#what the fuck does cody look like i had him blonde in my head but the only art of him on the wiki has brown hair djskskm

[silberzunge]

if your requests are open you should draw trickster. holding the door slightly open for someone. possibly cody

even if they were closed id open them for trickster holding the door slightly open

[cabezadeperro]

Tremors (1990) + cody/rex?

Or: mad max fury road + jango/obi-wan?

(such a fun prompt idea! unfortunately all movies fled my mind as soon as I tried to think of one lmao)

i need you to know that it took me longer than it should to write this one because i just couldn't chose lmao

i ended up going with tremors though :> pre-relationship, missing scene very early in the war, ~600w, pov cody.

--

The lieutenant’s voice barely breaks the silence. 

“That could work.”

Cody turns to look at him, his shell scraping against the curved belly of the boulder. The lieutenant’s still sitting next to him, bucket off and between his legs, a beat-up datapad with a cracked display resting on it.

Now and then it shivers, whatever’s been boring its way through the shifting dirt all around them getting too close for comfort, and the datapad’s weak blue light slides down the lieutenant’s face and shivers in turn, painting his shell in the same colour. He almost got caught in one of the creature’s last tries, and his armour paid the price: the thing cracked the pauldron and vambrace on his left arm, left a deep gouge on the back plates. One of the medics looked him over: Lieutenant Rex made it out of that skirmish just fine. He shed the damaged pieces of armour, and they now lie on the boulder next to him, pale as bone in the pale light of the planet’s small moons.

At first he kept poking at them, lips pressed tight, and at first Cody didn’t quite get why: armour is just armour, and it’s not as if the thing had messed up his bucket paint or something like that.

But Ghost’s spent the better part of that day on that rock, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for backup or death, whichever came first, and Cody’s had very little to do except think—and he might have spent most of that time trying to find a way to survive, to kill the creature, but Cody’s Kamino bred, designed to hold a lot of moving pieces in the back of his mind at the same time.

It didn’t take him too long to realise that the lieutenant is a fastidious man—he just didn’t like the creature fucking up his shell. It might be vanity; it might be something else, Cody’s still working out that one. But it happened, and now he’s annoyed, and Cody’s found out the lieutenant’s mind functions better when he’s annoyed, and if he has had an idea that he thinks might work… well. 

“Lieutenant,” Cody starts. “What could work?”

Lieutenant Rex blinks up at him. The creature threw him against the boulders after he got it in the maw, and there’s dry blood on his face, under his nose and staining the corner of his mouth. A flash of memory: the dying sun, red and still warm, and the way it had painted the blond stubble on his jaw in bloody orange, hiding the blood stains and making his dark eyes look darker. 

“It’s just an idea, sir,” the lieutenant replies, voice careful. 

Oh, that won’t do.

Cody tilts his head. He says nothing—he knows he won’t have to. By now, Lieutenant Rex knows him well enough to know what that means.

And there it is: Lieutenant Rex scowls, jaw tight, his deepening annoyance cracking the easygoing mask he’s so good at turning his face into before he gets it under control. 

The lieutenant clears his throat and shifts closer, his knee knocking against Cody’s. Cody turns to face him, maneuvering the best he can in the narrow space, leans forward when Rex starts talking, and Cody’s very good at holding off distractions, at thinking about many things at once, so he listens carefully and resolutely does not fixate on the way his lieutenant’s eyes reflect the moonlight, or on the steady press of his knee against Cody’s, or on the confidence with whom he outlines his plan, or anything else.

[infernwetrust]

f**k, i luv my friends [Fem Reader x Michael Langdon x Jim Mason x AHS 1984]

BRIEF INTRO: This takes place in alternate universe, combining Cody’s characters Michael, Jim, Duncan (supporting), and Xavier. The 1984 gang is included as well. The Michael for this series is a cross between Sojourn and F&R.

Summary: You and your best friends gather around the beach for some fun. The beginning of this series.

Warnings: A WHOLE LOTTA CUTE SHIT.

WC: 3.0k

A/N: Holy fucking shit I’m so excited to share this massive series I’m working on with you guys. I don’t know what to call it yet so for now under my master list it’ll be called “THE BESTFRIENDS UNIVERSE”. This was inspired by the artist renforshort and her song “f**k, i luv my friends”. There will be PLENTY of smut, angst, fluff, and MORE across this series. I am so unbelievably excited. If you would like to be in my tag list for this series please let me know! My ask box is open, so if you have any ideas or requests for this series, please, please, please ASK ME. There is no plot to this, therefore there are no limitations. Thank you so much for reading! -Juno

You smiled as you took a sip of the drink your boyfriend, Michael had made you. As you sat in the sand between his legs, him laid out on his beach towel, arms behind his head, eyes closed as he breathed in the ocean air. Your smile grew even wider as you scanned the rest of the beach, spotting the rest of your friend group. There was Xavier and his girlfriend Montana, who stood barely in the water, arms wrapped around each other as they kissed slowly under the sunset. Then there was Jim and his girlfriend Brooke who lay on their surfboards lazily, letting the waves carry them away, being careful not to get too far away. And then Chet and Ray, each with a bottle of Jack in their hand, taking sips as they took selfies and laugh at what you were sure were their usual stupid jokes.

You curled your toes as you took another sip, loving the feeling of the sand between them. How did you get this lucky to have this many people in your life that loved you and you loved them too? What had started as a small friendship with Montana, turned into something so huge. She introduced you to her boyfriend, Xavier, who then introduced you to the rest of their group, including Brooke's boyfriend, Jim. All of you met in freshman year  of college and have been friends since. Michael was the last to enter the picture, but how everything changed when he did.

While you had finally found a stable friend group that you quickly grew to love, you were longing for something a little bit more. And that's when Michael came in and swept you away. He had come in as a transfer student from another college, sophomore year, and what a coincidence that you had him in all of classes first semester. He was a face you saw regularly around campus and you couldn't help but be drawn to his quiet nature. Slowly you began talking to him and you noticed how timid and reserved he was. He didn't really go out of his way to speak to anyone, besides when you would speak to him. He would give half smiles, and either one word or half sentences.

Soon you began walking with him to all your classes, the two of you never leaving each other's side. You'd help him with his homework for a class he didn't understand all too well and in return he would do the same. Lunch and dinner together became a regular thing. Your friends noticed your interest, often glancing at the two of you from another table afar, giving smiles and making stupid faces. When it came down to exams, you two met up every night 2 weeks prior, in the library, studying diligently, learning from each other's notes. He opened up to you rather quickly after that and when you were sure that he was comfortable enough you introduced him to everyone else, who immediately took a liking to the blonde boy with the soft, but vibrant blue eyes.

It was the small and subtle acts between the both of you, that drew you closer together. When you could sense that Michael was getting overwhelmed in a social setting, your hand found it's way into his, giving him a reassuring smile before the conversation continued. Or how when he spoke to you, you tuned everyone else out in the room to let him know that it was about him and no one else. It was you rubbing his back when he got frustrated, throwing his textbooks to the floor because he simply did not understand or when he would get into a spat with his older brother, Duncan over the phone.

It was him, picking up your favorite snack and coffee from the grand cafe before your 8AM. It was him, walking you back to your residence hall in the middle of the night to ensure that you made it safely. It was the way his blonde hair moved with the wind, the endless laughter, the stressful nights. Before you knew it, you had fallen in love with Michael. 9 months of an unbreakable bond.

You still remember the first time he kissed you. Both of you stood drunkenly in the middle of a frat party, not really wanting to be surrounded by the crowd of sweaty bodies and other screaming young adults. You screamed in Montana's ear over the loud music that you and Michael were going to step outside for some fresh air. She drunkenly gave you a thumbs up, not be able to remove her lips from Xavier's who roughly grabbed at her ass, pulling her closer into him. You finally felt like you could breathe once the cool air hit your skin.

As you stared out into the distance, you couldn't help but feel like a set of eyes were burning into your skin. When you turned your head, you met Michael's gaze and before you could even ask him what was wrong his lips were on yours. He quickly pulled back, shocked by what he did and he moved his lips to say sorry, but you grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him back towards you. A fire danced inside the both of you as he wrapped his arms around you, you doing the same. You could feel yourself melting away at his touch, his soft lips against yours, the occasional brushing of noses. For the first time, this was a kiss that felt right. You felt safe in his hands and knew you wanted to be his.

"Y/N!" Xavier called out to you, immediately snapping you out of your thoughts. The air had gotten a little bit cooler, which you welcomed. You looked over in his direction. He motioned the action taking a picture with a camera, and bringing his fingers to his lips like he was smoking. This signaled to you that he wanted you to come over with your Polaroid camera and that he going to light another joint. You enthusiastically gave him a double thumbs up, letting him know that you'd be over there soon.

You turned around to look behind you, down at Michael who looked so peaceful as he became one with the beach. His mouth hung open slightly and you knew that he was falling asleep, which caused you to giggle, moving a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"Hey..." you said softly, running your hands down his chest, watching as his eyes quickly fluttered open in a daze. He groaned sleepily, a smile forming on his face when he looked into your eyes. He grabbed onto your hands, holding them in place and running his thumbs along them. "Don't tell me that you're falling asleep already. Our night hasn't even really begun."

"I was resting my eyes." he said, chuckling a little bit at his obvious lie.

"You can do that for the rest of the night when we get back. Xavier wants to take pictures."

"Why is he so obsessed with taking pictures?" Michael questioned, propping himself up on his elbows as you rose to your feet, dusting the excess sand off you. He couldn't help but bite his lip as your bikini top fit you perfectly, combined with the booty shorts you wore that was snug to your figure. He ran his hand through his messy hair, sighing.

"We're making memories Michael." you answered. "I don't want to hear anything when you literally have all the Polaroid pictures I took of us and everyone else scattered around your dorm room and on your car dashboard. You love taking pictures as much as he does. You're just feeling lazy."

"You enjoy reading me to filth, don't you?"

"Only sometimes." You walked over to your belongings, grabbing your camera and your tripod. Michael soon got up, also dusting the sand off of himself, shaking his hair in the process before following you down to where everyone else was.

"We were hoping you two would join us soon." Montana said, smiling at you and Michael. She wrapped her arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug that you gladly returned.

"Well don't you look more alive than ever, Mike." Xavier said to his friend. "Enjoy your nap? I mean we've been here for like what, an hour?"

"Fuck you, Xavier." Michael said, shoving him playfully in his shoulder earning a smirk from him. "It could have been a longer nap. It should have been."

"You don't want to miss out on this do you?" Xavier questioned, waving the joint in front of Michael's face. "It's your favorite strain, wedding cake."

"I suppose you have a valid claim." Michael answered, reaching for the joint, but couldn't grab it because someone else did.

"Don't mind if I do." Jim said, grabbing the joint out of Xavier's hand, immediately putting it between his lips and lightning it.

"Eager are we?" you asked Jim as you set the camera up, earning a smile from him as he stuck his tongue out at you, walking back over to Brooke who now stood only a few feet away, conversing with Chet and Ray.

"That's why I rolled two." Xavier said, taking another one from behind his ear and handing it to Michael. "Too many of us for just one, right?"

"More like Jim will inhale half of it before passing it to anyone else." Montana chimed in, rolling her eyes as she rested her elbow on Michael's shoulder, letting the smell of the freshly lit joint consume her.

"That sounds more like it." Michael said as he exhaled, passing it to Xavier.

"I strive to be a stoner like him though." she continued. "Detached from reality for most of the day, but still functional? That sounds like heaven."

"No it sounds like Jim's tolerance is through the roof." you said, to which Xavier nodded in agreement.

"He's been smoking since he was like 12. I'm jealous." Xavier said, handing the joint off to Montana who took a few hits before passing it to you. As you inhaled, you felt your body relax tremendously. A few more hits and the joint was back in Michael's hand.

"Okay everyone!" you yelled, getting everyone's attention. "Camera is all good to go!" You took a couple pictures of Montana and Xavier, your heart too warm at their various poses. He would wrap his arms around her from behind or she would climb on his back, wrapping her arms around his chest. A couple of off guards of the two were taken as well. You told them to act natural, just to converse with each other as you snapped pictures. Pictures of you and Michael followed. He made sure to always make a statement in the pictures that he took with you. He stood behind you, a hand wrapped gently around your throat as he snapped your head back to make you look at him, blissful smiles on both of your faces.

"Hey!" he yelled towards Jim who had his phone in his hand, taking Snapchats of everyone and posting them to his story. "Take a picture of Y/N and I like this. I want to post it to my Instagram." Jim gladly did as Michael asked, immediately sending the photo to him after so that he would have it to post later. The next picture was simple. You and Michael stood next to each other, his arm wrapped around your shoulder and yours wrapped around his waist, the both of you giving a soft smile. The final picture was of him holding you in his arms, legs wrapped around his waist as you pressed your lips against his, the both of you smiling in the kiss.

Jim and Brooke were wild and spontaneous and you loved it. Taking pictures of them were by far your favorite. Brooke held Jim in a headlock, a wild smile across his face and gripped onto her arm as you took the picture. Then she got on his shoulders, Jim holding her securely in place as her hands laid in his hair. Their last picture was of them, backs to the camera as they held hands, staring off into the sunset. You quickly turned the tripod around, taking an off guard of everyone who sat to the side around the fire. Xavier held the joint in his hand, mid sentence in conversation with Chet. Ray, Montana, and Michael were laughing their asses off at God knows what. All the emotions you were feeling inside, you swear you could cry at the sight. You fucking LOVED your friends.

You gathered all the boys up for their group photo. Xavier stood next to Jim, arm around his shoulder, hand slightly over his chest. Next to Jim was Ray, with a tooth pick in his mouth as he leaned into Jim's shoulder, his arms crossed over his chest. Michael stood next to Ray, his hand place on Ray's head as if he were holding a basketball, his other arm wrapped around Chet's shoulder, hand perfectly displaying a middle finger in the middle of Chet's chest.

"God, I fucking love y'all." Brooke said as she stood behind you, watching you take the picture.

"They're cute, aren't they?" you asked, putting on your best focused face as you snapped the picture. You told them to hold their pose as you snapped a couple more, wanting everyone to have a copy of that picture.

"Too cute for their own good." Montana said. "A bunch of shit heads."

"Our shit heads." you said. "Okay guys! Just two more. One of us girls and then all of us together and then we can figure out plans for dinner!" You bit your lip, holding hands with Brooke and Montana as the 3 of you stepped in front of the camera. Montana stood in the middle of you and Brooke, throwing her arms tightly around your shoulders, bringing the two of you closer to her. She stuck her tongue out for the photo, while you held up a peace sign with your hand, a wide, closed eyed smile on your face. Brooke held onto Montana's arm, her own wide, but opened eyed smiled, forming across her face. You can tell that Michael had taken a few extras for everyone else, consider how many time the cameras flashed behind your closed eyes.

Finally, the moment you, and you're sure everyone else was waiting for. The big, family, photo. Xavier and Chet took the ends. And in this order everyone stood: Xavier, Montana, You, Michael, Brooke, Jim, Ray, and Chet. You set the timer on the camera, all 9 of you trying to come up with different poses quickly for the camera. Your favorite one as you went through them had to be the one where you and Michael sat in the sand in front of Brooke and Jim who now stood between Xavier and Ray. He let you wrap your arms around his torso, your nose nestled perfectly into his cheek as you gave him a small kiss. 

"Okay." Xavier sighed as he hopped into the drivers seat of Jim's midnight blue Tahoe. Jim himself in the passenger seat. Brooke and Montana took the second row. You and Michael snuggled together comfortably in the very back row, your feet sprawled out in Chet and Ray's laps as they both got lost in their phones scrolling through Facebook and sharing memes with each other, which reminded Michael to post the picture of the two of you Jim had sent to him. "Anyone have any dinner ideas before we leave? Anyone in the mood for anything particular?"

"Honestly could just keep it classic and go for a burger and a shake right now." Ray said from the back.

"Ooo, from where though?" Jim asked, turning around to look at him. "That shake sounds really fucking good. Chocolate shake. I want a chocolate shake."

"Tommy's!" Montana, Brooke, Ray, and Chet said in unison.

"Michael? Y/N?" Xavier questioned, pushing his sun glasses down so he could look at the both of you.

"A cookies and cream milkshake is calling my name right now." Michael said as his hand lazily brushed through your hair.

"You had me at burger." you agreed.

"Tommy's it is." Xavier said, finally starting Jim's car, his blue LED strips, dimly illuminating the car, the last song on his phone beginning to play as Xavier single-handedly backed out of the parking space.

Despite how tired everyone was, the car ride was far from silent. For the first 30 minutes anyways. It would take over an hour and a half before you all got back into downtown LA. You finally sat up in your seat, Michael throwing his arm around your shoulder to keep you close to him. So needy , you thought, but you loved that about him. He always wanted to be close to you. He always wanted to touch you. He made sure you felt loved and secured. You watched at the front as Jim and Xavier currently sang and half danced to the song that played. You glanced at Brooke and Montana who had fallen asleep rather quickly, heads leaned against the car window. Chet and Ray had resorted to playing Among Us to pass the drive time, Michael soon joining them.

"Okay, fucking seriously." Michael said as he furrowed his eyebrows, pissed that he was killed by the imposter yet again. And the imposter just happened to be Chet, but of course he kept silent, not wanting to alert Ray. You giggled to yourself, tears forming at the corners of your eyes. You wiped them anyway, inhaling deeply before exhaling.

"Everything alright?" Michael asked, noticing your change of mood. "Why are you crying?" He made sure to whisper, not wanting to draw attention to the both of you.

"Michael." you said. "I love you."

"I love you too, Y/N." he smiled.

"And all of our crazy friends."

"I love them too." he laughed.

Fuck, I love my friends

Without them, I'd be dead

I know they're the only ones who'll love me till the end

We're all such a mess, lonely and depressed

Been so long and I can't wait to see them again

Fuck, I love my friends

Taglist: @jimmason @angelicmichael @whatcodysaid​ @theneverendinghunger​ @fernfiction

Again, let me know if you would like to included in the tag list for this series!

[imagineaworlds]

I Love You (Part Forty-Six) -- Aaron Hotchner

Written By: @desperately-bisexual

Request: None.

Warnings: SMUT!! Cursing. Dom/sub relationship. Sir kink. Phone(?)/Skype sex. Mutual masturbation.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Word Count: 11,148

Timeline: Two weeks after part forty-five.

I did everything I could possibly think of in order to make Hotch stay with me instead of going to the Middle East, all the way up to the point when he was getting on the plane. I went to him with case files every time I caught him packing in the bedroom. I thought that if I asked him for enough help since I was just getting back to work, I’d come off as a completely lost doe that needed coddling with cases and reports. I wasn’t, of course. Taking one look at most of these cases, I could deduce who the Unsub was without having to consult with the local PD further. As for the reports, they were pretty standard, too. But I was desperate for Aaron to stay, so I made an attempt to make it seem like I needed him there or else I was completely helpless. Unfortunately, Hotch saw right through me. He knew what I was up to, and he knew that I was just playing dumb, when, in reality, I would never ask for his help in a million years because I was always adamant about doing stuff like this on my own.

So, I had to get more creative. I started hiding his stuff. He would leave to go buy something or pick up dinner, and I would race to hide his suitcases or clothes in my car in the garage. He always found them, though. My last resort was practically dangling the black box in front of his face. I started lounging around in the bedroom, the black box just casually sitting in plain view—or sometimes, I’d even pull out a toy to have it just be there next to my thighs. I was practically begging him to punish me. I was giving him every reason in the world to just tie me up and leave me there until he missed his flight.

Yet, the only time he ever gave in to that ploy was when he came home to find me naked on the bed, my legs spread, nipple clamps hanging from my chest, a dildo thrusting in and out of me. When I cried out Sean’s name as a joke, Aaron wasn’t having it. He locked the door behind himself, stormed over to the black box, grabbed a length of rope, then proceeded to tie my wrists over my head. He pulled the toy out of me without any hesitation, and within an instant, he had his pants pushed down, and he was hovering over me.

“Fucking brat,” he growled in my ear as he thrusted into me.

I tried apologizing since I knew the Sean thing was a bad idea in hindsight, but he didn’t want to hear it. All he did was wrap his hand around my neck and gently squeeze until I whimpered submissively. By the time he was done fucking me, he had forced about three orgasms out of me while insisting that he was the only one who could make me feel that good. Not that I argued with that. He was entirely right, and we both knew it, but I poked the possessive button, and he fucking lost it. He wasn’t focused on anything but proving a point to me. The point was fairly simple, too. It was to say, “You’re mine. Only mine. No one else’s. The only name you should ever be screaming is mine.” And I did. I screamed his name as I tugged at the restraints and begged for mercy.

And then he still left.

The only person in the world who could love me, understand me, hear me, and fuck me the way he did was suddenly gone. I was all alone. I mean, of course I still had Jack and baby Emily, and the team was there, too, but it was so different. Everything just felt like it was falling apart so fast. I was furious. I was sad. I was confused. I felt entirely lost and lonely without him constantly around. And every time I looked at Jack—a blonde, but still spitting image of his father—my heart wrenched a bit, I didn’t know how I was supposed to do this without him. Raising Jack and Emily simultaneously while still going to work—and who knew what was going on with that now that Hotch was gone. It ultimately boiled down to the fact that the team had to go on a few cases without me. Between Emily getting sick and Jack’s soccer games and practices, I was struggling. I didn’t understand how Hotch did it as a single parent after Haley left him and before I met him.

Saying goodbye to him at the airport was one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life. Watching him hold Emily in his arms, playing with her as she giggled and squirmed, then saying goodbye to her… It tore me apart. I remember feeling this chill run through my body before the tears started to well. I didn’t stop myself from crying. In fact, I didn’t even hide in Morgan’s chest to keep Hotch from seeing just how distraught I was. I wanted to know that this choice Hotch made was breaking me. I begged him to stay—I begged him to choose his family over work, something I never thought I would have to do in our relationship. And yet, he chose work over the baby we just had. For the shortest moment, as I stood there with the kids and the team, watching as Hotch boarded the private military plane, I felt like Haley.

After he landed in… Well, wherever it was that they had stationed him, we started calling each other every single day. Sometimes he could afford to talk to me and Jack for hours on end, but most of the time he could only talk for a couple of minutes—maybe even just a few seconds to say something along the lines of: “I’m so sorry, baby, I can’t talk today. I love you.” And then he would hang up before I could say anything. Those days were the worst. At least sometimes I got to see his face over Skype, and I could see that he was safe. He was dirty and tired most of the time, but he was alive, and that was what mattered.

Then, things at work started getting complicated for me, too, which made it hard to find time to talk to Hotch. Because of the time differences, I was always working when he was free, and vice versa. It came down to the fact that I was having to sneak in the calls in the janitor’s closet during lunch, which meant that he had to be up around 2AM or so just to hear my voice or see my face. We made it work, though. We called, and we talked about how much we missed each other, and I told him everything about the changes at the BAU.

Since Hotch left and Prentiss died, we had to fill spots on the team. JJ expedited the process to become a profiler by taking the courses at lightning speed and getting special permission from both Section Chief Strauss and Cody, the Director—which took some effort on my end, pulling some strings I had with him. Rossi was made lead profiler, Garcia was invited to sit in on the case readings more often, and I was… Well, Hotch didn’t need to know that quite yet. The timing just wasn’t right.

“Hey, sunshine,” Morgan said, running down the stairs. I craned my neck back against the couch, looking upside down to see that he wasn’t carrying Emily anymore. He must’ve set her down to sleep in her crib.

“Hey.”

“The little devil’s sleeping.”

“Figured.” I sat back up straight and went back to reviewing the case I was consulting on. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Anytime.” He came around the couch to grab one of his bags from the floor. “Hey, I’m headed to the gym. Do you wanna join me?” I shook my head. “You sure?”

“Yeah. JJ’s got me knee deep in consultations, so I need to keep going until I burn out.”

He squinted at me, a warning that we both knew that it was a bad idea. But it was better if I just kept my mind busy. Sitting around, doing nothing—or even going to work out while talking to Morgan or listening to music—was just going to tear me apart, because all I could think about nowadays was Hotch. I was beginning to forget the way he felt. I couldn’t forget his smell since he was practically everywhere in our house, but his skin against mine… I missed holding his hand, pressing my lips to his, running my hands through his hair, holding his face—Stop. See, that was exactly what I meant. If I wasn’t just keeping my head down and working on cases, then I was practically falling apart.

“Alright,” he finally gave in with a shrug. “I’ll be back in about two hours.”

“Or you could just… go back to your house,” I offered with a playful smile.

He matched my smile while winking and shaking his head. “Not quite yet, sugar. See ya.”

I waved with the back of my hand in his direction, hearing the door open then close shortly after. When he was gone, I relaxed, looking up from my paperwork in order to stare at the wall for a moment. I missed him. I missed my husband more than anything in the world. It had only been two weeks, and yet I never thought I could miss anyone this much. I didn’t even miss Elle to this extent—and she was my own flesh and blood. Did that make me a bad person? Maybe…

My phone suddenly buzzed with a text from Jessica, letting me know that she could pick up Jack on her way to our house so that I wouldn’t have to. I picked up my phone long enough to thank her. She really didn’t have to keep going above and beyond like this for us, but I was eternally grateful for everything she had done for us. I could say it a thousand times. I was grateful that she wanted to still be a part of our family after her sister’s death, and that she still wanted to lend a helping hand with my daughter that was in no way related to her. She was always kind like that. It set her apart from Haley ever since I met them; but I would have never admitted that to anyone now that Haley was gone.

Knowing that I had about another hour or two until the house would be full again, I decided to see if I could sneak in a call with Hotch. It was late enough there that his camp was either asleep or in full gear, ready to go out to do whatever it was their job was out there. I think the not knowing was the hardest part. I didn’t know if he was just training guys out there, or if he was hunting terrorists like Emily did before joining the BAU, or if he was on the front lines where he was facing the barrel of a gun every single day. I never knew whether or not I should have been concerned. He couldn’t tell me, and he was always the one person I struggled to profile whenever he closed himself off from me—which was why I absolutely hated it when he kept secrets from me, and that was why we made our deal to never withhold anything from one another ever again. But this was different. He was bound by duty and law to say nothing to me, and I couldn’t fault him for that.

I grabbed my computer and settled it on my thighs as I opened up Skype and started calling him. It hardly dialed three times before he answered. There was a slight buffer where he was frozen just as his camera turned on, but at least I could see his smile and his scratchy beard that was ever so slowly growing in.

“Hi, baby,” I greeted.

“Hey,” Hotch answered, “let me grab some headphones real quick.” He was digging in his bag under his cot in search of the pair of headphones I made him pack for this reason specifically. When he found them buried at the bottom of his bag, he sat back down on his cot, leaned against the fragile wall of his tent, and plugged the headphones in. “That’s better,” he sighed with relief. “Let me hear your voice, baby.”

I smiled. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…”

“Don’t stop,” he begged.

I winked at him. “How are you?”

“Tired. Bored. I miss you so much…”

I wished just then that I could hold him and kiss him. I felt this uncontrollable urge to somehow jump through the screen and fall into his arms. If I had him in front of me for even a moment, I would have thrown my arms around his neck and I would have refused to ever let go again. No matter how hard he would try to pry me off, I wouldn’t’ve released him. I would have hugged him until my arms would grow numb and my legs would give out. Even then, I think I still would have held on.

“Where’s everyone?” he asked.

I glanced over my shoulder at the empty house. “Emily’s napping upstairs, Jessica’s at the grocery store, Jack’s at school, and Morgan’s at the gym.”

Derek Morgan, as much as I loved him, was hovering too much. Since Hotch left, Morgan had decided to practically move in with us, choosing to sleep on our couch rather than his bed in his own house. I tried asking him once if there was any reason in particular that he was suddenly living in our house, and he insisted that it was to help out with Emily while Hotch was gone. While I did believe him, I also knew that there was more to it than that, but I always decided to not pry. Having Morgan around to help me and Jessica with the kids was a huge help, one that I honestly couldn’t turn down. He was so good with Emily, and even better with Jack. He was going above and beyond to help Jessica to make sure that I didn’t even have to lift a finger, even though I wanted to help. Morgan told me that my only job was to sit there, look pretty, do my work, and spend time with my kids. That was it. But now he was hovering more, and it felt like how Hotch was when I was pregnant. If I even tried approaching the stairs, Morgan was right there to make sure I wouldn’t suddenly fall. Even worse was how, in the field, Morgan was guarding me more with his body like he was ready to take a bullet for me at any moment. It was really, really weird, but I hadn’t found a way to confront him about it yet.

Hotch settled on his cot some more, the camera shaking as he did so. “What’s new since Sunday?” he asked me.

“Oh, boy,” I chuckled. “Derek’s going to be the bane of my existence, I swear.”

“Still bad?”

I nodded. “I’m almost tempted to just drive him back to his house and tie him to the radiator or something.” Hotch laughed in response. “I’m serious. He’s taking this godfather thing a little too serious, Aaron.”

“He means well.”

“I know he does.” I rolled my eyes. “But we hardly get moments like this anymore where the two of us can talk because if Jack’s not running about, then Morgan’s hovering to make sure I haven’t broken a bone while just sitting here.”

“Well, have you?” he asked sarcastically.

I squinted at him. “I swear—”

“What else is new?” He changed the topic as fast as possible, knowing that just talking about Morgan further was only going to get me worked up. I relaxed on the couch a bit more and brought up the collar of his sweatshirt to my mouth to hide behind it nervously. Hotch’s brows furrowed in response. “What is it?”

I pulled the hood over my head and whispered behind the fabric of the sweatshirt, “The other day…”

“I can’t hear you like that, baby. Sit up.”

I rolled my eyes at his command before doing so. I hated that we were left to just quick commands and that was all. There wasn’t enough privacy on his end for him to even say “good girl” … or, even better… “slut” or “whore”. I could tell that it was always hanging on his tongue, wanting to be said, but he had to hold back.

“Jack has a new favorite thing,” I explained once I sat up and stopped hiding. Hotch raised a curious brow. “He called me ‘Mom’ the other day.”

“That’s great!” he cheered a little too loud. He realized his volume quickly, checking his surroundings to make sure he hadn’t disturbed anyone, then looked back at me with a wide smile. “I’m so glad, baby.”

“Me, too,” I admitted. “I like it… I like when he says it…”

“What’s wrong, then?” he asked worriedly.

I sighed. How did he know me so well that he could tell that something was wrong even through the constant image freezes and buffers? Sometimes I really hated being married to him because he was a damn good profiler, and all it took was one fluctuation in my tone, and he’d know that the whole world was turning on its head somehow.

“I don’t want him to forget Haley.”

Hotch’s eyes softened and his shoulders fell. “Y/N, we’ve both talked to him about this a thousand times—”

“I know, Aaron, but I still worry. I don’t want to replace her.”

“You’re not. You and Haley are vastly different people, and Jack loves you both. That’s not a bad thing. It’s been two years, baby; we knew that this would happen eventually. It’s a good thing. You are his mother, Y/N. You’ve looked after him for nearly three years, and you’ve loved him every day since meeting him. You’re not replacing anyone. I promise, baby.”

I supposed he was right. It didn’t necessarily irk me that Jack called me ‘Mom’. Like I said before, it was honestly a relief, and I had felt my heart swell twofold, but there was something holding me back. I didn’t realize it until just then, but it was Hotch. I was terrified that Hotch wouldn’t like it, because that title originally belonged to Haley. Who was I to be Jack’s mom now? But Hotch seemed happy about it. He even managed to talk some sense into me, which was nice.

“Hey,” I caught his attention again. My voice had lowered in tone and volume, a silent signal that I had something serious I wanted to talk about. Hotch cocked a brow at me to let me know that he was listening. “I have to tell you something…” I fidgeted with the strings of his hoodie to keep my mind occupied. “I… I, um…” Why couldn’t I just spit it out? He would understand, right? He wouldn’t get mad. He’d be glad that I was honest with him. Right… I swallowed my pride and just decided to go for it. “I got a promotion.”

“What?” he chortled.

I nodded, understanding that he was a bit confused. Honestly, I was still confused about it all, too. When I got back from maternity leave, there was talk about how someone needed to step up to take Hotch’s position while he was gone. Technically, it didn’t need to be official, but Strauss wanted to make sure that we maintained a hierarchy until Hotch could come back and lead the team again.

At first, she offered the job to Morgan again since he had done it before and seemed to be pretty good at it, but he insisted that he didn’t need to do it again, therefore he wasn’t going to step up to the plate. I recognized that there was more to it than that, though. Morgan was nervous about taking the reins again because it was hard enough to relinquish control the first time after the Foyet incidents had concluded. If he took the job on again, he probably feared that he wouldn’t be able to give Hotch his job back. So, Strauss went to JJ. However, she turned the opportunity down, too, insisting that she enjoyed her job as was. She liked worrying about giving us cases, not running them. She wasn’t sure if she would even be good at it, so she passed. Strauss considered Reid before me, which was the funny part. Reid was a good kid, and he worked just as hard as everyone else, but he wasn’t a leader type. He seemed content with being the smart one and listening to orders. I wasn’t sure if he was capable of running a team and making smart calls. It just wasn’t in his nature, and that wasn’t his fault.

So, when no one else stepped up to take the job, it was left to me. Strauss asked me if I could do it despite having a new baby at home and having to raise two kids without their father around. I told her that we had Jessica, though I elected to leave out that Morgan was helping out, too; and I insisted that I’d be fine with taking on all of Hotch’s responsibilities until he could get back. That included taking charge in the field, doing all of the paperwork, talking with Strauss about decisions made in the field— the unfortunate downside of this promotion— and taking responsibility for any decision my team or I would make, good or bad. I knew that I could handle that, and I knew that I could do it well. So, the job became mine.

I was given Hotch’s office, though I didn’t change anything in it since it was still, technically, his, and I wanted it to continue feeling that way. Strauss dropped a stack of files on my new desk, wished me good luck with a wicked smirk, and the team all looked to me for answers. On the first case, I was a little… well… annoying, to say the least. I was trying too hard to fit into Hotch’s role, to take the lead as he would. While I wanted to make things seem normal and run smoothly, I obviously wasn’t Hotch, and I clearly thought differently from him while out in the field. It took me up until the next case to realize that I couldn’t be Hotch. I needed to just be me and run the team how I saw fit— while still keeping in mind WWAHD, of course.

“I don’t want the job forever,” I insisted to Hotch over the call. “We all still want you to come home and be our unit chief. This is just temporary, and I think that I’m not even that good at it, and I—”

“You’re rambling.”

I looked up at him through the screen. “Sorry.”

“Unit Chief SSA Greenaway…” he let the name roll off his tongue. “I like it.”

“Actually, I’m trying something new.” I blushed and hid my face from him slightly.

Hotch raised a brow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You’re looking at Unit Chief SSA Hotchner.”

Hotch’s jaw fell slightly. “You’re kidding. What happened to following in your mother’s footsteps, keeping your maiden name and whatnot.”

I shrugged. “It feels weird without a Hotchner in the office. Besides, it feels nice to say that my name is Hotchner. I probably won’t keep it that long, or I’ll stop when you get back because it’ll only confuse people, but—”

“You’re rambling again,” he teased. I blushed and hid my face even more. “Listen to me. I am so proud of you. You’re going to do great; I just know it. Don’t be nervous.”

“But?”

“But I don’t want you to stretch yourself too thin, baby. You know how hard it was for me to find time to come home to you and Jack almost every night. I just want to make sure that you’re still getting home to Emily.”

“I’m doing fine, baby. I promise. Besides, we’ve got a whole damn village here to look after the kids.” I laughed. “I think Morgan would kill me if I didn’t get home to Emily when we aren’t on a case.”

“Good,” he chuckled. “But you’re happy?” he asked sincerely. “You’re doing okay?”

I nodded and shrugged. “It’s odd to hear everyone call me ‘ma’am’,” I admitted. “It feels too formal.”

Hotch smiled. “You get used to it.”

“Yeah, but I miss calling you ‘Sir’... In more ways than—”

“Y/N…” he warned quietly, looking around his tent. “You’re going to be the death of me, I swear.”

“Hey, I still have the black box and privacy. I don’t have to worry about anything.”

“It’s been two weeks. You need a little more self-control, baby girl.”

I bit back a moan I felt rising in my throat. I really fucking missed hearing him call me that while he hovered over me. He was right that it had only been two weeks, but that was two weeks too long. Every morning since he left, I needed him desperately. I’d roll over, reaching for him, but he wasn’t there. I’d make two cups of coffee, and hold one out for him, but he never came to get it. I’d reach out to hold his hand while driving, but he wasn’t there, and I couldn’t kiss his knuckles. It was torture. But the worst part was when I’d be laying down, and I’d think about his touches on my skin, or his lips kissing mine, or curling my fingers around his hair… I’d think about him hovering over me, fucking me until I saw stars, grabbing onto my neck until I could barely breathe, demanding that I call him Sir, forcing whines and moans out of me, making me cum on his cock over and over again… Those were the worst moments. Not only because I missed him, but because nothing in the damn black box could do the trick like he could. There was something special about him being inside of me, or him controlling the toys. I could tease him all day about using the black box while he was gone, but the truth of the matter was that I needed him. Being away from him was tearing me apart.

That being said, I could still try to play my games. Our games, my brattiness, it was all what made us unique and so madly in love. Now that I had set up the mood for myself, and practically left him desperate for me in the same way that I had been desperate for him over the past two weeks, I could make my next move. “I’m sorry, Sir,” I bit my lip. “I just miss your cock so much…”

“Y/N.”

“Yes, Sir?” I asked innocently, batting my eyes at him.

His neck craned so that he could look around his tent for any sign that he would be disrupted. When the coast appeared clear, he adjusted his posture and looked back at the camera. “Shirt. Now.”

I gulped and shivered. “I thought that you couldn’t—”

“There isn’t much time. Do it now.” He was still looking around shortly, but I could see how his computer was shaking in his lap, accompanied by the sound of him fidgeting with his belt buckle. I nodded, sitting up slightly so that I could pull off his hoodie to reveal my bare chest. “Baby girl…” he moaned quietly into his headphone’s microphone. “Pinch your nipples.” I nodded and reached to do so, but he suddenly stopped me with, “I want to hear you, baby. I can’t be loud, and I can’t say much, but I want to hear you.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl,” he moaned quietly. I continued to move until my cold fingers ran over my nipples. My eyes screwed shut in response, and I let out a sigh. I pinched them, just like he ordered me to, and my head fell back against the cushions of the couch. “Are they sensitive?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Pull them.”

I did as I was told, lightly pinching and pulling at them like he would. Sometimes he wanted it to hurt, especially when he was punishing me, other times he just wanted me to feel the full force of how arousing it was. In that moment, I was imagining him punishing me, but it just didn’t feel the same. It was arousing, but it just wasn’t the fucking same. I wanted it to be him. I wanted him to pinch them hard while I squirmed under him. I wanted him to suck on them, maybe even gently bite at them. I just wanted more. I wanted him so bad.

“You look so hot, baby,” he moaned under his breath. I hated that he had to be so quiet. One of my favorite things about Hotch was how vocal he was in bed. He wasn’t afraid to moan or talk dirty to me. He always knew exactly what to do and say… All I wanted was to just hear him groan in my ear over and over again. “I miss you so much.” His camera kept shaking, and I knew what he was doing, but I wanted to see it. So, when I made my move to put my computer on the coffee table so that he could see me, Hotch got the hint. He moved his computer lower on his knees. I moaned and pinched my nipples again when I saw how hard he was while fucking his fist. “Your… your pants, baby girl.”

“Yes, Sir.” I lifted my hips off the couch so that I could push my pants down, which was just a pair of his flannel pajama pants.

“Fuck—” I heard him hiss under his breath once I was naked. “So beautiful…”

As I sat back down entirely, I could see how fast and hard he was masturbating, yet he hadn’t even given me another command. Asshole. I was dying on that couch without touching, yet there he was, already a mess. I wished that his hand were mine, or my mouth, or my dripping cunt. Anything. I needed him so bad. This was a relief and a change of pace since he left and all I had was the black box and the memory of what he felt like. At least this time I got to see him. But that still wasn’t enough to satisfy the urge building in the pit of my stomach.

“Please, Sir… Please… May I touch for you, Sir?”

“You wanna make yourself feel good for me, baby girl?”

I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Do it.”

I reclined backwards, my fingers immediately finding their way down to my clit. I gasped, “Fuck—” I let out a shaky breath. “I’m so wet for you, Sir.”

“Moan my name for my baby.”

“Aaron…” I let his name fall off my lips effortlessly as I circled my clit faster.

“Again.”

“Aaron—” I gasped again as my walls clenched around nothing. “I miss you so much, Sir.”

“I miss you, too, baby girl.”

I looked at the computer to see him watching me intently, his hand fucking his length faster and harder. And then he stopped to rub his thumb over his tip. That was what I used to do to him all the time. It was the way I teased him. I didn’t realize he loved it so much. But seeing him do it of his own volition, then hearing him let out a quiet, helpless moan as he threw his head back against the flimsy wall of his tent. The image of him falling apart only made me go faster. I bucked my hips around for extra stimulus, and I brought my free hand to one of my nipples, pretending like it was Hotch’s mouth sucking and nibbling. Since giving birth, I was so sensitive. The slightest pinch set me on fire, and we both knew it.

“Fuck, fuck, shit—” Hotch pulled his shirt up slightly so that I could see the way his chest tightened. “I’m close for you, baby girl.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“You know I can’t—” he hesitated when he bit back a groan.

I knew that he couldn’t say anything too bad, so I had to do it. I had to tip him over the edge, and I didn’t mind. “Are you thinking about fucking me?” I asked. He nodded while still biting down on his bottom lip. “Being buried inside of me. Feeling me tighten around you as I get closer and closer to my orgasm.” He ran his thumb over his tip again. “Listening to me scream your name over and over again… Feeling as I thrash under you when you edge me.” I moaned loudly, throwing my head back against the cushions as the knot in my stomach started to tighten.

“Don’t stop.”

“Would you tie me up and edge me for hours, Sir?”

“Yes, brat. Any chance I could get.”

“Would you edge me until I couldn’t breathe?”

“Fuck, yes.”

“Would you cum in me to mark me as yours?”

Hotch flipped the bottom hem of his shirt into his mouth and bit down as hard as he could. Despite the fabric buried in his mouth, I still heard him groan so sharply I knew that he was cumming for me. I looked up just in time to see his abs flexing, his hips thrusting upwards, his cock twitching in his hand, his semen shooting in strings onto his chest.

I panted through asking, “May I cum for you, Sir?”

“Just for me, baby girl. Do it,” he mumbled behind his shirt.

I flicked my clit back and forth as fast as I could until I was nothing but a moaning, breathless mess, just as he was. “Sir!” My legs shook when I tipped over the edge. “Thank you, Sir—” My walls clenched around nothing as my orgasm peaked, then slowly started subsiding. “Thank you…”

“Fuck, baby girl.”

I caught my breath and stared at him. “I miss you.”

He reached to grab a cloth from outside of the camera’s view. “I miss you, too, baby. Next time…” He leaned back and started cleaning off his chest. “Next time, it’ll be in you. I promise.”

“They gave you a date you’re coming back?” I asked hopefully.

He shook his head. “No. But I’m still making that promise. I’ll break my knee if it means getting back to you soon.”

“Don’t be melancholy and hyperbolic, Aaron Hotchner.”

He chuckled and threw the rag to the side before pulling his shirt back down to cover himself. His actions sparked me to do the same, so I reached to put his hoodie back on. We were silent for another few moments as I got dressed again, keeping the hood up on my head to keep me warm. If someone came home now, they’d never know what happened. And we were just lucky that I hadn’t woken up Emily. Balancing keeping quiet for a baby and wanting to scream for Hotch until my lungs ached was… Well, it was complicated, to say the least.

“I’m not being melancholy,” he finally said with a laugh. It was like he suddenly realized what I said and had to speak on it.

“Yes, you are.”

“Fine. I’m melancholy because I miss you, Jack, and Emily so much my heart hurts. Is that hyperbolic?”

“No.” It wasn’t hyperbolic at all. I knew that because I felt the same way. His eyes softened as he stared at me. We had both calmed down, and now that the sexual tension was out of the way, all I could think about was how much I infinitely loved him. “I know that it’s selfish to say, but… I need you here with me. I need you to come back.”

“You know I would if I could.” He started looking around his tent frantically. “Y/N, I am so sorry—” He sat up. “I have to go.”

I stuffed my hands in the pocket of the sweatshirt I was wearing. I sighed and pouted. “I love you. Please be safe.”

He was already pulling out his headphones when he said, “I love you, too,” and then he hung up. I slumped and stared at the blank screen.

-----

criminal minds family: @peggy1999 @gorgeousdarkangel @alex--awesome--22 @oceaneblu @brithedemonspawn @absolutemarveltrash @bshelley322 @rousethemouse @sunshinepower17 @weexinling @pettttyyyc​ @Braty-angel

[mayraki]

                             CHAPTER SIX

“obx summer movie night”

CHAPTER FIVE

SERIES MASTERLIST

MY MASTERLIST 

summary: Max Belinsky and JJ Maybank are the two troublemakers of Outer Banks. Going to parties, getting into trouble, having an attitude and being the two people you don’t mess with are the perfect ways to describe them. What would happen when the two people who seem to have trouble follow them around meet? One thing is fore sure, they didn’t expect this outcome.

“Finally, finally, finally!” Max yelled once she was inside her house after finishing her community service hours. She let her body fall into the couch and she closed her eyes, enjoying her first moment of silence of the day. But that lovely moment was interrupted by Fred walking quickly to the kitchen.

“Cody! I told you to do the dishes yesterday!”

“I was about to do them!” Cody screamed from his room.

“Ah, how coincidental, I told you and you were about to do them while you are reading an old comic book, c’mon!”

Max covered her face frustrated and let out a big sigh trying to ignore all the screaming, but when Cody walked into the living room she moved her hand from her face and looked at her little brother.

“See?!” He pointed at himself when Fred walked into the living room. “I’m here, I’m going to do them right now.”

“Max, don’t be so lazy and help your brother.” Fred pushed Max’s legs out of the couch and she opened her mouth offended.

“Lazy?!” She quickly sat down. “I’ve been working and doing community service all day! What are you talking about?”

“Community service is on you, so don’t complain. Besides, I heard you come home so late yesterday, where were you?” Max furrowed her eyebrows confused. She remember vividly that she climbed her window, and didn’t go throw the front door. Fred noticed and lifted and eyebrow. “Really? You think I don’t notice when you leave from your window? That used to be my room, I know every single little noise that window makes.”

“Wow... Fred, did you sneak out when you were my age? Who could have seen it coming? Because, not me!” Fred pushed Max into the couch and her back hit the back of the couch while she let out a loud laugh. ���Fred Belinsky; the wild child!” Max yelled and then made crowd noises.

“Stop it, Max!” Fred said but a little laugh escaped his mouth.

“Here we have: the life of the party! The boy that every parent is afraid their daughters will take home! The bad boy! Fred Belinsky!” Max walked closer to Fred and started to clap while still making crowd noises with her mouth. Cody appeared on the kitchen and joined her, clapping even faster and making girly noises.

“Is that Fred Belinsky? Oh. My. God.” Cody said with a high pitch voice. Fred was trying to not let a big smile escape his mouth while his two little siblings were moving and clapping around him.

“Stop it with the games, guys!” He tried to sound serious but he couldn’t help it, a big smile appeared on his face.

“Oh, his smiling! My heart can’t take it!” Max said while touching her chest and falling to the floor pretending to faint. Cody did the same and fell into the floor, next to Max, while his tongue was sticking out from his mouth.

“Are you two done?” Fred said and Max opened her eyes. “I need you to take the car to the workshop.”

“Damn, taugh audience.” She said and then sat down on the floor. “Why?”

“It’s doing a weird noise, I don’t know, just to check it. We can’t afford to be out a personal transport.” Max nodded and then turned to Cody who got up from the floor.

“Well, if you two don’t need me anymore, a comic book is waiting for me to read it. Oh, and tomorrow I’m going out.” He said before starting to walk to his room.

“Out?” Fred and Max asked simultaneously.

“Yes, out.”

In that moment, the memory of Cody and that girl appeared on Max’s mind.

“Wait, young man.” Max got up from the floor and grabbed Cody by his arm to stop him from walking. “With who? what are you doing? when are you coming home? with who?” She asked quickly.

“You asked with who two times.” Cody said with an eyebrow lifted.

“Did I? I didn't notice, so? Tell me, with who?” The words were coming so fast of her mouth that Fred walked to her side and looked at her confused, as well as her little brother.

“You never cared with who I’m going out.” Cody asked confused.

“Whaaaat?” Max said with a high pitch voice. “That’s not true.”

Cody rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to the Outer Banks summer movies at the park.” He turned around and Max furrowed her eyebrows confused.

“You hate that, you hate being around big crowds.”

“No, I don’t.” Cody was already on his room but he could be hear perfectly since it was not far from where Max and Fred were standing.

“Yes, you do. I always wanted to take you there and you always said no.” Fred said and Max nodded, being the only two Belinsky siblings who loved going to that event.

“Because I didn’t want to go with you two..” Cody said before closing his bedroom door. Max and Fred opened their mouths offended and they turned to each other.

“What? I’m so fun!” Max said.

Fred nodded and then crossed his arms around his chest. “We are! I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Weeeeell...” Max said with that high pitch voice again.

“What?” Fred asked.

“Nothing.” Max said quickly. “We have something else to worry about, it’s happening, our little brother is going on a date.”

“What? Cody?” Fred asked confused.

“Do we have another little brother that I don’t know about?” Max said and Fred rolled his eyes. “Yes Cody dumbass! I saw him a couple of days ago with a girl, it looked like they were in date.”

“Cody?” Max nodded. “Our Cody? The one that doesn’t like hugs? CODY?”

“Are fucking drunk Fred?! Yes! And I have to know who is this girl.”

“Max, stay out of our little brother’s business.”

“Oh, like you stay out of my business and never ask me where I’ve been? Sure! I’ll do that.” Max said sarcastically before leaving the room with a plan already forming on her head.

“Are you sure you can’t come with me tonight?” Max asked on her phone while talking to Sam.

“Yes, my boss is making me work extra hours and I really need the money, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I get it. Damn! Now what?” Max turned her head to the window of her parked car and looked at Luke’s Maybank workshop.

“What are you doing anyway?”

“I think Cody is having a date tonight.”

“Whaaaat? Cody Belinksy?”

“Yes! And I plan to go and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Yeah, if he’s like you, fourteen is when everythi-”

“We agreed to never talk about it, Samantha.” Max said quickly and Sam let out a loud laugh.

“Oooh, those were wild times. Alright, I gotta go. See you tomorrow, and good luck!”

“Bye..” Max ended the call and let her head rest on top of the back of her seat. A loud noise of a car starting made Max look up and that’s when JJ appeared on her sight. He had no shirt on and his hands were all black for working on a bike engine. His blonde hair was messy as ever and Max could see his sweaty forehead. He looked extremely hot, and Max hated when she thought that.

Max drove to the workshop and parked it on the side of the road, she got out of the car and walked closer to where JJ was. He looked up and huge smile appeared on his face once he locked eyes with Max.

“What’s up princess? One day without me and you already miss me?”

“Yes, I was so sad that I didn’t have to go to community service that I took the longest and most beautiful nap ever, so sad.”

“Glad you’re honest with me.” JJ pretended to not catch Max’s sarcasm and just said with a smile. Max was about to say something when a tall man walked to her car she turned around to look at Luke Maybank. She had seen him around, with his serious face and his not so lovely manners. Max had trouble connecting his son with Luke Maybank, JJ was so extrovert and so fun to be around, while his father was the guy you would feel intimidated and frightened to be around him. But, luckily, Max wasn’t easily intimidated, that was her whole attitude. But JJ, on the other hand, once his father walked to Max’s car, he looked down and started to organise some tools he had on a table. He shoulders were tensed and he was biting his lower lip uncomfortably. Max had never seen JJ like that, the guy that would always flirt and annoy her, wasn’t the guy that was standing in front of her.

“You’re a Belinsky?” Luke asked and Max nodded.

“Max.” She said dryly.

“Max?” He asked confused. “Are you friends with my son?”

Max didn’t understand why he was asking that, so she just slowly nodded. “Yeah... we hang out sometimes. Why?”

“He mentions you sometimes when he hangs out with his friends at my place. You know, that’s the only thing he does, hang out with those... he’s a good for nothing.” Max stood there shook at Luke’s words. She couldn’t understand how a father would talk about their son like that. Max turned her head and locked eyes with JJ, his face was facing down but is eyes were lock on you and his dad, like he was watching their every move carefully. “Come back at noon, your car is going to be ready by then.” He said without looking at her and throwing the ticket to her wich Max easily cought. She went back to JJ while he was watching his dad walk away, but then he came back to her and gave her a little smile. She did the same the turned around, making her way to the streets with a lot of questions on her mind.

Max was starting to get angry. Her state of shook passed after she played Luke’s words over and over again on her mind.

How could someone speak about their son like that? JJ is not a good for nothing! He is one of the best surfers is know! I would never admit it, but he is! Not so life changing skill, but he’s also a good blunt roller! That takes practice! And, to be honest, he’s an awesome friend, it didn’t matter that I know him only for the couple of weeks, but you could see that even from a far! Jesus!

Max didn’t understand why she was thinking so much about it, all she knew is that she was angry, and that’s not good. Sometimes, when she’s angry or annoyed, she can’t control the words that come out of her mouth. That’s why she would get a lot of detention in school, her incontrolable mouth.

She watched her phone to see the time and it was marking ‘12:15’ when she was quickly walking towards the workshop. She noticed JJ standing next to her white Jeep and Luke Maybank talking to another client.

“Is it done?” She asked once she arrived at the workshop. JJ looked up and a little smirk appeared on his face. He nodded. “Alright, we’re do I pay?”

“Cash?” Luke appeared next to Max and she turned her head to him.

“Yes.” She said dryly.

“What was it?” He asked to JJ.

“A tap was broken and it was starting to get lose, I changed it.” JJ said serious.

“Wait, did you fixed it?” Max asked pretended to be confused. JJ nodded and a little smile appeared on her face. She slowly turned to Luke while giving him an approval nod. “I guess he’s not a good for nothing after all, huh?” JJ’s eyes went wide open and Luke stood there without knowing what to say, but Max knew that he was starting to get angry, and deep down, Max liked that.

She gave him the money and once he walked away, a little proud smile appeared on her face.

“What was that?” JJ asked after getting closer to her. He seemed angry but worried at the same time.

“What was what?”

“That good for nothing thing?”

“He called you that when I left my car, and I just said that you’re not, what’s the big deal man?”

“Just...” JJ let out a big sighed and then continued more calmly. “I don’t need you to defend you with my dad, just don’t.”

“I guess that’s what friends do, defend each other.” Max said remembering the night at the party.

“This is different.” JJ shook his head. Max slowly nodded. “I just don’t want you to get...” JJ said but then stopped, looking around.

“You don’t want me to get what?” Max asked quickly.

“Just forget it, alright?” He asked and Max nodded confused. She understood that parents business are delicate and sometimes you don’t want to talk about, Max knew that perfectly. She knew that a lot of the times you just need to escape and not think about it, that’s when it hit her.

“Hey, are you free tonight?” She asked and a smirk appeared on JJ’s face.

“Are you inviting me on a date, Belinsky?” He asked pretending to be surprised.

Max pointed at JJ and then nodded. “There’s the JJ I know. No. I have something for us if you’re up for it, it envolves is being sneaky and if we’re not careful, we might get in trouble.”

“Princess, those are the perfect words to get me interested. What is it?”

“Tell me again why can’t we just sit down and be like two normal people watching the movie?” JJ said while Max and him were standing behind a tree.

“Because my bother won’t like the idea of me here and he will just leave.” Max said while popping her head trough the tree and looking for Cody.

“I still think this is stupid.”

“Hey! You have siblings?” Max asked after turning her head to JJ. He shook his head and Max nodded. “Yeah, then no opinion!”

“Alright! If you don’t mind, I’m going to sit down because my feet hurt like shit.” JJ said and proceeded to sit down next to the tree.

“There he is!” Max whispered and pointed at the crowd. Cody was walking with some popcorn on his hand while a girl was behind him. Max noticed that he let the girl choose where to sit and once she decided, he sat down next to her with their shoulders touching. “They’re definitely on a date!” JJ grabbed Max’s hand before pulling her down, making her go to the floor and sit down next to him. She opened her mouth surprised and then punched him in the arm. “Do that again and I’ll kill you!”

“First of all, ouch!” JJ grabbed his arm. “Second, I thought this idea was to be sneaky and you’re up there on everyone’s sight. I was just helping you.” He said but a little laugh escaped his mouth.

“Sure.” Max said sarcastically and then went back to where his brothers and the girl were. “I don’t know who she is. She’s definitely not from his group of friends.”

“She looks like a Kook.” JJ said.

“What? I don’t think my bro- you know what? Maybe now that I think about it.”

Music started playing from the big screen letting everyone know that the movie was starting. JJ let his back rest of the tree and Max turned to him. “Are you actually going to watch the movie?”

“Yes! We didn’t come here for nothing.”

“Nothing?! We’re here to make sure my brother doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“He’s an innocent little kid, what’s he gonna do? C’mon, relax princess! And enjoy the moment..” JJ said and was about to let his arm go around Max’s shoulders when she said quickly;

“Don’t do that unless you want to get punch again.”

“You know what?” JJ said while slowly moving his arm away from Max. “I like my arm, and I’ll keep my hands to myself.” JJ said and Max just nodded, satisfied with herself.

Max HATED to admit it, but JJ was right. Nothing was happening between Cody and the girl. No more than whispering to each other about the movie and letting out little laughs, like two new teenagers on their first date.

The movie was about to end so Max knew that it was time to go. So she grabbed JJ’s arm and pulled him up, he looked at her confused and then pointed at the movie.

“It’s about to finish!” He whispered.

“She takes the job and he goes to the airport to stop her. She then does the most stupid thing ever, refuses the job and settles with the guy on New York.” Max said quickly while walking away from the crowd.

“What?! Way to spoil the ending!”

“It’s a romantic movie, either one of them dies or they end up together.” Max said annoyed and JJ rolled his eyes.

“You’re so romantic it kills me.” He said sarcastically.

“C’mon, we’re almost on the street were they can’t see us..” Max said but when she took a step forward two tall guys walked in front of her. The Harriet twins were looking at JJ and Max with their arms across their chests. “What’s up dudes?” Max said calmly while the memories of that night at the Golf Club with JJ were coming back to her mind.

“What’s that James? What did the police told us? Two teenagers were the ones that trashed our stuff at the Golf Club?” One of them said. JJ and Max looked at each other pretending to be surprise.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, dude.”

“Yeah, but we gotta go, hope you’ll fine them tho!” Max said while grabbing JJ’s hand with the intention to walk away, but the twins got closer to them.

“Hey men, step the fuck away.” JJ said getting tired of the two tall guys in front of them.

“C’mon, don’t you think it’s a coincidence that the day before we talked to your Pogue friend and then we found our golf stuff broken and painted.” One of the Harriets said while getting closer to Max.

“That’s a great deduction my friend! You should be a detective!” JJ said.

“Yeah! Too bad you have no proof on us, because we didn’t do it. So, drop your bullshit so we can go.” Max said before looking around to make sure her little bother wasn’t looking at her.

“No can do, we have to hit you guys back.” The guy walked closer to Max but JJ quickly stood in front of her.

“You better think that twice, dude.” He said more angry and Max grabbed his arm. She looked to her side and covered her mouth surprised.

“Oh my god!” She yelled in horror and the three guys she had in front of her turned around to see what she was looking at. Max quickly grabbed JJ by his arm and pulled him away from the Harriets, he understood immediately and they started to run away from the annoying Kooks.

“Hey!” Max heard one of them say, but they were both long gone while letting out big laughs.

“This the second time I saved your ass from getting into a fight, you owned me dinner.” Max said after they made sure they were safe.

The beach was almost empty while the sun was going down. They were walking along the ocean while they feet were playing with the sand. Max had her boots on her hand, while JJ was trying to get his hair away from his face since after the run it got all messy, but surrendered after a couple of tries and figuring out it was a lost cause, his hair was always going to be messy.

“Sure, it’s a date then.” JJ said with a smirk on his face.

“No, no.” Max shake her head. “You buy me dinner and you go.” She shush him away with her hand.

“Not fair, dude!”

“Sorry, my rules.” She said and he let out a little laugh.

“Alright, I’ll do that if you admit something first.”

“What?”

“Admit that you over reacted about your brother seeing a girl. Deep down you knew it, you just wanted to hang out me because you secretly love me.”

“What?” She asked. “Keep dreaming, Maybank.”

“You’re so in love with me that it hurts you to admit it!” He grabbed her arm and started to shake it. “Don’t do this to yourself princess!”

Max quickly moved her arm away from JJ and punched his arm. “Don’t call me princess! I’m going to start calling you a dumbass.”

“You treat me like a dumbass so what’s new?” He jokingly ask and Max rolled her eyes. “Wait, no, you treat me like a punching bag, so call me punching bag if you want, princess.”

“Alright punching bag! You want another one?!” She said and JJ let out laugh.

“I can take it, dude.” He said more calmly and serious. Max furrowed her eyebrows, the way he said made her intrigued.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He said with a little smile.

The memory of Luke Maybank appeared on Max’s mind and she looked down. Like Max had trouble connecting Luke with JJ, she almost forgot that he had to live with him, that he had to live with such an awful and rude person, she didn’t knew anything about JJ’s life or house life, but the way he acted that morning around his dad, made Max wonder...

“Isn’t that your house?” JJ said taking Max away from her thoughts.

She turned around and looked at a familiar door. “Yeah, yeah, that’s it... Hey, thank you for doing this with me.”

“No problem, man. Hate it to admit it, but I have fun when I hang out with you... See? Nothing happens when you admit stuff.”

Max nodded and a little laugh escaped her mouth. “Not right now, but I will drag you around in everything I do if you have so much fun with me! Like groceries, work..” Max said to annoy JJ but he just let out a big smile.

“Fine! That sounds awesome, because knowing us we will probably end up running away from someone or almost causing a fight.”

“Yeah, probably...” she said with a smile. “Alright, see you when I see you... punching bag.” She saluted at him and he did the same.

“See you, princess.”

Max turned around and a little smile appeared on her face. She maybe was starting to like this princess nickname...

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[darth-mendax]

Mendax and the Wolffe: One-shot Fic

A/N: Yes, I made this a while ago, yes it’s dirty, and yes I did it for my enjoyment. I am sorry for making this.

WARNING: It’s a dirty fic, man. You know what you gotta watch for. Stay safe bois. Also, the clones are being nasty lil boys, especially Wolffe being feral

Word Count: 5k-ish

Pairing: Darth Mendax x Commander Wolffe, OC x Wolffe

Ahsoka, Maul and his new, previously Jedi love Eli, weren’t resting on the random forest planet when evening was approaching. Eli had decided to try and save a few new clones from the wrath of this new Empire born from Sidious. Cody was their first target, and were going to supposedly deliver him to Kenobi. I felt it wasn’t wise to bring Maul on that adventure, but Eli argued against my opinion. Wherever Eli went, Maul followed. Now, I was stuck sitting near a growing campfire and surrounded by a couple clones and their downed ships acting more as shelter. I’d only learned their names when we first got here a few days ago.

The clones were relatively easy to tell apart, thank the Maker. The only blonde there was Rex, formerly Captain of the 501st. He had a blonde buzzcut, a clean shave but stubble was close to growing in, and his legs looked like they could kick her head clean off.

 Next was a brash clone of the 501st named Fives, easy to pick out from the tattoo of the number five on his temple. He had short hair like Rex, only he had black hair, as well and a goatee like beard. He’d been injured badly, but he was healing relatively fast.

 Jesse was next, almost like a child of the 501st group (based on personality). He was playfully flirty to me at times, but overall, was like sunshine after rain. He had a large tattoo of the previous Galactic Republic on his bald head, and a 5 o'clock shadow. Like Fives, he was injured badly but was healing. 

Gregor, one of the few who survived relatively unscathed and a republic commando, was a bit shorter than his brothers. He had longer black hair that was neatly styled, and stubble growing in like Jesse. Rumor had it that his hair was much longer once. He was built like a boulder though, with large shoulders and seeming a bit thicker in build than his other brothers. His gentle nature contrasted his look greatly. 

Kix was probably the most average looking of all the clones, and their medic. Once in cryo after some mystery mission, got rescued by pirates a good while ago, now helping the injured that survived the Order. He had a short sort of haircut with black hair, and friendly brown eyes like the rest of his brothers. Only, his eyes seemed to be able to comfort anyone and managed to speak in the calmest voices possible. 

Echo had a messy sort of story, and his appearance made that possible. His skin was slightly lighter than the deep tan of his brothers, and he had darkened eye sockets, like he was constantly sick (though he was perfectly healthy). Multiple scars could be seen on his head in a particular pattern, and black hair was coming in like the crew cuts of Rex and Fives. He had a handprint on his armor, which made him stand out. He was also practically stuck by Fives’ side at all times, including around the campfire. 

The last one was Wolffe, the one clone I knew before the mess Order 66 had caused. He was very different from his brothers. He had a pink scar going over right eye, and in the eye socket was a white cybernetic eye (it made him almost seem like he was blind on that side). He had short black hair like many of his brothers there, but it looked most similar to Kix. He was probably the tallest, even if it was by little over an inch. He had a stubble shadow, like Jesse and Gregor. Like the wolves on Lothal, he was built to fight and it showed. His biceps were certainly the second largest, outranked by Gregor, and thighs able to crush skulls (if he wanted). Without his top half of armor on and relaxing in his blacks, there was the clear outline of abs on his waist. I wasn’t sure I picked that detail up. He nearly killed me when I first arrived with Maul, Eli, and Ahsoka. My eyes remained focused on the fire in front of me, memories flooding my brain.

It was done, the Order initiated and finished in only what seemed like an hour. My clothes were dirtied by dust and almost ratty. Maul was in his usual sith robe attire, minus the usual cloak that hid away his features. We were sitting at a small table in what was like a casual living room. Eli and Ahsoka were whispering to each other nearby, wiping away a few stray tears. This Order had killed many of their friends, and clones alike. Families were shattered and Sidious was to blame, me and Maul knew that for sure. Ahsoka nodded to Eli, and then walked up to the bridge of the ship. Eli fixed her neutral colored Jedi robes and turned to Maul. 

“Lucky for us, our ship is arriving at the safety rendezvous soon. I’d be wary of a few clones, they may think you’re against them so. . . don’t act too aggressive.” Maul leaned on the heel of his hand and gave an expression similar to someone raising an eyebrow. “Eli my dear, I’m constantly fueled by anger, driven by spite and revenge for years. Being aggressive is my personality.” I didn’t care to speak or include themselves in conversation. I simply hid in the hood of my Sith robe and remained silent. Eli turned to me, “Hey Mendax, there’s one guy who you’ll know once we arrive. Though I’m not sure he’d be the most happy to see you. Not the biggest fan of Sith still.”

“Don’t humor me. I’m not looking to make friends.” 

Eli scoffed, then rolled their eyes. “Alright, fine, sit and brood. But you better not say anything that will make you end up with blaster holes.” I chuckled, then looked Eli in the eye, “If that were to happen, I’d consider it a mercy.” The Jedi turned away and went to join Ahsoka Tano on the bridge. Maul sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I know you’re still hurting, I can sense it. . .”

“I just don’t understand. . . It feels cruel to live. To live in such darkness as overpowering as this. All the death he brought, to us, to the Jedi-”

“I know that’s not the real reason you’re upset, Mendax. . . Savage would want you to live on. He loved you, so dearly.” I was silent, then leaned on Maul’s shoulder. Maul slowly placed a gloved hand on my head. He wasn’t one to regularly give comforting touch, but this. . . this was nice. 

“Things will change now, and we’ll move past Sidious’ plans.”

When we were introduced, almost all the clones had aimed their guns at us. Wolffe seemed a bit hesitant to aim at me though, instead aiming at Maul. A few good sassy remarks were thrown, but we all agreed no more killing was needed. Wolffe still kept a close eye on me as days went on, however.

Jesse’s laughter tore me from my thoughts and into his conversation. All of the clones seemed happy, or amused. I glared at them and asked, “What’s so funny, boys?”

“Oh, nothing Mendax. We’re comparing body count and the comments made about us.” Body count? Was this a sick count of all the enemies killed? Fives made an impression of what sounded like a moan, then said, “Oh Fives, you know just how to please me!”

“No way! There’s no way you can please a woman with as rough as a hand like yours!” Nope, definitely not an enemy body count. 

My face felt a little hot once I’d realized. I guess I should’ve known that soldiers like clones had needs. They weren’t Jedi so sexual acts were more. . . allowed? Wolffe was the only one who wasn’t talking about who fucked the best or how many men or women they spent a night of pleasure with. Feeling a little bothered plus warmed by the fire, I removed the cloak from around my body. 

Fives was the first to try and get Wolffe to join in. “Hey, Wolffe! What’s your body count, hmm? I bet it’s a high one, what with the ‘rugged charm’ I’ve heard some women say about you.”

 Wolffe grunted, taking a drink from a small cup he held in one of his hands. Fives went on, “Grunting is not usually an acceptable answer to a question, Wolffe.” 

“It is now,” Wolffe replied, eyes landing on me as I sat across from him by the firepit. His gaze seemed to soften, and then he went back to staring at the contents in his cup. Fives decided not to push further, but rather turn to me. “And what about you, Mendax? Did the great Sith lord ever get any love?~”

“As much as I admire the Sith and their passions, we never really see many who use passion in a sense that they fight for someone. Most use passion more as ambition, seeking power and their way.”

“I asked if you had a boyfriend once, not your philosophies,” Fives said, rolling his eyes. I scoffed, and glared at him, “No, does that satisfy your curiosity? I had no one. All I had was Maul to oversee my progress and Savage to. . . to make me feel less lonely.”

“Define less lonely. . .” 

Jesse shoved Fives, “Shut up. She’s obviously never had a boyfriend.” Wolffe turned his gaze to me again; I couldn’t tell what emotion was behind his eyes. A few of the brothers muttered to each other, then turned to Wolffe. He caught on to the staring and sneered, “What?”

“So are you going to tell her, or. . .?” Wolffe gave a low growl at Kix. He practically barked at him, “Know your place, soldier. And stop your insane claims.” Kix held his arms up in surrender, and smiled, “Just saying, Commander.” Rex rolled his eyes, then lightly shook his head. Clearly, the captain was getting just as annoyed as Wolffe was at his men. I couldn’t really blame him. Darkness was swallowing the forest around us; Rex added more logs to keep the fire burning. 

“So, what’s the sleeping situation, boys? Since the generals and Maul are gone?” Gregor had asked, his meek voice coming through with the brief silence. Echo wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “I already figured it out for you.” He pointed at one of the ships, the largest one of them all. “That one will hold me, Fives, and Rex,” he said. Echo then pointed to the smaller ship next to it, saying, “That one there will be for you, Jesse, and Kix.” The smallest ship there was a simple cruiser, but good enough for a few people to live on, and it was the one Echo pointed to next. “That ship there is where Wolffe and Mendax will be,” he concluded. Rex started to snicker to himself, and tried to cover it with one of his gloved hands. “Something funny, Captain?” Wolffe asked. Rex replied, “No no, it’s nothing. Just laughing at the arrangements.”

“And why is that?”

“You’ll have a ship alone with Mendax. And I don’t want to ruin the moment for the two virgins.” 

Wolffe growled loudly at Rex’s comment, clenching the cup tightly in his hand. His voice lowered dangerously low, “How about you shut it, Captain? I’m sure you men would hate to see their leader suddenly get a black eye and busted lip.” Rex squinted at Wolffe, “You think your strength could save you there? You believe that you can take on the Captain of the 501st in a fist fight?” 

“Oh, I know it would. My squadron regularly fights in the dirt, so what makes you think this will end with you winning against me.” The two brothers got up and stood in front of each other, Wolffe glaring slightly down at Rex and teeth bared. Rex seemed relatively calm, but a sneer was forming on his features. “How about you prove it, Commander?” Rex challenged. Wolffe stiffened and clenched his fists tight. The two of them raised their fits, ready to fight then and there. Hearing enough banter, I got up and decided to stop the impending fight.

“SILENCE! If you keep bickering, I’ll give you all a good reason to shut up!” The flames of the fire flared, and burned bright for a few moments. Silence followed my shout, besides the cracking of the firewood.

 All the clones looked at me in shock, Jesse’s, Kix’s and Fives’ faces all slowly turned to smiles as they looked at Wolffe. He was staring at me, eyes wide and blinking as if he was processing what had happened. I could only imagine that my eyes changed, a little side effect of being Sith. If I was angry enough, they looked just like Maul’s. Rex sat down next to his men, “Sorry Sir.” I huffed, calming down and rubbing the back of my neck. Wolffe made a rumbly noise in the back of his throat, before stomping off. Gregor called out to him, “Where are you going, Wolffe?!” 

“To relax! And hit the refresher!” The rest of the clones made attempts to bring Wolffe back, but it was in vain. He’d already entered the ship, and disappeared from view. I sat back down by the fire, hearing the clones burst into some sort of shanty, and had their arms around each other’s shoulders. It was touching, to see them still act like family even after everything. It was almost like Order 66 didn’t happen. But it did. 

The moons of the planet were well in the sky, and it’d been nearly an hour since Wolffe went into the ship he and I would supposedly share. The fire was dying, as was the nightly commotion. There was less energy, less blood flowing through the clones’ veins. Growing restless of being quiet while the clones talked amongst themselves, I got up and put my cloak on. I mumbled, “Heading in for the night. . .” before trudging over to the shared ship. I stretched my limbs and back, beginning my walk towards the beds. There were at least five rooms, each one with a decently sized space and bed. Making my way down the hall, I passed by the way leading to the refresher. I paused, hearing that it was still on. “Wolffe must like long hot showers,” I thought to myself. I was about to walk on, when I heard quiet grunting, then what sounded like mumbling. 

“Mendax-” I heard, barely heard over the water running in the refresher. A few curses followed, and I felt a bit of panic. Did he hurt himself? Did he know I was here? I slowly walked through the small locker room, seeing Wolffe’s armor and blacks resting on a bench. Moving past them, I peeked into the refresher room.

 It was a line of refreshers in glass stalls on the opposite wall from the entrance. The floor was tile, leading into the locker room. Only one of the refreshers had their door closed, somewhat clouded up with steam. The amount of steam in the room made the air humid, and I was sure that my hair was starting to puff up with it. There was a towel on a hook nearby said refresher. Moving closer, but out of view, my face heated up as I looked at what was in front of me. 

Wolffe was still in the refresher, but certainly not injured. His eyes were screwed shut, brow furrowed and biting his bottom lip. He was naked of course, water washing over him and moving down his body. Leaning against one of the tile walls of the refresher, one of his arms rested against the wall he leaned against, and his other was in front of him. He had hair on his chest, leading down to a nice trimmed happy trail leading down to his cock, where his hand was a bit. . . busy. He groaned again, his hand wrapped around his cock and moving faster. Wolffe’s head leaned back against the tile, his mouth slightly open now as a soft moan past his lips. He was close, very close.

“Fuck- Mendax~, I want you so bad~. . . Make me feel so good.” Wolffe’s voice was lower by an octave or two, rumbling and lustful. 

I’d be lying if that didn’t cause some sort of feeling between my legs. He was so vulnerable, and definitely not bad to look at. We had had our differences before and were becoming something of friends, but this? It was a little unexpected. 

Scrambling to get away, I made the mistake of kicking his helmet. It made a clatter that echoed through the whole of the locker room. Ashamed that I’d be caught. I hid behind the small wall of lockers in the middle of the changing room. The noise of the refresher being on stopped, and there was silence. Very tense silence. I heard the sound of bare feet walking on the tile, moving to where Wolffe’s armor was. They stopped, and the silence returned. He was behind the lockers, where I was hiding. Suddenly the footsteps sounded like they moved away and out to the hallway. I quietly breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Slowly, I moved around closer to the refresher room and towards the edge of the locker wall. I peeked around, and looked for Wolffe. He wasn’t there, but his armor was still on the bench. That was odd. . . I turned back and collided with something solid and damp. 

I pulled away and found myself staring into a pair of eyes, one an amber like brown, and the other a pale cybernetic white. I froze, and felt immensely flustered. Wolffe had a towel wrapped low around his hips, the happy trail disappearing under the soft white cloth. A few droplets were still moving down Wolffe’s body, and he felt very warm, even just by being so close to him. His cheeks were reddened, and a blank expression on his face. I gulped, swallowing down my nervousness and composing myself. 

“What are you doing in here?” Wolffe asked, his voice low and rumbly like he was in the refresher. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms, “Was wondering why you were taking so long in the refresher.” Wolffe didn’t seem to buy my reasoning. He leaned down, trapping me with his hands on either side of my head. 

“Really? And you didn’t hear anything?” I shook my head, not bearing to look Wolffe in the eyes. “Liar,” he growled out. He knew, of course he knew. One of his hands grabbed my jaw and forced me to face him. 

“Look at me in the eye.” My eyes moved back to lock on Wolffe’s. His human eye was blown with lust, brown being swallowed by inky, hungry black. I found myself looking at his lips, and the feeling between my legs returned. Wolffe tilted my chin up, “I’ll be honest with you. When you said you’d give us a reason to shut up, my mind went to. ..  less than innocent ideas. And I couldn’t sit with them all when you were right there and looking so . . . delicious.” I let out an exhale through my nose, and dared to ask, “Like what? Hmm?”

Wolffe let out a guttural growl, and the hand holding my chin moved down to my neck. He gave a light squeeze as his lips moved to whisper in my ear. “I want you to shut me up and kiss me until I forget my fucking name. . . I want to swallow all of your moans into my mouth, know the taste of your lips. I want to feel your tongue, and maybe stop your snark for once.” My thighs were twitching with his words; he didn’t even stutter. My hands found their way on his back, and I raked my nails down the muscle. “Would you like that? Would you like to have me?” he asked. I quietly replied, “I’ve never wanted anything more than that right now. . . but I don’t know what to do. . .” 

“Then I’ll show you. . .” Wolffe’s hands found their way to my thighs and he picked me up with ease. He carried me down into the hallway and opened one of the doors leading to a bedroom. I was carried right to the bed, and the door closed behind him. It was doubtful that anyone would come barging in, so there was not much reason to lock it. He was already trying to take off my robes as he carried me, rushed kisses being pressed to my jawline. Wolffe was desperate, and the desire coursing through him was infectious.

His lips crashed against mine once my back hit the bed, and my legs were wrapped around his hips. They were softer than I anticipated, and much more intoxicating than I believed kisses should be. I felt drunk, limp as Wolffe pushed his tongue into my mouth and hands explored under my now messy robes. He made quick work of the top half of my clothing, almost ripped them in the process. Wolffe’s lips moved down to my neck; my head moved to the side so he had better access. A rumbling noise went through his chest like a building growl and  he bit down into the flesh of my neck. He bit hard enough that I whined at the pinching pain. My feeble attempts of squirming were stopped by the weight of Wolffe moving on top of me: one of his thighs between mine, and hands pinning my wrists down. The gesture of biting and leaving dark bruises on my neck was repeated until my neck and collarbones were littered with the marks like a night sky, varying in size and color. Taking his time and kissing back up to my mouth, Wolffe gave me a tender, sweet kiss.

When he pulled away, I felt cold and my lips felt like they were buzzing.  “I’ve wanted to do this for a while, in honesty. . .” Wolffe muttered, eyes looking over my face and his handiwork. His hands cradled my face lightly, like a feather caressing my skin. The innocence and purity of the gesture was lost when his thumb brushed over my lips and lightly tugged my bottom lip down. I opened my mouth and he pushed his thumb in, groaning as it was coated in my saliva. “Such a pretty little mouth,” he mumbled. 

Wolffe pulled his hand away, then moved to pull off my pants. He started breathing heavily once he had a glance at the mess between my legs. “Fuck, you’re soaking,” was what he said. Without another word, he pulled me to the edge of the bed and knelt between my legs. Moving them so they rested on his shoulders, Wolffe began to mark up my thighs just like my neck. The feeling between my legs was starting to become unbearable, and I was aching to be touched. “You know, you could stop teasing and get to the point,” I grumbled. Wolffe responded by a smack on my thigh, looking up at me. The scene in front of me was sinful, and I thought it was all a dream since it seemed too good to be true. 

“You want me to get to the point?” I nodded. 

“Then I won’t stop til you’re begging,” he replied before moving his head down. 

The feeling was heavenly, Wolffe’s tongue working through my folds and up to my clit. My hands found their way into his thick hair, tugging on his short black locks. He groaned at the action, then focused on working my clit. My body was twitching, and my back began to arch off of the bed. “Fuck- Oh Maker- Wolffe~!” were just a few of the words that spilled from my mouth out of pleasure. I tried to push him even closer, digging my heels into his muscular back and my thighs squeezing his head. It was almost embarrassingly fast how close I got in a matter of seconds, and my orgasm came with little warning. The pleasure was white hot, I felt like I was floating and my moans filled the room. Wolffe worked through it, and even a moment after I’d come down from the blissful high. My legs were twitching, and in the pale dim lights that were on in the room, I saw Wolffe look up at me with a smug look and my wetness on his chin. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, and hummed, “My assumption was correct, you do taste delicious.” I sighed and flopped back against the bed to catch my breath. 

“Maker above, that was nice. . .” Wolffe chuckled at my comment.

“It’ll get better.”

“Hm?” I looked down to see Wolffe taking off his towel and his cock ready for attention. He was big, as far as I could tell. Moving himself closer, Wolffe held onto my legs and I felt him nudge my core. “I’ll go slow, ok?” His voice was quiet and gentle again. I pulled him down into a quick kiss, and gave a soft smile. “I know you won’t hurt me,” I said. Wolffe gave a short nod and held onto my waist. He pushed himself in slowly, and his jaw clenched tightly as he did. A struggling groan came from his mouth, and was joined by a weak moan of mine. Once fully in, he was panting and practically laying on top of me. Wolffe was cursing under his breath, resting his forehead against mine. “This feels- mm fuck- way better than I imagined. . . Fuck me, you’re killing me over here,” he managed to rasp out. As if I wasn’t aroused enough, his praise pushed me even further. 

I held his face in my hands, watching as he looked at me with a half-lidded, dazed gaze. “You can move now,” I said. He didn’t move at first, and I was about to tell him again until he interrupted me. 

With a voice lowering a good few octaves, he asked, “You want me to move, pretty girl?”

“Y-yes.” My impatience was getting to me.

Wolffe gave a grin, “Then beg.” 

I could only assume I made a somewhat amusing shocked expression, because Wolffe chuckled. “You heard me, beg for me to move,” he said. I didn’t want to, at first. After all, I was a Sith and he was just a clone. I could’ve overpowered him and take control easily, yet I didn’t. My desire was getting the best of me, and I could barely move from underneath him. So I begged for Wolffe.

“Please- Please move, I need you.”

“Please who? What do you call me, sweetheart?” This was near torture at this point, but I went along.

“Please Sir. . . Please move~.” He smiled again, and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

“There’s my good girl~.”

 Wolffe moved slowly, but Maker did it feel great. The slow drag of him against my walls was enough to make me start digging my nails into his shoulders. He wasn’t patient though; soon he was sitting up and setting a brutal pace. I was moaning, loud enough to probably end up being heard from the hallway. Wolffe’s brow was furrowed, but the smug grin on his face told me that he was enjoying having power over me. “Moaning like a bitch for me, and I’m the only one who can do that, right?~ Only I can make you moan and desperately beg~.” I tried to growl at him, to try and show that I didn’t like the degradation. My body betrayed me, and I could only moan and try to move in response instead. He was growling and panting, keeping his pace and his gaze staying on me. “Look at you, covered in my marks and bites. Kriffing beautiful and all mine to look at~. All fucking mine~.” Given that biting seemed to be the way he showed his affection, it was no surprise that it came with possessiveness as well. When one of his hands came down to rub my clit, I was already close again.

“Maker- Wolffe, Sir- I’m so fucking close-”

“You close? You wanna make a mess all over my cock? You wanna beg for me to make you finish?” 

All of the pride and dignity I had was long gone by then, and of course I begged. Of course I said, “Yes, please! Please, Sir!” I was glad he was so merciful. He replied, “Now, you can finish.” And I did, shaking and grabbing at the sheets. I heard myself almost yelling, and I’m pretty sure I screamed out Wolffe’s name too. Wolffe’s pace stuttered, and began to get sloppy. Not a few moments later, he finished as well, spilling himself inside of me and throwing his head back in bliss. He made what sounded like a groan, or maybe he was biting back a moan. Either way, we were both very satisfied by the end. 

In a dazed and half awake state, we managed to fix ourselves under the sheets and get comfortable. I found myself clinging to Wolffe’s side, resting my head on his chest as his arm was wrapped around me. His thumb traced small circles into my back. A realization came to me that night; I’d fallen for him. Badly. I didn’t have the heart to tell him then, but I knew I would when the time was right. With fatigue pulling at my eyelids, I curled up next to Wolffe and slept soundly for the first time in a good while. 

Bonus:

The clones were heading to their ships for the night, but they made a decision to just crowd the ship farthest away from Mendax and Wolffe. In a crowded and simple room with bunks, the clones whispered to each other. “I told you it would happen, now pay up!” Fives whisper-yelled to Echo. Echo begrudgingly handed him a few credits, and huffed. Jesse was also passing credits in the dimness. Rex sat up slightly and rubbed his eyes, “Men, what are you doing?” Fives gave a half-hearted laugh, “I’m surprised you slept through it. Wolffe and Mendax just did the deed. I made a bet that they would do it tonight, so now the boys owe me. Well, except you and Gregor.” Fives looked over to Gregor, who was busy hiding his head under his pillow. “I think he’s scarred for life,” Jesse added. Kix interrupted, “Yeah yeah, you won. Now can we sleep?” “They should be done now,” Fives replied. Rex rolled his eyes and went back to sleep. 

“Go to bed, boys.”

“. . . Yes Sir.” 

There was a brief silence, and a moment of peace.

“. . . Should we tell them we heard?”

“No way, Jesse. They’d kill us.”

“. . . What if we told Maul and Eli when they get back, Fives?”

“They’d kill them, well, Maul would.”

Another silence.

“. . . Who do you think started it?”

“GO TO BED, BOYS!”

“Sorry, Rex. . .”

[neerasrealm]

would it be too much to request a part 2 to cody x demi!reader where cody takes y/n to the mansion with the intention of just introducing them to ej, only for them to meet the whole family (including slender and jack who DEFINITELY don’t think of themselves as y/n’s new fathers and TOTALLY don’t have the wedding planned and y/n’s new room converted and CERTAINLY are not starting to work on a nursery in hopes of becoming grandfathers)

please ignore everything in the parentheses 😂

YES YES YOU MAY XFHSGFSAGHDF I HAD A BLAST WRITING THIS FHDGDSH SLENDERFAM JUST EMBARRASSING CODY WAS SO FUN. That’s probably why this story is 6.4k words long AGDSHFGS

enjoy

‘’Hey, y/n?’’

You look up from your laptop and half-typed essay at your boyfriend. His name is Cody! And he has the softest honey-brown hair and dazzlingly bright green eyes. He’s standing in your doorway, leaning out from behind your door, with his hand holding his phone up to his ear. You tilt your head at him. 

‘’I uh- I was wondering if you’d like to come hang out with a friend of mine later? Just the three of us.’’

A friend? Cody- Cody told you he didn’t have friends. Odd. Maybe he made one! You smile at the thought and nod. ‘’Sure!’’ 

Cody smiles wide and nods. ‘’Yeah, yeah we’ll come!’’ he chirps into the phone, sounding excited. He disappears from view, behind the door, and closes it. From just outside your room you can hear him excitedly chattering to someone. You smile to yourself.

This essay can wait.

-----

‘’So how long have you had this...friend?’’

Cody looks up at you. The two of you are walking through a park- specifically, the park where you asked him to be your boyfriend. He’s wearing his regular track jacket, and has his hood pulled up. 

‘’Oh uh- y’know...a couple months…’’ he murmurs, scratching at his neck. ‘’You’ll like him! He’s a chill dude- just uh-’’ he fidgets a bit. ‘’He has a uh- a skin condition! So he wears a mask...try not to mention it, okay? He’s kinda insecure about it.’’

You nod. Oh- poor guy. You decide not to pry any further after that. Cody having a friend is rare, and you don’t want to scare them off. The two of you walk into the forest bordering the park and you look around nervously. It isn’t dark, just evening. But that’s really only a small comfort. Cody takes your hand and squeezes it, like he can tell you’re scared. The two of you eventually arrive in a clearing, away from any and all trails. You frown. ‘’Where are we?’’

‘’This is the spot where he said he’d meet us.’’ Cody murmurs. He looks around. ‘’Weird- he’s not normally la-’’

‘’Hey Cody.’’ a deep voice growls behind you. You yelp and jump in surprise, stumbling away. Cody does the same.

‘’Dude!’’ he yelps. ‘’Stop doing that!’’

You turn and look at the person behind you. Your eyes widen. He’s incredibly tall and dressed casually in sneakers, grey sweatpants and a black hoodie. Your eyes go to the face. He’s wearing a mask, as you expected. It’s blue, and the face is smooth and flat. The eyes are pitch black, with black splotches trickling down the eyes like tears. Fluffy auburn hair hangs over his masked face. He’s- calm. Docile. Just standing there casually with his hands in his pockets. His head slowly turns from Cody to you. His gaze- though he has no visible eyes, bores straight through you, making a cold shiver run down your spine.

‘’Sorry.’’ he grunts. Cody looks at you and gestures to the tall, masked guy.

‘’y/n...this is Jack. Jack, this is y/n.’’

Jack stares at you for a moment, then steps forward. You back up in fear. He pulls his hand from his pocket and holds it out to you. You stare. His hand is big, with sharp black nails that remind you of claws, and ashy grey skin. Right- skin condition. Not wanting to be rude, you take his hand and shake it.

‘’Nice to meet you.’’ Jack’s voice is soft, friendly. ‘’Sorry for scaring ya. I tend to do that…’’ he sounds so sad and apologetic- all fear melts away and you smile gently at him.

‘’It’s okay.’’ you pull your hand away. ‘’It’s a pleasure to me-’’ you stop when Jack holds a clawed finger up. He looks around, sniffing the air. Cody suddenly looks worried.

‘’Something wrong dude?’’

Jack pauses for a moment, then looks at a bush. He lurches toward it, then reaches in. You stare in confusion until-

‘’Hey! HEY!’’

‘’AGH- EJ GET OFF-!’’

Jack lifts two...young...boys...out of the bush. One of them is dressed in a white hoodie and ripped black jeans with converse sneakers. His messy black hair is tied back in a loose ponytail. The other is blonde, with tanned, faded skin and...pointed ears. He’s wearing a green sweater and blue jeans with brown boots. The two boys struggle in Jack’s grip until he steps back and drops them down on the ground. Cody stares in horror as this whole thing happens. 

‘’Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me-’’ you hear him whisper. You look from him to the two boys. The black haired boy grunts unhappily and rubs at his head. Looking at him more, you realise his skin is deathly pale. A white, barely pink colour, and his face has two jagged scars curling up from each corner of his mouth in a morbid smile. He looks up and blinks at you.

‘’Who’s the lab rat?’’

‘’They’re not a lab rat!’’ Cody spits.

‘’Food?’’ The blonde boy asks. His bright blue eyes look from you to Jack, who shakes his head.

‘’How’d you two sneak after me?’’ He asks, crouching down. ‘’How didn’t I smell ya?’’

‘’I took a shower.’’ the black haired boy says smugly.

‘’I stopped showering.’’ the blonde says, sounding proud.

‘’That explains it.’’ Jack stands up. You look at Cody and- oh. Oh god.

He looks angry. The angriest you’ve ever seen him. Angrier than that time a guy told you ‘demisexual isn’t a valid identity’. When that happened, Cody broke the guy’s nose and beat him into unconsciousness. You had to literally drag him away before he killed the poor guy! You look at the two kids in worry.

‘’What the FUCK,’’ His voice starts off soft and angry, only to turn into a furious bark. ‘’IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!’’ The four of you all flinch. Cody glares daggers at his friends. 

‘’Cody calm down-!’’ The blonde yelps.

‘’OH FUCK OFF BEN!’’ He marches forward, but Jack quickly gets in front of him and grips him by the shoulders. Cody glares up at the gentle giant, who very softly pets his head.

‘’Ssshhhh…’’ He shushes. ‘’Go to your happy place, X.’’

Cody’s glare hardens. He inhales sharply, closes his eyes and then- flops...against Jack’s chest. Jack rubs circles into his back. That’s- that’s exactly what you do with him when he's angry- there’s no way Jack has only known him for a few months. 

‘’...Babes...?’’ you very gently and very carefully ask. Cody shifts, looking at you. ‘’Uh- so...who’re these guys…?’’

Cody stands back up and sighs. He gestures to the two terrified looking boys. ‘’y/n...these are Jeff and Ben...my-’’ he hesitates. ‘’My brothers.’’

‘’Brothers?’’ you look at the two boys. They’re on the ground, holding each other. They blink at you.

‘’Babes?’’ The black haired boy asks. He looks at Cody, then at you. His mouth opens. ‘’Wait!’’ he jumps to his feet and runs at you. You stumble back as he invades all of your personal space. Up close, you can see he has a green eye and a brown eye, and that his skin is...burnt. ‘’You’re y/n?!’’

‘’I literally just called them that.’’ Cody mutters. ‘’That’s Jeff. He’s dumb. Be patient with him.’’

Jeff steps back away from you. He looks you over for a few seconds. ‘’I like ‘em,’’ he says, glancing at Cody. He looks back at you. ‘’Your taste in guys sucks though. I mean- Cody? Really?’’

‘’Jeff I am going to kill you.’’

You laugh, half out of anxiety and half out of actual amusement. This is weird. So weird. Very weird. ‘’You- never mentioned brothers…’’ you murmur. Cody glances at you, then the others.

‘’Uh- give- give us a second.’’ he mutters before walking toward you and pulling you into the bushes and behind a tree. You stare at him, surprised. 

‘’What’s going on?’’

‘’I’ve...been lying to you.’’

‘’Again?’’ you stare up at him, confused. He winces.

‘’Yes...again- but it’s for a good reason this time!’’ he takes a deep breath. ‘’I...I wasn’t homeless. I actually live- or- lived, here in the woods. With Jeff, Jack and Ben.’’ he tilts his head at you to make sure you’re following. You nod for him to continue. ‘’We all lived together with...our dad. He- adopted us all. A lot of us- our dad he um-’’ he fiddles nervously with his hands. ‘’He’s...not human.’’

‘’E-’’ your eyes widen. ‘’Excuse me what?’’ not human. Not Human. NOT HUMAN?!

‘’He’s um-’’ Cody smiles sheepishly at you. ‘’He’s an eldritch monster with no face who likes to bake muffins and read sci-fi novels?’’ Your mind blanks. Literally. You’ve been reduced to a windows error screen but in human form. Cody tilts his head at you and smiles wider. ‘’...sweetheart…?’’

‘’What the fuck…’’ you whisper softly. ‘’How- how did you- why did you let him adopt you?’’

‘’He’s a good dad!’’ Cody says quickly. ‘’Listen- I know it’s a lot but…’’ he takes your hands in his. His hands feel soft, they’re good hands, hands that have carried out genius experiments and held you gently late at night. ‘’A lot of us in the house...we look up to him. He gave us a home, a new life. A lot of us...we didn’t have good lives, but Slender tried to fix that for us.’’ he smiles gently. ‘’Jeff came from a home where he wasn’t loved. Ben- Ben is a ghost...he drowned when he was twelve. Jack was a human, but now he’s a demon. We’ve all gravitated to each other. It isn’t the most functional home, but it’s the closest thing we have to one. Nobody judges anybody, and everybody treats us like we matter. Like we’re loved.’’ his hands squeeze yours. ‘’I know it’s a lot...and it’s scary...but they’re my family, just like you are.’’

You gulp. It’s silent for a few moments. ‘’...Nobody will hurt me?’’

‘’I won’t let them.’’

‘’...then I wanna meet him.’’

‘’Huh?’’ Cody looks confused.

‘’Your dad. And everyone else.’’ you smile at him. It’s your turn to squeeze his hands. 

‘’Like- right- right now?’’ he asks. You nod. Cody looks from you, to the clearing where the others are still waiting. ‘’...well- I- I guess.’’

He pulls you back to the clearing and looks at his three...siblings. 

‘’Good news everyone! y/n wants to meet dad!’’

‘’Really?’’ Jack turns to look at you.

‘’Are they crazy or somethin’?’’ Jeff asks.

‘’Ohh this is gonna be fun…’’ Ben murmurs with a smile.

Cody glares at them. He sighs. ‘’I told them everything. They wanna meet dad so they’re gonna meet dad.’’

‘’Dude! You gave my deep-seated traumas to another person without my asking?’’ Jeff exclaims. ‘’Rude!’’

Cody rolls his eyes and begins walking deeper into the forest. ‘’You’ll have plenty of time to drop your emotional baggage on us later!’’ he calls back. 

-----

‘’So I had Silver lock me in the closet and I had to speedrun the game without even looking at the screen!’’ Ben exclaims. His bright blue eyes are full of excitement as he tells you about his various speedrunning misadventures. He’s been talking you ear off for the better part of fifteen minutes while the five of you trek through the woods. He’s a sweet kid, honestly, and you’d feel bad cutting him off. You honestly never expected a ghost to be so...lively.

‘’Hold up!’’ you all suddenly stop as Jeff holds his hand out, blocking you from walking any further. He turns and grins at you. ‘’Watch this.’’ he steps backwards, holding a finger up in the air. ‘’Now ya see me-!’’ he steps backwards and suddenly disappears from view. You stare in shock.

‘’...and now ya don’t.’’ Ben finishes for him. Cody rolls his eyes. 

‘’H-how-’’ your brain scrambles to find an explanation for Jeff just- disappearing. A trick of the light? Mirrors? Maybe a projector hidden in the trees? Jeff’s head appears again, his upper body just- floats there. He grins even wider.

‘’Cool huh?’’

‘’How are- how are you-’’ you squint. Ben laughs next to you and steps forward. He disappears just as Jeff did. The white-skinned boy winks at you and disappears once more. You look at Cody for an explanation. Jack nudges you and you turn to him. He points a clawed finger at the ground. Your gaze follows his finger and you look at the ground. There’s...mushrooms. You arch your brow, confused.

‘’You know what that is?’’ EJ asks, leaning down slightly to look at you properly. You shake your head. ‘’It’s a fae circle. Also known as the entrance to the realm of the fae.’’ he looks at you.

‘’Like...fairies…?’’

EJ nods. ‘’This one’s special though. Dad set it up to keep the house hidden. You can only enter if you’re a fae, or you have the family marking. Of course you’re human, and don’t have the marking, so Cody’ll just pull you through.’’ you can hear him smiling in his voice as he explains. He stands up and steps toward the line of mushrooms. As he steps over it, he disappears from your sight. His hand appears again, and gestures for the two of you to follow. Cody takes your hand in his. He looks at you.

"Ready?"

You nod at him. "Ready."

Cody steps backwards toward the mushrooms. He holds both your hands, keeping his eyes on you. He disappears beneath the veil as he crosses, becoming nothing but some disembodied arms. You step over the mushrooms and-

"Oh my god-!" 

Everything just- appears. Suddenly you're standing in a sunny clearing bordered by bushes and tall trees, and standing in the centre is a gigantic house. Practically a mansion. It looks old, but welcoming. The front yard is decorated with various bushes, a flower patch, a set of monkey bars, and a tall fruit tree with a tire swing hanging off one of the branches. I say fruit tree, because just by looking you can see it's growing apples, cherries, avocados, oranges and bananas. Bananas- can't even grow in this climate what-

"Cool huh?" Cody murmurs next to you with a small smile. You grin. 

"Yeah…" you murmur. Cody squeezes your hand and walks toward the mansion. "You should've told me you lived in such a fancy pla-" you're interrupted by the loud barking of a dog. You look over to your left and see the biggest dog you've ever seen in your life, poking its head around the corner of the house. It has deep red fur, with some spots of orange and...hair. It has a long mane of messy black hair running from the top of its head and down its back. 

"Smile! C'mere boy!" You hear Jeff call. You look over your shoulder and watch the massive dog bound over to the short boy. The dog leaps at him, knocking him to the ground and licking him while its tail wags happily. 

"What...what is that…?" You ask, pointing at the dog.

"That's Smile." Cody says. "Jeff's pet hell-hound. He's a good boy, don't worry."

You nod. Smile barks again and turns to you. He grins wide and suddenly bounds toward you. You yelp and stumble back in fear.

"Down!" Cody barks (pun fully intended) at the dog. Smile skids to a halt. "Sit." He says firmly. Smile sits down obediently, his grin dropping. Now you know why they call the dog 'smile'. Cody grabs your wrist and gently guides it toward Smile. The massive dog sniffs your palm ever so gently. Cody lets go of your wrist and you reach up toward Smile, who lowers his head to let you pet him. You grin. 

"Well hey there," you coo. "Aren't you a cutie?" 

Smile lets out a happy yap and steps forward, butting his massive head against your body. You laugh and hug his head, scratching his neck just below where his spiked collar is. 

"Cody!! Ye're home!" You hear a young, peppy voice call. You look over just in time to see Cody grin and crouch down to hug the young girl running towards him. Her hair is short and blonde, and she's wearing a black and white striped shirt, along with grey overalls, ankle boots and a pirate hat. Cody stands up, lifting the girl in his arms. She pulls away and grins at him. Getting a better look at her, you see that she has reddish brown skin that seemingly glints in the light. Her hair isn't blonde, in fact, it fades to red towards the ends, like fire. Her eyes are a bright eye-catching gold. On the sides of her head are two small, red horns that curve inwards. "Ya didn't tell us ye'd be visitin'!" 

Cody laughs a bit. "Well I wasn't really planning it." he murmurs, casting a look at Jeff and Ben as they walk up to join you. Cody sets down the girl and looks at you. ‘’Slendra, I want you to meet someone,’’ he gestures to you. The girl, Slendra, looks up at you with big golden eyes. She looks surprised. ‘’This is y/n.’’

She gasps. ‘’The y/n?!’’ her eyes widen and she grins. She hops over to you excitedly and curtsies. ‘’It’s great ta meet ya! Cody told us aaaallll about you!’’ 

You laugh a bit and crouch down to her. ‘’He did, did he?’’ you give her a sly smile, glancing up at Cody. His cheeks flush red and he glares at you. Slendra giggles.

‘’Yep.’’ she rocks on her heels as she speaks. ‘’Once when he was crushing on you he told us that he wanted to-’’

‘’Avast ye landlubbers!’’ Slendra is interrupted by another young voice. You look up and see a young girl in a pirate costume with a pink skirt. Her hair is brown and frizzy, and her green eyes glare at you and the others with a playful scowl. She...floats, toward you all, her eyes locked on you as you stand up. She stops and points her toy cutlass at you. ‘’Who be this scallywag?’’

‘’Sally, this i-’’

‘’y/n, fearsome pirate of the seven seas!’’ you interrupt with a grin. Cody looks at you in surprise. The girl, Sally, gasps.

‘’The dreaded pirate captain y/n?! Stealer of brother’s hearts?!’’ she cries. You laugh and nod.

‘’The very same.’’

Sally lowers her cutlass and smiles, pleased with you for playing along so easily. She walks toward you and holds out her hand. ‘’Sally Dawn, pirate queen of four of the seven seas.’’ 

You take her hand and shake it. ‘’y/n, stealer of older brothers,’’ you smirk and lean into her. ‘’Sorry for stealing Cody away, but his booty was too good to pass up.’’ you quietly add with a wink. Sally laughs loudly and lets go of your hand. EJ laughs quietly behind you and opens the front door. 

‘’You gonna invite your date inside, Cody?’’ he asks. Cody rolls his eyes. 

‘’Course I am.’’ he mutters. It goes silent, with everyone just...staring at Cody. ‘’What?’’

‘’I’m waiting for you and y/n to go in.’’ EJ shrugs.

‘’Why do we have to go in first?’’ Cody replies defensively. You frown.

‘’You scared of somethin’, X?’’ Jeff asks with a smirk.

‘’Like...dad seeing y/n and freaking out?’’ Ben adds with an even wider, cheesier smirk.

"N-No…" Cody mutters. "I just- y'know-" he fidgets, trying to come up with an excuse. You smirk a bit, stand up, and stride right past Cody and into the mansion. 

Inside is massive. The walls are a pleasant blue, and when you step out of the small entrance area, you're greeted by a massive living room. There's two black, leather couches, a few single armchairs and some bean bags, all facing a massive TV. The walls are decorated with photos, and in a few of them you can see Cody, EJ and the others, along with people you haven't even met yet. 

"Hey guys." Someone greets you as the others come inside to join you. Laying on the couch, holding the TV remote aloft, is a young man. His hair is a light brown colour, and swoops over one of his eyes. He wears glasses, a grey jacket, blue jeans, and a black shirt with the logo of some band you've never heard of before. He sits up a bit, cocking a brow curiously. "who's this?"

"Cody's partner." Sally chimes in as she floats into the mansion. She's hovering, and slightly transparent. Oh. She’s a ghost. Well okay then.

The guy on the couch smirks and stands up. He's taller than you expected him to be. He walks across the room and extends his hand. "Liu Woods. Nice to meet you."

You smile and take his hand, shaking it. "y/n." You say. 

He tilts his head, looking at Cody. "You didn't tell us you'd be bringing them over."

"I wasn't planning on it but your brother decided to stalk EJ and ruin my plans." He gestures to Jeff, who holds his hands up defensively. 

"Hey don't look at me! I was just taking Smile for a walk and he picked up Cody's scent!" Jeff replies defensively, gesturing at his pet hellhound. Smile looks almost offended at the accusation. Liu laughs a bit. 

"Sure bro, I believe you." He murmurs, turning and walking toward the couch again. "So is y/n gonna meet dad?"

"Yup…"

Liu chuckles. "That's gonna be fun."

"Why is it such a big deal…?" You ask. Everyone is hyping up 'dad' so much it's- kind of unnerving. Ben leans out from behind Smile and gives you a devious grin.

"He's gonna flip his shiiiiit." He says softly. Cody huffs and strides past you. 

"It's no big deal! I'm gonna go tell dad I'm here, then casually mention y/n and just- introduce them! No big deal!" He turns and looks at you. "Just- wait here, ok? I'll sort eeeeverything ou-"

As if on cue, the door behind Cody swings open. Out of it leans a gigantic, horrifying creature. It's incredibly thin and tall, with white skin. It has no face at all, just a smooth white head. It's dressed in a proper black suit, and over it...a frilly pink apron. 

"Kids, dinner is ready."

Oh. So this is dad. 

Cody whirls around immediately. "D-dad!" He exclaims. The creature looks surprised. 

"Cody!" The creature steps out from the kitchen and walks over to Cody, yanking him into a tight hug. "Oh, it's so lovely to see you! You didn't tell us you'd be coming over! I would have gone out and bought some fresh fish for your dinner." The creature's voice is deep and elegant, but speaks exactly like a doting mother. Cody squirms in the hug and eventually gets released from it.

"Haha, yeahhh...sorry about that uh- well you see I uh-" he fidgets, the creature staring at him with nonexistent eyes. "I brought someone with me."

The creature's head snaps up and stares right at you. You gulp. "N-Now I know what you're thinking!" Cody exclaims. "I should've warned you before bringing in someone new, you guys should've put on disguises and stuff but- well it's a funny story really I was just gonna show em EJ but then Jeff and Ben were in a bush and-" the creature's head lowers, looking down at Cody. He looks over his shoulder at you, gesturing for you to come closer.

You cross the room and stand beside Cody. He takes your hand in one of his, and grips your shoulder with the other. "This...is y/n. The person I'm dating." you both stare up at him in anticipation. Cody looks worried. ‘’Dad…?’’ 

‘’Cody…’’ The creature’s voice is soft, and almost threatening in tone. ‘’You are...the stupidest person I have ever met!’’ 

‘’Ow!’’ The creature lightly smacks the top of Cody’s head. He rubs at the spot and glares up at his father. ‘’I told you, it wasn’t planned, it just happened! Calm down!’’

‘’Honestly Cody! I would have cleaned! I would have put on a good tie, made everyone dress up and put disguises on! You don’t want us scaring them!’’ the creature gestures to you, then around the general room. ‘’This place is a mess! What kind of first impression am I supposed to make in this pigsty?!’’

Cody mutters something to himself and looks at you. You gulp and look at the creature, its hand on its hips, glaring down at Cody. You force a smile and bow a bit. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.’’ you say gently. It stops and looks down at you, seemingly surprised. 

‘’Oh dear- I’m so sorry, where are my manners?’’ the creature holds out a large, white hand. You notice a small, silver ring on its ring finger. Without hesitation, you take the hand and shake it. ‘’I’m Slender, Cody’s father. I’m so sorry you had to see this place in such a state.’’ 

‘’I think it’s lovely,’’ you say with a soft smile. ‘’And I think your tie is very nice.’’

Slender withdraws his hand and seems to smile despite his lack of features. ‘’Oh, so polite…’’ he murmurs, sounding like he’s fond of you already. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you. Cody told us all about you.’’ he laughs gently. ‘’You’re even prettier than how he described you!’’

You smile nervously and laugh a bit. ‘’Oh- well thank you, sir.’’

He shakes his head. ‘’Please, just call me Slender, dear. No need for formalities. You’re family.’’ Slender clasps his hands together and tilts his head at you. ‘’You two must be staying for dinner, yes?’’

‘’Uh- actually we ate befo-’’ Cody tries to cut in, but Slender has already taken your wrist in his hand. 

‘’Great! You like beef, I assume?’’ he asks. You force a polite smile and nod. Slender pushes open the kitchen door and pulls you inside. ‘’Jack, we have a guest!’’

The second you step into the kitchen, your eyes go to the one person sitting at the kitchen table. They’re wearing a grey crop top, bandages around their hands and torso and feathered shoulder pads. Their sleeves, socks and cone shaped nose are all striped black and white. They turn and look at you.

‘’Eh?’’ the...clown? You assume they’re a clown- squints. 

‘’Jack, dear, this is y/n! Cody’s partner!’’ Slender gestures to you enthusiastically.

‘’It’s a pleasu-’’ before you have a chance to properly greet the strange clown man, he climbs off his chair and quickly walks over to you. Jack leans down, sticking his face right into yours. You stumble back, only to be caught by Cody as he’s entering the room. You force a polite smile. ‘’H-Hi?’’ 

"...so ye're Cody's da'e, eh?"

You nod. "Yes sir." 

"...ye scared 'f clowns, kiddo?"

"Only ones with cockney accents." You say. Jack's stern expression softens and turns into a grin. He stands back up and laughs loudly. 

"I like this one!" He cries. Slender laughs gently above you. Jack grabs your wrist, much like Slender did, and yanks you. "C'mon, take a sea'. Yous're stayin' fer dinner, ain'tcha?" 

You can't understand half the things Jack is saying because of his unbelievably thick accent, but you just smile and nod as you take a seat. Cody sits down next to you. You reach over and give his hand a reassuring squeeze while the others sit down. The kitchen table is huge- how many people live here?

"So yous two're livin' t'gether?" Jack asks. You nod.

"Yeah, on campus. I'm studying chemical engineering."

"So you're both scientists," you hear Slender say. You look over your shoulder and see him tending to a large metal pot by the stove. Behind him, more of the black tendrils you saw earlier are pouring dog food into a large bowl for Smile. "That's wonderful."

"And ye're smar'. Tha's real good." Jack adds, looking at you like he's examining you. Cody rolls his eyes.

"Ignore them, they're old fashioned and still think I need their permission to date." He mutters. Jack laughs. 

"Well we like y/n, so yous don' 'ave ta worry abou' bein' broken apar'." He winks at you and grins. Cody sighs. 

"Hey Slender," Liu speaks up. "Where's Tim? He'll wanna see Cody I'm sure," you notice he, Jeff and Ben all have sly smiles on their faces. "And meet y/n."

You glance at Cody. He looks pale, panicky. You frown. "Oh, he went out to get his prescriptions and some other things. I'm sure he'll be home soon." Slender replies like nothing is wrong. Cody looks like he really, really doesn't want to be here. 

"Who's Tim?" You ask quietly. Cody gulps.

"He's-" he's interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. His head snaps to the kitchen door. He looks utterly horrified. 

You wait in silent anticipation for whoever it is. Your mind is racing. Tim must be terrifying if Cody is scared of him. You're picturing someone large, muscular, with eyes that can bore straight through you. Someone who would crush a man's skull without hesitation. Someone who-

"Hey guys." The kitchen door opens and in walks a short, stocky man with black hair, sideburns and stubble. He's wearing an old flannel shirt, and holding a paper bag in one hand. He walks past the table, not really giving anybody a second glance.

"Hi Tim." The other kids chorus. 

Oh. This is Tim. He doesn't look bad- he seems quite friendly. You watch him set the bag down on the kitchen island and rummage through it.

"Slender, I got a couple of the things you mentioned we needed," he says. "And also a box of donuts, for later." He turns and smiles at the table. His eyes finally fall on you and he blinks, then smiles a small bit. "Oh hey. Who's the newbie?" He glances at Jack for explanation. The clown grins. Before he can answer though, Cody shoots up out of his seat and whirls around.

"H-Heeeey Tim." He sounds like he's trying so hard to be cheerful, and it isn't working at all. Tim gives Cody a surprised smile.

"Hey kid," He tilts his head and walks toward Cody. "I didn't know you were comin' over."

"Heheh- yeah it wasn't uh- wasn't planned-" Cody fidgets nervously. Tim glances at you again. He can probably tell you and Cody are connected. ‘’How have you been? It’s been a while eheh-’’

‘’Good…’’ Tim folds his arms, tilting his head. ‘’Who’s your friend?’’ he nods at you

Cody gulps and glances at you before looking at Tim again. ‘’This is...y/n. My uh- partner.’’

Tim’s eyes widen almost comically. His head snaps to you and he stares. You gulp. Oh. Oh. Tim suddenly doesn’t look friendly anymore, he looks like he could crush a man’s skull without hesitation.

‘’...oh.’’

‘’Is that okay?’’

Tim shrugs. ‘’Yeah, yeah, perfectly fine. Of course that’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be fine?’’ his tone of voice tells you nothing is fine. Slender laughs gently like none of this is awkward or weird. 

‘’Calm down Tim. y/n is very nice! They’re smart, they’re funny, they-’’

‘’They made Cody move in with them without even talking to us first.’’ Tim cuts in. Cody whines.

‘’It wasn’t like I had a choice! They didn’t even know about you all until less than an hour ago!’’

‘’Oh, thanks Cody, good to know you care about me.’’

‘’Oh my gooood-!’’ Cody slams his face into his hands. ‘’This is why I only wanted y/n to meet EJ…’’

Before Tim can give another angry retort, Slender puts a hand on his shoulder. ‘’Tim, why don’t you sit down?’’ he says gently. Tim glares at him like he killed his loved ones before sitting down. Cody sits between you two, keeping you safe from Tim’s wrath. Slender puts a large plate in front of you. It’s loaded with mashed potatoes, corn, carrots and meat of some kind. You grab your fork and cut the meat off the small bone it’s attached to. It looks to be ribs of some kind. You cut the meat in half, and take a bite.

The taste is unlike anything you’ve ever had before. It’s definitely beef, but the flavor is almost overwhelming. It melts in your mouth and covers your lips in a glaze of grease and leftover sauce. The sauce is tangy and rich, and very faintly you can taste wine. ‘’Mmmm-!’’

Your involuntary hum of delight is followed by laughter from around the table. Except for Tim, who rolls his eyes and mutters something about table manners. Slender laughs and pats your head. ‘’Eat as much as you’d like, pet. There’s plenty to go around.’’

You smile a bit and keep eating. Even if you had food before coming here, you’re definitely not letting any of this go to waste. It goes silent as you all eat. Even Tim has calmed down. Just as you’re finishing off the deliciously sweet carrots, Slender speaks up again. ‘’So y/n, how much longer will you be in college?’’

‘’Oh uh-’’ you shrug. ‘’I have finals in a couple months, then I’ll only have my final year left.’’ you smile at him. He nods.

‘’I see...a year should be long enough.’’

‘’Long enough for what…?’’ you frown and tilt your head.

‘’To put your room together of course!’’ Slender chirps. Cody starts choking on corn next to you. ‘’After college you’ll probably be moving out of your dorm, and we have plenty of room here. You are family after all.’’

‘’D-dad-!’’ Cody speaks up next to you. ‘’Me and y/n haven’t even talked about that- wh-what if they wanna live outside with like- y’know- normal people?’’

‘’We are normal people, Cody.’’ Slender retorts. 

‘’G-guys-’’ you cut in before a fight can begin at the dinner table. You smile at Slender. ‘’I’m flattered at the offer- that’s very kind of you. We’ll think it over,’’ you glance at Cody. ‘’Right babe?’’

‘’Don’t call him that.’’ Tim cuts in. Cody rolls his eyes, but gives you a nod. 

‘’Sure.’’

‘’So ‘ow long exac’ly ‘ave you’s been’ da’in’?’’ Jack asks.

‘’Oh uh- a couple months. We’ve known each other a while,’’ you smile. ‘’It’s a funny story really, the first time I met him was in the campus library. We reached for the same book at the same time.’’ you glance at Cody and smirk. 

‘’Tha’s real cheesy.’’ Jack murmurs.

‘’But it’s sweet,’’ Slender adds. ‘’Makes me remember the first time we met…’’ his face flushes a grey colour. Jack laughs gently and squeezes his hand. Cody rolls his eyes. 

‘’Speakin’ of me an’ Slen,’’ the clown looks at you. ‘’When’s th’ weddin’?’’

‘’DAD-!’’ Cody yelps.

‘’There isn’t gonna be one if I have anything to say about it.’’ Tim mutters. You gulp. Oh. The faceless monster wants you to marry his son. You fidget nervously and look to Cody for help.

‘’We haven’t- we haven’t even thought about that yet!’’ he yelps, sounding as embarrassed as you feel. ‘’I mean- what’s next, you’re gonna ask me for grandkids?!’’

‘’We were planning that yes.’’ Slender doesn’t even sound like he’s joking. ‘’We can convert one of the spare rooms into a nursery! We might have to move someone to a different floor though…’’ 

Tim glares at you from behind Cody. ‘’Touch him and you die.’’ 

‘’I know this lovely place by Lake Charles where we could hold the wedding. Me and Jack got married there back in ‘98, you remember that don’t you dear?’’ he glances at Jack.

‘’I remember th’ dress…’’ Jack smiles fondly. You’re- not even going to question that. Cody sighs. 

‘’We’ll think about it…’’ he mutters. Clearly, he’s given up. ‘’But no grandkids! Not yet!’’ 

"Fine. But I'm still putting the baby name books in your room. They're taking up too much space in my office anyway."

Cody rolls his eyes and sits back in his seat with a huff. He reaches over and grabs your wrist. "May we be excused?"

"You're done eating?" Slender glances at both your plates.

"We'll take the leftovers home." Cody responds quickly. Slender sighs and nods.

"You may."

Cody pulls you up out of your seat and towards the backdoor. The two of you step out into the backyard. It's starting to get dark now, and a chilly breeze blows past you both. Cody sighs gently and leans against the wall, rubbing at his face tiredly.

"You okay?" You ask gently. He nods.

"Yeah just-" he purses his lips, frustrated. "I'm sorry my family's so...weird. I really wanted you to like them and have a good first impression of everybody."

You tilt your head. "I do like them."

He looks up at you. "...you do?" He frowns. "They're not- y'know- weird? You aren't freaking out?" 

"Oh no they're super weird and I'm definitely freaking out I mean- you have three dads and one of them is a clown, not to mention Tim is fucking terrifying but-" you pause and smile at him. "They're really nice people...and they love you, just as much as I do." You move closer to him. "Plus...they already consider me family so- I don't think I have a choice but to like them."

Cody stares at you for a moment, then cracks a smile. He laughs gently, relieved. "...thank fuck." He murmurs with a smile. He holds out an arm. "C'mere."

You move over to him and rest against him, letting him hug you. You snuggle up against his chest. He feels warm, and safe. His lips brush against the top of your head. "I love you." He murmurs. "I'm...glad you like them."

It's quiet then. Just the two of you enjoying the warmth of the moment. 

"Ey, luv birds." Aaand it's been interrupted. You look up and over at LJ, leaning out the backdoor. "Slen wants ta know if yous're stayin' th' nigh'." He gives you both a sly smile. Cody exhales softly and looks down at you, cocking a brow to ask what you wanna do. You smile up at him.

"Sure pops. I guess we could stay."

[queenrhaenyra1025]

Golden

I’m going to be doing a “series” kind of thing for Cody’s characters. Each thing will be based on a song from Fine Line by Harry Styles. This one is about Golden, obviously. Leave requests, they are always open.

Xavier Plympton x Reader

Summary: Xavier meets the reader in 2019 and falls in love instantly. However, she is scared to start anything with him.

Words: <900

After a recent breakup, you and your friends decided to go on a bit of a road trip for the summer. They felt the right medicine for a broken heart was some open air and adventure. They weren’t entirely wrong. You found yourself smiling more than you had in the previous month and your mind was clear for the first time in weeks.

The other girls wanted to travel to California and visit unknown tourist attractions, to avoid too many people. You had decided on Camp Redwood, the location of two mass murders. The others were a little hesitant until you showed them the pictures and they were hooked on the beauty of the lake. They wanted to swim and tan, while you were focused on touring the grounds, admiring the time capsule of the 80s. 

Xavier found himself walking the grounds as he always did these days. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been at Camp Redwood. He had stopped keeping track after the first few years. A gut feeling was telling him it had been a long time since the 80s. No one ever visited anymore, the history of the place losing its appeal. He was bored, no one to kill, no one to entertain him, no aerobics. That was until he noticed a girl wandering the area he frequented.

Xavier had been ready to share his life with someone else the second Montana found Trevor again. He had hoped someone would come to the camp who was worthy enough to spend forever with him. As he spotted you, he decided that’s exactly who you were. All he had to do now was get you to fall in love with him.

You found yourself admiring the colors of the leaves when a branch breaking caught your attention. “Hello? Who’s there?”

A blonde boy dressed in tight shorts and a gray shirt stepped out of the clearing. “Oh, hi! Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m not used to other people being in my daily walking area.” He smiled and you swore he looked a little familiar, like the very back of your brain was hiding information about him.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was at this camp. I thought it was just me and my friends.” The blonde boy stepped near you and you began to notice just how out of date his clothing was. What kind of guy wore short shorts anymore?

“Yeah, I’m always here. Don’t let me get in your guys' way of having some fun.” He flashed you a smile despite your confused look. What did he mean he was always here? Was he like the groundskeeper or something?

“Well, I’ll see you around beautiful. Oh, and the name’s Xavier by the way.” You still couldn’t put your finger on where he seemed familiar from, but before you could figure it out, he was disappearing into the trees again.

The next morning before breakfast, you decided to head back to the same spot and see if you could spot Xavier again. For some reason, this blonde headed boy caught your attention and you couldn’t understand why. He seemed like a mystery you were dying to solve.

“Back so soon darling. Didn’t know you would miss me that much?” A familiar voice greeted you from behind. Turning around, he was wearing the same exact outfit as the day before. Everything looked exactly the same, as a picture.

“Yeah. I was just...I don’t know. Maybe I was thinking we could hang out or spend some time together?” 

“Like a date?” He smirked and your heart nearly leaped out of your chest.

“NO! Um...no. Not a date, just two people hanging out as friends maybe.” Nice catch.

“So we’re friends already? One step closer to making you mine I guess.” He was rather flirty and it was not doing well with your face. You were pretty sure this blush had been on your cheeks since the second he showed up.

“Listen, Xavier, I’m not ready for any type of relationship. I just got out of a pretty bad breakup, so I’m still getting over it.” 

“Well, we’ll see about that...” He trailed off and started leading the way on our little walk, not before offering his arm for me to loop mine through. He was rather sweet, and if you were being honest, you had thought about what it would be like to be with him. However, it wasn’t time for that. You had to focus on getting over your ex, not jump right into a new relationship.

Xavier stopped near the lake and unlooped your arms. He seemed a little nervous but you took it as it just being early in the morning. “Listen Y/N. I never want to hurt you, ever. But, I think you’re the one I want to spend forever with and you can’t do that if you’re still alive.”

“Wait...What the fuck are you talking about Xavier? If I’m still alive? What does that mean?” You started backing away slowly, trying to discreetly gain some space between the two of you.

“It means, I knew you would never agree to this on your own. I need you to be with me and I can’t have it any other way. I’m sorry.” He seemed to almost be in tears before he brandished a knife and everything disappeared.

[heavymetalover]

Heart-Shaped Box (Michael Langdon x fem reader)

Summary: On your way out of the Satanic church, you and an inexperienced Michael share an intimate encounter.

Warnings: smut, dirty talk, slow burn, choking, oral sex (female receiving), sassy reader.

Word count: 3.4k

A/N: thanks to everyone in the ahs/cody fan base for being so kind and reading my shitty writing :) youre all dope mfs

i only did minimal editing so i hope there arent too many mistakes !!

~~~~

You exhale a long sigh when hanging up your cloak in the empty church. You take in the atmosphere of the church; you’re going to miss being a Satanist. You finally felt like you belonged somewhere, felt like you finally had a home, but things changed once Michael came along. Everyone was on their toes, trying to one-up each other, it was first grade all over again and everybody was the teacher’s pet. Part of you blames yourself for succumbing to the desire of having external support, your own little dysfunctional family. But you blame Michael. He ruined everything for you, and you didn’t want to be apart of his crusade.

You take a seat on the first bench, observing your surroundings for the last time. The mood lighting from the lit-up candles, curtains hanging on either side, the walls painted an ominous blood red, the upside-down cross hanging above the alter… God you’ll miss this place.

Dress shoes click on the polished wooden floors and you stand from your seat, preparing to bolt without having to engage in conversation about why you’re leaving. You know the rest of the members would give you great shame for not kissing Michael’s ass. Fuck him. Fuck the people at this church. They all claim to be different, evil, but they’re just like God-fearing Christians. As soon as their “saviour” came, they kissed his feet. Not you.

You brush past the person who walked in, keeping your eyes glued onto the floors. They grab your arm and you stop, still not turning around to look at them. A sick feeling turning in your stomach suspects you already know who it is. “It’s… y/n, right?” the man asks. His indistinguishable smooth voice sings your name like a lullaby and your heart drops. He hasn’t said two words to you before, the closest you’ve gotten to speaking with him is exchanging glacial stares, so how did he know your name?

“Michael,” you reply. “Sorry, uh, Mr. Langdon,” you redress him. “How do you know my name?”

“You can call me Michael,” he says, “I like to know all the people who have been worshipping my father.” He pulls you by the lacey fabric of your dress, trying to turn you to meet his gaze. You spin around and hold your head high. His body is twisted towards you, carrying himself confidently. He doesn’t scare you, even if he is a head taller than you... and the antichrist.

Your eyes meet his, the candles in the room give him an intimate lighting on his porcelain skin. His blonde feathered hair done to perfection, as always. The princess always has to look damn good, doesn’t he?

“What’re you thinking about?” he asks, cutting your observation short. You open your mouth to speak, but he holds up his finger. “Let me guess… coming up with an excuse on why you just hung up your cloak and were about to leave my father’s church,” he guesses.

You’d rather affirm his assumption than explain what you were actually thinking about. Of course everyone in the church had a crush on Michael, but they openly admitted it. You’re a little more stubborn. You hold your hands up in vanquish, “You got me.” You walk backwards, hoping to leave the conversation as is. “I should head out then,” you add, but Michael takes a step toward you with every step you take back. You stop, annoyed by his tenacity. Maybe he’s more like you than you thought.

“And why is it that you’re leaving?” his voice is surprisingly warm. “I’m not what you expected I’d be? Unsatisfied with my leadership?”

Michael’s never grovelled for anything, not even a lousy reply; you smile at his zeal. “I just don’t want to swim too close to… a drowning man,” you respond, hesitantly choosing your words.

“Oh?” the word immediately slips from his lips, an eyebrow cocked. He turns around to the alter, his silky black cloak flowing behind him. Michael reaches under the podium to grab a chalice and a bottle of merlot. A little inside joke your church had, mocking the blood of Christ in Catholic churches. He fills the glass with wine and hands it over to you, “A drowning man, huh? Did I strike a nerve?”

You take a sip of the bitter beverage, somehow the flavour is both pleasant and unpleasant. When you look at him as he awaits your answer and meet his deep blue eyes, it’s hard for you to answer truthfully. “Nope, no nerves struck,” you lie, taking another big gulp.

“You’re not a very good liar,” he quips. He takes a step back from you and walks around the benches, your eyes follow him around the room. Dragging his feet across the floor, eyeing up the church just as you were. Even as he’s just being observant and not really doing anything, Michael holds a certain hostility to his presence. “What have I done to displease you? I’d like to know,” his voice echoes.

You glance around the room for anything to save you, he’s stopped in his tracks to watch you squirm under his influence. You look at the exit of the room, then back at Michael. “Look, I was just planning on leaving,” you explain with a passive shrug.

He steps away from the exit. “You can if you’d like. I’m only curious… and I wouldn’t want you leaving my father’s church on a bad note,” he answers. He walks towards you and you back up closer to the alter, it feels like he’s intentionally closing in on you to make you feel threatened. You won’t let it work. “Again, just so there are no animosities,” his voice is lower, “what have I done?”

You take the last sip of wine, realizing your lips haven’t parted from the glass for nearly the entire time. It’s much easier to tolerate Michael with a drink in your hand. Although you could easily put it back under the podium, you decide to hand the empty cup back to Michael. At first his eyebrows furrow in confusion, then a moment passes and his lips twist into a cunning smile. If he wants to act dominating, you will too. “You know where that goes,” he says in a mere whisper.

“So do you,” you retort, the alcohol giving you an extra boost of courage.

He walks past you, brushing you with his cloak as he goes and ignoring the cup you hold out to him. You smile to yourself, biting your lip from calling him stubborn. You thought that you were the most obstinate person you’d ever know, but Michael might take the cake. Two can play at that game; you purposely put your cup in the wrong spot.

Michael takes a seat on the alter, still waiting for your response. You sit across him on the first church bench. “It’s not anything you’ve done, it’s what you’re not doing,” you finally respond. He stops fiddling with the pentagram necklace hanging on his chest to glare at you, you got his attention. “Oh, please,” you roll your eyes, “I haven’t seen so much angst in a grown man, you’re practically a child.”

He scoffs. “I don’t think you’d speak with that conviction if you knew what I’ve been through,” he spits.

“Obviously losing people isn’t fair, but you’re literally the antichrist and you’re hiding behind the fact that your friend died,” you rebuttal. You shiver at the thought of all your losses, now this church is also going to be added to the list.

He’s shaking his head, dismissively rolling his eyes at you in dissatisfaction. He’s so much like you, it makes you hate him even more. This boils your blood; maybe it’s the alcohol, but his bullheadedness is sending you over the edge. Before he can answer, you want to ruffle his feathers a little more. “I can’t take over the world because my friend died and daddy doesn’t love me, boohoo,” you tease. “Grow up, we’ve all lost people.”

He takes a moment before responding to you, his eyes trailing down your body in disgust. You freeze under his stare. Then his frigid gaze falls back onto yours. “Maybe you’re just too stupid to realize how miserable you should be,” he responds callously, “Does a dumb harlot like you have no bounds?”

You clutch your legs together, his blistering words cause a tingling in your core; he’s never spoken to anyone like this before. Michael can come across as a contemptuous dick, but he’s never purposely been disrespectful. You try to answer him quickly, making sure he doesn’t notice that he knocked the wind out of you. “I’m far from a harlot, Mr. Langdon,” you keep yourself composed. “Tell me, with everybody’s heads up your ass, do your shits just fall out?”

You’re rewarded with a laugh. “You’re a snappy little thing,” his voice is small.

“I’m merely a confident woman refusing to kiss your ass.”

“You’re merely a confident woman who squeezes her legs together when being degraded by a man,” he barks back, no uncertainty in his voice, “I see how you tense up every time I’m around. Every time you’re on your knees praying to my father, praying to me.” You cement in your seat by his sudden bitterness, taken aback by his personality change. “You’re ashamed of your sexual desires, pretend to be a pure flower, but deep down an insatiable little whore.” Baffled by his vulgarity, your mouth opens to respond, but no words come out. You’ve never been muted by the words of another person, it irks you. He dusts off some of his cloak, still sitting pretty like he hadn’t broken his customary tone. “Have I made an erroneous observation, y/n?” he asks, still refusing to look at you.

Your first instinct is to shrug, but he doesn’t see. He finally stops tending to his clothing and pays attention to you again. You feel a smirk stretch across your lips without your consent, almost like a dark entity moving through you. You’re done trying to piss him off, you want to try something else. “Okay, I’m a whore… and?” you challenge him. He cocks his head in confusion. “I don’t see your hands under that cloak, how do I know you’re not relieving some of your own tension?” your voice drops seductively.

“Impossible,” he snaps.

“Impossible,” you mock him. “Why?”

“Because there is no tension,” he explains, shifting in his seat. You don’t reply, you just watch him uncomfortably try to adjust to the situation. Frustration washing over him when you don’t give him the satisfaction of a response, he stands from his seat. You follow suit.

You step closer to him, his eyes locked onto the floors but find yours in an instant. The cerulean lit by the dancing flames of the candles beside him. You’re only inches apart from each other, Michael makes no effort to step away. “Maybe I was wrong about you, Michael,” you whisper. You take another step closer to him, his body lightly grazing yours. He leans into you, pressing his pelvis against your belly. “Maybe all you need is a good fuck,” you bite your lip.

You feel him growing hard against you. He raises an eyebrow. “How are you doing this to me?” his voice is softer than before.

You exhale a laugh almost mockingly. “You don’t need to question it, Michael. Just find the courage to reach out…” your voice low. You run your hands down your body and lightly massage your breasts, a soft moan escapes your lips, “and touch.”

He leans down, his full lips press against yours. You feel him fumbling, so you take the lead. Giving gentle kisses and slowly making them deeper, you run your fingers through his luxurious blonde locks, pulling slightly. He follows your lead, his hands caressing your back and pulling your body into his even tighter. It takes Michael only a few moments to learn how to kiss before he wants to devour you.

His kisses become aggressive and his tongue pushes its way into your mouth. Regularly you’d enjoy being dominated in such a way, but you’re not letting yourself lose control over Michael. You liked having him at your fingertips.

You pull away from his burning hot body and walk to the other side of the alter. He freezes in place, collecting himself from the kiss. You smirk at the lipstick you’ve stained on his mouth. “Did I do something wrong?” he questions.

You shake your head, “No.” He steps towards you again, reaching out to you for more like a bratty toddler. “No more touching,” you order, “and I want you on your knees.”

He grins. “Aaand what makes you think that you’re in charge?” he asks.

“Because you want pussy,” you suggest. He laughs sardonically and you feel your heart sink into your chest. “Seriously, I think you need to learn to be a bit more flexible with your superiority.”

He pushes some of your hair behind your ear and you shift your head to the side, trying to enforce your no touching rule. “I don’t bend,” he retorts.

You step back from him and reach under your dress to shimmy off your panties. He watches your every movement, greedy to have more of you. “Well, everybody knows what happens to things that don’t bend,” you shove your panties in his mouth.

He spits them out. “I’m the fucking antichrist,” he seethes.

“A shitty one at that,” you spit back.

The force of his hand suddenly gripping your throat hitches your breath. Your hands grab his and he squeezes your neck tighter. “You think I’d take orders from a doe-eyed harlot like you?” his blood boiling. You feel yourself soaking from his words, recalling a sick fantasy you’ve had about this exact situation that you’ve concealed deep in your subconscious.

“Then just kill me,” you test his bluff. Now might not be the best time, but you have nothing else to lose. “Do it,” you press.

He squeezes harder one last time before his hand goes limp along with any faith you had in him. You try to discreetly gasp for air, taking in sharper breaths. “That’s what I thought,” you tease him even more. His nostrils flare out in anger and it makes you smile to yourself.

“Show me,” he lowly moans.

You take a seat on the first church bench, still trying to regulate your breathing. “Show you what?”

“Everything.”

You lean back on the bench and he takes a seat on the alter in front of you. You shake your head; a part of you just wants to leave now and be done with the church, be done with him. But a greater part of you wants to taste every inch of his body. To stick around and feel Michael inside you. This part dominates you, and again you feel yourself being possessed by the dark entity.

You reach down and brush your leg with your fingertips, taunting him by lifting the fabric of your dress only to let it drop back to your shins. “You want a peak?” you ask him. He doesn’t say a word; he only watches your hands. You take his silence as admission to reveal yourself to him.

You squeeze your legs together and lift up your dress, opening your legs up to expose your drenched cunt. Michael drops to his knees in defeat, crawling closer to you on all fours. His necklace hangs in front of him, oscillating like a pendulum. He comes so close that you feel his warm breath against your thighs, intensifying the tingling, rather sending an ache through your core.

When your fingers make contact with your throbbing clit, you let out a deep moan. Giving yourself one last rub before withdrawing your hand from your dripping pussy, you suck yourself off of each finger. Michael only watches you, no longer wanting to reach out in momentary greed.

“Do you want to taste it?” you breathe.

“I do,” his voice is faltering, no longer sounding menacing, instead overflowing with lure.

You lift your legs onto the bench, spreading them as wide as you can. “Then show me how hungry that pretty mouth of yours is.”

He starts on your thighs, wasting no time with each open-mouthed kiss he gives. His mouth inches from your pussy, he disregards it to suck on your thigh. You gasp at his hostility, fervently sucking on the inside of your thigh and leaving a love bite. It makes you want to question where he learnt to do that.

He lays his tongue flat on the entirety of your aching cunt, his lips wrapped around yours and he sucks on your folds. You try keeping in your moans, but they escape bit by bit. You feel yourself getting lost with each lick and every suck brings you closer to God. “Michael,” you groan his name.

He buries his tongue deep into you and a moan escapes your chest, you arch your back and impulsively try to close your legs. He pushes your legs apart again and continues to eat you as if you were his last meal. His moans vibrating into your sensitive cunt sends goosebumps all throughout your body.

Your breath gets caught in your throat as you feel yourself starting to come. “Micha-” you can’t finish saying his name, you interrupt yourself with a pornographic moan. Your moans echo through the church, it crosses your mind that the people walking by this cheap backwater building could probably hear you as well. You don’t care, if anything, the uncertainty turns you on even more.

You come undone, screaming all the moans you were previously neglecting. Michael’s glossy eyes look up to you, begging for your come. “You’re so fucking good,” you sigh, your fingers pulling his hair again. The way his tongue ravages your cunt restores the modicum of faith you had in him, if only he brought the same kind of dedication to world sovereignty.  

You try to even out your breathing, but fail every time he gives an unexpected lick. Your legs are trembling, you feel your whole body acting on every little whim. Even the sounds you’re making refuse to be silenced. You’re no longer in control of your own actions. You grind yourself on his face and he presses your hips hard against the bench, putting you in your place for messing up his rhythm. You finally feel yourself coming onto him, screaming his name one last time. Continuing to ride out the transitory ecstasy, your pussy incoherently spews your juices and Michael attempts to drink down every drop he can.

The wetness from your soaked cunt pools on the bench, but Michael ignores it to finish off with gentle kisses along your thighs again. “Michael, please fuck me,” you hear yourself beg. Even if the tables have turned and now it’s you pleading for him, you’re too detached to care. “Fuck me like the whore I am,” you continue, emotionally divorced from the words leaving your lips, the only goal is to appear irresistible to him.  

“No,” he responds, wiping your lipstick from his mouth. You study his expression hard, now wondering if it was you that had done something wrong. Why wouldn’t he want to fuck you? You’ve gotten this far… “Y/n, just because we came this far, doesn’t mean we have to rush things,” he explains.

You shut your legs, “Did you just hear my thoughts?”

You’re both interrupted by somebody entering the room; the priest of your church, Hannah, saunters in wearing her red robe. Your visceral reaction is to stand from your seat, but Michael stays on his knees. You step away from the bench, leaving behind the mess you two made. “What’re you doing here?” she asks.

“Just leaving,” you mutter, beelining to the door before anybody can stop you. A voice booms in your head, not your own, but Michael’s. His familiar, smooth voice leaves you a message. Tomorrow. Same place, same time. I’ll give you what you need.

You want to question how he can project himself into your head, too, but it would be redundant to keep inquiring his powers. You look back, he doesn’t pay you attention, he’s busy putting your cup back under the podium. You smile to yourself while exiting the church.  

[crybabycounselor]

She was probably overreacting about all this, right? I mean, her brother getting married and having a kid soon wasn’t that big of a deal, was it?

Truth be told, Elise didn’t really know what to think about all this. She swore she was fine at first, and it’s not like she didn’t want them to get married. She was happy for them, honest!

And yet...

She hummed to herself as she grabbed an apple slice from her lunch bag, breaking the soft crab apple slice in half before she munched on it behind the stairwell outside in the school’s courtyard.

It was yet another chilly day, pretty much all of the summer weather had long gone by now, and the cloudy skies blocked out all the sunshine, making for a grim looking start to October.

On each side she had Otis and Robin, each of them getting into their own lunches. Otis brought a reuben sandwich from home, while Robin seemed to have some sort of veggie wrap. 

Robin looked different than she did in the summer, her hair was chopped off, her arms scarred with burns, but she was relieved to see the color back in her complexion. Although, it was still jarring to see her without the blonde bob, despite the incident being months behind them, now.

She sighed as she looked back up at the grey sky, watching as the breeze picked up a few golden orange leaves with it. Otis leaned forward and drummed his fingertips on the top of Elise’s hand.

“Yo, Khal, is everything okay over there?” he asked, catching her attention. Robin gave him a confused expression, but no answer was to ever come up. Tragic.

Elise drew her knees in, leaning her head over to the side, letting her wavy brown locks fall to her side. “I...” She sighed, “I dunno, honestly”

“Did something happen?” Robin asked around a bite of her wrap before she immedietely went in for another.

Elise tapped her toe on the pavement, letting out a strained hum. Otis’s expression fell, “You know you can tell us anything, right?”

Elise’s voice croaked, “I-I mean, yeah, I know, it’s just... Mmm...” She buried her face in her knees, now loosely lacing her index fingers together by her ankles.

Otis patted her back, and Robin nodded her head, “is it...” She leaned in close, “girl stuff?”

Elise lifted her face to look up at Robin with her brows knitted together in concern, “Uhh, nooo.”

She drug her lunch bag over to her side, grabbing the bag of chips David had packed in for her, “Do you guys ever feel like things are just... Moving too fast?”

“What do you mean?” Otis asked. 

Elise looked up at the sky, watching the wind make the clouds dance above them, “I dunno, it feels like the summer just... came and went... And now it’s fall, and Halloween is in a few weeks, and the year’s basically almost over, and next fall we’ll be seniors, and Cody and Octavia are getting and having that kid, an-”

“Woah woah woah woah WOAH. Hold up- Is that’s what’s bothering you?” Otis asked, turning towards Elise.

Elise’s brows knit together, but she didn’t answer the question.

“Is it, like, pre-wedding jitters or something? Or the fact they’re having a kid this soon?”

Elise tapped her fingertip on her knee, “W-well, uh...”

Robin chimed in, “I get what you mean. It does feel like everything’s moving too fast, and the fact that your brother’s laying this math test on us isn’t helping, huh?”

Elise looked over at Robin, blinking at her.

“Oh geez,” Otis said under his breath before her leaned onto Elise. “I think you’re, like, mentally overworked. There’s a lot happening in such a short amount of time, and school’s only been in session for like a month, and you’re supposed to be the flower girl at their wedding and everything, right?”

Elise pursed her lips, “I-I guess?”

She tucked her head back into her knees, “I dunno, Otie... I don’t know if it’s so much about everything happening in general, but...”

She rests her temple on her knee now, looking up at him, “I feel like with everything happening so fast, I’m getting left behind...”

Otis blinked at her, and Elise sighed and closed her eyes. “Well, it feels like with everything going on, I’m just left on the sidelines... Like everyone’s already growing up, getting married, having kids, graduating, and... I’m still the same little kid everyone sees me as...”

Otis let out a concerned hum, and Robin patted her back.

“I mean, I’m sixteen. I’m going to be a senior next year, I’m supposed to be driving by now!! But my dumbass is too fucking scared to even get inthe passenger’s seat!!! Everybody’s marching forward and I’m... I feel like I’m just slacking behind everyone else...”

Elise grabbed an apple slice, her lids lowering as she inspected it.

“What happens when I do graduate? Am I just going to go to college looking like a freshman? Maybe I’ll get lucky and people will confuse me for a High School Sophmore instead...”

Otis rubbed her back, “Come on, now... So what if you’re a late bloomer? I mean, you remember how much my voice cracked when I was in middle school? Everybody kept calling me Darwin, for fucks sake!!”

Elise sighed.

“Look, Elise... There’s nothing wrong with, well... Growing slower than others... I know you’ll catch up... Eventually...”

Elise’s lips pursed and she whined into her knees, and Otis puffed his cheeks awkwardly.

Robin tapped Elise’s forehead, “well, maaaybe we could all take Driver’s ED together? It might be less scarier if we all go together, and then you’ll ‘catch up’ in a sense, y’know?”

Elise lifted her head, looking up at Robin with wide eyes. “You’d... You’d take Driver’s ED with me? Really?”

Robin nodded, and Otis chimed in, “Yeah!! We can all study together after school, and I’m sure there’s a lotta people at camp that’ll help you practice on the weekends!!”

Elise smiled before pulling both of them into a hug, “Awww, you guuuuuuys!!”

The two of them hugged her back, but it was cut short by the school bell going off. Otis huffed, “Shit, we better get back inside. I’ll meetup with you two in last period, okay?”

Elise nodded, slinging her backpack onto her back, “Yeye!! I’ll let Cody know about Driver’s ED after class ends. See y’all soon!!”

[evabellasworld]

Road Trip AU

For Star Wars POC Week 2020

Day 6: AU Day

AO3 Link

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Summary:  Rex, Cody, Wolffe, Fox, Bly, Ponds, Tori, Odd Eye, Gowon, Mayyah, and Ares were heading on a road trip to a campsite. Along the way, they found themselves with a stowaway and a different route than what they intended.

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Packing her suitcase, Tori grabbed her clothes and her toiletries that she organized inside a clear pouch, which has proven to be useful for the clone commander. She sealed her bag and headed out of her cabin that she shared with her brothers and sisters, hopping inside the van that Cody rented out.

"Are we ready to leave, Codes?" she asked, jittering. "I'm already done with my stuff and shit."

"We're still waiting for Odd Eye," Rex grumbled. "Apparently, she's still packing up her horror novels and shit."

"That long? How many books does she need to bring?"

"She can never have enough horror novels," Gowon gave her comments. "You know how much Odd Eye is a sucker for scary stuff."

"But that many though?" Tori raised her eyebrows. "We're only going on a road trip, that's all."

"Yeah, a fun road trip," Cody deadpanned, glaring at Wollfe, who was admiring himself in the mirror, much to Tori and Mayyah's dismay. 

"Can we not fight?" Mayyah slapped his shoulder lightly. "This is a family vacation, and we need to have fun, okay?"

"Whatever," Fox rolled his eyes, his eyes glued to his datapad, settling some of his things from work. 

As they all stood there in front of their van, Odd Eye rushed out of the door, dragging two suitcases with her hands, leaving their eyes widened. 

"That's a lot of stuff you're bringing," Gowon pointed out. "You know we're only going on a road trip, right?"

"I am aware of that," Odd Eye replied. "Which is why I'm bringing the entire collection of Lovecraft's novels."

"Are you even able to finish his entire collection?" Ares gestured. "It'll take weeks, you know."

"I'm a fast reader, Ares, so yeah, that's why I bring all of them."

As Cody hopped into the driver's seat, Tori was about to call shotgun when Pond occupied the seat. "Sorry, Tor. I'm holding the map so you need to sit at the back."

"Fuck you!" she cussed as she sat in the middle of the van with Gowon, Odd Eye, Mayyah, Rex and Ares, who got to sit beside the sliding door. Meanwhile, Bly was stuck between Fox and Wolffe, who were the grumpiest among the command batches. He wishes to sit beside Ares instead.

"Are we all ready to go?" Wolffe asked. "Or did anyone forget something?"

"Uh, I think we're good," Bly answered. "Now come on, let's get moving."

The van drove off from the cabin, heading towards the tarred road. Odd Eye grabbed her notebook from her sling bag and jotted down her own story that she made up while Gowon read her book about butterflies. Tori, on the other hand, had to tolerate Rex, who's constantly poking her puffy cheeks.

"Rex, can you please stop?" she scolded him. "I am trying to play 'Among Us' with the girls."

"But your cheeks are so squishy," he defended himself, pinching her cheeks. "I just want to squeeze them until it pops."

"I will break your fingers if you don't stop," she threatened, giving him a death glare.

"Well go for it, Tori. I dare you to break my fingers."

"Can you not?" Mayyah stopped them. "I'm trying to have a good time here."

"But it's so boring. We've been on this road for hours already."

"Don't be a drama king, Rexy. It's only been twenty minutes."

"Hey guys," Odd Eye stops writing. "I'm trying to write here."

"No one cares about your writing," Rex stuck his tongue. "You're annoying."

"Well go fuck yourself, oh wait, you have a rash."

"Well, fuck you, Odd Eye."

"Fuck you too, you-"

"Oh my god," Cody sighed in resignation. "Why can't we have a dainty, relaxing family vacation just for once?"

Ares could only snicker as she was fixated on her phone, watching her favourite girl group performing on stage. She could say something, but at the same time, she finds their bickering music to her ears.

Wolffe, on the other hand, had his headphones on the entire time while Fox was still settling his paperwork on his datapad, much to Bly's chagrin. He wanted to initiate a conversation between his brothers, but they seem to be in a terrible mood all the time.

"So, anyone wants to play I, Spy?"

Ares gave a thumbs up and smiled.

"I'm not playing," Fox told them, rubbing his temples. 

"Okay then, I spy something that is green, and it's not a tree."

"Okay," Tori scratched the back of her head, searching for a green object when she came across an Eden green hair clip on Gowon's platinum blonde hair. "It's the hair clip, right?"

He nodded. “Yes, it’s the hair clip.”

“Okay, my turn,” Mayyah joined in. “I spy, with my little eye, something that is made out of paper?”

“A map,” Ponds answered. “It’s the map.”

“No, it’s not the map, Ponds.”

“Is it Odd Eye’s notebook, cause that’s the only thing here that is made out of paper?”

“I’m terrible at playing games.”

“This game is so boring,” Rex complained. “Are we even there yet?”

“No, Rex,” Cody assured him. “We have like 100 kilometres more to go before we arrived at our camping site.”

He folded his hands as he leaned closer to Tori, who pushed him aside. He looked at the time on his watch and groaned again. He didn’t bring anything except his phone to entertain himself during the road trip and now regrets everything that he packed in his bag. “Are we there yet?”

“No, Rex,” Ponds replied. “We’re not there yet.”

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“Are we there yet?”

“No, we’re not there yet.”

“But are we there yet or not?”

“If you ask that question one more time, I swear to God that I will end you,” Tori threatened, making him burst into laughter. “I’m dead serious, Rex.”

Shit, she just called me by my actual name. Well, I’m screwed. “I’m just joking around, Tori. Can’t you take a joke or something?”

“You’re such a pest, you know that.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Tor,” he grinned, squeezing her cheeks, prompting her to slap his hands away. “Ow, that hurts.”

“It’s not even painful, dickhead.”

“Can you two please quit it?” Cody scolded his vod’ika. “I’m trying to drive here.”

“He started it,” she sneered, pinching his arms.

“I was just playing around.”

Gowon rolled her eyes at those two and gazed outside the window, noticing her surroundings filled with thick, humid jungle and didn't see any signboards which indicate that they’ve already reached the beginning of the highway. She felt something wrong in her guts. According to the map, it was supposed to be a wide road with lots of cars but instead, it was only a narrow street with no cars except for them. Something is up.

“Hey guys,” she spoke, in a nervous tone. “Not to incite panic but are we lost?”

Cody’s eyes widened as he turned to Ponds, who had the map in his hands. “Ponds,” he whispered to him. “Where are we?”

“We’re on the highway right now, Codes,” he replied, looking at the map again, just to make sure that he’s reading it properly. “Yup, we’re at the highway alright.”

“Are you sure? I don’t see any signs that we’re on the highway.”

He checked again and again until he realized that he had printed out the wrong map. Crap, this is the map to Taco Bell, not to our camping site. How do I tell Cody that I left the actual map on my desk?

“Ponds, are you there?” Cody snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Answer me, vod.”

“I don’t know how to tell you but apparently, I accidentally brought the wrong map,” Ponds stuttered. “Please don’t kill me. It was an accident.”

“So all this time, I’ve been driving in a different direction?” He placed his hand on his shoulder, making Ponds choke on his own saliva.”

“Vod-”

"Are you fucking kidding me, Ponds? Now we're actually lost in God where."

"Wait, we're lost?" Bly gasped.

"Yeah, we're lost but calm your-"

"Oh my gosh, we are lost?" Gowon screamed, leaving Cody to hit his own face. 

"I just told you not to panic, Gowon."

"Are we going to die?" Odd Eye hugged her notebook.

"No one is going to die, Odd Eye."

"Oh well, time to buy me a coffin and a shovel for myself," Tori resigned in a calm manner, sipping her bottled water.

"Look, we'll find a way to our camping site, okay?" The marshall commander tries to compose his siblings. "We'll always find a way through these kinds of situations."

"We could use a GPS," Mayyah recommended. "They're much more efficient than a map anyways."

"Excellent idea, Mayyah. Thank you so much."

"I have to disagree with you," Fox finally spoke up. "But a GPS would make it worse."

"Oh really?" Ares signalled, raising one of her eyebrows. "Can you prove it, Foxy?"

"First of all, Ares, it's Fox and secondly, Thorn and I had used a GPS to the warehouse, and we ended in the middle of a funeral instead."

"That's because you keyed in the wrong location, Foxy," Wolffe took off his headphones, leaving Tori to laugh at his embarrassing story. 

"I pity Riyo for having a clueless husband like you," she snorted.

"Well, Tori," he wanted to fight back. "I pity whoever fucks with you."

"I'm an ace, dumbass."

"Then, I pity whoever has to marry you," his voice shook, trying to say something back to Tori, much to his failure. Wolffe gave a few pats on his brother’s back, assuring him that it is no use to snark back at his younger sister, which doesn’t seem to help much.

In desperation, Cody decided to go with Mayyah’s ideas, since her case is stronger than Fox. He may be smart and experienced, but at least Mayyah practices self-care, such as sleeping for eight hours and drinking herbal tea that Vanya had suggested. 

He took out his phone and pressed the GPS app, Waze and hung it on the phone holder by his window. “In 400 metres,” the feminine voice of the GPS spoke. “Turn right.”

“Looks like we’re back on track,” he chuckled, much to Fox’s agony. He has a bad feeling that their trip will not end well, judging by how inefficient the app is.

As they reached the intersection, he turned right. “Keep straight and then turn left.”

Rex checked on his Snapchat and pressed on Fives’ story, where he discovered that his younger brother was lying at the back of the van the whole time, making him blinked twice. Maybe I should just pretend that I did not see that.

And Rex did that by putting his phone down and resting his elbow on Ares, who was watching a romantic movie on her datapad. She shooed him away with her left hand and focused on the movie, but the captain of the 501st wouldn’t budge at all. I wish I could kill him while he’s sleeping, the red-haired clone said to herself as she leaned her head against the glass window, wishing that she could wiggle her feet.

Bly felt his stomach grumbling in hunger and proceeded to reach his hands for a bag of potato chips when he was tugged. Like his partner Aayla would say, he screeched like a vulture. “There’s someone in the van.”

“Fuck!” Cody exclaimed, pressing the brake of the van harder, leaving some troopers almost flying from their seats. “What was that?”

“Is it a serial killer?” Odd Eye guessed.

“Hang on, Odd Eye,” Wolffe shot down her answer. “It could be some stowaway or something.”

“Then it’s a serial killer stowaway.”

Wolffe could only shake his head as they got out of the van and unlocked the boot, only to find ARC Trooper Fives squeezed in between their suitcases, letting out a nervous laugh. “Took you long enough to figure it out.”

“Fives, what the hell are you doing here?” Tori asked, her hands on her hips. “And also, how did you get in here?”

“I heard you guys were on a road trip, so I decided to come along as well.”

“You di’kut,” Fox growled. “You almost made us crash.”

“I didn’t mean to, Commander. It was an accident.”

“Look, guys,” Mayyah tries to stop Fox from attacking him. “We don’t have time for this. If we want to get there faster, then we need to keep moving, alright?”

“You have a good point, Mayyah,” Cody scratched underneath his chin, before turning to Fives, who was shivering. “Alright, Fives, you’ll be sitting next to Bly, if that’s fine with you.”

Bly shook his hands. “Actually, I would rather sit with Ares."

The mute clone gave a wide grin and nodded. Since she and Bly are close, the thought of sitting next to her best friend is good enough for her. Besides, she finds Bly struggling to strike a conversation with Fox and Wollfe anyways.

They continued to hit the road, with Cody putting on Smells like Teen Spirit on the radio, which was sung by Nivarna. Ponds, who was not a fan of funk music, decided to switch to his favourite music, Autumn by Vivaldi. The Marshall Commander finds classical music to be rather boring, and changed it back to his favourite song, much to Pond’s chagrin. 

He looked away for a moment and purposely slipped his hands on the radio, flipping back to Vivaldi. Cody was so frustrated with his brother that he changed back to loud music. 

"I hate this song," Ponds complained, switching back to Vivaldi. "It makes my eardrums explode."

"Vivaldi is a boring musician and his symphony makes me feel sleepy," Cody fought back as he changed the radio.

"Nirvana sucks anyways!"

"Don't be a snob, Ponds. They're legendary, unlike this Vivaldi guy."

"Oh yeah? This song is too depressing and angry for me anyways."

"You-"

"Enough bickering," Fox shouted from the back seat. "I'm trying to sleep, for fuck’s sake."

"Sorry, Foxy," Tori teased. "Honestly, you're such an old man sometimes."

"It's Fox, not Foxy!"

"Whatever, Foxy," Cody went along with the joke. Fox could only hold his tongue as he laid his head on his seat, dreaming about his lover Riyo Chuchi. 

"Turn left, and then, turn right," the GPS guided them, leaving Cody confused. Despite that, he just followed the directions that were given to him, since he had no other choice anyway.

"You have arrived at your destination."

That was a lie. Instead of a campsite, they ended up in a dark, gloomy graveyard, with bare trees growing in front of the gate. “Uh, vod, are we in the wrong place?” Tori asked, clutching her hand against Rex, who had to deal with a frightened, younger brother, which is Fives.

“Yeah, we are in the wrong place,” Cody grabbed his phone. “I don’t even know why this thing led us here in the first place.”

“See, I told you GPS is shit,” Fox snarked. “But no, you decided to ignore my advice and used the GPS to get us to our camping site.”

“Okay, now it’s not a good time to point fingers,” Mayah suggested. “We need to think fast if we’re going to find our way out of the situation.”

“You know,” Ponds raised his hands. “I could download a map from my phone and use that one instead.”

“Is it a map to Taco Bell?” Wolffe questioned, to which Ponds shook his head.

“No, it’s a map to our campsite. I found it on the Internet while I was on my phone.”

“Bruh, why didn’t you do that sooner?” Bly crossed his arms. 

“I just found out, okay?”

“Whatever it is, we should just keep moving,” Mayyah grumbled. “As I said earlier, we can’t afford to linger around here anyways.”

“Yeah, same,” Odd Eye murmured. “As much I like the view of a cemetery, it gets dreary the longer your stay here.”

“You tell me,” Fox said, blankly. “I just want this journey to get over with.”

“Hey guys, could we stop by at McDonald’s later on?” Fives wondered.

“We have food in the car,” Rex told him off.

“Fine.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commander Odd Eye:

Commander Gowon:

Commander Mayyah:

Commander Ares:

[snarkandsarcasmftw]

hangman adam page, jake hager, and drew mcintyre!

FIRST OF ALL HOW DARE YOU.. SECOND OF ALL I LOVE YOU FOR THIS DOE. AND THIRD, THIS GOT... WORDY AF... OOPS? I LOVED DOING THIS. I MIGHT START TAKING THESE ALL THE TIME TOO, FOR ANY FANDOM, TBH...

Tagging: @heelsamizayn @rampagewriting @andie01 @missjenniferb @calwitch @vonschweetz @xwicker-manx @kittysilver86 @writtingrose @glowrioustrash @wwe-fanfiction-queen @dirrrtydeeds @robwiethoff @adamcolesteeth - if you wanna add yourself to my tag list  

more fanfiction trope fmk | faq

Fake Dating:

Adam Hangman Page.

“You’re not dating anyone. Look, just do yourself a favor and give me a chance.” MJF stared down at Scarlet intently. Scarlet’s mouth opened and closed and she gave the softest of giggles as she shook her head, looking up to meet his intent gaze.

Guys like him were literally a dime a dozen. Scarlet didn’t want or need the hassle he’d bring to the table. Sure, she thought to herself, he was hot, but at the end of the day, he was merely that. Nothing more than a pretty face. Nothing more than literal arm candy. And she had no doubt in her mind that she’d pretty much be the same for him. Just another notch in the man’s bedpost.

If she were gonna be a notch in someone’s bedpost, she’d much rather have fun while doing it. 

“C’mon, I see you.  You’re thinking about it right now. We could be the next it couple on the roster. Forget Brandi and Cody. It could be you and me, princess.”

Scarlet placed the palm of her hand against his chest and shook her head. “I’m just gonna stop you right there before you keep going and this gets all sorts of awkward. Or your giant sized ego gets any fucking bigger and nobody can enter or leave the arena. I actually do have a man already. Not a boy, a man.”

“You’re mistaken on that. They don’t get much manlier than me, princess.”

Scarlet had been trying to hold back the fit of giggles and hysterical laughter but when MJF said that, she couldn’t any longer. She almost doubled over, laughing so hard she shook.

MJF pouted and cleared his throat. “I’m making the offer of a lifetime here.”

“Oh my god, no! Stop, MJF. Just… do yourself a favor and stop, please. Before the bullshit gets any deeper. I’m not wearin any boots to protect my feet.” Scarlet’s laughter died and her eyes darted around a little. Janela was out, MJF would never believe her if she said that they were a thing.

Mox was… Nope.

Darby Allin was considered, but only briefly.

Her eyes settled on Kenny briefly. Kenny was out too. Somehow, even pretending, Scarlet wasn’t prepared to settle for anything less than what she knew she wanted. She took a few deep breaths, trying again to pick her chosen target out of the crowd milling around in back.

MJF watched Scarlet’s desperate glance around the hallway and he smirked. “I knew it. You’re not seeing anyone! Offer still stands, princess.. But it’s a limited time offer.”

Scarlet continued to scour the hallway for the perfect boyfriend. Oh, she knew who she wanted, beyond a doubt, she just wasn’t seeing him at the moment. She pouted about it, tapping her foot impatiently.

“ I repeat.. They don’t get manlier than me.”

“Shut your mouth, MJF, I know for a fact you take two hours to get ready. I can’t date someone who ties up the bathroom all the damn time.” Scarlet didn’t even bother sparing him a glance as her eyes continued to roam the area.

Hangman had to be here.. Somewhere. 

“I do not!” MJF answered quickly, stepping closer as some of the crew came by with large trunks and the like, preparing to set up for the show. Scarlet stepped back quickly and when she had, she spotted him walking into the arena.

The perfect fake boyfriend… She’d be hard pressed to deny that he’d be the perfect real boyfriend, but Scarlet she wasn’t nearly that brave. 

She stared at Adam Page intently as he walked towards them, that bow legged gait making her swallow down the lump as it formed in her throat. He stopped to grab a bottled water and MJF cleared his throat again.

“There’s no way.. Hangman would’ve been rubbing it in my face by now. C’mon, just go on one date with me..” MJF blinked in surprise as Scarlet took off at a run towards Adam.

“This should be interesting.. I’ll give her an A, she’s committed to the act.” MJF mumbled to himself as he watched it all unfold.

Adam felt a tap to his shoulder. Before he got time to process, he was being climbed quite literally. His back met the front of the vending machine and he blinked in surprise as Scarlet took his face in her hands and said as loud as possible, “There you are, cowboy. God have I missed you so so so much.” while wrapping her legs around his hips and muttering in a quieter tone, “Just… don’t be weird, please?” as she crashed her lips against his. Adam nipped at her lower lip and mumbled back, “Long as I’ve thought about kissin you, I’m just gonna go with this.” deepening the kiss as he gave her ass a good squeeze and chuckled, speaking up louder, “Darlin, ya act like you haven’t seen me in a whole day.”

“I just really, really missed you.” Scarlet’s fingers tugged at the ponytail his hair was in and once she had it down, she tangled them in his hair, tugging, using her grip on his hair to deepen the kiss even more. By this point, they were both almost light headed and MJF was slow clapping as he stood there.

“Nice try, Scarlet, but there’s no way you two are a thing.” MJF stated, glancing from one to the other before adding, “But I’ll give you an A for trying. You almost had me fooled when you started biting each other’s lips. Scarlet, this guy is… You know he’s not gonna be able to give you the pull back here I will. Not to mention, we’d be so much hotter together… Do yourself a favor.”

The kiss broke and Adam eyed MJF, snorting in laughter. “Did you not just see that?” before turning his attention to Scarlet, an amused smirk playing at his mouth as she climbed out of his arms. MJF wandered over and Adam stood taller, staring down at the man, arms around Scarlet, who wound up between them. 

“How about you do yourself a favor and walk away now, MJF.. You know, before I get moody again and beat your ass? You’re going to stay away from my girl.” 

“I tried.” MJF shrugged and turned, making a hasty retreat and then Adam fixed his eyes on the brunette standing in front of him, fidgeting nervously as she looked up at him. He chuckled and smirked. “You owe me one, darlin… How about dinner? Tonight, after the show.”

“If this is your way of asking me on a date, cowboy, I accept.”

“This is just dinner, darlin. You’ll know it when it’s an actual date.” Adam stepped closer, a hand lingering at her hip, a teasing grin on his face. She pouted and he chuckled. “So you do have a thing for me..”

“Maybe just a little…” Scarlet gave a teasing grin as she held up her fingers like she was measuring. It was his turn to pout and he stepped even closer, shaking his head. “It’s a shame you said maybe just a little.”

“Oh?”

“Because I definitely have a thing for you, darlin…. And it’s not little, either.”

“Well in that case,” Scarlet stepped up, closing the distance between their bodies completely as she giggled and rose to tiptoe, using the front of his black tee shirt to pull his mouth back down to hers before muttering, “Maybe I underestimated my thing for you.”

“Awww, she likes me.” Adam chuckled as their lips met again and his hands gripped her hips, pulling her up ever so slightly.

Slow Burn:

Jake Hager.

“All I’m saying is the way you two look at each other is enough to melt titanium. If you ever get locked in a room with Jake, you’re as good as fucked. Or he is. Either way.. If one of you doesn’t make a move soon… Girl.. We’re all gonna combust.”  Allie mused aloud.

Mya shook her head, looking around quickly, just to make sure no one heard what was being said. She hurried to shut the door to hair and makeup and in her hurry, she may not have shut it completely.  She whirled to face her friend and held a finger to her lips. “You can’t say that, if he found out I…”

“Go on.” Allie tapped her foot, flashing a mischief filled grin at her friend before flopping down into the directors chair sitting in front of Mya’s workstation. “Nobody is going to hear you. And I’m not going to say a word. It’ll be our little secret, just like it always has been.”

“Okay, alright, fine. I’m in love with my best friend but every single time I come close to even attempting a move… I… How would I even do that?”

“Well, you could just waltz right up to him and push him against a wall or into a chair and kiss the hell out of him.” Allie giggled as she said it. She happened to glance at the door just in time to see a flash of platinum blond. Jake tended to linger where Mya was concerned, it was something that pretty much everyone in back noticed at one time or another.

Along with all the little touches, the way they seemed like they could hold an entire conversation without so much as one word passed. They were always together, huddled close. Hell, Mya was probably the only person who’d brought out a smile on the muscular surly Oklahoma native.

The story behind Mya and Jake was that the two had gone to college together and lost touch. But in college, they’d been best friends. The closest of best friends, at that, if Mya’s stories were anything to go by. Either way, they both wound up at AEW and it seemed like things were right back to the way they’d been before.

But Allie knew it was driving her best friend insane, because Mya wanted so much more than Jake’s friendship.

Allie found herself hoping that maybe Mya’s slip up of not closing the door to the room entirely would be a good thing.. That maybe Jake had been the one to hear her say what she’d admitted to.

Mya sighed and shook her head. “I’m probably like a kid sister to him. I just need to do what Britt said and go on the date with Joey. Because if I ever dared bringing up the way I felt with Jake…”

Allie sighed and grumbled. “You’re too pessimistic. How do you know it’d be this disaster you have it built up in your head to be?”

“Because I know, okay? I’m… Trust me, I’ve seen the women he normally dates. I’m not even remotely close to his type.” Mya’s tone was just a shade bitter and she dropped her voice to add, “ I mean… I’m me. Plain old me. Not flashy or giggly or anything like that.” she shook her head at it and turned away, turning her attention back to digging through her makeup kit for the new eyeshadow palette she’d picked up to try out at Nyla Rose’s suggestion.

Outside the door, Jake stood, leaning against the wall as his mind seemed to take off in a million different directions at once. It felt like the air got knocked right out of him and right now, he was going back over every single moment between the two of them in his head… Including all the guys she’d ever dated and the way he’d always liked to silently intimidate them.

“Oh hell…. Oh hell.”  he muttered to himself in shock as soon as it occurred to him exactly why he enjoyed intimidating the guys she’d dated over their time as best friends. Somewhere along the course, he’d fallen for her and he’d fallen hard.

And lately, it was hard to be around her because there had been this unexplainable tension there. Before now, he’d thought it was something else entirely. Maybe her being into Janela, for starters.

“Hager, there you are… Everything okay, man?” Sammy spoke up from beside him. Jake shrugged and turned to walk away. He needed to think. He had to do something. And he had to do it before she took Britt’s advice and agreed to go on the date with Joey Janela if he asked again.

It came to him, the perfect plan. He rubbed his chin and smirked, nodding to himself as he took a few deep breaths. One of them had to do something and now that he was aware of this, there was no way in hell he intended to just sit on it.

After the show, Mya stood in the hallway, eyes darting around for Jake. She’d been just about to walk out of the arena, but arms circled her hips, pulling her into a darkened room. Jake reached up, pulling the string on the bare bulb hanging overhead, shedding light on the two of them. After he’d done that, he reached out and clicked the lock on the doorknob.

“Jake? What on Earth?” Mya tilted her head slightly to look up at him, a confused look in her eyes. Her heart was racing, it felt like it’d beat right out of her chest at any second.

Jake leaned down, pressing the side of his finger against soft red lips. The closer his lips got to her lips, the faster her heart raced and Mya swallowed hard, staring up at him intently, wondering what he was up to right now.

“Darlin… I…” he went quiet again, crashing his mouth against her mouth hungrily, his teeth snagging and tugging at her lower lip as his hands roamed all over. Mya started out with her hand flat against his chest, but she wound up tugging at the front of the dark blue polo he was wearing, pressing herself completely against him as she breathed into the kiss heavily, “Oh.. Oh.” when it hit her what he was trying to show her without saying. What he didn’t seem to have any words for was perfectly expressed in the kiss he was giving her. Her knees felt so weak she almost couldn’t stand.

The kiss broke and they stood there beneath the gently swaying bare bulb, trying to catch their breath, staring up at one another. After a few seconds, Jake finally spoke up. “I love you. Just…. Didn’t realize it til now. Just hope this ain’t too late, I know you might be interested in Janela’s ass… But I had to do somethin.”

Mya’s hand raised to her mouth and she stopped the giggles that hit, shaking her head no, stepping closer to him, slipping her arms around his neck. “ Joey? Are you…. No. No, no and no.. I love you too, Jake. I was never going to say yes to Joey because like… He’s obviously not my type.”

Jake chuckled quietly, letting out a breath he didn’t know he held. “So you have a type, hmm?”

“Yeah, he’s tall and blond and most people don’t realize it, but he’s actually a sweetheart and not nearly as threatening or badass as he makes himself out to be… And I’m looking right at him, Hager.”

Jake chuckled, eyes darting around the room before pointing to himself and stepping closer, pulling her up his body. “Wanna get outta here, darlin?”

“God yes, my feet are killlling me.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll carry ya.”

“Oh so now that we’ve admitted to everything, the piggy back rides are suddenly just gonna stop? I’m hurt.” Mya teased playfully. Jake snickered and let her climb onto his back and started to walk out of the arena, towards the SUV they’d been sharing.

“Lucky I love ya. I don’t do that for just anybody, darlin.” Jake muttered as he stood her on her own feet and opened the door to let her in. Mya climbed into the passenger seat, pulling him in, stealing another kiss. “You better not, because now that I have you all to myself.. I’m not plannin on lettin go.”

“Good to know.” Jake mumbled as he deepened the kiss, finally pulling away to go around and get in on the driver side.

Enemies To Lovers:

Drew McIntyre.

“Jerk.”

“Princess.”

The two stared at one another intently, anger burning in their eyes and flushing their faces. Drew smirked down at Viv and chuckled. “Yer only mad because ah told ye th’ truth.”

“No, I’m angry because you’re an egotistical asshole.” Viv ground out through a jaw tightly clenched as she put a hand on her hip and took a long and deep breath. It didn’t work.

“This gimmick is never gonna work. I’m gonna go talk to the higher ups. I’m not some glorified play toy.”

“Funny, cos ‘at’s how ye were actin out at da ring, crossin and uncrossin yer legs and bein all distractin as fook.” Drew called out after her, taking a few deep breaths himself. He’d told management time and time again, he didn’t want any romantic angles. He was on the roster to fight. He didn’t need an alterior motive. Nor did he need a sexy little vixen valet mucking around at ringside, always underfoot and being loud as hell and giggly.

Deeper down, the man knew it was so much more infinitely complicated than that. It wasn’t Viv and her everything that bothered him, per se.. It was the fact that Viv was a flirt.

And that Viv had no filter or fear.

And this often resulted in Viv, getting in over her head into all sorts of assorted shit.  Shit that Drew, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he felt like she shouldn’t be in in the first place and shit that more often than not, he wound up sticking himself in the middle of.

And then there were the things she did during the match to distract his opponents. He knew it was scripted and that it was required for their whole valet / wrestler gimmick but damn it, that didn’t mean he had to like it. Or that it didn’t send a healthy rush of jealousy rushing through him or make him want to dismantle the nearest victim as a result.

If she didn’t look like she enjoyed it so much… the thought came and he shoved it out. The second he started admitting he felt a certain way, the second this became more than a gimmick. The second he was exposed to dealing with the emotional turmoil the 5’2 vixen placed him in constantly and the second he might be a little too tempted to do something about it.

And that.. Was eating away at him more than he personally cared to admit.

Down the hall, Viv was fuming, pacing the hallway as she vented on the phone to her best friend. After peeking out to make sure no one could hear, she sighed and turned her attention back to the conversation. 

“I’m telling you, the man hates me. I don’t know what the hell possessed the old crazy fuck who owns this company to put me in a gimmick with Drew when I approached and asked if I could shadow him… For obvious reason, but I really think I’m in over my head here. The man hates everything about me and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.” Viv sank down, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall as she gave a hollow laugh. “And the crap they have me doing. He doesn’t need any of that. He’s amazing on his own. And not to mention I feel like a tramp every single time I have to flit around out there, half naked and giggly and shit. That’s… It’s not me.”

Her sister took a few deep breaths and after a few seconds of more ranting on Viv’s end, her sister spoke up. “Have you thought about trying to get to know him outside of work? Maybe build trust?”

“The man won’t even talk to me when we’re on the road between towns. He stares straight ahead at the road and keeps the radio on loud enough to discourage any kind of personal conversation. I knew when he looked angry after creative approached him I should’ve just said I changed my mind… It’s just… There’s something magnetic about the guy, okay? I feel safer around him than any of these other chucklefucks back here. I felt like I could trust him not to be a total entitled prick like the guy I valeted on ROH.”

“The one who kept trying shit?”

“Mhm.”

“Thank god you got out of that one.”

“I know, right? Only now, I’m in this and… I… It’s hard to keep pretending I hate Drew when we both know I don’t? I love him, okay? There’s just… Always been something about him and now, working with him, I’m always on edge and it’s making me miserable. Not to mention how angry he seems to be at me all the time… He knows this shit is scripted, yet he assumes I enjoy playing this whole “distracting temptress” bit when I truly don’t...” Viv trailed off mid sentence to think and as she did she  toyed with her hair and used the reflection given by the glass door propped open nearby to take a finger and work her lipstick back into place before continuing, “I’m just gonna talk to Levesque. I have to get out of this somehow. I’m driving the poor guy insane and it’s like every second we have to spend together doing press and promos and traveling…”

“Wild concept here, baby sister.. Maybe he pretends to hate you? Maybe he feels the same way?”

Viv laughed hysterically for a few seconds. She caught sight of someone just around the corner and she swallowed hard, getting a knot in the pit of her stomach because she just… She knew somehow Drew would be standing there.

“I’ll call ya back, Tasha.”

“Think about what I said. Some guys, particularly the ones like him.. They tend to be layered. Like onions.”

Viv hung up and took a few deep breaths, wiping at her eyes and surveying herself in the door’s reflection to make sure it wasn’t too obvious she’d been crying yet again.

And just around the corner, Drew McIntyre stood there, trying to process everything he’d just overheard.. She wandered out a few seconds into it and he didn’t think, he reached out, grabbing her by the hips, pulling her into the area backstage she’d obviously been hiding out in to have a cry and vent to family.

Viv gulped as she tried to meet his gaze but ended up dropping her eyes to the stilettos she’d worn for the night. “Look.. Just.. Say whatever you came to say and go. I’m gonna get in touch with the higher ups and I hopefully won’t be a problem anymore by the next episode.”

Drew chuckled, tilting her chin up. He saw the redness in her eyes and instantly felt like a complete asshole. Just the thought of her crying bothered him, in the current moment it bothered him so very much more than it usually did.

“Ah’m sorry.”

Viv blinked, mouth opening and closing in surprise. Drew’s gaze dropped this time and he stared at the tiles on the floor for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a good eight seconds.

Enough time for Viv to sort of pick up on the shift between them. Things were still laced with heavy tension but now it wasn’t… Angry or explosive. Okay, so maybe it was still explosive, she found herself thinking, but not like they were on the verge of more shouting and insults. 

Drew stepped a little closer, hands lingering at her hips. “Did ye mean everything y’ said just now?”

Viv took a few shaky breaths. “How much did you hear I… I’m sorry, I just needed to get it out and my sister, she… She usually calms me down.”

“Et’s okay.. But y’ didn’t answer th’ question, Vivienne.” the use of her full first name and the tone in which he said it had her looking up at him, swallowing hard when she saw the look in his eyes. The grip he had on her hip tightened ever so slightly as if he were letting her know he expected an answer soon. 

“Ah ‘eard et all.”

Viv swore to herself under her breath and she took a few seconds to try pulling it together. 

“Yes, okay? I meant it. All of it. Can I just like… Can I go now, please? I kind of just want to crawl into a hole and die right now.”

Drew moved so that he filled the exit and shook his head no, teasing gleam in his eyes as he licked his lips. “Th’ reason ah’m always so bloody wound up, for yer information, is y’. Because et drives me fookin insane, th’ shit they ‘ave y’ doin.. More to th’ point, drives me fookin insane because until now, ah thought y’ enjoyed it.”

“Yeah? Well I don’t, obviously. If I’d known that taking this gimmick when it was offered was going to have me acting a glorified bimbo… I mean, I don’t even think the enticement of working with you, given my feelings.. I most likely would have shredded my contract and walked the fuck out. Went back to the small time stuff.”

Drew nodded, still in the midst of processing it all, still a little more than shocked that they felt the same way, to be honest. But he wasn’t so shocked by it all that he didn’t decide to take action.

He stepped closer, pulling her against him completely as he stared down at her mouth, fixated. “Fuck et.” he muttered, pulling her up his body and crashing his mouth against hers hungrily, nipping at her lips, his hands all over her.

Viv whimpered into the kiss, deepening it, tugging at his scalp, raking her fingers through his hair..

“We went about this all wrong.”

“Ah agree. Want t’ start over?”

“I’d love that, actually.”

[musicandi]

Craig Knows

Prompted by kchante

A fic centering around the many moments Craig caught or almost caught Deran and Adrian giving each other heart eyes, would be so funny. Him trying to broach the topic every now and again, to let Deran know it’s cool, but not knowing how.

Warning: Swearing, Drugs, and Angst (Sorry girl, this turned out a whole lot more Angsty then it was meant to be.)

UPDATE- How rude of me, I forgot to give love to my betas @heatherofthenight and @allthehearteyes (love these girls, thank you so much)

The first time Craig meets Adrian is when Deran drags him to the beach to see his new friend from school. He remembers Deran busting into his room throwing him off from his video game, said there was this new kid who was so cool and he knew how to surf.

“Craig can you take me to the beach this Saturday? Me and Adrian want to go surfing.”

Craig bites down the urge to roll his eyes and say no because as he looks at his baby brother he sees the biggest smile on his face, one that Deran rarely shows and  he couldn’t find it in him to turn him down. 

Walking down to the beach, he sees this scrawny freckled kid waiting for them on the sand with his board, practically bouncing on his feet waiting for them. 

“Craig this is Adrian. Adrian this is my brother Craig. He’s cool.” 

Craig watches as Deran crosses his arms over his chest, trying to remain nonchalant but he knew his brother well enough to know he was nervous. He would run his hand through his hair and his eyes would go back and forth between Craig, Adrian and the ground. 

Adrian looks up at Craig and gives him a shy smile. 

“Nice to meet you. Thank you for bringing Deran.” 

Craig raises his eyebrows at the kid’s manners. It is unusual to see considering the people that make their way into the Cody boys lives but Adrian is something completely different. Adrian’s eyes move back and forth from him to Deran unsure of what to say or do. Craig looks back at Deran and catches him smiling at the other boy and wonders what has got his kid brother so happy?

 He turns back to the new boy and answers. “No big deal. Deran says you know how to surf, wanna show us what you got?”

Adrian smiles brightly and nods his head. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

Both Deran and Adrian laughs as they grab their boards, running into the water leaving Craig there standing there confused and amused. 

~*~*~*~

Since that day, Deran and Adrian are practically inseparable. Craig loves it because it drives the guys crazy. It is sort of refreshing to see the two boys together, always having fun, playing around, trying to one up each other, laughing and causing mischief to everyone around them, even Craig. Those two are thick as thieves, which is nice to know his baby brother has someone like that. Someone that he trusts that much. 

He remembers one time when he caught them in his room and the look on their faces. Adrian looked like he had seen a ghost and while Deran tried to remain cool, buffing his shoulders up and stepping between him and Adrian, he could see some fear in his eyes. It diminishes any anger he felt after that. Growing up in Smurf’s house, they learned there were many things to fear but he never wants himself to be one of them. 

Later than night he thinks back to that morning and how protective Deran was of Adrian and it made Craig realized it wasn’t the first time he was. 

He remembers there was one night Baz and Julia were bagging on Adrian after a night of drinking and smoking whatever crap Julia got that day, saying how Adrian was a pansy, how they didn’t know why Deran was hanging out with him. 

Deran shot out of his seat and screamed “Shut the fuck up Baz, don’t talk about him like that.”

“Or what? What is baby boy going to do to me?” Baz says standing up from his spot and getting into Deran’s face. That night all Craig could think was how Baz was being an idiot thinking he was a hot shot for challenging a kid but now he tried to remember how Deran acted. He remembers seeing him curling his fist, anger boiling up in him but he remained still until Smurf walked in to break it up. 

“That’s enough Baz.”

“Of course, here comes Smurf to the rescue. It’s not my fault he didn’t like what I had to say about his boyfriend.” Baz says rolling his eyes and going back to the couch. 

Craig spotted that exact moment Deran was about to charge at the older man and Craig jumped up putting his arm around his chest to drag him out of the room.

“Baz you are such an asshole.” He threw out as Deran struggled in his arms. 

He brought Deran to his room and made him sit on the bed. He watched as Deran pulled his knees up to his chest to attempt to hide his face but it was too late. Craig already saw the tears. 

Back then he just thought Deran was embarrassed but now he thinks there might have been more to it. He knows Deran cares about Adrian but now he wonders to what extent. 

The next morning he sees Deran sitting at the kitchen counter eating breakfast and sits down next to him. 

“Hey, What’s up?” he mutters around a mouth full of cereal. 

Craig stays quiet, not sure how to ask Deran about Adrian but Deran must have read it wrong because he jumps up from his seat with panic.

“Look if this is about yesterday I am sorry alright. I just wanted to show Adrian something, it was all my idea.”

“No I know that man. I am not mad.” He tries to comfort his brother, putting his hand on his shoulder and bringing him close. “Look you know I would never hurt you right?’

Deran retracts back, his eyes looking anywhere but at Craig. He nods his head but Craig could tell this was not a conversation he did not want to have with Craig. He sighs out and tries to lighten the mood by ruffling his hair. 

“Come bro lighten up. Besides you gotta get dressed if you want to make your competition.” 

Deran seems to brush away the awkward moment once surfing is mention and smiles up at Craig before moving to his room. 

“Wait, put your fucking dish away!”

~*~*~

Time passes and Craig can’t help but notice little moments between Deran and Adrian. It is mostly at the beach because these two boys were basically fish, but turns out they were fish that could really surf. They were always placing high in competitions that happened around southern California, really making a name for themselves. Craig pretty much became Deran’s designated driver but he didn’t mind. He was happy that Deran was finding something outside of the family, no matter how jealous he was deep down. There were a few times Adrian would catch a ride with them and when he does Deran would always hop in the back with him, telling him about something he watched or something he did. Later as they grew they would even bust out a joint on the way there. Deran always said it helped with the nerves.

“What do you have to be nervous about? You are gonna kill it, like always.” Adrian tells him one day looking over to the blonde boy with that innocent smile that Craig always associates with him. 

Deran smirks and gives Adrian a wink while taking a drag from the joint. Craig glances in the rearview mirror to watch the two teenagers pass the joint back and forth, noticing they would look at each other for a second before looking back out the window, how their hands would drag across the other while they pass the drug over. This was getting way out of Craig’s depth. 

“Alright, my turn. Give me some of that shit.” Craig interrupts them bringing his hand back to snatch the joint. He hears Adrian chuckling quietly behind his hand, looking out the window trying to be subtle. Deran was trying to do the same but he keeps looking over to Adrian, a smile slightly appearing before turning away. 

Later that day, the competition is going good. Deran scores pretty high on his first heat making it to the second round. Instead of sitting with the other boys up in the tent, he sits next to Craig watching Adrian surf his heat. Craig finds himself looking over to Deran as he watches Adrian surf, he lights up everytime Adrian lands his trick, or makes little comments about what Adrian has to do, taking little notes. 

“He seems to be in the zone.” Craig comments, wanting to see how Deran will react. 

“Yeah he is doing pretty good especially with that little shit, Danny, dropping in on his waves.” He comments, never taking his eyes off the water. 

“You guys are close huh?” Craig starts, keeping his focus on the sand around his feet.

“Yeah, so what’s your point?” Deran asks finally looking at Craig.

“It’s just you know Adrian he is cool and if you know you and” Craig mumbles out clearly ruining any chance of him getting this out right.

“Craig what are you trying to say?” Deran looks at him with a raised eyebrow, irritation and panic flashed in his eyes and in the end, Craig shakes his head and clears his throat. 

“Never mind, I think I am just having a bad trip.”

He can see Deran wanting to ask something but doesn’t say anything. They both hear the horn to signal the end of the heat and whatever tension that was there disappears.

“Hey I thought I saw someone who I know has a good hook up. I will catch you after alright.” Craig says, hitting Deran in the arm and standing up. He needed to clear his head for a second and he saw Renn earlier. She definitely knows how to clear his head. 

~*~*~*~

After that day on the beach, Craig tries to avoid ever bringing it up with Deran, even though he noticed the glances happen a lot more, the touching that tries to be as casual or subtle as possible. He wonders if they even notice they are doing it. 

As the next few years go by, Smurf starts putting Deran to work more. Instead of just sending him to collect rents or little side jobs, she starts giving him bigger roles during the heist. A couple of times she has him working the front end, dragging the crowd away, playing the employee role that has to explain the delays. At first he can tell Baz or Pope bites their tongues, wanting to put their two cents in on why Deran shouldn’t but with one look from Smurf they shut their mouths. 

It just made Deran fight harder to prove he was good enough for the older boys. The more he did it the more closed off he became. He noticed whenever things got bad at the house, Deran would leave for the night and when he came back the next morning he would be calmer. Although Craig has never had proof, a part of him knew he was going over to Adrian. 

It wasn’t until a few months later, he got his answer. One of the jobs had a slight problem resulting with a bloody security guard, and Deran with a headache and a split lip. Everyone was on edge after that, Deran most of all. He could tell Smurf wanted to coddle him and was confused when he would brush her off. Craig heard about a beach party down by the pier and decided to drag Deran with him. Get him out of the house and relax. When they got there, the sun was already down and the party well on it’s way.

“Hey look, there is Adrian.” Craig points out to the taller boy talking to some of their friends. He must have heard them because he turns their way. At first he throws a smile but then a second later his eyebrows scrunch down and he makes his way over.

“Hey guys, where have you been? I have been calling.” He says when he gets to them. 

“Sorry, I’ve been busy.” Deran mutters, hugging his arms around himself. 

Adrian bites his lips, wanting to say something else but instead nods his head towards Deran’s face. “What happened to you?”

Deran brings his finger up to his lip and flinches at the touch but shrugs it off. “Fucking Pope. We were playing around in the pool and he socked me out of nowhere.”

Craig could immediately tell Adrian didn’t see through the lie and decides to intervene. “Yeah and he has been a little bitch since. Do you think you can take him off my hands and cheer him up?”

Adrian, at first, stays quiet. His own arms crossed over his chest, looking like he doesn’t believe a word they are saying, but in the end, lets a soft chuckle and shakes his head. He drops his arms and grabs on to Deran’s shirt pulling him away. “Yeah sure I will see what I can do.”

After being there for a couple of hours, Craig has had endless drinks handed to him, excellent drugs to make him forget about all the shit going on and enjoys his high. It wasn’t till he wander off to find a spot to take a leak when he comes across Deran and Adrian sitting in the dark, hidden away from the crowd passing a joint back and forth between them. 

“I was worried when you didn’t come over last night.” He hears Adrian tell Deran, passing the joint and pulling his jacket closer into him. 

“Sorry about that, last night just sucked so bad. By the time I was free it was so late. I figured you would be sleeping already.” Deran says before taking a long inhale. 

“When has that ever stopped you?” Adrian shoots back. He watches as Deran and Adrian stare at each other, not saying a word but yet having a complete conversation of their own. 

“Look I know you won’t tell me, just be careful alright.” Adrian confesses. His voice so soft, laced with fear and concerns. It makes Craig wonder how many times they have had this talk. Smurf has drilled it into their heads, Family first. No outsiders. They know never to speak to anyone about what they do. 

He also knows, they are the worst kept secret in Oceanside. Everyone knows they do things although no one would admit it and no one would ask. Everyone just keeps their mouth closed and things move along. 

He looks back at the two and sees Deran now has his head on Adrian’s shoulder, both boys sitting there quietly. He watches as Adrian brings his hand to Deran’s head and brushes his hair back. Almost like how Smurf would do but yet this had a completely different feel to it. When Smurf did it, it always felt heavy and controlled. This looks light and caring. Like something they have done over and over again. 

He watches as Adrian calls out to Deran before bringing the joint up to his lips and blowing a big shot of smoke into the younger boy’s face. 

“What the fuck was that for?” Deran says laughing, his eyes watering from the smoke, but the smile never leaving his face. He goes to grab the joint when Adrian started coughing through his laugh. The same smile on his face. The weight that was there before completely gone. 

“Sorry, it just looked like you could use a smile.” he hears Adrian admit, his eyes never leaving Deran’s. He watches Deran struggle to keep his gaze before looking away. It was one thing he notices about Deran, he doesn’t like to look people in the eyes for too long. His eyes always glancing over or moving away. The stares even shorter depending on how thick the atmosphere is around him. 

“Yeah well, you are good at that.” Deran tells Adrian breaking Craig out of his thoughts. He sees Deran look up at Adrian and he thought he would see Deran embarrassed or closed off but instead he is smirking, almost challenging like. 

“Fucking right I am.” Adrian challenges back. 

This was the ‘Deran and Adrian’ Craig is used to. Completely comfortable with each, playful and relaxed but yet there was still something different, something Craig doesn’t think he is ready to get into it. 

“So what, you gonna come over tonight then?”

“Yeah.”

Craig walks away, shaking his head, trying to brush off everything he had just witnessed. He has always known how important Adrian is to his brother, even if Deran would never admit it, but watching them at the moment answered more questions then he ever thought he would need to know. 

Right now what Craig needed was a beer, a good amount of coke, and an awesome lay. 

~*~*~*~

It wasn’t until years later when Craig watches Adrian walk out, his head in his hands and Deran hot on his heels before turning away when he sees that Craig and Lena were there that he realizes he put it off for too long. 

It doesn’t take an idiot to notice that something is different. 

When Deran left for Belize and heard that Adrian was with him,he thought things were going to be different when they came back. That Deran and Adrian were actually going to be an ‘Deran and Adrian’ but instead the other boy came around less and less. Deran started getting snappier and anger all the time. 

Craig never knew how to approach the topic and ask Deran about Adrian. He always got tongue tied, it made him feel so awkward whenever he thought about it. It’s not that he can’t understand why Deran was gay or bisexual or whatever. It’s just that, he knows Adrian is important to Deran and if he is pushing him away because he thought Craig would hate him or something, that worries him.

He can’t speak for Pope or Baz. He is not even going to try for Smurf because he knows the answer to that. But all he wants is his baby brother to be happy. Adrian did that for a long time as his best friend and maybe more. All though Deran never admitted it, when Craig actually paid attention the answers were always there.  

Watching as Deran macks on some random girl after Adrian left, he thinks enough is enough. His brother is hurting his best friend and himself when he doesn’t need too and if he needs to hear Craig tell him what he probably has always been so scared to admit then he can do that for him. 

As he gets rid of the girl and all the other random people, watching Deran put up a front like he isn’t hurting, isn’t hiding, it finally made it very easy to say what needed to be said. 

“I don’t give a shit who have sex with, man.”

[animalkingdom-an0nymous]

Technicolor Beat- Part Five

A Soulmate AU

Disclaimer: This features an original character by me @animalkingdom-anonymous and all plotlines are original content. Gifs and photos are not mine unless stated otherwise.

Subject: J X Indigo (OC)

“What if soulmates were real? What if there was someone out there for everyone? What if they were halfway around the world? What if they were a mere three miles up the coast?”

You know how you have those moments that change your life forever? Those small, seemingly insignificant flashes that end up burning so bright? When a baby is born, when someone dies, that time you got caught cheating on your SAT'S. The kind of moment that makes you question everything, your decisions leading to something that should have been as simple as a grandmother surprising her grandson, but instead it's something else entirely.

This was one of those moments

I felt it as soon as the words left her mouth. Something was wrapping around me, sinking into me, weighing me down. It felt as though someone had wrapped me so tightly in a blanket that I couldn't free myself.

It was J.

Something possessive was streaking through him and it was heavy. He was uncomfortable, caught off guard, the urge to protect me overpowering his senses.

J didn't like surprises and, quite frankly, neither did I. Especially when that surprise came in the form of a five foot three platinum blonde with dead eyes and a stiff upper lip.

Smurf was hard looking, the energy in the room shifting as soon as she spoke. It was very clear she was the alpha, the boys were her pack, and I was an outsider that J wanted to stay far, far away.

But it was a little too late for that.

“My boys.” She cooed, her words sugary sweet as poor Craig walked up to her with open arms and a dopey smile.

She’s his fucking mom. Relax.

I watches, my mouth open as he pulled back, Smurf cupping his face and planting a kiss right on his mouth.

Did she just do what I think she just did? My body was stiff with tension, my spine ramrod straight as each of the boys greeted her. I watched the way J's shoulders tensed as she ran her skinny fingers over them. The smile on his beautiful face was forced, I could feel it, and as she leaned in, her lips briefly touching his, I was disgusted.

Not with J, but with the woman who ran the Cody clan. It was very clear that she was a manipulator, something I was familiar with. Smurf Cody was a user, and I didn't need to have a conversation with her in order to know that.

“Look at your hair.” She laughed and ran her fingers through Deran's hair. It used to be long, I saw a photo of him when I was snooping through the house.

His jaw was clenched as he blinked at her. “You're out.”

Smurf patted him on the chest, smiling like a cat who ate the canary. “Aren't you excited? Finally back in my beautiful- who's this?” Her cold eyes met mine and I forced myself to stay calm.

She doesn’t know me, she doesn’t know a thing about me. “My name's Indigo.”

J stepped in front of me, putting himself between me and his grandmother. “Indigo's my girlfriend.”

She looked between us for a moment and I wondered what she was thinking. Was that anger I saw in her eyes? Emptiness? There was something there, I just couldn't place it. “Indigo. That’s an interesting name.” Smurf quickly moved on. “And where is Pope?”

He must have slipped out without her noticing, because I hadn’t seen him leave either.

“Don’t know. Doing whatever Pope does.” Deran’s answer was calculated as he regarded his mother with an intense stare.

She looked around slowly and her smile was so cold it sent a chill through me. She was a bad woman, worse than any I’d ever met, including my own mother. Smurf’s petite body floated through the living room and into the kitchen, disappearing without another word to me. Deran and Craig followed close behind, seemingly in a daze.

Then it was the two of us again.

Tension and frustration and fear were flying off J in waves. He was an absolute mess on the inside, his heart pounding so hard I swore I could feel it in my own chest. But no matter how hard it beat, no matter how much I worried about him, I couldn’t forgive him for what he’d done to me. To us. I could deal with a lot, but I couldn’t deal with this.

He turned slowly, his jaw clenched so hard I was scared he’d break a tooth. His nostrils flared slightly and he closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply before opening them and flashing those blue-green oceans at me. “Listen to me. Just this one time. Please. Smurf getting out was not part of my plan. This changes a lot of shit for me and- and a lot of shit for us.”

“J, there is no-”

He held up a finger. “Don’t. Don’t do that. I know you’re pissed, you have every right to be. I get it, Indigo. But I need some time to figure things out, and while I do that I need you to stay.”

I was already shaking my head, preparing to laugh in his face when he bustled me down the hallway, crowding me and forcing me to back up. “Cut it out. I’m not staying.”

“Please.”

The word made me stop. Maybe it was the way he said, so full of distress, or maybe it was the desperation I could feel flowing through his veins. But I stopped, and I listened.

“If I were you I wouldn’t want to be around me either. I don’t deserve any leniency with you, Indigo, and I sure as shit don’t deserve you. But I’m asking you, please, just stay one more night, let me figure this out, and I’ll take you home tomorrow.”

We squared off for a moment. There was a huge part of me that wanted to say no. I wanted to be spiteful and selfish and cruel. I wanted to hurt J the way he’d hurt me because I was so fucking tired of being the one who always got hurt. The one who always got the shit end of things. Terrible parents, a trashed apartment, a soulmate who just so happened to be part of some type of criminal underworld. J was right, he didn’t deserve any leniency.

But there was another part of me, a miniscule part, that ached with him. I understood that desperation, feeling like you suddenly had no control over your life anymore. I’d experienced it with my parents and now he was experiencing it with Smurf. Everything was out of control, spinning, and he was asking me to stay. Was it a control thing for him? Did he like knowing I was under his roof and in his room? Probably.

But I was willing to bend. For J. For a little while.

I stabbed a finger at his chest and he backed up a step. “I’ll stay. Tonight. And that’s it. You bring me home tomorrow and you leave me alone. Okay? I don’t know what this is, J. I don’t know who the fuck your family is. But I know who I am, and I know I can’t deal with this.”

He nodded slowly, solemnly, as if moving too quickly would scare me into wanting to leave all over again. “You can stay in my room. I have to… go see Smurf and hang out for a bit. I’ll come get you for dinner?” I appreciated the way he phrased it as a question, but I knew I’d be attending family dinner whether I liked it or not.

I didn’t answer him as I turned on my heel and stormed back to my- his- room. Closing the door behind me, I twisted the lock and knew he heard it click. Releasing the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, I sunk down down against the door, my hands shaking as everything began to sink in. I felt overwhelmed, my heart pounding as a panic attack loomed.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I took slow, deep breaths for ten seconds.

It didn’t work.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I took slow, deep breaths for ten seconds.

It didn’t fucking work.

My hand pressed roughly against my chest as I pulled my knees up, resting my forehead on them. My temples throbbed and my body ached, I felt like I was dying. This was all too much, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. I always thought I’d meet my soulmate and it would be great and we’d be like two puzzle pieces.

I was wrong.

This was pain. This was ugly.

This was the Cody life.

******

There was a soft knock on my door at ten after six. The early evening sun was casting shadows across the walls and I stared blankly at them. I’d been locked in J’s room for hours laying on his bed, laying on the floor, trying to breathe through my mouth because whenever I breathed through my nose I could smell him and it killed me.

I could have sworn I heard him outside the door at one point, probably about an hour ago. I wondered if he would knock but it stayed quiet. Eventually, the footsteps retreated down the hallway and I was, once again, left alone with my own haunting thoughts.

I dragged myself out of bed as J knocked again. Glancing in the mirror, I rubbed my hands across my face, swiping my fingers under my puffy, you’ve-definitely-been-crying eyes. Jesus, I looked a mess. I quickly shook my head, fluffing out my tangled brown tresses before making my way over to the door and pulling it open, jumping as I realized it wasn’t J on the other side.

“Pope?”

“Dinner’s ready.” His response was deadpan. He wore a black denim jacket and his hands were shoved in his pockets. He was staring at my face, unblinking, and I was ready to crawl out of my skin.

“Why are you staring at me?” I asked, fidgeting with my fingers and looking over his shoulder, finding the hallway empty.

“Did J hurt you?”

I jerked my head back as though I’d been slapped. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve been crying. Unless you’re high, but you’re not.” His tone held a note of finality.

I raised my eyebrows, somewhat amused. “How do you know I’m not high?”

He shrugged and it was the most human I’d ever seen him look. “You don’t smoke in the house.”

Okay, so maybe he’s a little fucking creepy, I mused silently and slid past him into the hall. He trailed behind me a bit, looking as uncomfortable as I felt. “Did you see your mom?”

“I saw Smurf.”

He said it as though the woman was two different people. Shit, maybe she was.

“You don’t seem too excited.”

“Neither do you.”

I was about to respond when J suddenly turned the corner, nearly slamming into me. He froze instantly when he saw Pope walking next to me, his eyes narrowing. “What’s going on?”

Pope kept walking, brushing past him and responding without turning back. “I was letting her know dinner was ready since you hadn’t.”

My eyes widened slightly and I had to bite back a smug smirk at Pope’s snarky remark.

He turned to face me again and reached out, his fingertips skimming my shoulder. “You feeling okay?”

I stepped back, out of his reach. “I’m fine.”

J dropped his hand, taking the hint. “We’re eating outside.” He waited for me to walk ahead of him, following close behind me as we stepped onto the patio.

Everyone was already seated at the table, Smurf at the head of it with a satisfied smirk on her face. Pope sat next to her, staring down at his meatloaf as J and I sat down.

“This looks delicious.” I said politely as I eyed the food on the table. Fresh rolls, meatloaf, salad. It really did look great and, truth be told, I was starving. But who’s to say this woman didn’t put rat poison in it? Don’t be a bitch. “Thank you for letting me stay for dinner.”

“Of course, baby. Any friend of J’s is a friend of mine.”

J’s anger spiked and I shifted in my seat, clearing my throat as I reached for the beer Craig already opened for me.

I was relatively quiet while we ate, observing Smurf and her behavior towards each of the boys. Deran and J were the most standoffish, both of them sitting the farthest away from the matriarch of the family while Craig and Pope sat the closest. I couldn’t help but notice that she coddled Pope the most, treating him as if he were a toddler rather than the oldest of the Cody men. She always called him by his full name, Andrew, and she was constantly reaching out to touch him, gliding her fingers over his arm or through his hair, blatantly ignoring the way he tensed up whenever she got too close.

Craig was just… completely oblivious to everything, shoveling meatloaf and beer into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

Smurf laughed at him and reached out, pinching his cheek lightly. “Don’t get too full, baby. I’ve got a pie on the kitchen.”

Craig’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. “Damn, Smurf, I missed your cooking.”

She smiled in response before turning those cold, shark eyes on me. “What about you, Indiana? Everything taste alright?”

J’s tempers flared and there was a ball of heat in my chest. “It’s Indigo, actually. The food’s great, thank you.”

“Tell me about yourself.” She leaned her elbows on the table, giving me her full attention. “I’m always interested in the girls J brings home.”

It was a dig at me, that much I knew. I wasn’t an idiot, knew she was trying to test me and psych me out. But I had to admit I was curious. How many girls had J brought home in his time here? Hell, I didn’t even know how many girlfriends he’d had in his life. Nicky was an obvious one, but clearly that ended badly and, surprisingly, she wasn’t having dinner with us tonight.

“I’m not too special.” I responded with a hollow laugh. “I’m twenty three, I work in a cafe, born and raised in Southern California.”

She nodded her head, the look on her face saying she was completely invested in every word I was saying. “What did you say your last name was?”

I didn’t. “It’s Parrish. Indigo Parrish.”

“It’s a beautiful name. Very unique.”

I smiled my thanks, getting ready to ask her a question when she opened her mouth again.

“So, Indigo, do you believe in soulmates?”

J’s tension maxed out and it felt like there was a weight crushing my lungs. Was that how he translated his fear, by turning it into anger? But I could feel him next to me as he bounced his knee, unable to sit still has his grandmother grilled me like a detective in an interrogation room. I was still angry about what J had done but that didn’t mean I cared about him any less, even if I wanted to pretend that I did. So, making sure my face stayed neutral, I reached my hand under the table and placed it on his knee, squeezing softly before answering Smurf.

“No, I think it’s all bullshit. Soulmates aren’t real.”

J’s hand covered mine, his fingers wrapping around the side of my hand and squeezing as he released some of the tension that was built up so high inside him.

Everyone at the table was staring at Smurf, waiting for a response. Well, everyone except Deran, who was staring right at me with his eyes narrowed. What the fuck was that? I wondered to myself when he finally looked away.

Smurf was quiet for a minute, unblinking, before finally leaning back in her chair with a satisfied smirk on her face. “I think I’m going to like having you around. You’re good for my J.”

I felt uneasy, my appetite suddenly gone. I didn’t like the way she said it, like it was a threat. It was then that I realized how careful I would have to be around the leader of the pack. She would be watching me. Shit, she already was.

Smurf suddenly clapped her hands together and poor Pope flinched, immediately shaking his head after as his cheeks turned a deep shade of scarlet. J told me to stay away from Pope, made his oldest uncle out to be some vicious psychopath. Maybe he was. But more than that, Pope seemed broken. Sad. Alone.

There was more to him. I could feel it.

“Throw a big party tonight, my babies. Let’s celebrate my newfound freedom.”

Craig’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Really?”

Her smile was saccharine sweet. “Of course. Bring Renn, invite your surf buddies.” She turned to Deran. “What about your friend from the surf shop? Adrian? You should have him come by.”

His eyes narrowed slightly and the look on his face was tense. I didn’t know Deran very well, the blonde Cody seemed extremely standoffish. But based on his posture and the way he regarded his mother, I’d say he was feeling just as uneasy as J.

What was it about Smurf that left everyone on edge? I didn’t understand it, but I wanted to.

I was quiet throughout the rest of dinner, removing my hand from J’s knee as soon as the focus was off the two of us. I didn’t want to touch him or talk to him, could barely even look at him even though I could feel his eyes on me almost the entire time.

Everything moved quickly after dinner wrapped up. Smurf disappeared into the kitchen to do the dishes and Craig’s friends, Nicky included, were already walking through the garage with kegs and bongs and red solo cups. The mood was clearly supposed to be celebratory but all I felt was an immense sadness settle in my stomach like an anchor.

Maybe because I didn’t know J as well as I thought I did.

Maybe because I didn’t really know him at all.

The party kicked off quickly and before long the house was packed, people pouring in and out of the sliding glass door off the kitchen, music blaring loud even though there wasn’t a speaker in sight. Pope had long since disappeared into the house and, although he sort of freaked me out, it would have been nice to see a familiar face among a sea of drunken strangers.

I noticed Deran standing with a guy in the kitchen. He had dark hair, was built like a surfer. I noticed he had a nice, somewhat crooked smile, and he leaned in closer to Deran to hear him better.

They must be close, I thought to myself. Their body language was comfortable, they were laughing. It was a drastic change from Deran’s normal expression.

I could hear Craig but I couldn’t actually see him. He was hooting and hollering somewhere, laughing, probably surrounded by bikini clad women. He was a right fucking mess, but there was something oddly endearing about Craig Cody.

I sipped my beer from the corner of the patio, not speaking and not being spoken to. I wasn’t in the mood to party, missed my stupid, cramped, ghetto fabulous apartment. And, if I was being completely honest with myself, I was completely broken hearted over J. Just this morning I was telling him how much I trusted him, how I was trying. I’d opened up about everything and he kept a major part of his life from me.

I trusted him.

He broke that.

Feeling overwhelmed, I stepped back into the shadows a bit more and cracked the garage door, slipping inside and closing it behind me, welcoming the silence that greeted me. It completely blocked out the noise of the party right outside and I found myself wandering around the room, my mind drifting to what kind of weapons were hidden in there with me. Guns? Machetes? Fucking grenades?

Fine, maybe I was bitter and maybe I felt jaded, but who wouldn’t? Being so candid with J about my life, about ME, felt like a slap in the face when he’d been keeping so much from me. Maybe it wasn’t so much the fact that he was a criminal, it was the fact that he was so secretive about it. He purposely kept it from me and that hurt worse than any crime did. For all I knew he was a killer, a bank robber, something else entirely.

The door opened and I swung around to find J stepping into the garage, closing and locking the door behind him. He regarded me seriously, his mouth pulled in a thin line. “Can we talk?”

Even though he didn’t deserve my honesty I gave it to him anyway. “I’m not in the mood.”

“I wasn’t in the mood for you to go through my shit.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t in the mood to find out the love of my life is a fucking criminal.”

J was leaned against a counter on the far side of the wall and I felt his nerves rise as I spoke. “Am I the love of your life?”

I narrowed my eyes, still standing as far away as I possibly could. “Believe me, I’m not fucking happy about it.”

To my complete surprise, J cracked a smile. Well, actually he cracked a smile and then had the audacity to laugh. He crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head for a moment as his smile faded. Soon enough, he was regarding me seriously once again, his eyes dark. “Just… let me explain, okay? Let me tell you the truth, the full truth, and if you still want to leave after I promise I will leave you alone and I will never bother you again.”

For whatever reason, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t say anything, silently giving him the greenlight to speak his truth.

“My mom was a junkie for as long as I can remember. We moved around a lot, got evicted a lot. Whenever it was really bad, when shit really hit the fan, I would wish she would just die to put both of us out of our misery. Fucked up, right? I was barely a teenager and wishing my mom was dead. And then she was.”

“I was sixteen when she overdosed on our couch. I was sitting right fucking next to her watching tv while the EMT’s worked on her, and I thought she’d be fine. It wasn’t the first time it happened and I didn’t think it would be the last time, but she was sitting there dead right next to me and that was it. No goodbye, no grand gesture. One minute she was there and the next she was just… gone.”

My heart ached, panged in a way that physically hurt. J knew it, too. I watched silently as he pressed a hand to his chest, feeling what I was feeling. I tried to feel him, tried to feel anything, but it was as though he was completely shutdown. I couldn’t feel anything because there was nothing to feel. It was a coping mechanism, a way to deal with his shitty childhood, but that emptiness scared the hell out of me. He felt cold, J felt like an empty house that was abandoned except for some stray furniture and tobacco stained walls.

J cleared his throat before he continued. “I hadn’t seen Smurf since I was little. I didn’t remember her face, or the sound of her voice. But I remembered her hands. Is that weird? It probably is, but that’s what I remembered about her. Her hands are freezing, they’re so cold it’s like they freeze you and burn you all at once. But that’s Smurf, she’s a fucking storm. Unpredictable. Cold. Hot. Too much.”

“I didn’t have anyone else to go to. Nicky’s parents weren’t gonna let me crash and I sure as fuck wasn’t going into the system. Smurf, my uncles, they were all I had left. And they didn’t hide shit from me. Right away they let me know the shit they did and the choice was mine. I was in, or I was out, but it was my decision to make.”

“I’m saying this to you because I want you to know that no one forced me into this life, Indigo. I had the option of going into some shitty group home and trying to live a normal life, or I could stay with my biological family. I chose to stay, I chose to do all this illegal shit. But not because it’s the fucking life that I wanted.”

“But I couldn’t go into the system because I didn’t know where I’d end up. And I knew as long as I was in Oceanside I was close to you. I didn’t know where you were, or who you were, but I knew you were close, and if DCF pulled me out I was scared I’d never find you again. I was empty enough, Indigo, but no matter how empty I was you were still there. Every step of the way. You were the one constant I had and I wouldn’t let that get ripped away. I knew if I stayed long enough, if I worked quietly with my family, I’d find you. Or you’d find me. But I wasn’t leaving without you, I couldn’t.”

My heart caught in my throat at his confession. What was I supposed to say? All at once he wasn’t shut down anymore and a wave of emotions cascaded over me. It was fear, J’s fear. He was afraid of losing me, of finally being honest and watching me walk away. My lungs burned with the force of his fear and I was having a hard time breathing, leaning back against the white BMW that was parked in the garage.

“Are you okay?” He stepped forward, gripping my shoulders with his hands. “Is it too much? Do you need me to stop?”

I was already shaking my head. “I’m fine, I’m… this is just a lot to take in. I never would have would have asked you stay for me. You know that. I… I-”

“I know.” J cupped my cheeks, our eyes meeting. “I know. But I made a vow to myself that I won’t leave without you. I’m keeping that promise.”

“I have money, a lot of money. A few different bank accounts, stashed away, no one knows. The jobs I pull- the jobs my family pulls- are risky. But the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, and I have quite a few rewards saved up. Almost enough for me and you to pack up and get the fuck out of here. I just… I need to do this last job. Smurf getting out changes things, but it doesn’t change my endgame. You are my endgame, Indigo.”

Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. I felt so mixed up. I was angry, I was sad, I was hurt. I ached for the little boy who had his childhood stolen. J was finally being honest with me and it was exactly what I wanted, but I didn’t know where to go from there.

“J, how do I know this is it? How do I know you aren’t lying to me? How do I know these aren’t empty promises? You have to understand that I have no idea where the fuck my head is at, let alone yours.”

He was nodding, agreeing with me as he took a step forward. Reaching out, I let him take my hand, his calloused fingertips sliding over my knuckles as he pressed my palm against his chest. Lowering his face, he made sure we were eye to eye before he spoke. “You know I’m not lying. You can feel it. You know me, Indie. You know me better than anyone else, you will always know me better than anyone else, and you know I’m telling you the truth.”

There was raw emotion in his voice, of course I knew he was telling the truth. His heart beat almost violently under my palm and he was anxious enough that he wanted to crawl out of his own skin. J, finally, was telling me the whole truth.

“Please don’t leave me.”

It was barely audible, but I still heard it. The plea from the broken boy who thought I was going to leave him. It was decision time, but fate had already made the decision for me.

“I just confessed you’re the love of my life, J. Wherever you go, I go. But can you honestly look me in the eyes and promise me this is the last job?”

He was charging at me like a man on fire, pulling me against him and wrapping his arms around me so tight I couldn’t breathe. His face was buried in my neck, hot breath fanning across my skin as relief flooded his veins, extinguishing the blazing fear that had been running rampant only moments before. “I promise. I fucking promise you.” He grabbed my face, gripping hard enough that I was at least a little nervous he’d break my jaw. “I promise you right here, right now, this is the last job, Indigo. And then it’s just me and you. The two of us.”

“Don’t let me down, Cody.”

“I swear.”

[mayraki]

CHAPTER SEVEN

“max and her crazy level of bitchiness”

CHAPTER SIX

SERIES MASTERLIST

MY MASTERLIST

NOTE: hellooo👀 I made a playlist and a pinterest board for this series a long time ago and I’d like to share it with you guys! let me know if you’re interested and if you want me to tag you when I post it! :)

summary: Max Belinsky and JJ Maybank are the two troublemakers of Outer Banks. Going to parties, getting into trouble, having an attitude and being the two people you don’t mess with are the perfect ways to describe them. What would happen when the two people who seem to have trouble follow them around meet? One thing is fore sure, they didn’t expect this outcome.

Max loved the sound of the waves hitting the water. The way the sun would touch her skin and the wind blowing her face. But what she loved the most was when her friends where on time... wich never happened because Sam was the messiest person she ever met, and she had a little brother who would hide dirty underwear under his bed. Sam would always lose track of time and show up twenty minutes late, even if her best friend had told her to not be late because the waves were perfect on that time in the morning.

Max had a little break between work and having to go home and make lunch for Cody, so she would always catch some waves with her best friend. She was sitting down playing with the sand with her feet, while her board was next to her. That’s when she saw her blonde friend running towards her and waving with the hand that was not holding her surf board.

“Before you say anything, I love you and you’re the best friend I could ever ask for.” Sam said catching her breath. “And I’m sorry.”

“You should be! I’ve been waiting for almost half an hour.” Max said trying to be angry at her best friend, but she knew she could never be. “Where were you?”

“Hanging out.” She said quickly.

“Hanging out?” Max asked confused. “With who?”

“Are you seriously playing the jealous girlfriend right now?” Sam said before letting out a little laugh.

“Hell yeah I am, now tell me, with who are you cheating me with?” Max crossed her arms around her chest waiting for the answer.

“I was with Kie.” She said calmly and Max opened her mouth surprised.

“You’re cheating on me with Kie?!”

“What?!” Sam looked around when a couple of old people started to stare. “I’m not cheating.”

“Did you had fun with her?” Max at this point was joking around by playing the jealous girlfriend, she had to do something to her friend since she made her wait. “Does she gave you those little chocolates that you really like, huh? Does she know how much you like to talk at 1 am in the morning?” Sam rolled her eyes and was trying to not get much attention from the people on the beach but Max didn’t care, she was really enjoying it. She gasped really loudly that gained the looks of even more people. “Have you called her and not me?! You traitor!” Max touched her chest like it hurted and closed her eyes.

“Stop it!” Sam yelled. “Alright I’m sorry I didn’t call you to let you know I was going to be late, but please, stop with this games, people are staring.”

Max looked around to see that Sam was right, there was at least ten people staring at them both. “Show’s over! Go to catch some drama somewhere else.” She shoosh everyone with her hand and the people slowly started to spread around. “I’m not mad you idiot. You should’ve called, but I’m glad you are hanging out with Kie. She’s cool, but don’t you dare replace me with her-”

“Don’t worry about it, this is nothing like that.” Sam cut Max off.

“What do you mean?” Max asked confused.

“Uuuh, nothing.” Sam said quickly. “Let’s catch this waves!” She started to run towards the surface leaving Max with a bunch of questions on her mind.

“Why are we doing this again?” Max asked JJ while they were waiting on a dock Max never saw before.

“We have to pick up the kegger for tonight, John B’s orders.” JJ saluted Max jokingly and she just sighed. She didn’t want to be there, specially when the sun was hitting her skin and making her sweat like a pig. “The guy should be here any minute now.” He said and Max started to look around. But when a familiar boy appeared on her sight, her mouth went slightly open for the surprise and she quickly turned around.

“Fuck. What is he doing here?” She said frustrated and JJ turned to her confused.

“What?”

“My... ex-boyfriend is here.” Max said trying to hide her face and not be seen by the boy she hated the most, Johnathan Scott.

“Who is he?” JJ said as soon as the word ‘boyfriend’ came out of her mouth. He quickly turned his head towards the group of people he had in front of him walking around and started to look around like he would be able to know who Max’s ex-boyfriend was.

“Doesn’t matter. Is this guy going to take any longer?” Max asked crossing her arms around her chest.

“I-I don’t know.” JJ shook his head. He was still looking around, something clicked inside of him by the idea of Max having an ex-boyfriend. “He should be here soo- Is he the one?” JJ pointed at a blonde guy that had glasses on.

Max turned around and she shook her head. “No.” JJ deep down wanted it to be that guy, because it weirdly looked like him. He thought that it was unintentional, but he knew what he was thinking and he couldn’t help it. “It’s him.” JJ quickly looked to where Max’s finger was pointing and he slowly nodded when his eyes found the mysterious ex-boyfriend.

Max let out a little sigh when she looked at Johnathan again. He was talking to some guys she had never seen before. He had his dark hair that she used to love so much, she would always say that he looked like young Leonardo DiCaprio with that haircut, and with that busting his stupid ego. His huge arm tattoo that made Max bit her lip everytime she would see him without a shirt, and his dark jeans with his white shirt. He had the perfect ‘bad boy’ look Max loved almost two years ago, he would easily have every single girl behind him, with that stupid smile and freckles, those green eyes and confidence, every girl loved him and they were extremely jealous of Max, but she was too blind to see it all, he was a work of art with an ugly heart. And Max soon find that out in the worst way possible.

“JJ?” A guy said next to Max and they both turned to him. “Here’s the kegger, man.”

“Finally!” Kie said when she saw Max and JJ get out of John B’s van with the kegger. “Where have you two been?”

“The guy showed up late.” JJ said and Max nodded before Kie started to talk about some thing with JJ, but Max wasn’t listening, she was too focus looking for her best friend.

“Max!” She heard Sam called her name and she smiled to herself. It was like they were connected and when they needed each other, the other one knew it. “You’ll never guess who I saw at beach today.”

“Johnathan?” Max said and Sam furrowed her eyebrows confused.

“Wow, you’re really good at this game.”

“No, I saw him when we picked the kegger.”

She shook her head disgusted and they both walked inside The Chateau. “Why did he came back?” She asked and Max shrugged her shoulders.

“Who came back?” Pope asked and Max noticed everyone was inside the living room.

“Max’s ex.” JJ said and everyone turned to him.

“You have an ex?” Kie asked. “You never told me.”

“Yeah, well... there’s not a lot of good things to say about him.” Max said and just shrugged her shoulders. She looked around and noticed everyone was confused and wanting to know more, but she added quickly. “Who’s ready for the kegger tonight?” She said with a big smile and everyone went back to what they were doing, but with a lot of questions on their minds.

Max was enjoying the loud music with a red solo cup on one hand, while holding Sam’s hand with the other one while dancing. The night was the perfect one for a party and Max couldn’t feel better, she noticed her drink was empty so she let go of Sam’s hand and walked to where the kegger was.

“A refill for the pretty lady?” JJ said once he saw Max in front of him.

“Are you drunk?” She asked pretending to be concerned.

“Why? I can’t call you pretty lady now? You don’t like princess, pretty lady, how am I going to call you?”

“How about... Max?” She said like it was the discovery of the mouth and JJ gave her a face laugh.

“You’re too funny.” He said and Max nodded.

“I know.” She handed JJ her red solo cup with a smile wich he took with a smirk.

“I love parties!” Sam appeared next to Max and let her arm go around her shoulders.

“I don’t think I’m the one that’s drunk tonight.” JJ said with a smile while looking at Sam. Max took her cup from JJ’s hand and the three of them walked to where the rest of the Pogues were.

Sarah was sitting on top of John B’s lap while Pope and Kie were talking about something. Sam sat down next to Kie and she let her head rest of Kie’s shoulders. Max let out a little smile but then furrowed her eyebrows confused. The question ‘what are this two up to?’ appeared on her mind, but when she looked up and her ex-boyfriend walked inside the beach, all those thoughts went away and she rolled her eyes once she sat down between JJ and Pope.

“What’s up?” Pope asked and Max just shrugged her shoulders.

“My ex is here... Fuck! This was a nice party.” She complained.

“What is the deal with this guy?” John B asked while looking around for Max’s ex.

She noticed and then pointed at Johnathan, who was talking to a couple of girls with his friends. “I dated him for almost a year, and... well, I found out he was cheating on me. With multiple girls... at the same time.”

“Uh, that escalated quickly.” Sarah said.

“What an asshole.” That was all JJ could say. All he wanted to do right on that moment was walk to him and punch him on the throat. His jaw was clenched while looking his way.

“Please, tell me you did something to him. You know, the Max way.” Kie said and Pope nodded.

“Yeah, I don’t usually approve the whole revenge thing, but he totally deserves it.” He said. Max was about to talk but Sam talked for her.

“She couldn’t. Remember how you spent an entire week on your bed? And when she was alright, he moved to the main land leaving his family behind.” Her drunk friend said and Max slowly nodded, trying to not kill Sam for her words.

“Thank you... for that, Sam.” She slowly said.

“Well, is never too late.” JJ said and Max turned to him but he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking to the sand while playing with some tiny rock he had on his hand.

“Nah, it’s not worth it. Fuck him. Besides, I’m on my own thing right now and as long as he stays away from me, we’re fine.” Max said but when she took a sip from her beer, a familiar voice spoke behind her.

“Max!”

“It’s like the universe heard what I just said and it responded with, ‘hey... fuck you’.” She said softly so Johnathan couldn’t hear her. Pope and JJ who were next to her, heard her and let out little laughs. She turned around after getting up and a huge fake smile appeared on her face. “Johnathan!”

“How have you been?” He said with the biggest and most confident smile ever. He walked closer to hug her and she awkwardly pat his back.

“I’ve been doing great.” She said dryly with the huge fake smile still on her face.

“You look good.” He said and Max bit her lower lip, trying to not yell at him to go fuck himself, she wasn’t up for the confrontation this night.

“Thaaanks.” She said. She didn’t noticed that the Pogues got up from where they were and walked behind Johnathan. Sam was pretending to punch him while Kie was laughing. Max was trying to let out a loud laugh. “Why-Why are you back?”

“Decided to visit some old friends and family, to be honest, missed the parties too, they don’t have them like this in the main land.” He said. “The pretty girls are here.” He looked Max up and down expecting for her to fall for him, but all she wanted to do was punch him on the face.

“Yeah, well, the pretty girls are over there so I don’t know what the fuck are you doing here.” She quickly said while pointing at the other side of the beach.

“You know, sometimes I think about us.” As soon as those words a loud laugh came out of her mouth. “Good times.”

“Good times?” She asked before letting another loud laugh. “Sure! Good times, before I found out you were cheating on me with multiple girls, the same night we said ‘I love you’ for the first time, sure! Good times.” She let out the biggest fake smile and then patted his arm, before starting to walk away.

“You know, you don’t have to play the victim.” He said and Max never turned her body as quickly as that time.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Max heard Sam said with Kie grabbed her arm once she started to walk towards Johnathan.

“Maybe you should control your drunk friend.” Johnathan said.

“Oh, she’s not the friend she should stop.” JJ was now in front of Max and he was starting to get angry. Max grabbed his arm and pulled him back. This was not his fight, it was hers, and she wanted him to know.

“Why don’t you just go because you know how things can get around her.” Max said at Johnathan, but he just let out a smile.

“I missed this about you.” He said and Max rolled her eyes.

“And I didn’t even missed your tiny dick so why don’t you just walk away, huh?” She said. Pope and John B opened their mouth surprised. JJ let out a tiny laugh while the girls where high fiving each other.

“Go to hell.” He said with an arrogant smile.

“Baby, I dated you, I already been to hell.” Max said without hesitation. “Let’s go.” She said to JJ, who was very close to her. She grabbed his arm making him turn around, they were all ready to leave the boy behind, but he spoke again.

“I guess that didn’t change about you, running away from your problems and never taking responsibility for them.” He said and Max stopped walking. Her heart dropped to her stomach and she could felt her anger growing inside her.

“I’m gonna kill him.” Sam said turning around.

“What does he mean?” Max heard JJ ask.

She grabbed her friend by the arm and stopped her. “You know what.” Max got closer to Johnathan and a then looked down. “You have something on your foot.” She said with a smile and pointing at them.

“What?” As soon as he looked down, she quickly walked closer to him and her foot with her thick boot was already going to his bare foot. He screamed in pain, Sarah covered her mouth surprised while Sam was, again, high fiving Kie. The boys let out loud and surprise laughs.

“Pain!” Max yelled to him which made a lot of eyes go to her, but she didn’t care, she was already walking away from the beach.

She was quickly walking followed by her friends. “That was badass!” Sarah said with a huge smile.

“That’s my best friend!” Sam let her arm go around Kie’s arm while Pope and John B were making fun of Johnathan’s high peak scream.

JJ was absolutely surprised at Max’s actions. A proudness feeling was growing inside of him and he was finally understanding that Max Belinsky, could definitely take care of herself.

“Max!” JJ said getting closer to her. She quickly turned around and she saw his big proud smile. “That was fucking awesome, dude.”

“I know you’re going to say yes.” She said pointing at him with heavy breathing.

“What?” He asked confused.

“Alright!” The alter ego of Max that loved the rush and would often get her in trouble woke up right on that moment. She caught the attention of the rest of the Pogues and everyone turned to her. “Who’s up for the famous ‘Max Way’ right now?” She said and a huge smile on Sam appeared on her face.

“She’s back.”

“Because that, right there,” she pointed back at the beach “was only level two of my bitchiness.” She said. “The real bitch is coming tonight.”

“That was only level two?!” Pope asked shook.

JJ let out the biggest smile. “I like this girl.” She pointed at Max and turned his head to his friends.

“I don’t know what is this, but I like it.” John B said with an approval nod.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this.” Sarah said after letting out a big breath when she felt her heart beating faster and her nerves going up.

“Should I be worried?” Pope asked concerned while Sam walked passed next him.

“Yep.” She said and everyone started to follow Max.

“Did you take the picture?” Max asked to Kie. She nodded and then handed her the phone. “Well, here folks, we have another ‘excuse’ if the police investigate us, people saw us at the party, we have this picture with the perfect time.”

“It’s like I’m watching how to get away with murderer.” Pope said shooked at Max’s words.

“Now what?” Sarah asked.

“Well...” Max said. “What’s the thing that boys appreciate the most?”

“Their dick?” Kie asked disgusted.

“Yeah. But I can’t cut his dick off-”

“That you know of.” Sam said and everyone turned to her surprised. Max just let out a little laugh and continued.

“Well, what’s the second thing some guys love the most...? Their cars. Jonathan left his old car at his parents once he left. It’s still there...”

“I love where this is going.” JJ said with a smile.

“Tell us what to do.” Sarah said excited and John B turned his head to her.

“Should I be worried that you’re so excited about this?” He asked but Sarah just left his side and walked closer to Max.

The day was beautiful. There were no clouds and the sun was the main character that morning. Max felt her skin slightly burn while she was walking to the dock Pope said everyone to meet the night before. She had a smile on her face and when she saw her friends getting the HSM Pogue ready, her smile went even bigger.

“Top of the morning to ya’” JJ said while he watched Max her closer to them.

“Mornin’” Kie said with a smile to Max and she winked at her.

“I’m so ready to be out on the water.” Pope said excited. “I’ve worked non stop this week.”

“The Pogue life, my friend.” Max patted Pope’s shoulder.

Once everything was ready and the Pogues were inside the HSM Pogue, John B got the boat started and he slowly moved away from the dock. Max grabbed a beer and sat down next to Sam, she let her arm go around her friend’s shoulder and they both smiled to each other remembering the night before.

“Hey! Belinsky!” Max heard on dock with a megaphone. She furrowed her eyebrows confused and turned around to find Officer Presley next to Johnathan on the end of the dock. She tried to hold on a laughter when she saw how mad her ex-boyfriend was.

“What?!” She yelled so Presley could hear her. JJ got up and stood there next to her.

“Tell the fucking truth about my car!” Johnathan yell and Max looked at JJ pretending to be confused.

“What?! I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Max felt Pope getting nervous around her. Sam was calmly drinking her beer while Kie and Sarah were carefully listening to the conversation.

“I know you did it! You popped my tires!” He said angrily and Max quickly shook her head.

“Dude! I didn’t do anything. Besides, whoever did it maybe thinks that you’re an asshole and you totally deserve it! And I agree!” Max yell and she then turned her head to Presley. “How are you Jennifer? Having a good day?” She waved at her with a smile but Presley just sighed.

“Officer! Do something!” Johnathan said annoyed but Presley shook her head.

“There’s no proof that she did it, we have nothing on her. This is just a prank from some kids Mr. Scott.” Presley said.

“Huh? There’s no proof against me or my friends? Yeah, that’s what I though!” Max nodded with a smile while Presley turned around and started to walk away.

“You bitch!” Johnathan said angrily and Max touched her chest surprised.

“Aw! Thank you! That’s a huge compliment!” She gave him the biggest smile. “Have a nice day!” She said and John B drove the boat far away form the dock.

“I’ve never seen someone don’t get any nervous when they are interrogated by the police.” Pope said and Max nodded proud of herself.

“Oh, that was nothing. I’ve been in worst.”

“Hey! What about me?” JJ complained. “I’m pretty good at it too, dude!”

“Can’t believe you’re arguing over who is better with handleling the police.” Kie said before letting out a little laugh.

After talking some more about who was better, the conversation turned into who would be better at surviving a zombie apocalypse after Pope started to name the things he thought he wouldn’t survive.

Max sat down with a beer on her hand and seconds later she had JJ sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulders. “I’m so proud of you.” He said with the biggest smile.

“Well, thank you, thank you very much.”

“I have to say, we could learn a lot from each other.” He said and Max lifted her eyebrow. “You know, you can teach me how you do your stuff and I tell you how I do mine.”

“Please, tell me we’re talking about our plans.” Max said quickly with a disgust face.

“I mean” JJ shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want it to be?”

“Oh god.” She said. “You’re never going to change are you?”

“You’re the one who brought it up and thought I was talking about that!” He defended himself. “You’re the one with the dirty mind.”

“Yeah, sure.” Max said sarcastically before taking a sip from her beer. “I do know that you have to learn a lot from the master.”

“You’re the master?” JJ asked.

“After all, I won you that night at the Kook’s party.” She nodded and JJ let out a little sigh.

“I figured that was going to come back.”

“Oh, I’m never going to let it go. We’re going to be old dudes and I’m going to call you every Sunday to remind you. It’s decided.” Max nodded.

“I’ll be waiting for it, princess.”

“Punching bag.” She said trying to sound annoyed but a little smile escaped her mouth.

“Well, I’m really proud of my fake girlfriend. That’s all I wan-” JJ was saying but was cut off by John B and Pope screaming at the same time.

“Fake girlfriend?!”

“What?!” Sam asked confused.

“We-we need to talk about how that happend.” Kie said and Sarah nodded next to her before getting comfortable and waiting for Max and JJ to talk.

“I’m going to kill you JJ.” Max said.

“I don’t know.” JJ lifted his hand into the air. “All I know, is that Max... can’t take her hands off me.” He said and Sam almost spit the beer she had on the mouth.

“JJ!” Max slapped herself.

“Wha- how- I’m so confused.” Pope said trying to connect his thoughts.

“C’mon, we all knew that one day those two were going to end up doing something like that.” Sarah said and Max quickly looked at her.

“Huh?” She said. JJ turned to her with a smirk on his face and she wanted to punch him so bad on that moment.

“Well, you better tell the story or everyone is going to think that we had s-”

“It happened the day after Pope got hurt.” Max started to tell the story and rolled her eyes once JJ got closer to Max and a huge proud smile appeared on his face. “I hate you...”

“I know you deep down love me. But please, continue with the story. We all want to hear you tell it.” He said and Max rolled her eyes, before continuing with the story.

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[captainsuke]

had to make a choice that was not mine (had to say goodbye for the last time)

The first thing he finds, when he’s finally stopped, no more flights no more buses, taxis or any sort of movement, just him and an empty cheap hotel room, what he finds is two hundred grand packed into the bottom of his backpack and he is so mad.

That’s so illegal, he thinks wildly before laughing himself sick. Like he’s not in a foreign country traveling under a passport that’s definitely not bearing his name, like he’s not on the run from the law, like what is one more law broken?

Still. Jesus Christ Deran.

He finds the phone eventually, underneath it all. Stares at it for a long time after. Has to stop himself from hurling it against a wall.

The first time Deran calls, the first time the phone rings, he almost doesn’t answer it.

But he does. Presses the little green button, puts it to his ear and hangs up at the sound of Deran’s voice.

Then immediately regrets it. Then doesn’t. Then does again. Adrian doesn’t know.

The phone sits quiet for an hour, for two. It’s just past lunch time which makes it late in the night yesterday back in Oceanside, Adrian can picture the scene vividly. Deran keeping his insomnia company, smoking and holding his phone tight. Then it rings again.

This time he picks up.

Adrian doesn’t give him time to talk, says some things he doesn’t mean, a lot of things, says all the words that have been brewing in his chest, and Deran stays silent through out his entire tirade.

When he’s done, angrily heaving breaths, Deran just asks are you okay?

“Can you do anything if I’m not?”

Deran’s silent for a long time, long enough that Adrian thinks maybe he’s going to hang up. That he’s finally said the thing that makes him hang up.

But he does answer. Eventually. A quiet broken no.

The truth doesn’t make him feel any better. But it does make him feel something.

He doesn’t hang up next time Deran calls.

The third, fourth, fifth calls go like that, Deran listening to Adrian’s words, Adrian listening to the sound of Deran’s breathing,

The change of breath when something he says lands particularly hard.

The next call, he’s tired, he misses home and his sister and Deran, their house on the beach, their main surfboards leaning up next to each other, Deran’s pile of stupidly expensive skate shoes that they would both trip over at the door.

He’s lonely and tired and he just doesn’t have any stories to tell, can’t think of anything to say, doesn’t want to be the one talking today.

“What’s up with you?”

He swears he can hear Deran shrug even as he says nothing.

“No, come on man, this doesn’t work if it’s just me. It’s not just me, right?”

Deran makes a noise that Adrian hopes is him agreeing, then, finally, he speaks.

“Right, okay, okay, uhh, Pope and J are getting along? I think?”

“That’s… good?” Adrian never had much to do with Julia’s kid; doesn’t have many memories of him from when they were kids and J was toddling around the Cody house, has just the handful of times he’s been around since he came back, since Adrian and Deran got together.

(and fell apart, fuck, they’d never had any time, Adrian thinks, like star crossed lovers if he’s feeling melodramatic, cursed if he’s feeling worse. Their timing sucked from day one but sometimes it seemed like the entire universe was conspiring to make everything turn to shit, to make little mistakes and minor problems into fleeing the country and losing everything. It’s not fair.)

“Man, I don’t even know.” Deran says, but he kind of chuckles afterwards. Like maybe it wasn’t all that bad. Or maybe he’s just laughing because it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, everything just keeps happening and they’re just trying to keep above water now.

After that it’s easier. Or something like easy. Some days Adrian talks about shit he sees, the tourists he’s overcharging to learn how to surf, the little kids that he borrows boards to when the weather gone bad and business is slow. The grandmother a couple of houses down that is always pushing food on him. She calls him Silly Boy with a fond voice, but Adrian doesn’t tell Deran that.

Other days Deran talks around stuff at home. Meanders around topics like he can’t keep his attention on any one thing. Like maybe he’s avoiding topics he thinks Adrian doesn’t want to hear about. Or things he doesn’t know how to talk about.

He says Craig’s gotta dad now, then talks about Renn introducing Nic to the ocean for an hour.

Smurf’s shrine keeps coming back he says, and Adrian remembers the pile of flowers and candles that Deran had stared long and hard at with red rimmed eyes, sitting uninvited on the side walk outside The Drop. Then he spends the rest of the phone call talking about two of his bartenders trying to pretend they’re not dating, when everyone knows they totally are.

“What do people think happened?” He asks one time, what do his friends think, his sister? The guys they’d surf with, Adrian’s regular customers, the random people who’d come up to him sometimes, who liked having a pro surfer give them advice on surfboards. What do they think happened to him?

“Ah. Ha,” It’s a weird laugh, amused, but not in a good way. “Most people think I killed you.”

Oh.

“Wow,” is what he ends up saying. Very carefully doesn’t say you did.

Which.

He doesn’t know how he feels about that. Maybe a week ago he would have said it. When he first got here he definitely would have, would have yelled it, and maybe would have found other words to throw, to hurt.

He’s not sure how he feels about the change. It’s not bad, he thinks. Maybe it’s not bad that he’s not so angry anymore. Even if it leaves only sadness behind.

He misses Deran.

Misses the quiet shyness that only he got to see. Misses the way he’d hold his head, mouth twisting into a cocky grin, eyes searching for Adrian’s because Deran always wanted Adrian to be watching. Fuck, he misses his quiet frustrated sighs. God, how can Adrian miss the look on Deran’s face when things got too much? The careful blank expression and forced stillness, fuck, he misses the bad as much as the good.

“Today is the worst.” Deran announces at the start of one call, sounding funny, like he’s speaking face down on a bed, but there’s the sound of him shifting constantly, his breath making small noises of hurt.

“You okay?”

“Some asshole prepper named Thor broke like half my ribs, so congratulations I hate those movies now too.”

“I don’t know, I kind of liked those movies,” Adrian retorts just to hear Deran make an offended noise. “All that long blond hair.”

“Yeah, well this guy was a cueball, plus he’s my cousin, well, Pope’s cousin, so there’s that.”

“Wow, okay, what?” The Cody’s don’t have family. It’s one of the weirdest thing about their fucked up family lore. Old lady Smurf just appearing out of no where, all of her sons without fathers, just another way to keep them stuck to her. (She’s dead, he tells himself, like crossing himself, sometimes he just has to say it out loud. Smurf is dead. It still doesn’t feel real.)

“Yeah they’re fitting right in, they might actually have shittier genes than us.”

“What happened?”

“Hit me with his fucking car.”

“Are you okay?” Adrian worries and Deran laughs with a hitching breath.

“Hey, you know me, I hood surfed that bitch easy.”

“Yeah? How’d you break the ribs then?”

Silence

“Didn’t stick the landing?” Adrian teases.

“Not even a good attempt man.” There’s humor in Deran’s voice at least.

“Gotta work on that.”

Deran laughs his wounded laugh and Adrian’s hands ache where they’re wrapped around the phone.

Adrian can hear a baby crying in the background, making it hard to hear the words Deran’s mumbling in his ear.

“Deran where are you?”

He doesn’t answer but there’s the sound of a door sliding open, then closed, and Adrian can hear the ocean in the background instead of a baby’s cry.

Deran doesn’t say anything.

“You should go home.”

Deran clears his throat with a swallow that sounds wet and Adrian hates that he made that happen. He’s not an idiot. Adrian didn’t look back when he walked away from Deran leaving him at the pier. But he did when he was in the car, when they drove away and all that was in the rear view was a man curled in on himself on the ground with shaking shoulders. He knows he’s not the only one that died a little that last night in Oceanside. No matter how angry he is at Deran at any time Adrian hates when he cries. Probably hates it more than Deran himself hates it. And fuck he hated crying. When he’d been a kid he’d hold his breath til he was red in the face just trying to stop hiccuping breaths from exposing him. Not that it mattered, Deran’s face is the type that all but shouted from the rooftops if he was even adjacent to tears.

“I’m making Craig pay for all the big brother bullshit I’ve had to do for the last ten years.” Deran says instead.

Adrian lets him have his deflection. Tries not to think about their house sitting empty and abandoned, while Deran couch surfs or – god forbid – moves back into his bar’s crawl space.

Not often, but sometimes it’s a lot of silence and very few words. But those words carry a lot more weight.

Adrian watches the waves rolling in, brightly colored swimsuits bobbing in the blue, phone to his ear as he listens to that familiar breathing, the wind and the crashing of waves half a world away.

“I miss you.” It’s said now, out loud with no chance of taking it back. “Even when I hate you, I miss you.”

Adrian can hear the slosh of liquid, Deran swallowing, the clink of glass against glass.

“I know I tried to say it, but I never said it.” Adrian says, even now skirting around the real words. (I love you)

Deran doesn’t say anything for a very long time, just the two of them listening to each other’s wet breathing, pretending that they’re both holding it together. When Deran does speak his voice cracks.

“I want you here, I don’t, I can’t -” Deran cuts off like he’s choking. “I keep forgetting you’re not coming back.”

Adrian doesn’t think that’s what he was going to originally say, but he lets it go. There’s things he’s tried to say, words that circle around in his head but catch in his throat. They’ve never been much good at talking, these past months is probably the most they’ve spoken since they were idiot kids wanting to spill every thought and secret to the other. As though if nothing was between them, nothing could tear them apart.

Their style of comfort - their type of communications - has nearly always been in presence and touch; Adrian with his never ending patience, his ready comfort that tied no strings, and Deran always in Adrian’s corner, always standing behind him, ready with words and fists.. They really had made a great pair, even if time had torn them apart, turned those kids into something almost unrecognizable.

Adrian leans back in his deck chair, bites into brightly colored fruit that’s even sweeter than it’s bright skin would suggest. Juice runs down his fingers and in the background kids scream and squeal as waves break against them. He’ll have to go back to work soon, feeling drained and washed out, conversations like this don’t belong in a bright day, with the heavy air and warm sun. Adrian would kill to be back on his shitty couch, Deran’s head in his lap, but the thought just makes him ache.

He has to go back to work.

There’s still questions he tries to ask.

When-? Will-? Can I ever come home?

But not everything is easier to say like this. So, yet again, things go unsaid.

He rings Deran one night – his night – when the walls are closing in, when the noises of tourists get drunk in the streets makes him want to curl up and die, or go out there and get drunker and do something real fucking stupid.

“I’m sorry, you know? I know, I, I fucked up this time.”

“Don’t, you know, just don’t with that shit.” Deran’s voice starts sharp then goes thin and small. “If anything, you know it was me, I fucked up. “

It’s easier, which is fucked up Adrian knows – he knows – but it’s easier to talk like this, where the only hard part is the days when things have gone wrong, when Deran’s voice is strained and hurt, Adrian aches with loneliness so hard that he feels physically destroyed, and Adrian has to curl around the phone in his hand to stop himself from buying a plane ticket and forcing Deran to come be with him.

“You’re not the only one that fucked up this time.”

He wonders where Deran is, the nights Deran rings he can hear the bar, or a brother, or something that he can recognize. All he can hear now is the generic sound of traffic, Deran’s shoe scuffing against the ground in a continuous rhythmic noise, maybe the murmur of voices in the distance.

“I think you’ve got some credit in the fucking up department.” Deran’s tone goes dry, like he thinks the idea that Adrian should take any of the blame is hilarious.

“That’s not how it works, Deran.”

Adrian hears the distinct bark of Pope’s voice, the words lost though the angry tone remains. Deran sighs but doesn’t answer his brother.

“Try and get some sleep Adrian,” he says.

As Deran hangs up, Adrian can hear the snarl of words not meant for him, the maybe sound of a scuffle. He doesn’t sleep for a long time, but he doesn’t go out. Doesn’t do anything stupid. That’s got to count for something.

Sometimes it’s just Deran talking shit, half formed sentences and thoughts and all Adrian needs to do is make the occasional hum and Deran will keep talking, and for awhile Adrian gets to feel like maybe it’s not all bad. But sometimes he says something important in the constant stream of words.

“Wait, did you, are you saying I could come home?”

Deran’s silent for a very long time. Like maybe he didn’t mean to say anything.

“Deran. Talk to me. Tell me.” Adrian takes a deep breath, tries not to feel anything. “Even if it sucks, you gotta tell me.”

Deran stays silent for a little while longer, but Adrian knows Deran needs time; he doesn’t know how to say things sometimes, it’s half their problems, their inability to say the things they think.

“Okay,” Deran finally says with a shuddering breath. “You’re right. It’s weird, Oceansides weird now, man. A whole lotta Smurf’s old contacts have been coming out. Since she, you know, since she’s been gone.”

Adrian makes a noise to let him know he’s still listening, hating the way Deran’s voice hesitates unsure talking about his mother. He doesn’t know what exactly went down when Smurf died. Not exactly. Knows just enough to know it was bad. Really bad. That Smurf had gone out of her way to fuck up her kids just that little bit more on her way out. Part of him wants Deran to feel like he can talk about anything with him. The rest of him wants to never hear her mentioned again, unless its a plan to dig her up and set her on fire for all the shit she’s put all them all through. For the shit that’s still tearing them apart even now she’s gone.

“People we never even knew existed. And they want, you know, the usual bullshit, money, favors, chance to say they screwed over the Cody’s.” He sounds bitter as he says it, like he’s continuously disappointed by the criminals he deals with.

“Deran.” Adrian says, trying to pull him back to focus, Deran will bitch about assholes for hours if he got started.

“There’s this fed.” Deran blurts out. “Crooked as fuck, dirty, you know? But he says. He says your deal should have stuck, like you held your end, feds should have held up theirs.”

“What’s he want?” Adrian asks, because they always want something, and he might not be able stop Deran from doing something stupid, but he can at least know what the cost was.

“Same shit, I guess.” Deran answers.

“Deran…”

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up. I don’t know what he wants. How long it’ll take.” Deran says it like he doesn’t care, like it doesn’t matter what the crooked fed asks for, like it was a done deal as soon as he knew what sort of currency was required.

It reminds Adrian of a conversation weeks ago, a short one where Deran’s voice had been half slurred with alcohol or lack of sleep (or both)

You don’t know what I’ve done, I’ve done things. Way I am now, you don’t want me anywhere near you.

And he didn’t have anything to say to it back then, doesn’t know what to say now. He doesn’t know how he feels about the fact that part of him screams I don’t care! that whatever Deran’s done doesn’t matter to him.

He’s fucked, he’s known that since he was fifteen and the two of them had nursed bloody noses and black eyes behind the bleachers at school, fucked since Deran had leaned over his bar and said you made it clear you didn’t want to hear from me with a smile on his face, like it was okay if the past was all they ever got to have.

It’s been half a year and Deran left him to fend for himself in a foreign country and Adrian still wants to know how he’s doing, still wants nothing bad for the idiot, wants to go back to those nights when Deran was relaxed enough to let Adrian wrap his arms around him, to curl around him til there wasn’t any space between the two of them.

Something that feels like it could be hope starts growing, like the unfurling petals of a flower slowly blossoming in his chest.

Adrian’s so fucking gone on this idiot that the only thing that makes all of this remotely okay, is that maybe – just maybe – Deran’s just as lost on him.