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suituuup · 4 years ago

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pieces - chapter nine

Five years ago, Chloe dropped off the face of the Earth. Beca didn’t expect to see her again dancing in a strip club, out of all places.

rated: E (drug use and emotional abuse in early chapters)

ao3 link

“Chlo?”

Beca called out when she came home that evening, pizza box in hand. She dropped her keys into the bowl by the entrance and toed off her boots, rounding the corner to the living room.

She had noticed a definite shift in Chloe’s overall demeanor ever since Chloe decided to keep the baby.

A light in her eyes that wasn’t there before, which reminded her of the Chloe she once knew, who was slowly coming back to life.

It was weird and a little scary to think about how a newborn was going to be living with them in six months. She didn’t know how involved Chloe wanted her to be, but Beca was ready to help, whether it be with prepping the room, shopping for little Bean, or getting up at night to change diapers and feed them a bottle.

“Hey,” Chloe greeted softly from her spot on the couch, clad in sweatpants and Beca’s Bellas hoodie she had kept since that night. “How was work?”

“Good.” They’d just finished layering the song, but Beca chose to keep that to herself, as she wasn’t sure she was ready for Chloe to hear it, yet. “How was your NA meeting?”

Chloe smiled and grabbed her purse, fishing for something in it. She produced a chip, showing it to Beca. The words 60 days clean and serene were written on it, the NA logo on the other side.

Beca beamed. “Holy shit, Chlo! That’s amazing!”

She knew some days weren’t easy, even if Chloe’s overall mood seemed brighter, and she was insanely proud of her friend.

“Yeah, I’m... “ Chloe shook her head. “I honestly didn’t think I would make it that far, when I got out of rehab,” she paused, meeting Beca’s eyes. “Thank you. For believing in me, and supporting me. I honestly-- I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for you.” She fiddled with the chip and smiled softly. “Now let’s make it to six months.”

“Six months,” Beca echoed, nodding. “That sounds like a great goal.” She tilted her head to the side. “Have you talked to your parents today? How’s your dad?”

“Yeah. He’s good, I think. I feel like he wouldn’t tell me if he was in pain, though.”

“Did you tell them about Bean?” Beca asked softly.

“No, I… I really want to tell them in person, once I’ve… told them the truth. Which is why I wanted to ask you…” Chloe nibbled on her bottom lip, clearly hesitant. “Would it be okay if I borrowed some money so I could visit them? I hate to ask this with everything you’re doing for me, and I promise I’ll pay you back when I get a job.”

“Chlo,” Beca said gently, smiling. “Of course it’s okay. I’m glad you’re visiting them. That’s the first goal on your list, isn’t it?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah. And I was also wondering if-- you’d like to come with me? I know you’re busy, so I totally get if you can’t.”

Beca pondered on that for a few beats. She was touched that Chloe offered for her to come along, and she hadn’t taken a break in a long time. “I’d love to. When did you want to go?”

“Ideally before I start showing to the point where I can’t hide it anymore,” Chloe answered with a cringe as she rubbed the small bump hidden under her hoodie. “I guess I should be good for another month and a half or so?”

Beca hummed. “Memorial day weekend is in three weeks, I could take Thursday and Friday off so we have three whole days there?”

“That sounds perfect,” Chloe murmured. “I also wanted to know if it was okay if I invited Aubrey over for dinner next weekend? Now that I feel a little better.”

“Of course. I’d love to see her, too. But I can totally hang out at Sarah’s if you guys want a one on one evening?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, no, you can stay here.” She cleared her throat. “Is Sarah… okay with the situation?”

“I uh, I haven’t told her yet,” Beca said. “About the baby, I mean. I wasn’t sure if you were okay with me telling her, yet.”

“Oh. No, you can tell her.”

“Okay, I will when I see her tomorrow,” Beca said. “I bought a bacon-mushroom pizza with pineapple on one half. You hungry?”

“Starving. I don’t know what it is with Bean, but I can’t stop eating.”

Beca chuckled and pushed to her feet, giving Chloe a boost up. She padded to the island and opened the box, then headed to the cabinet to get two plates out. “Are we watching The Bachelor? ”

She froze in her motion when Chloe zoomed down the hall, the sound of retching reaching her ears next.

“Shit,” Beca muttered, setting the plates down on the counter before following after Chloe. She knelt by her and gathered her hair in her hand, rubbing her back in slow circles.

“Bean doesn’t like mushrooms,” Chloe mumbled once she was done, reaching up to flush the toilet.

“Are you sure it’s not the pineapple on pizza thing? Now that’s gross.”

Chloe threw her a playful glare as she rested her back against the wall. “It’s definitely the mushrooms.”

“I’ll go toss the pizza and open up some windows to clear the air. Want some ginger ale?” She had stocked up on that since it seemed to help Chloe with her morning sickness, which was lessening now that she had reached the end of her first trimester.

“Sure, thanks.”

Beca came back a minute later with a can and offered it to Chloe, lowering herself next to her. “Are you excited for your appointment next week?”

Chloe took a sip. “Yeah. And nervous. Less so now that I’m past twelve weeks, but I’m scared something bad might pop up on the screen.”

Beca’s hand came to rest on Chloe’s thigh. She had read into the possible complications cocaine use during pregnancy could have on a baby: premature delivery, malformations, weaning at birth… cocaine wasn’t as bad as opiates, and Beca had read that only 3-5% of babies had birth defects, but it was still enough to trigger some worry.

“Want me to come with you?” She asked, always cautious when it came to not overstepping.

Chloe covered Beca’s hand with her own, a small smile curving her lips. “Yeah.”

Beca smiled back, then reached for her phone in her pocket and pulled up the app she was looking for. She angled her screen towards Chloe. “Bean is the size of a lemon this week.”

Chloe cocked an eyebrow. “You downloaded an app that follows the baby’s growth?”

“Yeah.” Beca’s nose crinkles in awkwardness. “Is that weird?”

“No,” Chloe says, shaking her head. “I think it’s sweet. Bean’s going to have the best auntie in the world.”

Chloe’s words made Beca’s heart swell, and she cleared the sudden emotions rising in her throat. God , that baby wasn’t even born but she knew she was already a goner. Which was weird to think about, because she couldn’t stand kids. But this was Chloe’s, so it was bound to be adorable, even despite Marco’s genes.

“Aunties,” she corrects after a while. “All twelve of them.” A smirk curves her lips as she shrugs. “I’ll just be the coolest one.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “The one Bean will come to for dating advice?”

Beca’s nose scrunched up. “Yikes. I’ll swing that one over to Stacie. No , Aubrey. Can’t trust Stacie with dating advice.”

She looked down at her phone when it lit up with a text from Sarah, saying she had just got off work and asking Beca if she wanted to come over to her place and whether she had eaten dinner yet.

“Is that Sarah?” Chloe asked softly.

“Yeah… she asked me if I wanted to go over, but--”

“I’ll be fine,” Chloe assured her with a soft chuckle. “I’ll probably pass out on the couch around 8:30. You should go.”

Beca nodded. “Okay.” She pushed to her feet, sliding her phone in her back pocket. “See ya, Beale and Bean.”

She smiled at the sound of Chloe’s giggle on her way out, sliding her boots back on and grabbing her keys before slipping out. Sarah lived a fifteen-minute car ride away on a good traffic hour. Beca parked in front of her building, having stopped on her way over to grab sushi from her favorite place.

“Hey you,” Sarah greeted as she opened her door.

Beca smiled, pecking her lips as she stepped inside. “Sushi?”

Sarah groaned, plucking the paper bag from her fingers. “You’re the best.”

Beca chuckled. “Long shift?”

“Yeah,” Sarah breathed out as she padded to her living area, setting the bag on her kitchen counter. “Beer?”

“Sure.”

They caught up on their respective days while they ate, low music playing from Sarah’s speaker.

“How’s Chloe doing?” Sarah asked as she cleared up their plates.

“Pretty good, I think.” Beca twisted around on her stool, tracking Sarah with her eyes as she cleared her throat. “She’s uh, she’s pregnant.”

There was a notable pause in Sarah’s movements, before she gently set the plates down on the counter. “Wow,” she let out as she turned around. “Is she… keeping it?”

“Yeah,” Beca replied. “I didn’t tell you before now because she just reached twelve weeks and the risk of miscarriage was pretty high up to that point.”

Sarah nodded slowly. “Is she okay?”

“It’s a lot, but she seems to be adjusting pretty well. If anything, the fact that she’s pregnant is helping her stay strong against her cravings.”

“Good, that’s good,” Sarah murmured. She nibbled on her lower lip, something she often did when she was nervous or irritated about something, Beca had noticed. “So um, is she going to stay at your place?”

Beca furrowed her brow. “Well, yeah. She doesn’t have a job and barely just got back on her feet, I’m not going to kick her out.”

“No, of course. I mean, long term,” Sarah corrected herself. “Because she isn’t going to move out when the baby is born either, I’m guessing.”

Beca tilted her head to the side. “Does that… bother you? The fact that Chloe is around?”

“I just--” Sarah sighed, glancing down. “I’m not sure where I fit in all this.”

“What do you mean?” Beca questioned softly, sliding off her stool and taking the few steps separating her from Sarah.

“I guess I was hoping we would move in together, somewhere in the near future.” She shrugged. “We’ve been together for over a year and we haven’t even broached the subject.”

A soft sigh flitted past her lips.

“And I feel like a jerk, again , because Chloe obviously can’t be on her own right now, and what you’re doing to help her is remarkable and it makes me love you even more, but… I want a relationship with a trajectory, not a flat line. Those sleepovers a few times a week, and having some of our clothes at each other’s place, it just doesn’t feel like enough anymore. At least not to me. I want us to start building something real, you know? Not… with your best friend and her baby living right across the hall.”

Beca licked her dry lips, swallowing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know-- I had no idea that’s how you felt.”

“Bec, is that what you want, too?” Sarah asked then, softly, almost shyly, as though afraid of Beca’s answer. “Because if it’s not…”

“Yes,” Beca said, nodding. “Of course it is.” At least she believed so. She had always struggled when it came to commitment, and that was probably the reason why an uncomfortable feeling spread in her belly at the thought of moving in with Sarah. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

Beca spent the drive home playing her conversation with Sarah over and over in her head. She understood where Sarah was coming from, and was even surprised Sarah had stuck around when Beca was so emotionally stunted when it came to expressing her feelings. She hadn’t given much of a thought to wanting to change things so soon, as she felt comfortable with the pace they were going.

A heavy sigh puffed past her lips when she made it inside her apartment. She changed for bed, washed her face and brushed her teeth, settling in bed just past eleven. A knock at the door pulled her attention away from her phone.

“Come in,” she called out softly, smiling when Chloe’s head popped inside. “Hey. What’s up?”

Chloe shuffled in and sat at the foot of the bed, seemingly deep in her thoughts. “I’m-- I’m struggling.”

Beca straightened a bit from her slouched position and set her phone aside. “Come here, Chlo,” she coaxed, patting the space next to here. “Cravings?”

Chloe sat against the headboard, drawing her knees to her chest. She tugged on the ends of her hair, then started to bite at her nails. She was shaking. “I keep— finding reasons as to why I should— I should take something, telling myself one drink won’t hurt the baby and it would just be to—to take the edge off.” She reached inside the front pocket of her hoodie and handed Beca a twenty dollar bill, unable to meet Beca’s gaze. “I-I stole this from the bowl by the door to go buy myself a bottle.”

Beca swallowed and plucked it from her fingers, making a mental note not to leave any money laying around either.

“Thank you for telling me,” Beca murmured, imagining how hard it must be for Chloe to admit that she almost slipped up, and knowing how important for her recovery it was that she reached out.

Among the many things Beca had read about addiction, one thing stuck with her: the opposite of addiction is connexion, something Chloe had lost for a long while when she let her job and her toxic relationship consume her. But she wasn’t on her own anymore, and Beca believed that was a vital step to her recovery.

“You’re the strongest person I know, Chlo. What you’re doing is incredibly brave, and I’m in awe of you every single day. There’s no shame in thinking about it. It’s a normal part of the process. What is important is the fact that you didn’t let the addiction win.”

Chloe shut her eyes and nodded, her shoulders slumping as she released a long breath.

“Have you tried… singing it out? Or… dancing it out?”

Chloe shook her head. Beca pushed to her feet, grabbing her phone and shuffling through her playlist. Florence + The Machine’s Shake It Out started to play from her built in speakers as she rounded the bed and extended her hands out.

“Come on, Beale,” she coaxed once more when Chloe hesitated, holding out both hands.

Chloe eventually relented, but she stood there, seemingly unsure of what to do. The carefreeness that once inhabited Chloe was nowhere in sight, and Beca’s heart broke upon realizing it.

But she wasn’t giving up.

She broke into her robot dance routine, knowing perfectly well it didn’t go with the music at all. Acting like a dork did make Chloe crack a timid smile, which prompted Beca to keep going, grinning when Chloe started swaying to the beat, slowly at first as she closed her eyes, taking it all in.

“Shake ‘em out, Chlo,” Beca said, reaching out to increase the volume as the chorus hit.

And Chloe danced. For real this time, without any chains holding her back as she let the music and the lyrics carry her, spinning around as she sang to the top of her lungs.

“Shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa

And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back

So shake him off, oh whoa…”

#bechloe #bechloe fic #chloe beale #beca mitchell #pieces

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chicgeekgirl89 · 4 years ago

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A Tale of a Fateful Trip: Chap. 2

Fandom: NCIS LA

Characters: G Callen, Sam Hanna, Kensi Blye, Marty Deeks, Nell Jones, Eric Beale, Otis

Read Chapter 1 Here

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Callen returned much sooner than he should have, a grim look on his face. “Radio’s out,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure even if the engine is working, we’re not going anywhere. The board does…not look good.”

Kensi paused her bagging and swiped a hand across her forehead. “And we’re too far out for cell service.”

“Does Sam have a spare radio?” Nell asked.

“He does,” Callen said. “But Kam is camping with friends this weekend and he sent it with her.”

“Well that’s perfect timing,” Nell said.

“Did you find anything interesting up here?” Callen asked.

“Just your standard bullets and whatever shell casings we dropped,” Kensi said. “Nothing special or unusual that would help us identify whoever was on that boat.”

“Okay then,” Callen said. “And Eric? How are things over the side?”

Eric was still hanging over the railing and gave him a thumbs up without lifting his head.

Callen nodded. “Excellent.”

Meanwhile downstairs Sam was pulling up the panels that hid the engine. The area was already full of water. Sam swore. “Get a bucket. We’ve got to get some of this out of here.”

It took them ten minutes to bail enough water out to find the hole. “I’m guessing we need to patch that?” Deeks asked.

“I’ve got some supplies in the wheelhouse,” Sam said.

“I’ll get it,” Deeks said, moving back up the stairs. He and Sam worked for nearly thirty minutes to get the boat water tight again. “It’s a temporary fix,” Sam said finally. They were both soaking wet and dirty with engine grease. “At least we won’t sink.”

“What about the engine itself?” Deeks asked.

“Too wet to say,” Sam said. “Might dry out enough on its own, might need to be replaced.”

“But either way, we’re not going anywhere for a while,” Deeks said.

“Nope,” Sam sighed. “We’re dead in the water.”

“What’s our status?” Callen asked when they’d returned topside.

“Water in the engine,” Sam said. “The radio?”

Callen shook his head.

The weight of the situation started to fall over all of them. Eric lifted his head, eyes wide. “Are we—-“

“No,” Callen cut him off. “No, don’t say anything. Let’s just…take a moment, and we’ll figure this out.”

It was certainly something of a shock to all of them to find themselves at the mercy of the ocean. Not that they hadn’t been in tight spots before, but this one seemed particularly tight and unexpected.

“Oh my god, we really are an episode of Gilligan’s Island,” Eric finally said in horror.

“No we’re not,” Sam snapped. “We’re on a boat, not an island, and I have enough supplies to last us a month at least.”

“Yeah spare blankets and water bottles aren’t going to be much help if our new friends show back up,” Deeks said, sinking down onto the deck since they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“And I’m not really interested in subsisting on a diet of hardtack and MRE’s for the rest of my life, Skipper,” Callen said.

“Don’t call me Skipper,” Sam snapped.

“If Sam is the Skipper and Callen is Gilligan, who am I?” Deeks asked.

“You and Kensi are the Millionaire and his wife,” Eric said.

“What’s your reasoning on that?” Callen asked, pretending to feign disinterest.

“Well they’re married.”

“Unless Beyoncé or Brad Pitt take a sudden interest in buying out the bar I think ‘millionaire’ might be a stretch,” Deeks said.

“And I’m not sure I’m good with being reduced to ‘and his wife,’” Kensi said.

“Wait,” Nell said, “if they’re the Millionaire and his wife who does that make you?”

“The professor,” Eric said with a grin. “Naturally.”

“I assume I’m Ginger then?” Nell asked.

Eric squinted at her. “No Ginger would be Hetty if she were here.”

“So I’m Mary Ann?!” Nell cried indignantly. “I don’t want to be Mary Ann! Eric I have red hair.”

“You can be Gilligan if you want,” Callen offered.

“We are not Gilligan’s Island!” Sam practically yelled.

“Okay, this isn’t productive, we can’t just sit here,” Kensi said, getting to her feet.

“Some of us are lying here,” Deeks said, from where he was stretched out on the deck, an arm thrown over his face.

“Nell’s right,” Callen said. “We need to figure something out.”

“I can work on the radio,” Eric said right before he blanched and had to lean over the side again.

“Yeah I think maybe I’ll handle that,” Nell said, her nose wrinkled.

“I’ll come with you,” Callen offered.

“I’ll go take another look at the engine,” Sam said.

“And Deeks and I will gather up any other weapons and ammo we can find,” Kensi said.

“And I’ll—“ Eric gagged and then caught himself. “I’ll stay here.”

“Good plan buddy,” Deeks said, patting him on the shoulder.

Nell stopped short when she walked into the wheelhouse. “Wow. Lucky shot indeed,” she said as she took in the damage.

It had apparently been more than one shot, the entire board was full of holes. She took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to need a drink.”

“C’mon,” Callen said, reaching out and touching a couple of switches, one of which fell off and dropped heavily onto the floor. “You’ve seen worse than this right?”

“Have I?” Nell asked, raising her eyebrows. “This thing looks like a piece of Swiss cheese.”

“Come on Mary Ann,” Callen nudged her shoulder. “The Professor’s been hit on the head by a coconut and the Millionaire and his wife are searching for their missing diamond so you’re our only hope.”

“Haha,” Nell said as she began to pull out wires. “You don’t have to stay up here with me.”

“Are you insinuating that I don’t have the skillset to help you with this task?” Callen asked with mock hurt.

Nell sent him a bemused look. “Would you rather I say it outright Gilligan?”

“Fair point. But I can hold things.”

“Fabulous.” She yanked hard and the entire top of the console came off. “Hold this.”

“Ah,” Deeks took a deep breath. “Nothing like an afternoon of weapons requisition on the high seas. Maybe after this we can swab the poop deck or walk the plank.”

“Don’t let Sam hear you say that,” Kensi told him as she pulled a Beretta from behind a wall panel. “He’ll probably take you up on it.”

“Touché.” Deeks looked at the weapon she’d given him and checked the chamber. “God this boat is better armed than the entire Navy. Where does he keep the grenade launcher?”

“I don’t think grenade launchers are standard issue for boats,” Kensi said as she clicked the panel back into place.

“Yeah well neither are Glocks, Sigs, and shot guns,” Deeks said. “I’m surprised the boat hasn’t sunk from the weight of the ammo on board.”

“And aren’t we glad he not only follows Navy mottos but the Boy Scout ones too?” Kensi said as she straightened.

“This takes ‘always be prepared’ to a whole new level,” Deeks said as he strapped a Glock to his thigh.

Kensi checked her watch. “Well I guess we’re not getting back in time for dinner with your mom tonight.”

“Gee what a shame,” Deeks said. “Missing dinner with my mother and her new boy toy might actually be the silver lining to this tragedy.” He scratched at his neck. “Although she is definitely going to freak out if we don’t show with no warning. She’ll probably call the Pentagon.”

“Well then at least someone will be looking for us,” Kensi said. “Can you imagine if your mom ends up being the one to save our asses out here?”

“Oh god,” Deeks groaned. “We’ll never hear the end of it. She’ll want a medal of honor.”

“Well at least then we’d be rescued instead of having to live out our days on a deserted island,” Kensi said.

“I don’t know,” Deeks said. “Might not be so bad.”

Kensi raised her eyebrows at him. “You realize there are no cronuts on a deserted island.”

“Yes,” Deeks said. “But there are also no bad guys with guns. Or bills.”

“No indoor plumbing, no beer…”

“We can make coconut beer,” Deeks said then did a double take. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

Kensi grimaced. “Yeah, no. It’s a pretty terrible idea.”

“Damn it!” Sam swore as the wrench he was using went splashing into the water.

“Everything okay down here?” Eric’s voice drifted down the staircase.

“My boat is full of holes everything is damn well not okay,” Sam huffed.

Eric finished his descent and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “You need any help?”

“I thought you were losing your lunch over the side,” Sam said.

“I think the bracelet is finally kicking in,” Eric said, holding up his wrist. “I’m ship shape now!”

Sam studied him for a moment and then pointed the rescued wrench at him. “If you puke down here…”

Eric held up a hand. “I will not. I promise.” He took a step closer. “Mind if I take a look?”

Sam sat back. “Be my guest.”

Eric poked around for a few minutes. “Nothing looks cracked or broken.” He fiddled with some more connectors. “I’m guessing you got water in the fuel.”

“Yeah that’s what I thought,” Sam said, face showing defeat. “Nothing we can do about that out here.”

He tossed the wrench against the wall where it made a dull clanging sound before it dropped back into the water. “Hey, this isn’t your fault,” Eric said.

“I know it’s not my fault. Doesn’t stop me from being mad about it.” Sam was seething. “If I find out who did this I’m going to put them in the ground.”

“You could send them to Davey Jones’ Locker,” Eric said with a grin, which he quickly wiped off his face at the sight of Sam’s now perpetual glare. “Or not. The ground is fine.”

Sam stood. “Come on. Nothing else we can do down here. Might as well go be useful somewhere else.”

“Aye aye Skipper!” Eric said with a mock salute.

“Call me Skipper one more time and you’ll be floating home in a life preserver.”

Kensi and Deeks headed up to the wheelhouse to arm Callen and Nell then met Sam and Eric on deck to do the same. “Any luck with the engine?” Kensi asked.

“Tank is full of water,” Sam said. “Can’t pump it out here.”

“So we’re sitting ducks,” Deeks said.

“Pretty much,” Eric said. “How’s Nell doing with the radio?”

“It’s a mess,” Kensi told him. “There’s wires and tape and I don’t even know what else.”

“I’ll go see if she needs any help,” Eric said.

“You doing okay?” Kensi asked Sam.

He shook his head. “I’m just sorry we’re in this mess.”

Deeks put a hand on his shoulder. “They got the jump on all of us. There’s literally nothing we could have done.”

“Hey,” Callen appeared. “Eric said the engine’s no good?”

Sam shook his head. “Looks like Nell’s our only hope.”

“So…no different from any other case?” Deeks asked with a grin.

“Pretty much,” Callen said.

“So I guess we just…wait?” Kensi asked.

It turned out they were incredibly bad at waiting and doing nothing. And it didn’t help matters when half an hour later Nell and Eric returned, Nell in a particularly bad mood. “It’s totally fried,” she griped, dropping down next to Callen on the deck. “Nothing we can do.”

None of them liked being beaten. It might have helped if they could have just sat back, had a couple beers, done a little more fishing, and hung out while they waited for a rescue from some passerby. But with the threat of possibly sinking or their new enemies returning to finish them off, nobody felt safe enough to get even slightly inebriated.

That didn’t seem to matter after a while as Eric and Deeks began to brainstorm increasingly complicated scenarios to get themselves out of this mess. “Titanic!” Deeks said with a snap of his fingers.

“Yes!” Eric said excitedly. “We just take the door off the wheelhouse—“

“No one is taking my boat apart anymore than it already is,” Sam growled.

“One of us could swim for it,” Callen said mildly, stirring the pot in the subtle way he enjoyed so much.

Eric eyed Sam critically. “How long can you hold your breath?”

“What about Otis?” Deeks asked.

“What about Otis?” Sam was looking beyond irritable at this point.

“Lassie got little Timmy out of the well every week…” Deeks said with raised eyebrows.

“He’s not a trained monkey!” Sam said. “Besides, he doesn’t come this far out.”

There was a moment of stymied silence. “What if we manage to make landfall and spell out SOS in the sand?” Eric asked.

“If we make landfall I want my hut by the good coconut tree,” Callen said.

“First of all we’re anchored, second of all if we did make landfall it would be on an island controlled by the Navy, so we’d already be rescued,” Nell said.

“Smoke signal?” Deeks asked.

“Build a raft out of life vests?” Eric countered.

“Train two dolphins and water ski!”

“Oh my god I can’t live on an island for three years with the two of you!” Kensi said.

“You don’t want to reenact Castaway with me babe?” Deeks asked.

Callen raised his eyebrows. “In that situation, which one of you is Tom Hanks and which one is Wilson?”

“Oh my god, this is starting to feel a lot less like Castaway and a lot more like Lord of the Flies,” Nell huffed.

“I think it’s about to get a lot more Captain Phillips,” Eric said in alarm, pointing toward the water.

Sure enough the boat from before was speeding back toward them. “Everybody arm up!” Sam yelled.

They all ducked below the railing, weapons at the ready. “They’ve got us seriously out gunned,” Callen said as he cocked his rifle.

“Then we’ve got to make them think we’ve got more firepower than we do,” Sam said.

“Any chance you’ve got a harpoon on this thing Captain Ahab?” Deeks called.

Within minutes gunfire began to pepper the side of the boat again, all of the agents returning fire as best they could with their limited supplies.

“I’m out!” Deeks yelled far too soon.

“Me too!” Callen yelled.

Kensi popped up over the side and spent her last few rounds. “That’s it for me!”

A terrible realization began to settle over the group as their ammo was spent. “Okay,” Callen said, voice slightly thick with emotion. “They’re going to take the boat. Do what they say. And if you can see a way to get out…take it. Don’t worry about the rest of us.”

Kensi and Deeks locked eyes, their hands automatically finding one another. Nell and Eric did the same, both a little pale. Sam looked at Callen. “I’m not holding your hand.”

“Wouldn’t expect it big guy.”

The gunfire intensified, causing all of them to huddle closer to the deck as wood splintered and flew in their faces.

And then, when all hope seemed lost, a siren shattered through the gunfire and suddenly they weren’t being sprayed with bullets anymore. The team exchanged quizzical looks and then Callen popped his head over the side, ducking back down almost immediately. “Oh thank god.”

“What? What is it?” Kensi asked anxiously.

Callen took a breath and let his head fall back in relief. “It’s the Coast Guard.”

“Seriously?!” Everyone scrambled upward to take a look.

“Oh my god,” Nell said, thumping down onto the deck in relief. “Oh my god.”

“I will never make another negative Coast Guard joke as long as I live,” Deeks said fervently.

The gunfire finally ceased all together and the Coast Guard ship drew close to them. “This is the US Coast Guard. Prepare to be boarded.”

Weapons were dropped immediately as they all found their badges and ID’s. Within minutes they were being hooked up for a tow as a second Coast Guard vessel appeared to help deal with their drug runner pals. “How on earth did you find us?” Callen asked one of the guardsman.

“Craziest thing I’ve ever seen. This sea lion came up to the boat and wouldn’t leave us alone,” he said. “We ended up following him and he led us right to that drug boat.”

Shock and surprise crossed all their faces. “Somebody owes Otis is a very large mackerel,” Callen said.

By the time they reached the dock everyone was exhausted and more than a little cranky. “Ow!” Deeks said with every move.

“I told you to put on sunscreen,” Kensi admonished.

“I was a little busy trying not to die,” he shot back.

Nell was still bemoaning her inability to get the radio working. “If we’d just connected the—“

“Let it go,” Eric advised, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“You can’t stay on the boat tonight,” Callen argued with Sam. “It’s full of holes and doesn’t have a working engine.”

“I’ve stayed in worse places,” Sam argued back.

“Sam, why don’t you come to our place,” Kensi offered.

“Yeah at least we have furniture for you to sleep on,” Deeks said, looking pointedly at Callen.

“I have a bed!” Callen protested.

“Yes, one bed. Are you two going to cuddle all night long?” Kensi asked.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Sam declined. “My boat and I will be just fine.”

As it turned out it was not fine. The dockmaster wouldn’t allow the boat to stay in the condition it was in. “Well then Skipper, looks like you’re coming home with us,” Deeks said.

“You can rub some aloe on Deeks’ back,” Callen said with a smirk.

Sam wrinkled his nose. “Nobody had better be rubbing anything near me.”

#NCIS LA #A Tale of a Fateful Trip #Gilligan's Island #G Callen #Sam Hanna #Kensi Blye #Marty Deeks #Nell Jones #Eric Beale

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tsarisfanfiction · 4 years ago

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WIP #59b

(Send me a number 1-60 [or a fandom/character I guess] for the corresponding wip) because I’m bored and brain-fried and have too many wips that’ll otherwise never see the light of day.

@purfectpurple asked for more of this one! Which, tbh, I get the feeling a few of you wanted, judging by your reactions to it.

So, we’ve had our nasty accident and a nice healthy dose of emotional and physical whump for Scott. Let’s see what the rest of the brothers are up to, shall we?

(If it wasn’t obvious by now, I’ve had so much fun writing this one. It’s definitely getting revisited once I have the time. And no, this still isn’t everything I have written for this wip because it’s a pretty long one... considering it was supposed to be a oneshot)

Gordon was last to the scene, summoned by Alan’s shouts and John’s too-loud voice transmitting from every speaker in the den, and arrived just in time to see Scott disappearing from the room with hunched shoulders. In front of him was carnage: Alan wriggled in Virgil’s grip, determined to escape the thickset Tracy even though Virgil showed no indication of releasing him, and John was hovering with crossed arms above them, eyebrows furrowed in an expression of worry more usually seen on Virgil.

He didn’t need any explanations. Late to the party he might have been, but he had ears and he was fairly sure Alan’s explosion could have been heard in Australia.

“Let. Me. Go. Virgil!” Alan ground out, but the bear of the family simply held tighter and made his way over to the nearest sofa, writhing brother in his grip.

“What’s got into you?” their elder brother demanded.

“Nothing!” Alan snapped.

“Nothing doesn’t lend itself to you telling our eldest brother you wish he was the one presumed dead,” John cut in coolly. Gordon startled, not expecting their space-bound brother to be quite so harsh towards Alan. The two astronauts tended to band together, and a division in those ranks meant things were serious.

“I never said that!” Alan argued back, giving up on trying to escape Virgil’s death grip and assuming a pose that could only be described as sulky.

“Maybe not in so many words,” John conceded. “But that’s what I heard and, more importantly, that’s what Scott heard.”

“He’s just being so annoying,” Alan defended himself, as though there was really any defence for saying that to anyone, and Gordon knew once he calmed down he’d be regretting it. “Alan don’t do this. Alan, don’t do that. Alan, you’re too young,” he mimicked, kicking his legs out. Virgil took the hits without commenting.

“He’s trying to protect you,” he said instead. “He does it to all of us, you know that.”

“I know,” Alan grumbled. “But it’s too much! How are we supposed to save people if we’re being smothered into being safe all the time? He’s going too far!”

“He was there,” John cut in quietly, reclaiming all of their attention. “You might not know – you were all away at the time – but Scott was with Dad on that mission.”

Something heavy and unpleasant lodged itself at the bottom of Gordon’s stomach, and from the sudden look of horror on Alan’s face, he wasn’t the only one. Virgil looked sad, like he’d already suspected it.

“Scott was there?” Alan’s voice came out strangled. “Then… how…?”

“It was supposed to be his mission,” John continued, and Gordon felt sick at the idea that it might have been Scott lost back then, or worse, both Dad and Scott. “Dad changed his mind at the last minute and told him to hang back.”

“‘I couldn’t save Dad’,” Virgil murmured, and Gordon’s attention snapped to him. He wasn’t restraining Alan anymore, instead holding him in a hug that wasn’t being protested. “He said that to me, once.”

“I didn’t mean it.” Alan sounded small, even younger than his fifteen years. In Virgil’s hold he looked it, too. “I was just frustrated… he knows that, right? Scott knows I don’t actually wish we’d lost him?”

“I’m sure he does,” John said, sounding more like his usual self and taking Alan’s side once again. “But you should still apologise when he gets back.”

“Where has he gone, anyway?” Gordon wondered out loud, and John checked something out of their sight before frowning.

“His comm signal is by the pool,” he said.

“But sitting still isn’t Scott’s thing,” Virgil pointed out, and John nodded in agreement, lips pressed together thinly.

Gordon took it upon himself to head out onto the balcony and sneak towards the edge, only to find what they already suspected. “He’s not there.”

“Maybe he dropped it?” Alan sounded hopeful, but Gordon knew he didn’t believe his own words – their communicators were designed to stay with them no matter what. The only way it would come off of Scott’s wrist would be if he took it off on purpose.

He couldn’t imagine what Scott could be feeling to intentionally cut himself off from the rest of them.

“He’ll be back in his own time,” Virgil said, heaving a sigh and finally letting go of Alan. The youngest sprang to his feet and ran straight down the stairs; Gordon watched from the balcony as he rooted around beside the pool for a moment before bending and picking up something blue. It didn’t take a genius to know what it was.

If he’d gone for a run, they were probably looking at an hour before he came back. Resigned to an awkward wait, Gordon followed his younger brother down the stairs and flopped onto the nearest lounger. The pool gleamed invitingly at him in the early afternoon sun, but his swimming gear was in his room and he couldn’t muster the motivation to leave the poolside.

Alan stood at the edge of the paved section, staring out down the path around the island, Scott’s communicator clutched in his hands.

Together, they waited.

And waited.

“He hasn’t come back.” Alan’s voice was quiet and trembling as it broached the silence. Above them the sky was changing into greys and oranges as dusk loomed. “Why isn’t he back?”

Gordon tapped his own communicator.

“John? Any sign of him?”

“He isn’t back yet?” the ginger asked, popping into holographic existence immediately. “It’s been four hours.” His fingers flew over an invisible keyboard, and Gordon watched his face get more and more frustrated. “Scanners can’t tell him apart from the other wildlife,” he finally admitted. “But there aren’t any lifesigns on his usual trail.”

“Well we know he hasn’t left the island,” Virgil said from behind them, a second holographic John hovering over his wrist. “None of the jets are unaccounted for.”

“We have to find him!” Alan sounded close to tears. “It’ll be dark soon!”

Earlier, Gordon – like Virgil and John – had been of the opinion that Scott should be left alone to chew through the argument in peace. Now, he agreed with Alan.

Four hours was too long and his squid sense was prickling uncomfortably.

“Alan, you’re with me,” Virgil said. “We’ll check the main trail first and try to find which route he took. Get your boots.”

Boots.

What had Scott been wearing? Gordon couldn’t remember.

“I’ll take the trail the other way,” he said. “Meet you halfway.” Virgil nodded and they scattered to change.

“Don’t forget a torch,” John said from his wrist. “You have just over an hour until sunset.” Gordon threw one into the bag he was hastily packing, alongside a first aid kit – hopefully not required, but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it – and a grapple with several packs.

He didn’t reconvene with Alan and Virgil, simply striking out as soon as he was ready with a quick message across the comms to let them know. Scott’s favourite trail was easy to follow, well pounded into the earth by years of running, but Gordon knew he wouldn’t find him on there. If he’d ditched his comm, he didn’t want to be found, and John’s minimal information confirmed that the trail was still devoid of life.

Scott would have taken one of the other, tougher, trails. The problem was that Scott was the only one who knew all of them. Alan knew the rock climbing trails, Virgil knew the ones that led to good viewpoints, and Gordon knew the ones nearest the ocean. To find him, they’d need to use all the old fashioned tracking knowledge they had, drilled into them by Dad and Grandma with the threats that technology wouldn’t always help them.

With Scott’s comm still firmly in Alan’s possession and too many lifesigns on the island to differentiate which one was their brother, technology was decidedly useless.

Gordon almost missed it – unevenly spaced footprints snaking away from the main track and up over a steep incline. He called it in, but Alan and Virgil were almost at the other side of the island already. By the time they reached him, the encroaching dusk would make the trail too hard to spot. He made the executive decision to proceed alone.

It was slow going, the path tough and often fading into little more than craggy outcrops the closer he got to the summit of the volcano. Scott did these for fun? He always knew his eldest brother was crazy. Said crazy brother was currently missing, though, and Gordon couldn’t bring himself to poke fun at him when he’d been gone for too long.

A gash yawned in front of him – a jagged line cutting diagonally through the rocks – and Gordon eyed it carefully as he started to manoeuvre his way around it gingerly, only to stop as he caught sight of something that didn’t look like it belonged there.

Darkness was looming, encroaching on his visibility too much for him to confidently identify it with the naked eye, so he dug through his pack for the torch John had told him to bring. He almost wished he hadn’t when the something turned out to be a scrap of light blue fabric caught a little way down the crumbling edge of the rockface.

He knew that colour, just as he knew what the dark smear accompanying it was.

“John,” he called, and his brother appeared instantly. “Any of those life signs directly below me?”

Please say no, he begged silently as he stared into the darkness.

“There’s one,” John said after a moment. “About fifty feet below you. It’s not moving.”

There probably wasn’t a worse thing to hear right then. The first aid kid in his bag suddenly felt heavy, and he reached for his grapple.

“I’m checking it out,” he said, pleasantly surprised that he sounded in control still.

“What have you found?” Virgil cut in – of course John had linked them all together. Gordon didn’t answer as he shot the line and, praying it would hold and that the rocks wouldn’t give way like they clearly had earlier, swung down over the edge.

It narrowed quickly, the chasm turning into a slit barely big enough for Gordon to get through. Virgil would never have fit, and Gordon wouldn’t have expected Scott to except the smear of blood dragged all the way down through it, more snatches of blue shirt snagged on outcrops at random intervals.

He had to push the pack through first so he could get through, and counted the seconds until he heard it thud against something. Only two – not too bad of a drop. If you had a grapple line.

He touched down easily, sweeping the torch across the volcanic cavern to first locate his pack, and then the source of the life sign.

It didn’t take long for a shadow to look wrong, and he hurried over, heart in his mouth.

The good news was that it was Scott.

The bad news was that Scott didn’t look good, at all.

“John, see if you can find another way into this cave,” he said. “Virgil, if he can’t, make one.” His torch caught the unnatural angle of Scott’s leg and he bit back a curse. “And bring a stretcher.”

WIP #59c>>>

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #tsari writes fanfiction #wip excerpt #gordon tracy #alan tracy #virgil tracy #john tracy #scott tracy #thunderwhump #thunderangst

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crystalgirl259 · 3 years ago

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How to Train Your Dragonblood 3: The Dragonblood Alpha Ch3

After Jay and Cole finally got Kai and Rocky to stop their little game of tug and war, they all flew towards the smoke to investigate it. Below them, the trees look like an orange, yellow blur below them and on any other day, Jay would be in awe. But as they flew further into the forest, however, the bright orange and yellow colors became a burned, gray forest. The place looked downright depressing. The trees were devoid of any leaves, standing like sticks among the ashes.

They flew through the burnt remains of the forest until they reached the ocean and saw a large and piercing structure of ice, with large protruding spiky icicles.

As they flew around the destroyed structure, Cole realized that used to be a type of trading post or battle fort. This fort looked like it was once a thriving outpost, complete with docks for ships, weapons, and what looked like cages. Jay really hoped they were for containing livestock and not something else. There were even raised docks for archers to fire. Despite Cole clearly identifying the fort as strong, something had reduced it to splinters and icicles.

At first, they thought it was an Ice Dragonblood, but judging but the size of the blast, it must have been an incredibly large and strong one.

They stopped in midair to take in the sight. Jay turned around to Cole, who shrugged helplessly. They had all seen Ice Dragonblood attacks before, but it wasn't just the ice that was strange. The way the ice shot out from the ocean suggested a Water Dragonblood, but the few scorch marks on the bits of wood exposed made Jay think of a Lightning Dragonblood, or possibly a Fire Dragonblood. Jay could feel Kai's hope through their link, but they both knew not to get too hopeful.

They had been disappointed in the past.

They flew closer to the massive hunk of ice, looping through a ring and around it until the man-made structure became more visible.

"What happened here?" Jay asked in horror, but none of his friends had an answer for him. As they kept flying around, the wood splinters on the ice made it seem as if the ice suddenly grew in the middle of a village. On the muddy ground around the ruins, two dragon-like footprints were seen. They looked to be around the size of the monster from the Dragonblood's Nest from five years ago, possibly even bigger.

"I really don't like this," Kai said through the link as he shook his head and Jay put his hand on his neck in reassurance.

"Easy, baby." He replied, but he couldn't hide his own unease.

"Jay!" Cole suddenly cried when he saw something down in the ice, but it was too late.

"Fire!" A man suddenly shouted from below as a net was launched from a trapped ship and Jay and Kai got out of its range just in time. Even though the couple had managed to dodge the net, Cole and Rocky were not that lucky. The Earth Dragonblood was caught in the net and they fell down. Cole was thrown off from the saddle during the sudden drop. The noirette cried out as he fell, but Kai to catch him in his claws. Rocky landed on the ground and men suddenly surround him, carrying shields and spears.

Rocky struggled to escape or transform, but the net seemed to be made from vengestone, blocking out all of his powers.

As the men closed in, Rocky launched rock spikes from his tail that struck a fallen mast. From behind the fallen mast, a man jumped out to join in the fight. The middle-aged man had messy black hair and sharp, sandy brown eyes with long sideburns and stubble around his mouth and chin. He wore a brown jacket with large pockets on the front and a patch on the right side, tan pants, and a black belt, and carried a brown whip. He was also wearing an eyepatch on his right eye with a necklace made up of large teeth from hunted dragonbloods.

"Watch the tail!" He shouted to the men as he leaped on Rocky and grabbed his snout and head spines, pulling him down. As the men tried to tie Rocky's legs, he grabbed a rope wrapped around his arm that he used as a muzzle when he was suddenly distracted by a loud roar in the sky. As he looked up he saw a red dragon crossing the sky above at blazing speeds. "Is that what I think it is?" He whispered as his eyes widened in shock and excitement.

"STOP!" Jay shouted as Kai flew lower with Cole still hanging from his claws. Cole growled in anger when he saw his friend in chains as he hopped down and ran towards his dragonblood, but was pushed back by the men holding up their weapons in a warning. Jay quickly stepped up, holding a flaming sword that he swung at them. They backed off in surprise and Cole took the chance to grab a random sharp stick from the floor.

"Back again?" The man sneered angrily at them until his eyes zeroed in on Kai, still in his dragon form, snarling and snapping behind them. His eyes widened in amazement as she stood up on top of Rocky, holding his left hand over his sword. "Well what do you know, that is a Fire Dragonblood." He smirked at Kai with a predatory stare. Jay's eyes narrowed as he kept his hand in front of protectively while the dragonblood bared his teeth at the hunters.

There was no way Jay was going to let these hunters hurt his boyfriend.

"Thought they were all gone for good." The man continued, sounding very pleased. "Looks like our luck has turned for the better, men; I don't think the Baron has one of those in his dragonblood army."

"Dragonblood army?" Kai mentally asked. Jay was also curious, but right now they needed to save Rocky.

"Look, we don't want any trouble." He tried to reason with the man but he laughed, mocking them, and carelessly gripped into one of Rocky's head spikes. Cole bristled, but fortunately, nobody saw it. The last thing they needed was a fight with their leader targeting Kai and Rocky still in chains while he and Jay were badly outnumbered.

"You should've thought of that before you stole all of our dragonbloods and blasted our fort to bits!" The man shouted angrily as he pointed to the remains of a structure that were impaled by ice. The other men holler in agreement, but the riders were even more confused.

"Wait, what are you talking about? You think we did this?" Jay asked in disbelief. The man huffed and placed one foot on Rocky's head as he scowled at them in contempt. Cole and Kai scowled right back and Jay gripped his sword tighter.

"Dragonblood trapping is hard enough work as it is without do-gooders dragon riders sneaking in to rescue them!" He shouted angrily, but this just confused the trio even more.

"What do-gooders?" Kai asked, but Jay said nothing as he and Cole shared a look before the ginger-haired man processed the whole sentence and turned around, sheathing the sword.

"There are other dragon riders?" He asked in shock. As far as he or anyone else from Ninjago was aware, they were the only ones who ride and co-exist with Dragonbloods. The people of Ninjago had tried for years to get the other islands to accept the Dragonbloods, but it was a painfully slow process.

"You mean other than your little thieving friend from last night? You tell me! You may have an all-powerful dragonblood on your side but we still have a quota to fill!" He sneered as she stepped down from Rocky and on the floor, slowly pacing in front of his people. "How do you suppose we explain this mess to the Iron Baron?!" The man demanded in rage and his people all shouted in agreement. As soon as he said that name, Kai visibly stiffened.

There was no way that fairytale was actually true.

He could swear he had heard that name before when he was just a hatchling, but everyone believed it was just a scary story their parents would tell them to make sure they stayed as far away from humans as possible.

"Kai? Do you know him?" Jay asked through their link, but Kai shook his head, confusing everyone but Jay.

"Never met him, but when we were little Mom would tell Nya and me of a giant human made out of metal trapping disobedient Dragonblood hatchlings and dragging them to the Cursed Realm to work as slaves in his monstrous forge for all of eternity," Kai explained, barely suppressing a frightening shudder. When they were little and told this story, Nya and her friends thought it would be funny to gather up and scrap metal lying around.

They then used it to make Kai think the Iron Baron was coming for him.

"Does anything you say make sense?" Cole growled, snapping Kai and Jay out of their private conversation.

"He's expecting a new shipment of dragons by tomorrow." One of the men said, looking torn between anger and fear. The man, obviously their leader, pointed his finger at the one speaking and nodded his head in agreement.

"The Baron doesn't take well to excuses." Another trapper wearing a hood added, batted his blade weapon at them.

"This is what he gave me last time I showed up empty-handed." The man said as he pulled down his coat and shirt to show them a scar burned into the front of his left shoulder. Cole, Kai, and Jay looked at each other mortified. "He promised to be far less understanding in the future."

"Look, we don't know anything about a dragon thief or an all-powerful dragonblood or your lunatic boss and his dragon army, okay?" Jay gulped nervously, not noticing as the man faintly nodded and other trappers behind them aim their catapults and crossbows at the two humans and Fire Dragonblood. "Just give us back our dragonblood and we'll go, you very strange hostile person whom we've never met."

"Oh, where are my manners?" He mocked as she bowed down and slowly clutched a knife strapped to his lower back. "I am Clutch Powers, the finest dragonblood trapper alive." He announced as he took the knife out of its sheath with a flourish. He looked up where the men turn a large crossbow. He smirked as he pointed the blade at Kai who growled louder.

"After all, it's not just anyone who can capture a Fire Dragonblood."

"Go jump off a bridge you one-eyed bitch!" Kai roared, even though Jay was the only one who understood him.

"This is my boyfriend Kai; he says we're going, now!" Jay snapped, standing protectively in front of his boyfriend, even though they both knew Kai could handle himself in a fight. All of a sudden, the hidden dragon trappers attacked and Kai barely managed to dodge the hit from the crossbows. At the same time, the men began to converge on them. Thinking quickly, Kai shot a fire blast at the ice above them. A large icicle broke off and fell down, causing the trappers to yell and duck for cover.

Clutch too was thrown off his feet.

Jay quickly activated the sword and the flames around it and quickly cut the ropes binding the Earth Dragonblood. With his dragonblood free, Cole, Kai, Jay, and Rocky fly away while Clutch got back up. By the time he was up the pairs were both back in the air.

"You will never hold onto those dragonbloods forever, you hear me? The Iron Baron is coming for them all!" He yelled at the top of his lungs furiously, as he started swinging around the knife. As they flew as fast as they could from the trappers, Jay looked back, concerned at those words...

****************

Back at Ninjago, Jay's friends were all flying around the island, having a playful race amongst themselves. It was just after lunch now and now that they were all refueled and well-rested, the riders and their dragonbloods were looking for anything to pass the time. Right now, that something was racing. Dareth cheered the loudest, currently in the lead, as the others chased after them. As they raced, Plundar and Adam suddenly flew near Ed and Edna's hut.

There Edna was trying to relax, scaring her and the few pigeons and seagulls perched on the porch around her.

The normally calm and sweet Edna grunted and shook her fist at the group of flies, but none of them paid her any mind. In the plaza, Cliff casually greeted the many villagers as he walked towards the forge, hoping Jay would be there. As he maneuvered his way through the crowd, he chuckled when he saw a small group of people either scowling or celebrating at the recent Dragonblood game. A few of them had placed bets to who they thought would win.

Honestly, Cole, Zane, and Jay, if he ever attended, were the only ones who actually won any of the games.

The others were skilled riders and fighters, but they always fought each other instead of focusing on the task on hand. As Cliff entered the forge, he saw Ed working on the grindstone.

"Any sign of him?" The village leader asked when he didn't see his son or Kai in the forge.

"He's probably flown off the edge of the world by now." Ed hummed as he walked next to a Wind Dragonblood in his dragon form and opened the mouth to work on his teeth.

"You sure you want him running the village? You can still delay your retirement." He continued, worried for both Cliff and Jay.

"He's ready, you'll see," Cliff promised as a roar was suddenly heard from outside the forge. Kai and Rocky soon landed with their riders, kicking up a cloud of dust. As soon as Cole and Jay jumped off their backs, the two Dragonbloods returned to their human forms. "Hahaha! Here he is! The pride of Ninjago!" Cliff exclaimed to everyone who could hear, grinning from ear to ear. Dragonbloods aside, his son was becoming more and more like a worthy heir.

Jay quickly took off his helmet and walked towards the two men, with Kai and Cole following close behind.

Rocky would have joined them, but after that close call, he wanted to spend some quality time with his mate and their hatchlings.

"Who finally decided to show up for work." Ed joked lightly as he made a few pretend swings of his hammer as Jay dodged with a smile. Kai and Cole smiled at the casual interactions of the three. Cole had never noticed how close Ed and Jay were but neither did they often banter like that in public. Despite it being five years, it was like a breath of fresh air to see the boy he had been ostracizing still so spirited.

"Sorry, got held up." Jay grinned as he followed his father deeper into the building, dodging any object hanging low from the ceiling. "Hey, um, Dad! Can I have a word?" He asked and Cliff looked positively pleased as he put his large hands over Jay's shoulders.

"Something you're itching to tell me? He grinned as he wrapped his arm around Jay and they keep walking.

"Y-Yeah, not quite the itch you're thinking off but yes." He replied as the Chief grabbed two aprons from a hook that he threw to his son and Kai. Jay put it back on the hook whereas Kai just dropped it on the floor.

"Ah, good man! Now lesson one, a chief's first duty is to its people!" Cliff happily exclaimed as they stopped at a post. From a hook in the wall hang numerous slates inscribed with Ninjago runes and Cliff took the one labeled forty-one.

"Well, can we just talk in private for a-" Jay tried to say but was interrupted as Cliff shouted out the number. People outside were yelling and one excited man was seen jumping up and down and waving his hands.

"It's me, that's me! I'm next!" He cheered as he ran up to the counter as Cliff turned to smile knowingly at his son, who held in an irritated groan. "Okay, okay! I want one of those high sitters with lots of spikes and a big storage compartment." The man squealed in excitement like a child on Christmas Day.

"Absolutely! You got it, sir." Cliff smiled as he wrote down the order and went back into the forge, gathering tools and materials and handing them to his son.

"Dad, this is actually a little more important than building saddles." Jay insisted.

"Yeah, you think you can stop with these little orders and listen?" Kai snapped, only to back off at Jay's glare. Thankfully, Cliff didn't pay Kai's comment any mind.

"Ah, lesson two; no task is too small when it comes to serving your people." He told the ginger-haired man as they got to a table with diverse instruments. Cliff began to look at them and dropped them in a box while Ed got Kai to re-light the forge's fire behind them.

"Dad..." Jay whined as Cliff pushed the box of supplies into his arms and he took it as they started to walk to another part of the forge. As they walked, Jay also grabbed several things that he placed in the box. "I really need to tell you about this new land we came across."

"Another one?" Ed hummed as Zane and Pixal appeared from his right.

"Any new dragonbloods?" The pale man asked in excitement as Cliff picked up a large piece of leather, looking completely focused on his task and unaware of the conversation going on around him.

"We didn't stick around to find out." Jay shuddered at the memory.

"Yeah, these folks weren't friendly." Cole agreed with a glare as Jay and his father stopped beside a big, wooden structure that was meant to represent a dragon's back. Cliff put the leather on it and began to inspect it.

"Aw, really? Your Fire and Earth Dragonblood didn't bring them cheering to the rooftops?" Plundar laughed at the scowls they all sent him.

"No, this was different." Jay insisted as he began to draw the outline of the saddle while Cliff pushed on a level that aligned the leather and the structure that it sat on. "These guys were trappers, dragonblood trappers." He gulped and all his friends seemed to freeze at that. Over the years, especially in the beginning, a few ships would attack the odd Dragonblood that was hanging around near the edges of the island, but when they saw the riders coming in to attack, they quickly fled.

That didn't make it anymore scary at the thought of one of their scaly friends suddenly being taken away, never to be seen again.

Jay often had nightmares about that, as did Kai.

"You should've seen their fort, all blown apart and stuck in giant spikes of ice, it was weird," Cole added, still really confused by it all.

"Do you think it was an Ice Dragonblood?" Pixal asked.

"It's possible, but there was something about how the ice was shaped that didn't look like the work of an Ice Dragonblood." Rocky suddenly said as he walked in with Adam. "There was also damage to the ships and scorch marks on the wood."

"So a group of dragonbloods?" Morro suggested.

"No their leader said it was one, all-powerful Dragonblood that attacked them last night, I've never seen anything like it; and worst of all, they thought we did it!" Jay cried in offense and shock. Sure they had an island full of Dragonbloods and a seeming one-of-a-kind Fire Dragonblood, but even they wouldn't just up and attack a base and risk any lives like that, human or dragonblood.

"You know, you kids are gonna get in serious troubles one of these days, not everyone appreciates this way of life." Ed reminded them all.

"Ed's right, son, best we keep to our own." Cliff agreed as he took the leather and walked over to a table with a giant saw, where he laid it down. "Besides, you have more important uses for your time once we make the big announcement." He smiled as he pulled a lever that activated the saw and rubbed his hands gleefully, thinking of seeing his son taking over as Chief. Jay didn't share his mood and stopped the machine to finally get his attention.

"They are building a dragonblood army." He said in a tone that showed everyone that this was no laughing matter. His serious tone drew the looks of the people waiting outside, and some even subconsciously held their Dragonblood friends and family closer. "Or-Or at least the guy they work for is... uh, Metal Barton or something." He continued, trying to remember the name Clutch told him but failed. As soon as Jay said that, Cliff's eyes widened and he shared a look with a terrified Ed.

"I'll bloody his fist with my face if he tries to take Tox!" Dareth exclaimed as he punched his fist in his hand as the overall mood dove in somberness. Ronin, Shade, and Tox all rolled their eyes at Dareth's declaration, knowing he was all talk. Nevertheless, Ronin shared his brother's determination, as did the others. Before Jay could say anything else, Cliff suddenly grasped his shoulders, pushing him back a step as he forced the ginger-haired human to look at him.

"Baron? Iron Baron?" He whispered in absolute terror, something Jay nor anyone else had ever heard in the chief's voice.

"Uh... Yeah, I think so." He nodded, feeling incredibly confused and uncomfortable with his father's sudden shift in moods.

"Wait! You know him?" Kai frowned, but Cliff didn't answer. He simply had a faraway look in his eyes as he gazed around in thought. There was only one thing to do...

#how to train your dragonblood #ninjago kai #ninjago jay #ninjago cole #plasmashipping

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oneirataxxiaa · 5 years ago

Text

WITCHES AND DRUIDS

a little gift for @silverdecepticon93 for their amazing writing. some klarion content!

written by Persephone. Anastasia did some editing and helped me write Klarion correctly. It's a bit of a slow burn, and I probably got some story facts wrong, but I hope you enjoy!

requests are OPEN , remember to specify who you would like to write your oneshot. Anastasia, or Persephone.

• • • •

It's not that the weather wasn't pleasurable, it was, really. the sun was out, reflecting off the oceans subtle waves and warming the grey pavement just enough for beach-goers with no shoes to begin to hop from foot to foot. The wind was perfect, swaying the tall palm trees that lined the coastal road, every now and again, causing a hat to fly off in its cool breeze, making it's owner run after it with calls of protest. A girl in her late teens leaned back on a uncomfortably tacky faux beach chair just outside the open air cafe. Her hair moved slowly, partially from the outside breeze and partially from the squeaking old metal fan making slow rotations just inside the door. It blew no dust, so it was clearly well used considering the heat.

Happy Harbour seemed just that, happy. Everything had been calm the past few months, villain attacks were incredibly low, no major plots had been uncovered, and the group known as The Light was seemingly inactive after the league and teams triumph over them. The lack of attacks had Robin and Kaldur on edge anticipating something being planned in the shadows, but Y/n, Artemis, Megan and Wally had taken the opportunity to enjoy Rhode Island for what it was. In the ginger speedsters words, a paradise just waiting to be explored.

Zatanna Zatura was across the round table from Y/n, in casual clothes with a black baseball cap and a vanilla milkshake in hand, sipping on the straw slowly. Y/n herself had her favourite flavor smoothie resting on the table, her phone in hand as the camera on the device recorded what was happening in the small grass patch to their left. Wallace West swore on his life that he had landed a back flip the day before, which the rest of his friends refused to believe. In trying to prove his ability, he was attracting some strange stares from passers by, and rather ice filled glare from a mother who corralled her three kids, most likely in their early preteens, away, hurriedly muttering about 'unethical teenager'. Quite an interesting thing to be thrown their way, but the teen heroes had had worse hurled at them in their exploits as protectors of justice.

"Wally" Megan laughed, a short snort escaping her lips as she watched the boy try to land another flip. " You're going to break something". The Martian was resting on the grass, watching what was happening unfurl.

"cheers to that! please do!" Artemis' words were filled with sarcasm. The blonde teen making her way towards the table and picking up her drink to take a sip. Wally dropped to the ground again and sprawled out on the grass, crushing the green blades under his body. Y/n cringed slightly.

"you girls are no fun, even Connor is more fun to hang out with, at least he encourages me to improve my wicked moves" Wally pulled himself to his feet with a bounce and brushing off his pants with little success, the mucky dew soaked dirt already staining them brown at the knees. Y/n was glad he did his own laundry, she didn't want to be the one to wash those stains out. The girl stopped the video on her phone with the press of a button, dropping her hand to her side and turning the object off.

"I'd like to argue with that" Connor complained, he seemed to have appeared out of no where, walking towards them, ebony shirt still sporting the superman signal. He seemed a little happier today, perhaps it was the immaculate weather. Y/n reckoned it could put anyone in a good mood, even Connor, who hadn't been as happy has he could have been lately. His relationship with Megan had be strained.

"The man, the myth, the legend, how could you betray me my main man? You're really going to let the girls pick on your best friend?" Wallys drama queen was showing as he rested a hand on his head in a damsel in distress motion.

"Wolf is my best friend, you are" Connor faked a thoughtful expression, "an unfortunate acquaintance". Y/n could see the joking sparkle in Connors eyes. It was strange. Strange, but good. He deserved some joy in these darker days. "anyways, the reason I'm here for two reasons, reason one being because Robin decided to have an identity crisis, he's changing his name"

"Please tell me it's not another bird, I don't want it to be a bird" Artemis groaned, dropping heavily into one of the chairs. It groaned in protest from the sudden and violent weight.

"I don't know what he's gone with, but second reason I'm here is because we've got a new team member, Batman just made a visit and brought someone with him-"

"Batman was at the cave! and you didn't tell me! is he still there?" Wally began to vibrate from excitement, sparks ran down his arms and legs.

"When I left he was, bu-". Wally was gone in a literal flash, leaving the remaining team looking around frantically, glade the citizens of Happy Harbour seemed content in being too interested in their own lives to notice a super-powered boy and his friends.

"we should probably make sure he doesn't break anything, and welcome the new team member huh?" Zatanna said with a sigh, getting to her feet and stretching her arms up, elbows cracking slightly. As the group collected their drinks, waving goodbye to the cafes owner, who they knew well due to their frequent return to the place, Y/n saw something that peaked her interest, making the girl pause and turn towards it.

"Y/n, you coming or what girl?" Zatanna called out. The group somehow was a good ways away from her now, standing, ready to cross the pedestrian crossing at the coastal road. The curious frown on her face must have given something away.

"um, I'll catch up, yeah? say hi to the newbie for me?" the uncertainty in her voice made Zatanna pause, but nod, turning back just in time to walk with the others across the road.

Turning back towards the curiosity, it stared at her with dark eyes, watching her movement. Y/n walked over and bent down, petting the feline behind it's ears, coaxing a purr from the familiar cat-daemon.

"Hello Teekl" the teen greeted, "what are you doing here?" her hand continued to pet the creature, before it shook it's head, pushing your hand away with the action and going to work on licking its paw. Cats were always strange, but she supposed their sudden mood changed were due to their nature.

"I feel like you're just in this for the cute cat" the voice was monotonous and Y/n recognised it immediately. Turning her head slightly, she spied the source of the voice. He looked different, slightly older, taller, and dressed in more civilian esque clothing. Perhaps to attempt to blend in with the surrounding crowds of people.

"The cats a bonus" Y/n gave one final pet to Teekl before walking to the table she was sitting at previously, Klarion Bleak now occupying Zatannas previous location. "How are you? I haven't seen you since the whole light thing". I'd been about five months and the league was still recovering. Klarion got a sour look on his face, pausing, he fiddled with the hem of his shirt, a neat black button up dress shirt. He looked, perplexed.

"I've been keeping my head down I guess, Savage lose his mind after we lost, been hounding anyone who talks to about it" the strange look remained on his face. "I've been banned from annoying the justice brats, no offence, until he comes up with something new"

Y/n dismissed the nickname for her team and frowned herself. "Robins noticed, it's got him freaked out, running crazy circles trying to figure out what Vandal Savage is planning" a small grin rose on her face. Klarion noticed movement, seeing small clovers begin to crawl their way out of the cracks in the pavement. That caused the small smile that few saw to appear.

"your magic is getting better". That was how they met. Before the team. Both of them were young magic users, each pulled down a different road. One good, One evil. But between them there was balance, peace. Order and Chaos meeting in the middle for a calm chat and shared news on a sunny day.

"I've been getting better at it, but there's always room for more practice as Aqualad says" Y/n laughed. Silence entered their conversation. It wasn't awkward however, as it sometimes was among friends or co workers. It was a comfortable silence of enjoying a summers day without the chaos of the world. It be nice if things stayed like that, balanced, forever. But soon, Unfortunately, their friendship would burn and break. Being torn to their sides, ripped from the comforting friendship, forced to fight each other to prove loyalty to each side. No. Order and Chaos were balanced, but wars tended to tip that scale and break it. In the process, something much more important was shattered.

fin

#young justice x reader #young justice oneshot #klarion x reader

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mustangshelby04 · 4 years ago

Text

Pairings: Chris Evans / Charlotte Mackenzie (O/C)

Summary: Saying no leads Charlotte to a friendship she has never imagined.

A/N: I’m trying to force myself to write. Maybe this will light a fire under my ass…. Or my muse’s. She’s a bit flakey.

Chapter 2

Charlie looked around at the boxes filling up her living room. Almost every room in the house was full of boxes. She had brought most of her stuff from Omaha, but she’d ended up buying a lot of new furniture to fill up the new house and plenty of kitchenware to fill up the rather large kitchen. She had a couple of friends that had seen her off, but only one of them had offered to drive to Boston with her to help her move in.

Amanda walked into the house with the last box from the moving POD. “That’s it! We’re done.”

“Define done.” Charlie looked around her. “I’ve still got to figure out where all this stuff goes.”

“Have you even toured your house?”

“A little bit.”

Amanda moved past Charlie and walked through to the foyer. She flung open a pair of french doors and let out a low whistle. “Now I see why you bought this place. There’s a frickin library!”

“Yeah. That was the reason I bought this place.” Charlie walked into the library. “It’s not huge, but it’s mine.”

“I may just move to Boston with you.”

“Be my guest.”

“I don’t think Roger would approve. He wasn’t too keen on me coming here without him.”

“Well, you guys are trying for a baby. If you’re not there, the babymaking is one-sided and that never works out.”

Amanda laughed. “He’s just mad because the doctor told him he can’t play with himself and I’m not there to relieve his blue balls. Show me the upstairs!” There was a knock on the front door and the tall brunette looked at Charlie. “You expecting someone?”

Charlie shrugged and walked over to open the door. Chris stood there with a man and an older woman. “Chris!” Charlie smiled brightly and hugged him tightly. “What are you doing here?”

“We came to help you move in,” Chris said. “Mac, this is my mom, Lisa, and this is my friend Josh.” “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lisa said, shaking Charlie’s hand. “My son has had nothing but good things to say about you.”

Charlie and Chris had spent the entire night talking that horrible day in Chicago. He’d offered her a ride to the airport the next morning and they hadn’t stopped talking the entire time. Since they’d parted ways, they had texted and called non-stop. Their friendship was an easy one and their conversations were always lengthy and in-depth. Philosophical debates were a favorite pastime for them as well as recommending books to one another.

There was a throat being cleared loudly behind Charlie and she turned to look at Amanda. “This is my friend Amanda.”

“Mandy’s fine,” Amanda said. “She told me she was friends with Chris Evans, but I didn’t believe her because she was so nonchalant about it. I guess it’s true.” She shook Chris’ hand. “Thank you for being there for her when that jackass dumped her like that.”

“It was my pleasure,” Chris said. “It’s great to meet you. Mac talks a lot about you.”

“I’m so mad you get to call her Mac. She never lets anyone call her that.”

“Oh my god, please come in!” Charlie said. “It’s cold out there.” She ushered Chris, Josh, and Lisa inside. “You really didn’t have to come help.”

“It’s the neighborly thing to do.” Chris said. “So, point us in the right direction and we’ll get started..”

“We’ve gotten everything in from the POD,” Amanda announced.

“And the furniture was delivered yesterday,” Charlie added. “Not all of it was put together.”

“I’ll go put things away in the kitchen,” Lisa announced. “Chris and Josh can start building furniture.”

“Charlie, you and I can start unpacking your books in that amazing library of yours.” Amanda declared.

Five hours later, everyone was standing around the kitchen island eating pizza that Lisa had ordered from Leone’s. The place was starting to look like someone lived there. Empty boxes were piled up in the mudroom, ready to be disposed of. The furniture still needed some rearranging, but it was mostly put together.

“You should throw a housewarming party.” Amanda declared.

“I think this is the housewarming party,” Charlie answered. “I don’t know anyone here. Besides Chris. And now Josh and Lisa. You’re leaving me tomorrow.”

“You’re going to make friends at work.”

“I don’t officially start for another two weeks. And it’s far enough away, I doubt I’ll be spending much time hanging out there. Which I am perfectly fine with. It’s one of the reasons why I chose Concord.”

“Your Spartan lifestyle is so confusing to me.”

Amanda had been the most popular girl all through school. When Charlie had moved to Omaha, Amanda had somehow managed to find out her story and took the young ginger girl under her wing. Charlie was sucked into the popular group, but she wasn’t really one of them. Amanda had been a cheerleader, in every school club she could be, and had been in theatre. Of course she starred in everything. Charlie had been the wallflower. The only club she had been in was the Young Author’s Club. She had gone to some games and attended the school plays to support her best friend, but she had always preferred to be the one in the supporting role. It wasn’t until college that Charlie began to find herself and came out of her shell some.

A lot of people didn’t understand her friendship with Amanda. They were polar opposites. But Amanda was an amazing friend. She had come to love Charlie like a sister and that vice was plenty versa. They had just clicked from the first conversation and had been nearly inseparable. They had even attended the same college and had made sure to be roommates through all four years. To many, Amanda seemed like the typical shallow popular girl, but she was actually a very smart woman with a deep, caring heart and soul.

“I am perfectly happy surrounded by my books,” Charlie said. “I just bought another box worth from that second-hand store back home, so I’ve got plenty to catch up on.”

“I keep telling you that you have an addiction to reading. Is there a Books Anonymous you can attend?”

Charlie laughed, but it was Chris that spoke next. “I’m in town for a little while. I have no problem showing you around your new home.”

“That’s a great idea, Chris!” Lisa exclaimed. “There’s plenty to see and do around here.”

“I suppose I’ll have to learn the surroundings at some point.” Charlie agreed.

“And the city.” Josh added. “You’ll need to learn your way around it, too. It can be a bit confusing.”

“That’s an understatement.” Chris laughed. “But Josh is right. We’ll have to plan some days to head into Boston and get you acclimated.”

“I appreciate that.” Charlie said. She noticed Lisa and Amanda stifling yawns. “It’s getting late. You guys have done so much. You really don’t have to stay and finish.”

“I’m going to stay. There’s a couple of pieces I was fighting with that I want to finish.”

“I’ll take Lisa home.” Josh offered.

“Thanks, man.” Chris clapped his friend on the shoulder.

“Yes, thank you, Josh.” Lisa said.

“I’ll walk you guys out.” Charlie offered.

“Charlie, please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.” Lisa said as they got to the front door. “Chris will give you my number.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Lisa!” Charlie hugged the older woman tightly.

“Chris hasn’t been himself since his breakup a few months ago. You’ve been such a bright light in his life these last few weeks and he seems to be getting back to who he is. I think you’re a big part of that, so I am eternally grateful to you.”

“He’s never even mentioned a breakup to me.”

“That’s good! It was rough on him. He said you went through a rough breakup, too.”

“I did. I got abandoned in Chicago because I refused to marry him.”

“What a jackass!” Lisa hugged Charlie again. “Well, his loss is our gain. I’ll see you soon, sweetie.”

Charlie waved at Lisa as she headed out and hugged Josh as he said his goodbyes. She joined Amanda and Chris in the kitchen. “And then there were three.”

“Make that two.” Amanda said. “I’m beat and I’m going to bed.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. These hormone injections aren’t fun. They take a lot out of me.” “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all in the name of having a baby.” Amanda turned to Chris. “It was lovely to meet you. Take care of my Charlie-bug.”

“I will do my best.” Chris promised, hugging Amanda. “It was really good to meet you, too.”

Charlie turned to Chris. “Where’s the last of the furniture you wanted to put together?”

“Your bedroom. I need to finish your bed, the dresser, and one more nightstand.”

“I’ll help you.” She grabbed the last box of pizza and headed out of the kitchen. They headed upstairs and into the master bedroom. Amanda was thankfully staying in the guest room at the other end of the house, so they wouldn’t risk waking her with their noise. “I didn’t realize it was getting late.”

“It’s not.” Chris said. “It’s only nine.”

“Really? Huh….”

They set to work on getting her bed finished. “So, Amanda is trying to have a baby?”

“Yeah. She and her husband Roger tried for a year before going to see a specialist. She’s doing her third round of IUI now. If that doesn’t work, they’ll have to try IVF.”

“Wow! That’s a lot to go through to have a baby.”

“She’s been really stressed out about it. I’m glad she decided to come with me to help me move. It’s a nice little getaway for her.”

“It’s too bad she’s leaving tomorrow. I could’ve taken you ladies into the city.”

“We kind of have to head that way anyway. She’s flying back. Her flight leaves at five in the evening.”

“Would you like me to take you guys? I know the way and we could have lunch somewhere.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah!” “That’s really kind of you.”

“Anytime.” He gave her a bright smile.

They were quiet for a long time as they finished putting the frame of the bed together and attaching the padded headboard. When they had moved on to the dresser and the nightstand, Charlie looked across the room at Chris. “So, your mom said you went through a tough breakup a few months ago.”

Chris kept his attention on the dresser drawer he was assembling. “Yeah.” “Did she propose then dump you in a strange city when you said no?”

Chris chuckled softly, but stayed quiet. Finally he said, “I wouldn’t have said no.”

“Oh.”

He sighed and paused in his work. “I really liked her. I could’ve loved her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We dated for a few months last year and then for a few months this year.”

“What happened?”

“Different schedules. Different life plans. She wanted to be more public. I wanted to be more private. I just don’t think that my business is the world’s business.”

“And she did?”

“She’s a comedian. She loved to talk about our relationship at her shows and she tweeted about us a lot. It really bothered me. We had a huge fight and she walked out.”

“I’m really sorry, Chris.”

“It’s ok.” Chris shrugged.

“It’s really not. You should be allowed to have a say in your relationship. If her being so public about it made you uncomfortable and she couldn’t respect that, then it’s better that you parted ways. You deserve better than that.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She shot him a smile. “The right woman is out there for you. I hope you haven’t given up hope.”

“I’m too much of a hopeless romantic for that.” He watched her for a long moment. Her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated on fitting two pieces together. A lock of her copper hair had escaped the messy bun on top of her head and she kept pushing it back behind her ear. “What about you, Mac?” “What about me?”

“Have you given up on finding someone?”

She stopped in her task and looked over at him. “I don’t really have time for dating. I’m always so busy.”

“You had time for the jackass.”

“Barely. And look how well that turned out.”

“How many boyfriends have you had in your life?”

“Um….. Three. One in high school. One in college. And then jackass.”

“What!?”

“What?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Were they long term?”

“High school Chad was a year. College Bryan was three years. Jackass Sam was six months.” “You’re thirty-four and you’ve only had three boyfriends?”

“Why is that so shocking?”

“Because you’re gorgeous. You’re smart and funny and witty…..”

“There you go trying to get into my pants again.”

Chris laughed. “It would be a futile effort.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe not.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

That made her laugh. “If I was, you’d be flat on your back instead of struggling with that drawer.”

“Listen to that confidence!”

“I’m just saying, clearly you can’t resist my charms. Too bad for you I’m not looking for a romantic relationship.”

“Who says it has to be romantic?”

“Oh, please, Chris! You’re a hopeless romantic. Those were your words.”

“True, but I’m also a human male.” “What does that mean?”

“It means: why can’t we have some fun together?”

“Oh my god! You really are trying to get in my pants!”

He chuckled. “Like I said, you’re gorgeous, smart, funny, witty….”

“Ok, Casanova…. Calm down over there.”

“Hey, you brought it up.”

“I may sound confident, but I’ve never had a friend with benefits.”

“Honestly, neither have I. A few one night stands, sure, but not a friend with benefits. Maybe taking a break from dating and having a no-strings-attached thing would benefit us both.”

“How would it work?”

“I’m not a fan of the term ‘booty-call,’ so maybe when we’re hanging out and the urge arises…. We don’t ignore it?”

“Ok. What if the urge arises and we’re not together?”

“That would be a booty-call.”

“So, don’t call it a booty-call. There are plenty of other words in the English language to use.”

“Ok, Miss Book Editor, what words would you use?”

Charlie thought for a second. “How about a tryst?”

“Oooh! I like that.”

“Thought you might. What happens if one of us catches feelings?”

“We’ll stop. Or deal with it accordingly.”

“Easier said than done.”

“You planning to fall in love with me?”

“Not in the near future. You’re not my type, Evans.”

“How so?”

“You’re too much of a jock.”

“No!”

“Yup. You’re up early for work outs and you love sports. You speak fluent bro despite your eloquence and surprising depth. On top of that, you’re always travelling for work. Which, by the way, your job is too rich for my blood.”

Chris nodded in understanding. He wasn’t offended at all. She had him pegged pretty well and his job was a bit crazy to someone not in the industry. He could only imagine what she must make of it being such a…. What had Amanda said…. Spartan. “Ok, Mac, fair points well made. What is your type?”

That seemed to stump her. “Um…. I….. Well….”

“So, I could be your type, but you’re just not sure.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you planning on falling in love with me?”

He took a moment to think about it. “Not in the near future, but I’m open to all possibilities.”

Charlie rolled her eyes again. “Ok. I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”

Chris grinned. “We’re gonna have some serious fun.”

Please let me know if you want to be tagged in this story. The more people that want to read it, the better. I want my muse to feel the pressure!

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#Chris Evans #OC Charlie McKenzie #OC Charlotte Mackenzie #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fic

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alienduckpond · 5 years ago

Text

Getting Home - pt 5 - Remington

Part 1 - Arlo / Part 4 - Ginger

-~-

Remington turned in his saddle to look back down the road towards the sea through the drizzle when thunder rumbled long and loud around them again. Branches of lightning lit up the black clouds that stretched as far as he could see in every direction, and even as he watched more strikes hit the peaks of the towering waves, highlighting the solid walls of heavy rain that were creeping steadily closer to land. He shivered, though he wasn’t sure if it was from the cold breeze blowing through his damp clothes, or from the reminder of how violent nature could be.

“Looks like you found me at the right time, huh,” Mint muttered sleepily, and Remy felt the younger man lean heavily against his back. “I might have ended up washed away with the deck chairs if you hadn’t.”

“I don’t think you would have slept through the water coming up through the decking much longer,” Remy said with a chuckle, though he wasn’t entirely sure of that. He nudged Arrow back into motion to continue up the road besides Sophie’s farm. “Did you go to the fireside the other night? Gale had a report through from Vega five. This is looking to be the worst Winter storm we’ve had in a while. Maybe the biggest this decade. It’s going to take at least three days to fully blow over.”

“I must have missed that. I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got no projects going on right now. I can start drawing up plans for things that’ll need rebuilding tomorrow.”

Remy chuckled again when Mint trailed off with a yawn, holding Mint’s wrist when he felt the other man’s grip on his jacket slacken for a moment, before arms wrapped around his waist again.

“I don’t think you’ll have much to draw. The builders have all done an amazing job of fixing up everything in the last year. After the Amber Island bridge washed away, people have kept on top of repairs so everything’s looking real sturdy right now.”

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. Guess I’ll have some free time then. I wonder if Sarah will still be free,” Mint murmured, sounding sleepy and happy, and Remy hummed thoughtfully.

“Well. Gale was talking about closing down everything but the Round Table until the storm’s passed for everyone’s safety.”

He hesitated, trying to decide if he should say anything else. While he didn’t really want to get involved with whatever was going on in town surrounding Sarah, he knew he already was thanks to Sam being invested and giving a running commentary, and Arlo’s yo-yoing mood. So maybe if he asked a few careful questions now, he might be able to report back to his Captain and ease his mind a little. At least with regards to Mint. He already knew Gust wasn’t a threat to Arlo’s chances with Sarah, and was simply needling Arlo just because he could.

“Did you have plans with her then?”

“Hmm? Kind of. I’ve been talking to her a lot lately since we’ve both been going to Mr Gale’s house for dinner, and we’ve been staying afterwards because it’s nice to be around people, and their house is really warm. She keeps dozing off on the sofa next to me while making things with Ginger. But she said she found some things in the ruins Gust and I might like, and was going to bring them along for us to look at.”

“I see,” he murmured, mulling that over. It didn’t sound like there was anything too deep there, but it was difficult to say. He was trying to think of how to pry further, when Mint shifted behind him, and pulled his arm free.

“Hey, who’s that?”

Remy glanced to the side, following where Mint was pointing at something in the gloom of Sarah’s yard. He squinted, trying to see what Mint had, and was about to ask if he was sure there was someone there when another bolt of lightning threw everything into stark relief, and the shape of something large moving in the middle of the open space became apparent.

“What the?” he muttered, pulling Arrow to a stop and trying to make out who it was. It hadn’t looked human, and none of Sarah’s llamas should be out right now. Sarah had been on her way to settle them for the night when he’d passed by on his way to find Mint over an hour ago, and she’d promised him she’d go straight back inside when she was done. So if one of them was out now... that was rather worrying.

“Oh, it’s just Doofus. I wonder why she’s out so late.”

“Doofus?” Remy said as Mint let go and slid off Arrow’s back, trying to see what Mint had. While he could now see the llama bouncing closer to the fence was too small to be Mr Fuzzybutt, both Doofus and Sherbet looked the exact same to him even in daylight.

“Yes. She doesn’t bounce as high as Sherbet when she walks, and there’s no bell. Sarah’s given up trying to put it back on because Doofus always finds a way to lose it within a day.”

“You sure know a lot about her llamas, huh,” Remy muttered, watching Mint pet the llama over the fence as she tried to snuggle up to him, and wondering if maybe Arlo actually was right to worry about Mint after all, but the engineer laughed.

“No, not really. Only Doofus. Sarah started teaching me how to ride before Winter, and Doofus is her calmest llama. And the smartest and sweetest, aren’t you girl?”

Remy let himself smile as Doofus started to melt under Mint’s hands, until another bolt of lightning flashed almost directly overhead, accompanied by an immediate deafening peal of thunder and the sound of rapidly approaching rain.

“Uh oh. I’ll just go let her back into the stable. If she’s out here then the door must be stuck or something.”

“Wait, Mint,” Remy tried to call, but Mint had already hopped over the fence and headed into the yard. Remy sighed heavily, and guided Arrow to the gate where he jumped down to let his horse in the yard. Doofus hadn’t looked particularly wet, like she would have if she’d been outside since Sarah had closed the stable earlier, so he suspected there was something else going on here. He followed Mint’s path, leading Arrow around the various machines and piles of materials dotted around, and got under the awning at the same time as the rain reached the roof. He stepped to the side, allowing Arrow to shift under the cover more fully, then looked around the dimly lit space.

The lantern Sarah had been carrying earlier was in the middle of the walkway, and from the small circle of light it cast he could see Mint standing by the end stall. Doofus was doing something near the open barn style door beyond the stall, staying far enough back so she wasn’t getting wet even though rain was bouncing inside the stable, and Remy frowned. There was a knotted rope hanging off the handle and trailing inside, long enough that Doofus should have been able to reach it without getting wet and pull the door closed. So why hadn’t she?

“Remington? Over here,” Mint whispered loudly, leaning over the small divide with a soft smile on his face. Putting aside Doofus’ strange behaviour for the moment, Remy joined Mint, and bit his lip to stop himself chuckling.

Sarah was asleep in the middle of the stall, surrounded by her animals. She was curled up on Mr Fuzzybutt, draped over his back with her fingers buried in the soft wool of his neck. Sherbet was stretched out along her back, his own head on Mr Fuzzybutt’s rear, and his legs stuck out at strange angles into the piled up hay. And the two newest additions to her yard, Miss Cluckles the chicken and Peckarina the duck, were also sleeping peacefully on Sherbet’s head.

Mr Fuzzybutt lifted his head when Remy tried to approach, watching intently over the top of his sunglasses. Remy simply looked back, keeping eye contact as he waited for the llama’s assessment. He’d had no problems with the Cotton Llama before, unlike Arlo, and he hoped the Fuzzmeister would remember that.

He apparently did, stretching his neck out to sniff loudly at his pockets, and he chuckled quietly before pulling out some of the apple slices he kept for Arrow and offering them. He crouched next to Sarah and pulled the blanket draped over her lap up to her shoulders, tucking it around her while looking towards the open door. She must have decided to wait for the rain to let up a little, and drifted off watching the approaching storm he decided, admiring the perfectly framed view of the open sky from where she was sitting.

“Excuse me sir, but as soft as I’m sure you are, I think she’d feel better in the morning having slept in a proper bed.”

He carefully slipped his arms underneath her and shifted until he could pick her up, holding her tight against his chest. She grumbled a little, rolling her head to rub against his shoulder, but didn’t wake. He hadn’t thought she would. He’d brought her home enough times now to know she’d sleep through practically anything once she was fully gone.

“Let’s go. The storm won’t be letting up anytime soon now it’s reached us, so we’ll be soaked no matter how long we wait. If you could--”

Mr Fuzzybutt huffed loudly, and Remy stepped back to make room when he climbed to his feet, apparently not caring that Sherbet’s head, which had been resting against him, fell to the floor with a thunk, jostling the two birds and waking them with loud squarks. He always forgot just how big the cotton llamas were compared to the colourful ones, he mused as Mr Fuzzybut stretched himself, towering over him. With a final shake, the llama walked to the door, his ears laying flat against his head as he glared then bleated angrily at the rain, before turning around as if to look for something. Remy watched, amused, as Doofus seemed to roll her eyes, and picked up the end of one of the banquet table umbrellas to bring over to Mint.

“Thank you Doofus,” Mint said quietly, quickly taking the umbrella and getting it to the door. Remy knew how heavy it was, and he felt for Mint when he looked to be struggling with getting it open, until Mr Fuzzybutt ducked under one of the folds of thick fabric and did something he couldn’t see. But then the panels stretched out smoothly, the large spokes resting on Mr Fuzzybutt’s head, and all Mint had to do was hold the pole straight.

Remy murmured his thanks as he moved under it as well, clicking his tongue to Arrow so he’d follow, and they started the slow walk across the yard. This was probably going to be the shortest distance any of them had had to take Sarah home up till now, and he was sure Sam would be teasing her about it for weeks.

#My Time At Portia #MTAP #mtap remington #mtap mint #fanfic

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saiilorstars · 4 years ago

Text

Falling in Temptation

Previous chapters || Sequel to Stars Dance

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 11th Doctor x Female OC

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Ch. 10: Reality

Chapter summary: Two Doctors would usually mean things would get solved quicker, but not this time. The gangers and humans are raging war against each other and now it's a race to find the TARDIS and escape with their lives. On the side, Avalon is determined to get the only piece of honesty she can get right now and it can only come from the Doctor.

Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

As soon as the ganger Doctor said spoken his first words to the group, he erupted into massive shouts of pain. "What's happening?" His words, his shouts, were all mixed up as if he was living through different moments. "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day... Aaagh! I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow!"

"What is he doing?" the Sapling cocked his head each time the ganger turned.

The Doctor tried helping the ganger but there was really nothing he could do at the moment, "'The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on!"

"Don't you have like a billion of those?" Amy called in, making the Doctor momentarily pause to glare at her.

"No!"

"Would you like a jelly-baby?" the ganger Doctor questioned in his 4th incarnation's voice, "Why? Why!?"

"Why do they keep saying that?" Avalon suddenly asked, getting the glances of everyone, "I mean...that's what ganger Jennifer said too, remember Amy?" the second ginger had to agree with a nod, "What does it mean?"

"'Why' what?" the Doctor finally asked his ganger self, taking in Avalon's words and having to agree as well.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor," the ganger replied instead, using his 10th's self's voice, "No, let it go, we've moved on!"

"Oh!" Avalon snapped her fingers, suddenly beaming. "That's the one that went to New Earth!"

"Ava, not the time!" went the Doctor, but she mimicked his voice instead of agreeing.

"I'm never gonna meet him so I'll take what I can get!"

The Doctor's face might as well have stayed in a glare because it seemed like Avalon and Amy were taking turns making unnecessary comments.

"I've reversed the jelly-baby of the neutron flow. Would you like a..." the ganger grabbed the Doctor by the lapels, "Doctor...Doctor... I'm... I'm the... I can't."

"No, listen, hold on. Hold on!" the Doctor tried reassuring the ganger but was shoved away.

"No-o-o-o! Aaaagh!" the ganger showed his flesh-state face to the others.

"Doctor, we need you. Get over here," Amy called to the Doctor, taking cautious steps towards him with Avalon.

The ganger slowly stopped moving until he came to a complete stop. His hands fell from his head and came to adjust the bowtie around his neck. "Hello," he gave a wave with his hand.

"Hi!" the Sapling returned the gesture with a beam on his face.

"Cybermats," the Doctor crossed his arms and faced his ganger self. They really did look identical - it was really weird.

The ganger seemed to catch on and sighed, "Do we have time for this?"

"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats?"

"Created by the kill by feeding off brainwaves."

Amy gave up trying to get the Doctor's attention and ran back to the door with the other factory workers. Avalon was a bit more awed by the situation but was nonetheless scared as well, so she hurried to the door.

"Don't you have guns somewhere?" was the first thing she asked the factory workers.

"Yeah, big guns would be good right now," Buzzer sucked some breath and nodded.

Jimmy was leaning against the door, a last resort to keep it shut against the gangers, "Why would we have guns? We're a factory. We mine."

"Get back!" Amy yelled as they heard a hissing sound along and saw smoke coming through the door.

"We are completely done for," Avalon declared as they all stepped back. She rolled her eyes at the conversation she was hearing from behind, "Are you two done yet?" she spun around to where the Doctors were, even Amy doing the same, "There's two of you yet still nothing gets done!"

"First of all," the Doctor headed for them and wagged a finger at Avalon. "Shut up!"

"Second of all," his ganger followed in suit with the same finger pointed at Avalon, "...still, shut up."

Avalon raised her eyebrows. Did they seriously think that because there were two of them they could win against her? Absolutely not. She folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Two of you and you still can't come up with good comebacks. Truly sad. How many brains you got again?"

"Enough with the games," Amy sighed, "There's a problem that needs solving!"

"Breathe," was the Doctors' reply for her.

"What?"

"We have to get you off this island," the ganger Doctor looked at the not-so-well barricaded door.

"And the gangers too."

"Um, Doctor, I'm all for life, but the gangers are trying to kill us," Avalon pointed to the door where the acid could be clearly seen. She barred the Sapling from getting closer.

"They're scared, Ava, that's all," the Doctor assured.

"We're trapped in here," Amy also reminded.

"I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above."

"But where are the earthing conduits?" the ganger Doctor asked.

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes? With us?" the Doctor headed for a large panel at the other end of the room, "Yowza!" he cheered as he removed the paneling to find a grate. "An escape rout."

Amy glanced at Avalon, mouthing 'Yowza' questioningly at her. Avalon made a face and shrugged, never understanding the Doctor most of the time.

"You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me," the Doctor smugly looked around the room.

"Do we tend to say "Yowza"?" his ganger genuinely wondered.

"Nope!" the Sapling turned around to answer. "Although you did used to say 'Allons-y' for some reason."

Avalon laughed and shot the two Doctors a look. "You did what!? Who did that?"

"I'd rather not answer," the Doctor turned his head away, intending on taking that secret to the grave. It was unfortunate that the Sapling did not agree.

"His last incarnation!"

"Sapling!" the Doctor frowned, feeling completely betrayed by the child.

"Ah, see, that's the one we need to meet!" Avalon sighed in true content, which did make the Doctor be a little less upset. It was better to have her laughing, even if it was at him, than to have her crying.

Just as the entire group managed to get inside, the gangers broke through the door. As they reached the grate, they saw the group at the grate where the Doctor sonicked the locks.

~ 0 ~

The group hurried down the tunnels after getting out of the grate. There was acid everywhere and it was making it difficult to get across without being touched.

"The army will send a recon team," Buzzer said to them.

"We need to contact the mainland," Cleaves reminded him.

"What about Rory and Jen? They are both out there," Amy stressed as she looked around in case they were somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, they weren't that lucky.

"This is a like a labyrinth," Avalon sighed, already having given up looking around their immediate areas. She held the Sapling's hand in hers, tightly, but she wasn't sure who was more afraid at this point.

"I bet you lot have got a computer map," the Doctor looked at Cleaves questioningly.

"If we can get power running, we can scan for them," the woman agreed but couldn't say more as they all started violently coughing.

"Doctor, you said earlier to breathe," Amy covered her mouth.

"Very important, Pond. Breathe," he stood by his statement.

"Yeah, I'm struggling to."

"Acid interacting with the stone," the Doctor managed to explain.

"Creating an asphyxiant miasma," his ganger finished thankfully.

"In English?" Avalon raised am eyebrow.

"Chokey gas. Extra heavy. If we can get above it..."

"The evac tower," Cleaves resolved and started leading the way, "This way!"

They entered a room full of machinery which was they assumed was the control room. As the Doctors got straight to work, the humans took a moment to end their cough.

"Ohh! I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something," Amy remarked as she struggled to stand straight.

A bell chimed in the distance which made Jimmy sober up rather quick, "It's midnight. It's Adam's birthday. My son's five. Happy birthday, bud."

"Best present for him would be getting home," Avalon sighed and put a hand on her back as she stood correctly, "How we doing over there?" she called to the working aliens.

"Trying to get the power back," the original Doctor replied, "There's always some power floating around."

"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint," the ganger Doctor popped up from behind the console.

Amy frowned, "Can you stop finishing each other's..."

"Sentences?" the Doctor finished, "No probs."

"Yes," the ganger nodded and both ducked down behind the console again.

"Confused as hell," Avalon commented with a resigned sigh, "You - well, one of you - said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?"

One of the Doctors stood up again, but neither Avalon nor Amy (nor the Sapling for that matter) knew who was who. "Nah. She's a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy."

"No," the other Doctor stood up, "Tough, dependable, sexy."

"Come on. OK, how can...how can you both be real?" Amy felt like her head would spin if they continued to do that. She glanced at Avalon and saw the latte was more or less feeling the same. Only the Sapling seemed to be enjoying the situation.

"Well, because...we are. I'm the Doctor," went one of the pair.

"So am I," went the other, "We contain the knowledge of over 900 years of experience. We both wear the same bowtie, which is cool."

"Because bowties are..."

"And always will be."

"Stop it!" Avalon cut in with exasperation, "You weren't linked up to the Flesh so how did that work, exactly?"

"It must've been after I examined it," the original Doctor answered, "Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created."

"Ta-da!" the ganger exclaimed.

"You mean I could've had a ganger too!?" the Sapling gasped at the idea as he recalled how close he'd been to the Flesh as well.

"No," Avalon shot him a look.

"Quite right," the Doctor agreed. "You were behind me, Sapling. I think it's better like that, though. Who knows what kind of ganger you would've gotten."

"It would've been cool," the Sapling mumbled, quite disappointed.

"But one of you was here first," Amy's pointed finger moved from one alien to the other.

"After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now new shoes, a situation which did not confront me learned self here."

"That satisfy you, Pond?" the ganger raised an eyebrow, "Ava?"

"Don't call me Pond, please," Amy said quietly as she moved around. She stepped beside Avalon when both Doctors looked at her. They were examining her as if she were some new experiment. "What?"

"Interesting," the ganger Doctor said, "You definitely feel more affection for him than me."

"No, I..." Amy could see why they would think that and felt uncomfortable having to explain. It should be obvious that she wasn't doing it to be mean. It was just natural. "Look, you're fine and everything, but he is the Doctor. No offence. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."

"Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all," the ganger snapped.

"Don't overreact," Amy frowned.

"Well you are being rude," Avalon mumbled to her and received an elbow jabbed on her side, "Ow!"

"And what about you?" the ganger looked at the pained ginger.

"What about me?" she rubbed her side and glared at Amy.

"Do you think I'm real?"

"Being real is not the problem I have with you," blurted Avalon who then quickly covered her mouth, "Sorry."

"Ava," even the original Doctor was mildly surprised.

"Wha...she's the one who said you weren't real," Avalon pointed at Amy in a quick attempt to distract him.

"Yeah, thanks Avalon," Amy muttered, shooting her a glare.

"Oh shut up, you dug your own hole," Avalon snapped then sighed, dropping her hand from her side. "Look, I didn't mean for it to come out like that..."

"What were you trying to say, then?" the ganger was still snappy, which only made her frown.

"Listen, if you're really the same then you know exactly what my problem is. And just so we're clear, it's with both of you."

"Sounds like Father is in trouble," the Sapling announced. Avalon nodded her head, humming in agreement.

"I'm going to pull the 'I literally just came to life' card right now," the ganger Doctor happily said as it did free him of any problems. And even more, it made Avalon chuckle.

The Doctor watched with a frown as his ganger practically yanked Avalon's hand, bringing her far too close to him. What did he think he was doing? Avalon was smiling like she wasn't angry with them two seconds ago.

"Well, I guess I can't be that mad with you," Avalon bobbed her head while she pretended to think. "But you can't use that line all the time."

"I'll come up with better ones," the ganger promised her then winked. Avalon might have blushed.

The original Doctor wasn't very pleased with the interaction and did the only thing he could do, "Communication a go-go!" he slammed his hand on the console repeatedly to break them up, succeeding easily.

"Can it find Rory?" Avalon quickly forgot the situation as she and Amy ran for the computer screen, though the ganger Doctor shot his original a look for his obvious attempt. The Doctor ducked his head with the controls. He needed to work, after all.

Cleaves was already maneuvering the screen by the time the gingers got to her, "There's no sign of him anywhere."

"Come on, baby, show yourself," Amy insisted.

~ 0 ~

After a while of checking the scans for Rory and Jennifer, Cleaves decided to activate a transmission for the mainland, "St John's calling. Emergency Alpha. St John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in'," but there wasn't an answer back, "We'll never get a signal through this storm. St John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."

"'We're just about reading you, St John's. How are you doing? We've had all kinds of trouble here'."

"'Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack. The storm's affected our gangers. They're running amok."

"'Your gangers?'"

"Yes, our gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out."

The two Doctors looked at each other with concern, that wasn't part of the plan and Cleaves knew it.

"'Copy that, St John's. Shuttle's dispatched. Hang on'."

"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower. And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following code word. I'm typing it, in case they're listening in.'

'"Got it. We'll swing in, get you out and decommission the Flesh'.

"We've got to get out of here," Buzzer said immediately after the transmission had been cut off.

"But we can't leave without Rory nor Jennifer," Avalon reminded him.

"We're not leaving without them," Amy firmly said.

"I want 'em found too, but it's about casualties, innit?" he raised an eyebrow at the two gingers, "Can't be helped."

"Well you're going to have to cope because we're not going anywhere without them," Avalon declared.

"What are you doing?" Amy had noticed the Doctor sitting in one of the chairs at the console typing away. She moved closer and observed the screen.

"Making a phone call," the Doctor answered distractedly.

"Who to?"

"No-one yet. It's on delay."

"Right, not getting it. Why exactly are you making a phone call?"

"Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams. The wheels are in motion. Done."

"I dream of getting out of here," Avalon sighed, "And as quick as possible."

"Will be taken care of," the Doctor pointed at her assuredly.

The Sapling had noticed Amy staring at something across the room. He came to stand beside her and tried to catch whatever it was she was looking at, but he couldn't find anything. He then realized that Amy hadn't even noticed he was standing right there. "Aunt Amy?" he tapped her arm and watched her jump in place. "What's wrong? What were you looking at?"

Amy rubbed her eyes and gazed at the wall she'd been staring at. Nope, no eye-patch woman there. Why did she keep seeing that woman? Was it some effect from the TARDIS?

"Amy?" the Doctor called now once he saw how pale she was. "What happened?"

Amy didn't know if she would sound crazy but she had to get it off her chest. She'd been carrying the secret with her for a while now and for some reason, she felt like now it was getting worse. She kept seeing the woman by the hour. "I can't take it anymore!" she exclaimed. "It's her! I keep seeing her!"

"What is she talking about?" Avalon inched behind the Doctor. Like the Sapling, Avalon gazed at the wall but found nothing.

"There's a woman I keep seeing, a woman with an eye-patch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me," Amy frantically explained and missed the reactions of both Doctors.

"Is that like a movie?" the Sapling glanced at his Mother for the answer.

"Not one I've seen," the ginger promptly responded. She checked to see what the Doctor thought but noticed how unsurprised he was. "Doctor?"

"It's nothing," the original tried to wave off.

"Yeah, judging by Amy's face it doesn't look like it's 'nothing'," Avalon tilted her head, "What are-"

"It's a time memory. Like a mirage," he cut her off, "It's nothing to worry about."

"Liar," Avalon whispered then looked at the ganger beside her, ready to question him too.

However, he had his eyes closed and looked like he was in some type of pain, "It's in my head..." he hurried out the room.

"Hey, hold on!" Avalon called after him.

"Don't let him go," Cleaves warned.

"Leave it to me," Amy hurried out the room, hoping to fix some the things she'd said to him.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem the case for when she returned to the room, it was in a hurried run and heavy breath, "Keep him away from me!" she ordered and ran over to where the other Doctor was.

"Amy?" Avalon frowned at the attitude of her friend, "What's wrong?"

"Did you sense it?" the ganger Doctor came into the room and questioned his other self.

"Briefly. Not as strong as you."

"Sensed what?" Avalon walked over to Amy and hoped to calm her.

"Is there pictures we're missing?" the Sapling looked between the two Doctors, just as puzzled as everyone else.

"Not quite," went one of the Doctors.

"Amy, I'm sorry," the ganger Doctor apologized honestly.

"No, you keep away!" Amy snapped, pulling Avalon closer. Rory would definitely not want Avalon to be around the ganger who had radical, horrific emotions, "We can't trust you!"

"It would appear I can connect to the Flesh," the Doctor wasn't particularly paying attention to her at the moment.

"Well, you are Flesh," the ginger continued to say.

"I'm beginning to understand what it needs."

"What you want. You are it."

"Amy," Avalon put a hand on Amy's arm, disliking the tone and attitude she was taking with the ganger. If he was connected to the Flesh, then he didn't exactly have a choice in what he saw.

"It's much more powerful than we thought," the Doctor continued on without notice, "The Flesh can grow, correct?"

Cleaves was another that wasn't very interested in the topic, "Its cells can divide."

"Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge," the Doctor approached her, "It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge."

"Hm, thing got a mind of its own now? Where did I hear that one...?" Avalon sarcastically looked around, "...mm, oh right," she crossed her arms as she finally stepped around Amy, "Me."

"Mother was right," the Sapling agreed with a nod of his head.

"Doctor, I told you that we couldn't trust him," Amy went up to the Doctor herself. "I was right. He can't be the Doctor. He can't ever be, he's just a copy."

"That's not very nice," the Sapling pointed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with the Sapling this time," Avalon folded her arms.

"Be quiet, Avalon," Amy snapped, nearly sounding like a mother and looking like it when she pulled Avalon back with her.

"Hey!"

"Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?" Cleaves resolved as she stepped towards the ganger, prompting the other Doctor to move up as well.

"Hold on a minute. Hold your horses," he cut in between the woman and the ganger, "I thought I'd explained this. I'm him, he's me."

"Doctor, we have no issue with you. But when it comes to your ganger..." Cleaves looked around to the other people for their opinions, though their faces were more than clear, except for one person of course.

"I think you're all overreacting a bit," Avalon tried to input but no one listened.

"Be quiet!" snapped Amy again, though this time Avalon sent her a deep glare.

"Tell me to shut up one more time, I dare you," she gritted her teeth. It was completely outrageous that they forced the ganger Doctor on a barrel like he was some criminal.

Amy would not take the dare; she'd seen the fights Avalon had in the past and she wasn't interested in getting a black eye in the midst of all the trouble. "I just think it would be safer," she said, though her tone was still strained.

"Safer? They're the same!" Avalon gestured to the ganger and then to Doctor. "Down to the same stupid bow-tie! No two people can make that same mistake!"

The Sapling covered his mouth to giggle when both Doctors gave Avalon the same deadpanning look.

Amy, though, wouldn't listen as she shook her head. "You're too blinded by them."

A new type of anger flourished across Avalon's face when Amy made that accusation. Making that accusation basically told Avalon that Amy believed she couldn't separate reality from her stories, from the all the stories she'd heard about the Doctor. It was an outright offence, honestly. "I am not blinded, Amelia Pond! I'm not seven! I'm not a child!"

"Avalon," the ganger Doctor stepped in when her face began to match the shade of her hair. He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her away from the mini-stare down she was having with Amy. "It's fine, really."

"No, it's not," Avalon continued shooting Amy glares. "I hate when they say that. Like...like I'm too engulfed in my stories to realize that I'm in the real world." She turned to him, expression akin to a beg. "I know I have my stories and I love them but I'm not blinded by them. I know you're real and that you have flaws and...this is the real world. It's not my fairy tale world."

"I know that," he assured her with a soft smile. "You don't have to prove it to me."

"...just like you don't have to prove to anyone that you're real," she said and shot the others another glare. "You're a ganger but you're the Doctor. I know you are."

"And that counts for a lot, trust me," he rubbed her arms comfortingly. "My Ava."

She smiled back but when he moved to sit on the barrel the others ordered him to, she yanked him to his side. "Absolutely not. They can all suck it." She stuck her tongue out at anyone who saw.

From his spot, the original Doctor struggled hard not to laugh right there and then. That's my Ava.

After a couple minutes, the group got word from the mainland they were trying to land when the signal was cut off.

"I can't find Rory. I'm going out there," Amy had had enough of waiting around.

"We could use the sonic to track him," the Doctor offered as he pulled out his screwdriver, "Humans and gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic can tell the difference."

"Oh, so the sonic knows gangers are different, so the other Doctor is different."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "He is the Doctor."

"Not to me," Amy assured, "I can tell."

"Sure you're not prejudiced?"

"Nice try, but I know, OK? We've been through too much. You're my Doctor. End of."

"Amy, instead of making things worse come over here," Avalon was with Buzzer in front of the visual screens, "We've got Rory and Jennifer," everyone quickly gathered to see the screen.

"They're heading for the thermostatic room," Cleaves seemed confused and with great reason.

"Let's go get them," Amy declared but saw the screwdriver being tossed over to the Doctor on the barrel, "Hang on!"

"We can't let him go," Cleaves moved over to the Doctor, "Are you crazy?"

"Am I crazy, Doctor?" the Doctor turned to his other self.

"Well, you did once plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet."

"I remember that!" the Sapling laughed as he watched the images in his head.

Avalon was not amused in the least. "That's not being crazy, that's being utterly stupid. And that's coming from me. Mels used to dare me to do the stupidest things."

"Enough!" Amy snapped. "Now he's not going-" she pointed to the ganger, "-I am!"

"Do you know, I want him to go," the Doctor stepped closer to her, serious, "And I'm rather adamant."

"Well, then, he'll need company, right, boss? It's fine. I'll handle it," Buzzer offered and stepped forwards.

"Thank you, Buzzer. It'll be all right. I'll find him," the ganger waved and left with Buzzer to follow.

"I can't explain it to you now, but I need you to trust him," the Doctor looked at Amy and even Avalon, "Can you do that for me?"

"Course," Avalon nodded but Amy seemed to have more trouble accepting it.

"What if you're wrong?" were her final words.

~ 0 ~

"These temperature gauges are rising," Cleaves read from the screen. They'd been monitoring the visuals for a while and was growing concerned, "Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents."

"Why do that? They'll kill us," Dickens frowned.

"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet..." Cleaves slowly looked down at the floor.

"And now it's heating up the whole island," the Doctor understood, "How long till it blows?" his answer was the explosion that rocked them entirely.

"Gangers or no gangers, we need to get the hell out of here," Dickens urgently said.

"Shuttle! We need evac," Cleaves started a transmission again, "Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you...?" she stopped when she felt a jab at her forehead.

"Cleaves? Cleaves, sit down," the Doctor helped her away the console and sat her on a chair.

"I'm fine," Cleaves assured as she put a hand on her forehead, I'm waiting for results, so let it go."

The Doctor had used the sonic on her and got results instantaneous, "It's a very deep parietal clot."

"Inoperable?"

"On Earth, yes."

"Well, seeing as Earth is all that's on... offer...hm," Cleaves slumped in her chair, "I'm no healthy spring chicken, and you're no weatherman. Right?"

Another quake struck and shook the room, "Something just cracked. I heard it," Avalon frantically looked around for anything that was breaking.

"Yeah, we can't stay here, let's go," the Doctor agreed and headed for the doors.

Cleaves moved to the console again and did another transmission, "Cleaves to Shuttle. We need to move, and we can't be collected from the evac tower."

'Give us the codeword'.

"The codeword is..." but her voice was cut off with another quake that struck that console and cut off the transmission.

"Cleaves? Cleaves, it's dead, it's dead," the Doctor called to them, "We need to get out of here. We need to get back downstairs and get those vents back on, come on."

They ran into a new room where the Doctor and Cleaves hurried to change the settings on the machine, "It's a chemical chain reaction now. I can't stop it. This place is going to blow sky high," the Doctor sighed.

"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves asked.

"An hour? Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between."

The klaxon sounded along with a series of explosions, "Out!" the Doctor ordered and ran out the room with the group.

They ran a couple feet until they found Rory on a turn. Amy was the first to hug him as she was the closest one.

"All right?" Rory pulled back and studied her followed by Avalon.

"Us? What about you?" Avalon hugged him, "Don't you dare do that again!"

"Yeah, aunt Amy and Mother were very worried," the Sapling informed as if Rory hadn't already known that.

"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt," Rory pulled away and looked at the group.

"From the crypt? It's not on the schematics," Cleaves shook her head.

"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me."

As everyone ran after Rory, the Doctor seemed slightly hesitant to do so.

"We can't leave without Buzzer," Jimmy said as they entered the new room.

"I'll go back for him," Cleaves called.

Rory was with the Doctor and was looking nervous for some reason, "Doctor, look...I'd better tell you, I haven't been quite straight with you..." but ganger Jennifer pulled him out the room before he could finish and locked the group inside.

"Rory!" the Doctor pounded on the door, "Rory Pond, Roranicus Pondicus!"

"Rory! What the hell are you playing at?" Avalon shouted but caught sight of Jennifer on the other side and knew it had to be that woman's fault.

"Rory, there is no time. This factory's about to explode!" Amy called frantically.

"I'm sorry!" Rory was able to say before he was dragged away by the Jennifer.

"Can we hurt her?" the Sapling made a deep scowl appear on his face. They were just trying to get home and that woman was about to kill them off.

With no other alternatives, the Doctor hurried back to the acid with the sonic, "This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, just as a point of interest."

"Please, stop talking," Avalon sighed, she'd rather not hear about their looming death.

Dicken started lowering the cap over the vat as an effort against it. Jimmy moved closer to the vat and shook his head, "It'll never hold her.'

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears," the Doctor pointed, "In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears."

"I've also seen that one!" the Sapling tapped the side of his head. "Can I go there afterwards?"

Even through the now shut cap, the acid was far stronger. Cleaves observed it from a distance, "The acid's eating through."

"This is it, huh? This is where we're going to die," Avalon shuddered a breath as she stared at the weak vat with soon-to-be overflowing acid. She felt her breathing pick up. That was new. She never really considered that one of their trips might be the last one.

The Doctor came over to her and hugged her. He didn't care if she would push him away; he needed for her know that he wouldn't leave her side. "No, it's not," he quietly said.

"Oh you don't have to lie," Avalon sighed. She allowed him to hug her for a few seconds, letting herself enjoy his hold just for a bit.

Jimmy had moved to keep the vat's lid down but some of the acid managed to splash on his chest, knocking him to the floor. At that moment, ganger Jimmy ran into the room and went straight for his other self. The Doctor had gone to check the original but found bad results, "There's nothing we can do. The acid's reached his heart."

"Hang in there, mate," ganger Jimmy sighed.

"I'm quite handsome from this angle," Jimmy managed to humor.

"I'm...sorry. I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."

"Shut up," Jimmy playfully rolled his eyes.

"What do you want me to do? Anything, just say."

"The way things are, mate... it's up to you now," Jimmy pulled on the cord around his neck and gave it to his ganger, "Be a dad. You remember how."

A stunned ganger Jimmy held up a wedding band in his hand.

"Jimmy Wicks...you're a dad," the Doctor clapped him on the shoulder.

"Right then, everyone, it's time to go!" ganger Cleaves called to the group and ran out the room first.

The Doctor stood by the door as everyone ran out but noticed Avalon staring at the corner of the room. "Ava! Let's go!"

"Amy said that woman appeared there again," she pointed at the wall. "How can that be? There's nothing there."

"Avalon, it doesn't matter!" the Doctor ran back to bring her out of the room. "We have to go!"

"But it does!" Avalon snapped, yanking her arm out of his hold after they'd gotten into the corridor. "Because you know what it means and don't want to tell us! And when you do that, it means something's happening."

"No, it's not," the Doctor tried his best to smile like nothing was going on around them, like neither of them were in danger. "You know me, I've got so many things in my head that I don't even know what's going on half the time."

"Nice try," Avalon rolled her eyes. "You know what's going on, more than you're letting on. But I shouldn't be surprised. It's what you do. Keep everything to yourself."

"This...isn't about Amy anymore, is it?"

Avalon once again rolled her eyes and when she attempted to leave, the Doctor grabbed her arm. "Look if you're not going to tell me anything, then just leave me alone."

"Now a wait minute, 10 minutes ago you were dandy with the other Doctor but now I'm the one you're mad at?"

"Are you seriously telling me that you're jealous?" Avalon didn't know whether to laugh or scream in frustration. "Why are you like this?" she air-strangled him instead.

"Like what?" the Doctor frowned.

Avalon groaned, her hands dangerously close to actually strangling him by the neck. "I hate you, you know that!? Do you enjoy being self-righteous with me? Especially with me?"

"I would never-"

"-then why don't you just tell me the truth already?"

"What truth?"

"I'm going to kill you, after," Avalon muttered and stepped towards him. She grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him close to her so he would definitely listen to her words. "If I'm really going to die here, then I refuse to go without hearing you tell me the truth about us."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Oh..."

"Yeah, 'oh'," Avalon could be pretty scary when she wanted to, and of course she'd choose to be the scariest when she wanted a confession from him about their feelings. She sure knew how to pick them.

"I don't think this is really the time. I mean, we have got some killer acid and actual killers after us-"

"-I don't bloody care," Avalon snapped. "I deserve for somebody to tell me the truth for once in my life." Her face suddenly softened, as did the grip of her hands on his jacket. She tilted her head slightly, eyes glimmering with tears. "And I would really like for that 'somebody' to be you."

"Ava...I can't..."

"Why not?" she asked through gritted teeth. "And don't tell me it's because there's nothing. Fantasy Fest. That's all the proof I need. You were about to kiss me and don't deny it."

"I stopped for a reason..."

"Because you nearly got caught."

"No, because...it was the right thing to do," the Doctor put his hands over hers and gently pulled them off his jacket. "Because I can't do that to you. You have me falling in temptation, Ava. Being who I am, it's a dangerous thing."

"And I told you plenty of times that I like dangerous. Literally. I love the adrenaline," Avalon said with the most honest smirk on her face. She raised her head as if daring him to challenge her.

He honest to God loved that look on her. He could kiss her to death right now. He brought one of his hands to touch her face, very soon grazing her lips. "My Ava. You have no idea what goes through my head whenever you're around me."

"I would if you just told me," Avalon whispered.

"Thing is, Avalon, I've done this before and it never ended well," the Doctor's gaze lowered a bit.

Avalon could see the pain etching across his face, as if it were still raw because it happened yesterday. She didn't have to hear each individual story to know that the Doctor blamed himself for every ending. "You're 909, I believe you."

"I don't want you to be the next one. Because sometimes it's not the fact that they've left me, it's how they ended up leaving. You won't be the next one, not on my watch."

Avalon's eyes watered up. "Can you just say it, though? Say it once, please."

But the Doctor wasn't brave enough. If he said it out loud, then it would finally become real. And when it became real, the pain that came with it would also be real. He couldn't do it. "I can't...I'm sorry..."

The ground suddenly rumbled underneath them, nearly knocking them both to the wall. The Doctor grabbed ahold of Avalon's arm - even if she wanted to murder him for his inability to speak the truth - and searched the hallway for a good route.

"We have to go!"

"I hate you!" Avalon didn't hesitate to start and he would be smart enough to know that this wasn't the end of their conversation. Just because they were about to die was no excuse! Not for them!

~ 0 ~

The rest of the group had entered a new room after being chased down by ganger Jennifer (who was now the only one bent on war). They'd met up with Rory and the other Doctor again and were now trying to keep Jennifer away from them. As Dicken came to shut the door that would keep Jennifer out, he crashed into a running Avalon and Doctor.

"Where the hell have you two been?" called Rory from the end of the room, frankly offended they'd left them to their luck.

"Yeah, ganger Jennifer is still after us!" the Sapling waved his arms frantically. Of course then he dropped them when he noticed how angry his mother looked. "Why are you upset, Mother?"

"Ask your father," Avalon shoved the Doctor with her to the side.

A scream carried down the hallway and made everyone look out to see Dickens shut the door with himself on the other side. Jennifer had killed him and was making her way towards the group now. Ganger Dickens shut the door in front of them with the help of ganger Cleaves and the Doctor that had come in with Avalon.

There was a creaking sound from the ceiling and the other Doctor looked up to see a familiar blue square coming through. "Here she comes!" The TARDIS fell down and added an extra rumble to the ground. "Oh, she does like to make an entrance! Move!" he ordered as he went up to the doors and opened them up for the group, "Go, go, go, go!"

Ganger Dickens left the door and ran into the TARDIS. Cleaves was going to do the same but looked back at her ganger, "Get on board! Go!" the ganger shooed he off.

"I'm not leaving," Cleaves tried to argue but the loud bang Jennifer gave on the other side of the door cut her off.

"Go!" the ganger yelled at her and so went Cleaves into the TARDIS.

"Sapling!" the Doctor called from the TARDIS. "GO!" The Sapling nodded his head quickly and made a dash for the blue box.

"Now's our chance," Amy hurried to the TARDIS and looked back at the others, specifically the Doctor at the door.

"I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize."

"What are you doing?" Avalon frowned, "What happens if you stay here?"

"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."

"Both of you can survive this, OK?" Amy looked between the two aliens.

"Or perhaps you think I should stay instead... Mr Smith?"

"No, of course not. But look, this man, I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not him. I'm sorry."

"Amy, we swapped shoes. I'm the Doctor," the Doctor by the TARDIS informed.

"And I'm...the Flesh," the Doctor at the door said rather nervously as he looked at Avalon.

"You're what now?" her eyes widened.

"I, uh, I...probably should've mentioned that before-"

"-right, because telling the truth is so easy for you clearly," she rolled her eyes.

"No, hold on!" Amy shook her head fervently as if that would make things more clear. "How's this even possible!?"

"Well, they switched places, didn't they?" Rory wasn't that surprised the Doctor would pull something like that. In fact, they should've just seen it coming.

"Well I'm not the original, I haven't been all along," the ganger Doctor shrugged, not able to explain much further.

"I don't know which one of you to kill right now," Avalon looked between both aliens, though the reactions from each were different. The one at the door looked heavily frightened while the one at the TARDIS was trying to understand what was going on.

"Ava? What happened?" the Doctor, the real one, asked her.

"Is there a way you both can survive?" Amy's hair kept flinging from side to side as she asked the two Doctors.

"Yeah, so I can kill both of them," mumbled Avalon.

"You okay?" Rory touched Avalon's arm, the only one who wouldn't die at the moment. She shook her head in response. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" she quickly exclaimed, shooting the ganger a sharp look, "Nothing happened," though her face was upset and sad, "Just, um, just tell us, is there a way of survival for you?" she genuinely wondered.

"Get to safety, Ava," was the answer of the ganger, a soft smile on his face.

"Well we can't just let him die!" Amy exclaimed, frantically shaking as no one seemed very worried about that detail.

"It's fine, Pond," the ganger Doctor smiled just like his other version would. "We got what we needed from this place, didn't we?" he shared a knowing look with the other Doctor, both nodding in agreement.

"What?" Avalon caught on and frowned even deeper. "Oh! I am so done with you two!"

"No Avalon, wait!" the ganger grabbed her arm and gently tugged her to his side. "You were right...about everything." She still shook her head, more ready to kill him before ganger Jennifer did. "Hey, I mean it," he tugged her arm again, forcing her to look at him. "You were absolutely right, but then again...when aren't you right?"

She wanted to roll her eyes again but he had that stupid grin she liked a lot. While she was lost in her thoughts - deciding whether to keep pretending to want to kill him or just leave - she didn't notice that the ganger Doctor had leaned to her side until he whispered something in her ear. When he drew away, she had her wide-eyed stare locked on him and she had a deep blush across her face.

"What he say?" Amy scrunched, wondering if it was some other secret the two aliens had kept from them.

Even the Doctor by the TARDIS was puzzled. "Ava?"

Avalon shared a small smile with his ganger. "You finally said it," she leaned closer to him, letting her nose rest against his cheek. "Thank you. And you know that I feel the same," she told him in a whisper. She pulled away and looked at the door he and Cleaves were desperately trying to keep locked, but ganger Jennifer was using all her monstrous strength to pound against it.

"You need to go," the ganger ordered her. "Please."

"But..."

"I'll be fine," he assured.

"You lie," she said sadly. He didn't say anything except give her another smile. She nodded, indicating she understood, but before she left she surprised him with a kiss on the cheek. She went right into the TARDIS without looking at anyone else, much less the other Doctor who couldn't be more confused in his life! What had that ganger of him said to her and why did she react like that? They were so close too...

Of course he soon turned an accusing look on his ganger, demanding questions with a silent glare.

"Oh shut up," went the ganger in return. "Maybe she's the one who can change things. Because if you don't, and I survive this, I'm coming back for her. You got that?"

"I'm interested," Amy remarked to Rory, both of them looking at each of the Doctors at the same time. "But I'm so confused at the same time."

"I'm not," Rory frowned. It was what he specifically wanted nothing of for the sake of Avalon. "Let's go!" he yanked his wife towards the TARDIS, leaving the two Doctors to work out whatever they needed to.

Avalon was inside with the Sapling but while the tree child was ecstatic to be safe inside the TARDIS, Avalon was lost in thoughts. Rory took a quick stride towards the woman, dreading what was going on through her head.

"Hey Ava," his voice, though gentle, managed to startle her, "Are you okay?"

"Uh...yeah, I think I am," Avalon answered but she still seemed like she was figuring it out. "I just..." she laughed humorlessly, "Why is he so...like that!?"

"Ava," Rory deeply sighed and brought a hand to her curly hair. "I really wish you hadn't..." he couldn't finish it out loud, for her sake, but she just smiled sadly.

"I couldn't help it Rory," she said with the tone of a child. She always did that whenever they had a serious talk. He was like the grown up because God knew she could never be an adult.

"Told you," Amy was smirking, completely the opposite of her husband.

"I don't get it," the Sapling suddenly said, his lips curled into a pout. "What's going on? What are we talking about?"

Avalon just laughed, wholeheartedly for the first time that day. "Oh Sapling, nothing. Nothing except your Mother is a true idiot."

~ 0 ~

After making sure the gangers were stable and dropping ganger Jimmy back to his son, the Doctor brought Cleaves and ganger Dickens back to the headquarters of their factory.

"You really want us to do this?" Cleaves sighed as they approached the conference room.

"Your company's telling the world that the situation is over. You need to get in there and tell them that the situation's only just begun," the Doctor pointed to the door, "Make them understand what they're doing to the Flesh. Make them stop. Dickens, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don't hate them, will you?"

"How can I hate them? I'm one of them now," he gestured to Cleaves beside her.

"Yeah, and just remember, people died. Don't let that be in vain. Make what you say in that room count."

"Ready? Side by side," Cleaves said as they'd stopped in front of the conference door.

"You got it, boss."

Together, the two co-workers entered the conference room. Amy moved closer to the Doctor and nudged him, "You okay?"

"I said breathe, Pond, remember? Well, breathe," the Doctor sighed as he knew what was coming next. He started making his way back for the TARDIS where Avalon had preferred to stay. Now, on top of a ganger Amy, he had to decipher what secret Avalon was refusing to tell him. And more importantly, what the hell his ganger had whispered in her ear.

"Why?" Amy called but couldn't say more when she doubled over in pain. "Ooh! Woah! Oh!"

"What's wrong with her?" Rory quickly tried checking her for any injury, but he didn't remember seeing anything earlier.

"Get her into the TARDIS," the Doctor ordered and entered the box.

"What's wrong with aunt Amy!?" the Sapling's cry pulled Avalon away from her journal. She looked up to see the Doctor and Rory helping Amy get into the TARDIS.

"Contractions," the Doctor bitterly answered as he went around the console, setting the TARDIS in motion.

"Excuse me?" Avalon hopped off her seat and hurried to help Rory.

"She's going into labor."

The Sapling gasped. "Aunt Amy's having a baby!? I thought it was Mother!"

"Would you stop saying that!?" snapped Avalon. This was no time to remind her that she needed to change diets.

"Doctor, what are you talking about!?" Amy asked in-between groans. She literally felt like she was being stabbed in her stomach. "Rory, I don't like this - OW!"

"You'll have to start explaining this to me, Doctor," Rory practically ordered. He could handle the secrets the Doctor kept from them when it wasn't about Amy. Something was happening to his wife and he wanted answers now.

"What, the birds and the bees? She's having a baby," the Doctor moved away from the console. The Sapling gasped again, in delight until someone would tell him it wasn't all that great when the person in labor didn't even know she was in labor. "I needed to see the Flesh in its early days. That's why I scanned it. That's why we were there in the first place. I was going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans. Beautiful word, shenanigans."

"You're getting off topic," Avalon snapped. "Not to mention the fact I knew you were keeping something from us!"

"It hurts!" cried the second ginger.

"Breathe," the Doctor pointed at Amy, "I needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh."

"What signal?" Amy didn't understand and quite frankly didn't have the head to decipher it with all the pain she was feeling.

"The signal to you."

"Doctor?"

"Stand away from her," the Doctor sternly looked at Avalon and Rory. He expected the simultaneous refusal from them, but it didn't mean he would be patient about it. Time was literally of the essence now. From here on out, they were at war.

"You need to start explaining now," Avalon's eyes narrowed on the Doctor, and with good reason.

"Given what we've learned, I'll be as humane as I can, but I need to do this and you two-" his voice suddenly rose in volume, "-need to STAND AWAY!"

Avalon flinched when he started yelling. She didn't say anything back, she didn't dare to. Instead, she looked at Rory and the two slowly backed away from Amy. Why were they leaving her!? Why was the Doctor shouting at them!? And why did her stomach hurt so much!?

"No, no, Doctor, I am frightened. I'm properly, properly scared!"

Even the Sapling had the good sense to be afraid now that he was looking at everyone. He slowly inched closer to Avalon who, once she felt him nearby, slowly took him into a hug.

"Don't be. Hold on. We're coming for you, I swear it," the Doctor stepped closer to Amy, putting a hand on her cheek. He felt terrible for taking this long to finally do something about her situation. "Whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you."

"I'm right here!" Amy clung to his arm, shaking him to get him to listen to her. But despite her insistence, she could see in his eyes that he'd already made up his decision about her.

"No, you're not. You haven't been here for a long, long time," he stepped back and held his sonic at her. The mere act froze Avalon and Rory in their respective spots. It looked like Amy was suddenly the enemy trespassing.

Amy whimpered in her spot, one hand still wrapped around her stomach. "No..."

With one click of the sonic, she turned into a Flesh puddle.

Rory gasped at the sight of what used to be his wife.

Avalon's eyes wide to the brim. Her grip around the Sapling tightened as if they were next on the list.

The Doctor slowly lowered his sonic but he couldn't look at Rory nor Avalon. What would he tell them? That he'd known for a while Amy wasn't really there with them but he didn't have the tools nor the knowledge to find her?

"Doctor," Rory suddenly spoke up. "Hey?" he had to call twice before the Time Lord would finally glance at him, but only then it was a slight glance. "I don't understand what just happened, nor what is happening but I bet my life that you knew about this."

"Rory-"

"-NO," Rory's voice sharpened quick, shutting the Doctor down in that moment, "You knew about it for God knows how long so right now, you owe me."

"Rory, stop," Avalon's voice was a frail whisper. She was truly afraid of what was coming next, but Rory was already thinking ahead and it included her.

"Avalon, be quiet," Rory snapped. It was so uncharacteristic of him but it was another testament of how furious he was. He walked straight up to the Doctor, and showcased his deepest glare. "You owe me and I'm gonna use that to save the other person I just know is in danger." The Doctor blinked at him, unsure of where Rory was taking this until Rory's eyes flickered to Avalon. "I've felt this for a while and nobody would listen to me, not even Amy."

"Rory, what are you talking about?" Avalon asked, about to walk towards them when the Sapling hugged her tighter. He was mighty afraid and the fact everyone looked so angry and upset didn't help ease his nerves.

"The letter, Avalon," the Doctor said, side-glancing her with sorrow eyes. Now it was Rory's turn to be confused. Neither he nor Amy had heard about the letter. "What did the letter say?"

Avalon's eyes would blink several times before she answered and when she did, she still wasn't sure what it had to do with their conversation. "Dear Avalon, I know this is strange and probably confusing but it is imperious that you listen to me. You must remain with the Doctor for your own safety. Bad things are coming, and they will be coming for you and all your friends." She swallowed hard, attempting to keep calm but her body was visibly shaking. "But it-it's not about me right now. It's about Amy-"

"-but they could be the same people that letter was talking about," the Doctor sighed. "I should have known from the start. I should have been more careful."

"Doctor, they got to Amy but we can still keep Avalon safe," Rory said, now more urgent since they finally figured out what he was trying to say.

"Yes, you're right," the Doctor nodded, turning towards Avalon. The woman took an instinctive step backwards, bringing the Sapling with her in the process. "Avalon, you might be next."

"No, stop it!" she snapped. "We need to focus on Amy and-"

"-you," Rory said. "I'm not losing you too."

"What...what are you going to do?" Avalon asked, her tone laced with a clear fear.

"Whatever it takes," the Doctor promised her.

#ocappreciation #doctor who #11th doctor #doctor who fics #11th doctor fics #dw imagine #11th doctor imagines #dw fics #doctor who ocs #oc: Avalon Reynolds #fic: falling in temptation

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sockdreams · 6 years ago

Photo

In the Game of Socks, You Win or You Unravel

The armies are gathering. Sides have been chosen, small victories won, and the lives of all our favorite characters hang in the balance. As we enter possibly the deadliest era in Game of Thrones history, we wanted to take a moment and celebrate some of the houses that have risen and fallen so far.

Some of these players have already faded away, and some are just coming into their own. Who will survive? Well, “when you play the game of thrones…” oh, you know the rest.

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Colors: Black and Red

“Fire and Blood”

Conquerors of the Seven Kingdoms and ruling house on the Iron Throne for 200 years. This silver haired family had a talent for raising dragons and an odd idea of marrying their children to each other. Say what you will about their matchmaking abilities, but these fire fanatics made a cool throne that despite being super uncomfortable – a lot of people want to sit on.

Dragons are the name of the game, and the Mermaid Lace Tights provide an excellent scale texture that can be layered over colored tights, for whatever type of dragon you prefer to be (although these sold out fast, you can sign up from their page to be notified when we restock). We've also got a nod to classic fantasy adventure in the Beware of Dragons Midcalf. Perhaps not as gritty as the Fire & Ice world, but these dragons are ready to slay.

We also have a fun little tutorial for stocking adornments, if you'd like to take your dragon motif to the next level.

DIY: Stocking Adornments

House Stark of Winterfell

Colors: Grey and White

“Winter is Coming”

Brooding wardens of the North, House Stark has resided in Winterfell for thousands of years. Obviously, these guys know their politics and can do no wrong. Putting honor over duty or tact certainly never hurt them.

We've got some fine representations of wolves on the Wolf Midcalf, and the fuzzy tops of the Skye Furry Topped Crew socks definitely feel appropriate for the cold climate of the North.

House Lannister of Casterly Rock

Colors: Red and Gold

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House Arryn of the Eyrie

Colors: Blue and White

“As High as Honor”

These anti-social recluses love to hold up in their impregnable Eyrie and let the lesser people fight amongst themselves while they watch from a distance. They pride themselves on a more refined way of life in the mountains, and making sure their sons are properly fed.

Take to the wind with the Barn Owl Knee High socks, and soar a sky as blue as these We Love Colors Microfiber Tights. Just uh, watch out for moon doors.

House Tully of Riverrun

Colors: Red and Blue

“Family, Duty, Honor”

House Tully is full of fish-eating gingers. This house loves to put family first even when it leads to their own foils. Their stubbornness can almost rival the Starks'.

The colorful fish of the Fish Knee High socks are a real send-up to this house, where rivers run as deep as the Dreamer Tidal Swirl Thigh Highs.

House Greyjoy of Pyke

Colors: Black and Gold

“We Do Not Sow"

House Greyjoy are a rebellious lot residing on the isles of Pyke. They like their lives full of hardship and suffering on the sea. They’ve fought for independence from Westeros on multiple occasions but have failed thus far. Maybe what is dead should die?

You can adorn yourself in the Greyjoy colors with the Soft Lurex Marl Knee High socks, or dress in fisherman finery with the Wet Look Lace Up Thigh High Leg Warmers.

House Baratheon of Storm’s End

Color: Gold and Black

“Ours is the Fury”

An ancient house created by bastard BFF of Aegon the Conquer, Orys Baratheon. Once he retired as Aegon’s General he claimed the Stormlands by marrying the daughter of the family that once ruled there. Orys proved that you can rise from your station not by what you know, but who you know [and marry].

Adorned with sweet blossoms, the Antler Blossoms Knee High certainly calls back to a happier time. If you wish to channel a little Baratheon into your day, you can wear their colors with the Lurex Industrial Net Tights.

House Tyrell of Highgarden

Colors: Green and Gold

“Growing Strong”

Highgarden houses the beautiful golden roses known as House Tyrell. This Growing Strong house supplies the best wine, food, and curly haired Knights to the Seven Kingdoms.

The Tyrell's signature rose is adorned on the Bloomes Anklets, while the twisting vines of the Ferns and Fiddleheads Knee High socks are certainly growing strong.

House Martell of Sunspear

Colors: Orange and Gold

“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”

These sun loving people who are fond of throwing spears reside in the southern most point of Westeros. Their lands are mostly desert, and the quality of their wine reflects that, as a reliable source confirms.

Luxuriate in the hot sands of Dorne with the Marled Scrunchable Socks, but be careful handling the Snake Net Tights...they've been known to bite.

House Mormont of Bear Island

Colors: White and Black

“Here We Stand”

Nobel and loyal bannerman to House Stark. Members are known to be outspoken and hairy.

We have two different takes on the Mormont's favorite beasty, with the Black Bear Tights and the Bear Walker Midcalf.

Night’s Watch

Color: Black

"I am the watcher on the walls."

A varying array of men in all black guarding the realms of the Seven Kingdoms from whatever lies beyond The Wall. They get the fun tasks of serving for life, taking no wives, holding no lands or titles, and having no children. Despite that, they are the only faction that gets to vote for their leader, so you win some, you lose some.

These Curious Crows Knee High socks are perfect for the "crows" of the Night's Watch, and while they're dressed in black, we recommend they try out the Elevation Compression Knee High socks, to keep them on their toes during those long watches.

Wildlings

Colors: whatever color, as long as it's warm

"Free folk don't follow names, or little cloth animals sewn on a tunic..."

Wildlings, or Free Folk as they call themselves, live beyond The Wall and got up to some fun adventures fighting the Night’s Watch for a few hundred years before uniting and heading south to avoid some rather unpleasantness with the White Walkers.

The free folk beyond the wall have always known of the dangers lurking so close to them. They need warm clothing like the Camel Hair Thermal Socks to help them survive, and, like our models of the Log Crew socks, are prepared for anything.

Followers of the Red God

Color: Red

"The night is dark and full of terrors."

These pyromancing wannabes hail from the East in Asshai and search the world over for the reborn form of their great god, R’hllor. They believe he alone can save the world from darkness with his flaming sword, Lightbringer.

Obviously red is a prominent color among followers of the Lord of Light, whose flames are depicted in the stripes of the Extraordinary Elemental Stripes. The red of the We Love Colors Plus Size Tights is almost worthy of a true believer.

White Walkers

Color: White (surprise!)

"Demons made of snow and ice and cold. The ancient enemy. The only enemy that matters."

Chilly AF humanoid necromancer folks with the brightest blue eyes you've ever seen. They hail from The Land of Always Winter and built their armies with the dead marching South to Westeros. They have one leader, determined to bring an eternal winter to the Seven Kingdoms. One Night King to rule them all…

This is it. The enemy we've been building to over the last six seasons. Their eerie, icy white skin can be approximated with the Glitter Fishnet Tights, and the Winter Midcalf socks offer a great view of the land they hail from. Winter is definitely here, with a vengeance. And for now, no one is safe.

This post was a collaboration between Dreamer Lucy and resident-Game-of-Thrones-expert Dreamer Ash.

♥Lucy Socks by Sock Dreams • Free Shipping in the US • $5 International Shipping Find us on facebook | twitter | pinterest | instagram | sock journal

#game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #game of socks #George r. r. martin #socks #we had fun with this one

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brynandchristopher · 5 years ago

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Back in nam...

A lot has changed since I was last in Nam… I’ll try to explain but I don’t think you’ll get it… YOU WEREN’T THERE!

I came to Vietnam 2.5 years ago with my Father, affectionately known as Wan. Wan had a special business trip scheduled here and I was headed home from Nepal and we decided to link up. We stayed primarily in the Saigon (AKA: Ho Chi Minh City) area and farther down south on the beach. However, we did a short 4 day stint up to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay - a trip that enthralled me and was the main reason I wanted to return to this fabulous place. So here we are, exploring The North.

Since we last posted we have been in one area of the country, the Ha Giang Province. Vietnamese is a tonal language and we have learned that the pronunciations of a lot of the words, with their accents, are very much so not-phonetic. Ha Giang is pronounced more like Ha Zahn. The Ha Giang province is the northernmost part of Vietnam, on the border of China (see the map we included). The far north of Vietnam is very famous for its beautiful mountain landscapes. Sapa, the main city in the North has exploded with tourism over the past couple of decades and from what we’ve heard, is quite over-developed and has lost a lot of its cultural charm. We wanted to head up north but wanted to avoid the massive crowds and less-than-authentic cultural experiences. In the months leading up to the trip, my mother, affectionately known as Mama, linked me to some pictures of Ha Giang, noting its stunning landscapes. We looked in to Ha Giang and discovered that it hosts what many claim to be the best motorbiking circuit in all of Asia. So we came to do just that.

We took a 14 hour overnight sleeper bus from Cat Ba island to Ha Giang and arrived to the small city at 4 in the morning. The sleeper busses here are quite silly - they make them relatively comfortable and give you lots of blankets, turn off the lights etc. But the bus drivers lay on the horn the entire drive and loudly talk on their cellphones at 2am. So having half-slept we sauntered out of the bus station looking for a place to rest up before we set off - a guy named Chu approached us and asked us if we needed help finding our hotel and we explained we didn’t have a place booked. He kindly offered to let us sleep for free at his almost-completed hostel. After a few real hours of sleep, Chu and his sister made us breakfast and helped us rent a motorcycle and we were off.

We had seen pictures and were expecting this to be a really cool ride but hot damn, Ha Giang was really beyond anything we could’ve anticipated. The loop took us four days to complete, at around 80 kilometers per day up and down winding mountain passes and through little farming villages. Over and over again we were awestruck by the insane landscape views we would get from the tops of the mountains - I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was. The mountains are all made of karst limestone, that used to be submerged in the ocean some 150+ million years ago. Apparently being under the ocean, along with the climate conditions makes for super rich fertile soil because the amount of plant cover and diversity was unreal. The mountains were incredibly precipitous but hardly an inch was uncovered by wild forest or steppes cut in for farmland. Our first night it was starting to get dark and we pulled off to this little motel homestay place just outside the town of Yen Minh. The man who greeted us spoke not a single word of English. This made for a pretty funny time as we negotiated the price of the room and dinner by pointing at different bills and did thumbs up or thumbs downs. He brought us to his house just down the road for dinner where he and his wife had made us a feast. They made ginger beef, tofu in tomato sauce, fried pork and pork fat, bean sprouts in some strange sauce, mustard greens, some kind of really strong homemade soy sauce, 20 pounds of rice and 2 bia (beer). They talked to us the whole time in incessant Vietnamese and strange undecipherable hand-signs. It was fascinating trying to communicate with people who literally don’t know any common words and totally hilarious, the four of us were laughing the entire dinner. We had some green tea after dinner and were able to figure out they were 51 years old - we were unable to figure out their names.

The next night we stayed up on a hill above the town of Dong Van. This homestay was run by a nice family who we could actually talk to. We went in to the town for dinner and ate local foods, rice porridge and bamboo shoot noodle soup. When we returned a large group of people had arrived at the homestay and were staying in the upstairs dorm area. It was fun to hang out with them for a while and we even met a guy from Utah! The Ha Giang loop is not super popular with tourists yet, primarily due to road conditions and the need to be a decent motorcyclist to do it safely. These people were doing a tour with guides where they all road on the backs of bikes and locals drove them. They stayed up late singing Vietnamese covers of American pop songs and taking shots the local corn wine known as “happy water” - it was pretty funny but also very loud.

The next day was Thanksgiving, which was pretty sad for us not being home with our families. However, this was the best day of the trip view wise. We drove through Ma Pe Lung Pass which honestly was probably top 3 greatest views I’ve had in my entire life. We got a hot chocolate at a coffee bar built out over a cliff and took in the view and let the rain pass. A couple of hours later we had our Thanksgiving lunch, bun cha, one of the many variations on "noodle soup” that makes up what seems to be 50% of all Vietnam dishes. Bun Cha is my favorite of the noodle soups I’ve had here. We finished the day in Du Gia where we stopped for the night. Our homestay offered dinner and showed us the menu, which was around 15 different things. We looked at it and told them yes, we would like dinner and the choices of what we wanted, they were confused and explained to us that dinner was all 15 of those things. Christmas miracles get a lot of hype, but this Thanksgiving miracle was supreme. We made some other traveler friends from Ireland and Germany and ate our massive Thanksgiving feast family style together. We definitely missed the mashed potatoes and gravy, but the french fries and chili sauce were a good stand in :). It was our turn to drink the happy water, and the Irish gently forced us to keep drinking beers with them. It was an awesome night and softened the sorrow of being away from our families for Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving reflection was directed primarily at how beautiful the landscape was that day, and how lucky we were to be there, but more generally how lucky we are to be on a trip such as this. We are incredibly privileged to be traveling the world with each other, and for that we are truly grateful.

Our final day was beautiful just as the others, but was a bit more of a drag. We had been pushing through the butt pain throughout the trip but with the finish line in sight it became a more pressing annoyance. The last night’s excess of happy water didn’t help. We made it safely back to Ha Giang and took long hot showers and got in fresh clothes. We essentially packed one outfit each for the four days to reduce the weight that Bryn had to carry on her back the whole time. The next day we took two different busses south across what was nearly half of Vietnam to our current location, Phong Nha. Phong Nha is a relatively unexplored region of Vietnam that hosts the worlds largest cave. We will spend the next couple of days spelunking before heading farther south along the coast. :)

Peace,

Christopher and Bryn

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zacklover24 · 6 years ago

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Far cry pup meets wolf

So I was working on this last night and thought of @jacobmybeloved while I worked on it. Have some fatherly jacob and family love.

Jacob woke to find himself on the floor, to soft sunbeams of the late april sun on him, to the soft sound of jazz playing and to someone trying VERY hard not to laugh. The eldest seeed sat up and let out a soft yawn, he had fallen asleep on the playmat while trying to put charlie down for her nap. As he looked over, he saw that six month old was sleeping peacefully on her back with his jacket over her. It was all very cute, as looked up however he saw john and joseph in the small kitchen milling about making what looked to be sandwitches On the island in the middle of the kitchen was everything and anything you would need to make a sandwich, the week of a full moon was the hardest most demanding week out of the month. The inner wolf demanded meat, and it did eat while it was out but, turning took a lot of energy so carb loading and eating a ton of food before hand was a most.

“Nice nap?” Joseph softly asks not hiding his smile as jacob came over to them. Jacob let out a grunt.

“When did you two get back?” He asks watching john mill about has he got to work on his meal and started to load up the sandwich with so much ham, turkey and beef that were almost no run left for anything else.

“About an hour ago, we got done sooner than we planned on.” Joseph answer taking the turkey from john as he made a turkey club, “When did you put charlie down?” Jacob looked up at the bird clock that was hanging up over the door to backyard, that Joseph had gotten

“About three hours ago, I’m not on board with this, john hand me the roast beef.” Jacob orders, joseph let out a tired sigh.

“We’ve been over this jacob she is old enough now and it is tradition. John, myself and you meet our father wolf at six months.” Joseph calmly tells him.

Jacob could only let out a snort, as he made his own food, “And that went over so well, he nearly killed me, you and john. And when I tried to keep you both safe he nearly mauled me to death.”

“I have no memory of that but, I don’t put it past him.” John mutters grabbing a soda, one of the few times he would drink caffeine.

“John no.” Joseph tells him stealing the soda and giving him a glass of water, “You know what soda does to you, I don’t need you suffering tonight.”

“Sorry joseph.” John mutters taking the glass from his brother, “Joseph will be in his true form and I’ll be holding your little pup, if anything goes wrong joseph will step in.”

“It’s still not safe, the wolf doesn't know how to control itself, what if it attack charlie?” Jacob asks them, “I can’t risk her life.” As jacob toasted the bread before him using his magic.

“She’ll be a year in six months, if we wait till then when her powers come in, she might lash out and hurt the wolf, do you you want that?” John asks after taking a bite from his meal.

“No.” Jacob sighs pilling the roast beef on high onto the toasted bread, his gaze lingered on charlie the pup was still asleep, and she would be for awhile. His inner wolf was a beast, an unctornable beast that would and could kill her, but john was right. When she turned a year her magic come in like it did for all three of them, who knew is she was going to have magic like her father? Or something more dangerous?

“Jacob we won’t let her get hurt.” Joseph tells him placing a hand on his shoulder, “God won’t let her get hurt.” That didn’t help to ease the fear and tension that sitting in the bottom of his stomach.

“I just don't want her getting hurt. CPS is tougher these days.” Jacob whispers sitting down with John soda.

“Jacob she won’t get hurt, we will keep her safe.” John tells him with a smile, “I'll keep an eye on the wolf's mind.”

“Thank you john.” It was then that charlie woke not crying but she was whimpering. Jacob stood but Joseph went to get the girl and handed her to her father.

“You young lady were supposed to be asleep a little longer.” Jacob gently scolds as the girl was still trying to wake up. She gave jacob a happy smile as she cuddled up against,

“Da.” She says with a smile.

“Pup.” He smiles back kissing her head. Tonight was going to be very interesting. He stood and handed her to joseph as he made a bottle,

“Your going to be safe little lamb.” He says giving her kiss to her forehead, charlie let out a small giggle.

“Ba.” As she giggled as her uncle. Joseph could only smile at her, she was a sweet little thing.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Night came too soon for the seed brothers, john was sitting on the back porch with charlie in his lap. The urge to turn was gnawing in the back of his skull but, he had to resit the urge. Charlie was squirming in her uncle lap trying to get down, wanting to explore, but he held onto her

firmly.

Out of the darkness came something, it was a pair of very large wolves. One ginger the other brown. The ginge wolf let out a growl, it did not like that it was back here, when it could be out hunting and killing. But the smaller brown wolf had lead back here. The ginger wolf looked over at john and the baby in his arms. It went still, the wolf could smell itself on the baby, why? It had no memory of having a pup. The brown nudged the ginger wolf to lay down, so it did. John saw that his queue as he set charlie down on the ground. She looked between her uncle and the ginger wolf. The ginger wolf, let out a soft growl, which started the baby. But she didn’t cry, she looked at the wolf and and wolf looked at her. It got up, and moved just a little closer, that was enough prompting for charlie to crawl over it. The wolf sniffed charlie when she was close enough, she did smell like him but like a bakery and lavender and vanilla. She smelled soft, but the wolf leaned down and licked her, she almost feel over if not for the wolf having its front leg in back of her.

“Easy jacob.” John warns watching the pair from the porch. Jacob only let out a growl as he went back to licking his pup clean, happy with that, he watched as she started to get comfy in his fur looking ready to fall asleep. He could only smile as she let out a yawn and tried to crawl over him, but john came and grabbed her.

“No, no, sweetheart.” He gently says, “Time for bed.” As he went in, the wolf could only smirk, that his pup he could not wait for her to come and join him in her true form and have some fun.

End of line

#Far cry pup meets wolf #far cry 5 #far cry #far cry story #Family is what you make of it #Jacob seed #John seed #Joseph Seed #Deputy Charlie Seed #Alternate Universe - Werewolf #magic #magic au

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searchingwardrobes · 6 years ago

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Twister: 7/7

Finally! The conclusion of my Twister AU, as promised. Many thanks to @yayimallamaagain who gave me the idea for this story.

Can also be read on Ao3

I have two collections there of movie AUs: Captain Swan is My Favorite Rom Com and Captain Swan is My Favorite Rom Com: Second Edition

Tagging @snowbellewells @kmomof4 @bethacaciakay @kday426 @jennjenn615 @shipsxahoy @shady-swan-jones @tiganasummertree @artistic-writer @teamhook @cat-sophia @hollyethecurious @coliferoncer @thejacketandthehook @dassala @branlovestowrite @allofdafandoms-blog @flslp87 @pocket-anon @whimsicallyenchantedrose @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs

The sunlight when Emma opened her eyes the next morning was dappled as it streamed in through the filmy lace curtains. Her head was pillowed against Killian’s warm chest, his arm wrapped loosely around her hip. She craned her neck to find him still asleep. His face always looked so relaxed in sleep, free from the lines that he held most of the time, even when he was young. His confidence and swagger made people believe he hadn’t a care in the world, but Emma could always see through it.

It wasn’t your fault, she had told him yesterday. And she could see from the tortured gaze in his eyes that he had a hard time believing it, even now. But here in this room, all that guilt, all that tension left him. It had always been that way.

As she had drifted off to sleep, sated and hair still slightly damp from their extremely enjoyable exertion, she had worried if the morning light would bring panic. Instead, she lay here feeling a peace that had eluded her since the day she ran. The day she ran. She could admit it now.

Still she gazed at him. She had never forgotten how beautiful he was, but seeing it up close here in his embrace was different. The sculpted muscles of his chest, rising and falling with each breath, his dark hair sticking up messily the way it had the night he first stood in her bedroom doorway, the masculine line of his jaw covered in ginger-dotted scruff. His head lay sideways on the pillow, showing off his neck. He had a great one that she loved to nuzzle with her nose and nip with her teeth. And those ears, slightly pointed. Even at ten she had been fascinated by those ears.

The nuzzling and nipping was suddenly extremely tempting on that inviting neck and adorable ears, but then he would wake up, and she didn’t think she could handle his sleepy gaze in the light of day. They needed to talk about what this meant, and she had a feeling that wouldn’t happen with both of them naked and still in that delicious hazy bubble of intimacy. She slipped out of his embrace as carefully as she could, grabbing up her clothes and tiptoeing into the on-suite bathroom.

She slipped into a comfortable t-shirt and jeans, threw her hair up into a messy ponytail, and then tiptoed from the room. The hallway was silent, so she figured Ruby and Ariel were still asleep. Smee had bunked down in the camper. She walked as quietly as she could down the stairs. The living room was empty, but she heard someone puttering around in the kitchen along with delicious smells both sweet and savory. She heard the crackling of bacon as she drew closer to the kitchen, and when she stepped through the open doorway, she found Granny at work in front of the stove.

“It’s rare for you to be the first one up,” she commented as she turned and slid a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon across the kitchen island towards Emma.

Emma settled onto the bar stool with a shrug as Granny leveled her with a scrutinizing gaze. A blush inexplicably rose to her cheeks.

“Don’t break his heart again,” Granny told her with no preamble.

“I - what – why would you,” Emma stuttered.

“Please,” she scoffed as she turned back to the sizzling bacon on the stove, “you two have always thought I was too stupid to know what was going on right under my own roof. I know Killian never slept in his bed last night. And I may be in my seventies, but I know a woman’s I just got laid blush.”

Emma choked on her eggs.

Granny continued as if she weren’t making Emma turn ten shades of red. “Do you have any idea the constant worry I was in from the moment I caught you two half-undressed as teenagers? I should have told them to find one of you another home, but God forgive me, I loved you both too much to let either one of you go.”

She turned then, giving Emma a knowing grin over the rim of her coffee mug.

“We weren’t having sex!” Emma protested, squirming on her stool as if she were fourteen again.

“Well I wasn’t taking any chances.”

Emma snorted as she swallowed a bite of egg. “Yeah, I know. You marched me down to that clinic and got me birth control pills. I thought I might die of humiliation.”

Granny laughed. “That was nothing compared to Killian’s reaction when I showed him the condoms I’d put in his nightstand.”

Emma was able to laugh too, then.

“I thought the poor boy would faint right then and there, he turned so pale. Those eyes of his big as saucers.” Granny shook her head as she set her mug down on the island. “But Emma, honey, that boy has loved you since the second he laid eyes on you. He may have only been twelve, but I’ll never forget the look on his face when you stepped out of the social worker’s car that day.”

“I’ve loved him too,” Emma whispered, “for as long as I can remember. I never meant to hurt him. I was just -”

“Scared,” Granny finished for her. She reached over and squeezed her hand, “I know, honey.”

“Am I uh – interrupting something?”

Granny looked up, and Emma swiveled towards the doorway at the voice. Killian stood there, nervously scratching behind his ear. He must have taken a quick shower because his hair was wet and combed. His eyes bounced off Emma’s a bit nervously, and Emma suddenly knew what Granny meant by the I just got laid blush. Granny told him to have a seat as she set another place, and Killian took it, offering Emma a small smile.

“See what I mean,” Granny quipped, “you two were looking at each other the same way Thanksgiving morning Killian’s first year of college, and I knew he’d finally opened that box of condoms.”

It was Killian’s turn to choke on his eggs, and Granny laughed.

“You both had the goofiest grins on your faces, and I knew it wasn’t my sweet potato pancakes.”

“Those were some damn good pancakes,” Killian quipped right back, a crooked smile on his face even as the tips of his ears burned red.

“Did somebody say something about pancakes?”

Ruby’s voice was scratchy as she shuffled into the kitchen, her hair a mess and still in her pajamas. She was a night owl who hated mornings. Ariel skipped in behind her in a cute outfit, hair perfect and makeup already done. Ruby scowled at her perky friend as she plopped down on the bar stool beside Emma.

“No pancakes,” Granny answered as she opened the oven door, “but I did make cinnamon rolls.”

Ruby, Emma, and Killian all cheered as if they were kids again. Granny set the pan down on the

Island and swatted at their hands as they reached for the gooey rolls.

“Let me get the spatula before you burn your fingers.”

Emma exchanged glances with first Killian and then Ruby. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her unconventional family. She hadn’t realized how much Henry needed this; how much she needed this. And she knew in that moment that her life needed a drastic change. For Henry’s sake and hers. Okay, and for Killian’s sake too.

Emma had just taken her first bite of cinnamon roll when Smee came bursting through the kitchen door, the screen banging shut behind him.

“This is it!” he shouted, his cheeks red and his hands trembling as he twisted his knit cap. “Something’s brewing just west of her, and whatever it is, it’s big. It’ll get Dot in the air for sure! Could be a category 4.”

Ruby was suddenly wide awake, whooping loudly before shoving half a cinnamon roll in her mouth. Ariel bounced up from her seat, hugging Killian from behind and shaking him with glee. Ruby was running back and forth like a hamster in a cage, not sure if she should join Smee to prep the machine or get dressed first.

Killian on the other hand sat with both fists clenched on top of the kitchen island, his head down, jaw clenching. Emma watched him, her brow furrowed with both confusion and concern. It was the type of storm they had been waiting for, so why wasn’t he running for the truck? He finally lifted his head and turned to her with intensity in his eyes and a soft smile upon his face.

“I’m not going.”

His words were like a thunder clap that instantly stilled the excitement in the room. Ariel pulled away from him as if she didn’t recognize him. Smee was so shocked he dropped his precious cap on the ground, then stumbled when he bent to retrieve it. Ruby’s eyes grew wide, then she blinked and rapidly shook her head.

“What the hell?” she sputtered.

“Ruby -” he started.

“No,” she silenced him, “we’ve been risking our lives, running all over tornado alley like a bunch of insane people, and now that we’ve got the perfect conditions to make all our hard work pay off, you’re just gonna say no?”

Killian stood slowly. “Look, I’m not saying you all shouldn’t go. As a matter of fact, I want you to. Rubes, you know Dot even better than I do at this point. Smee is the best storm tracker in the business, and Ariel can analyze all the data with her eyes closed. Face it, you don’t really need me anymore.”

“Wait?” Smee asked, nervously putting his hat on, then taking it off again, “Are you saying you’re quitting for good? Or just sitting this one out?”

Emma had been frozen in her seat, following the back and forth like it was a tennis match. She knew her mouth was probably hanging open, too. That was confirmed when Kilian’s gaze traveled back to hers, and she had to snap it shut. The moment was so heavy she could hear her own pulse pounding in her ears.

“I’m saying,” he said slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, “that I’ve chased my last storm.” Amidst the cries of protest from Smee, Ruby, and Ariel he reached his hand out to Emma. “Can we talk privately?”

She bit on her lower lip, wondering if she was still asleep and possibly dreaming as she rose to follow him into the living room. As she walked through the doorway, she glanced back to see Granny with her hand pressed to her mouth and tears shimmering behind her bifocals.

Once they were far enough away from the arguing in the kitchen, Killian turned to Emma and took both of her hands in his. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs as he spoke.

“Emma, I know last night didn’t fix everything between us. We have a lot to figure out, I know that. But this isn’t about me or us, this is about our son. About me being a father. I can’t risk my life anymore. Not when Henry needs me.” He tore his gaze from hers to face the window. The blue morning sky glittered before them. Wherever the storm cell was, it was far away from here, at least for now. He sighed wistfully. “And you were right. All these years, I’ve been paying penance, or trying to. Thinking that I had to make what happened to Liam right.”

Emma released his hands so she could grasp his face and gently turn it towards her. “Hey, listen to me. You also have a bit of a hero complex.”

He chuckled sheepishly, his lashes lowering bashfully. She rubbed her thumbs along his cheekbones. He stepped closer, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I still love you, Emma. I never stopped.”

“I know,” she whispered, “but -”

He silenced her with a chaste kiss. “But you need time. I get it. Being Henry’s father is non-negotiable. But us? Whatever we become from here is up to you as much as it is to me. We’ll go at your pace.”

Then he drew Emma into his embrace, and she was finally able to nuzzle against that neck she loved so much. She wasn’t sure they could ever be anything less than soul mates. He rubbed her back with one hand and buried the other in her hair.

“I will be moving to Atlanta, though. I can’t have several states between me and Henry. They may not have any more openings at the Weather Channel, but I’m sure some local station will have me.” He pulled back to give her his most flirtatious grin.

Emma shook her head and smiled. “Oh God, they’ll be fighting over you. Every woman in Atlanta will gladly wake up to get their weather report from a man as sexy as you.”

He raised both eyebrows, his eyes sparkling with delight. “Oh, so I’m sexy, huh?”

Emma swatted him in the chest and rolled her eyes. “Please, as if you don’t know.”

He laughed, but then his features quickly morphed into a serious expression. “It is alright, though? Me moving to be closer?”

“Of course. Henry needs you in his life.” She bit her tongue before she could blurt out that she needed him too. Instead, she pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. When she pulled away, his smile told her that he knew what she was thinking anyway.

“I knew it! They got back together.”

They jumped apart and turned to see Ruby standing there with her hands on her hips. She was pretending to be pissed, but the tiny smile quirking the corner of her mouth gave her away.

“Did you hear that, Smee?” she shouted as she turned back towards the kitchen. “You owe me twenty bucks!”

**************************************************

Emma had the window down, letting the air tug wisps of hair from her ponytail. Killian was

tapping his fingers on the steering wheel of Granny’s old pickup to the beat of the song playing on the radio. She could honestly say she hadn’t been this happy since she left Oklahoma.

“I can’t wait to see Henry,” Emma said.

Killian smiled. “I can’t wait to meet him. Those Skype calls just weren’t enough.”

Emma reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Please forgive me for keeping him from you. It was so wrong.”

He took one hand off the wheel to squeeze her hand. “You already said that, Swan. And I already forgave you.” He then took her hand from his shoulder and pressed a kiss to it. Emma threaded their fingers together as he rested their hands on his knee, scooting across the bench seat to rest her head on his shoulder.

“You need to be in your seatbelt,” he told her, but his words were belied by the kiss he pressed to the top of her head.

Butterflies were doing the conga in Emma’s stomach. Were they really doing this? Were they really driving to Killian’s apartment so he could pack a few things? Were they really taking a flight back to Atlanta? Together? She kept expecting to wake up in her room back at Granny’s, cold and alone.

Killian began to sing along to another song on the radio, something soft and low. The warm breeze combined with his voice lulled Emma to sleep.

She wasn’t sure how long she had drifted off when Killian’s phone jolted her awake. She blinked her bleary eyes and ran her tongue over her dry lips as Killian answered. His widening eyes and sudden clenching of the steering wheel woke her up fully.

“What?” he said, voice rising.

Emma’s heartbeat tripled as she grasped his arm. “What? What's happened?”

“Thanks, Smee, I'm on my way.” Killian tossed the phone aside as he took an abrupt turn onto the shoulder of the road. The truck bounced as he turned them around to head back the way they had just come.

“The storm took a sharp turn east,” Killian explained, jaw clenching, “an F4 tornado just touched down. No warning.”

Emma gasped, her fingers digging into Killian’s arm. “Where?”

But she knew even before the word left Killian’s lips, “Home.”

***********************************************

Emma and Killian had wanted to ride in the ambulance too, but the rules only allowed for one ride along. They all knew it had to be Ruby. Granny had been incoherent, her bloody face rolling side to side on the stretcher, moans of pain the only thing falling from her lips. Emma stood now in front of the rubble that used to be their home, her arms crossed firmly over her chest. Her finger nails dug into her upper arms as the rage seethed beneath her skin. She pressed her eyelids closed as the tears welled up. Another home reduced to a pile of kindling. It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. An odd screeching sound brought Emma’s head up. The only thing that remained of Granny’s precious house was the railing of the kitchen porch. Hanging crazily from one post was a homemade windcatcher made of aluminum soda cans. Emma choked on a laugh which turned into a sob as it left her throat. They were always teasing Granny about those ugly things.

Killian came up behind her and wrapped her up in his arms. He rested his chin on her head and she leaned back into him. He said nothing, no hope speeches, no easy platitudes. He was never one for those, and she had always loved that about him.

“They had no warning,” she said.

“I know.”

She watched the windmill of cut aluminum spin faster in a sudden breeze. She stepped from Killian’s embrace to come closer, mesmerized by the whirling colors. Killian followed a step behind.

“Did you know,” Emma said softly, still not turning to look at him, “that they found my mother’s body in a tree a mile away from our farmhouse?”

“Emma -”

She cut him off with a raised hand as she turned to face him. “My father still held my brother in his arms, shielding him with his body. But it didn’t matter.” She shook her head, lips pressed together as tears tracked down her cheeks. “Not when the roof came down on them.”

“Emma,” he said again, reaching for her, “don’t do this to yourself.”

“No!” Emma said, stepping away and turning back to stare at Granny’s windcatcher.

She heard Killian drop his arms, his palms slapping against his thighs. She crossed her arms again, her eyes narrowing as she made a decision.

“We need to chase one more storm,” she finally said.

She turned to face Killian with a determined look on her face. Ariel and Smee had joined him, and all three of them looked at her as if she’d finally snapped.

“Emma,” Killian said her name for a third time, voice gentle, “we decided that storm chasing does nothing to change anything.”

“Not the past,” Emma said, voice growing in excitement, “but it can change the future.” She gestured to the destruction up and down the residential street. “Remember our dream? Of preventing things like this? If we get those sensors in the air, if we can map a tornado like we dreamed, we could better predict these things. Give people time to take shelter.”

Killian ran both hands through his hair. “But you saw it for yourself. We can’t seem to get Dot airborne.”

Emma smiled as she looked at the windcatcher again. “Maybe it isn’t Dot that needs to fly.” She looked at Killian with a sparkle in her eyes. “And we’ve been thinking of the wrong story. Remember Peter Pan? Think of the sensors like the fairies. We just need to give them wings.”

***********************************************

By the time the four of them were chasing the twister that had formed from the storm cell, they all had band aids covering their fingers. They had dug out Granny’s large collection of soda cans from the debris and used them to attach aluminum “wings” to each and every sensor. Emma almost lost her balance as the camper bounced along.

“Quit getting up!” Killian shouted at her from the driver’s seat of the camper.

“I’m just trying to give Ariel a hand,” Emma shouted back. “We don’t have Ruby, remember?”

“Well then, hang on!” he took a sharp curve while shouting coordinates to Smee in the pickup. Emma grabbed onto the countertop of the kitchenette behind her. Ariel paid no mind to the bouncing, since she was strapped into her chair in front of the computers.

“Drop location is precisely half a mile a head!” Ariel shouted to Killian. “Or should be,” she grumbled under her breath, her lips moving in a silent prayer. Emma had been in the business long enough to know the truth of that statement.

Killian relayed the information to Smee, then turned off the side of the road. He unbuckled and climbed back to join Emma and Ariel at the radar.

“I hope Smee’s ready for this,” he grumbled, grasping Emma’s hand tightly.

She squeezed it back in understanding. Killian had been adamant about keeping he and Emma as far away from the storm as possible. Relatively speaking, anyway. So Smee had volunteered to drop Dot.

The silence in the camper was palpable as the three of them intently watched first the radar, then the data from the machine, and back again. Smee was no longer reachable because he was so close to the storm, but a blinking blue light on the screen showed where Dot was in relation to the funnel cloud. The funnel moved closer, and closer . . . Emma realized she was holding her breath. And then . . .

Ariel’s scream almost pierced Emma’s ear drum as dozens of yellow lights lit up her computer screen. Data poured in as the red head scrambled to input all of it. Killian pressed Emma to him and kissed her soundly.

“We did it, Swan, we did it!” he wept into her ear as he held her close.

“It’s mapping the storm,” Ariel whispered, “look at this! Temperature readings within the funnel, barometric pressure, I mean, we’ve got to analyze all this but . . . but . . . “

Killian yanked a giddy Ariel out of her chair and spun her around awkwardly in the small space. Then Emma and Ariel embraced. They were laughing and crying as Smee burst into the camper and joined the insane celebration. Killian took the man’s cap off his head and planted a smacking kiss to his balding pate. The camper was practically shaking with their collective excitement.

“Ruby is going to be so pissed that she missed this!” Ariel laughed.

“Ruby!” Killian cried, grabbing Emma. “Come on, we’ve got to get to the hospital!”

Despite her worries for Granny, Emma was on cloud nine as they clambered into the truck. Rain was pouring down, but Emma didn’t care. She yanked Killian towards her, tangling her tongue with his in a sloppy kiss as he started the truck, and he laughed against her mouth. They got the truck on the road, the windshield wipers beating a soothing rhythm.

Until they weren’t.

The hair on Emma’s arms stood on end as the rain suddenly stopped and an unsettled calm filled the air. A loud whistle pierced the air just as Smee’s voice came crackling through Killian’s walkie talkie.

“Boss, the storm, it’s -”

“Right on top of us,” Emma finished as she turned to look out the back window of the truck. An F4 if she ever saw one, sending dirt across the sky turning the late afternoon pitch black. Killian swerved the truck onto a dirt road to their left. A farmhouse sat at the end of the lane, and a terrified family with small children were racing across the lawn to a storm shelter. Killian laid on the horn to get their attention, but the storm swallowed the sound. Emma looked behind her again, terror turning her blood cold. It was closer.

Killian had the pedal all the way to the floor board, but still the storm was gaining on them. He put on the brakes when they got close to the storm cellar, and he dragged Emma across the bench seats, as if he were too afraid to have the truck between them. They ran as fast as they could to the storm cellar, but Kilian couldn’t get it open. They kicked on it, pounded on it, but they knew it was useless. They couldn’t even hear each other over the roar of the storm. The family likely had no idea they were even there.

Killian gestured to the barn, and Emma nodded. Sometimes farms had barn cellars for storage. It was their only chance. It took both of them to open the barn door against the force of the storm. Once inside, they frantically shoved aside hay with their hands and feet until finally, thankfully, Killian found a metal ring imbedded in the floor. He yanked on it to reveal a cellar filled with hay.

“Get in,” he shouted, pushing her towards the hay crib.

Images of her mother suddenly flashed through Emma’s brain. That final expression on her face just before she shoved Emma into the storm cellar. “Hell no,” Emma muttered under her breath, and before Killian could react, she threw her arms around him in a bear hug and pitched both of them into the dark barn cellar. The hay cushioned their fall somewhat, but Emma still groaned as sharp pain radiated from her shoulder at the impact. Above their heads, the door slammed shut and darkness enveloped them.

******************************************************

“Here they are!”

Emma could hear Smee far above, and she could even see a bit of sunlight out of the corner of

her eyes. But she didn’t care about any of it. Not when Killian’s body was pressed against hers, one hand tangled in her hair, the other one sliding up her shirt, his mouth fused with hers. She could hear the silence around them, knew the storm was over, but she didn’t care about that either. A thought niggled the back of her mind, the thought that if Ariel came running, she probably didn’t want to see the two of them literally rolling in the hay, but once again, she just didn’t care.

Killian broke their kiss just long enough to shout up at Smee, “Can’t you see we need a minute?”

Emma shook her head and laughed as he grinned down at her; she could just make out the blue of his eyes and the white of his teeth in the pitch dark of the hay crib as he returned her smile. He then dove back in to kiss her again, the heat of it muddling every coherent thought in her head. The hay was probably dirty, and she should probably be concerned about what could be living down here, but all that mattered was the man who held her. She was finally home.

********************************************************

Killian grabbed her elbow loosely as she reached for the doorknob.

“Are you sure he’s ready for this?” he scratched behind his ear, then dropped his hand to rub

nervously at his scruff. “I mean, I’ve missed the first two years of his life, and . . . “

Emma smiled at him gently as she took his hand and squeezed it. “He’s been Skyping with you for weeks now. He likes you already, I can tell. And we’re not telling him you’re his father today. We’ll ease into this, alright? Let you two get to know each other first.”

He nodded and let out a shaky breath. She brushed a kiss to his cheek, then let her nose drop to that delightful dip in his neck. His nervousness meeting their son was incredibly adorable, and truth be told, it was kind of turning her on. He brushed a kiss to the top of her head and gave her waist a squeeze. She stepped back from him, and he gave her a firm nod as he inhaled a sharp breath. She pushed the door open.

Elsa was in the living room playing toy trains on the floor with Henry. The little boy squealed at the sight of his mother and tossed aside the little train in his hand to run for her. Emma knelt down and caught him as he flung himself into her arms.

“Oh, I missed you, kiddo,” she murmured, pressing loud kisses to his cheek. Henry giggled, the sound turning her heart to mush.

Elsa came forward and briefly introduced herself to Killian before turning to Emma and whispering in her ear. “I’ll just go to my room and let you three have some privacy.” She winked at Emma in encouragement before slipping out of the room.

Emma turned to Killian, and her heart went from mush to a puddle at her feet at the look in his eyes as he gazed in wonder at their son. She swallowed thickly before she could speak. “Henry, do you remember talking to Killian on Skype?”

Henry’s blue eyes were wide as he nodded his head. Emma took a step closer to Killian.

“Well, he wanted to meet you. Can you say hi?”

“Hi,” Henry mumbled shyly. He tucked his head under Emma’s chin, burying his face against her chest.

Killian’s brow furrowed in concern, his eyes a bit hurt at Henry’s reluctance. He’s fine, Emma mouthed over the boy’s head.

“Henry,” Killian said hesitantly, “I got you something. Do you want to see it?”

Henry turned his face to look at the man that he didn’t yet know was his father. He still kept his head resting on Emma’s chest as Killian moved over to the couch. Henry lifted his head in curiosity at the gift bag resting on Killian’s knees. Emma sat down on the couch slowly, and as she did, Henry reached out to peek into the bag. He then slid off his mother’s lap to get a better look. He smiled tentatively when he saw the contents, and looked up questioningly at the man before him.

“You can take it out,” Killian encouraged, “it’s yours.”

Henry grinned and reached into the bag to pull out the bright yellow dump truck. One of its wheels got caught on the handle, and Killian reached out to help him free it. Henry plopped down on the ground with the toy, pushing it back and forth as he made vrooming sounds. Killian slowly moved to the floor as well to sit next to the child.

“It’s got blocks, too, Henry,” he told him. Killian pushed the back of the dump truck so that the brightly colored blocks tumbled out on to the floor. “See?”

Henry gasped in surprise and delight, his eyes shining as they met Killian’s. He crawled over to collect the blocks and put them back in the truck only to dump them again. Before long, Killian was crawling around on the floor with him, making crashing noises as Henry made the dump truck drive over his trains. Emma sat back on the couch watching them, her heart swelling in her chest.

An hour later, a tuckered out Henry had fallen asleep on Killian’s shoulder, and Emma didn’t think she had ever seen anything more beautiful. She couldn’t help the tears that suddenly coursed down her cheeks. Killian looked at her in alarm.

“What is it, love?” he whispered.

“Nothing,” she told him in a watery voice, “I’m just happy. I’m not quite used to it yet.”

“I know what you mean,” he whispered back, then he turned and kissed the top of Henry’s sweaty head.

#cs ff #captain swan #modern au #movie au #twister au #childhood sweethearts

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uzumaki-rebellion · 6 years ago

Text

Black Boys Bloom Thorns First (Chapter 8)

Chapter 8

"You don't know babe When you hold me And kiss me slowly It's the sweetest thing And it don't change If I had it my way You would know that you are

You're the coffee that I need in the morning You're my sunshine in the rain when it's pouring Won't you give yourself to me Give it all…"

"Best Part" Daniel Caesar & H.E.R.

The official edict from N'Jobu's parents regarding his getting around the city was that he was never to take public transportation. When he attended the London School of Economics during undergrad, two Dora Milaje were assigned to tail him at all times and put a dent in his social life. He wanted things to be different while he was in the U.S. and insisted that he did not need the Dora Milaje to babysit him.

His imported BMW had been retrofitted in Wakanda to have the latest surveillance and protection tech to keep the Prince safe while he was in America. Bullet-proof, bomb-proof, and laser-proof, the vibranium enhanced automobile could withstand any manner of attack. Even poison gas.

Spending the day with Califia and her friends caused N'Jobu to disobey the edict when he decided to move around with them without the use of his car. Hidden away in his bomber jacket was a light-weight vibranium body shield that he could activate if necessary. Not one time during his first year in California did he ever have to use any weapons to keep himself safe. He kept a low profile, often using fake names in different places to keep off anyone's radar.

It was so refreshing for him to ride the BART system with the group and mingle around regular citizens outside of school. It also meant he could drink a little more and not worry about driving while intoxicated. The sizeable group from the museum voted to go hang out at a popular microbrewery on Haight Street. They arrived in time for Happy Hour and were able to secure several tables that they pushed together near the street-facing window.

N'Jobu sat across from Califia and Soliel who were busy drinking bitter red ales while he took his time savoring a cider Califia had picked out for him to try. It was a ginger-grass cider brew that packed quite a punch. She made sure to have a small carafe of wine available in case the cider wasn't to his liking. His skin felt tingly from the cider, and his brain was buzzing with the conversation and company surrounding him.

He glanced around the table to take in their party: Bakari and Shavonne cozied up next to each other sharing a plate of bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese. Langston and Rolita tucking into French-fried asparagus and cauliflower. A young man named Reynaldo who appeared to be the youngest of their group and who was carded by the waiter much to the delight of his friends who teased him about his baby face.

Soliel's girlfriend Aunjanue was arguing with Califia and Soliel over a new rap album that dropped online. The three of them shared a meat plate of andouille sausage and currywurst sausage with a side of russet potatoes. N'Jobu picked at his own meal of grilled romaine salad with a heavy dose of bacon vinaigrette. Aunjanue was adamant that her assessment of the album was correct and she was holding court at the table to prove her point.

"The problem is, all of you expect rhyme styles to stay the same. What you all call mumble rap is just a new evolution of the culture," Aunjanue said. She wore a thick topknot of black braids, her dark brown skin having the same reddish tint as Califia. Soliel had her arm around the back of Aunjanue's chair.

"Part of the culture is knowing what a muthafucker is saying," Califia blurted out, causing the entire table to laugh.

"James Brown often sang words that we had no idea what he was saying, but we don't dog him out," Aunjanue leveled at Califia.

"Slow your roll, Aunjanue, James Brown was often doing that Gullah talk, so just because the masses didn't understand it, don't mean people like him didn't. Get on that, Cali," Bakari said pointing at her.

"Gullah?" N'Jobu asked Califia. She took a quick swig of her ale and looked at him.

"My great-grandparents are from Georgia, Geechie country. Um, we're known as Gullah people. They were descended from enslaved Ibo who lived on some of the small islands off the Georgia coast. Their language is a mixture of Ibo, Creole English and a little bit of Muskogee Creek. Native American. They say a lot of James Brown's grunts and groans was Geechie talk."

"Do you know any of it?"

"Me? Nah, that's old-timey talk."

"You should look into learning it, Califia," Rolita said, "my tribe is teaching our young people, but too many of our elders are passing on, so we're losing some things."

"Rolita's people are Yurok. California indigenous." Califia said.

"Ah, yes, Yurok," N'jobu said, pouring himself a glass of cabernet from the carafe.

He was familiar with the more well-known Native American groups. But he had never heard of the Gullah before. Creoles and New Orleans history were more familiar to him. He knew very little about Georgia or Califia's people. But he found it interesting that the Ibo were part of her roots.

"Speaking of my people, please tell me you all are coming out to Alcatraz on Thanksgiving," Rolita said tugging on her two short braids and snacking down on an asparagus stalk.

"I'm going," Soliel said.

"Me too," said Califia reaching for the carafe and pouring herself a half glass of wine.

"You know I'm down," said Bakari scooting back his chair to give Shavonne room to get up. She headed back towards the restrooms in the pub.

"What's happening in Alcatraz? Isn't that an old prison?" N'Jobu asked pouring the rest of the wine into his own glass. He glanced over at Rolita.

"Several different Native American groups get together to do a sunrise celebration instead of recognizing Thanksgiving," Rolita said. "we've been doing this for over forty years now. I would love for you to come with us," Rolita said.

"I will do that," N'Jobu said, pulling out his cell and updating his personal calendar.

"You have to get up early man, the crack of dawn's ass," Bakari said.

Rolita went into a little more detail about the gathering, and as he listened, N'Jobu began to get a clearer picture of Califia's world. Most of her friends were activists of some sort. She also had a very diverse group of friends from all walks of life who were committed to various social justice causes. Everyone seated at the table was a person of color, and N'Jobu wondered if she had any white friends or peers that she associated with. N'Jobu didn't get a sense of animosity towards whiteness or white people from the group, but he was eager to know if their activism precluded having to engage with other white students. The mere thought of that didn't sit with him very well.

His own very selective peer group was just as diverse, but he did have quite a few white schoolmates he engaged within his department at school and in his social life. Also, his major tended to be filled with more white students. He began to think that Califia and her friends self-segregated much to their detriment. An open hand could do more in the world than a closed fist.

Their waiter came by the table again and N'Jobu requested another glass of cider from the jovial brunette who kept filling his side glass of water every chance she got. The conversation moved onto reality TV shows they were keeping up with, and then the movies they wanted to see. He kept his eye on Califia, enjoying her laughter and the soft chiding she gave her friends when they disagreed about things. When she became passionate about a topic, her voice would raise an octave and her eyes would squint as if she were going to use the force of her will to bend them to her side. A couple of times she jabbed her finger into his shoulder to make her point and he savored her touch. He was finishing his second glass of cider when she reached for it and drank the last cool dregs.

"That's not bad," she said, a smear of her lip gloss staining the small glass she still held in her hand.

"Would you like to share another?" he asked. Before she answered, two men outside knocked on the thick glass of the pub staring at them. She placed his glass back near his hand and he watched her gaze at the men entering the pub. Bakari stood up slapping hands and bumping shoulders with both men. One was a tall slender Latino with tats on his arms and wearing an Angels baseball cap. The other was a medium-build black guy with twists in his hair and TV star looks. The black guy and the Latino made their way to the empty seat between N'Jobu and Califia.

"Babe," the black man said kissing Califia's cheek.

"Hey, Xavier," Califia said, looking nowhere in N'Jobu's direction. Greetings went around, and Xavier's friend Julian grabbed another chair from an empty table and further added distance between N'Jobu and Califia.

Xavier was affable, everyone else at the table except for Shavonne knew him, and N'Jobu sensed from Califia's terse expression that something was off in their relationship. Xavier was leaning into her, but her shoulders leaned more towards Soliel.

The pub grew louder as more customers filled the brewery, and there was music playing above the din that made it harder for N'Jobu to keep up with all the conversations that were going on. The only person he wanted to focus on was Califia, but Xavier was making N'Jobu vacillate between staying and leaving the group. He didn't like sitting near her with some other dude hanging off her. His jaw kept getting tight every time Xavier dipped near her face and whispered in her ear.

At one point he caught Soliel's eye, and he thought for a moment that she could see right through his discomfort. N'Jobu checked his cell for the time and was astonished at how late it had gotten. They had been in the pub for over two hours. The sun was setting in a fiery crimson splash outside when the check finally arrived at their table. The group left behind a healthy tip for their server, and once they were all outside, N'Jobu had to stomach Xavier throwing his arm around Califia's shoulder.

"There's a bar down the street that has reggae music tonight. Julian's homie plays the drums. Y'all up for that? Free cover charge," Xavier told everyone.

"Free is enticing," Rolita said throwing a light jacket on.

N'Jobu pulled on his bomber jacket and checked his cell again. Andrea was blowing up his phone.

"Are you interested in checking it out, N'Jobu?" Califia asked. Xavier was looking at N'Jobu, his left arm draped over Califia, his hand dangling near her left breast. N'Jobu wanted to reach over and pull the man's hand and arm away from her. His whole day today had been special because he had time to be around her, share parts of himself with her, got to know how her mind worked when she was excited about something, and now he felt restricted because her man was with them. Her man.

N'Jobu swallowed thickly, shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. He had a light buzz and Califia was staring at him with those cat eyes of hers that took on a sultry look from the rays of the setting sun. She pursed her lips like she was about to say something else and Xavier led her away to lead the pack towards the next hangout spot. Man or no man, N'Jobu needed to be near her. He tagged along despite his misgivings.

###

Califia stood near the back of the bar listening to the reggae band do a fair rendition of "Sun is Shining". She was swaying along with the heavy bass rhythms, Xavier next to her with his fourth beer in his hand. She kept her mouth shut after his third beer, but the fourth one was causing him to act a little sloppy in public. The bar was packed with eager dancing patrons, their little posse bringing in the smattering of color in an otherwise predominately white space. Behind her, N'Jobu sat on a barstool enjoying the vibe and downing a rum and coke. He was only five feet away from her, but she could feel his eyes on her, boring into the back of her head. Xavier had been extra touchy-feely with her in the reggae bar and it made her feel uncomfortable because he was only doing it when N'Jobu was near them.

The first thirty minutes in the bar had been fun, the entire group dancing on the small cement dance floor. N'Jobu had been snagged by a pretty sandy-haired white woman, and Califia enjoyed watching him sway to the loud music. He was actually a pretty good dancer and she catcalled him when the music got good to him and he flashed her his pearly whites and she felt her cheeks raise up higher than usual when she smiled back at him. That's when Xavier caught a whiff of something between them and started fondling her more openly. He wasn't one for public PDA, but Califia's flirty behavior around N'Jobu kicked it up a few notches.

N'Jobu had switched out his dancing partner for a cute black woman with a sexy frohawk, and the live band high-powered through a classic Dawn Penn jam. Califia's arms were casually draped around Xavier's neck as she watched N'Jobu dance and talk to the woman, his hands sliding up and down the woman's back. N'Jobu wasn't wearing his jacket while dancing, and the woman was rubbing her hands up and down his arms.

Xavier spun Califia around and pressed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing his crotch against her ass.

"There it is baby," he said, singing along with the song and dry humping her, "arch that back girl, show these fools how it's done."

Xavier's hands slid down from her shoulders and held her waist, his hips gyrating and thrusting against her. She stepped away from his grip, turning to face him with a rigid smile on her face. She could feel his dick pressing into her stomach when she hugged him.

"Be good," she hissed at him as she tried to ignore the pokes his hardness was giving to her.

Over Xavier's shoulder, she could see N'Jobu watching her, his eyes gone narrow. She gave him a little wave and he nodded at her. She noticed his hands were riding just above his partner's butt and her lips pressed together in a tight grimace when she felt Xavier's hands grabbing and separating her ass cheeks with his hands.

"Baby you feel so good," Xavier murmured. His mouth crashed into her lips while she was still staring at N'Jobu. His kisses were sloppy and over-exaggerated and Califia endured it until the song ended. As the crowd clapped, Califia pushed away from Xavier.

"I'm going to get some water," she said, hurrying away from him.

Now they were standing together and listening to music, Xavier giving harsh whispers in her ear every other minute.

"Why are you tripping tonight?" Xavier asked.

"You are doing a little too much for me."

"Like what?"

"I don't need you molesting me in public."

"Molesting you? You're my woman. We're having fun."

"I'll keep it buck then, you're not holding your liquor and I don't like how you're touching me."

"You crazy."

Xavier walked into the crowd to get closer to the band. Califia drew in a deep breath and released a sigh of relief. The last thing she needed was for Xavier to get loud and make a scene, embarrassing her in front of her friends. She turned around to go back to the bar and found N'Jobu still sitting and watching her.

"Everything okay?"

"Not really."

She sat on the stool next to him and asked for a coke from the bartender.

"Trouble in paradise then?"

"Tuh," she answered. She drank her coke and watched the band. The room was jam-packed to the rafters, she couldn't even see where her people were, not even Xavier.

"The music is very good," he said.

She stared at N'Jobu knowing he was trying to lighten her mood.

"You are a good dancer," she said giving him a sly smile. She saw his eyes relax and it made her feel better.

"You are much better. I like watching you move."

She smiled again.

"You want to dance?" he asked.

"Not right now, if that's okay. I just need to chill for a minute. Xavier's got my pressure up."

N'Jobu nodded, set down his drink and slipped off the stool.

"You don't have to go," Califia said quickly, reaching out and pulling his arm back. She looked at her hand on his arm and pulled away fast. She hadn't meant to grab him. She looked desperate and her face grew warm.

"Sorry," she whispered.

N'Jobu didn't get back on the stool, but he did stand in front of her. He was close enough so that his thighs were touching her knees. He was almost eye level with her.

"What's the problem with you and Xavier?"

Califia tilted her head back and laughed in a way that had a little bite to it.

"Everything," she stammered, and then caught herself with her open honesty. N'Jobu's eyes didn't press her, but they did make her feel safe. She took a long sip of her coke and leaned in closer so N'Jobu could hear her clearly. She was cognizant of the fact that her knees were pressing hard into his thighs at this point. Her head was still a bit foggy with the drinking she did earlier, but she was comfortable.

"Earlier he told me he had bought tickets for us to go to New Orleans for winter break. But I wasn't even sure I wanted to go. I told him that. He was upset that he paid for a ticket I might not use. That's the first thing." She took another sip of coke, "You really don't need to hear this, it's boring," she said.

"No, keep going. It's good to talk things out with other people. I'm a good listener," he said.

His voice had grown deeper, at least that's how it sounded to Califia. His expression was like that of a Priest patiently taking in a confessional with no judgment.

"Xavier is a great dude. He's smart, educated, about to get a bomb ass job-"

"And very good-looking," N'Jobu said smiling at her.

"No doubt. On paper, he is everything a woman is supposed to want. But sometimes I look at him like it's not enough. Like he doesn't get me. He's the longest relationship I've ever been in, but I feel like there might be something else out there better for me. And I feel like shit for thinking that when other women would give their teeth for a man like him."

She shook her head at how easy that flowed from her mouth. She hadn't even said those things to Soliel or Bakari. But here she was giving somewhat intimate details about her boyfriend to a man she had masturbated over. Many times. Jesus be a rock.

"Serah told me to break up with him."

"Why don't you? You aren't happy, right? Just end it."

Califia's chest hitched a bit and she felt the pinpricks of a small tear forming in her right eye.

"I don't want to hurt him," she murmured and the lone tear fell down her cheek. She reached up to wipe her cheek, but N'Jobu already had his left thumb on her face wiping the teardrop away.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he said. Califia took in another deep breath and released it. She felt a shudder go through herself. There. She had finally confessed her real reason for not breaking up. She didn't want to hurt Xavier.

"I keep hoping he'll dump me, or we'll have this huge dramatic fight where I can act belligerent and he just tells me he quits, but it never happens. We are in this stalemate. Comfortably numb. I tell myself there has to be someone that's a better fit for me, but I'm scared there won't be, and what if I leave him on a whim and I never find that other person?"

N'Jobu still had his thumb on her cheek.

"You'll never know if you don't let him go, Califia."

"I'm holding him hostage, aren't I?"

N'Jobu only gave her a sad smile.

"I'm such a selfish bitch. I need to make a decision soon."

"I wish you would," he said, his voice gone husky, almost like a command.

Califia stared at N'Jobu. His thumb traced down her face and touched her lips. The sensation of his thumb on her lips tickled and sparked the skin there. She pursed her lips so that the touch felt like a kiss. Another tear formed in her eye.

"You are beautiful when you are angry, you are beautiful when you laugh, and you are even more beautiful when you cry," he said.

"Thank you," she said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"I wish you weren't with him because I really want to kiss you right now," he said.

The strumming in her heart turned into a gallop as his eyes swept down to her lips. The music in the bar was far away, the voices of the other patrons gone mute in her mind. She opened her thighs and pulled him closer to her, holding onto his arms. He rested his forehead on hers and she closed her eyes. She tried to match his steady breathing, but her own breathing was erratic. She could smell the rum on his breath as he let his hands run up her thighs and rest on her hips.

"Califia," he said.

"Say my whole name," she said, still clutching his arms, afraid to move, afraid to escape his warmth.

He chuckled and whispered in her ear, "Califia Stevens." Her toes curled in her heels, and the tingle from his tongue swiping her ear when he spoke her name felt like the fluttering of butterflies. She could probably cum from him just whispering her name over and over.

She pulled her forehead away from his and cradled his neck with her hands.

"Say my name again," she told him.

###

When N'Jobu opened his mouth to speak her name, Califia pressed her lips into his and slipped her tongue inside his mouth. He didn't back away from her. He didn't tell her to stop. Their tongues swirled around trying to find an acceptable rhythm, and when N'Jobu's hands pressed into her lower back, she ceded control of their mouths over to him. Now in control, N'Jobu plundered the heat he found between their lips encouraged to keep his pace by the soft humming he heard deep in her throat. He slowed down to enjoy the wet smacking sounds they gave off. He pulled her closer to the edge of the barstool leaning back just a bit so that she couldn't feel the strain of his cock growing thicker in his pants.

Kissing her deeply, slowly, wetly, he found his mind feverishly trying to gather his wits. Xavier was in the room somewhere, possibly heading back to them, or maybe even her friends would spot them and break up their joining. He had been dying to kiss her all day but felt the opportunity would never happen with Xavier there, but here they were lip-locked, with Califia sucking on his tongue the way he imagined her sucking on his dick.

"Califia, shit," he growled in her mouth, threading his fingers through the back of her bushy hair and yanking hard on it so that she was looking up into his face from the force of his grip.

Her lips were parted and he could see that magical tongue between her teeth. Her eyes were half closed and up close he could see how thick her eyebrows were. He kissed the freckles on her nose, pulled her hair harder and buried his face on the side of her neck, nipping her on a spot just shy of her collarbone.

He started lightly sucking on her neck, enjoying the whimpers spilling from her lips and the quivering from her thighs. He could feel his dick twitching in his pants, probably already spilling sticky beads of pre-cum inside his boxers. He needed to stop or he would be fucking this girl on the barstool and not giving a fuck who was in the room.

He pulled away from her, panting a bit himself and giving up more space between them. No one seemed to be paying attention to them, so he hopped up on his stool and gulped down the last of his rum and coke.

He watched Califia run her fingers on the edges of her lips to fix the last of her ruined lip gloss. She closed her legs and tugged on her top, peeling away the material from the sweat on her upper body.

The girl with the frohawk ambled over to N'Jobu and asked him to dance and he jumped at the chance to get away from Califia, escape the dizzying power she had over him now that she had laid that kiss on him. He didn't even look back to see what her reaction was to his leaving her at the bar. He just needed to escape. And time to think.

He had women all over, and was free to kiss, flirt, fornicate and break hearts if he so desired. All his women were free. But Califia had Xavier. She wasn't free. And as much as he wanted her (in his bed, on his face, sitting on his dick), he was not down for any triangle. After that kiss, he needed to fuck her in every position possible before he left for Wakanda. If she fucked the way she kissed, he was a dead man. And she was worth dying for. Courtney, the girl he was dancing with tried getting his attention. They danced to a song called "Night Nurse", and Courtney was body rolling and smashing her cute ass against his groin, keeping him hard. He looked around to see Califia at the bar with Rolita, Soliel, and Aunjanue. They were having an animated discussion from what he could tell, and he wondered if the conversation was about him.

The band's last set was finished and terrible music replaced it from a D.J. who didn't follow the theme of the reggae vibes but instead blasted the audience with Euro-Pop. He felt his cell vibrate. Checking it he saw that everyone was meeting outside to say goodbye for the night. N'Jobu thanked Courtney for dancing with him and went to retrieve his bomber jacket from coat check.

The others were lingering on the corner away from the bar. Califia was speaking to Xavier in hushed tones, and N'Jobu knew she wouldn't break up with him right then, but he prayed that it would be tonight. He hoped she would do it quickly because there was a fire in his spirit that he didn't think he could suppress for very long.

He prided himself on being respectful, but deep down he knew he could fuck her while she was still with Xavier. If she couldn't break up with him because she was scared, he knew he was willing to do it for her. He was a Prince who had never been denied what he wanted when it came to women. He wanted Califia. Wanted her bad. The way she kissed him told him she wanted him too. He felt empathy for her situation. Xavier was a long-term love that had soured. She needed to uproot the man and make room for N'Jobu. Watching the shaky couple speak to one another bugged the hell out of N'Jobu. Now that he tasted those lips and felt those thighs and hips, he was ready to bulldoze Xavier out of the way in a heartbeat.

"I think you should come home with me."

N'Jobu overheard Califia telling Xavier to go with her. Xavier, a little loopy in the legs was pushing her hands off of him.

"Naw, I'm going to hang out with Julian a little bit. I'll be home later," Xavier slurred, kissing Califia on her cheek.

"We'll be fine, Califia. I'll have him home no later than midnight. He won't turn into a pumpkin, I promise," Julian said waving goodnight to everyone. The two men lumbered off into the night laughing together, and N'Jobu eased his way over to Califia and Bakari.

Hugs were given, goodbyes were shared, and N'Jobu soon found himself walking to a BART station with Bakari and Califia. The ride to Xavier's apartment was mellow. They talked about the band, how good the music was and which pale ale or cider they liked the best.

In no time they were walking Califia up to Xavier's apartment.

"Hey, the Syfy channel is having a Godzilla marathon. You want to make popcorn and watch the next one coming on?" Califia suggested.

"Microwave or hot air?" Bakari asked.

"Hot air, with real butter," Califia said.

"You down?" Bakari asked N'Jobu.

He was. He would get a chance to see where Califia crashed, and spend a little more time with her, even if Bakari was there. The night was still young.

###

Xavier's place was small. The bathroom was inside their bedroom. N'Jobu relieved himself of the last vestiges of liquor in his system. Snacking on fresh popcorn and bottled water, he felt clear-headed and fully hydrated.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he couldn't help but stare at the double bed that Xavier shared with Califia. It was unmade. He pushed thoughts of them together in that space out of his head. She didn't want him anymore. There was no need to harbor any envy towards Xavier. According to Califia, he was a good dude, but not the one for her. On a folding chair near their bed, N'Jobu spotted a pair of skimpy bikini panties and a lace bra. He gritted his teeth. Why did she stay here if she didn't want him? She had a grandmother who had a house and friends with places. Hell, she could stay with him and Bakari.

He stopped his train of thought. Slow down, he told himself. She was a chick he wanted to dick down in the worst way. No need to be thinking roommates and shit. His lust was writing checks he knew his ass couldn't cash. He'd lusted after women before, but he hadn't given thoughts to moving them in. It was just his male ego wilding a bit at seeing where another man fucked Califia. He clenched his fists. She was going to be his soon. Stop tripping.

When he returned to the livingroom, Bakari was still curled up in blankets on a bean bag near a plush maroon couch where Califia was seated. They each had fresh bowls of popcorn. Califia passed N'Jobu his bowl.

"Lots of butter this time," she said. N'Jobu sat next to her, keeping his legs on the floor and away from Califia's legs which were curled on the couch. They got through half of a Godzilla movie on Monster Island when Bakari fell asleep, snoring into the bean bag.

"We should leave," N'Jobu said, staring at Bakari slumped low inside the beanbag, the blanket surrounding him covering his face.

"No rush, Xavier's not coming back tonight. You guys can crash here if you want."

"Your man knows Bakari very well, but he doesn't know me. That will probably not be cool with him."

He saw Califia flinch a bit when he called Xavier her man. He stared at her, glanced at her lips, then looked into her eyes again. He wanted to devour her lips.

"Should we talk about the kiss at the bar?" she asked.

"Only if you want to."

"I do."

He waited for her to speak. She was wearing a long button up Wonder Woman nightshirt and thick wool socks on her feet. Her hair was still blooming all over her head.

"It was wrong of me to do that. Especially since I'm still with someone. I shouldn't have put you in a messy situation."

"I don't care."

Califia blinked at him several times.

"You don't?"

"I like you a lot, Califia. I want to spend time with you. It just so happens you are with someone. As soon as you fix that, I will properly step to you."

Her mouth fell open, then shut, then opened again. N'Jobu reached over into her popcorn bowl, snagged a few buttery kernels and popped them into her mouth.

"I think of you all the time, Califia. And the way you kissed me tonight was…whoa."

She chuckled. He reached out for her hand. She looked down at him, then placed her left hand in his.

"What about you? Do you think of me?" The playful lilt in his voice moved her. He kissed her hand, still waiting for her to answer.

"I do, and I feel so guilty about it."

N'Jobu held up a hand to stop her from negative talk.

"The heart wants what the heart wants. Leave all the bad thoughts you have about your situation behind. People grow apart. It is natural. You say you are worried about not finding someone after you leave him. Who am I to you?"

Bakari snored loudly and shifted in the bean bag, but neither one of them was worried about him listening to their conversation. Once Bakari was knocked out, he was out.

"You don't want to answer me?"

"It's just a lot N'Jobu."

"I understand that. But…who am I to you?"

"Someone I'd like to know better."

"As a friend only?"

"No."

He put his bowl of popcorn on the floor and pulled a tense Califia onto his lap.

"Relax," he said holding her by her waist and legs.

"This is weird for me," she said.

"How so?"

"We've only hung out together a few times, but it feels intense each time. We know nothing about each other. And yet…"

"And yet what?"

She shrugged and hid her face in her hands.

"I don't know. It feels like it did when I was nine and had my first crush."

"I am honored to be your grown-up crush."

Califia giggled.

"Can I kiss you again?" he asked.

She nodded and he lifted up his face and found her lips once more. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and his left hand held her face. The kissing this time was gentle, still filled with longing and exploration, but N'Jobu wanted to relish the moment without waking up Bakari. He made sure not to nibble or suck too hard on her neck, not wanting to leave love bites for Xavier to see in the morning. When the thought of Xavier crossed through his mind again, he broke from their kiss leaving Califia sighing in frustration.

"Can I touch you?" he asked.

She nodded vigorously, and he kissed her again, licking the outline of her lips and then sucking on her tongue, tasting the salt and butter from their late-night snack. Her nipples had beaded through her nightgown, and N'Jobu reached up and tugged on each one through the cloth. He watched Califia bite back a moan when he touched her, so he tugged harder, looking at the protrusions. He unbuttoned the nightgown down to her belly, freeing her breasts. When he saw them in the glow of the television, he looked up at her face, his fingers pulling on each nipple. She did her best to remain silent, but she bit into her full lips, and the vision of that made him squeeze his eyes shut and shift her ass harder onto his dick.

Califia rotated her hips and ground herself into his lap, feeling the swelling of him push back on her.

"N'Jobu, suck on my nipples…please."

He obliged, his lush lips taking turns wrapping around each ripe nipple, sucking and swirling his tongue at varying speeds. He liked how big her nipples swelled, so he kept alternating his ministrations, sucking on one and tugging on the other, the pulling sensation so intense for her he guessed because she was whimpering up a storm on his lap. She started bouncing on his dick and he let one of her nipples slip from his mouth with a loud pop because it was too much for him. He wanted to play with her pussy, but that was too risky. They were already pushing it with Bakari on the floor covered up and snoring like a banshee.

"Damn," she uttered under her breath, her eyes finally opening back up to stare at him, "I can feel your dick….so…big," she gasped. He shifted her on his lap so that she was facing him, her thighs spread on either side of his hips. He could see and play with her big tits fully as she rocked on him. He didn't want to pull up her nightgown to see her panties. It was enough to have her grinding on him. He held her shoulders and alternated sucking on her tits and fondling them.

"Can I touch you?" she asked.

Holy Bast, he wanted her to. But he couldn't. He could barely contain himself with her jockeying on his lap. He didn't even want to lift up her gown and look at her pussy which had to be soaking her panties.

With his teeth set on edge, he whispered, "No."

The look on her face made him feel horrible like he had stolen a gift from her on Christmas like the Grinch. But then she twisted her bottom lip and bit on it again, and the look of denied pleasure she gave him made his dick jump in his pants and she felt it.

"Califia, sithandwa sam, you have me so turned on, I could cum right now."

"We could go into the bedroom," she said, lifting up. He yanked her back down hard by her hips. She gasped. His eyes narrowed when he looked at her.

"I'm not going into that bedroom with you. When I take you all the way, it will be in my bed. Understand?"

She nodded. The thought of that double bed brought out tight cords in his neck.

"Did you fuck him today?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth parted. But she didn't answer him.

He lifted up her nightgown in the back and slapped her ass hard with a wide-open palm. Her body lurched forward, forcing her to grip his shoulders for balance and she quickly glanced over at Bakari.

"Don't look at him. Look at me. Answer the question. Did you fuck Xavier today?"

He rubbed her full left ass cheek with his right hand, knowing the sting was wearing off, even as his dick swelled bigger from striking her. She took it like a big girl. He slapped her ass again in the same spot. She squeezed her eyelids shut, keeping all sound inside herself. He rubbed her ass tenderly, lifted up the smacked cheek and squeezed it. Damn this girl was too much for him.

"Hit me again and I'll tell you," she snarled at him.

N'Jobu felt his eyebrows raise up on his face. He gave her a nasty smile and struck her other ass cheek twice, hard enough to make her wince and suck on her teeth. He rubbed the tender flesh. Then squeezed both her round globes in his hands. He needed to end this soon.

"Tell me," he whispered. There was a hint of desperation in his voice. She picked up on it and ran with it.

"What if I did?"

She was gyrating on him and he did his best to stay on task, to not shut his eyes and let her dominate him for a while. She was pushing him to his limit. He knew she would, eventually. She started bouncing on him again, learning very quickly that he liked that. Her motion made her titties bounce too, and he sat there watching heaven on his lap. If he didn't get her off of him soon, he was going to nut in his pants. He was too old to have cum in his pants and not inside a woman he wanted. He yanked her by her hair and pulled her face closer to his.

It would be easy to take Bakari home in his car, then drive back to her in his own BMW and fuck the wokeness out of her. But this was not the time and most definitely was not the place. He twisted his fingers in her hair tighter, letting her know she'd better stop playing with him.

"Ow, Jobu…baby," she pleaded. Good God of the worlds. He loved it when she called him that. No one had ever called him Jobu. He was going to countdown and rejoice on the day he finally blew her back out.

"The question," he said.

"Yes. I did. I fucked him. Early this morning. I fucked him."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Why do you care?"

The corners of his mouth lifted in a wicked smile that made her bite her lip again. He released her hair, unfastened his pants and pulled down his boxers just enough to release his dick that bobbed against his stomach once it was freed. He grabbed her right hand and placed it on his cock. She squeezed it, gripping the swollen head so tight he gritted his teeth to keep from spilling all over her hand.

"This is your dick now. Understand? I don't want you fucking him ever again. You break up with him. I'm not going to rush you, Califia. But this will be waiting for you."

He let her stroke him. His dick was so slick with pre-cum that they both enjoyed the slippery sound of her hand running up and down his shiny length. She leaned in and kissed him while she stroked him.

"This mine?" she whispered in his ear.

"All yours," he said kneading her tits and plucking on her nipples once more.

She stopped playing with his dick and shoved her fingers into her panties.

"Don't you want to touch me here?"

He released her breasts and zipped up his pants. He drew her back in for another wet kiss then pulled away from her.

"When I touch you there and make you cum, you have to be a free woman."

Califia fastened her nightgown.

"You should go then," she said.

Califia shifted in his lap and stood up, grabbing the popcorn bowls and taking them into her kitchen. N'Jobu adjusted his private parts and woke Bakari up from the floor.

"Let's go, Bakari."

It took N'Jobu nearly ten minutes to get Bakari awake and shuffling to find his shoes. N'Jobu took Bakari's car keys from his pocket. Califia was back from the kitchen watching them.

"Do you need some help with him?" she asked N'Jobu.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," Bakari fussed at her.

"I'm driving," N'Jobu said.

"Bet," Bakari said heading out the front door and down the stairs to get to his car.

N'Jobu stood by the open front door facing Califia. She didn't move towards him.

"I meant what I said. I won't rush you," he said.

"Okay."

A new awkwardness permeated the room. They both felt the shift in the air, the change in their interactions weighing heavily on them. She was not his woman, but he had staked a claim on her. Told her directly. She wanted him too, he was sure of that. The ball was in her court. He wouldn't act until she came to him first. For the first time in a long time, Prince N'Jobu Udaku was at the mercy of a woman for affection that he craved like air. He wanted….no, needed, he needed her to give herself to him. No strings. No wounded lover on her mind.

"Goodnight, Califia."

Chapter 9 HERE.

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k-itsmaywriting · 6 years ago

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Drink Up (Animal Owner!AU)

haha get it because Obi is a cat