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pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles · 4 years ago

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Honey and Spice

Nevermind me just being my typical whore self for Luke Hemmings

I blame @wildmichaelflower for starting this whole mess along with all of y’all posting those pics of Luke’s peaches today. Hot Damn, Luke is so fucking sexy it is unreal. Anyway, this is Pink Kink so it’s definitely NSFW. There’s spanking, oral, cockwarming, a bit of cumplay so enjoy! It’s also my first Lashton smut so there’s something new.

Lola had a tendency to get car sick and Ashton was the only one sober so they'd had no choice but to put a drunk Honey and Luke together in the back seat to take everyone home. He watched Calum buckling a very sleepy kitten into the Uber talking the rest of the group home as everyone said goodbye and wished Luke a final happy birthday.

On the way home the backseat got more rambunctious with Luke and Honey singing off key and trying to make the other laugh. Ashton rolled his eyes and looked over at Lola in the passenger seat, but she was wine tipsy and giggling along with them. He caught Honey's eye in the rearview mirror as she pulled another funny face making Luke laugh so hard he kicked the back of Ashton's seat. This time Lola threw a sharp look at both of them and the giggling stopped, for a second, until Ashton started cracking up at the two pouty faces from Honey and Luke "getting in trouble."

They pulled into Lola's driveway and everyone piled out of the car. Honey had to use the bathroom so they all went inside. Lola led Ashton and Luke the kitchen, poured another glass of wine for herself and coffee for everyone else. Honey came back and poked Luke in the ribs making him giggle again.

"Happy birthday Luke," she told him, landing a big smacking kiss on his cheek. "You're 24, that's gonna be fun for you."

They all looked at her, eyebrows raised at her suggestive tone before exchanging glances and smiles between each other.

"What do you mean by that?" Luke asked. He tried to look innocent, turning those big blue eyes towards her, but he couldn't keep the cheesy grin off his face. The sight made Lola snort with laughter, Luke was not subtle. Honey almost lost it but then she glanced at Ashton, who was looking at her with an evil smirk on his face.

"Yeah, what are you trying to say, baby girl?" He asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Honey slid her feet together, put her hands behind her back, dipped her chin down and looked up through her lashes at Ashton.

"It's ok if I say it?" Honey asked, her voice sweet but sultry.

Lola leaned back against the counter watching them as Ashton nodded slowly and held out his hand, palm facing up. In response, Honey walked over to him before slowly squatting down, eyes on Ashton the whole time. When she stood back up she dropped her panties into his open hand, receiving a tiny kiss on the nose from Ashton. Luke and Lola exchanged smiles at the sight.

Honey put her hands behind her back again before she spoke.

"I know on my birthday I got 22 swats and it was amazing. Daddy turned my ass so red I could barely sit the next day and had to lay on my stomach, but Daddy took good care of me. I bet Lola does the same to you."

"You two are up to something aren't you?" Lola asked.

"No, but he said something about how you were going to spank him later and I can't get it out of my head," Honey replied, ducking her head away from Lola's gaze.

"You're so cute when you act shy," Ashton laughed, "so what are you thinking Honey? You want to watch?"

"Well yeah, but" Honey hesitated, and glanced at Lola.

"I think she wants to help," Lola walked over to them, grabbing Luke's wrist as she passed him. She stood next to Ashton, leaning on him with her elbow propped on his shoulder, Luke hovering over her shoulder. "I didn't know you were into that."

Honey looked up at the three of them towering over her. Lola in heels was taller than Luke and just as broad whereas she'd slipped off her shoes and stood all of 5'1. She quivered at the feeling of being small and helpless surrounded by them.

"I'm not usually, but Luke's ass in those pants are obscene," Honey said and Luke turned and wiggled his butt at them.

"She's not wrong," Lola agreed.

"It's lost on Ashton," Luke pouted. "He only has eyes for Calum's sweet cheeks."

"Y'all have fun, I'm gonna watch," Ashton told them.

"Oh we'll get you involved, but let's move to the living room and get comfortable. I've got a new flogger we were going to use tonight." They followed her and she started giving instructions.

"Guys if you could please move the coffee table over by the wall. Ashton, I think you'll be most comfortable in the beige chair. Luke I want you bent over the burgundy chair. Don't take anything off until we get back."

Luke had just gotten into position when they came back.

Lola ran her hand along the red and white striped fabric with a sigh. "It really does look obscene in these pants." She gave him a hard smack, the sound reverberating through the room. Luke whined and pushed his ass higher. Lola grinned and landed several more in quick succession alternating cheeks. Luke moaned louder each time, his fingers digging into the leather arms of the chair. Honey's eyes were wide, Lola could see she was excited because her pupils were dilated and her cheeks were flushed. Lola stepped back, "Show me what you've got."

Honey struck him, surprised by the firmness under her hand.

"Harder," Luke whined, pushing back.

Lola grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back.

"Did you say something?" Lola hissed.

"No ma'am," Luke moaned, unable to contain it.

"Sure you didn't. Honey, undo his belt and pull his pants down to his ankles."

"Underwear too or just pants?"

"Luke isn't wearing any, not in those pants," Lola told her. Lola took the belt from her and handed Honey a brown leather flogger with about a dozen thin leather strips. "This is moose leather, doesn't have a lot of sting but makes a good sound." She walked behind Honey and stood behind her, guiding her arm and wrist through the motion. "Ok go ahead," Lola stepped back. "Count for her Luke."

Honey landed the first blow. Her eyes lit up and her mouth pulled into and "o" at the sound. She looked over at Ashton, who was sitting to her right at a slight angle so he could see everything. She hit him again, harder, and saw the pink stripes beginning to show on his pale skin. Lola rubbed her hand over the marks to soothe the sting. They got up to twelve before Lola stopped her again, soothing Luke's heated flesh.

Luke whined but didn't say anything and Honey looked at Lola more curious than concerned.

"He wants more pain, but he's loving the attention. Aren't you Curls?" Lola tugged his blonde hair. Lola picked up a slightly bigger flogger, this one bright red. "This is the new one, it's bull leather. Still soft but it's got more bite. We broke the last couple we had."

Honey turned it over, looking at it, feeling the leather between her fingers, inhaling the scent before handing it back to Lola.

"Can I feel it?" Honey asked, turning around. "I mean, really feel it?"

Lola looked at Ashton who nodded. "It's her scene. I just can't strike her like that, but this is hot."

Honey hiked her skirt up and turned her back towards Ashton. She caught Luke smirking at her in the mirror as she watched Lola's arm come up. She jumped at the blow and saw Ashton flinch.

"Can I have another?" Honey felt the slap across her thighs and moaned at the sting.

"Told you," Luke mouthed at her silently when he caught her eye.

Lola motioned for Ashton to come over. He knelt down behind Honey, his hands caressing the red marks already starting to show. She could see he was aroused, but he was conflicted by it because he was so protective. Honey decided to let it go for now because tonight was about paddling Luke's ass not hers.

Ashton rose to his feet as Honey took the whip back from Lola. He sat back down as Honey went through the motions again before the leather met Luke's cheeks. They seemed to jiggle in slow motion as the heavy straps hit hard with a loud thud. Luke groaned, his knees buckled a bit but he quickly thrust his hips back for more. Lola nodded and she hit him again.

"Fourteen," the word caught in Luke's throat.

Six more before Lola paused again, standing Luke up running her nails along his broad back gently cooing in his ear. This part Lola handled herself and Honey knew how comforting it was. She had to resist the urge to go curl up in Ashton's lap and let his fingers slip inside her. Lola caught her looking though and shook her head.

"Finish what you started chica, then you can have Daddy's cock. Give him four more, and hit him across the thighs this time."

Luke whimpered with each blow and Honey could see him in the mirror, red-faced with tears in his eyes. Still, he kept counting off, pushing back for more, his dick hard and twitching flat against his stomach the pleasure clear on his face. They got to twenty-three and Honey stopped. Luke's ass was bright red and she could hear him sniffle, Honey knew the feeling of absorbing the pain, wanting to push a little further than maybe you should. She hesitated, worried again she'd gone too far since this wasn't how she usually acted. However, Lola was right there and she wasn't going to let Luke go past his limits.

Luke smiled at her through tears. "One more Honey, let me have it."

Honey landed the final blow, not giving it quite as much sting. She handed the flogger to Lola and rushed over to Ashton, suddenly overwhelmed. Ashton stood up, wrapped her in his arms, kissed the top of her head and began rubbing her back. Honey began to come down from the adrenaline rush, still very much turned on. Honey watched Lola tenderly rub cream into Luke's swollen skin. She praised him and showered him with kisses. Luke was still painfully hard and pressed against Ashton, Honey realized Ashton was too. Lola motioned to Ashton who led Honey back over to them.

Lola and Luke were smiling at her, and Lola reached out to stroke her cheek.

"I wasn't sure you'd be able to finish, but you handled a flogger like a pro. We might have to give you another swing at Luke sometime, but first, let's finish taking care of my sweet boy. I've got an idea, and Ashton if you'd play along. Honey, I want you on your knees so I can watch you suck Luke off, but I want you sitting on Ashton's lap with his cock inside you.

Honey looked up at Ashton who had a huge grin spreading across his face. Lola played right into his exhibitionist streak, there's no way he'd say no. Ashton knelt down, sitting back on his feet so Honey could stand up on her knees in front of Luke and Ashton could slip inside her from behind.

Honey moaned as both men entered her at once. Luke's length sliding along her tongue and hitting the back of her throat while Ashton stretched her walls and she closed around his shaft, his arm holding her in place while he struggled to keep from moving. Honey let her mind go blank and focused on pleasing them. Her mouth worked Luke over, letting him use her throat as a fuck toy, gagging on his length. Each time she gagged she contracted her pussy around Ashton squeezing him as tightly as she could. Both men were practically drooling messes as she let them fill her up. Honey's juices ran down Ashton's thighs even though he wasn't moving inside of her. She wasn't frustrated, in fact it was a huge rush to give her body over to their pleasure, knowing Ashton would see she was taken care of later.

Lola stood behind Luke whispering in his ear, her fingers playing at his tight hole, opening him up and easing inside. Luke staggered and almost fell when she hit his prostate, but Lola held him up. "Come on Lu, cum for us baby. I wanna if she can swallow it all."

Honey hollowed her cheeks and bobbed her head. Her fist closed around Luke's length, pumping him towards his climax. Luke grabbed her hair, holding on as he fucked her face. The motion caused her to rock back and forth on Ashton giving him just enough friction to edge him closer to his own orgasm.

Luke shouted and threw his head back with a loud curse as Lola pushed deeper and hit his deepest spots. His fists bunched in Honey's hair as he erupted down her throat. She almost gagged but she held on swallowing every drop until Luke finally let her go.

She sputtered and coughed as she gasped for air her whole body shaking. That sent Ashton over the edge as his fingers dug into her hips rutting up into her until he saw stars. His whole body trembled still wrapped around hers as Honey clenched down and milked his cock with her walls. Her own orgasm was achingly close and as soon as Ashton could find his legs Honey found herself being lifted into the air. Ashton was still behind her but he'd hooked his arms under her thighs holding her up and spread open for Luke.

Luke dropped to his knees, those blue eyes cloudy with the high of his own release as he bent down to Honey's waiting sex. His tongue teased and probed her folds cleaning the mess Ashton left behind. Honey moaned at the sensation of being so exposed and open like that. Luke sucked her clit between his lips as his fingers entered her. Ashton began kissing her neck in the spot he knew made her crazy and the two of them found a rhythm that had her spine tingling. Her legs began to shake, Luke was relentless, not letting up for a second until she was cumming almost his face. Her juices ran down his chin dripping onto his chest as her orgasm soaked them both. Luke stood up and pulled his fingers out of her. He placed them in Ashton's mouth as he leaned down to kiss Honey. Her body was pressed between the men as Luke let them taste her pleasure together.

When Ashton put her down and the guys started to pull up their pants Honey went back on her knees. Her hands behind her back, her dress now stained and ripped off her shoulder she waited, her eyes on Lola. Lola realized this before the guys did and stepped up directly in front of her.

"Do you need something?" Lola asked.

"Need to please you, ma'am," Honey answered looking up at her.

"Hmmm," Lola thought about it. She knew if she had a big orgasm she would have a huge drop in libido, and she wasn't ready for that yet. There were other ways, however. Lola pulled Honey's head between her legs, lifting her skirt so Honey could lap at her now drenched core through her pantyhose. Patiently Honey continued long slow licks setting Lola's whole body on fire. Luke came up behind her, his hands slipping in Lola's bra and playing with her nipple piercings as Lola's excitement grew. Luke listened and watched her face until she was almost there before he reached out and heels Honey's head completely still. She froze where she was, tongue flat against the other woman's silk-covered pleasure center, not even breathing as Lola teetered on the edge. Lola's body quivered and shook but she held on. Honey heels the other woman's legs open until Lola nodded and helped her up.

Luke was still wrapped around Lola nuzzled into her neck as he thanked Honey and Ashton for the birthday present. Ashton knew Lola had more plans for Luke that night so he quickly made excuses for them to leave. On the drive home, they talked about what just happened.

"Are you going to be a badass like Lola and Miss now? Should I be worried?" Ashton teased.

"God no, it's way too much work. Luke is a fun indulgence, but nothing is better than you." Honey reached over and squeezed his thigh. "What do you think those two will get up to tonight?"

"She's going to set the camera up and rail his ass. Just the way Luke likes it," Ashton was surprised at the thoughtful look on Honey's face. "What is it? Are you wanting to try pegging now? You won't even let me try anal."

"Your dick is too big Daddy," she shot back. "Who knows maybe we can trade, my ass for yours. Now pull into this drive-thru. I'm always hungry after I cum."

"No way there's like seventeen cars in line," Ashton told her pulling over into the turn lane.

"Perfect," she replied unbuckling her seat belt. "I can suck you off while we wait."

@castaway-cashton @sexgodashton @mermaidcashton @sublimehood @tea4sykes @notinthesameguey @kiiiimberlyriiiicker1995 @ghostofmashton @damselindistressanu

#luke hemmings #ashton irwin #luke hemming imagines #luke hemmings smut #luke hemmings fanfic #luke hemmings blurb #lashton smut #pink kink #Ashton and Honey #Luke and Lola #ashton irwin imagine #ashton irwin smut

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raleigh-ocean · 4 years ago

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troubles of a learning heart, part 1 | billie dean howard x dara ann lynch

words: 12,580

summary: Love was quite the difficult thing at times, Billie thought many times, and she admired Dara for spending the last seven years how it felt to be truly loved, however when she started to try and give back that love to her...well, let’s say she didn’t expect that there would be moments in which she would have to step forward and actively show it. But, as she lies in bed with Dara still by her side, she thinks that she will make it as long as her heart pick up quick in the habits, in the ways of showing her dear love that she’s being reciprocated. First part of two.

warning: anxiety attack? Idk I kinda wanna give y’all some warning that there’s a heavy part near the end.

n/a: I want to thank @grilledcheeseandguavajelly for encouraging me to post it, because I’ve been feeling like a no-no since I finished this yesterday. This is full of tiny headcanons and bits from other of my stories and some others I want to write, so I hope you enjoy it. This first part is like a prequel to put a context to the next chapter of ‘over my skin, part 3’ and the second part would be the resolution of this big thing, because it goes deeper. I’m trying to make Billie finally build her love, all those raw feelings she has for Dara and put her into a few situations I think it will help her.

"Here you go papi, take it easy, don't want your mother to scream at both because you spilled your ice-cream all over your new shirt so soon."

Billie looked at Dara in that moment with a mix of fondness and amusement, trying at the same time to find a way to help the other seven year old boy, who was smiling at his brother with all the happiness a kid could gather up when given what they wanted.

Her attention drifted a bit when a loud chuckle interrupted the moment, the teenage girl that was fighting her chocolate ice-cream from melting all over her hand snapping her out of the calm picture and getting a scowl back from the last boy.

"Auntie always has shirts to spare around because they get messy," the scowling boy - Ezra, Billie recalled his name this time - was barely two months older than the twin boys, but since she met him, Billie found out that he was an intelligent and straight-to-the point kid.

"I figure, y'all lot have the same curse with food and clothes," Dara smiled at him with the sweetest dimpled smile, which was returned with a similar one from Ezra. "I remember when your sister was around your age that your abuelita always had sweatpants ready in case of an accident."

That made the teenager blush fiercely and the kids to giggle, Billie trying to hide her own smile eating some of her own ice-cream.

Today was being a good day so far even when she had her doubts about it when it started, taking in count she was not used to babysit. But she thought it was good in someway, an exception to make her remember that even when she was in some kind of vacation from work, it felt good to be able to do something instead of just sitting around in a house that was still pretty much unknown for her.

"What? Did I lie mami?" Dara, in a smooth move, saved some vanilla ice-cream from falling into the table and then ate a spoonful of her own - Billie always found funny how most of the time Dara picked fruit flavors.

"Please aunt Dara, stop calling me that," Eva - Billie remembered that one easily - gave Billie a quick glance before trying to hide somehow her embarrassment.

"Yeah, give her a rest babe," Billie was fast to pick up that and with the pet name, she had Dara smiling at her and throwing her hands in the air, all of that before lowering her voice a bit. "I think her friends overheard you enough back at the mall."

"Fine, fine, I'm only stopping because you gonna get enough of it once we are back at the house," Dara took a look over her niece and nephews before standing up. "I'm getting some more napkins before any mess happens."

It was weird for Billie to see that 'doting aunt' side of Dara, but she couldn't help but think how much it suited her. Hearing her talk with soft and cheerful voice here and there, only made Billie believe that her partner was a natural when it came to take care of the rest.

She looked at her for a second, seeing how much Dara was limping but not complaining about it, and it filled Billie with some sick respect for her...and worry.

However her attention drifted once again when Ezra asked her if he could try some of her ice-cream in a shy tone, mostly because his sister didn’t seem to let him indulge in that. Not having Dara by her side made Billie nervous for some reason, probably because she wasn’t used to be in her own in this situation. And also because she didn’t know much about Dara’s hometown, so it was a strange situation for sure.

“Kids!” the sudden masculine voice startled Billie, making her heart to start beating faster. “Where’s your mom, hmm?”

“¡Tío!” it was then when Billie entered the panic zone because two of the four kids were moving faster than she could, going to hug a man that she never saw before. “We’re eating ice-cream!”

This tall man, with leather vest, an old t-shirt of some kind of festival and baggy jeans. His hair was slicked back except for a few loose strands that fell over his forehead. He had tattoos covering his arms and some showing through the neck of his shirt.

“That can I see and taste,” the man laughed because he had pick up the twins, they were kissing him in his cheeks and giving him to try their desserts, and then his eyes went to Billie first before looking at the teenager girl. “Where’s Diana or your mother, Eva? I thought Carla didn’t let you go alone outside.”

“We aren’t alone,” Ezra interceded, scowling once again, but not looking at the man. “We are with aunt Billie…”

If Billie was nervous and about to panic, hearing the kid addressing her like that calmed her in a weird way. She wasn't a stranger to be called aunt, her own sister had a couple of kids, but she visited them so little that it was just as weird. She smiled at him, but the man didn’t even seem to acknowledge Ezra nor her because he kept looking at Eva with an inquisitive look. Eva didn’t seem to want to talk and Billie wasn’t sure if she was afraid or just the stubborn teenager part, but she did it the same with a strange glint of pride that Billie already saw somewhere that she couldn’t pinpoint at the moment.

“Working. Aunt Dara came a few days ago, she’s watching over us,” it was time for the man to go pale suddenly.

“Edo, Ev, you’re gonna make a mess all over your uncle, get down papis, c'mon.”

Obedient as ever, the twins wiggled their way to the ground and Billie got her stomach in a tight knot only by feeling how the still cheerful situation dropped to one more serious. Dara was leaning in her cane with both hands, looking at the man that was now facing her, a nervous smile over his lips.

"Ana, how you doin'?" There wasn't a visible height difference, but Billie got the feeling that the man shortened when he leant to kiss Dara's cheek in a friendly way - and receiving a soft one back in response. "Didn't know you were back."

"For a few days, yeah, we're on vacation and decided to spend it with my family," the sentiment in Billie's guts got tighter when Dara was adamant in making a point with the way she said the 'we', tapping her cane in the ground twice. "And I've never been better Godo. I'm spending the morning with my niece and nephews, what else could I ask for?"

"That's amazing th-"

"Tío Godo asked where's mama, tía," Eduardo, the twin with the bright green shirt, was quick to speak over the adult while hugging Dara's good leg.

Billie saw the way Godo sunk a bit more with that, how Dara's brown eyes hardened and how Eva looked away almost immediately.

"Is that so, hmm?" Dara hummed, fixing Eduardo's messy black hair with quick fingers, the gold of her rings shining a bit while her attention went from the kid to the man.

"Just checking in Ana, y'know I worry about the kids and they were alone," Godo chuckled nervously and Billie immediately felt a soft static in her skin. "I bet you understand."

"Uncle here asked for mom too," Eva chirped, only making Dara to tighten her jaw a second before flashing one of her smiles.

"But they weren't alone, my partner here was with them," Billie absolutely didn't want to get any attention, unlike the rest of the time in her life. "As I am, so now you can go your way with your worries eased. I'm sure you can give my sisters a call if you wanted to speak with them, right?" Godo nodded and the static went away, Dara smiling at him again as if she was even glad to have met him there. "Great, then it was nice to see you, Big G."

When he was gone, Billie smiled almost shyly at Dara and was met with the purest form of happiness in the way the woman smiled her back. It was as if the encounter didn't happen and Billie knew right off the bat that there was a long story behind all of the animosity that the kids missed by a head - except maybe for Eva, which started to act a bit softer towards her little brother.

After that they resumed the ice-cream time a few minutes later and decided to make a quick stop to get burgers for take out. Billie knew Dara always liked to actually eat in the place, but by the way her leg was acting up, it was for the best to take everything back to the house instead of staying for lunch.

"Annie, everything alright?" asked Billie while the kids were already running towards Dara's parents and Eva was carrying the bags with the food.

"Yeah honey, just a bit tired but nothing a nap can't fix," Dara leant for a kiss, one longer than the tiny pecks they shared over the morning. "I'm hungry actually, and you?"

"I'm hungry too," Billie chuckled, wrapping her arms better around Dara's waist and drawing a giggle from her. A new slow kiss making them forget their chances of making out like teenagers against Dara's mother's car were getting high. "But nothing we can’t fix before your nap," that made Dara laugh and Billie smiled big at her. "If we can, of course, I mean...did you see your nephews? We should be running before they eat our food too."

"Their stomachs are like black holes, incredible, isn't it?" Dara pressed her lips against Billie's in a lazy and tired kiss, before lacing their arms together so they could walk inside with the rest. "I think is a genetic thing."

And after only one day around Dara's family, Billie knew that it was true. She never saw so much food disappear so fast in a long while, and she was living with Dara for almost four years now and with her for almost three more.

…

“Who was the guy?”

Billie managed to pull away from the charm that was Dara spreading body cream in her legs to finally ask the question. They’d claimed the main bathroom for themselves after everyone had their turn and they were taking every extra second of that privacy.

Against the odds, Dara passed out the second she touched the inflatable mattress and Billie took that time to indulge in answering some emails at first, but after the few first ones it became impossible to do something else with Dara cuddling her right side with such sweet face. Would it be hard to take a quick nap? When they woke up, Billie thought she had been hit with a rock, her eyes too heavy, but tiny kisses helped her to get rid of the sleep.

If they tried to get some well deserved private moment, it was broken the second Darziel - Dara’s little brother - came through the door complaining about how their mother was doing some kind of zafarrancho to get ready for tonight’s dinner. Dara had hit him with her cane, repeatedly, until she managed to get him out of the room and then Ezra came in running from the twins, trying to get a place to hide. Billie knew it was a matter of time they got interrupted again and she was right the moment Deirdre - Dara’s biggest sister and Eva and Ezra’s mom - came into the room, hiding as well from her own mother…

...and in a matter of time, the room was crowded.

“Who?” asked Dara, fixing a bit her loose robe, but not stopping from going through the little routine. Billie was used to see it and appreciate it by now and seeing her so bare, raw, natural, helped greatly each time to remind her how much she loved her girl.

“Badass Godo-guy,” explained Billie, getting as comfortable as she humanly could, sitting in an old stool and her back to the tile wall. “He was pretty adamant in ignoring not only me but your nephew. Ezra told him I was with them but turned a deaf ear on it.”

For a second Billie forgot what was she saying because Dara turned around, the robe loose again and letting her see...well, some pretty nice things; and walked towards her - barely two steps because the bathroom wasn’t really big - to sit in her lap. Billie feared for a second the stool was going to collapse under their weight, but it was resilient enough. Hands on hips, hands on shoulders and Dara was sighing softly while playing with the ends of Billie’s blonde hair.

“My brother-in-law’s brother...Diana’s,” Billie silently thanked the clarification, drawing her thumbs over Dara’s thighs in random patterns - she was extra careful with the one scarred. “He’s a fucking bully, went with me to high school. Godofredo doesn’t like many people and the sentiment is mutual.”

“For being a bully, you got him acting like a tiny pupper, doll,” Dara was the one smiling shyly this time, getting a kiss just for that.

“Let’s say that I...beat him up really hard once,” Billie kissed Dara’s knuckles and fingers, bare from her usual rings, and then the inside of her wrist were one of her cross tattoos rested. “And twice, and thrice...and broke a chair in his back.” It was then when Billie looked at her wide-eyed. “That one had to do with why he ignored my nephew like that.”

Billie knew they would’ve been at it right away again, but she felt satisfied with what they did in the shower for some reason. That’s why they were last to shower, because Dara took in her hands all the things her siblings didn’t want to do - helping her mother in the kitchen, per example; driving her uncle Cedric to his appointment afterwards while Billie tried to help Dara's father in the backyard - to have the rest of the time from there to dinner free.

It was their time, only theirs to do as they wanted, and Billie wanted to actually fill it with more than sex.

Talking was good, she liked hearing Dara talk, and hearing more about her was even better. She was genuinely interested in whatever she was about to hear...because all she could focus in was the woman sitting in her lap, not in whatever was floating inside her brain almost twenty four seven.

“Godo and Berto’s oldest brother is Eva’s father,” Billie saw Dara frowning and she leant to kiss her chin, getting one in her cheek in response. “I don’t even care where the fuck he is now, Berto neither, but Godo always looked up to his big brother. Fifteen years has passed and he still forgets that his brother lost any right as father and partner the day he left my sister to her own devices, and that’s only the top of the list,” there was tiredness in Dara’s voice and a hint of rage that faded when Billie focused in keep drawing soft patterns in her skin. “It took my sister eight years to finally move on, she got married and soon Ezra was in the way. Godo still takes that as a treason or I don’t even know at this point...and well, the rest is story.”

“But I don’t get how you ended up breaking a chair in his back,” it was a lot to take in, to be fair, but Dara couldn’t help but laugh when Billie tried to lighten the mood in the bathroom.

“He decided to be a super duper asshole towards Deirdre while we were doing groceries, and well, a twenty-five years old me was really...let’s say I had a lot of pent up anger. I was invited to a party and you know how I get with the gin and he had the fucking audacity to show up,” Dara shrugged a bit and kissed Billie on the lips, sweet and slow while indulging in the intimate embrace. “If it wasn’t for Daya, he would have had a broken pool stick going clean through his thigh.”

“Wait, twenty-five, we already met when you did all of that?” Billie blinked fast at that and Dara blushed hard. “Now I can see why you were so-”

“Oh shush, I still am like that or did you forget what we did a week ago?” it was time for Billie to laugh and Dara to act like she was offended by what she said. Act because of the way she bit her cheek playfully. “But I did soften since then.”

She didn’t think that Dara actually softened, sometimes Billie could see that fierceness in her eyes, but she let her have that because she decided to move when someone knocked on the door. It was Dara’s father, Jeziel, telling them that they needed help to set up the table. Billie muffled a laugh against her hand when Dara silently punched the air and pinched the bridge of her nose before replying that they were going down in ten.

“See?” Dara started to gather their things to get back to the room. “This is why I like your sister."

"Do you now?" Billie raised an eyebrow, because she knew how much Dara despised Josephine - Jo wasn't really polite with her and openly declared her dislike for Dara, even when Dara herself always tried to be the most polite ever, to the point that even Billie and Jo's father had started to make positive comments towards the younger woman.

"Yeah, with her at least I see the knife that's gonna stab me," Dara laughed openly and Billie couldn't help but chuckle with her. "Bunch of traitors, I'm telling you, we gonna steal the natillas and the vodka bottle and go feast by the pool."

"Baby, you're on your medication," Billie caught Dara by the waist, spinning her around so she could kiss her once again. "You can't get hammered."

"Calamities never come alone," Billie knew it was a rough translation of some spanish words just by how weird was it phrased, but it was okay, who cared anyway? "Would my lady in shining armor come save us from doing the dishes tonight?"

God, why was she so goofy unexpectedly? Dara didn't seem to want to let go, her arms circling Billie's neck with care and pressing slow kisses down her cheeks to her neck. It wasn't fair, it had to be illegal!

"We'll use one of the twins as distraction and the other to steal the car keys, I'll take you anywhere you want me to," she tried to sound dreamy, fairy tale-sque even, but all she did was sound a bit desperate. "Pick a direction and I'll drive."

"God, how much I love you Billie Dean," the next kiss was glorious, taking in count it was probably the big last one until they were again in their room late at night later. "But we should go already, honey, let's go."

And that was it, their private moment ended with a dreamy sight and a kiss to die for, and Billie felt like something in her chest beamed with pride, love and a deepness she was getting fond of.

Dara was a slow walker now, to her own dismay since she hated moving slow, so it was easy to capture her hand and intertwine their fingers. Billie opened her mouth for a second, thinking about what she was going to say next, and Dara looked at her with curiosity filling her tired eyes. Without make-up, Billie could see the tiny freckles over her nose and cheeks better and it only added her a whole new level of cuteness.

"Are you okay Bills?" it was a question in a whisper, genuine worry laced with the words.

"Yes, it's only that I...well," she wanted to say it, she really wanted but it was too difficult. "I…" Dara's eyes shone in anticipation, one that made Billie feel a bit bad. "I think you didn't softened, you only got wiser and more patient."

How hard actually was when Dara said it to her almost everyday?

"Absolutely, if twenty-five me would had been in the same situation as thirty-two me today, that man would had been at the dentist to get fake teeth for real as of now," Dara giggled, hiding away the little disappointment upon not hearing those words she wanted to hear so bad, and kissed Billie's cheek sweetly. "Not letting him go with the soft warning of 'go already or I'll break your ribs with my cane'," one more kiss to Billie's nose and a dimpled smile. "Now let's go, before Diana breaks a new plate in the way to set up the table."

...

Billie didn’t know what to do at that point and it perfectly showed.

She always had easy talk ready to overcome awkward situations, that’s how she survived to lots of parties all those years. But Dara could see that it wasn't that easy for her right in this moment, not when she was watching Deirdre and Diana argue over God knows what and none seemed to want to stop them.

Dara was used to that, Deirdre was always out of touch with the fact that Diana was sensitive and Diana always forgot that Deirdre loved to burn every argument down to the base. It didn't help at all that her mom was trying to give Billie some pointers about, again, God knows what and that was messing up with any tempo her dear medium was trying to keep. She wanted to go save her before it was too late for her head, but she was busy getting the plates over the table in order while Eduardo tried to talk her ear off about the show he seemed to love so much these days.

How could a seven years old talk that much and so fast? If she wasn't trained with the old ladies at the store, she would've gone insane only five seconds in.

"¿En serio, papi? Give me that," Dara smiled at her nephew, not wanting to cut his speech but needing the cutlery in his hands. Eduardo gave it to her without taking a break from talking. "Hmm, abuelita gave you more forks, someone's coming?" But the kid was too deep in his world of explaining to his favourite part to actually pay more attention than the necessary to his aunt. "Well, we'll see later then."

It was something that didn't worry Dara at all, taking in count in her house there was always more people than the usual. Maybe her parents invited some friend over or her siblings, who knows? Reaching for her cane, which she left against the table, Dara decidedly tried to move towards Billie now that she was free.

Her grandfather, Bruno, saved the medium from the little chaos and they were sharing a comfortable silence in the couch, or at least that much Dara could see. Seeing both like that, two of the most important people in her life getting along well, made her stomach explode with butterflies as if she was a teenager again. And she wanted to be part of it too, even when she overheard some ruckus in the front door.

However, the ruckus had a name and Dara was interrupted in her tiny quest of making her way to Billie because of the new guest at the house.

"Oh God, Dara!!!!!" Loud as ever, the asian girl crossing the backyard door was smiling directly at her, running with open arms towards her and meeting in a big hug. "How long since I last saw you? Instagram posts doesn't count, it's been forever!"

"Don't be dramatic Gemma, I was here a couple months ago," Dara couldn't help but laugh at her soon sister-in-law's antics. "I hope Darziel is treating you right."

"Your brother will always treat me well," Gemma's laugh was clear and soft, making Dara feel at ease only with that. "Where's your mom, by the way? My mom made me brought over some desserts and other things."

"Kitchen...I think? You know the drill, follow the panicked voice and you'll find her," they both laughed with that and Gemma hugged her again, Dara indulging on it because well, she missed her friend, to be honest. "At my left at dinner like always?"

"Of course! Your right is for your grangran, how can I stole his sea-"

"Actually, tonight Billie is at my right," the statement made Gemma stop from walking and she looked back at Dara with surprise and curiosity written all over he face. "He's at her right."

"No way, is she here?" Hearing Gemma so excited only because Billie came to Sacramento this time, made Dara happily hum and nodded where Billie was now shyly chatting with Deirdre's husband. "Okay, okay, later you'll fill me with details and I'll try to sell my soul to the devil so you two have a table at the restaurant before you go back home," Gemma squeezed Dara's hand over the cane and smiled big at her before Ezra drew her attention, hugging her by the thighs. "Hey, big guy! Let's go see your granny, I brought your favourite mini-cakes."

When Gemma was gone, Dara couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Who would have tell that an eight year gap was something difficult in a friendship? She practically saw Gemma grow up in the woman she was today, her brother and her the bestest of friends until the spark of love grew between them and became more. To this day, it still amazed Dara how everyone was so blind to not see how Darziel was head over heels with her since they were little.

Maybe she could tell Billie that story at the promised dinner at Gemma's parents' restaurant.

Looking towards her blonde, Dara caught Billie asking for silent help because Abraham was drifting away in the conversation - as always - and she was getting even more lost if it was possible. Yeah, she totally needed to save her girl, be the knight in shining armour first and all those nice things.

But right in the moment she was about to take the first step, she heard it clear even over the voices of everyone.

The whir of a motorbike making a left in the corner of the street, the engine stopping in front of the house...it was loud enough to fill the silence of the street even when the house was alive with voices. It made Dara's stomach churn anxiously just with that, because she knew that exact sound by heart and soul. She really wanted it to be a hallucination because of the mix of allergy and pain meds, but the doorbell going off told her it wasn't.

Frozen like she was, Dara managed to turn around when she heard the rest welcoming the new guest that came through the backyard door. She wasn't ready for this, not at all, but she composed her best smile by the moment her eyes locked with those she knew from a long time ago, filled with surprise and something deeper, something she wasn't sure what it was because she was too worried to not runaway in that moment.

"Dara...Ana," her second name was always the way to soften her and only three people in this world could make it work. "You look beautiful, how are you?"

Her grandfather, Billie and Benjamin, her ex.

"Getting ready for the feast," Dara smiled in automatic and she immediately knew Benjamin knew it as well, that she was slipping into her full damage control mode as the clock was ticking even when she felt herself less tense. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

And it wasn’t a lie, he had changed...both had changed greatly, in fact, but Dara thought the change looked better on him. Benjamin sported his hair short, one of those modern haircuts kids these days wore, and it was obvious he had trouble with styling it since he had wore it long since Dara had memory. He was dressed in jeans, clean sneakers, and shirt buttoned all the way up...and he looked so uncomfortable on it, that it drove Dara crazy for some reason.

Making her forget that she had literally no clue why he was even there.

And she moved towards him, like a magnet, instead of going to save Billie from Abraham’s never-ending talk.

Billie saw how Dara made her way towards the new man in the house and she felt something waking up in the pit of her stomach.

It wasn’t like she didn’t see Dara interacting with people, she was always polite and kind even with strangers, but it was the way the man threw his hands a bit to help her girl, the way Dara only moved her hand to dismiss it and got what she wanted - because who could get Dara to indulge without a fight? -; the way she fixed his shirt and his hair with quick fingers, the man thanking in a whisper while he also fixed his belt; and obviously the way he took her cane’s hand and kissed her fingers, over her rings, respectfully.

All of that it what truly woke Billie’s raw jealousy...but in a way she had never felt before.

A sad one that started eating her alive right in that moment.

It went worse the second they were all sat at the table finally. Dara seemed nervous, her fingers flickering with the need of having a cigarette over her knee, when this man sat in front of them led by Dara’s mother. Billie wanted to reach for her hand, intertwine her fingers with hers and kiss her head to whisper the softest ‘I love you’ ever whispered and see if it would help her girl to calm down.

Her eyes went to the rest of the table, trying to see if anyone was acting different, but she was met with the pure happiness of a family gathering. It gave her the empty sensation she sometimes had with Dara, like an impenetrable wall that hold back everything, but when she looked at their side of the table…

...she was met with something completely different.

Gemma was her bubbly self, but she kept being the most attentive towards Dara, talking her ear off but also giving her reassuring touches here and there. Darziel was as nervous as his sister, but he was trying to keep himself busy with eating because unlike Dara, his appetite never died apparently. Don Bruno kept eating, his eyes on the man as if he was able to dig holes in his skull just like that, but also kept passing Billie some of the dishes so she could eat a little of this and a little of that, making mumbled pointers about the food. Berto and Abraham talked to each other, to their kids, but sometimes gave nervous glances to their wives and to this man.

When her eyes finally landed in Carla, in the right end of the table, Billie knew there was something bigger than a family gathering going on and somehow, her sad jealousy went to a second plane because her attention was drawn by this same man that seemed to destabilize the whole picture.

“Sorry, I think we weren’t introduced,” he had a sweet smile, gentleman like, and it was pretty visible for her that he was trying to make things less awkward. He stretched his hand over the big lasagna platter and Billie went in automatic, taking it in hers. She expected a strong handshake but he held her hand as delicately as he did with Dara’s minutes ago. “I’m Benjamin Hernández, my parents are old friends of the family.”

“Billie Dean Howard,” she said her name trying to add the punch she always added when meeting someone, but she failed miserably. “I’m Annie’s partner.”

She did not fail, however, in finally reaching for Dara’s hand under the table with her free one, intertwining their fingers as she wanted. She didn't need to put up the charade of the medium of the stars, the fake smile, a more composed voice. She was just Billie.

And having Dara looking at her with the whole universe shining in her eyes was all that she needed to get her going through the whole dinner.

...

Saying that she ate too much was an understatement, she was pretty sure that she never ate that much to begin with. But it didn’t feel wrong, Billie was actually satisfied, warm and feeling just a bit tipsy thanks to the wine, making her enjoy better the rest of the night. She was still pretty much jealous, who was she kidding, but having Dara so close to her while they were playing domino with Diana, Deirdre and Gemma did wonders on her mood.

Dara seemed less nervous and leaving tiny pecks in her cheeks every time they did a good move in the game seemed to be helping her keep whatever storm that’s brewing in her head at bay.

“No, honey, you need to pay attention to this and this,” Billie nodded, following Dara’s hands. “And then...you put this one and boom! We won!”

“No fucking way!” Diana laughed at Deirdre’s reaction, Gemma still trying to figure out how Dara had won once again at domino. “To Hell with you, how do you do that? You always sucked ass to this game.”

“I found some online domino and the store is empty too many hours a day, I got better just by boredom,” Dara chuckled while Diana pulled all the tiles together, so they could play another round. “And Dahlia and I always play when we get together, she’s teaching Shelby as well.”

“And how that’s going? She’s a pretty good teach, I’ll always remember how she helped me with maths over Skype.” asked Gemma, happy to hear about Dahlia.

“Horrible, for a yoga instructor, Shelby sure does have like zero patience,” Billie laughed at that, the memory of how frustrated the other blonde woman was fresh in her head, while Dara put her arm over her shoulders. “Dahlia loves her too much to tell her, but hey, until then we got some funny show going."

Billie looked at Dara for a second, taking in the way the orangish light lightened her features ever so softly. Beautiful, so beautiful, so, so beautiful that Billie leant to kiss her just because she couldn't help it at this point of the night. Dara smiled against her lips and also indulged on it, her hand to Billie's cheek to loosely caress her cheekbone with her thumb.

It didn't last long but they kept kissing each other, peck after peck and making them forget they were about to play another round of domino, making both forget they felt still uneasy from dinner.

"Go get a room you two," Diana threw them a domino tile and Dara chuckled against the last kiss, receiving another one in the cheek.

"Same room you all keep using as hiding spot? No, thanks, I pretty much prefer to wait a few more days till we get home," Billie hid her face in Dara's neck so they couldn't see her smiling smugly at the lie, but also fondly at how the word 'home' sounded in Dara's lips. "Unless you want to learn some stuff from yo-"

"Oh my dear lord, don't finish that sentence Dara Ann Lynch!"

Everything sent them all into a big fit of laughter, one shushed quickly by Carla coming out from the kitchen back door with her arms akimbo. They five were the only ones still in the yard, the rest inside taking care of dirty dishes, sleepy kids and furniture moved.

“You better move inside, your father is already getting the ron out and all,” it was their cue to move, Billie knew that pretty well, and she soon had her arm ready for Dara to take. “Billie, can you be a dear and help me with coffee?”

“I can help you m-” Dara started to say before Billie could say or do something.

“Oh no, cariño," the way Carla smiled made Billie's stomach churn and she gave a side glance to Dara. "You rest a bit, okay? Dei, Dia, help your father, I think he's also fighting with the music thing you bought him for Christmas."

Deirdre and Diana said 'si mamá' at the same time and Gemma scratched the back of her neck, not knowing what to do since her mother-in-law didn't give her a task. Carla was still there, waiting for Billie, and she smiled at her before squeezing Dara's forearm a bit.

"Of course Carla, I'm coming."

Dara smiled faintly when Billie kissed her cheek and Gemma was quick to replace her, helping with the moving part towards the living room. As the day has gone by, Dara was feeling drained because all of the come and go had strained a bit her bad leg, and not even her cane was enough to make her feel steady.

Billie didn't want to leave her side, but playing nice with Dara's mother was important at this moment. She always felt there was some kind of separation with Dara's family and her, and she wanted to close that stranger gap. Sometimes she felt like they all were waiting for Billie to dump Dara and it was unnerving, to be fair, making her guts twist uncomfortably.

When she passed by the living room, Deirdre and Diana were talking with their father in spanish, the tone of their voices one of mockery yet exasperation because probably it wasn't the first time they helped him with the whole device. Cedric, Dahlia's father, was talking with Benjamin and Berto on the couch, while Abraham was getting glasses from a cabinet. The whole living room was getting cozy in someway, a kind of warmth Billie wasn't used to but she found herself not minding at this point...even enjoying it.

Everything was really different from her own childhood home.

Bruno gave Billie a warm smile when Carla and her got in the kitchen, tapping slightly with his hand the side table there to the rhythm of the song that was now playing in the background softly. There was still food in the counters, waiting to be fully cold and be stored in the fridge, but also there was a plate and a glass aside that made Billie recall that Dara's little sister, Dayanara, wasn't around yet.

"Is Dayanara coming home soon?" asked Billie after being told where were the stuff for coffee.

"Yeah, she called a few minutes ago, said in forty-five she'll be here," Carla chirped, turning on the stove so she could put the coffee pot and a kettle to heat up. "Daya's been working too many extra shifts this week, my poor baby."

"For a week that her sister is here, she should have stick with her usual schedule," rumbled Bruno, playing with a piece of paper that was over the side table.

"Ay papá, you know how she is, she just want to be better and be a good nurse, and that takes a lot of hard work," Carla gave Billie some cups and gestured her where the little spoons were. Dara had the same hand gestures as her mother, she noted.

"All I'm saying is that we barely have Anita here, demonios."

"Dara understands that Dayanara is working hard, she's the happiest as long as they can have some time together," interceded Billie after retrieving the spoons, leaving them in the tray they were getting ready. "But…" she looked over her shoulder before lowering her voice, a bit worried. "I feel like Dara thinks Dayanara is avoiding her or something."

And it wasn't a lie, to be honest. Dara did commented on it one of the days late at night, when they were lying awake because of the heat, and Billie easily picked up to what her girl was saying the next morning. She was always good at picking up the behaviour of the rest, even when sometimes was harder, thanks to her own gift and just by how Dayanara turned down every plan Dara had proposed to her, well, what else could be said.

However, Billie didn't drop the comment that innocently. If something was up, maybe a push in the right direction would give her some pointers about why everyone seemed so uneasy since they arrived. It wasn't only a thing of that day, Billie had been picking up the weirdness in the family little by little and decided to keep it to herself so Dara could enjoy their time there.

Maybe today was just too much, overall after seeing how Dara had reacted upon having that Benjamin guy over dinner with them all.

"No, no, no, she's just busy," even when Carla's voice was a bit happy-go-lucky, Bruno's scowl said that there was something else behind. "And tired, that's all."

Carla still didn't know how stubborn could Bullie get, unfortunately, let alone when Dara was involved. She needed to cut everything by the root the moment it started to bother her girl, she didn't make the rules.

"Well, you can lie to her all you want," Billie said, a match lightening inside her chest, while pushing the kitchen's door to shut it close. "And she's going to let you if she noticed, but not me. What's going on?" she asked it with the voice she usually used on set. "Since the second that guy was in her view, Annie's been all shook up, and I don't like that because we're supposed to be on vacation, away from any headache."

Billie didn't miss how Bruno looked at her, a proud glint in his eyes, when she crossed her arms under her chest and looked at Carla with all the courage she had gathered up in a matter of seconds.

God bless coffee for being so slow to be brewed.

"You can't tell my daughter about it, okay?" Fucking bingo, thought Billie when Carla finally gave in, looking at her to get a nod in response. "Did she talk to you about Benjamin before?" Negative, Billie shook her head. "He's her ex-boyfriend...and he's now dating Dayanara."

…

Dara had her eyes closed, trying to focus in how her father's heart beat, all while listening to him hum along the song that was currently playing.

They managed to get the music going and she was just too tired, hoping that Billie could free herself from her mother's hands soon, but her father had pulled her to dance with him.

She couldn't say no and she preferred to be occupied with something instead of leaving room to Benjamin to talk to her again. Dara was still trying to wrap her head around why he was there and, as much as she wanted, there was something buried deep inside her chest that stopped her from start a third degree interrogatory right away.

“...Y si en sueños pudiera volar, yo llegaría hasta ti,” her dad started to actually sing and Dara smiled, still her eyes closed. “Para entonces hacerte escuchar, lo que nunca te pude decir…” Dara giggled when he switched to humming again and it drew a low laugh from Jeziel.

“¿Ya te olvidas de tus canciones favoritas, viejito?” she asked in a mumble, letting herself be held better by her father. At times, more often than not these days, she missed the feeling of protectiveness being in his arms gave her.

“Ya sabes que nunca las aprendí del todo mami,” Jeziel smiled and kissed the back of her head, still swaying to the rhythm of the ballad.

“So lucky mommy loves you, you’re such a romantic,” she shook her head and tightened her hug.

“Sometimes I think she still loves me because I’m strong enough to move stuff around, like, I still got the guns and all,” Dara felt her father flex his arms a bit, making her roll her eyes because he still called his muscles like that. She felt how her father left his hand in her hair, carefully brushing her soft locks. “I like when you let your hair grow, makes me remember when you were home.”

Maybe that was why she didn’t like it, because it made her remember of all the things she didn’t want to relive, but sometimes she kept postponing going to the hairdresser when she was too busy and her head too full of thoughts. Which was kinda why it was getting longer these days without her caring much about it.

Spying through her eyelashes, she looked right at Benjamin, who was one of the reasons of why she did things differently these days.

“It makes me remember home as well,” Dara mumbled, hiding from her father that they remembered different things. “But I probably cut it once I’m back.”

“Ay no, mi niña, espérese a después de mi cumpleaños,” Jeziel pressed his hand a bit on Dara’s head, chuckling in that warm way he had. “Deme ese pequeño regalo, siempre te viste linda con tu pelito largo.”

“Okay, okay,” Dara sighed a laugh and looked at her father in the eyes finally, kissing his cheek fondly. Two months more of having long hair, she could do it...she thought. “But that’s your gift and that’s it, no more,” it wasn’t like a Dara had her father’s gift bought five months prior or else. “And you have to promise to make your chocolate cake for only us two and have a Rush Hour marathon...mojitos included.”

“None haggle like you, Anita,” Jeziel kissed her daughter’s forehead with love and tenderness. “You got a deal, but do you think Billie likes Rush Hour? Maybe we can let her have some cake and mojitos too.”

If Dara felt still uneasy, having her father to express curiosity and even show initiative towards Billie was a direct shot to her heart. Since the moment she told them she was dating Billie, her family except for her grandfather, Darziel and Gemma had been a bit...hesitant towards her. That in...seven years she didn’t show up much didn’t help her case, but she was taking steps forward and that seemed to have helped Dara’s family to also get interested, to want to get involved.

And that was the only thing Dara ever wanted since she knew she wanted to be with Billie as long as possible.

“Who do you think watch shitty movies with me back in Los Angeles? Dahlia?” that made father and daughter laugh, because Dahlia hated movies like those. “Billie sticks with me every time I get int-”

“Perdón,” Benjamin’s voice cut the father-daughter moment like a hot knife over butter. “¿Puedo...bailar con Ana, señor Jeziel?”

Dara felt her father’s hesitation in the way he didn’t stop from holding her, like he used to do when they were dating, and then the soft look in his face. Dara was the one between her siblings that resembled his father the most, her mother always joking that even as a days-old-baby she could pick point her from a bunch of other babies easily. So Jeziel got back the soft look he was giving, the permission Benjamin was asking for being given by his own daughter in the form of a tiny kiss on the cheek before his daughter turned around in his arms to put both her hands in the man’s shoulders.

His attention was drawn, however, by Eva wanting to dance with her grandfather and Dara was left with the source of her stress, who was trying to just mimic the way Jeziel was holding her daughter seconds ago.

Dara felt her body react like a ghost of what she was once. Forearms over Benjamin’s shoulders with her hands intertwined, Benjamin’s hands folded in her lower back and both looking into each other eyes with dozens of nights, days, noons spent together being there like a faint memory.

It felt like they were seventeen again.

Eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two and their love stronger than ever...yet they both were there, thirty-two and sharing space after ten years since the last time they touched each other, seven years since the last time they heard each other’s voices.

“I was being sincere back there, you still look beautiful,” it was a shy approach from him but Dara thanked it the same, because she was a bit speechless. “Thought a bit skinnier than I remember.”

“All my baby fat finally went from everywhere to my thighs and tits, what can I say? Still got some in my hands, though,” Dara couldn’t help but feel a tiny fire in her chest, full knowing Benjamin was picking at her and falling, making him laugh. “But I was sincere too, Min, you look nice even when I feel you’re wearing someone else’s skin.”

“Well...I thought it was time to make a big change once and for all, look nice and sharp, y’know?” that face that she once found so kissable didn’t change, the soft smirk on his lips, the rise and fall of his eyebrows. “Lena dragged my ass so hard after getting out that I kinda indulged in some brother-sister bonding time that ended up with me looking like one of these modern kids.”

“Your little sister won’t ever change...nor you do; she says ‘go’ and you say ‘where’,” Dara rolled her eyes at hearing, once again, her ex-sister-in-law’s antics. “How are you handling everything?”

Dara didn’t want to address the elephant in the room so soon, but it was better this way now that he kind of mentioned it. She felt her voice soften because six and a half years in jail wasn’t something easy to talk about, Benjamin’s features softening as well.

“It’s weird, not gonna lie in here, but these months are teaching me new things...and also making me think about some others,” he made that tiny gesture with his nose that indicated his cheek was itching and Dara’s hand went there to ease him, leaving it now in his shoulder while her other arm circled his neck. “Can you believe Godo approached me?”

That was something that ignited her from the pit of her stomach, raw anger destroying whatever coherent thing she was about to say and going full protection mode.

“Min, don’t te-”

“I spit on his feet the second he was a meter from me, your father and your uncle saw me,” Dara felt Benjamin reassuringly caressing her lower back with his thumbs. “I’m not going back Ana, I’m trying to do something meaningful with my life...not going back with those that left me behind,” his smile was sad and full of hurt and all the anger that Dara was feeling settled in uneasiness. “You were always right, I still don’t know how you put up with all of it...and I’m sorry what it did to you, to us.”

Those words were ten years late, still made her heart ache with all the resentment she never managed to wash away.

“Someone had to protect you,” Dara shrugged, Benjamin taking her hand in his and pressing it in his chest, against where his heartbeat was going steady and where he had tattooed the same moon as Dara had under her right collarbone. Dara knew her ex was feeling her rings, her crooked fingers from a handful of times she broke them in a street fight when they were younger. “And I’m not drunk enough to have this full conversation, Min...not that I can get wasted now, anyway, mix of pills I became.”

“Viejita te me volviste,” Benjamin didn’t seem to mind that Dara didn’t want to follow that conversation, but both knew someday they’d have it and they were okay with that for the time being.

“It’s not my fault this house became like an animal shelter, okay? My allergy skyrocketed in between Diana and her cats, Deirdre and her dog, my parents with Zeus...santo niño Jesús, give me a rest,” it wasn’t that Dara hated animals, she loved them in fact, but her allergy to animal fur...not goodie at all. “If my leg wasn’t acting up like a bitch, I would give the vodka a try,” she chuckled at that and a voice in her head nagged her because she also took one more of those. “But we have what we have.”

“It’s okay with me as long it’s okay with you,” Benjamin looked troubled for a second. “When my mother told me about the accident, it scared the shit out of me...watching you with that cane didn’t help to put me at ease at all.”

Two years had passed since the car accident but some days Dara still recalled it as if it was yesterday.

“Rehabilitation wasn’t enough, the limp will always be there as an effect, but I do prefer the limp over not having leg at all,” it was a too hardcore way to put it, but Dara always was direct like that. “Shit happens, Min.”

“I know but…” the hurt in his eyes was much deeper than Dara could think. “The thought of you alone in a hospital bed...it hunts me at times.”

Dara felt that last sentence like a glitch in the somewhat calm moment, deafening her for a second and her eyes straying from Benjamin’s face to where the kitchen door was opening, her mother, her grandfather and Billie coming back with the coffee, tea and whatever her mother was also getting ready. She kept swaying with Min but her whole skeleton wanted to escape, to take Billie by her hand and go upstairs, hide in the room and forget this night by drowning herself in between her lover’s thighs...as vulgar as that sounded.

“I wasn’t alone,” her voice was so faint that it hurted somehow. “Billie watched over me, she never left my side.”

While saying that Dara saw Billie freeze halfway to the living room’s table, locking eyes with her. Billie’s expression resembled a deer caught in the headlights and somehow the sensation of getting away from Benjamin got worse, as if his mere contact was like embers. Dara silently looked at her in search of an answer of sorts, Billie opening and closing her mouth ever so slightly and looking away from her.

Was that tea in her hands?

“Your partner, yeah,” Dara couldn’t tell what kind of feeling Benjamin wanted to convey, her own emotions building up, overwhelmed. Mockery, sadness, resentment, knowledge, she didn’t know, she didn’t want to know. “The ultra nice blondie, with the medium thing going. Your mother told me about her. If I didn’t know you better, I would have thought she was having a fling with you or something.”

Billie wanted to break the cup of tea in her hands against Benjamin’s head, that was for sure, but right in that moment she was a bundle of mixed feelings after what Carla had told her in the privacy of the kitchen.

She had seen Dara dancing with Nora multiple times, even hummed along the song they were dancing to, but it didn’t wake up the same feeling that the image in front of her was at the moment. She truly wanted to have the strength to pick up Dara in her arms, going full bridal style and take her upstairs, or somewhere entirely else to drown in being the two of them alone. There was no cigarette able to calm her right now, not even one of Audrey’s joints would help at all.

But there was something in Dara, the way her face was one of pure pain and surprise at the same time, that didn’t sit right. She seemed to be withdrawing from Benjamin as the seconds passed by and Billie’s eyes went to how the rest didn’t seem to notice the change in Dara at all.

It was then when the front door opened, keys clinking muffled thanks to the music, and the last Lynch arrived at the house.

No, this can’t be.

She thought that with her heart twisting in her chest painfully, seeing how Dayanara looked as mortified as Benjamin apparently but being more subtle about it. Billie didn’t need to read minds to know that Dayanara perfectly knew her boyfriend didn’t say shit to her sister or the rest did. They were all acting normal and her face showed clearly how tired, angered and confused she was. Billie felt Bruno by her side, taking from her hands the cup of tea she had ready for Dara, and leaving it over the table while letting his free hand to rest in the middle of her back. A silent support, she supposed.

“Daya!” Carla was trying too hard to cover her own surprise by being happy about her arrival. “I’ll heat you up some food, go get change and-”

“Mamá, por favor, cállate,” Billie didn’t need to understand spanish to fully know what was said by how Dayanara pinched the bridge of her nose after pulling up in her head her glasses, leaving her bag over a chair. She was still wearing her nurse uniform. “I’m too tired to handle this right now but I’m going to rip off the band-aid once and for all, and fuck everything.”

“What’s going on?” it wasn’t ‘what are you talking about?’ what came from Dara’s lips and Billie already expected her to say that because as much as she liked to be direct, Dara only asked for the same at the end of the day.

“Benji and I have been dating for four months, that’s what’s going on,” Billie felt herself shiver at how similar Dara and Dayanara’s features were when angry. “I wanted to tell you right away, talk to you face to face, but between both being busy and all...well, I expected to tell you after dinner today. Thought he was going to start the conversation since I got stuck at work, but it seems he didn’t.”

The tension in the living room was heavier than how it was at the Montgomery’s mansion, Billie starting to feel a soft static tickling her skin as if it was some kind of warning that everything could go to shit from one second to another.

Dara wasn’t going to explode as her family thought, right?

That was what Carla told her in the kitchen, the motive behind why they all had been hiding all of that from her. Carla told her that Dara would get angry and messy upon knowing that her ex was dating her little sister, but Billie had stepped forward to counter that, tell her...mother-in-law that Dara was pretty down on Earth and calm upon facing any kind of issue, always working her way through it with a control that even her wished to have.

Darziel looked between his older sisters, worried sick, while Deirdre and Diana looked to each other first and then to both Dayanara and Dara, as if they were going to get into a fight or something. Dayanara stood where she was, like an immovable force, but Dara…

...Billie never saw Dara so defenceless.

However, that defencelessness went away the moment Dara smiled brightly at her little sister, throwing off everyone in the room with the force of an earthquake.

“That’s...God, Daya!” Dara laughed and walked towards her little sister, who noticed right away how she was limping heavier and met her halfway, getting hugged in the process. “I’m so happy for you two! Now it makes sense that he’s here,” Dara flickered her fingers towards Benjamin. “It was my fault for not coming home earlier so we could talk, don’t worry,” then she looked at her mother before taking her cane, which was resting against the table, before lacing her fingers with Dayanara’s. “Let’s get you some food and you can tell me some details, if it’s okay with you.”

Annie, what are you doing? Billie wanted to scream that on top of her lungs, confused as she was, while the rest of the house seemed to start breathing at ease upon seeing such reaction from her. Bruno did seem to think the same as her, but there was something in his eyes that told Billie this kind of reaction wasn’t a one time thing.

“It...is,” Dayanara was getting back from the shock, nodding and starting to walk along Dara towards the kitchen. “We can always talk more over breakfast.”

“Of course, of course,” Dara chuckled and leant to kiss her sister’s temple with love. “Gossip over pancakes, best gossip, right?”

Billie didn’t care how Jeziel seemed to stop Benjamin from following them, didn’t care that the rest went back to their things, didn’t care when Bruno led her towards the couch so they could sit together and monopolize it.

But she did care about how Dara had gone, somehow, where Billie was still both too afraid and too confused to follow her.

...

When a nausea wave hit her once again, making her empty whatever was left at that point in her stomach, Dara thanked to her five-minutes-past self to have opened the shower to make the most background noise possible.

It wasn’t weird at all that someone got showered at the wee hours of the night in the house at summer, so she saved her own ass with that.

For sure heat didn’t help at all, she thought as she put a hand over her sweaty forehead, waiting in case she threw up again. Not that there was something else left but bile, but who knew what her body was going to decide. She laughed to herself, thinking in how in other scenery that could make her go bananas and think she was pregnant or something, instead of just having such anxiety attack like the one she was having in that very same moment.

God, sometimes her mind went to some weird places in those situations.

Drenched in sweat as she was, she made a quick work by flossing the toilet and get in the shower after peeling off her pajamas, taking advantage that it was already turned on. Cold water made her feel better, settling little by little the hole her anxiety was craving in her stomach. With tears pushing for freedom in her eyes, Dara tried to think about anything else to calm her racing mind. Like how everyone had decided stay at the house, how funny it looked the way Deirdre and Diana managed to both get the sofa-bed and their husbands took the cold hard floor by their side. Darziel, Gemma and Eva slept in Darziel’s room, the girls taking the bed while he threw some pillows to the floor and built a nest-like bed for him. Dayanara and Benjamin went to Daya’s room and Dara’s mind made a double spin to avoid thinking more about that.

She was glad Billie and her got the tiny guest room-made-office for themselves.

Wrapping her hair in a towel and drying herself enough to get back in her clothes, Dara made her new task be brush her teeth the best she could. She had rinsed her mouth several times before going down to the kitchen to get some water, her throat still burning, but the stupid bad taste didn’t seem to go away. Dara went through the fridge to get some juice instead, and when she found one she actually didn’t like much - she wasn’t risking her favourites to get ruined because of this - she sat there with the window open, drinking right from the bottle while getting some fresh air to clear her head.

In her head everything seem to go really fast, almost disorganized, but whoever watched her from the outside could clearly see how slow and careful she was moving.

She was the best at pretending everything was fine, to hold it in until she was alone to let it all flow, but having a full house didn’t help her at all. And of course this wasn’t some stupid argument between her siblings or with her mother, so it only got worse from then on. Dara wasn’t having an anxiety attack because it overwhelmed her the news per se, but because she was reliving all the memories from her time by Benjamin so hard that made her want to slap some sense into Dayanara, tell her to break up with him and find her someone in Los Angeles, someone probably better under her own point of view…

...but what was the point, after all.

Nothing Dara could say would make her sister change her opinion and she didn’t want to influence her in anyway possible, because her own experience didn’t have to be her sister’s right?

Ten years had passed, ten fucking years! Whatever she knew about Benjamin was literally thrown away into the garbage can because she didn’t know that man anymore, how he was now, how he acted now, his aspirations, whatever.

She only knew the ghost of what he was once...and it was the other way around as well.

The way he talked about Billie didn’t help him at all, the rejection was immediate as if he had slapped instead of throwing around some stupid words. If I didn’t know you better, I would have thought she was having a fling with you or something. Dara had to close her eyes because the nausea was about to hit her again, that or an unstoppable flood of tears. It felt wrong hearing that, as if Dara herself was nothing but a game for someone like Billie. How could he even dare to tell her that when he didn’t have the balls to tell her that he was dating Dayanara? He didn’t know her at all, for God’s sake!

So fucking horrible, wasn’t it?

Dara’s eyes wandered around the kitchen, trying to tone down the awful feeling in her chest by focusing in the kitchen of her childhood. All she could see was a time that she wasn’t happy...and she wasn’t thinking about being five to ten and running around with the laugh of her grandparents as music, she was thinking of her teens, her early twenties and how one day she packed all she had in the middle of the night, took her shitty ass car - that would get wrecked eight years later in the accident - and drove all the way to Los Angeles to take a wild chance on life.

A leap of faith that made her feel she still had something to do in life.

Her eyes finally landed in the only light bright enough to make a difference in the somewhat dark kitchen aside the fridge one and Dara’s stomach churned. They will always have landline, till the end of times, she thought while hobbling to take the wireless phone. Navigating through the agenda, Dara felt immediately guilty about what she was about to do but she needed to talk with someone that wasn’t in the mess at all.

Or that she hoped.

She knew well, deep inside, that she had had to wake up Billie for that but she didn’t have the heart to do so when her partner managed to get a hold of a night of sleep. Even more when it took several glasses of rum to take her down completely. Dara didn’t want to think about the hangover her father, Billie and Berto would have upon waking up, her own stomach hurting even more for them. So her thumb pressed lightly the button to select the number in the agenda, letting herself to think once again if it was the right choice overall.

Dara, while pressing the phone against her ear and sitting back in the chair, made a mental note to live a fifty dollars bill in her mother’s purse later in the morning.

“¿Abuelo?” the sleepy and heavy accented voice of a woman sounded in the other side of the line. “Ah...no.” was the only thing Dara managed to croak in response and the woman sighed heavily, whoever was by her side grumbling something in their sleep. “¿Tata Carla? ¿Qué lo que pasó? Incluso para usted es temprano.” the woman seemed to start functioning and Dara choked on an incoming sob because she didn’t want to overworry her. “It’s me, Dara, sorry for waking you up so early,” that seemed to restart the woman, whose voice was pure confusion now. “Dara? What are you doing calling me from your parents’? What are you doing even there?” sometimes Dara forgot that her cousin was a bit out of touch of everything, so it wasn’t something new to see that she didn’t read the family group chat. “I’m on vacation here...but I was calling you because…” Dara felt the uncomfortable warmth of tears in her cheeks and she couldn’t help but sniff a bit to hold another sob, even when her voice broke. “I don’t know Dani, I needed someone to talk with I guess,” Dara pressed her free hand, which was shaking, against her own chest. “But if I’m bothering you I can call later, I know it’s stupid, you should probably go back to sleep...You must be tired from work and all, I’m so-” Being shushed by Danielle wasn’t harsh, but it was what Dara needed to start crying a bit harder. “You won’t ever be a bother, not even if you tried, so don’t apologize. Just let me get down to the kitchen to not wake Bastien, okay? Take some deep breaths, mon mimi.”

Dara only managed to whisper an ‘okay’ while pressing her wrist to her eyes, trying to stop her about to be runny nose to do as she was told. She tried to focus on her breathing, but her throat still itched and hurt, so imagine the mess. Muffling her coughs against her forearm, Dara instead tried to focus in whatever sound Danielle was making in the other side of the line while her tears ran freely down her cheeks.

She was also repeating herself there, because ten years had passed too since before leaving her parents’ house forever she called her oldest cousin to get some sort of support. Twenty-two to twenty-nine, thirty-two to thirty-nine, the only thing that had changed was that her cousin didn’t have a two years old baby anymore but a twelve years old girl that probably didn’t remember Dara that well and that Danielle’s beautiful black mane was getting too many white hairs too soon.

“Okay, I’m here,” Danielle’s voice was gentle and warm. “You want to tell me before, after or in between the crying?”

Dara decided the last option because, as always, it was the best to get as much as she could out of her chest.

…

Billie didn’t know how she got downstairs alive, but she did it somehow without breaking her neck.

Maybe it wasn’t that good of idea getting hammered with her father-in-law and brother-in-law last night, probably not her best performance, but what was done, done was. Rubbing her eyes a bit and not getting her hand smudged with make-up - Dara probably removed it when she was asleep or she convinced her drunk ass to do it somehow - was a good start, but overhearing the cheery voices coming from the television gave her headache an uncomfortable push.

How late did she wake up? Not that they had much to do, anyway, but oversleeping was hard in her in-law’s house. Her eyes went to the clock over the kitchen door, the bright red numbers telling her right away that it was midday. That sobered her up a bit, but what actually made her react was realizing the living room wasn’t that illuminated.

The curtains were almost closed except for a crack, enough to cast light over where Bruno was reading the newspaper. Her eyes then went to the television, some cartoon movie playing for Ezra, Eduardo and Evan, who were behaving themselves pretty well for being what probably was the hour when their energy should be at its peak, and then Billie discovered why they were so quiet aside of trying not to bother their great-grandfather morning reading.

Dara was there in the couch with them, long as she was, and the boys were sitting there too in a way that Billie didn’t know how could any of the four of them could be comfortable, except for maybe Eduardo that was lying over Dara, with his head in her chest. Evan and Ezra were sitting in between her legs, their tiny ones draped over Dara’s right leg as if it was some kind of a leg-rest or something. The funniest part was that Dara was heavy asleep, making Billie to think if maybe the heat didn’t let her sleep last night and was making up for it now.

That or maybe the stress from yesterday hit her like a truck.

“Morning,” Billie mumbled, raising her hand. The boys waved at her and Bruno looked up from his newspaper, all in silence. “Where’s everyone?”

“Jeziel and Berto in the kitchen, trying to get breakfast before my daughter comes from getting groceries with Deirdre, Diana and Eva,” explained Bruno without raising his voice much. “Abe, Daya and motor-kid to work, papito God knows where with Gemita.”

“Oh, okay,” Billie got closer to Dara and she leant with care to kiss her forehead and cheek with love, only getting a soft comfortable hum in response and making Billie lick her lips a bit, refraining herself to kiss her in the lips but noticing something along the way, like some kind of saltiness in Dara’s skin that Billie only blamed to sweating too much. “She must be really tired, I didn’t see her sleep so soundly in a while.”

“Must be, dear,” and with that, Bruno got back to his reading, the kids never getting their attention drawn from the film. “Go get some pancakes before they butchered them all, Anita made them.”

She obeyed without much thought, her brain still fuzzy with the hangover, but when she sat with coffee and the last two pancakes in the tray by the men in the kitchen table everything felt a bit more homier. It was the first day Dara wasn’t getting breakfast with her, who always was the one saving her from the morning chatter, but she was lucky enough to share breakfast with the other two hangover people in the house...so she got some quiet time sprinkled with some ‘pass me this’ or ‘pass me that’.

Nonetheless, the quietness of the morning helped her greatly to finally think about what could she get Dara for their seventh anniversary.

And she really hoped that her gift, along a pretty deserved night only the two of them, could make Dara feel a bit better and take her mind off the whole mess that ensued last night in the very same living room she was sleeping so peacefully in.

#billie dean howard x original character #dara ann lynch #billie dean howard #original character #ahs hotel #ahs murder house #american horror story

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the-real-anywolf · 5 years ago

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Destiel Advent Calendar 2019

Title: So, This is Christmas

Tags: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester, Castiel, Original Characters, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Castiel/Dean Winchester, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Season/Series 15 Spoilers, Season/Series 15, This Fic Ain’t What You Think It’s Gonna Be, Angst, A Little Too Real, and Not a Smut in Sight, happy holidays, i guess,

Summary: Dean, and the angel Castiel, spend Christmas Eve serving food at a local soup kitchen.

Written by: @queerwolfsstuff (queerwerewolf)

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21641707

Notes: I bet y'all were expecting a lovey, mushy, schmoopy floofy, fluff fest for this Destiel advent calendar? What have we been telling you guys all along?

Day 2 - So, This is Christmas

Things weren’t great. Were they better? Sure, but they weren’t great. Sam had convinced Cas to move back to the bunker. There was planning to do, and the odds of survival were higher together. Cas hadn’t spoken more than a couple of words to Dean since he got back, and they were usually, “I’m running errands.”

Dean had gotten into a habit he couldn’t break, demanding where Cas was going, to be met with those clipped words before Cas stormed out. Dean never expected Cas to come back, and every time the angel did… He hated how conflicted he was about it.

The anger was easier, it was easier than addressing any of the other emotions the angel caused. And while it was easier, it was also forcing them into this stalemate, neither one moving forward to finish the game.

These so-called errands happened a couple times a week. Dean knew there were no errands. Cas was up to something, and whether good or bad, Dean didn’t know. But when Dean didn’t know, shit usually went sideways. So he brought his concerns up to Sam, and got bitched out and told to drop it in return. So sneaking around was out of the question.

Instead, Dean decided to try something a little different… directness.

It was Christmas Eve, and Cas was purposely looking straight ahead as he walked through the library, passing Dean, who had his legs kicked up on a table, spinning a beer in his palm. “Where are you going?” It was almost robotic now.

Without missing a beat, Cas said, “Running errands.”

Dean swung his legs down, followed by the sound of the metal chair legs colliding with the concrete. “Bullshit.”

Cas spun around, brow quirked as he regarded Dean for the first time in over a week. “Excuse me?”

Dean moved to stand up, crossing his arms over his chest as he approached. “I said, ‘bullshit.’ Bullshit you’re running errands. What possible errands could you be running on Christmas Eve?”

That was met with an eye roll before Cas turned his back to Dean. Cas silently made his way to the stairwell, so Dean grabbed his jacket and followed him.

Cas sighed as he grabbed the railing. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Well, I need to run errands too. Figured I could tag along.”

Cas was halfway up the stairs and huffed out a soft, “No.”

Dean caught up to him and gripped his forearm. “Why not?”

“Because,” he started as he whipped around to face Dean, twisting his arm out of Dean’s grasp. “I am not actually ‘running errands,’” he said, complete with air quotes.

He knew it! Now Dean needed to figure out what Cas was up to. “Then what are you doing?”

Cas regarded Dean for a moment, face expressionless as he appeared to evaluate the situation. “Does it mean that much to you to know where I’ve been going?”

Far from backing down now, Dean straightened his posture and said, “Yes.”

Cas shrugged and turned back around before ascending the stairs. When he reached the landing, he looked down at Dean expectantly. “Are you coming?”

…. :::: :::: ….

The ride over, in Cas’s newly acquired VW bus, was painfully silent. Dean realized early on they were headed into town, but refrained from asking. He kept sliding his thumb over the handle of his Sig.

When they pulled up to a building near the church, Dean furrowed his brow. The lights were bright on the mostly dark, closed down street. Large windows with fake snow painted along the edges gave a view of dozens of people, more people than he thought this town had, standing in line in, what looked like, a makeshift cafeteria.

Cas slamming the door shut shook Dean out of his bemused haze as he unbuckled the lap belt and slipped out of the hippie van. Before Dean could say anything, a young woman with curly black hair and a bright smile approached Cas and pulled him in for a hug.

“Clarence! We could really use your help tonight.”

Cas laughed, a genuine and appreciative sound Dean hadn’t heard in way too damn long. “Kristianna, is everything alright?”

She shook her head. “Two of the volunteers ended up sick with the flu, so we had to send them home.”

That was met with a serious nod as he pointed to Dean. “I brought my friend. We can put him on dishes and pull Erica to the serving line.”

Kristianna appeared relieved as she nodded. “Awesome. Can you show him around real quick, I’ll go grab him an apron and gloves from storage.”

Cas flashed her an affirmative smile and nodded for Dean to follow him inside. As Cas played tour guide, it finally clicked where they were. Shit. Dean didn’t realize just how many homeless people lived in this little county.

When they reached the back kitchen, Kristianna was waiting for them, holding out an apron for Dean. “It’s pretty simple,” she said as she began to go over each step of the process. Load the rack. Rinse the big gunk off. Place in the industrial washer. Rinse and repeat.

Dean was listening, but he found himself a little mesmerized by Cas. He was chatting with another volunteer, a taller woman with long red hair pulled back in a ponytail. She laughed at whatever Cas said while he pulled off his trenchcoat and started rolling up his shirt sleeves.

When he looked up again, their eyes met. Cas flashed him a small smile before he turned and left the back kitchen. Kristianna handed Dean the hose and patted his shoulder before departing with an encouraging smile. Dean let out a soft, mirthless laugh and shook his head.

The guilt wasn’t an instant avalanche, it was more of a slow methodical build up as he spent his time alone washing and drying dozens and dozens of dishes. The work kept him focused, while he berated himself for… hell… everything. Berating and admitting that maybe… maybe Dean clung to the anger because Cas still hadn’t acknowledged what Dean prayed to him.

The anger was because he was hurt. Was because he told Cas what he felt… how he felt, how Cas had changed everything for Dean and he didn’t know how to cope with that change. How to process an emotion he’d buried for many years. And then Cas came back, and didn’t say a damn thing. The longer he ignored Dean, the worse it got.

Dean scoffed as he pulled the clean rack of dishes out. Maybe he was pissed over something that never happened. Maybe Cas never got the prayer. Maybe Dean had been treating his best friend like crap for too damn long.

Because that best friend was apparently the kind of guy that, while there was a pissed off fanboy playing puppeteer with them, still gave his time to people in need. To people who were impacted by the cruelty of this world long before Chuck threw in zombies, and ghosts, and all the other cliche crap.

Cas spent his free time here, making a positive difference in his own little corner of the world, and Dean had never felt like a bigger asshole in his life.

…. :::: :::: ….

Kristianna let out a huff of laughter as she locked up the door, yanking on the chain. “I’m so glad we were able to give people seconds and left overs.”

Cas hummed in agreement. “I appreciate the generosity of this time of year. We haven’t run out of food all month.”

As the murmurings of agreement turned into hugs and departures with a, “Merry Christmas,” and, “Happy Holidays,” on everyone’s lips, Cas faced Dean and gave him a small smile.

“Thank you for your help tonight.”

Dean shook his head in amazement. “Why didn’t you just tell me this was what you were doing?”

Cas let out a soft sigh and shook his head as he started walking to his car. “Can we call a truce, just for tonight?”

Dean gently halted him with a grasp on his wrist. “Did you hear me?”

Cas furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

Did you hear me when I prayed to you?

The flash of understanding was answer enough. Cas turned from Dean and let out a soft sigh. “A truce, please,” Cas urged as he made no attempt to get away.

And despite the urge to demand answers, Dean released his grip on Cas’s wrist. With a soft sigh, Dean took a step back. “Okay. Truce.”

Cas looked up, expression clearly surprised that Dean agreed. He caught the small twitch of Cas’s lips before his expression was serious again. “Thank you, Dean.”

Dean nodded and followed him back to the stoner van. As Cas pulled out his keys, they locked eyes through the windows of each side. Dean exhaled his breath to fog up his window and used his finger to write,

“saC, samtsirhC yrreM”

That got him a broad smile and audible laugh before Cas exhaled on his window and wrote,

“It’s backwards”

When they met again on the inside, Dean clapped a hand on Cas’s shoulder and said, “Merry Christmas, Cas.”

Cas looked down at the placement of Dean’s hand for a moment before he braced his own over Dean’s. With a gentle squeeze, Cas returned a soft, “Merry Christmas, Dean.”

war is over if you want it, war is over

#Destiel Advent Calendar 2019 #fanfiction #destiel #christmas short fics

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blackpantahh-blog · 7 years ago

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Passionfruit

Erik (Killmonger) Stevens/Black!Reader

Summary: As far as reader feels, long distance relationships hardly ever work... Or do they?

Word Count: 1.9k

Notes: FR Ya’ll spare my ass cause this shit is my first posted fic and boiii im out here scared shITLESS

Listen,Seeing you got ritualistic

Cleansing my soul of addiction now ‘Cause I’m fallin’ apart.

Yeah, tension

Between us just like picket fences

You got issues I won’t mention for now, Cause we’re fallin’ apart..

You stood in the shower thinking about the last time you had a real conversation with Erik, the detached shower head close to your face as you rinsed the deep conditioner out of your stubborn curly hair. The start of this month might've actually been the end of y'all little three month relationship, ever since you moved out of Oakland to go be closer to your family in another state, he kind of cut all of your contact with him short.

The arguments started to pop up more, conversation over the phone became tense and brief. You definitely felt that spark between the two of you beginning to slip away and it was pissing you off because you still had yet to understand why he would stop speaking to you just because you moved.

You stepped out of the shower after you slid the shower head back on its mount, not bothering to ring out your wash rag as you threw it back on the towel rack. You threw your hair up in a towel, and wrapped another around your body frame, exiting the steamy bathroom to throw some shit on before bed.

‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ blasted through the speakers of your iPhone 8, to which you’d thrown on your queen mattress, letting the towel hanging off your titties fall to the floor of your modest bedroom. As you threw on some pajamas, the song playing from your phone had been interrupted shortly with a ding, as you perked up. “Who the hell’s texting me this late at night?” You fussed to yourself, eyebrows furrowed as you looked at the iMessage displayed across the screen.

My Boo “You up?”

You rolled your eyes, picking up the cell phone and typing up a reply. “Yeah. Just hopped out the shower. Y.”

“Jus wonderin. Take a pic for me.”

“Naw. Too tired for that freaky shit.”

You waited a good two minutes for a reply before you sucked your teeth, throwing your phone back down, going to sit down in front of your vanity mirror, detangling your hair carefully so you didn’t accidentally pull your hair from your damn scalp. You chuckled to yourself, it gave you a rush of confidence turning down Erik like that. He stayed expecting to get something from you when he rarely ever gave. Even though when he gave it was amazing but…. that’s besides the point.

You wasn't about to sit there and tend to his every need when he didn't do the same for you anymore. Y’all changed and it hurt like hell, whether you wanted to admit it or not.

Passionate from miles away

Passive with the things you say

I can't blame you, no.

You finally got a reply back from him, as you turned out your bedroom light, climbing under your bed sheets. “Smh.”

“When's the next time I'm gonna see you?” You decided to change the subject since it wasn't going anywhere. Despite being a little mad at Erik, you still wanted to at least have a conversation with the nigga. “IDK. Gotta see how my schedule look. Y don't you come 2 me?”

“That can be arranged.”

“Bet. Wyd?”

You instantly rolled your eyes at the question, you hated when he asked you that because every time he'd ask, you're doing something boring. “About to fall asleep. But you keeping me up ofc.”

“Good. I want you 2 think abt me when you dreamin.” You smirked at that, deciding to leave him on read as you turned your phone off with a soft ‘click’, tucking it under your pillow after plugging it in.

Passionate from miles away

Passive with the things you say

I can't blame you, no.

You were seriously gonna plan going back to California to see this man, but you'd have to let your people know first ahead of time so they weren't just wondering why you disappeared again.

By the time your alarm went off for work, you had sleep like two minutes max, so it made you grouchy as hell. You flipped the thin sheets off of your soft chocolate legs, eyes heavy as shit as you forced yourself to get ready for another day of your regular ass hustle.

You threw on your work uniform after taking a quick shower, grabbing up your apartment keys and essentials before you left the house for your job.

_ _ _

Listen,

Harder building's trust from a distance.

Let's rule out commitment for now, cause we're fallin’ apart.

Leavin’? You’re just doing that to get even.

Don’t pick up the pieces, just leave it for now

Cause we’re fallin’ apart.

By the time you got back to your crib, you were all the way burnt out, your feet burning and tired from running around doing so much stock in that small, agitating retail shop you worked at.

You swore as soon as you stepped through the door, your phone started ringing, making you let out a groan. “Hello?” You hadn’t even bothered to look at the caller ID to see who it was.

“Damn, who pissed you off today?” The remark made you suck your teeth as you glanced at your feet, slipping out of your ugly ass work shoes, and stumbling over to your couch. “Everybody.” You bit back, letting your eyes fall close as you laid down on the comfortable seating. “Even me?”

“Especially you.” A sleepy smile spread across your face at the sound of Erik’s deep chuckle in your ear. “But I called you to let you know that you prolly won't be able to come to visit me.”

The comment made you sit up, back aches and all, your pretty face screwing up. “And nigga why not?” Erik let out a huff of air at your aggressive attitude, he knew you'd react like this before he even said anything. “Because this week I'm working heavily so by the time I get home, Imma be tired as hell. So don't waste your time tryna visit.”

“Fuck you mean “waste my time”? Erik we haven't seen each other for months now. Why would that be a waste of time?” Another impatient noise came from his end of the line, you listened to the sudden silence coming from your phone's speaker, only brief shuffling.

“Y/N–”

“No, Erik. If you don't want me to come then just be real with me. I know that bitch that's in your house right now wouldn't want me to be there either.”

You spat, you didn't want to be the one to be starting shit but you and Erik been distant for awhile now and you were sick of it. “Y/N, that's far from the fucking case. You should know that.”

“I don't know shit anymore, Erik.” You heard Erik sigh again, “You accusing me of having bitches in my house but why the fuck you looking so fine every time you post on the gram, huh? What nigga you dressing up for?”

You were so stunned at his accusation that it made you speechless, Erik’s side getting quiet again as he waited for a valid explanation. “What are you talking about? I dress up for my damn self.”

“Then stop saying I got women in my house, and trust me when I tell yo ass that it's work that's keeping me busy.” You knew you were being unfair and irrational by accusing him of cheating, but you were so dead set on traveling to him that it infuriated you that he would tell you not to come at all.

“Fine, Erik..” You weren't about to apologise to him because you were still mad, Erik knew that much. But his work wasn't the type of job that you could just call out on. His schedule was full and he needed you to just deal with that for the time being.

“Now stop poutin’ and tell me how ya’ day went.”

_ _ _

Passionate from miles away

Passive with the things you say

I can't blame you, no.

Passionate from miles away

Passive with the things you say

I can't blame you, no.

It's a few weeks later and you're chilling, curled on your small loveseat as you waste away the rest of your off day watching Game of Thrones and snacking on unhealthy shit. You ran a few errands today like restocking your kitchen, and paying off your rent for the month, so now you were just relaxing in some tight ass pajama shorts and a grey tank top.

You felt your phone buzz in your lap, and then buzz again as you grabbed it from its spot huddled halfway between your legs. It was Erik.

“Open ya door.” As you read the message, loud knocking radiated throughout your apartment, making you jump from your spot on the couch, going into fight or flight mode as you approached the door. You took a peek through the peephole in the door, snatching it open when you saw Erik standing in front of your door, his dreads cascaded over his face as he stared down at the lit screen of his phone.

“What the hell are you doing here!” You hissed at him, the chain of your door lock obstructing some of your view, as you stared him down.

“Good to see you too. I thought yo ass missed me, but now we speaking through locked doors?” You rolled your eyes, closing the door to unlatch the lock. After you unlocked it, Erik opened the door to let himself in.

You glared at his feet with a raised eyebrow, his black and white Air Max 95s still laced on his feet as he stepped on your freshly vacuumed carpeted floor. “You might wanna take those off before I drag ya ass back out the door.” He rolled his eyes, taking off his expensive sneaks and putting them neatly on your shoe shelf by the door. “Thank you, sir.”

“Mhm.” He hummed, walking around your apartment, oddly scanning the area. You watched amused as he dipped down, looking under your couch, and then your loveseat. “Erik, What are you looking for.” That came out as a statement more than a legitimate question.

“That nigga you been dressin’ up for lately.” The comment made you double over with laughter, as Erik rose back up from his spot where he was laid out on the floor, staring at you with a stoic expression. “You think I’m playin’ Y/N?”

“Yes. Yes I do.” You caught your breath after cracking up, crossing your arms again. “Nigga, you came all the way here just for that? I’m hurt.”

“No, babygirl,” He walked across the room to where you stood, grabbing both of your arms to uncross them, letting his own slip around your waist, pulling you towards him in one quick motion. “I came here to see my chocolate goddess.” He leaned in for a kiss, to which you dodged by moving your head back, watching him frown up, “Stop playin’.” You snorted, letting a smile spread across your face as you lifted your arms to wrap around his neck, leaning up on your tip-toes.

“I missed you so damn much, babygirl.” You hummed in reply, practically melting in his grasp as you relished in the feel of his lips against your own. Your eyebrows furrowed deeply, pulling back from the kiss suddenly, as Erik opened his eyes, eyeing you curiously.

“Erik– how’d you get my fuckin’ address?”

...

#black panther #black panther fic #erik killmonger #erik stevens #erik(killmonger)stevens #erik x reader #black!reader #erik killmonger x you #my fics #killmonger x reader #killmonger imagine #black panther imagine #bp

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cherryblossomcheesecake · 6 years ago

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God & His Priests & His Kings: Chapter 9 - A FFXV OC Fanfic

Hey guys, long time no see! I'm sorry this took so long but here's the finale of GAHPAHK! So just a few things to note: I will be going away this coming week so I won't be able to answer your lovely review right away but don't let that deter you from commenting on what you loved/hated. Since I'm going away, I'll try to work on the next portion of the story but I am also working on another fic rn so it kinda depends on how i feel in the end. Also after I get back, I probably won't be able to just hope right back in with updates cuz I start my new job the day after I get back. But I'll try to give y'all something shortly after I get back.

Words: 3,892 Uploaded: 07.15.18 Master List Previous Chapter

The End of Innocence - Alexandre Desplat

Nyx POV

Nyx side-eyed Crowe from his position on the floor of the fishing boat, watching as the mage stared out into the darkness where Goryeo was. The two of them definitely had their reservations about going into Nifelheim territory so soon after the area had been conquered. The place was bound to be crawling with Nifs and magitek. Hell from what they heard, people were evacuating the islands pretty quickly after the council of princesses fell, and since the land wasn’t Lucian, it was unclear as to why the Kingsglaive was being sent in.

It wasn’t until they hit Galdin that they picked up on the murmurs of the refugees. Whispers of a girl barely older than the Crown Prince being tortured by the agents of Nifelheim, for no reason other than that she was the only remaining princess of the country.

The rumours from Goryeo didn’t clarify why she was being tortured and to what end, but the thought of a young girl, someone younger thanSelena, experiencing those horrors was enough for him to board the fishing boat in determination. Nyx couldn’t save his sister from the empire, but he’d be damned if he let them kill another innocent girl in their sick thirst for power.

Movement from the ship’s cabin drew Nyx’s gaze over to the shadowed figure of Luche, the man stepping out onto the open deck. The man’s footsteps also drew the attention of Crowe, the younger woman turning to fix her brown eyes on the mission team’s leader.

“Pelna’s got the location of the target, just where the informant said she would be. Goryeo has the same blessings as the havens in Lucis so daemons are not an issue. The goal is to get in and out with as minimal interaction with occupying forces, only engage if necessary.” Luche announced to the pair, adjusting his gloves as he looked between them.

Nyx pulled himself up off the floor of the boat, nodding to the other man before checking his gear one last time.

“Got it. In and out, minimal open combat.”

Crowe huffed as she pushed herself away from the edge of the boat, “What could possibly go wrong?”

“Well now you jinxed it.” Pelna said over the comms from his position in the cabin.

“Shut up, Khara. We’ll be fine and we’ll get the girl out in one piece.” The brunette snipped back, a grin dancing on her lips as the boat drew closer to the cliff that the royal palace rested on.

“Let’s get this show on the road then.” Nyx stated, pulling his kukuris from their sheathes as the boat came to a slow stop at the foot of the cliff face.

“Last one to the top is a smelly coeurl!” the young mage whispered over the comms before warping up the cliffs, reappearing a few feet up in a burst of crystalline light before continuing the process.

Nyx shook his head at the younger glaive’s antics before following her in a similar manner, Luche only a second behind him as they climbed the cliff.

The king’s magic made it easy for them to reach the top of the palace walls, the trio crouching above the gardens before dropping among the bushes as a Nifelheim patrol walked past.

The garden was dark save for the faint flicker of torches and the lights of the guards’ guns. The trio stuck to the shadows, waiting for Pelna’s directions over the comms.

“So Goryeo is essentially one big technological blackout due to the limitations placed on importing foreign tech, but aside from the flagships grounded across the island and the MT units, there’s only two main sources of power on the island.” Pelna said, pausing as papers shuffled in the background, “According to the informant's maps, both sources are located in the council’s apartment complex.”

“So our target is likely in one of the apartments.” Luche replied over the comms, waiting for the tech’s confirmation.

“It’s our best bet, especially since one of them is more heavily guarded by MTs. I’m sending the coordinates for both locations but my money is on the one that’s got the most guards.” the man confirmed, their tech gear blinking with the newly received coordinates.

“Alright, comms offline until we’ve reached the target. We’ll check back in once we’ve got the girl, Pelna.” Luche ordered, looking to Nyx and Crowe for their nods of confirmation.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for check in.” the tech replied before the comms shut down, the frequency dropping and leaving the trio in silence.

“Let’s move out. The complex is located in the center of the rear portion of the palace, so we have a lot of ground to cover.”

“Right behind you.” Nyx answered as Crowe nodded over his shoulder before they crept through the garden with ease.

They silently warped up onto the rooftops, stepping lightly to avoid drawing the attention of the MTs and guards patrolling the area. The natural silence that enveloped the island was disrupted by the whirring of the empire’s magitek, the pairing of the two setting Nyx on edge as they warped from rooftop to rooftop.

The trio waiting for another patrol to pass by before dropping down into one of the courtyards located outside the complex, Crowe slipping into the area of the palace quickly with the two men close behind her.

The three glaives quietly followed the blinking coordinates of their target, peering around corners before proceeding with caution. When they came to the hall where the guard was most heavy, Crowe silently warped up into the shadows of the rafters as Nyx and Luche used the king’s magic to pass across the hall, unseen and undetected, into the next hall covered by darkness.

There was a man’s voice that traveled out from the apartment, the tone both frustrated and pleading before silence took over. It wasn’t long until a blonde dressed in the white uniform of the imperial military strode out the door, anger radiating off him.

A portion of the MTs guarding the door followed him, only two remaining at their post.

Luche signaled to Crowe up in the rafters, receiving a quick thumbs up before silently moving across the rafters towards the guards. The mage pulled out her kukuris with a near silent hiss before dropping between the two MTs, her blades finding purchase in a gap between the neck armor.

Nyx threw his kukuri into the chest of one of the MTs, warping fluidly as Luche followed with a high level Thunder spell aimed at the other. Crowe pulled her kukuri from the two magitek soldiers, choosing to hit the one MT with her own Thunder spell before turning to slash at the other alongside Nyx.

Both opponents eventually dropped to the floor, sparking and smoking respectively where their wiring had been damaged by blades and overheated with electricity.

The trio of glaives sheathed their weapons before glancing at each other.

“Didn’t even break a sweat.” Crowe boasted quietly, turning to open the wooden door carefully and leading the way into the apartment.

The room itself was lavish and decorated, with bright fabrics hanging as curtains in the doorways, beautiful rugs covering the wooden floor, and the furniture being made of a dark wood inlaid with gold. The only thing out of place was the obvious Nifelheim tech taking up most of the space in what could only be a former sitting room, a large metal operating table placed at the center.

“Pelna, we got some strange Niff tech in the apartment that’s probably the source of power you’re picking up.” Luche reported over the comms as Nyx and Crowe slowly worked their way further into the apartment.

Nyx crouched down to examine a rather large bloodstain on one of the carpets in the room.

“There’s enough blood here to warrant that somebody died of blood loss in here.” the glaive reported, his gray eyes meeting Luche’s, the other man frowning before turning back to the tech.

“What’s it look like?” Pelna questioned, prompting him to approach the set up.

“Looks like a power generator that’s connected to a massive dinosaur of a computer. There’s also a bunch of wires coming out of it that have some sort of weird attachment of some kind.” The dirty blonde responded, eyes darting around to check for any missed details.

“Okay, I’m gonna guide you to see if we can’t get any of the files or whatever that’s stored on there.” Pelna said, waiting for the confirmation.

“Alright, Nyx. Crowe. Go ahead and see if you can find the target further in.” Luche ordered, turning back to the computer to start it up.

Crowe lead the way, light on her feet as they entered different rooms meant for a variety of things. She carefully opened one of the rice paper doors, wincing slightly at the sound of the wood scraping together before stepping into the room.

Nyx barely got a foot in the door before he ran into the younger woman’s back, the mage hardly budging as she gaped at the sight across the room.

“Holy fuck.”

Soo’s POV

I could hear Ravus’ voice, he was agitated by something. Somebody grabbed my hand, causing me to finch and squirm further away on the bed.

“If you just give them what they want, we can leave right away for Tenebrae, Eun-Byeol. Just give Izunia and Besithia what they want, and the torture will end.”

I could hear him but none of what he said made sense to me. It was like I was under water, and everything he said was muffled.

“If you don’t tell them what they want to hear soon, they will break you.”

Joke’s on him, I think they had already broken me by that point.

I could tell by the elongated silence that my guest had left me, allowing me to rest for the remainder of the night before the scientists would return and the torture would start again.

I rested fitfully for what felt like hours before jolting out of my daze as fingers brushed against my forehead. I shot up and scrambled across the bed, my eyes looking fearfully around the room before locking on the strange man crouching by the edge of the bed.

His hand hovered where my head had been resting, frozen in shock as I trembled against the wall. My eyes darted to the left as movement caught my vision.

A woman stood across the room with her hands raised in surrender, slowly approaching the bedside.

“Hey, we’re not here to hurt you.” the woman, who was barely old enough to be called an adult, said quietly, big brown eyes shining with concern.

I shuddered like a leaf against the wall as she approached, trying to calm me like I was a skittish cat.

“We’re from Lucis, His Majesty, King Regis, sent us on behalf of Princess Eun-Byeol. We’re here to get you out.” the woman said calmly, extending a hand to me as she reached the edge of the bed, “I’m Crowe, the idiot who touched you without asking is Nyx, and we have our mission leader Luche waiting outside. One of our tech guys, Pelna, is waiting for us on a boat at the foot of the cliff. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. We won’t let you get hurt anymore.”

Crowe’s voice was calming….it was understanding. My eyes fluttered nervously between her extended hand and her face, conflicted about the odds that it was a trick before shuffling toward the brunette. I placed my small hand in her gloved one, feeling her squeeze it gently as she helped me stand.

“Getting those cuffs off will have to wait until we get back to Pelna. You alright to walk?” the man, Nyx, questioned, gray eyes flicking over me in worry.

I nodded once, leaning against Crowe for support and allowing her to guide me out of the bedroom. We walked into the sitting room, my eyes immediately locking on the bloodstain on the rugg that was the only reminder of what happened here.

“You found the target.” I flinched at the sound of a new voice coming from over by Besithia’s computer, looking at the serious-faced man as he fiddled with the device.

“Yeah, she’s a little skittish and really roughed up, but she’s alive.” Nyx replied, poking his head outside the third princess’ apartment to check the hall, “You almost finished with that?”

“Just about. Pelna wants as many files as possible to examine and send off to the crownsguard and council.” the man, Luche I guessed due to the process of elimination, replied. He pulled a memory stick free of the computer before shutting it down.

“Okay let’s move out. We’re going to have to move a little more slowly and stick to the ground shadows since we have her with us.” the dirty blonde ordered, pulling his hood up and covering his face with his visor, “Crowe, stay by her side, Nyx will take up the rear.”

Both of them nodded as they pulled up their own hoods, Crowe guiding me along as we crept out into the hallway. We stuck to the shadows as planned, creeping in the darkness between buildings as we avoided guard patrols carefully.

We managed to make it to the gardens before the sound of the magitek grew louder suddenly, causing the group to pause.

“They know she’s missing. We need to get her over the wall before the MTs get here!” Luche hissed at the other two, causing me to tremble against Crowe’s side. The mage’s hand came up to stroke my hair lightly in an almost soothing motion as she waited for directions.

“You two should take her over the wall, between the you two, you’ll be able to warp with her easily. I’ll deal with the MTs and meet you down there.” Nyx insisted, looking to Luche for approval.

The dirty blonde narrowed his gaze, his mouth set in a firm line as he contemplated for a brief second before nodding in approval.

“Good luck, Ulric.” he said, Crowe nodding as well before looking back to her superior, “Crowe, I want you two in front of me and take the memory drive. If anything happens to either me or Nyx, you make sure both the girl and the drive get on that boat headed for Galdin.”

“Got it.” the brunette responded, taking the drive and placing it in her pocket before guiding me through the garden towards the wall.

I could hear the telltale sounds of gunfire behind us before Crowe pulled out her kukuri and looked at me.

“I need you to hold on to me as tightly as possible. Side-along warping is usually unpleasant.” the woman told me, brown eyes staring at me from under her hood.

I gripped her tightly, nodding in confirmation and shutting my eyes as she literally worked her magic.

It was a strange sensation to suddenly become nothing and then reappear elsewhere. Luche was right behind us, landing on top of the wall before looking back to where Nyx was still fighting off some magitek soldiers.

“Get her to the boat, Crowe. I’ll wait for Nyx.” the older man ordered, the mage nodding again before pulling me along to the edge of the wall to gaze down the cliffside.

The ocean crashed against the rocks but the shape of a boat could faintly be made out in the moonlight, bobbing cautiously at the foot of the cliff.

Crowe pulled me tightly against her side before throwing her kukuri down towards the deck of the ship and warping us after it. It felt like I had left my stomach up on the wall, my legs crumpling underneath me as we hit the deck.

“Crowe?!” A man’s voice called from somewhere to the left.

“I got the girl and the drive, Pelna. Luche and Nyx are just dealing with some MTs before coming down.” the woman shouted back before turning to me, “You’re safe now. They can’t get you anymore.”

I nodded tiredly in response, allowing her to guide me over to a sheltered section of the deck.

“You can stay here for now. Once we get far enough out to sea, I’ll have Pelna check you out, alright?”

I nodded again, my eyes drooping as the sound of people warping onto the deck drew the mage’s attention away from me, allowing me to fall into a dreamless slumber.

I slowly came to, feeling incredibly well-rested for once. There was no way Besithia let me rest for more than two days and recover, prompting me to open my eyes and look around.

The room was white and everything smelled like bleach and antiseptic, leading me to the conclusion that I was in a hospital. But there were no hospitals in Goryeo.

I sat up in a panic, thinking that the empire had moved me to Gralea while I was unconscious before my gaze fell on an older man dressed in all black sitting quietly in the corner.

“It’s good to see you awake child. We were unsure if you would come back to us.” the man said calmly, choosing his words carefully in order to avoid frightening me further.

“Where am I?” I asked timidly, staring openly at the stranger.

“You are in Insomnia, Soo-Min. You have nothing to fear here, the empire can no longer touch you.” he assured me, rising from his seat and walking towards me slowly with the assistance of a cane.

“How do you know my name? Not even the glaive who rescued me knew who I was.” I questioned, shifting slightly as he drew closer.

“How could I not recognize Myung-Hee’s daughter? Especially when you’re the best friend of my son.”

All the pieces suddenly fell into place, my brown gaze locking onto his green eyes.

“King Regis….” I whispered, looking up at him in a mix of awe and shock.

The king nodded in confirmation, smiling gently at me before settling into the chair next to the bed.

“You’re on track to a speedy recovery according to your doctor. They estimated you’d only be staying for a week after you woke.” Regis stated, relaxing into his chair, “But your recovery isn’t the only thing we need to discuss.”

His face became more serious suddenly, his green eyes piercing.

“My closest advisors and I have reviewed the memory disk containing the information retrieved from the Nifelheim technology found in the palace.”

I froze at his words, dread filling the pit of my stomach.

“What are they?” he asked quietly, his tone a double edged blade in terms of calm and danger.

I cleared my throat before speaking, “My memories, sir. From before.”

“Before?” the king questioned, clearly needing more.

“From before I died.”

Regis remained silent for a long moment, analyzing my body language before folding into himself slightly.

“I was afraid it was you after all these years….” the king said, more to himself than me, “Something was changed about the world shortly before you and Noctis met, but it was so minor that I simply believed it to be the gods preparing for the coming of the chosen. But when you and Noctis had the encounter with the demon, something changed about the crystal in the aftermath. Like it had extended itself beyond the royal family, which it has never done before. I couldn’t figure it out and after all these years, it was you the whole time. The crystal and the draconian were extending themselves to you. Why?”

I looked up from the plain white bed sheets to look into the kings green eyes once more, trying to find the words he wanted to hear.

“Because I wanted to save him. He was my only friend and I would give anything to get him back. I gave the draconian my servitude in exchange for the power to bring him back.” I smiled lightly as I thought of the benefits of my choice, “It allowed me to watch and take care of him even when we were apart.”

“Does he know?” Regis questioned patiently.

“No. I only used my previous form around him. It was too much for him to understand as a child and now it’s too late to explain it without repercussions.” I admitted, looking back down at the sheets.

“And was this gift the only thing the draconian granted you?”

“No, I have unrestricted access to the power of the crystal.” I answered, looking up to take in his shocked expression, “I’ve never used anything other than my gift to look out for Noctis, I tried casting a spell once and it was exhausting.”

The king sighed tiredly, looking up at the ceiling, “Well, we can’t have an untrained girl running around with the power of the Lucis Caelums at her fingertips. You are seventeen, correct?”

I nodded in response.

“Good, as soon as your living arrangements and guardianship is sorted out by immigrations and customs, you’ll be inducted as a trainee with the Kingsglaive. It’ll be an excellent cover and a quiet way for you to work on harnessing your magic, and you’ll be able to learn some combat skills even though you’re too young to be deployed.” the king continued, standing from his chair.

I nodded again, accepting his decision easily considering he didn’t want me executed for essentially stealing the power of the royal family.

The king’s face slipped into a more lighter expression, smiling gently at me.

“Now, I do believe you have a long awaited reunion waiting for you. I shall fetch Noctis for you.”

My heart fluttered happily at the mention of the prince, overjoyed at the chance to see him again.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” I said quietly, both for the lack of execution and for allowing Noct to visit.

“Of course.” the king replied smoothly before slowly exiting the room.

My hospital room was calm and quiet for about ten minutes, allowing me to come down from my emotional high for a few moments before the door opened again.

A black head of hair peaked around the door, sapphire blue eyes widening as they locked on my own brown ones.

“Soo…?” Noctis whispered, stepping into the room further, his behaviour causing me to smile lightly.

“Hey Noct….” I replied, tears slowly making their escape down my cheeks, “It’s been a while….”

My voice seemed to break the teenage boy out of his trance, lanky limbs tripping over each other as he ran towards my hospital bed and pulled me into a tight hug.

“I was so fucking worried when I heard about Goryeo….I thought you were dead….” he mumbled, his voice cracking slightly due to his tears.

“Hey, I’m alright. I came back….I told you, 'The Gods themselves would have to order me from your side if you do not do it yourself’. I may have gone away, but I’ll always come back to you.” I assured the younger boy, allowing him to squeeze me a little bit tighter in his hug.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Noctis whispered, tucking his head against my neck.

“I won’t. I’m not going anywhere.” I promised, running my fingers through his ebony coloured hair as we basked in each other’s presence.

#ffxv #final fantasy xv #final fantasy xv fanfiction #ff15 #final fantasy 15 #original characters #fan fiction

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