deserve to have their heads on pike.

Cooper continues to tug on her arm, “Let’s finish the rounds.” He was already moving them away from the scene. Lucy having to no choice but to follow him.

Lucy jogged trying to keep pace with the man, “Didn’t take you for a superstitious man.”

Cooper turned to her, a small smile crossing his face, “Maybe I am, but somethin’ doesn’t feel right out’er. Never seen anythin’ like that, that was someone trying to make a statement.”

“If they were trying to make a statement why didn’t they put it on my front door?” Lucy adds, Cooper was right something was wrong. Not that it explained why someone would do any of this.

Cooper breathed in and let it out, “I don’t know, Lucy. I don’t know a lot about these things, but I won’t trust something like that back’er. There are things in these woods that we’ll never understand.”

Lucy nods and kept following beside him. Observing more sets of tracks, coyotes, rabbits, and other large prints that look closer to bobcats. Thankfully no other coyote heads on any of the game trails they passed. That dark icky feeling that had crawled over Lucy’s home was also here. Not as pungent as it had been by the coyote's head, but still enough to make her heart speed up.

As they came to the center of the property a large cut had been made through the brush for ATVs to get in and out easily. Once again Lucy was struck with how dark the place felt, even with full sun it felt like the tree’s shadows were longer. The green was closer to black than it had any right to be. It made her feel cold, a shiver covering her arms as she looked into what was once a familiar place. She and Norm had spent many hours on ATVs running around trails; walking with their Grandma to pick berries or wild mint and other herbs. Now, it felt like she had never stepped foot in the place.

As they stood there looking at the space, Lucy spotted the first signs of something wrong. Scuffs in the ground, spaced roughly five feet apart, she walks closer, the ground wasn’t as soft here. The marks were deep gouges lifting roots and leaf mold. She runs her fingers over the dirt, outlining them. With three big toes, the creature had been moving toward the forest judging by the deeper impression facing towards the bush. The prints looked eerily close to an extremely large chicken track.

“Ever seen anything like that?” Lucy asks, Cooper, coming over and crouching down beside her. Using his finger the same way she had to outline the thing. His hat covered his eyes as he looked at the markings.

“Looks like-” He looks forward to the next print and then behind them. “A bird? Like a big bird. But that can’t be right.”

Moving between prints they went back up towards the house slightly and then disappeared. It was like the footprints had dropped out of the sky, much the same as a bird.  Walking back into the woods there were two that went in and then stopped. The two looking all around, trying to find any other evidence of the beast or whatever it was. Lucy looks up and points to what she sees among the trees.

“Look at that.” She whispers, her voice still echoing in the cathedral of trees. “Is that fur?”

The two of them stood side by side looking up into the bunches of pine branches. Up about ten feet was a tuft of brown fur. The more they looked the more they saw, at least half a dozen spots with various sizes of fur on them.

“Maybe the cougar?” Cooper asks, looking at Lucy and then back at the pieces of fur. “Got to be a cougar. They like to drag their meals up into the trees.”

Lucy squinted more, trying to see if there was anything else they were missing, “Got to be it right? How else would that get up there? Do cougars eat coyotes?”

“Cougar doesn’t explain these,” Cooper points down at the marks, “Like if those are tracks, the critter woulda been over ten feet tall. No way it could fit in the trailer.”

Lucy snorts, “In the trailer? How does it just disappear into the woods? There’s what. Five prints. Maybe it’s somethin’ digging in the ground, lookin’ for worms or something. Like a badger?”

Cooper removed his hat and rubbed at his head, looking at all the marks and then back up at the fur. He put his hat back on, dug out his phone, flipping his camera on.

“Do you mind?” He asked Lucy, as he went to take a photo of the prints.

“Nah, go for it.” She said pulling out her phone to do the same thing. Maybe someone they knew would be able to give her answers.

Cooper rubs his forehead, “Badger, maybe but spread out and even like this. Doesn’t make sense, this looks more like an animal walkin’ than something diggin',”

They stood there for a moment looking from the forest and then down at the tracks. Lucy wondering if she should go further in, maybe there would be more clues there. She could feel a small tug on her naval, a spark of something trying to call her in. Yet they stood there frozen, unable to move from their spots beside the other.

The sounds of a truck horn woke both of them from their musing. Lucy let out a sigh and closed her phone. Cooper looking back towards the house and then back into the woods.

“Think that’s our dinner bell,” Lucy said walking towards the house. She got about a hundred yards before turning back. Cooper still stood in the treeline looking around. “Cooper, you comin’?”

Cooper turned to her, blinking a few times as if he had just been awoken before he headed back up the hill. The two of them get to the top and see the kids waiting in the truck by the house. Lucy and Cooper tuck the guns safely away from the kids under the front bench seat, before taking off for dinner.

part four

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Tag: @toogaytofunctiondangit

[whovianwriter]

leonard mccoy x reader

Everything

AN: Thank you so much for requesting, sorry it took me so long I restarted like three times cause I kept changing my mind on different things. Feel free to request anything!

Warnings: Blood, injury to the reader, hurt/comfort, thoughts about death, sad but then happy at the end

“Damn it, the engine was hard to fix but I finally got it.”

Y/N said as she was walking to her desk, then she felt the ship shake due to the engine going back on line but the shake would get worse before it got better. So she tried to stabilize herself with her desk as she waited for it to finish. But Then she saw one of the interns carrying nails and pieces of junk before she knew what happened. He fell on top of her and she felt the pain a couple minutes later as she felt something wet and warm get soaked through her uniform. There was yell and her vision began to fade when she saw Scotty picking her up. 

“Come on Lass, keep your eyes open. You can’t fall asleep.” 

It was getting hard to focus but she knew that this might not be ending on a happy note, she saw memories rush to her. Her childhood, a million smiles, some tears then she saw Leonard when they first met at the Academy. They started dating and fell in love, their wedding, they both just swayed to the music for so long they didn’t want the day to end. They both knew that they had finally found the right person for their other half. “Tell .. Lee.. I.. Love .. him.”

“You can tell him that yourself, Once you get fixed up.”

They soon got to the medbay and he laid her down at one of the tables, when Leonard came out to see what the noise was when he saw her. His wife bleeding out as he ran, a nurse stopped him as three doctors got to her. They knew he couldn’t work on her, they were too close. He felt the anger as her eyes closed and then he was upset then the anger came through. Scotty pulled him outside so the medical team had as much space they needed. “How the hell did that happen?!?”

As Scotty told him what information he had, Leonard was a mess as he kinda went into shock as he kept looking into the window to see anything but couldn’t he then saw the red on Scotty’s shirt and it made him want to hurl. That’s Y/N’s blood, he sat on the floor looking down trying to see if this was some horrible dream. He then saw another pair of feet run up to them and saw Scotty walking away and the new person kneeled in front of him lifting his head. It was Jim. “She’s going to be okay.”

Leonard looked back to this morning when they were snuggled together in their room, she had her head on his chest, his arm wrapped around her. Holding her like she was his life line. Their legs tangled together as she played with his free hand, ‘We should just call off, stay in bed. Snuggle, watch old shows and eat the leftovers. I’m too comfortable to move.’

‘Darlin’ as much as I want to do that, we only have a half day today and then we are off for a week for shore leave. I promise we can do all that tomorrow.’

‘Fine, but I hope you know I will expect cheesy rom coms as well.’

He laughed and kissed the top of her head before starting to untangle himself from her to get ready for the day, but once he stood she still didn’t stand up but was stretching out on the bed, he bent down and kissed her before saying, ‘I wouldn’t expect anything else, sweetheart.’

The sound of the hiss of the door opening brought Leonard back to the present, he slowly got up and relied on Jim a little so he wouldn’t lose his balance. It was one of the afternoon doctors coming to talk to them. He couldn’t remember his name right at the moment. “Y/N is going to be ok, we gave her a sleep hypo, so her body can heal a bit before we wake her up tomorrow morning. We made sure to get everything out but she will be sore for the next couple days at the very least. The damage wasn’t too bad, it hit bigger veins so that was why there was so much blood. You can come in and sit with her, Doctor McCoy.”

—------------------------------

“Len, I swear I will hit you with a pillow if you do not stop following me. I’m only going to the bathroom, I’ll be back in like 4 minutes.”

They got back to their room the next day in the late afternoon, since then which had only been a day he followed her everywhere just to make sure that she didn’t need his help. She had woken up with ease and even cracked a joke. She then wanted to make sure the intern was alright, he was wearing a welding apron, the most he got was a bruise. 

Leonard felt like if he left her alone for too long he would see that he was still in the medbay waiting to see if she would wake up. He was thinking about that when she came out of the bathroom and came over and crawled into his lap looking at him while she had one hand on his cheek. “I’m ok Len.”

“I thought I was gonna lose you.”

“But you didn’t, I’m right here we both are. I admit I thought that that might have been the end for a second and all I could think of is you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, when we met, all the jokes you tell, our wedding where we stayed the whole night on the dance floor. I told Scotty to tell you that I love you. He responded with ‘You can tell him yourself.’” 

“Ok I’m cutting off the rom coms, that was so cheesy.”

Y/N laughed then turned her attention onto her husband, “I love you Leonard McCoy, you are my everything.”

“I Love you, you are my everything.”

She bent down and kissed him, till they both couldn’t breath.

[deathofpeaceofmiiind]

high infidelity | two

Put on your records and regret meeting me, I bent the truth too far tonight I was dancing around it *Noah’s POV* Damn, this girl was something else. I won’t ever admit it but I saw her and her friends before I even went on stage. During the show I was looking for my in-ears backstage and I saw her from the corner of my eye with her friends. I had to chuckle watching them dance around and sing every word during Dayseeker’s set. She stuck out amongst her friends though, her long jet black hair, bright red lips and golden skin really caught my attention…she had this glow about her that I couldn’t describe. When we came onto the stage I found her immediately and had a hard time keeping my eyes off her. Every time I walked past her, I kept noticing new things about her. She had a rose tattoo on her sternum, Roman numerals down the side of her neck and a full sleeve of butterflies and peonies on her right arm. I even made a conscious effort to sit near her during Who are you? and as soon as I saw her bright green eyes flash at me, it was game over. I knew I needed to meet her. Then I met her without even trying.

You can’t tell me that wasn’t fate even though it was super embarrassing she found me in the women’s bathroom. I thought I was in the clear since it was just my band and crew backstage but that was a terrible calculation. Also have you shared a bathroom with a bunch of other dudes? Sometimes you just need your own space and the women’s bathroom had a bigger shower. 

She really did have to use the bathroom so I gave her some privacy but I waited outside in the hall for her. Her scent of salted caramel and vanilla lingered under my nose and I couldn’t get enough. The guys and I were going to head to a brewery after the show and since Seattle wasn’t far we planned to travel there in the morning instead of overnight. This was our first time in Vancouver so we wanted to make the best of it. 

I texted our photographer Bryan about her before putting my phone back in my pocket. He was surprised at my actions considering that I never entertained women on the road, let alone a fan. Something was telling me she was different. I heard the hand dryer going in the bathroom before she opened the door. Her eyes widened as she saw me standing there. “So do you just hang out inside and outside women’s bathrooms?” “Yeah, I was told if I got caught again it would be my third strike.” She laughed and had a huge smile on her face. Fuck, even her smile was gorgeous. She flashed me her green eyes again and I could’ve melted at her feet. God what was she doing to me…

“Sorry, I hope this isn’t too forward, but me and the guys are heading to this brewery down the road. Do you want to come?” “Sure. I’ll just text my friends, they’re back here somewhere.” She replies as she pulls her phone out. I catch myself watching her every move. Her nails were painted a dark maroon and she had the hidden leaf village symbol from Naruto tattooed on her thumb. I smirked, not what I was expecting us to have in common. “I just realized I never caught your name.” I managed to get out. Her eyes find mine and suddenly I’m putty in her hands. “Elliot, but you can call me El.” Why was that suddenly the most beautiful name I have ever heard? *Elliots POV* 

Before I knew it we were all sitting at a large table at this cozy brewery having drinks with Bad Omens and their crew. My brain couldn’t process what was going on at all. The boys seemed to have picked one of my friends to talk to and we were hitting it off really well. Noah went up to order some beers for us, I offered him my credit card but he said this round was on him. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him as he walked back to me. “I really couldn’t decide what to get so I got some of those beer flight things to try everything.” He smirked as he sat beside me. His leg brushed against mine and blood rushed to my cheeks again. “That works for me.” I shrugged. “Everything here is really good.” Noah crosses his arms on the table and brings his gaze to me. Those beautiful brown eyes were causing me to go into a spiral. The brewery was so loud but damn, when he looked at me it got quiet. He had a way of making you feel like you were the only one in the room. I was trying so damn hard to not get caught up in it because I didn’t know who he really was. For all I know he could do this every night when he was on tour. I also wanted to live in the delusion that I was the first girl he ever asked out after a show. Get a grip, Elliot. “Do you come here much?” He asked breaking the silence and snapping me back into reality. “I’ve been here a few times, but there’s just so much to choose from living here.” “Do you have a favourite?” “Yeah I do. There’s actually a bar in my neighbourhood I go to a lot. It’s actually a wine bar where they make their own wines, they have the comfiest couches and the best charcuterie boards.” “Sounds like my kind of place.”

Our drinks come to the table and he immediately wrapped his hands around the darkest beer we got. I grabbed one of the lighter looking beers and look a sip of it before we swapped to try each others. Both of our faces scrunched up in disgust before we immediately switched glasses again. I studied the tattoos on his hands as he grabbed the cold glass from me, noticing the heart he had on one of his fingers. I forgot what we were talking about…

“I really like Vancouver so far.” He continued. “It’s like Seattle but the people are way nicer.” “Canada is definitely the superior country.” I chuckled.

He raised his eyebrow at me before moving onto the next beer, “Well, I am looking for a new home base.”

“Not loving California anymore?” “It’s not that I don’t like it…” He pauses to take a sip of his beer. “I’ve always wanted to live in the Pacific northwest area. The weather is more to my liking and people seem to leave us alone. I really like my privacy and people in LA are starting to recognize us more and more. I know it comes with the territory but after quarantine I realized how important it is to have a home base where you can be yourself.” “I get that.” I replied. “Every one deserves to have a safe space to come home to every night.” “Do you have that?”

“I’m working on it.” I muttered, knowing my home life was in absolute shambles. The more drinks we had the more comfortable we got with each other, not like we needed that much liquid courage though. We talked like old lovers picking up where we left off and I admired how respectful he was being towards me. I put my hand over his by accident but he didn’t seem to mind, he just squeezed my hand with a Cheshire Cat smile on his face. I noticed he had the same Naruto tattoo on his hand that I had and we ended up having a long conversation about the anime. We oddly seemed to have the same opinions on it and he showed me a photo of his thigh tattoo of Itachi he recently got. A few moments later I excused myself to the bathroom to gain my composure. I pulled out my phone and found my lawyers number. It was time. “I’m ready.” “Come see me tomorrow…I’m so proud of you for finally doing this, Ellie.” I took a few more breaths before walking back towards our table. I sat beside Noah and his cheeks were getting rosy, it was beyond adorable. His hand grazed over my thighs as he reached for my hand again. Euphoria filled my body and didn’t want it to stop, I didn’t want him to stop touching me. “Do you want to get out of here?” Noah whispered in my ear. “Wow you move fast.” I joked as I pushed his hair out of his face, almost pouting because his hair was so much shorter now. Still, it gave him a Disney prince kind of vibe that I adored. “Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a walk or go somewhere more quiet.”

“A walk at this time of night? Are you going to murder me, Noah?” “Oh god no - I was - I -um-“ He was stuttering over his words and I couldn’t help but laugh. He was getting more embarrassed and covered his face with his hands. “I’m kidding Noah.” I reassured him by moving his hands away from his face, “there’s another bar I like we can go to. It’s attached to the Hyatt down the street.” “That’s our hotel.” He smirked before finishing off his beer. We got up from the table and said our goodbyes to our friends. Danielle shot me a look and I just shrugged my shoulders at her cause I had no idea what I was doing. We got outside and started to walk towards his hotel slowly, we didn’t say much but he reached for my hand and I grabbed his with no hesitation. After seeing his bands reaction to us leaving together, it definitely told me he didn’t do this very often. This started to feel genuine and I knew I had to tell him the truth. Noah’s POV She was such a calculated risk and I knew that. Honestly, I wasn’t really one to find a girl at our show and try to take her home. Most of the guys would invite some of our female fans to chill with us but I wasn’t interested. All these girls just wanted to be with us because of who we were. Sure, Elliot knew who we were but after spending time with her she made me feel like she saw past the bullshit and saw me as just Noah. She stopped halfway up the stairs to our hotel and her energy had shifted as she dropped my hand. Her green eyes deepened as she looked up at me, causing my heart dropped into my stomach. “Noah, I need to tell you something.”  “You can tell me anything.” I partially lied because I didn’t want to know what was next. “I’m in the process of getting divorced.” She bit her lip and looked down at her feet. “I wanted to tell you sooner but...” Go figure, the first women I’ve fallen for in years was still married. “What?” I could feel my voice trembling. I looked at her and I see tears forming in her eyes. I knew this wasn’t an easy thing for her to tell me, but I couldn’t fight off the anger that was boiling inside of me. “So you wanted to see where this was gonna go before dropping a bomb like that? “Noah…Please.” A few tears fell down her face as she looked at me. “Can you blame me? You’re in a fucking band! How the fuck was I supposed to know you don’t take a girl home every night?” “So this is my fucking fault then? You assumed I just fuck my way though my tours?” “NO!” She yelled at me causing a few people to look at us. “No…” She repeated, this time in a whisper. I could feel my own tears forming as I felt myself losing her before I even had her. She looked in the opposite direction of me and I could see her mascara starting to run down her face. I wanted to desperately wipe it away but my heart was telling me to walk away and forget about her. I swore off love years ago and I should’ve kept it that way. “Good night Elliot.”

[ladylooch]

Loving & Leaving - Part 6

Visit the series page here.

A/N: The ending we all deserve 😭 Thank you so much for your love and support on this one. Writing these two was so fun and I secretly never want it to end. I did a quick lil poll on Saturday and you guys want to see more! So, there will be more at some point, probably sprinkled in with other requests. Or if you have an idea for me, send it over when requests open again!

Word Count: 4.6k

Warnings: SMUT 18+ Content, swearing, breastfeeding.

As an event planner, and a bride, I’m throughly impressed with how our wedding has turned out.

When Timo suggested on Day 2 of Lio’s life that we get married before the season, I looked at him like he was crazy. But then, Rhea came to visit us in the hospital. I casually mentioned the possibility of a small, September wedding to her. My best friend’s eyes began to sparkle.

“Just say go and I’ll get it together.” She held her hands in front of her face like she was pleading with me.

Timo said go before I could stop him.

The reality of it all coming together was better than if I had two years to plan it. Rhea and I called in favor after favor from our contacts. Our beloved vendors showed up in droves, offering their services despite the quickness to create a perfect day for us. The biggest surprise was the availability of the Storchen in Zurich. Their gorgeous banquet room easily houses the 75 people who are here to celebrate our nuptials. It’s a smaller group because of the timing, which is tine with us. Timo and I would have been fine just us and Lio. 

I’m grabbing another glass of champagne at the bar, taking the opportunity to appreciate our work. It really has been the best day. From getting ready, to the first look and our written vows, even when Lio spit up on Timo’s jacket and he had to go without for the ceremony. It was all perfect. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“Here you are. Congratulations, Emma!” Marc, the bar manager, cheers me with a wink.

“Thank you. For everything today.” 

“Only for you. We are going to miss you.”

“I’ll be back.” I nod earnestly.

And I will be. While Rhea is running our business in Switzerland, I’ll be launching it in New Jersey. I’m both excited and terrified at the prospect of going international with the little business I formulated out of college. Timo keeps assuring me there is no way I can fail. Not when we are together.

My lips twist up at the thought. I turn, leaning back against the bar and seeing my husband across the room in conversation with Nico and Philipp Kurashev. He looks so damn good tonight. I can barely wait to have him. He’s standing next to the wall of windows, sipping a drink and listening to Nico speak. A chuckle shakes his shoulders. His gaze lifts, scanning the people until his blue eyes rest on me. He scans along my body, smiling bigger in recognition of my look. He tosses me a wink. 

But there is no more game to play. We’ve already caught each other for life.

He moves back into conversation with my brother, adding something that makes both Nico and Phillipp laugh. I bite my lip, deciding I’m done not being the center of his attention. My brown eyes feast on my husband as I approach the three men. Timo laughs loudly and then takes a long pull from his whiskey. As he lowers the glass, his blue gaze finds me closer than before. Timo steps through the circle, completely uninterested in the conversation now that I’m within touching distance.

“Mrs. Meier.” It’s more than a greeting. The tone of his voice is ecstatic as his lips find mine. I sigh, melting briefly into his chest. One of his hands slides down my side to my ass, resting there confidently. 

“Your wife needs help.” I breath out when we pull apart.

“With?”

“Getting out of this dress.” His eyes deepen before scanning down my body. 

“Lead the way.” 

I slide my hand into his and we begin to walk from the room together. Soon, we are out of the event space and alone in the hall. Timo takes the opportunity to put his lips against my neck. I suck my cheeks in, nibbling briefly before an unstoppable moan falls from my mouth. I stop in front of the bridal suite, hand on the knob, tilting my head more to the side as his lips explore further. His tongue dips into the crook of my neck.

“Open the door.” He murmurs around his kisses. I do as I’m told so we can walk in together. Once the door is shut, he begins tugging at his tie. “You need help with something else besides this dress?” I bite my lip, nodding enthusiastically.

“There are rules to this though.” I say, watching him while trying to keep my desire at bay a little longer. “You need to undo the buttons completely. No ripping.” His eyes narrow slightly but he nods.

“Turn.” He demands as he approaches. I do so and sweep the curled tendrils of my hair into a bun at the nape of my neck. “Remember last time I took a dress off of you?” He presses his mouth to the meaty part of my neck, sinking his teeth in there for a moment.

“Yes, we have a six week old as a daily reminder.” Goosebumps break out onto my skin as I feel Timo’s fingers on the first button. I close my eyes and focus on deep breaths to take the edge off. I want him. Every part of him. Every inch of his skin on mine until the ache I have for him settles into something more bearable. The fabric begins to separate as he works a few more buttons loose. He stops for a moment, leaning forward and placing his lips against the indents bruising my skin. 

“Mmm.” I hum. Timo stills. 

“Baby.” His voice is a low, warning of a growl. “Let me rip this off you. I will buy you a new one.” My eyes open and meet his in the vanity mirror in front of us. He looks like a man possessed- blue eyes molten, tight jaw, nostrils flared. I shake my head because I can’t say the word no when he is looking at me like that. He sucks his cheeks in and pushes out a heavy exhale before continuing. 

His fingers move faster, more careless with each slice of skin exposed to him. Finally, the last button releases and the fabric loosens around my upper body. Timo’s hands slide around, finding my wet folds, brushing each of his fingers against them. I lean back into his chest as he stokes me. His jaw brushes my temple as I feel him pulling steady breaths into his lungs. My eyes open and I watch us together in the mirror. The grip of desire tugs at me from deep within and I pant when he grinds his hips into me. Even through the fabric of my dress, I can feel how hard he is.

“How are you going to fuck your wife for the first time?” I ask into the mirror. He grins as he nibbles against the side of my throat. His fingers stretch my folds open to forcefully press into my clit with his middle finger. My knees buckle, shoving my ass into his hard length.

“Exactly how she likes it.” He says against my wet skin. “Fast… and deep… until she can’t speak.”

With that, I pull my arms from the straps of my dress and turn. Timo wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me up so the dress falls completely to the ground.  He sets me down immediately. I begin tugging at his belt, needing him as quickly as possible. Timo watches me with those same hungry eyes as I pull him from his pants and slide my lips against the plumped head. I only get a few licks and sucks before he is pulling me off of him, guiding me to lean against the back of the couch. He shoves his pants the rest of the way down so they settle around his ankles. Then his hands are on my hips, roughly pulling me back to him. His plumped head bumps against my entrance before he eases me down. My fingers curl into fists at how tightly he fills me. 

“You okay?” He groans, aware that we haven’t had sex much since Lio was born. Sure, it’s a little uncomfortable, but I don’t care about that. The pain I need him to ease right now is a tight coil in my abdomen, begging for release. My manicured nails dig deeply into my palms as I assure him I’m fine and plead him to move.

“Fuck. My wife feels incredible.” He praises. He leans over me and begins to fuck me exactly like he told me he would. I reach back, shoving his white shirt away so our bodies can connect fully with no barriers. 

“T, I’ve been needing you like this all day” I cry. I feel his chest rumble with agreement along with a breathy kiss on my neck. “Just like that.” I encourage him as each thrust fills me completely. I wrap my hand around the back of his neck, then turn to wetly kiss his mouth.

“I can tell. You’re so wet.” He pulls out less and less each time until I feel the coil intensify to the point I can’t breathe. His balls slap me hard with each intense thrust. My mouth fades away from his as I feel the release begin. It crashes into me, rushing through my veins, tightening my nipples and making my husband groan deep in his chest. His grip on my hips is powerful as I feel his warm cum coat my walls. He pushes out a strangled breath, resting his forehead against my back. For a few moments, only our heavy breathing fills the room. Finally, Timo raises his head, placing kisses along my back where the divots are still present from my dress.

I stand to my full height and turn to drape my arms around his shoulders. He slides his arms around me, hands pressing me tightly to him. I lay my cheek against his chest. We sway gently, holding one another intimately after the best day of our lives.

“That was spectacular.” I murmur to him.

“That was just round one, baby.” He smooths my hair delicately as he talks.

“Good. Because I have something for you later that you’ll like.” I smile coyly, thinking of the bridal lingerie I purchased for us.

“We don’t… need to go back right? We can just leave and head to bed.”

“No.” I narrow my eyes at him, pulling away. “Plus, some things are worth the wait.”

“I hate waiting to have you.” He teasingly snarls his lip at me. I shrug my shoulders which makes my breasts dance against the buttons of his shirt. My nipples tighten into large points. Timo pouts, knowing they’re off limits. I chuckle lightly, stepping away from him. He immediately reaches for my hand, tugging me back into his chest. His ocean eyes drink me in- sparkling eyes, pink cheeks, and smudged lip paint from his kisses. The smile he gives me has my knees weak. “How am I lucky enough to have you forever?”

“I was just wondering the same thing.” I lean forward and give him a sweet, sincere kiss. His hand travels down, grabbing a fistful of my bare butt. “Love you, T. For the rest of my life.” We stare at each other for another few moments before a knock sounds at the door. Timo turns so my naked body is shielded by his.

“Hey! Meiers! It’s cake time!” I hear Rhea’s voice come through the door. “Quit fucking and get out here!” She doesn’t even give us a chance to respond before she is off down the hallway again, laughter following her steps.

“I think our reputation has caught up with us.” I press a final kiss to his lips before crossing the room for my reception dress. It’s ivory fabric that drapes to mid calf. The A line cut gives way to sleeves that drape along my biceps for an off the shoulder look. I slide into it then turn to my husband for him to zip me up. I rearrange my diamond necklace and kick off my heels to slide into sparkling, pink sneakers. I turn to Timo for his approval. 

“Perfect.” I nod in appreciation, then walk across the room to retouch my lipstick.

In the meantime, Timo redresses in his pants. He works the buttons of his shirt down so it isn’t tight against his throat anymore. He sheds his tie and rolls up his sleeves to expose his tan forearms. I pause from replacing the cap on my lipstick as he finishes the last roll of his shirt. Our eyes meet in the mirror again and we share a familiar smile.

“Ready, Mrs. Meier?” He reaches a hand out for me- the hand I get to hold for the remaining decades in my life. I click the cap into place and nod.

“Ready, Mr. Meier.” We both giggle then begin a leisurely walk to rejoin our party.

_ _ _

Our honeymoon is set to begin in under an hour, but Timo and I are struggling to get out of bed after our late night.

I’m feeding Lio, ghosting my fingers over his nose at each one of his suckles. Timo is scrolling through our reservations for Italy, making sure everything is in order before we leave. We picked Italy because it’s nostalgic for both of us. We have spent numerous family vacations there growing up, plus we didn’t want to be too far away from Lio for our first time away.

“Do you need anything?” Timo asks me, looking at Lio, surprised at seeing him still actively eating. He’s definitely in a growing stage.

“No, we are okay.” I assure him. I take my hand off Lio’s face, lacing my fingers with Timo’s left hand. I bring it to my face, kissing along his fingers while he checks the last reservation.

“Okay, I think we are all set.. whenever he is done.” As Timo says that, Lio releases, moving his face away.

“Magic!” I grin at my husband, handing Lio over.

Timo begins to pace the room with our son, exclaiming excitedly at every burp that works out of his little body. When he is done, they both return to the bed next to me. We soak in every little noise and expression on our baby’s face. A few bubbles of drool collect on his lips as he wiggles awkwardly around in my arms. Timo reaches out to wipe the the spit from Lio’s chin. My eyes catch the silver wedding ring around his finger. I turn to him, pressing my lips to his cheek. He works his lips over to mine, gliding his tongue along the seam of my mouth.

“Mmm, just like I thought last night. You taste better as my wife.” He murmurs. I wrinkle my nose in appreciation. Rounds 2 and 3 were pretty damn good.

“Maybe we can change our plans and take him with us?” I question, searching his blue eyes as a crease appears between his brows. 

“No. I don’t want to share you. Not even with the world’s cutest baby.” As if on cue, Lio blows spit bubbles, shoving his tongue out at us.

“He doesn’t want us to leave.” I giggle, bringing him up to my face to kiss his cheek.

“How we gonna give him a sibling if he’s in the room with us the whole time?”

“Shut your beautiful mouth. I am not doing that again right now.”

Timo’s laughter fills our room as I pant in exasperation.

“Next year?”

“Maybe.” I respond, brushing Lio’s brown locks off his forehead. His eyes close at my touch, snuggling deeper into my propped thighs.

“We need to go soon.” Timo reminds me.

“Five more minutes, daddy.” He nods, as I manuever my head into his lap. As he strokes his fingers through my hair, he lays his head against the headboard, eyes closing. We are quiet together, listening to Lio’s sweet noises as he begins to fall asleep sucking on his hand. “Thank you.” I break the silence, pressing a kiss to Timo’s abdomen. “For all the planned and unplanned parts of our life.”

“Not sure any of this was really planned.” He responds without opening his eyes. 

“Maybe not. But I dreamed of it… with you.” His eyes pop open to look down at me. “Two summers ago. On the dock at Nico’s house when he was in Milan. That’s when I fell in love with you.” His smile stretches his lips apart. “Yeah, I know. I suck for not admitting that sooner.” 

“No, I.. I knew, Em. That was when you started touching me different. And holding my hand in the car and laying with me for hours in bed, long after you should have kicked me out.”

“I didn’t like watching you leave much after that. It was a peek at our life together. And I liked it.”

“Me too. It’s why I started getting so frustrated with you.”

“How about I make it up to you for the next 60 years?” He sucks in a deep breath, looking at the ceiling like he’s really contemplating. I scoop Lio up to my face to press feathery kisses along his soft head while I wait. Timo watches me as I do this, unable to hide the joy that fills his body.

“Only because you look that beautiful holding our baby.” 

“Please, please, please, please let’s take him!” 

“No.” Timo insists. “Give him one last smooch and I’m bringing him to Auntie Liss.” I can’t just do one. So after five kisses, we leave the bed and meet Timo’s sister, Larissa, in our kitchen.

“Take him before she tries to smuggle him into the car.” Timo jokes, handing Lio to his sister. “He should be good to go for a couple of hours. Em just fed him and he’s been changed. Hopefully he will be passed out before we leave the driveway.”

“Okay! Are you ready to have some fun, bubs?” She bounces him, lightly patting his butt too. “We will be fine.” She says to where I watch across the room. I bite my lip, giving pleading eyes to my husband.

“You promised me 60 years of make up sex. And you’re paying up starting the minute we check in.”

“That is not what I said!” I widen my eyes at his sister. She shrugs.

“I don’t care what you do as long as it keep giving me these cute babies.”

“Call if you need anything or have any questions or…”

“Bye!” Timo calls as he places his hands on my hips, forcing me backwards.

“One more kiss.”

“You’re making this harder on yourself.” He chuckles.

I know he is right, but it doesn’t make it any easier to leave.

When we arrive in Italy, our hotel staff greets us with enthusiasm. They grab all of our bags, hand us each a cappuccino, and personally escort us to the honeymoon villa on the property. It’s decked out to the nines with charcuterie and snacks. The best part is a bucket of champagne chilling on the table for us along with a box of chocolate covered strawberries. Timo wiggles his eyebrows excitedly at me, grabbing the chilled bottle.

“Wanna grab some glasses, baby?” He asks me, untwisting the metal basket atop the cork.

I glance around, seeing a few wine glasses resting by the fridge.

“These will do.” I insist, setting them in front of him. He gives us both a healthy pour.

“To us. Forever.” He clinks our glasses together as I smirk. I take a big swallow of bubbles, enjoying their explosions along my tongue. “Oh this is excellent.” He nods his head, turning the bottle to look at the label again. 

As he does that, I set my glass back on the counter and reach out for the button of his shorts. He quickly turns from the bottle with curious and excited eyes. 

“You said pay up right away.” I shrug innocently.

I work his zipper down, then glide my hand into his underwear. I stroke him once, then twice, maintaining eye contact with each pass over his length. I grin when I get him to close his eyes in a long blink. He exhales gently, firming fully in my hand as I stroke my thumb along his thick vein. I lean forward, filling his mouth with my tongue. He matches my aggressive kisses, both of us sucking each others lips.

“I want you down my throat.” I tell him when I pull away. He observes with greedy eyes as I get on my knees. My hair is down, but his hands work it back from my face so he can watch his cock inch into my mouth. His jaw drops open in a strangled groan as I take him all the way back immediately. His abdominal muscles tighten under where my nose bumps into them.

“Baby.” He moans as I wrap my fingers around the base of his shaft, stroking up as my throat wraps around his tip. “Oh fuck.” He jolts as I work his balls over with my other hand. “Again.” He begs me, fingerprints pressing firmly into my neck to push himself deeper. He opens his eyes, looking down at me on my knees. “You look so good right now with my cock in your mouth.” He reaches down to put his hand in my bra, palming my breast. I release his balls to grip his wrist as a reminder my breasts are filled with milk. “I know. Just gonna hold ‘em.”

“Am I being a good wife?” I ask him, dragging my tongue along the vein from base to tip.

“The best. You were made for me, baby.” He holds my chin, sputtering as I rest him against my tongue, wiggling along the cleft of his head.

“This mouth is yours now. Take it.” I sit back on my heels, mouth dropped open, tongue out as he guides himself back in. He widens his stance a bit, then puts his hands on both sides of my head and begins to fuck my mouth. He is gentle at first, then as he gets closer, he is wild. I reach up, gripping my hand tightly along his base and rolling his balls in my hand. His fingers spread along my whole head now, watching each flicker of joy in my eyes at his moans.

“I’m close.” He warns me, but I already know. He is tight and pulsing in my hand, begging for release as he slides a bit further down my throat. I hold back my gag, relaxing my throat so he can get to where he wants to be. I wiggle my tongue along the bottom. He sputters out a grunt, then brings himself a bit out of my mouth so I can collect his cum by stoking him through. I curl my tongue in, bringing the salty ribbons together to show him my collection. Then I fold it all back, swallowing it as he watches with hooded lids.

“When is dinner?” He eventually gathers the words to speak.

“Ten minutes.”

“We need to skip it.” He insists as I tuck him back into place. I work his zipper back up, then replace his button. Besides the taste of him in my mouth, it’s like it never happened. I smile, thinking of the times that used to matter when I would suck him off in the bathroom at Nico’s house before we would return, separately, to whatever party my brother was hosting.

“I need to eat.” I respond. He reaches his hands out for me to take and pulls me to a standing position.

“How? I just fed you.” 

“Ah!” I laugh, slapping at his chest. “Let me fix my lipstick and we can head to dinner.”

“Okay, but no pasta. I want you ready to go later.”

“Do not ever tell me what I can and can’t eat.” I snap, pointing my finger at his nose. He still has a faint scar from the big playoff hit two years ago. He rolls his eyes at my exaggeration, feigning like he’s going to bite my finger off.

“You’re going to fall asleep before I can have you, huh? You’ll be like, no let’s just cuddle for a minute, then I’ll be ready.” He mocks me with a loud snore. I scoff. I do not snore. He does since his broken nose.

“Maybe.” I shrug, sauntering to my purse to grab my YSL pink lipstick. “Tell you what. If I do, you can wake me up at 2 am to fuck. Like old times.”

“Deal.” He muses, folding his hands together against my stomach. He rests his chin on my shoulder, watching me in the mirror with adoring baby blues as I stroke the pink onto my lips. “You are so beautiful.” He says against my shoulder as he drops plump kisses along my warm skin.

“It’s cause I’m in love.” I turn my face to him. He gently kisses me, then pulls away completely.

“I’m going to head to the lobby and check in with the front desk about breakfast tomorrow. I’ve got a surprise for you.” He wiggles his brows at me tauntingly. “See you in five minutes?”

“Yeah.” 

“Kay. I love you, Emma Meier.” I widen my eyes excitedly at my new name.

“I love you.” I whisper back. He sighs happily, staring at me for another few seconds, then disappears from our room.

After freshening up, I go to where Timo waits for me in the hotel lobby. His back is towards me as I come from the courtyard, admiring him. He’s wearing a white, linen button up shirt, stretched wide across his strong shoulders. His hands are in his khaki pockets, expensive Swiss watch shining in the low lighting. The sun is setting over the rolling, grassy hills in front of him as he gazes out at the Italian country side. I fold my bottom lip into my mouth, taking in the way he commands attention from the other patrons. He looks so expensive and compelling. The rest of the world wishes to know him- what’s going on behind that intense blue gaze. 

Sometimes, only I know.

As I approach, I reach out for his arm, threading my hand through to dive into his pocket. Our fingers glide together. I’m blissful as the warm metal of his ring strokes my skin.

“You waiting for someone?” I inquire to him like we are strangers. He dips his gaze to me, ignoring the spectacular beauty dancing in front of us to look only at me.

“Yeah, the love of my life.” 

“Ah, I better go then.” I move to leave, but his hand possessively holds me in place. 

“You and your fucking jokes.” He mutters against my mouth. My shoulders shake with a silent laugh lost on his tongue.

“You’ve always been mine.” I soothe his mild frustration, gliding my hands along his abdomen to hold the muscular swells of his back. “Will be in our next lifetime too.” He rests his chin on my head in a gentle hug.

“You gonna avoid me for years then too?”

“Probably. You gonna put up with that?” He teases his lips over mine, pulling me tighter to him so I can feel him rigid against my stomach.

We aren’t going to make it to dinner.

“Yeah.” It’s a breathless sigh from his mouth. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for your loving & leaving.”

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Lost & Found - Chapter Twelve.

Thank you so much to everyone for your reads, reblogs and reviews. I appreciate you hugely :)

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven

Words - 3,465

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, Minors DNI. Recounts of kidnap, child trafficking, physical/verbal/sexual abuse.

“You okay?” 

She took a moment to assess that, pulling the helmet from her head as she looked over at the clubhouse. “I think so.” 

Guero slid an arm around her waist, kissing her cheek. “Just remember, everyone here is a friend. Nobody wants to hurt you.” 

“It isn’t that,” she quickly corrected, fluffing her hair as she let out a long breath. “It’s just the last time I came here, I was still so scared and bent out of shape. I hate the term triggering, but that’s kind of what it is.” 

He could understand that stance. The clubhouse was home from home to him, but for Emma, it symbolised a time she was desperately trying to move forward from, being so distrusting and suspicious of the new place and everybody within it, all bar him. And maybe one other person.  

“Tell you what, we gotta head in now, but I know EZ will want you to confirm everything I’ll go in there and tell him. You wait with Lee, and I’ll come get you when we’re done.” It was Monday, Guero calling EZ on Saturday night and informing him he had something to bring to the table, his president telling him he’d schedule something for Monday. It was a lot easier for communications if the guys didn’t all have raging hangovers, as was the norm for a Sunday.  

She nodded, receiving a kiss from him before he pointed her in the direction of the workshop, Emma walking over, looking all around as she did. It was much bigger than she’d noticed when there in the darkened early hours of the morning, bits of bikes littering the immediate space around the workshop. It was very in place with the haphazard collection of scrap that walled their surroundings. 

“Oil hose, we ain’t buddies. Why’d the fuck do you keep leaking, you’re brand new!” she heard Lee muttering, coming to a stop and clearing her throat. “Emma! How you doin’, how’s it going, you good?” 

She smiled at her chirp. “Yeah, yeah I’m good. Or at least better than when you last saw me.” 

“I’ll fuckin’ say!” she snorted, clamping off the hose and shaking her head, giving it the double middle finger salute, standing to wipe her dirty hands on a rag. “You look great, sugar. Put on a couple of much needed pounds, I see. You were kinda scary skinny when we met.” 

She remembered back to the shocking sight of herself in the bathroom mirror, nodding as she fiddled with her hair. “Yeah, I was. I never want to see a protein bar again, or I’ll barf. It’s what I survived on in the container.”  

Lee snorted softly, raising her eyebrows. “I can see why. If nothing else than they taste fuckin’ awful. My old man snacks on ‘em and I can’t bear the damned things. Taste vile, like dried dough, stale cookies, man!” She paused for a second, looking between Emma and the bike she was working on, feeling awkward.  

It was entirely mutual.  

They had shared a personal experience together, Lee being the person Emma had trusted enough in a state of fear and anxiety to look after her, yet not knowing one another at all. The elephant in the room that was Emma’s arrival in her life also made it difficult, Lee knowing she was tiptoeing around blurting out that very question. She curbed her usual bluntness, though.  

“Cut looks like it’s healed nicely,” she finally spoke, Emma approaching the bike she was working on, wondering how anyone kept it on two wheels. It was enormous, reminding her of one her dad had when she was five.  

She thumbed her head, nodding. “Yeah, it did. Guero took the stitches out for me last night as they were starting to come undone and push out.” Lee resisted the urge to say that a biker with a cute smile and a steady hand could have still ballsed it up easily, noting it wasn’t a necessary observation when he’d done a good job, Emma continuing. “Do you want a hand with anything?”  

“Nah, don’t want you to ruin your dress, sunshine,” she replied, waving her hand casually. 

Emma smirked, looking down at the beige, pink and blue flowery dress she had on with her new (to her) cowboy boots she’d bought from a thrift store a few days back. “It only cost a couple a’ five bucks, it’s not irreplicable. I need to get to buying some better clothes, actually. Guero has a limit of twenty minutes with being taken shopping before he gets bored, so I don’t want to torture him.” 

A couple a’ five bucks, Lee recognised that syntax instantly. New Jersey, although Emma didn’t have the accent at all. She’d served with troops who hailed from the garden state, and they used the same speech patterns. “He’s just like Obispo.” A slight twitch of her eye confirmed that it was a name she hadn’t heard. “That’s Bishop’s actual name.”  

“Ahh.”  

“Yeah, so me being somewhat of a loner where girlfriends are concerned, I just go by myself to circumvent the fuckin’ sour face and frowning,” she snorted, once again trying the hose only for oil to come dripping out. “Fuck’s sake! Fuckin’ thing! Complete bastard!” she fumed. “So yeah, if you ever wanna come with me, I’d love the company.”  

“I’d really like that. Thanks, Lee,” she smiled, looking down at the oil stopped dripping, Lee clamping the hose off once more. Her eyes took a little tour over the drips, noticing something that perhaps the pretty lady mechanic might’ve missed. “Here, the sealing washer has dropped out. That’s why it’s leaking.” 

Lee rolled her eyes. “Well, I’ll be fuckin’ bent over and poked up the butt with a ten-inch cock!” she exclaimed, Emma snort laughing at her expression, remembering back to the afternoon before where she’d received just that. She wasn’t sure Guero’s cock was quite that long, but it couldn’t be too far off. “Thanks, sugar. That’s a good eye you have, especially knowing what it was. Alrighty, let’s get it back on the hose.”  

“My dad used to do up old bikes. Some he kept; most he sold on. I’d sit in his garage and help him, so I picked stuff up,” she explained, Lee nodding as she listened, refitting the hose with its sealing washer back in and unclamping it. No drips.  

“Yes! Gimme some knucks!” She held her fist out, Emma bumping hers against it with a smile. “I might have to take you up on your offer to help me out. I just got rid of my last guy; he became too preoccupied with the idea of joining the MC.”  

“Oh, was it Bottles?” she asked curiously, Lee shaking her head. 

“Nah. He was a guy they wouldn’t even consider. Didn’t have the mettle, and you fuckin’ gotta have balls to live in this life.” Emma could well imagine. It was the same as people willingly wanting to join the life she’d left behind. Entrenched in the world of the mafia, only the strong survived. Was she strong, she wondered, or just lucky? She’d gotten out alive but not unscathed, so perhaps a little of both. 

“Sounds like what I’m used to,” she replied quietly, picking a crumb of mud from the bike’s exhaust pipe. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, Lee chewing the inside of her cheek as she looked between Emma and the Harley a few times. “You want to ask me about it, don’t you?”  

She did. It had been itching at her curiosity, but she didn’t want to be insensitive. “Yeah, but only if that’s cool with you. You can tell me I’m being a nosey ole’ bag if you like, I don’t mind. I mean shit, I dunno if you’ve even fuckin’ said anything to Guero yet. Yeah, yeah ignore me, pay no mind, I’ll shut up.” She made an annoyed noise in her throat, shaking her head of wild, blonde waves. “Poor chick walked up to your fuckin’ workshop all of ten minutes ago and you’re expecting her to spill!” 

Emma sensed a very good person within Lee, someone she could perhaps come to call friend. “It’s okay, I’ll tell you. You got a seat?”  

Two old beer bottle crates were proffered forth, Lee pulling out her cigarettes and lighting up, offering the pack to Emma as they sat down. “Don’t smoke, but thanks. So yeah, I was in that container because I ran away from Rocco Lombardi, who’d been holding me prisoner for nineteen years.”  

She went into her explanation, not quite as detailed as the one she’d given Guero, but all the same, it contained enough details to make Lee’s jaw drop in absolute horror at several points throughout. By the time she was finished, the woman at her side sat with her hands clasped over her mouth, shaking her head. 

“Fuck.” 

“Sums it up nicely, huh?” 

“Fuck!” She dropped her hands in her lap, scoffing in disbelief, her eyes bewildered. “I’m not a hugger, I really ain’t, but Christ, sugar.” Emma felt herself pulled into slender, tattooed arms, Lee stroking her back as she held her. “You’re so brave, enduring all that. Fuckin’ fuck, no wonder you were that way when you first arrived here!” 

She shrugged a little, chewing her thumb as they parted. “I don’t know if I’d call it brave entirely. I kind of froze myself to it, accepted my fate. Like I said too, Marie made it better. At least I had her, but it’s still kicking me in the ass, that I abandoned her.” 

“I understand,” Lee nodded, shaking herself suddenly. “Well no, I don’t, but I get what you mean. Listen, babe, you couldn’t stay for her. She might’ve been mom to you, but you know you didn’t fuckin’ belong there, and what’s more so did she. I bet she completely understands.” 

“Unless she’s worried out of her mind that Rocco offed me and my body got dumped into the sea or similar.”  

“Why not reach out to her? I can bet as soon as Marie reads that message, she’ll be smart enough to delete it. But like, don’t let me dictate. If you wanna just vanish it’s up to you, your call, you make the decision.”  

Emma continued chewing her thumb for a few moments, weighing it up. “I think I might, you know. Think I might. Her and the kids are literally the only things I miss.”  

“At least you’d be able to let her know you’re alright before you move on,” Lee smiled thinly, folding her arms on her thighs and resting her head down. She was tired. Not that she didn’t love her husband to his very bones, but she did wish his horny time wasn’t between one and three in the morning. “About that, though. How will it sit with you, knowing of course that the club deals with the very man you escaped? I mean whatever it is that’s bloomed between you and pretty boy specifically.”  

Of course, it had played on her mind, being right there in the midst of Rocco’s drug runners ever since she arrived. Since things had turned up a gear between her and Guero, though, she’d been too dizzy with happiness to think more on it. Lee’s question was valid, though. “I knew exactly who and what Guero was from the first second I saw him, a member of the MC who ran drugs for Rocco. I’m fine with it. I know it happens, I might’ve come here all shaky and wide eyed, but I’m not a naïve woman.  

“Living in the world I did for so long; I know the deal. I just have to hope that he never comes to visit unexpectedly, but why would he? As long as the guys continue to keep on running his heroin over the border and up to the docks, he won’t have to move his ass to oversee anything.” 

Thinking on her words, Lee had to admit that it made perfect sense, such a standpoint. She’d survived in a world steeped in organised crime; she’d acclimatise perfectly to being involved with an outlaw. With a few layers of her trauma peeled back, it was clear that Emma was intelligent, sensible and strong. Probably a lot stronger than she realised.  

“Well, here’s fuckin’ hoping he stays up on his Staten Island throne, huh?” Just then they were disturbed by the approach of the one Lee had referred to as pretty boy, Emma’s face lighting up. Lee side eyed her with a little knowing grin. She remembered that face, back when she’d begun dating Bishop, often catching her reflection and trying to dial it back. Such had never been attainable. She loved him way too much.  

“Can I steal my girl?”  

Emma thought her heart was about to thump clean out of her chest, hearing him call her that. Lee’s reply was the perfect antidote to her falling too far into enamoured dizziness, though.  

“No, she’s mine now, you can’t have her back! I need her, she has good eyes for things I apparently miss, like fuckin’ sealing washers.” 

Guero cocked his head, looking entertained. “If you actually wore your glasses on your face rather than your head, you’d miss a lot less.”  

“Bah!” she dismissed, standing up and lighting herself another cigarette. “They make me look old!” 

“That’s because you are old.”  

Oh, his smart mouth. How it’d be his downfall. “You know it’s never, ever wise to anger a woman who can tamper with your brake lines and make it look like a manufacturing fault, don’t you, Ortiz?”  

His eyebrows fluttered, his grin widening. “I’ll make sure I never do, then.”  

Her lips tightened, her eyes narrowing as he laughed. “Fuckin’ smart ass. Get outta here!”  

“I was going anyway.” He received a soft elbow from Emma as they began to walk, calling over her shoulder to Lee that she’d see her later. Walking back over to the clubhouse, he could feel Emma’s body beginning to tense at his side, placing a splayed hand across her lower back. “S’okay, mamas. You’re not gonna have a big audience, just EZ and Bish.”  

Those words reassured her, Guero opening the door and gesturing with his hand, Emma entering the clubhouse. The sound of laughing as pool balls clicked and music she recognised as Motorhead (one of Guero’s favourite bands) filtering from the speakers filled the space, the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke just as strong as she’d remembered. God, she could really go to town on cleaning the place, she thought, being steered to her right.  

There at a table sat EZ and Bishop, the former standing with a wide smile. “Well, well. You look a hell of a lot better than you did two weeks ago, sweetheart.” He reached to pat her arm gently, gesturing to the couch opposite where he and the president were sitting.  

He could see the nervousness flickering in her eyes still, of course knowing she wasn’t out of the woods from her ordeal just yet. It’d take a long time, but the improvement she had made was noticeable. She stood a little taller, looked much less anxious even though it of course was still just under the surface with her.  

She moved to take a seat, jumping a little when Gilly loudly celebrated his potting of a ball over at the pool table, her stiffened body relaxing a fraction when Guero took his place at her side. 

“Good to see you looking less spooked, Emma,” EZ acknowledged with a nod and a wide smile. “Again, I apologise for my actions when we first met.” She wasn’t convinced that the apology was at all genuine, something about him giving her a feeling of unease. “Alright, tell us what you know about this alleged trafficking you think we’re gonna be propositioned to get involved with.” 

As if speaking of Marie earlier to Lee had invoked a little of her courage, Emma’s reply was forthright and crisp. “There’s nothing alleged about it. They’ve been dabbling in it for nearly twenty years, snatching children from the arms of their parents, but in recent times they’ve become much shrewder. Runaways, young kids on the streets, those who won’t be so easily noticed as missing, like I was.” 

“And you heard him say in as many words that he planned to begin bringing undocumented kids over?” Bishop asked, his eyes narrowing at the very thought of any other children facing what Emma had suffered. Guero hadn’t gone into huge amounts of detail, but what he had shared with them, it’d been bad enough.  

She scoffed a little, cocking her head with a shy smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “He was never stupid enough to say it in as many words, but I got to know his lingo, his code phrases. Tiny consignment meant kids, and when he called meetings at his home, usually under the guise of an innocent guy's night playing poker, I’d overhear. It was always his intention to begin running the tiny consignment along with golden brown. You’ll get the reference if you’re familiar with the song by The Stranglers.” Of course, she meant the heroin, the song long thought to either be about a girl of Mediterranean heritage, or the pleasure of the narcotic.  

Both men nodded, Emma continuing. “I have no idea when he’s going to put his proposition to you, I’m afraid I can’t be helpful there. At a guess I’d say a while, though. He probably wants to ensure the runs you’re making for him continue to go smoothly before you’ll be expected to begin trafficking children, too. Just know that he will, and if you don’t comply, well.” She paused, gulping. If they didn’t, they’d all be dead, and she’d be back on Staten Island. “I don’t have to spell it out for any of you.” 

“I guess we play the waiting game. Moving heroin is one thing, trafficking kids? We aren’t about that,” EZ spoke, exchanging a glance with Bishop.  

He began nodding, scratching his beard. This was what he’d been waiting for ever since their first meet with Lombardi up in Vegas. Here it was, the other shoe. “Emma, we appreciate your information. If there’s anything we can do for you, just say the word.” 

“There is, actually. I need access to a doctor, but I can’t use my real identity. He’ll be looking for me, and while reason dictates that if he had any clue where I was at all, he’d have found me by now, I want to remain vanished. I don’t know what that’ll look like long term, but I do know that right now I need help from a doctor off the books. Do you guys know of anyone?”  

“I do,” EZ confirmed, “I’ll give him a call and get back to you on it. He can be discreet for a price.”  

She nodded, feeling relieved. “Thank you. One more thing. Can I borrow a prepay, please? Not one you contact Rocco on?”  

Bishop rose from his seat, going behind the bar and shuffling around, coming back with an old Samsung flip phone and handing it over. “Thanks again, baby. Don’t worry about him either, we ain’t gonna advertise that you’re here to nobody. You’re safe with us.”  

She thanked him, taking the phone and flipping it open. Taking a few moments, wondering how to word her message, she rested her hand to Guero’s thigh as Bishop and EZ walked away, placing the phone in her lap and beginning to chew her thumb... 

Marie was cleaning down the counters in the kitchen of her beautiful mansion when her phone dinged, reaching a well-manicured hand across to grab where she’d placed it out of the way in a large, ornate fruit bowl. Opening the message, her eyes widened.  

Safe. Pinky swear. Love you all the world, mom xxx 

“Oh, Mother Mary!” she sobbed, a hand flying to her mouth as her knees buckled, taking her to the floor as she cried tears of pure relief. Pinky swear, love you all the world. Only one other person knew it was their thing, and that was the little girl she’d raised into the young woman she thought of as her own. And she was safe. At last.  

Love you too, Emsy. Will love you forever. Don’t you ever come back. It’s your time to live. I’m so proud of you xxx 

Pressing send, she immediately deleted all evidence of the messages, while over two thousand miles away, her daughter by love rather than blood sobbed in the arms of her boyfriend after reading her reply. 

[theromanticscrooge]

A Few of my Favorite Scenes from Fics I've Written

This is pretty much more shameless advertising for fics I've written over the past month or so. Each of these will include the link, rating, and whether or not its finished if you're interested in checking out more.

The World Beyond the Mouse Hole

Rating: Teen +

Completed

Synopsis: A short prequel one-shot about how Fink met Professor Venomous and her first childhood friend Eurydice.

Once he was back in his own apartment, Venomous dug a box of his neighbor’s bonbons out of a nearby drawer with a small smirk. Maybe he’d pay her back after he had a few bigger scores and actually moved out of this cheap, crappy apartment complex. He hit the creamy center of the chocolate and made a satisfied noise.

No, compared to the laundry list of other bigger scale crimes he did on the regular, sniping someone’s pricey candy was low on said list.

“Gimme one,” a squeaky voice demanded. She pushed his leg aside and reached up with deft little fingers to take one of the chocolates.

“Hey…” Venomous started to protest, but halfheartedly.

“Actually, I’ll take all of these.” She took the full box with a sassy swipe of her tail.

“What happened to being subtle, kid?” Venomous crossed his living room to his lumpy thrifted couch with a checkerboard pattern.

“I’m tired of hiding!” she complained, climbing up next to him. “I live here too. Why do I have to hide?”

“Have you heard what they’ve said about you…?” Venomous asked with a slight frown.

“Rita likes me.” The kid said with a cheeky grin. “We even have this fun game we play!”

Venomous fixed her with a skeptic glare as he crossed his legs.

“I finally have a place I like!” she cried, spreading her arms. “I just got everything set up the way I want it…”

“We were moving in a month anyway.” Venomous tapped his leg. “Things would have gone way more smoothly if you stayed in the apartment instead of making a tunnel system through the whole building.”

“That bed sucks. So does the couch.” She stuck her tongue out. “I want my own room and my own space. Not something you let me borrow.”

“You’re getting your own room. We just need to hold out a little longer.” Venomous settled back into the cushions with a huff. “What do I need to do to get you to stay put next time?”

She looked at him like he had a third head as she stuffed a huge handful of chocolate in her mouth. Glaring, Venomous plucked one of the remaining chocolates.

“There’s parks near one of the motels I’m looking at.” Venomous started chewing. “Some mascot pizza place. Toy store. Lots of stuff a kid like you should enjoy. And keep you preoccupied while Boss gets work done.”

“I don’t have any money…”

“That didn’t stop you before.”

“I was taking stuff people wouldn’t miss.” She huffed. “I take one thing that looks kinda cool or pretty. I can’t have one nice thing?”

“There’s plenty of cool, pretty stuff at these places.” Venomous took another chocolate. “You can have everything you want. We just need to get you out of here.”

“But I like it here.”

“We can’t stay here.” He sighed heavily. “Birdbrain was threatening to raid your nest and bring in a professional exterminator. And you pushed Rita’s buttons a bit too hard. There’s a finesse to that kind of thing. Spread out the pranks more and you could’ve milked that longer.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d let me come with you to work.” She gave him a pout. “I’m bored!”

“I have books-”

“Without pictures.”

“You have a little something called...imagination.”

“There’s a lot of big words I don’t get!” She complained further. “Yes, I looked them up in the dictionary. And those are the books that aren’t boring science stuff.”

“Hey, science is cool. That’s how I make a lot of my money…”

“It’s fun when you talk about it.” She frowned again. “I have more fun when you’re here.”

“Someone needs to keep a roof over our heads.” He pointed at the ceiling.

“I made my own roof.” She smiled sadly. “I can make a house.”

“What about the other stuff?” Venomous raised his brows.

“I’m. Bored.” She leaned forward. “You’re supposed to be my boss, right? Give me something to do…”

Venomous folded his arms and hummed. The longer he mulled things over, the higher the effectiveness when the kid looked at him with the most pathetic expression on her face. Finally, he slumped his shoulders and raised his hands.

“Okay…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Get all of the necessary stuff you want out of your nest. We’re moving tomorrow. That’s your first assignment.”

She started to pout but Venomous raised a finger in a “hold on” gesture.

“We get moved out. Then I’ll take you with me on an upcoming work trip.” He smiled slightly. “Think you can navigate vents?”

She gasped and started pumping her fists. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”

“It’s settled!” He nodded and slapped his legs. “I need to get Birdbrain off the scent. Leave Rita alone.”

“….I can’t say goodbye?” She frowned. “Rita’s the only one here I kinda like besides you, Boss.”

“Trust me. It’d be a better idea to leave her alone.” Venomous huffed. “Sometimes, it’s better to just leave. No matter how much you liked the person.”

“I already had to do that. Before I moved here.” She looked bitter. “I’m gonna find Eurydice again someday. I want to let her know I’m okay…”

“That’s your prerogative,” Venomous said while looking at the nearby wall.

She stared at him for a long moment, waiting for him to follow up or expand on his cryptic comment. It felt like there was something he wanted to say. Something important he was holding back and keeping to himself.

“...Have I told you about Eurydice?”

“No.” Venomous finally looked back at her. “This is the first time I’ve heard that name.”

Not Quite an Elevator Pitch

Part of Chapter 4: The Man, The Myth, The Legend....Or "Just a Guy" Named Mr. Gar

Rating: Teen+

Completed

Synopsis: Professor Venomous is back in Lakewood Plaza Turbo and ready to get back to more 'mundane' villainy. It should have been as easy as return to Earth, move back into Boxmore, and start scheming again. Instead, he's still trying to figure out what he wants to do next as well as trying to find himself. Then he gets stuck in an elevator with the last person he expected but it's the reality check he absolutely needed.

PV jammed a hand in one of his pants pockets and whistled tunelessly as he punched the glowing ‘up’ button and waited. He was on autopilot when he strolled into the next available elevator. Then the doors slid closed and that’s when PV noticed the dark sunglasses, pink tie, and cop mustache in the mirror on the back wall.

His breath hitched slightly as he slowly turned his head. Yes, that was Mr. Gar standing next to him. The slightly taller man had his arms folded, stood with a rigid posture, appeared stoic and intimidating. Considering this was Boxman’s direct rival, among other ties to significant persons in PV’s life, he should have interacted with or seen more of Mr. Gar than he had. Yet, he only saw Mr. Gar from a distance entering the Bodega in the early morning, trading a few cornball flirts and banter with Carol during her lunchbreak, teaching K.O. how to safely shoot energy blasts on the Plaza roof. All of the direct fights had been with K.O. or his friends.

Did Mr. Gar even know that he’d entered….?

The slight view of Mr. Gar’s eyeballs behind the glasses lenses shifted slightly. Then his huge shoulders rose and fell. Venomous felt like he was caught in the crosshair of a sniper rifle.

He was blushing with intense embarrassment. He unhelpfully remembered the meek, nervous, and painfully geeky El Bow. Laserblast loved to wind up and fluster his squeamish teammate. “Silver and I have a date at the Starlight Theater tonight. I heard you’re a horror buff. Any good recommendations for what would scare someone to cuddles?” “You’ll catch flies if your mouth stays open like that. Want one of my suckers? It’s a pretty good way to train your tongue for...certain recreational activities.” “We should hang out sometime, El Bow! My girlfriend really talked you up.”

PV blew out a long breath as his shoulders slumped and he tried, desperately, to look anywhere but at Mr. Gar.

“Hey…” Mr. Gar said with as much awkwardness as PV felt. “Going up?”

“Yes,” PV said.

“Me too. Forgot there was...somewhere else I wanted to go…”

The elevator started moving. Now it was too late to punch the button and bail.

Thankfully, Mr. Gar let the conversation taper off and went quiet. It’d be just one more minute stuck in here. This was bearable. PV just had to stay in his former teammate and love rival’s presence until the elevator-

The elevator squawked.

No.

The elevator creaked and came to a sudden halt.

No.

A few seconds passed. Everything was quiet, the atmosphere felt heavy, and PV’s heart started hammering. He prayed to any divine entity, corn related or not, that the elevator would start moving again.

Instead the emergency light clicked on. A bored, automated voice announced: “A technician will come help you shortly.”

PV cursed. Loudly. A dry lump formed in his throat as he turned and looked at Mr. Gar again. The other man’s cool demeanor dropped. His brows were furrowed, he frowned, and he was nervously rubbing the back of his neck while simultaneously tugging at his tie. Both of those gestures were a common thing for El Bow but it was weird seeing Mr. Gar do this.

“Good thing I’m not on a time crunch…” Mr. Gar said with a shrug.

PV shrugged back in response. Any words or other sounds were stuck in his throat next to the lump of indeterminate origin.

After that, Mr. Gar leaned against the elevator wall and looked around at anything and everything that wasn’t his current unwanted company. For a moment, PV looked at him, then at the fancy light attached to the ceiling, then the buttons immediately next to the door. Nervous energy rattled from PV’s head to the toes of his boots.

He muttered another string of curses and walked up to the buttons display. He started tracing the outline of the metal and desperately rummaging through memories of all the times Fink talked his ear off about her lock picking pet projects and what tool was a good fit for what. But he was too flustered to pull anything useful from those thoughts. All he could tangibly keep in mind was that she was cute and he was happy she had a new interest she was so passionate about.

“I don’t think it’ll take the tech too long to get here,” Mr. Gar piped up.

Next PV started trying to remember if Boxman ever built something related to elevators, levers, pulleys. Or more specifically, if Boxman had injected a detailed description of an evil elevator into their pillow talk or late night conversations period. He ranted about planned obsolescence a surprising amount during their intimate moments together.

“If you can, take a big, deep breath,” Mr. Gar said.

“I’m not claustrophobic!” PV barked as he turned around.

“That’s good.” Mr. Gar took a deep breath himself. “I just wanted to make sure you’re...okay…..”

“No.” PV let out a sharp breath and looked down at the floor.

“If I punch a hole through the wall in just the right spot, we could jump out and get back to the mall that way,” Mr. Gar said with a short laugh. “I’d rather not do pointless property damage if I can help it though.”

“The mall would definitely be down an elevator if you did.” PV snorted. “Cosma owns this property. She’d probably just send us a bill, never repair it, and leave up a permanent ‘Out of Order’ sign.”

“I’ve noticed some of the...shabby repair work here,” Mr. Gar said. “I don’t come here unless I absolutely have to.”

“So it wouldn’t be that big a deal if we broke one more thing….” PV looked at Mr. Gar, then at the wall, and back again.

“What about customers that need the elevator for mobility reasons?” Mr. Gar fixed an incredulous look at PV. “There’s plenty of people that need these elevators, Cosma being irresponsible or not.”

“Ugh….” PV grunted. “Any smart person should avoid Cosma’s stores.”

Mr. Gar raised his brows. “I’m here. You’re here. And as I said, I try to avoid this mall. I’m here for something very specific that, unfortunately, I can’t find anywhere else. I can’t find it online either.”

“What are you looking for?” PV planted his fists on his hips. “I’m pretty good at finding niche and obscure things in town. Or figuring out where to find them if there isn’t a supplier in immediate Lakewood.”

“Well….” Mr. Gar started stroking his chin. “There’s an artisan here that sells these little sculptures of heroes and villains. Carol sent me a picture of a particular one with K.O., Rad, and Enid. I’m a really big proponent of supporting artists and small businesses. And I really want to surprise my so-treasured employee with that one. I don’t think this artisan has a shop front anywhere else.”

“Both Carol and K.O. strike me as sentimental types.” PV shifted weight from one leg to the other. “I think K.O. would be pretty thrilled with something you made yourself.”

“I’m terrible at crafts…” Mr. Gar muttered.

“It’d be a gift from his father,” PV sighed. “It could be a styrofoam cup with pipe cleaner arms and legs and a badly drawn face. He’d love it! I bet you’d cry your eyes out if K.O. made something like that for you.”

“Father? I’m his boss-”

“Right…” PV rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen him trying to mimic your moves. He has a pair of sunglasses just like yours. He wore your pink tie on Father’s Day.”

The sound of a boiling kettle started up.

“I just wanted to know if this artisan had another shop front!” Mr. Gar raised his hands. “This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about.”

“What’s the artisan’s name?” PV folded his arms.

“Terrance?” Mr. Gar tapped his chin in thought. “Quarterly? Maybe Sugar?”

“You just gave me three very different names.” PV huffed. “There’s a Quarterly and Funnco here. Funnco has figures, but they’re usually secondhand or mass produced. Quarterly makes a lot of custom figures but it’s a wide variety of things. Not just local heroes and villains.”

“It’s probably Quarterly!” Mr. Gar snapped his fingers.

“Quarterly only sells here,” PV said. “He’s in the process of setting up a website...”

“...thanks.”

“Sure thing.”

PV whistled and then dug his phone out of his pocket. After a few seconds of aimlessly swiping around on the screen, he regretted not taking Fink’s suggestion to emulate a few retro games on here or something. No new messages from anybody either. His inbox was probably full of lame attempts from Billiam to recruit him back to the Board and other clients wanting chemicals, viruses, whatever. Nothing he was itching to give immediate attention.

“How did you know about K.O. wearing my tie on Father’s Day?”

“Hmm…?”

“I haven’t seen you around the Plaza, Professor. How did you know?”

“Boxman has at least one of the bots go undercover and patrol the shops at least once a day,” PV chuckled. “I don’t think your employees care unless they make a dramatic entrance in the box, right? Well, all of the bots have a pretty big soft spot for family bonding. Shannon told us about the tie and could barely keep herself together over how cute she thought it was.”

Hot Coffee: A Joe Cuppa Love Story!

Part of Chapter 1: You Latte Me Crazy

Rating: General Audiences

In-Progress

Synopsis: It's up to Joe Cuppa, the movie star, renowned comedian, and now RnB singer, to write and perform the perfect mood-setting love song for Mr. Gar and Carol! Mr. Gar is finally popping the question. Along the way, Joe meets the gorgeous Cupid and volunteers to help Cupid's fight to stop his rival the Romance Scrooge from destroying Valentine's Day.

Rad’s antennae shook excitedly and he turned to Joe with a face-splitting grin. “I think this would be the perfect place to start the tour for your upcoming RnB album!”

“I agree.” Joe nodded. “I really like the little atmospheric touches. That’s exactly what I need for my slow ballads to hit with couples on date night.”

“Speaking of date nights…” Rad cleared his throat and started fiddling with his fingers. “Does the particular day and time I suggested work for a surprise appearance?”

“I see. Wanting to impress a special someone?” Joe wiggled his brows.

“No. No-not for me.” Rad raised his hands and flushed, embarrassed. “I’ll definitely keep in touch when I’m ready for that step. This is for my boss, Mr. Gar. He’s been hinting at popping the question to his girlfriend Carol for awhile now and I’m hoping this will finally give him that extra little push!”

“This isn’t an out of the blue proposal, is it?” Joe asked in a warning tone, resting his hands on his hips. “I’ve seen one too many of those go wrong at my previous shows. I want nothing to do with putting some unsuspecting dame on the spot!”

“No. They’ve talked about it.” Rad ran a hand through his curls. “She’s ready! They both have engagement rings picked out for each other. She said she wants to keep the ball in Mr. Gar’s court because it’d be a big ego boost if he gets to be the one to propose.”

“Ohhh…” Joe wagged a finger. “Now, that’s a pleasant surprise. I can get behind that!”

“Excellent!” Rad clapped.

“I’ll even write a song just for them.” Joe casually rested his fingers in his pants pockets and leaned back. “I already have a name picked out. It’ll be called… “You Latte Me Crazy.”

Rad chuckled appreciatively. “Carol loves a good pun! Perfect.”

“I’ll get started right away.” Joe pumped his fists. “Know anywhere with a tuned piano?”

“...my dad has a piano.”

“I’m not invading your personal space like that, kid.” Joe folded his arms.

“Hmm….I’m not sure.” Rad started rummaging in his pants pocket. “My riva-boyfriend might know. I’ll see if I can pick his brain real quick.”

“Invite him to my show!” Joe winked.

“A-ah….” Rad had already punched in the number and he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Invite him!” Joe cheered. “I’ll give you free tickets. Heck, I’m feeling generous. I’ll nab some tickets for your other little friend and her girl too!”

“She’s not….” Rad bit his lip and let the thought linger. “Yeah. Thanks Joe!”

Before Joe could good-naturedly rib the young man any further, Rad’s boyfriend answered.

“Hey Raymond.” Rad tugged at his shirt collar. “Are you free next Friday…?”

There was a loud squeal on the other end of the line. The tips of Rad’s ears fluttered slightly and Joe lightly touched the mug handle on the side of his head to check for chips.

“Yeah.” Rad’s face was a cherry tomato as he nodded and his irises flitted about. “It’s for a Joe Cuppa RnB show at the Starlight Ballroom.” He nodded as a stream of excited chatter spilled from the other line. “Yeah, we can coordinate outfits. I don’t need you to treat me though.”

That last line elicited what sounded like angry chatter.

Rad’s face was a personalized fireworks show as his expression shifted at least six more different times. “I’m not….Is it so-Ugh….”

They sounded like a lightly bickering married couple.

[daylilys137]

Here is part two of my Zutara teaching idea. Still not sure what to call it?

Katara loved her job. She had basically taken over for Master Pakku as soon as he had retired. Yue had taken over from nurse Kiyana just a year later, and Katara loved working with her best friend. To add to all the excitement, Toph took over for the earth bending teacher when he suddenly decided to dedicate more of his time to his wrestling career as “The Boulder”. It was nice having so many friends at her job, not to mention finally getting to rip out the last of the misogynistic ways of the old waterbending teachers. 

Most of the rest of her high school friend group had moved onto better and bigger things, and she wasn't all that good at keeping in touch with them. An occasional comment on a social media update or a text here and there was about it. The one she had been the worst at keeping in touch with was Zuko, mainly because she wasn't sure how to catch up without sounding too…. well, interested. She'd had a crush on him since her first year and knew that he would likely always just see her as an annoying little sister since he was always with Sokka. She had dated a few other schoolmates, one even in Zuko's class (Haru who graduated two years before she did). The last boy she dated had been her final year as a student, Aang. She hadn't really been sure about it, but she only had two more months before she graduated, so she figured if it wasn't great, it wouldn't last anyway with her heading off to live abroad for a year. They had ended things as friends. 

Here it was, 3 years later, and the man she had been pining for the longest was now rejoining her and her friends. She had turned around hearing Dean Bumi talking to someone, and seeing Zuko was so thrilling she couldn't help the smile that took her over. She tried to keep her voice casual at least when asking him what he was doing here. He had seemed shocked at seeing her. Bumi had answered the question, and she nodded, letting her smile fade to what she hoped looked more neutral yet friendly. She couldn't believe she'd be getting to see him all the time now. Then Zuko had simply said, “Katara, it's good to see you again.” 

The way Zuko said her name had her heart fluttering. She asked him if he was excited about teaching as they all walked back to the building together. He seemed pleased about the new arrangement, though a bit nervous. He talked about how leading men and women as an officer in the military probably trained him better for this job than just about anything else. As he headed out of her classroom to go fill out paperwork and get started on his own classroom, she told him to always feel free to ask for help should he need it. 

“My door is always open and if you'd like you can join Toph, Yue, and I this Friday night to celebrate the last weekend of summer. Maybe we could all catch up?” Katara said, trying to sound casual. 

“OK. Yeah, it might be nice to catch up with everyone. Zuko said, smiling at her. “And besides that I'm not sure if Toph will really let me get away with not coming. She might just bully me the whole way there.  Where are we meeting?” 

“Oh I can pick you up if you'd like,” and worrying it sounded too “date-like” Katara quickly added, “I could make sure Toph doesn't bully you the whole way there.” 

Zuko simply chuckled and said, “Sure. Text me when.” He turned and left her room. 

Throughout the week they would occasionally see each other at staff meetings, where she made sure not to sit right next to him. He was distracting enough without sharing his space. However, on Thursday, her luck was not so keen as she was running late. Toph had saved her a seat right between her and Zuko. Toph had smirked as she suggestively patted the chair. Toph had known for a while about her crush, I mean, there was no point in keeping a secret from the earthbender who could sense heartbeats. She sat down and scowled at Toph, though Toph wouldn't see it. 

She had immediately noticed Zuko shift a tiny bit and suddenly felt all the warmth coming from him. He was a firebender, after all. He was a foot away. It wasn't like she was sitting in his lap, but of course, now that she had pictured that scenario, she could barely hear the calendar announcements Dean Bumi was going through. Toph apparently had decided that since some terrible (or wonderful) fate had brought Zuko back, this year was going to be the year she should torture Katara. As soon as Bumi finished his announcements, Toph turned to her, Zuko and Yue and said, “Well, perhaps we should all volunteer to do the first one together, that way we get our required duty out of the way, and we all get to go together. It'll be like old times.” 

Her and Zuko simultaneously said, “What?” while Yue nodded in agreement. 

Toph smiled knowingly in her and Zuko's direction and said, “Weren't paying attention?... All teachers have to attend one dance during the year as chaperones. I was suggesting we all chaperone the first one together so that we don't have to do it the rest of the year. It'll be like old times, getting all dressed up and having fun together.” 

She looked over at Zuko unintentionally, thinking about what he looked like at the last dance before his and Sokka's graduation. He just happened to catch her eye, but he quickly turned away. She saw him swallow before nodding and saying, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. And if these kids are anything like we were, they're less likely to be completely stupid at the beginning of the year.” 

Yue smiled and said, “We could all go shopping for our outfits together.” 

Toph made a small grunt. She didn't particularly like shopping. “Well... I guess the first dance pictures always do end up in the yearbook, so we better be looking pretty good." Suddenly, Toph smirked and said, "Plus, it will give us a chance to dress Sparky up.” 

Katara could see Zuko turning a deep shade of scarlet, and she giggled along with the girls. He looked down at Katara with a small smile before pointing a finger at each of them, “I can dress myself, thank you.” 

They signed up in 4 of the last 6 spots for the first dance. Toph tried to bully Zuko into going shopping with them, but he simply said, “You guys will just have to surprise me with what you get. I will just be wearing a basic suit anyway.” Katara couldn't decide if she was more nervous or more excited about that first dance. It was still a month and a half away, and there was plenty to do in the meantime. Tomorrow, she would be picking up Zuko for their "teacher's night out," and she needed to be able to act normal through a 10-minute car ride alone with him. What should she wear?...

[finderseeker]

Last of the promised posts! I did one of those touch maps for Asteri! …like, a month ago, actually. But here it is now. It’s not front and back, but meh. Do note that some of the colors change meanings! Especially in the last one, where it’s less about comfort and more about degree of preference. Ex: she’s equally comfortable with her wings and tail being touched, but she’d prefer her tail for like, “holding hands.” On the first two, though, it is more about comfort. (And purple in the last one is. Well. More of ‘if we’re being intimate in some capacity, I like this.’)

Elaboration on stuff under the cut!

I imagine this raised some questions so I’ll get it out of the way first: Asteri’s chest is a bigger deal than her groin in all three of these, yes. This is the case for two main reasons: 1) that’s where she (usually) keeps her SOUL, and 2) in terms of chest vs groin, she has boobs a lot more consistently than she has anything besides mannequin anatomy below. (Why have anything if you don’t need it at the moment?) So it’s more of, “HEY, I know what you’re looking for and you’re not gonna find it, but why the heck were you going for it in the first place??”

Yes she’s got funky lil clawed feets. For now. She doesn’t like them touched very much. She might be ticklish.

Her antennae aren’t usually a big deal but they’re sensitive because she (usually) uses them to hear.

Similarly, her tail’s not especially sensitive anywhere, it’s more a proximity thing. A, “why are you touching so close to my butt/body” thing.

You can shove your hand in between her torso slices/other floating pieces and it’s literally no big deal, there’s genuinely nothing there. (She can even just pull them out and handle or move them.) However, again, it’s kind of a proximity thing. “Why are your hands in between my body parts?” and all that. Some random person she’s never met isn’t going to be allowed to shove their fingers in there, but she knows people find it interesting so she’s not opposed to letting people she knows try. Or, for example, a little kid who’s just curious— she might stick her leg out and show them/let them touch those floating pieces. Waving your hand in the empty space doesn’t feel weird, but touching the middle of the “slice” (actual body part) can be strange, depending. So generally she would rather you didn’t. With her partner, though, it’s basically, “Obviously I trust you with everything I am, so go nuts if you’re that curious, but it does feel kind of odd.”

Related to that, the underside of her topmost piece (her chest), and her neck… divot… or whatever you wanna call it… are both usually big no-nos because of the proximity to her SOUL. I’ve said it before, I think, but I’ll say it again: Asteri is essentially a liquid. She can be solid, but her most basic state is essentially goo. That’s why she melts when she shifts or gets upset. So, sure, you can’t just reach your hand through her body parts unless she either allows you, or she’s very emotional or weak, but it’s disconcerting regardless to feel something come close to somewhere so vulnerable when you know you’re technically just a liquid who’s choosing to be solid. We take being solid at all times for granted, but just imagine if you knew you could melt into slime whenever you wanted (or got weak or upset) (and you didn’t have bones), and someone poked you really hard right over your heart. I’d be uneasy!! I would not want to be touched there.

[angel-inked]

When they keep secrets

We all have secrets, don't we? Some are just bigger than others

A/N: happy new year 💖

Taglist: @vvkingofgaybisciutsvv @thequeenofthewinter @thedevilshardy @mollybegger-blog @wandawiccan60 @cameleonhardyfan63 @inkwolvesandcoffee @liliac-dreamer @potter-solomons

What he wanted.

"You ready?" You asked, smiling at Tommy. "Yeah." Tommy replied, quiet and stoic as ever. You kissed his cheek before getting out of the car, taking a deep breath as you stared up at your childhood home. The idea of Tommy meeting your parents didn't make you nearly as nervous as the idea of your parents meeting Tommy, and if Tommy is nervous, he's certainly not letting it show on the surface, not that his flat affect allowed much to seep though anyway. You ran your hand along the railing as you climbed the front steps that seemed significantly smaller and less steep than they did when you were younger, the light sent of your mother's cooking wafting out of the partially open window. The memories of childhood came flooding back to you, your dad chasing you up and down the hallway, mom making your favorite meals, getting a hug and kiss from both of them as they wished you well before you got on the school bus. What more could a kid ask for really. You swallowed your nerves and knocked on the door. It flung open before your arm even had time to retract to your side, "how have you been, honey?" You're dad asked, swiftly pulling you into a hug. You giggled into his shoulder. It was always unclear who was more excited for you to return home, you or your parents.

"Come on in," your dad ushered the two of you inside, "Tommy, right?" He added, Tommy turned to him with narrowed eyes of slight confusion. He nodded. "Phil." Your dad smiled, introducing himself with an outstretched hand. Tommy shook it hesitantly. He wasn't used to being greeted so cheerfully. You grinned as your dad hurried off, to the kitchen to tell your mother of your arrival, no doubt. Shaking your head as you moved that direction yourself, smiling at the sounds of Tommy's heavy combat booted steps following along behind you. Tommy would trail you like a loyal dog whenever he was unsure what to do with himself. Your nose followed the sent of a delicious lunch in the making into the kitchen, where you saw your mother hovering around a skillet on the stove burner. "Hi mom." You smiled with a wave. "Oh, come here dear, I need a hug!" She exclaimed, making you giggle like you did at your dad earlier as she pecked your cheek lovingly. "Who's this nice young man you've brought with you?" Your mother grinned, flicking her eyes toward Tommy with a grin. "This is Tommy." You smiled, gesturing to him. Your mother's face lit up, "I'm Cassandra, we've heard several wonderful things about you dear." Your mom introduced herself. You could tell Tommy was a bit blindsided by her characteristic vigor. He remained silent for a moment before finally settling on, "Likewise." After a moment. "Why don't you kids have a seat in the living room, and I'll call you when lunch is ready." Your mom smiled, waving you off as she went back to the stovetop. You nodded and took Tommy's hand in your own, leading him to the end of the hallway. "You okay?" You asked quietly, walking slowly to keep your boyfriend's lumbering pace. "Yeah," Tommy started, "people are just usually more excited to watch me beat the shit out of somebody than they are to meet me." He added. "Oh, really? Because they've been biting at the bit to meet you. Every phone call lately as somehow involved being asked when they were going to meet you." You grinned. You watched Tommy's eyes shift between your face and the space over your shoulder. Turning around, you saw a picture of your mother with a baby on her lap hung on the wall, both wearing matching smiles to boot. "Well," Tommy said, grabbing your attention. "I can certainly see where that grin comes from." He said, looking between you and the picture, making you smile and nod.

Tommy remained in the doorway of the living room for a moment as you flopped on the couch. He began inspecting the mantel, a wooden box with a glass top that stood up on its side held medals and ribbons, including a pyramid of power and a purple heart. He moved to the side to eye down a picture of a man in a formal dress uniform, recognizing this man as Phil, your father. The inside of his head felt hazy, like when somber clouds became intent on blocking out the sun. The world feels grey, and those who can disappear inside out of the gloomy weather. Some find a dreary rainy day depressing. Others, like Tommy, feel rather at home in the gloom of a downpour. "Tommy." A voice cut through the haze of thoughts. A hand clapped down on his shoulder, "you were in corps?" Tommy asked quietly, turning to face Phil, who nodded. "I swear, this shit follows me everywhere." Tommy mumbled. "You active?" Phil asked. Tommy shook his head, "Not anymore." He murmured, "I have one of these," he started with a gesture to the display box of medals. "The purple heart." He added. Phil smiled, straightening his back and lifting his right hand in salute, Tommy returned the gesture. "I commend you, Tommy." Phil smiled. "I should be telling you that." Tommy said quietly. "I should be asking why this is the first time I'm hearing about any of this." You said from your spot on the couch as you crossed your legs. "Because I don't like to talk about it." Tommy grumbled, hanging his head. Your expression softened, standing and moving toward Tommy. You gently wrapped your hands around his wrists to guide his arms around your midsection, engulfing him in the comfort of a warm hug. Your dad padded him on the back, unintentionally making him pull away from you. Tommy eyed him oddly, you thought, like a half-hearted side-eye. "Lunch is ready!" Your mom called before you could really question this look.

Settling in at the table, you almost felt like a kid again. "How was your day, sweetie?" Your mom asked. You smiled, grabbing a piece of the fried chicken off your plate as you began telling them about your week. Tommy ate in silence, giving himself hell mentally after flinching at your sudden outburst of laughter at one of your dad's jokes. "Is something amiss, Tommy?" Your mom asked. You turned to see alarms going off behind Tommy's eyes. "No, everything's good, I appreciate this." Tommy said quietly, gesturing to the table, trying to redirect the attention away from himself. "You're very welcome, deary." Your mom smiled. Tommy nodded and continued to eat quietly. Watching you joyfully converse with your parents, he wasn't sure he'd ever admit it to you, but this is what he wanted growing up.

First date dilemma.

Eddie has always found getting ready rather stressful after being in front of a camera for the better part of his career. He had always felt the inescapable feeling of having to impress or prove himself to people, but preparing for a date was even worse. "Mmm," a deep rumble reverberated through his skull, making Eddie freeze in place, awaiting further harassment from his inner critic, but it didn't come. "Your heart rate has risen." The dark voice said lowly. "Yeah, no shit." Eddie muttered as he examined himself in the mirror. He sighed heavily and shrugged off the grey plaid long sleeve, "Nope!" He said, shaking his head. Vemon sighed, Eddie narrowed his eyes at the sound as he put the shirt back in his closet, feeling a pair of tendrils extending out of the midsection of his back. The feeling of the symbiote oozing through his skin was like warm water through a strainer. It was odd at first, but now it's hard to go without the warmth of Vemon coursing through his vains or the feeling of security that came from the symbiote forming around his body. Eddie turned away from his closet to see a navy long sleeve button-down and his leather jacket being presented to him, "Put this on." Vemon said. "Are you sure?" Eddie asked, taking the shirt in his hands. "Yes," Vemon exclaimed, "otherwise, we are going to be late." the symbiote added. "Being late is kinda my specialty, ya know?" Eddie deadpaned as he buttoned his shirt. "Idiot!" Vemon exclaimed, "being late on a first date is not a good look." They snapped. Eddie sighed as he picked up his keys and motorcycle helmet, "You watch too many Hallmark movies." He grumbled, locking the door behind him.

He arrived at the restaurant with exactly a minute and a half to spare, thanks to Vemon doing most of the driving. "Now, I need you to be quiet, alright?" Eddie murmured under his breath, glancing around nervously. "Of course, Eddie!" His alien earpiece exclaimed, "You are perfectly capable of messing this up without my input." They added mockingly. "Well, thanks for having faith in me, jackass." Eddie muttered, rolling his eyes. His feet were suddenly glued to the ground once he spotted you sitting on a bench by the door, waiting. You smiled widely when you saw him, "Hi Eddie." You beamed. Eddie remained in stunned silence, eyes traveling up and down your form. "Say something!" Vemon hissed, Eddie could feel them face palming. "You.. look amazing." Eddie managed, with Vemon threatening to force whatever they wanted out of his vocal chords if he didn't. "You're pretty dapper yourself." You smiled, making small adjustments to his windblown shirt collar. You turned and started toward the door, Eddie stood dumbfounded for a moment before he let out a small, breathy, "Oh." At the unseen force going to work once again, making his legs move with an irritated sigh. The restaurant wasn't busy, so you were seated quickly. Eddie's face split into a grin as he watched you smile at a baby that cooed up at you from his mother's arms, "Oh, aren't you just precious!" You awed, giggling as the mom jokingly asked her son if he was being flirty. You went and sat at the table the host led you to, "What an adorable little human spawn." Eddie hoped Vemon's words were not meant to be as sinister as they sounded. "Um, would you excuse me for a moment." Eddie said to you in a nervous haste. You nodded, and Eddie found his way to the restrooms. Once the door shut behind him, he leaned on the sink with a heavy sigh. The sound of almost liquid matter moving made him look up at the mirror, seeing the floating head of his extraterrestrial buddy hovering over his shoulder wasn't nearly as terrifying as it used to be. Eddie shook his head lightly, running his hands over his face. "What?!" Vemon exclaimed, Eddie narrowed his eyes at the symbiote with an audible huff. "You're on a date, and I'm sightseeing!" His alien counterpart insisted. "And I asked you to do it quietly!" Eddie hissed. Vemon tilted their head to one side, a soft hum vibrated through their being. Their pearly eyes and face, despite mostly being made up of an ungodly amount of teeth, held no malice. Eddie let out a defeated sigh, "I just don't wanna mess things up again, like I did with Anne." He admitted, so to speak, wasn't like he could exactly hide anything from the extraterrestrial anyway. Vemon sighed as they bowed their head, "Don't worry, Eddie, we can get through this." They grinned. "And if we don't?" Eddie questioned. "We can say we tried." The symbiote responded. "Well, let's aim to not screw up, then shall we?" The reporter agreed, Vemon nodded and disappeared beneath the surface of his skin to allow Eddie to finish his business in a sort of simi-privacy.

Eddie found Vemon's lack of commentary after their conversation in the loo disconcerting. It was unlike them and made their host anxious. As Eddie sat down at the booth, the anxious feeling seemed to disappear and was replaced by a wave of calm, and from where Vemon and he were connected, a vague sense and means of assistance. "So, how was it?" You asked, placing an elbow on the table and resting the side of your head on a closed fist. Eddie's brows attempted to touch as his features conveyed confusion, "You're meeting." Vemon murmured. "Ah, my meeting! Uh, good, it was good." Eddie exclaimed. "Well, that's... good." You smiled, making Eddie snicker. "Say, did you ever get that promotion?" Eddie asked, making you nod with a face splitting grin. "That's amazing!" Eddie congratulated you. You remained in touch with Eddie after working together, and you couldn't be more glad you did. He was funny, and miles more supportive of your career choices than your last romantic partner, even his quirk of talking to himself was endearing. Your food arrived shortly after ordering, "You put that in the article?!" You gasped. "Why not? It was the truth." Eddie responded with a smile. You shook your head with a laugh, "The ever controversial Eddie Brock." You smirked playfully. Eddie once again found himself stopped dead in his tracks by you, hearing his name on your lips provoked evocative things in the reporter. "We like this one." Vemon purred. "Yes, we do." Eddie whispered lowly into his drink under the guise of clearing his throat.

Crafty Bastard.

"Alright, fine! Just don't work too hard, love." Alfie groaned as you helped him settle into his armchair. A sciatica flair left him doubling over as he tried getting out of bed this morning. "I should be telling you that." You smirked, bending down to kiss the lips of your stubborn husband. After an hour's worth of arguing, he finally reluctantly agreed to let you fill his place for the day and that he would satisfy your insisting that he needed rest. "But now, don't go letting anyone think they can just go slack off just because I'm not fucking there!" He ordered with a stern pointed finger as he layed his cane across his lap. "Wouldn't dream of it." You smiled, pulling on his black coat and wide brimmed hat, earning a whistle from the London gangster. You scoffed at his actions and left the house. Alfie tapped his cane against the floor, idly for a few minutes, to make sure you had left the house. He stood with a start, leaning his cane against the wall by the coat rack. "Finally." He grumbled to himself, Cyril lifted his head with a whine. "What?" Alfie groaned. Cyril replied with another whine, "You're serious? I should've been an actor, pulling off a performance like that." He mused. Cyril's ears perked forward as he tilted his head to the side, "Don't look at me like that, you mutt! A little lie never hurt anyone." Alfie said in retort. "Come on, we've got work to do." Alfie called as he walked out of the room with the mastiff at his heels.

"Where's Mr. Solomons?" Ollie asked, eyes wide with worry, or maybe they were wide from being startled by you slamming the door behind you to announce your presence in the warehouse, Thomas Shelby may have been right when he proclaimed you to be as eccentric as your husband, not that you cared. "Home," you stated, "Sciatica's giving him problems again." Ollie's features lit up knowingly as he nodded with a smile, "Right," the young assistant chirped, "shall we get to work then?". You spent the morning sifting through the messy state, Alfie always left his desk in. Papers strewn here and there, pens discarded wherever they happen to be instead of being put back in their holder, an abandoned glass of what's left of last night's whiskey on the rocks. You picked up the glass and inspected it carefully, shrugging your shoulders and deciding you only lived once. You took a small sip from the glass. Ollie narrowed his eyes as you swallowed the unsavory and heavily deluded room temperature liquid with a grimace. "What?" You asked, noticing the odd look Ollie was giving you. "Why?" Was the only word he could utter. "Why not? I'll have you know Mother didn't raise a milksop." You smiled, leaning forward with your elbows on the desk, a finger pointed right at Ollie. "And I'll have you know, you're just like Alfie." Ollie said, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Hmm," Alfie hummed, making adjustments to his tie in the mirror. "What you'd think?" He asked, turning around to face his oversized lap dog that was rather at home, sprawled out on his dad's bed unapologetically. Cyril lifted his head with a grunt, looking at Alfie with half lidded eyes as he gestured to his black necktie. "Tie or no tie?" He asked. Cyril blinked at him a couple of times before letting out a long, drawn-out groan as he flopped his head back down on the bed and stretched out his legs. "Tie it is then." Alfie said, slipping a light gray wool button vest over his white dress shirt. So far, his plan was going marvelously. Everything downstairs was neat and tidy, just the way you liked it. He had even spent extra time on the showroom that you had become rather proud of, and now he was dressed for the occasion. All that was left was to cook and set the table, and maybe just maybe, he thought to himself, if he had planned this correctly, he would be done by the time you were to return. "Oh," Alfie muttered upon exiting the bedroom, "almost forgot." He added, returning to the dresser. He rummaged for a bit before shutting the drawer with a soft thunk, "Cyril, here boy." he called. The bull mastiff left his comfy spot on the bed, sitting down at Alfie's feet and wagging his tail with a lazy pace, and his large pink tongue hung out of the side of his mouth. "Now there's a handsome lad." Alfie smiled after attaching the clip on bow tie to Cyril's collar, giving his handsome lad some headpats because handsome lads deserve their headpats.

"Have a safe trip home." Ollie waved you off as you sat a bag of paperwork in the backseat. "To you as well." You returned the wave, sliding yourself into the car. "Homeward bound?" Your driver asked. "Indeed." You nodded. You leaned your head back, closing your eyes with a sigh, and finally allowed your tired limbs to go limp and just be for the first time all day. It had been a while since you ran the bakery without your husband on hand. Alfie often asked you to accompany him to his meetings, claiming it was because he wanted your opinions, which was only partially true. You could be just as business savvy as him, but you've also brought a certain air into any space you enter that Alfie decided he'd rather not do without. A smirk lined your lips when you recalled your first face to face meeting with the Shelby clan, Alfie waltzed into the Shelby estate and announced that any and all ill treatment of you would not be tolerated with his pistol on full display as he waved it around. Before you knew it, you were on your doorstep, fumbling with your keys. You sighed in satisfaction when the lock finally clicked open, stepping into the warmth of home and out of the chilly Camden air. "Alfie, I'm home." You called, setting the briefcase of papers by the coat rack and shrugging off your husband's jacket. "In the kitchen, love." You heard Alfie call back. You narrowed your eyes as they landed on his cane, leaning against the wall. Deciding to ignore it, you followed the mouthwatering sent of dinner into the kitchen. Alfie was leaning back on the counter with his arms and legs crossed and a warm grin on his face. You eyed him up and down, and Alfie nodded toward the candle lit table. "Well," Alfie asked, making you turn back to him. "What you'd think?" He asked with a loving smile. "Everything looks wonderful," you murmured, "especially you." Alfie's grin widened, and he moved toward you, his hands readily finding your waist as he leaned in for a kiss. "Did you do all this?" You asked, Alfie nodded, but then a loud deep bark filled the room. You both looked down at the panting mastiff that was staring up at you, awaiting his own kiss. "Cyril helped to." Alfie said. Your face split into a grin, "I'm sure he did." You stated, binding down to place a kiss on Cyril's wet black nose, which he gratefully returned, making you giggle. Alfie returned his hands to your waist, "Happy anniversary, love." Alfie murmured, holding you close. "What about your sciatica?" You asked, a slightly worried look in your eyes. "Well, I had to get you out of the house somehow." Alfie chuckled, making you shake your head with a smile.

"You crafty bastard."

Out of patience.

Prohibition era Franklin County was full of secrets. The Bondurant brothers knew this better than anybody. After all, more than half of the county's supposed law enforcement were paying them, and no one really knew who that new highfalutin deputy thought he was. Eighteen year old Jack Bondurant and his eldest brother, Howard, considered Franklin's greatest mystery to be their brother Forrest, more specifically, wherever he'd been disappearing to after closing time. Howard pushed Jack to follow when they spotted Forrest heading off into the woods. Jack pressed his shoulder firmly against an elm that was just barely wide enough to hide him from sight if he stood sideways. He peered around the tree and was met with a view of his older brother's back. Forrest moved through the fallen leaves with the ease of a predator silently stalking its pray. He came to a stop, turning around suddenly, Jack jerked his head back out of sight so hard he might as well have jerked it clean off his shoulders, he exhaled sharply. Peering around the tree again a moment later, only to see nothing. Jack narrowed his eyes in confusion and relaxed his stance. Suddenly, he was grabbed and roughly shoved back into the tree. "Gah!" He exclaimed, sighing when he found himself eye to eye with Forrest. "What're you doin' Jack?" He asked quietly but sternly. "How the hell did you..", "I asked you a question." Forrest snapped, cutting Jack off. "What are you hiding?" Jack asked. Forrest loosened his grip on his little brother's arms and reeled back slightly, mulling over the question in his head. "Me and Howard's been seein' you take off in this direction for weeks now." Jack added. Forrest glanced off to the side as he removed his hat and held it against his chest, "Now what makes the two of you think what I do is any of your goddamn business?" He grumbled, gesturing between Jack and himself. Jack furrowed his brow, opening his mouth to speak but was ultimately cut off by Forrest once again, "Why don't you go pay your preacher friend a vist, better yet, go help Cricket fix the car. Whatever you do, just let me worry about what I got goin' on, alright?" The older brother explained, stepping aside. Jack stood and stared suspiciously at Forrest for a moment. "Well, go on, get!" Forrest ordered, flicking his head back in the direction of the station. Jack hung his head, glancing up at Forrest as he pasted him, feeling rather disgruntled.

Forrest sighed as he watched Jack until he disappeared into the underbrush. Briefly entertaining the irony of effectively telling Jack to go sneak around with that preacher's daughter, with himself being in the same situation tenfold. If that new common wealth's attorney knew what was going on right under his nose, Forrest was sure he'd be hunted down and sent to the gallows by Wardell himself. He pushed on despite these thoughts. He wrapped calloused fingers around the jar, barely being contained by his sweater pocket, as he treaded the unstable ground. He'd promised a gift last time, and he'd damn himself to all eternity if he didn't keep his word. He allowed a smile to tug at his lips as he saw you at your usual meeting spot, rear end parked on a log, waiting. A twig snapping under one of his heavy boots made you jump with a gasp, "You came." You smiled, standing up to hug his neck. "Yeah, finally." He said quietly, "had to deal with Jack before I could get away from the station." He added. "I wish I could meet your brothers someday." You sighed, sitting back down. "Oh, I'd say you will, with the rate we're going." He replied, taking a seat next to you, his smile becoming more of a smirk. You rolled your eyes with a smile, and he scoffed at your reaction. Forrest reached for his pocket with a deep sigh, retrieving the Mason jar, inspecting the clear liquor before nodding and handing it to you. You cracked the lid and brought the jar to your lips, smiling as the burn of watermelon moonshine engulfed your senses. "I'll never understand how you drink that fruity stuff." Forrest teased. You smirked as you took another gulp, batting your eyes at him innocently over the jar. "Don't you go givin' me that, I've seen you put that stuff away quicker than Howard does, and that's sayin' somethin'." He chuckled, leaning forward. "What's in the box?" He asked, gesturing to the square shaped box with a red ribbon tied around it that you had brought with you. "That's your gift." You smiled, wedging the open jar between your legs. You picked the box up and placed it in his lap, "You didn't." He grumbled, eyeing the logo on the box after removing the ribbon. "You have wire wrapped around one of your boots," you exclaimed, "it's past time you got new ones." You added. Forrest stared at you for a moment, "Do I have to put'em on?" He asked you stubbornly. "Yes, you do." You giggled. Forrest shook his head lightly but moved to replace his old work boots nonetheless. "You know you have every lawman in three counties up your ass right now?" You questioned. "Yeah, but the government of this state ain't the only way that the sheriff gets paid, and I've spent the better part of my years doing this, so I've got a government of my own, and I can run quicker when there is no sun." He responded. A smirk laced your lips as you took another drink. Forrest finished lacing his new boots just as a metallic sound caught his ears, turning his head to the side. He saw you toying with a pair of handcuffs, folding them over in your hands repeatedly. "Where'd you get them from?" He asked. "Well," you said with a half-suppressed laugh, "let's just say Rakes is going to miss the pleasure of seeing you in these." You grinned at him. "You stole'em." He said, his voice wasn't accusatory nor was his statement a question, just a simple matter of stating a fact. "And here I thought I was the criminal in this mess." He mused, standing up to shrug off his sweater, making your eyes light up as you grinned widely, to give you better access to whatever you wanted whilst mentally trying to burn the image of your expression into his brain.

Forrest ascended the front steps of Balckwater station slowly with a heavy sigh, knowing his brothers would leave the side door unlocked to await his return, like always. His body still felt as if it were reeling from its exploits, but he didn't mind. The change of pace was nice once in a while, and at least he knew he would get some good rest once he finally made it to his bed. He shut the door behind him and clicked the lock in place. Another sigh left his lips as he struck a match and lit up a smoke. He was careful not to smoke around you. Less the smell got you in trouble. Not that Mason Wardell was any better a man than Forrest thought himself to be. They were both outside the law in a way, just with different backgrounds and upbringings. However, Wardell was viewed as more approachable to the public eye that Forrest preferred to stay out of. The light of the embers and the staunch smell of tobacco were the only things that seemed to fill the room. Everything appeared still, or so Forrest thought. "Where the hell have you been?!" Howard exclaimed as soon as Forrest entered the barroom. "Nowhere that's any of your goddamn business!" Forrest retorted, sitting the box with the red ribbon out of sight behind the bar, Howard didn't need an invitation to ask more questions. Forrest parked himself on a barstool. In hopes, taking the time to savor his smoke would be enough to wait out Howard. The eldest ran his eyes up and down his baby brother, searching for anything that was amiss. "What're you starin' at your boots for?" Howard asked, leaning back in his chair. Forrest mulled over his words, "Had to get new ones." He finally said. Howard narrowed his eyes. Something still wasn't adding up in his head. Forrest never buys himself anything unless he's forced to. However, the brothers returned to their separate indulgences silently, Howard likely to succumb to a drunken stupor before ever actually making it to bed, and eventually, Forrest smudged out the butt of his cigar and made his own way to bed without a single word of a goodnight.

Forrest stared into his black coffee with a heavy exhale, taking a small break from his ledger to let his thoughts that had been clouding his work consume him. You were back in your world, and he's still stuck in his. He still carried a stinging feeling of guilt over first impressions, "You send your clown with the bowtie 'round here again, I'll make sure you personally pull a clever out of his fuckin' skull." He growled, yanking roughly on the breast pocket of Mason Wardell's shirt. He locked eyes with you as you gave him what appeared to be an approving smile and a small silent wave. He approached you in town a few days later, making sure your daddy was nowhere to be seen. You followed him behind the general goods store for privacy. "I, uh.." He started almost nervously, removing his hat, "I do apologize if I frightened you at the station the other day, I have no qualms with you." He wasn't even sure why he felt the need to apologize to you. You smiled at him again, "Honestly, I dislike that prig of a deputy just as much as you do. Dad is just as bad. That man takes a shit and thinks half of Virginia falls out of his ass." You chuckled. You giggled again as Forrest' brows made an impressive attempt to touch.

"Thank you so much for all the help, dear." You smiled as the elder woman grabbed your arm and shook it lightly. "You're very welcome, Selma." You replied, loading the rest of her groceries into her husband's truck, making sure to help her into the passenger seat when you were done. "Need a ride home?" Glen, her husband, asked. "Do you need help putting the shopping away?" You asked. "No, deary. You've done quite enough already, don't need a youngin spending their whole life worrying over us old folks." She smiled. "In that case, I'll see you at Sunday dinner. I have one more stop to make." You smiled. The older couple nodded, sending you off with a wave. Along the way, you intercepted a runaway ball, stopping it with the side of your foot. You smiled and waved before kicking the ball back to the eagerly awaiting group of kids with a light laugh. "Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson." You grinned. The old man tipped his hat as you gave his two dogs ear scratches. As small a town as Franklin County is, it felt like home. The only place that felt more like home was that little out of the way gas station just before you hit the county line. You kicked the heel of your boots against the edge of the steps to knock off the mud, "Alright, you boys better keep up the good business!" A man exclaimed, letting the door fall shut behind him. His exclamation made you look up at him with a sharp inhale through your nose. "Well, I'll be damned," the stranger said, removing his hat, "last place I'd expect that common wealth's attorney's offspring." He smiled. "I'm here on personal business, sir." You said coldly. "Of course, I didn't mean to pry. The Bondurants are in, and tell your father Floyd Banner says hi." The man said with a smirk, opening the door and holding it for you. "I say hi for no one." You muttered, walking past him. "Well, at least one of the Wardell's has some sense about them." He said jovial, letting the door shut as you turned back to give him a disgruntled look. You sighed, turning your back to the screen door. You were being ogled by two men at the bar. The younger of the two was dressed sharply, and he appeared to have stopped in the middle of wiping down the bar counter at the sight of you, judging by the rag in his hand. "This must be Jack." You thought. The other was atop a barstool, brown curls were in disarray on his head, and a wild look filled his eyes, a jar of hooch in his large hand. "Damn." The wild-eyed man said. "I'm lookin' for Forrest Bondurant, either one of you know where I can find him?" You asked. The man on the stool smiled widely with a nod, "Well, you'd think I'd know where to find'em, seeing how he's my brother and all." He said with a laugh, stumbling drunkenly as he tried to stand, catching himself on the edge of the bar. "Ah, Howard." The realization dawned on you. "He's in the kitchen. You can go on back, good luck gettin' anything out of'em." He added with an amused smirk. "Much appreciated." You smiled, feeling less of need to be formal, considering what you've heard of these two. Howard raised his jar to you with a smile, Jack nodded and gestured to a doorway, and you nodded back.

Sure enough, you found Forrest. Fitting a crust into a pie tin, of all the things you thought you'd never see him do. "What's this then?" You asked, smiling so hard at the sight before you, your cheeks became sore. "Well, somebody's got to do something with these apples, ain't no sense in lettin'em rot." He responded without looking up, starting to fill the crust with said apple slices. You stood quietly, just watching as he placed the slices in a meticulous pattern, admiring him with a smile. Forrest could feel a pair of eyes on him. However, it didn't feel like either of his brothers, and Maggie only came to him with questions or when she needed something. This stare didn't feel unfamiliar, however. So, he looked up and let his closed fists land on the table with a heavy thump. "What the hell are you doin'?" He exclaimed quietly. "Forrest?" A voice called. "Oh," a red-headed woman appeared, covering her mouth with her hand. "I wasn't aware you had company." She smiled apologetically. Forrest glanced between the two of you, hurriedly getting the top layer of crust on his apple pie, cutting vent slits with a knife. "Put this in the oven, would ya Maggie?" He asked, washing his hands. "Sure, Forrest." Maggie replied. "I've got business to attend to." He grumbled, eyeing you as he dried his hands. Forrest led you into his office. He locked the door behind him and shut the blinds. He spun you around and grabbed your wrists in an urgent manner. "Now, I asked you a question. What the hell were you thinkin' showin' up here?!" He spoke hurriedly. "First of all," you started, gently freeing your wrists from his grip. "Calm down." You said. Forrest sighed, rounding the corner of his desk and running his hands through his hair. "Just for the love of God, tell me what your doin' here." He urged again. You began to walk toward him, a smirk on your face. "Uh... what.., what are you doin?" He murmured. Your hands readily found his shirt collar, pushing him back against the wall and capturing his lips with yours. His hands were on your waist in an instant. Both of you were out of breath when you pulled apart, staring into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Couldn't wait." You breathed.

One more second chance.

The Vandals could get rowdy without a doubt. You glanced back as a loud cheer erupted out of the crowd of leather jackets and vests that engulfed over half of the parking lot, only to see Benny whisking a doe-eyed Kathy into their midst. You shook your head lightly, feeling slightly bad for the poor girl. Wasn't that long ago the two of you decided a night out was long overdue. Now you wondered if your sheltered high school best friend would be able to cope in your world, well, used to be yours.

Your sights were set on a lone red bike, parked on the opposite side to the others. Not that there wasn't enough room, even if that was the case, the only thing any onlooker would've seen was a flash and blur of movement, there ain't a Vandal worth their weight in salt that would leave their leader out on a cold curb. Johnny was like that, always had been actually, staring up and down the highway with a cigarette between his fingers. You supposed the trucker in him would always shine through. "She's still running?" You asked, gesturing to his bike. You could tell your voice startled him by the split second wide-eyed look he gave you, "Yeah." He nodded, bringing his smoke up to his lips, evening out his features like nothing happened. Classic Johnny. "No, she's not," you said with a confused look, "she's right here." You exclaimed, pointing at the bike. "Heh, very funny." Johnny quipped.

"The old man wanted some alone time with his smokes, I take it?" You teased. "What old man? Where?" Johnny questioned, narrowing his eyes and making a show of looking in all directions, including up in the air. You laughed lightly as you watched the index finger of his right hand flick the side of the cigarette he held in his left, another quirk that hadn't changed. Your eyes became glued to his ring finger as the smoke once again reached his lips, "You're still married?" You questioned. An amused smirk appeared on Johnny's face, "Heh, not for long." He responded. "Still lasted longer than I ever expected." You smiled. Johnny scoffed and shook his head, "Well, that makes two of us." Comfortably resting a hand on your lower back as you joined him in leaning against his bike.

"How's the ink shop? Haven't been by there in a hot minute." He asked. "Business is good." You said. Johnny nodded, "What'd I'd like to know," Johnny turned back to you, "is where did that pal of yours, Benny, get my design on his shoulder?" You asked, patting the logo on the back of Johnny's jacket with your palm. "Look, if I'd known he was going to get it tattooed, I would've sent him to you." Johnny defended himself. It was readily apparent that Benny didn't know your history when he introduced you to Johnny.

Silence befell the night air for a moment, "How long have we known each other?" You questioned. "You ask me that as if we weren't drunk when we met." Johnny chuckled. You smirked and rested your head on his shoulder, right where you could feel the thump of his heartbeat against your temple, staring up at a star filled sky. Your countless offs and ons with Johnny ran through your mind. You wondered many hows and whys in the span of a couple minutes. "Do you think we gave us too many second chances?" You questioned, out of the blue. "Why would I?" He responded, "we may be bad for each other, but it's not like we're good for anyone else." He added.

The moment was interrupted by the rumble of bikes roaring to life, "Hey," Benny called, coming to a stop next to you and Johnny, Kathy hugging his midsection for dear life. "We ready to go, boss?" Benny asked, gesturing to Johnny. Johnny turned to you, unintentionally bringing emphasis to his knees, bowed to an extent from straddling a hunk of metal for so many years, in the process. This made you smile the same way it did back then. "What'd ya think?" He asked, offering his hand to you.

"One more second chance?"

The gangster.

London, east end. 1965.

Maybe it was the elegant suit. Maybe it was the fact that he was currently strutting down the middle of Ormsby Street with a sleek Ford Galaxy at his back, following along like a loyal dog, saying good morning to everyone he passed. You'd say Reginald Kray was a well distinguished business savvy man, but you'd also had to have been living under a rock for several years to say that. Wasn't a single soul left in London who didn't know who the Kray twins were, Ron Kray was a one-man London mob. Reggie was quite the opposite, really, suave, charming, but proved to be just as volatile. You could walk into any pub to hear a lie or two about them.

The radio played a sort of upbeat tune as you whisked around the kitchen, humming along around the hardboiled sweet in your mouth. The morning had started out ordinarily enough, hurrying around to finish the chores your mother gave you alongside the promise to grant you the rest of the day to do with as you wished, so the quicker you finished the more time you'd have to enjoy yourself, right?. Maybe you'd go to one of the local shops for a bit of browsing, or perhaps pop out for a bite to eat with some friends. These thoughts were disturbed by a pounding at the front door. "I'll get it!" You shouted, with you being the only one downstairs currently, made sense, you figured.

You were met by a pair of piercing blue eyes that narrowed and the man's forehead creased as his clear and bright orbs scanned over your appearance, "Frank about?" The man asked before the twinge of regret of flinging the front door open so eagerly could properly settle in your gut. It would surely rear its ugly head later. "Frank!" You called over your shoulder into the house and up the stairwell. You turned back to face the finely dressed man with faux confidence, leaning against the door frame, determined to make yourself appear unintimidated. The man ran his eyes over your frame once again unashamedly, "Who are you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side with a quizzical look. "Frank's my older brother." You stated. "Hang about, I know you, but you.. you were smaller then. You've all grown up, haven't you?" He said with a half-suppressed smile. "It happens." You said, stepping out of the doorway, relishing in the coolness of the cobblestone underneath your bare feet. You both looked up at the sound of a window rising, and your older brother's head popped out, "Half a minute, Reg. right down." Frank called down, ducking back in.

Thankfully, the man in front of you didn't seem to either notice or much care that you snapped your attention back to him. Reggie Kray, at your doorstep, you marveled silently in your mind. The corners of his lips curled downwards into a frown. He adjusted his tie as he checked his watch. "Is my brother in trouble?" You questioned. Reggie nodded, then tilted his head to the side, away from you. Narrowed eyes still aimed down the street. "Will you go out with me?" He asked seemingly out of the blue, turning back to you suddenly. Your eyes widened in surprise. "I'll take it easy on him if you do." He added, a warm expression spreading across his face accompanied by a half smile. "Yes," you said, rolling your candy around in your mouth with your tongue, making clack off your teeth, "but not for that reason." You added.

"What's that you've got?" Reggie asked, gesturing to you. "A sweet." You explained, pulling the sticky light yellow olive shaped drop out of your mouth, holding it between your thumb and forefinger. "Oh, now that's not just any sweat, is it? That's a lemon sherbet." Reggie said matter of factly. "Mind if I have a crack?" He asked, reaching for the sweet. "Alright." You smiled with a light chuckle. Reggie popped the sweet tasting drop into his mouth, "Mmm, now that's nice." He mused, "Saturday night?" He asked. You nodded with a smile.

Suddenly, Mrs. Shea, your mother, appeared beside you. "What's the matter with you?" She scolded, "You’re half dressed talking to a man in the door. Get back in the kitchen. Finish them dishes." She ordered, pulling at the end of your fuzzy peach colored sweater. Not that you cared, if Reggie Kray would openly ask you out in your lounge wear, bare feet and all, did you really need to dress to the tens twenty-four hours a day. You shrugged, turning to head deeper into the house. "Hold on," Reggie started, making you turn back to him. His eyes shifted to your mother as he took your lemon sherbet out of his mouth, "This is yours, init?" He asked. You nodded, taking the sweet, looking your mother directly in the eye as you popped it back into your mouth before you sauntered off. Much to her displeasure. She growled at Reggie as he licked the sticky candy coating off his fingers before slamming the door in his face.

"Hmm," Reggie hummed as he thought to himself with a smirk, glancing between the cobble and the door, "well, the mum seems lovely."

[stillwintering]

All's Fair in Love and Politics  (a modern Nessian AU - where Rhys is running for president)

Summary: In the ruthless arena of politics, victory demands risking everything, even one's own heart. Rhysand has his eyes on the presidency. Feyre convinces her estranged sister, Nesta, to join the political campaign. As the campaign intensifies, Nesta and Cassian find themselves forging an unexpected bond. But can their budding romance survive the treacherous waters of modern political warfare?

(Nessian focused but lots of Feysand to keep things interesting.)

Read on AO3 / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Chapter 3

"Eris?" Gwyn looked surprised, her bright teal eyes catching the name flashing across Nesta's phone screen.

Nesta left her phone facing up on the table during Sunday brunch with her two best friends -- a tactical error. Nesta quickly sent the call to voicemail and slipped her phone into her bag.

"Again?" Emerie smirked from behind her coffee cup.

Nesta felt her face burn red. "I ran into him at the Hewn charity gala," she pushed her food around with her fork. "I don't know why he's calling."

Gwyn huffed. "I can't believe you saw Eris before you made time to see us," she teased.

"Things have been crazy with the campaign. And the gala was a work event," Nesta looked contrite. "When's your train back to New York, Gwyn? Do you have time to drop by Emerie's shop with me?"

"Don't change the subject," Gwyn's eyes twinkled. "Now we need to know what happened with Eris last night."

"I -- he -- " Nesta started, her face turning an even deeper shade of red, but found that she couldn't bring herself to say out loud that she had gone home with Eris for hate sex. "You two are the worst," she said instead.

Gwyn knew Nesta well enough to make the inference. "I thought you couldn't stand him!" Her face was equal parts surprise and amusement.

Emerie snickered. "No. They're friends with benefits."

"We are not friends!" Nesta hissed.

"Fine," Emerie was enjoying this entirely too much. "They are frenemies with benefits."

Nesta opened her mouth to reply but then said nothing.

Gwyn glanced between Nesta and Emerie and let out a laugh. "So are the benefits good at least?" Gwyn asked surreptitiously.

Nesta suddenly felt self-conscious. She tugged the collar of her blouse higher, hoping the red bruise Eris had left on the crook of her neck remained hidden.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Emerie observed.

Gwyn nodded. "That's definitely a yes."

---

Mercifully, Gwyn and Emerie let Nesta off the hook for the remainder of their brunch.

Nesta had dearly missed spending time with her two best friends. After college, they had all moved to different cities but still made time to meet up regularly. Gwyn headed a women's advocacy non-profit in New York City ("God, I miss having you in the City," Gwyn had said when she arrived in DC). Emerie owned a women's fashion boutique in Alexandria ("I'm so happy to have you close by now," Emerie retorted. "But I better see you more often from now on," she had admonished).

Their conversations flowed easily. Gwyn and Emerie both wanted to know more about Rhys ("Is he as handsome in person as he is in photos?"). They peppered Emerie with questions about the new woman she was dating ("What was her family like?" "Was she a cat person or a dog person?").

They both listened sympathetically when Nesta told them about Elain and Feyre. Gwyn wrapped Nesta into a tight, loving hug ("These things take time."). Until then, Nesta hadn't realized how much she needed to hear those words.

---

Cassian paced around Rhys's office Monday morning. The vote for the immigration bill was delayed.

"Beron is up to something," Azriel said from his corner. His eyes followed Cassian back and forth in the limited space -- they had removed all the visitor chairs from the room now that the team was bigger.

"He's gathering his forces for an ugly floor fight."

Rhys nodded in agreement. "I only told him I'd think about adding the amendment. It would no doubt kill the bill. He must have approached other members of the House about it too."

Feyre frowned. "It doesn't make any sense," she mused. "It would be politically beneficial for Beron and the party to pass the bill as is. Why is he trying to sabotage his own legislative priorities?"

Cassian shook his head. "As Speaker, he put the bill up to a floor vote. But now he's playing dirty behind the scenes," he turned to Rhys. "I never thought he actually wanted immigration reform."

Rhys looked down at his hands, considering their comments.

"We need to position our office as being pro-immigration," Amren said. She turned to Nesta, "Can you come up with some language on this -- our position for a press release?"

Nesta settled her gaze on Rhys. "That depends," she said, a challenge. "On what Rhys thinks about immigration reform."

Rhys turned his full attention to Nesta. "I support everything in the current bill," he said.

Nesta rolled her eyes. "What do you actually believe?"

Rhys paused, his face unreadable. The question hung in the air.

A knock sounded at the door. A young lady poked her head into the room. "Excuse me, sir, sorry to interrupt," the staffer said apprehensively, her face flushed. "All the members are being called to the floor."

Rhys rose from his chair. "We'll continue this later," he said to Nesta on his way out the door, the young staffer at his heels.

Nesta looked after him and frowned. She didn't like how Rhys avoided her more probing questions regarding his political agenda. Was Rhys waiting to see which way the political winds would blow before settling on his policy goals?

Azriel picked up his laptop and papers. "We still need to figure out what Beron's trying to pull," he said, scrolling through his phone. "Let me make some calls. Maybe someone in the Speaker's office is willing to enlighten us."

Nesta was still looking out the open door after Rhys's disappearing form. "Don't bother," she said. "I'll talk to Eris."

Everyone in the room went still.

Nesta turned to Azriel and observed that his lips were drawn into a tight line. "Eris had been calling," she explained. "So I'll call him back."

Cassian's jaw worked. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said slowly.

"Eris wants the bill to pass," Nesta said, getting impatient. "He'll play ball."

Cassian started pacing again, avoiding looking in Nesta's direction.

Azriel's frown deepened.

Amren surveyed Nesta while drumming her manicured fingers on the surface of the desk. "Do I need to worry about you and Eris?" Amren asked carefully.

"Excuse me?" Nesta's voice rose. She looked between Amren, Azriel, and Feyre. They were all studying her with interest. She didn't know whether to be insulted or outraged. She knew she didn't like the implication of the question.

"I am a professional and I'll conduct myself as such. I expect the same from all of you." Nesta's tone was brusque.

Amren hesitated but looked to Feyre.

The sisters stared at each other intently. "I trust you and your judgment," Feyre finally said. Nesta let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Amren nodded. "Fine, call Eris for a meeting," then she pointed at Cassian. "You're going with her."

"I don't need a chaperon." Nesta crossed her arms.

Amren looked out the window, her eyes searching for some distant object outside. "I have no doubt you can handle yourself, girl," she said. "But Eris needs to be reminded of who he's jostling with."

---

"Look who finally decided to return my calls." Eris's voice crackled over Nesta's speaker. Cassian stood next to her, his eyes on her phone. Amren had insisted they work as a team, and then Cassian insisted on listening in on the call.

"I'm already regretting this," Nesta retorted, rolling her eyes at both her phone and Cassian.

"I'll make it worth your while," Eris's tone was lurid. Cassian raised his eyebrows.

Nesta looked up at Cassian. Something twisted in her at the pained expression on his handsome face. Cassian held her gaze and nodded grimly for her to continue.

"Just tell me where to meet you," she said.

---

Eris picked a tiny diner on the outskirts of the city for their meeting the next day. He was surprised to see Nesta walk in with Cassian's towering figure behind her.

"I didn't know this was bring your child to work day," Eris told her drily, barely acknowledging Cassian's presence. He gave Nesta a quick kiss on her cheek and then gestured for them to sit in the booth across from him.

The diner looked like it hadn't been updated since the 1950s, with checkered linoleum floors and bright red benches. Cassian scanned the long rectangular space. They were the only ones there except for the wait staff.

Nesta was nervous to meet Eris with Cassian. On their drive here, they only spoke to each other in short curt sentences, going over what they would ask Eris. She had opened her computer in the passenger seat and worked on the immigration press release. Her years of reporting had trained her well for writing on moving vehicles. Cassian was a quiet, comforting presence beside her -- he left her to her work and focused on navigating through traffic.

A waitress came up to their table. "What can I get you folks?"

"Just coffee," Cassian said and crossed his arms.

"Same for me."

"The beautiful lady will have a slice of your chocolate cake, Alis," Eris smiled. "And I'll take the lunch special." After the waitress left, Eris turned to Nesta -- she arched an eyebrow -- and added, "It's the best chocolate cake in DC, I swear."

Cassian looked like he was ready to throttle Eris. "You come here often?" he asked sharply.

"Something like that," Eris's face was impassive. "Nesta didn't mention she was babysitting."

Alis returned with three mugs of coffee before Cassian could respond.

"Why are we here, Eris?" Nesta asked. She could already feel her annoyance surfacing.

"I told you the chocolate cake is amazing," Eris gave her a wicked grin.

Cassian drank his coffee, letting Nesta take the lead as they had discussed.

"Well, out with it," Nesta said with disdain. "What did you want tell me that can't be said over the phone?"

Eris pouted. "If you had stayed the night," he drawled. "I would have told you in the morning."

Nesta refused to let Eris rile her up. She gave a quick side glance to Cassian. His face went dark. Nesta felt a twinge of remorse -- she didn't want to drag Cassian into her twisted alliance with a scoundrel like Eris. She didn't want Cassian to think that she took satisfaction in any of this.

"We don't have time for idle talk, Eris," Nesta said, keeping her voice neutral.

Alis came by again with a sandwich on one plate and a huge piece of chocolate cake on another. They fell silent as Alis walked back to the counter.

Instead of responding, Eris picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He looked at Nesta expectedly.

Nest sighed, unwrapped the fork from a napkin, and ate a piece of the cake. She hated that it was the best chocolate cake she had in a long while.

Cassian was visibly pissed off.

Satisfied, Eris took another bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly. "Beron doesn't care whether the immigration bill lives or dies," he finally said.

"Why did he put the bill on the floor then?" Nesta put her fork down.

"Beron allowed the bill to come to a floor vote to appease the progressive wing of the party," Eris continued. "They have been threatening to revolt."

"We know," Cassian said. He shifted in his seat, his knee knocked against Nesta's. She blinked.

"Beron doesn't care what happens to immigration reform," Eris looked bored. "He just doesn't want the progressives to get too big for their britches."

"So this poison pill amendment is just to teach them a lesson?" Nesta asked.

"Beron wants them back in line," Eris affirmed.

Cassian and Nesta exchanged a look.

"You know," Eris nudged the cake towards Nesta again. "Tarquin has been pushing for a more strigent clean energy bill, close the loopholes for large corporations. He's been looking for the right co-sponsor."

Nesta nodded, understanding. Tarquin was the leader of the progressive caucus -- maybe, just maybe, there can be a deal.

Cassian looked at Eris pointedly, picked up Nesta's fork, and took a bite of cake. "Mmm, delicious," Cassian moaned theatrically. Nesta's lips quirked upwards into a slow smile.

Eris furrowed his brow in surprise.

Cassian swallowed, licking his lip. "And the defense budget?" Cassian asked deliberately. "Why is Beron pressing for a 20% increase?"

Eris pushed his plate away from him. He leaned back in his seat and assessed Cassian. "Does Starborn support widening the war in the Middle East?" Eris asked in response.

"Rhys served three tours in Afganistan," Cassian replied cooly. "His military record is unimpeachable."

"Does Starborn support widening the war?" Eris asked again.

This time, Cassian said nothing.

Eris looked smug. "That's what I thought." He stood up, put on his immaculate Italian wool jacket, and dropped a $20 bill on the table. "I'll call you later," Eris winked at Nesta and walked out the door.

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