#yeah i think he gets giddy about finding old board games
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cordyce · 2 years ago
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and if i say joel gets rambly about his quirky little hyperfixations then what. huh
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elysianslove · 4 years ago
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AAAA omg i just binged all your fics and your writing is so .. .. makes me speechless and gives me butterflies :>> if youre still taking req for the 1K event could you do itadori pleasepleass and congrats on 1K 🥰❣️❣️
please that’s so cute i love you. and of course i can!!! i hope you enjoy 
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1k Event ━ Itadori Yuuji
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itadori’s general personality; idk if y’all watched the recent episode or not but mans pulled a teacher’s pants down. then ran away with them. do i need to say more? i think that, yes, yuuji’s actions are, nine times out of ten, super immature, but he himself? i highly believe he’s really wise. like deep down somewhere yk? aside the obvious trauma he’s experienced, being orphaned and then his grandpa, the only family he had left, dying, he also was thrust into a whole new world of curses and evil and the supernatural on the same night. i don’t think we give yuuji enough credit for staying as calm and strong minded as he did when first hearing about the curses and then seeing them, fighting them, eating one’s finger. he comes off as really nonchalant about it, but i really think he’s just that unfazed by it. it’s kinda like how life sometimes goes really bad that when it throws something else at you you don’t even try to deflect you just accept it. i always make these so sad but! i promise you, yuuji isn’t!!! if anything, he’s really optimistic and has such large potential to grow as a person and as a jujutsu sorcerer. which brings me to my point of yuuji being really, and i mean really, smart. not just books wise, because i’m not sure if it’s canon or not but i see him as an A student, but he’s also just generally intelligent. you see him being really eager to learn, as well as being a fast learner, and idk how that can’t amaze anyone?? he’s gone through so much in such little time, and he has this huge responsibility thrust upon him, but he still remains level minded, still lets himself be excited, even if it’s about learning to fight, and he still remains the same person he is at his core. i genuinely believe there is so much more to yuuji than it seems. he’s not some airhead or just some goofball with comedic relief purposes. he is a badass, and he is so selfless and giving and so passionate. would you eat a centuries old finger to save the world? yeah exactly hmf
motivation; well, it’s pretty explicit in the show. he says constantly that he knows he’s the only one capable of maintaining sukuna, and the only one that can take up this responsibility. he feels this sort of duty towards the world, to give it whatever he can. he’s not sure why, because all it’s ever been is cruel to him, but still. he’s incredibly selfless like that. he is so good. so, so good at his core. i think a main motivation would be that desire to feel a sense of purpose. towards you, however, that’s a different story. he’s actually an airhead when it comes to you because any time he finds himself in your presence his brain turns to mush and his thoughts get all fuzzy and cloudy and he cannot think for the life of him. but he loves your little touches, when you brush at his hair, or squeeze him tightly after a mission telling him how relieved you are to see him alive and well. he lives for that stuff, eats it up like candy, and he just wants more, more, more, of of that fuzzy feeling in his brain and lungs. 
itadori’s love language; oh i actually think yuuji would be so bad at saying ‘i love you,’ and that has love language is most definitely quality time and physical touch. so clingy!! but in such an endearing way. whenever he spots you anywhere he yells out your name and comes barreling towards you, picking you up and spinning you around. loves to hold hands with you as you’re just standing there and swinging your arms around. will hug you from behind and start dancing literally anywhere you are. location does not matter. but also!!! he loves, loves, loves spending every waking hour with you. loves to wake up next to you, shower with you in the morning, make faces at the mirror at you while you both brush your teeth. loves having a pumpkin carving competition, or a gingerbread house baking competition, or facetiming you till you both pass out. he just. loves you so much.
itadori’s preferred dates; carnival dates where he can win you all the stuffed animals, hiking, nighttime beach swims, mini golf, a night in with competitive board games
kissing itadori; always takes you by surprise, even if he tells you beforehand. it always feels like it’s your first time kissing him because it’s nerve wracking in the same way it’s exciting. tastes like pure happiness.
what being with itadori feels like; sneaking out to meet your significant other at late hours, the rush and excitement of it all leaving you high and giddy
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cheezritsu · 4 years ago
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Elegy for the Living
Fushiguro x reader
One of the tenets you’ve created for yourself when you became a jujutsu sorcerer was that you would save everyone—criminals, bullies, junkies, the like. You were no god; judgement was never yours to give. And yet, Fushiguro Megumi is trying his damndest to break every single one of your beliefs, brick by hard, infuriating brick. It’s all fun and games, until it’s not.
Alternatively: enemies to lovers and back again, in five easy steps.
A/N: currently in the process of writing an Enemies to Lovers Fushiguro fic so here’s the first part:
It’s possibly only seconds after you’ve finished battle. Seconds, he thinks, because his chest is still heaving, because you haven’t moved an inch, not even to pick up the weapon that’s been left behind after the final blow. (His blow, which made lamented card float lamely into the grass. It sits there, the five of cups, his disapproving frown aimed at you.)
Your feet are still, as if nailed to where you stand. The clouds begin to drop rain over the two of you, the run off puddling around your grimy combat boots. That’s how long you stay staring at the dismembered figure; you can only assume it was once a person by the puzzle pieces of body parts left behind after the attack. A hostage, a possessed person, a cursed item. A human being. Or, what was one.
Megumi’s steely eyes hold no reverence, instead watching your movements as you mindlessly reach into your uniform pocket, pulling out a small carton. You shake the box once, and the slim stick reveals itself.
Megumi’s skin prickles. “Hey,” he says, stepping closer to you as you continue to numbly place a cigarette between your lips. “We need to get going. Ijichi’s coming with the car soon, we have to meet him back at the entrance.”
There’s a flicker of blue light that emits from your fingertips; cursed energy, ignited like a flame. Megumi sneers at the misuse, watching in disgust as you take the first few puffs. “Unbelievable,” he mumbles. You tear your eyes away for only half a second to give him a withering glare, and then they’re back where they started.
But they twitch. There’s anger that fuels the blue flames licking your fingertips, and you can’t help but wonder.
“Why’d you attack it with divine dogs before I could secure him?” You don’t even acknowledge his look of bewilderment. “If I’d been able to separate them—“
“You couldn’t have.” He snaps. The tightness in his jaw is visible; it makes the sharp line his face even more defined, while at the same time marring the his boyish handsomeness. Does being a hardass come naturally? Or does he force himself to be this way? You mull over the question as he berates you, catching his customary reply:
“You’re not even close to being strong enough to save everyone.”
Megumi’s truths are white noise, barely decipherable from the drizzling rain. Underneath the awning of this abandoned high school, you’re safe from the onslaught of rain, but the body is not. It sags as water soaks into the clothes—a seifuku, black with white stripes. Blood floods the grass, trickling in rivulets down the sidewalks, sloshing into the gutter. You breath in, as if you’re sighing, taking a long drag of smoke that makes your lungs burn and your eyes finally shed the tear that’s been welling in the corner. The body’s going to bloat in a few days if it keeps raining.
Megumi, not privy to your inner thoughts (and frankly, unsure you even have any,) grabs your left arm. “Are you even listening?”
“How come whenever demons attack it’s always in shitty weather? Ever noticed that?”
Perhaps it’s the way your fingers separate, all of them equally spaced out as your right hand reaches up to drag the cigarette from your lips, that makes Megaumi pause. As the cigarette slides between your digits, a trail of blood stains the pure white. You haven’t wiped your hands yet. You go cross eyed from looking down, examining where the blood on your hands stains the cigarette. Your eyes glaze over, as if throughly entranced.
Megumi tears his eyes away, lest he be caught up in the same hypnosis. “We don’t have time for your stupid questions.”
You scratch your forehead with your thumbnail, humming slightly. “That just means you don’t know either.”
Cold wind sweeps through the thin fabric of his uniform. He looks at you with a pinched frown. “No, it means I don’t care. Let’s go.”
He’s done asking you anything. He heel turns away, leaving you—to do what, exactly? Your unerring stare never leaves the quartered girl, her mouth open to the clouds, like the dammed souls of hell crying for their saviour.
(Did you think that savior would be you? The mocking voice sounds unsettlingly like Megumi.)
Or perhaps, more likely, in her final moments of living she screamed for the safety of her mother, like any little girl would. Like she would.
“Damn,” you sigh, finally squatting down to collect your card. Your knees create a symphony of cracks, and you groan like an old war veteran when you stand back up.
When you spot Megumi, he’s leaning against one of the poles under the awning, his attention turned to the road. He doesn’t see you light another cigarette, inhaling slower this time to ride the drug out.
He only slightly turns his head when your feet start idly sloshing the water where you stand. The pointed toe of your shoe draws words he can only guess before they wash away.
“What are you doing?” He asks, both to get you to stop and from a deep seated curiosity. “Writing,” you say briefly. The cigarette dangles precariously from your barely open lips, your hands splayed out beside you to keep balance.
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I gathered that much.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“What are you writing?”
A quick bite of a response loads itself on your tongue, but you hold back. Instead, you divulge the truth to him, knowing it’ll make him angrier.
“Things that deserve to be forgotten. Pain,” deft strokes write the kanji, and Megumi sees it take shape. “Agony. Memories. Sorrow.”
You finally take the cigarette out, the stick already half burnt. His eyes narrow upon it, his blood boiling as you waste your dexterity on vent poems in the rain. Perhaps this is your most vexing quality; your almost childish insistence to succumb to whatever emotion moves you at the moment. You’re as fickle and fragile as the wind, pretending you’re made of stone.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” He suddenly asks, though not for the first time. The first time he asked was far less judgemental than it was now. “Why do you always make things worse?”
Worse for who, you have to ask. You cough, trying not to outwardly cackle in his face. The idea of bringing Megumi misery makes you nearly giddy. The bubble of excitement dies down the moment your eyes catch his expression: brows pinched, eyes flashing dangerously until they give a lidded glare, his mouth turned in an upward sneer. The look saves just for you, just when you’re alone.
“I don’t think anything could get worse than this,” you tilt your head towards him, pointedly blowing smoke. “Besides,” you tack on. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t.” You laugh again at his response, and his shoulders tense, expression slipping into a boyish anger. “It’s not about you, it’s about the fact that you exacerbate your bad emotions like you want every other demon in a five kilometer radius to find us.”
“Exacerbate,” you snort childishly. “Now that’s a five dollar word.”
His posture has straightened, shoulders defensively squared and facing you. “When are you going to admit you’re not made for this, huh?”
Your shoulders shake with another laugh, this one hollow and bitter. He stands in front of you, expectant, voice laced with an air of maturity he doesn’t have the right to posses. Not even if he was born decades before you, a millennia before you.
“Made for this,” you repeat slowly. “Like the gods themselves crafted you, Fushiguro Megumi, from the mud under my shoe to fight demons.” You relish in the hitch in breath you elicit from him, even if it is followed by the individual cracks of his knuckles. You meet his gaze, and your combined cursed energy signature fluctuates; those same demons in the five kilometer radius must be fainting in its wake.
It doesn’t deter either of you. You’re both as still and stubborn as bulls. It feels like having a stare down with your own reflection, and it is agonizing to know this truth. To know he is your mirror.
“You weren’t made for this either, Fushiguro. You made yourself. So you must forgive me for not suppressing any and all emotions, like you.”
The curl to his lip drags upward even further, like the snarl of a wolf catching its prey. “You can barely keep it together after a grade 2 mission, and you want to come at me?” There’s something cruel in his eyes when he says it, something that wants to dissect your flaws and put them in a glass cage to repeatedly gawk at. Your eyes drop to ground, unable to bear the lens he views you with.
“You’ve lived with sorcery and demons for so long, and you’ve never gotten used to it. So why do you keep pretending like you can do this when you can’t?”
You blow smoke towards your feet. It vanishes quickly, evaporating into thin air. You stare into it, as if your memories are scripted in fog, abs you can make them disappear just as easily.
Megumi scrutinises your face for every micro expression that flits across your features, and he’s disappointed when all he sees is confusion. Like you don’t know the answer either.
He clicks his tongue, training his eyes back to the road. You stay staring at your feet, unblinking, lest you close your eyes see her decomposing body behind your eyelids.
A sudden realization shocks you as you bring the cancer stick to your lips for the first time in minutes. You’re only a quarter of the way through, leaving it forgotten. But there’s a warmth in your veins and a steadiness to your hands, some non-nicotine induced high. You smile callously at Megumi, who stands stiff as a board, pretending not to glance at you from the corner of his eye.
Unfortunate, you think. Seems I’ve found a better drug.
You take a drag off the cigarette. It’s feels like nothing in comparison. You burn through half of it, so that when you open your mouth, smoke curls out like a simpering dragon; elegant, dangerous, intoxicating. Megumi gapes as you grin, and something in you burns.
“You’re fun to argue with.” You snuff the cigarette between your calloused fingertips, putting out the ash in the box careful not to litter. Megumi’s expression is so priceless, you laugh when you say “Let’s do this again sometime, yeah?”
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heartofsnark · 3 years ago
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Can You Feel The Sun? (Chapter Eight): Icarus Falls
Notes: Why, yes, I am posting these relatively quickly. This is the last of a backlog since I’m actively still working on the next chapter, This is a doozy of a chapter, both emotionally and length wise, but I’m rather proud of it, if I’m being honest. I recommend settling in a snack and maybe...just maybe some tissues.... 
Word Count: 15327 
Chapter Warnings:  Multiple deaths, violence, gore, grief, angst. 
If you haven’t yet, you can read the previous chapter here!~
V and Jackie get into the backseat of the Delamain taxi. White and tan leather interior, despite looking the nicest she ever has in twenty years she still feels like she might stain the white leather. No driver, instead there’s screens and consoles in the back of the seats in front of them. An avatar of a bald man with stark unnaturally white skin and blue lips 
“Welcome on board this Delamain service. With Delamain, you leave your problems at the door,” the AI avatar greets them in a robotic voice. 
“Son of a bitch! Better fuckin' believe I will!” Jackie yells out, still grinning. V lets out a breath of air meant to sound like a laugh, but the lump in her throat isn’t making it any easier. 
“I see no reason why you should be using expletives.”
“Sorry, he gets… excited.”  Her voice is tighter than she wants it to be, her leg bouncing now. 
“Damn right, I’m excited. Hey, Del, what about that time I wanted to hire you for my cousin's bachelor party, huh?” 
“Unfortunately, we do not take on such contracts.”
“Three months I'd been savin' up scratch… Egh, water under the bridge. Hit it, Del!”
“Before we begin our journey, I must verify the identities of all customers. Please proceed to connect your personal links,” the mercs plug their personal links into the console, “Thank you. "Excelsior" package activated.”
Crisp subtitles for Delamain alight along her contacts, more comprehensive than the lip reading tech sometimes gives. Maybe his AI avatar enunciates more properly than a human, she wonders. 
“"Excelsior"? Hohoho, this just keeps gettin' better!”
Jackie laughs as the taxi cab starts to drive and V finds herself fiddling with her suit sleeve. It’s perfectly tailored, but she still feels like a kid in dress up. Having to pretend she’s a corpo, having to pretend to be a hearing person. Her bright painted nails seem to clash so much with the persona and she curses herself for not changing the polish. What if they’re caught right away? The corps smelling Heywood and The Badlands on them the second they walk through the door. What if the spoofed SID hack doesn’t work, what if the bot malfunctions… What if, what if, what if; spins around her brain. They can’t fuck this up, there’s no room for mistakes. One disaster will destroy their reputations, hell their entire merc careers. And that's the best case scenario. 
When she glances at Jackie there’s no hint of nerves, no hint of reservation or fear, just giddy excitement. Like a kid getting ready to hit up a party. 
“What’s got you riled up?” She asks in spoken English, deciding she’ll mostly speak for the ride since Jackie is the only person really here, that way he doesn’t have to look at her the entire time. And maybe she’s also hoping if she talks enough she won’t clam up too bad in Konpeki.  
“Hang on, watch this… Delamain! Initiate combat mode!”
She can see the bright red ink of his tattoo peeking from his suit sleeve, eyes drawn to it, and something about that scares her more; a hint of his Valentino roots showing, would it be a literal red flag for Konpeki security. 
“My apologies, but you do not appear to be in any sort of imminent danger,” Delamain crushes Jackie’s hopes, a frown replacing his grin. 
“Huh… Oh well. Trust me, he'll mow down an army of ‘Saka ninjas if it comes down to it,” Jackie explains to V and she wraps her arms around herself, resisting the desire to bring her legs up into the seat, trying to get her mind off her nerves. 
“So, what else is included in Excelsior mode?” V tries signing to the AI, curious if it has translation tech for ASL. 
“Comprehensive health coverage, including the handling and disposal of a client's remains should death occur on board,” Delamain responds without hesitation and instantly ruins any chance of her getting her mind off the massive risks within this job. 
“Damn. Shit got dark pretty quick,” Jackie comments. 
“Dex isn’t skimping though.” 
“And thanks to you, we're still gettin' a juicy forty percent.”
“You’re welcome.” 
“Excelsior…This is how you wanna cruise into the major leagues…” He says like the job is already done and they’re hitting up an after party… 
“Wouldn’t get too excited yet, Jack, doing a job not hitting up a party.” And her words are too sharp, voice too venomous and rough in her throat. She regrets it as soon as they leave her lips, as soon as she’s spoken them into reality, wishing she could swallow them back down. His face drops completely, eyes harsh and she knows she fucked up. 
“For real, V…? See me as that shallow?”
“I-”
“Lemme explain somethin' to you, V… My whole life I've spent in this shit around us! And I ain't goin' back!”
“I’m sorry, really, I just… I’m worried and I let my nerves talk for me, I’m sorry.” She quickly tries to smooth it over, those knots in her gut only winding tighter with Jackie mad at her. 
“Swear to christ, V, I will never fucking get you,” he says, shaking his head and looking out the window.
“What do you mean?” 
“Twenty years old, sitting in the back of a Delamain, on your way to do a job for Dex fuckin’ Deshawn and you can’t even muster a fuckin smile? You fuckin’ know what I’d have done to be where you are right now when I was your age, I was still dreaming of seeing The Afterlife! Took you less than a year to be here, took me ten! And you ain’t even happy about it! Then you act like I’m not takin’ it serious, like I don’t got my fuckin’ head in the game, just cause you can’t appreciate where the fuck you are right now!” 
She chews her lip, not sure what to say to him. Guilt coming over her. He’s right, she hasn’t lived in Night City nor been a merc nearly as long. He’s been doing this since he left the Valentinos… For Jackie this has been a lifelong dream, the ultimate goal. She didn’t even consider it a possibility until she met him and now she’s already on her way there. Of course he’s happy, on the precipice of his dreams coming true. 
“I’m sorry, really I didn’t mean to piss on your parade.” 
“Yet somehow you always do.” 
V sighs watching the city pass outside her window for a few more moments, tapping her fingers, that knot feels like a ball of lead now. She wants to claw her skin off,  tear and tear away at herself, at her being, and maybe, just maybe she’ll find someone better under the gore.  Someone who isn’t such a fucking asshole. Someone who knows how to keep their mouth shut and doesn’t ruin everything for everyone else. She’ll never understand why Jackie puts up with her, why he has for so long. She just doesn’t want to fuck this up. The job, her friendship, the little bit of happiness she’s built. V wrings her hands together, tight enough to hurt and she twists them a little harder, nails digging into the skin. If she can’t find anyone better maybe she’ll just claw away until she’s nothing at all. 
She’s already a bundle of nerves over the heist and she can’t stand another moment of the tension hanging thick in the air. 
“Did you fuck my wife?” She says in her best imitation of something between an Italian and a Brooklyn accent, watching Jackie’s face, the hint of a smile tugging at it. Tension starting to melt ever so slightly. 
“Don’t get me started,” he returns forcing the same cheesy voice. 
“Did you fuck my wife?” 
“I think you fucked my wife and got me started.” 
“I got started cause you fucked my wife.” 
“I could trace back the moment I got started it’d definitely be when you fucked my wife!” 
“That is unquestionably when I got started!” They’re smiling now, giggling at every other word as they choke on their cheesy jokes. Tension melts away as a weight is being lifted off her chest. 
“My records indicate that neither of you are married.” 
And they lose it, laughter filling the car at Delamain’s interjection to their stupidity. Its ridiculous and dumb and they sound like children. But, she’s thankful for the moment, the reprieve, where it’s laughter and not nerves tearing at her guts. 
A call notification lights up on V’s optic contacts, T-Bug’s avatar and V answers, the runner’s voice coming just a moment later. 
“Hey. How's things?”
“Eh,” Jackie answers, “been better, been worse.” 
“We’re nearing our destination,” Delamain tells them and V’s throat tightens. 
“Listen, set up a direct, encrypted line to guide you through Konpeki. V, ring Jackie now, see if we're in sync. Can't be too careful.” 
She puts a call through to Jackie, inteface telling her it’s establishing a secure connection.
“And?” Bug asks, expectantly. 
“Got static,” Jackie cringes, “Say somethin', Bug?”
“The greatest crimes issue from a desire for excess and not from necessity."
“Say what now?”
“Yeah, I read you. Not so much your Greek friend, though it was kind of exciting,” Jackie tells her with the ghost of a smile on his lips. 
“Could give it some thought, try to understand…? How 'bout you, V?”
“I want more Aristotle!” 
“Fuck off, both.”
Jackie and V share a giggle at the runner’s expense, V’s going to miss when Bug goes into retirement. If all works out, even on the brighter side, it may be the last time all three of them work together. But at least Bug will be happy and safe, unlike V or Jackie, this was never her dream or end goal. 
“OK, tech checks out, looks like,” T-Bug confirms. 
“Será mejor que sí…”
“Stay in touch”
And V just realizes the taxi has stopped moving, through Jackie’s window she can see the front entrance of the hotel.  The bright red exterior walls, a worker standing at the ready and those nerves are clawing their way back with a vengeance, tearing up her insides and making her want to bolt, terrified that they’lll be found out as soon as they step foot in. They need to get moving, only way to get through the fear is to take control, do what needs to be done. And hopefully avoid puking in the back of an expensive AI taxi. 
“Thank you for choosing the Delamain service. And best of luck. I shall await here for your return.”
“Shit's finally happenin’… “ 
“Its game time, got any iron left on you, time to put it away,” she tells him, tucking her gun and knife into the center compartment. Jackie following suit. V tugs off her suit jacket and rolls her white sleeves to her elbows, making sure her blades are accessible from the start. 
“Alright, Hannah, let’s go.” 
V opens the door of the Delamain, greeted by the view in front of the hotel, in the distance she can see the space travel facility, night settled over the water. The hotel has trees and plants out front, trying to sprinkle some nature into the cement and chrome world of Night City. She carries her suit jacket over her shoulder, keeping one hand busy with it, while the other sits in her pocket. Hoping it will keep her from signing if she needs to talk. 
“Hold on, lemme grab the Flathead.” Jackie pops the trunk of the taxi and pulls out the case with the bot. 
The mercs take the two marble steps up, a vibrant stript of red along the path.There’s long white marble with planters and the name of the hotel inscripted in gold. 
“'Member, reservation's in your name… Ramón. You're there to meet Hajime Taki - military tech department rep. Papers are for the Flathead” T-Bug tells them as they get closer to the double doors. 
“Welcome to Konpeki Plaza,” a man in a red, black, and gold uniform greets them, bowing his head as they pass by.
There’s a large waiting room, white couches along the sides with monitors displaying documentaries and vases with red hologram plants branching out of them. A security gate divides the waiting room from the front desk, scanners to check each guest for weaponry. Beyond it she can see staff with gold plated skin. All non-security personnel of the hotel are gold plated; receptionists, concierge, bartenders, and the like. A requirement for the job, even staff must match the aesthetic. 
“Welcome to Konpeki Plaza. Please come through single file,” The guard tells them as they reach the full body scanner. 
“You got it, holm-- uh, ahem, sir,” Jackie stumbles and V screams internally, watching her friend step forward. Blue light crackles along him, like lightning, then it flashes red. Misty’s warning of mean reds, flaring in V’s mind. 
“Ahem. Hold on got something,” the guard stops Jackie before he can go any further, “Sir, care to explain why you're bringin’ a combat bot onto Konpeki Plaza premises?”
“Arms dealers.” V yells out quickly, hating how forced it sounds, tightening her fingers in her jacket, desperate not to sign on instinct and not realizing she forgot the ‘we’re’ part of her sentence until she finished saying it. 
“Excuse me?”
“Ah!” A gold skinned concierge steps over,  “You are here to see Taki-san, am I right? Please accept my apologies for the confusion.” 
“Pff,” Jackie scoffs as the concierge bows and walks into the lobby, waiting at the front desk. 
V steps into the scanner, guard assuring her it will only take a moment. It distorts her vision, crackling it with blue for just a moment. Then the guard tells her to go ahead and she walks forward, meeting Jackie at the desk. A woman with gold skin, black hair all shaved except for the bangs and sidelocks greets them.  And V is starting to notice that the Arasaka logo is everywhere, the corp hotel owned by them. On the screens, gold emblazoned on marble planters, and on pamphlets. The hotel and Arasaka logo are clearly one in the same. 
“Youkoso. Greetings and welcome to Konpeki Plaza,” she says bowing her head to them and V returns the gesture.
“We’d like to check in,” Jackie says and V sends him a silent thanks for talking. .
“Of course, just a moment, please” the receptionist taps away at a keyboard, “The name on the reservation is…?”
“Victorino.”
“Double room, two adults, one night. Correct?”
“That’s the one,” V tells her, with a tight nod. 
“Perfect… I will go ahead and notify Taki-san of your arrival.”
“Shit, no good, not part of the plan. Talk her up, V, stall!” T-Bug yells out over the call and V is once again wanting to scream. 
“That, uh,  won't be necessary,” she curses herself for stuttering, “We'll go freshen up first, notify him ourselves.”
“But Taki-san is expecting you, no…?”
“Senorita, do you know how long we been traveling? Eighteen hours from New Barcelona. With a delay on Metakey 'cause some cyberpsycho blew himself into bits inside the terminal…”
“Been a nightmare, ugh.” 
“Of course, I understand. You will be in the Lapis Lazuli Suite on level forty-two. Oh, one more little formality… Please validate your SID chip.”
“Honor's all yours, Hannah.” 
A tablet on the table lights up with a bright blue handprint and she’s reminding of her issue getting into her own apartment. Bug said she put a temporary hack on their SID chip, but there’s an extra twinge of anxiety as V lays her hand down on it. She half expects it to show a senior citizen, to be outed as a fraud and tossed out the door. 
“Everything seems to be in order. We wish you a pleasant stay!~” 
“Better get goin'.”
V murmurs a thanks, feeling a bit of relief at having that part of this whole thing done. Playing corpo is somehow more stressful to her than the idea of breaking into Yorinobu’s penthouse. She follows behind Jackie. Large marble planters fill the lobby, some with trees that nearly touch the staggeringly high ceiling. 
“New Barcelona? Really?” T-Bug comments as V follows Jackie up a short set of marble steps. 
“It's called improvisin' - you should try it,” V stares up at a gold framed painting, “Whaddaya think, Hannah"?
“...” V raises an eyebrow at him with a soft noise in her throat. 
“Quaint, cozy. Not like the hotel we had in Zurich for that convention.”
“Don't need that, Jack. Enough.”
“What? I’m takin’ this seriously!” Jackie grumbles when T-Bug scolds him. 
They take two turns through the lobby, guards passing by talking about dolls being left in rough shape as they near what looks to be a bar in the corner. It's an open pathway inside, the bar illuminated in pink and a gold plated woman stands at a podium bearing Arasaka’s logo. There’s a lit collection of alcohol behind the bar, liquor that costs more than V’s rent, which isn’t a hard feat but still rubs her the wrong way. 
“Bar don't look too shabby.”
“We don't do reservations on weekdays, so feel free to grab any available table. Or a couple of stools at the bar if you prefer?” She explains to them, a valley girl accent to her words. 
“Could bring Misty here one day. When we, uh… close this deal.”
“Might take a look around.” 
The idea of sitting down, if only for a moment, and catching her breath after the close call in the lobby sounds nice. Her nerves are frayed already, she’s never wanted to drink so much on a job before. A quick breather before she has a full blown panic attack. 
“Shit,” Jackie curses, “look like some fuckin' travelin' salesman with this case. Go ahead, I’ll go on upstairs.” 
V nods, watching Jackie go to the elevator, a part of her feels guilty, but she doesn’t intend to take too long. And it’s not as if she’s made visiting bars on the job a habit before, she can have this one. She rubs a hand over the back of her neck, feeling the chrome indents of her Mantis Blades cooling the skin. Half of the room is a lounge with black couches and slick pink metallic chairs, terrariums built into the walls. The other half is, gold stools and booths before the neon pink bar. Each side is filled with people mingling, dressed in high fashion, people who’ve gambled away more money than she’s ever seen. 
“And when I say heads're gonna roll, I don't mean it as a fucking turn of phrase,” a half drunk man slurs his speech at the golden bartender. The stench of whiskey clings heavy to his clothes. 
“Had enough guy, don’t you think? You’re making the other customers uncomfortable,” the bartender sends a pointed look towards V, a slight twang in his voice. She was looking for a breather, not conflict. 
“Good! 'Cause this affects them, too! It'll slap everyone in the face!” 
“What’s that?’ She entertains him, figuring it might get the guy gone sooner. 
“You wanna know what a bearer of bad news looks like? What's four hundred yards long, weighs a hundred thousand tons, and is nuclear powered…? The answer's docked in the bay! Hanako Arasaka decided -,” he hiccups, “decided to take a little vacation!
“Big deal.”
“Don't know how big just yet,” her sarcasm doesn’t penetrate the fog of whiskey, “And by the time we do, it'll.. it'll be too late. Screw this. I'm gonna get some sleep…”
With that the man stumbles away, taking the too strong smell of booze with him and the shining bartender turns to her. His shaved hair either red or pink, color distorted in the glowing light. 
“Evenin, what can I get you, baby?” 
Her nose wrinkles at the term of endearment, “little forward, don’t you think?” 
“Suckled it outta my ma's very breast,” he returns, “Fifty percent protein, the other half pure high octane CHOOH2.” 
He presses two gilded hands to the bar leaning forward as he regales his story and she can’t help but raise an eyebrow; he’s implying he’s a nomad, but why would he tell her that? 
“What?” 
“She had wind and dust in her hair, so to speak. Belonged to the Aldecaldos. Before the bombs began fallin'. Her final words? ‘Wherever you go, whatever you do, be yourself, David.’ And so I ended up here. Still no one but myself.” 
He’s full of shit, she decides immediately. Maybe her own distrust or her own frustration, nobody with nomad blood would end up here, gold plated and slinging drinks to corpos. At the very fucking least, they wouldn’t act so damn happy about it. 
“Lovely story if it wasn’t a crock of shit.” 
“Everyone's making something up,” he smirks, “Just like you, baby.”
“Excuse you?” she chokes out, feeling like ice water has been shot through her veins. He’s seen through her, that implication clear, but how? Even regaling to her some fucked up story of being a nomad, like he could smell the dust of the badlands still on her skin. 
“Can I getcha somethin'? At the least, water?” 
“Bourbon and cherry coke.” 
“You got it, baby.” 
The repeated use of the pet name earns him a glare, V tapping her fingers against the bar, his story and perceptiveness making her nerves worse. He sets the drink on the table and she downs it with a gulp, alcohol not quite loosening her how she hopes. She sets the glass down and leaves the bar, it may be petty but she doesn’t leave him a tip, frustrated at the idea he could have seen through her. 
She jabs the elevator button, tapping her foot as she waits and stares at some painting. Its all abstract bullshit, pretty colors, but she’s not sure she sees much else to them. The golden doors open, the back of the elevator windowed with what looks like foliage inside, maybe it’s just a screen. V steps inside and jabs to her level. And after just a short ride, it stops  at her floor. 
The doors open and she sees Jackie, looking over one of the art pieces, walking past a desk and concierge to greet him. 
“About time,” he says, when he spots her, the pair making a beeline to the suite. They walk past a couple speaking Russian, talking about testing on people, as they find the door. 
Jackie opens the door and she gets her first peek of it, stepping in. The furthest wall almost entirely windowed, looking out over the hills. Another expanse dedicated to a terrarium, a large plush bed, white sofas, and a table projecting hologram displays of fish. V tosses her suit jacket off onto the couch. 
“Pretty snazzy. Too bad we ain't stayin' the night. Nice choice, Bug.” 
“Didn't pick it for snazz. Offers quickest access to the dweller and servers.”
“Sí, sí, me acuerdo,” jackie grumbles as he puts the Flathead case down on a table in front of the terrarium. The little spider bot springs to life the second it’s case is opened. 
“Now you fire up the Flathead and find the shaft entrance.” 
“Sounds simple enough…” 
“Simplicity's sometimes toughest to master,” T-Bug tells her. 
“Aurelius? Aristotle? Who's it this time?”
“Yours truly, that one's mine.”
“Go ahead and find the shaft, chica, I’ll get the Flathead running.” 
V nods and begins looking around the room, scanning around, finding the shaft after a short moment. A little square panel standing out on the wall next to the terrarium, scanner telling her it’s Flathead compatible. 
“Found it.” 
“Good. Jackie, how's the Flathead lookin'?” T-Bug asks, he’s put the control shard in one of his neuroports while V was looking for the shaft, eyes now glowing bright white blue. 
“All set. Systems’re operational, charge at a hundred…,” a moment passes his expression furrowing as he shakes his head, “Mierda.  Little gonk's stuck.”
“Just gonna stand there and look at it? Gonna have to switch to manual control. V, take the control shard from Jackie. Gonna link your Kiroshis to surveillance so you can guide the bot.”
“Why me, Jack’s got full blown optics?”  She asks, as he pulls the control shard from his head. 
“Yeah, but you got better tech, unlike someone I ain’t run up my tab with Vik. Got last-gen firmware low flow. May be contacts, but you’re working with top notch Kiroshi tech.” 
“Plus someone already has some playtime with the bot,” T-Bug outs her and Jackie raises an eyebrow at V, a teasing smile on his lips. 
“You played with the bot?”
“Just… give me the shard,” she takes it from Jackie’s hand, “Surveillance cover the whole hotel?”
“Mhm. Even the bedrooms in the suites.”
“Seriously?” 
“You'd be surprised what people're willin' to give up to feel secure. Lucky for us, Yorinobu's an exception. Penthouse is dark, no hotel security.’
“Okay, here goes.” V pushes the control shard into the slot, the interface says it’s connecting her, then it glitches and in a moment she’s looking at herself and Jackie through the surveillance camera. 
“Patching you through to in-cam view. Might get a little disoriented, but don't freak”
Her vision switches between rooms; a man getting a lap dance from a doll in a dimly room, two men in another hotel room. And then it lands on a third room. A meeting of four people; two Arasaka suits and two faces she vaguely recognizes. The view doesn't shift again and she takes the chance to look closer, talks of losing control of Watson, election season. And it clicks, the mayor of Night City. 
“Camera’s set,” V tells Bug, political bullshit isn’t her business, she can see the vague outline of the Flathead creeping into the room.  Only slightly visible to her thanks to her connection, 
“Get him to the next vent.”
V scans and finds the next vent shaft tucked in the corner of the room, sending the Flathead to it. She watches as it crawls and creeps through the room. 
“C’mon little buddy, you got it, yes,” She cheers on the little machine as it skitters across the camera and into the vent. 
“It’s a Military grade combat bot, not your pet, V. Patching you into the next cam now.” 
The next room appears, more brightly lit with two maids working to clean it. V goes to send the Flathead into the vent but the request is denied, detecting one of the cleaning ladies is too far into it’s path. 
“Cleaning crew’s in the way,” V tells Bug, listening to one of the women start drooling over Yorinobu. 
“Gotta distract her. Hmm, let's see what's on the subnet…temp control on the terrarium, sic the bot on it.” 
V follows the runner’s orders scanning and sending the Flathead onto the temp control. Barely a moment passes before the maid’s notice, freaking out about how expensive it is. The merc takes her chance and sends the bot into the unblocked vent shaft. 
“Little guy’s through.”
Next cam flickers into a green tinted maintenance hallway, the bots legs tinkering across the floor. Vent on the other side of the room, V sends it through, smiling as her little buddy makes his way through. And it brings her to a new camera, it looks like where the surveillance feeds lead to. A console and row of screens with a security guard watching them. 
“Dweller's just beyond the door. Flathead can jimmy the lock.”
V sends the command, watching it scamper to the door, tendrils working at the lock. But nothing gives away. 
“He’s having some trouble, poor feller.” 
“Shit… Gotta be another way. Lemme think… Got another cam other side of the door, but it's disabled.’
“Got a CCTV port, might be able to enable it.” 
“Go for it.” 
The Flathead creeps across the room and jacks into the port, giving V access to the other camera. And V switches her vision to it, the next room looks like a high tech runner’s nest. Two netrunning chairs in deep cooled divots within the room. But only one is in use, a man jacked into the security frame, illuminated in blue, screens running code around him. 
“Dweller’s inside.”
“Just as planned.”
“Still don’t get why they only have the one.” 
“Decent dweller's as good as a dozen rank-and-file. Lemme graft a demonoid onto your link, you’ll be able to jack the bot directly into the chair and neutralize the runner.” 
“Got’cha” 
“You'll have to get the Flathead in there first, though.” 
“Got another shaft grate,” V finds when she twists the camera’s view, there had to be a vent in the other room, servers lining the walls. Bad ventilation and the entire operation overheats. 
“Shaft may link both rooms, looks like. Toggle to the other cam.” 
V does so, a moment of scanning and she finds a hidden shaft grate in the floor, “Think I got it.”
“Send the Flathead over there, then toggle over to the second cam.”
She waits until the bot is prying open the vent in the surveillance room, then flickers back over to the runner’s den, eyes on the vent and hoping she didn’t send their tech into the wrong room. A moment passes and she sees her robotic friend creeping his way out. 
“Our friend’s inside.” 
“Flathead into the chair, V, jack in.” 
The bot crawls across the floor and into the netrunner’s cubby, creeping up the chair and scuttling over the man’s body. Deep in the subnet the man doesn’t stir or even notice as the bot hovers over his face and jacks into the chair. And the code across the screen glitches, replaced by a T. 
“Holy shit.” 
“Whoop! Got him! Love those daemons!” Bug cheers, louder and more excited than V has ever heard her. They did it, the bot is in, T-Bug has access to it all. 
“Uh, Flathead buddy stays, right?” 
“To keep an eye on the dweller, yeah. Punching into Konpeki’s main net. Go ahead and log out.” 
The young merc’s vision starts to glitch and flicker red, her pulling the shard from her head, everything spinning. Lightheaded and her body feels both too light and too heavy. Like she could collapse and float away all at once. 
“That's how it's done! How ya feelin'?” Jackie asks, concern lacing his voice. 
“Like I’m about to puke on a rug worth more than my car.” 
“Bug? How're you doin' on time?” The runner doesn’t respond right away, a moment too long passing. 
“Bug?” 
“Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Soooo listen, ICE is thicker than I thought. Piercing it'll take a couple hours.” 
“A couple hours?! Can't do it any faster?”
“Want my brain to burst into flames? Just siddown and enjoy your snazzy suite.”
“Thanks, I will! V, you take it easy, c’mon rest for a bit.” 
V doesn’t need anymore prodding, settling down onto the white sofa, hoping her head will stop spinning and stomach cease churning by the time Bug is done. The merc kicks off her heels and lays across the sofa, softer than her bed. Jackie sitting across on the other side of the table, V brings her hand up to her face, trying to block out the blue light from the holo projector. But catches herself looking at the bracelet Misty gave her, the way the beads catch the light, remembering the name of it. 
“Hey, what was our suite’s name again?” 
“Lapis lazuli, why?” 
“Isn’t that what Misty’s bracelets are? The blue beads with the gold.” 
“Oh...yeah, ain’t that some shit, must be a good sign.” 
“Maybe… she read your cards before this?” 
“Nah, didn’t get a chance, nagged me about mean reds though. What about you, cards in your favor?” 
“All I remember is something about a magician and love, blegh.” 
“Hehehe,” his laughter is warm and fills the huge room, “telling you, one day you’re gonna be head over heels with some chiccy or mano and you’re not gonna know what to do with yourself.” 
“That how it was with you and Misty?” 
“Pssh, knew I was crazy about her from day one, took a while to work up the nerve though one day I just told her the truth.” 
“That you were in loooove~.”
“More like I’d take a bullet for her, chica.”
“Romantic.” 
“Fuck yeah it is, in Night City, that’s worth a billion I love yous.” 
“So you say.” 
“Keep doing that and you’re gonna rub the finish off Vik’s work,” Jackie tells her and she realizes she’s been rubbing and fiddling with her implants, “be a waste for free work to be ruined.” 
“I’m gonna pay him.” 
“You give him anything upfront, even a dime?” 
“I… gave him a hug…” 
“Wow,” Jackie says half laughing and she’s laughing too, “a whole hug for top of the line chrome! Probably wasn’t even a real hug, just your half ass shit!” 
“I may have only used one arm.” 
“Santa mierda, V, gotta learn to hug people like you mean it.” 
“Yes, yes,” she yawns, “blah blah blah, never know which hug will be the last one, blah….” 
“Flathead wear you out that bad?” 
“Maybe a little…” Her stomach feels better, but her head is still light, fuzzy. And in the plush of the sofa, with Jackie close by, she finds herself drifting away. Eyelids getting heavier with each word, each lull of his voice. She didn’t drink much, but she’s sure the bourbon didn’t help. 
“Gonna be a while, might as well catch a cat nap, chica. Though Bug might not like it, haven’t quite managed to get the stick out of her ass.”  
“Yeah..maybe…” 
The world fades away, a soft fuzzy sleep taking over. Time ticks by around her as she catches a moment, or maybe several, to sleep. Her brain is still a little foggy, but the dizziness is gone by the time she slowly starts to wake back up. A bad case of cottonmouth as she wakes, world filtering back in. 
Her suit jacket is tossed over her, a makeshift blanket she didn’t put there, she rolls over to sit, more stable than she was before. The time on the terrarium panel tells her only an hour or two has passed.  Jackie’s back is too her, his eyes staring at the window. And she finds herself staring, standing in a suit and basked in the lights of the city view, he’s never seemed so serious. 
“Whaddaya think? Why'd he give it all up?” He asks after a moment and she blinks, brain still foggy. 
“Who?” 
"Yorinobu Arasaka. The good life, I mean. Old news, I know. Just got to thinkin's all. It's like, think… You got everything, right? Eddies, education. Your pops can snap his fingers and turn half the fuckin’ planet into a nuclear wasteland… But instead you're like, ‘Nah, fuck it,’ and whaddaya go do? Start a fuckin' gang! Steel Dragons or some shit! You ghost from your fam, chip some RealSkinn and play gang leader for a few years. For what?!” 
She can sense the frustration in every word, feel it every clench of his fingers or swing of his hands. Someone like Yorinobu was handed everything he could ever want; tried to piss it away to play edgerunner, then found himself sucking the silver spoon once again.  But, she can’t blame him for wanting out from under his father’s thumb; that alone a feeling she knows too well. Her fingers hover over her wrist, the still branded flesh that Vik saved. 
“Maybe...he just wanted out of the system.” 
“So then why’d he come back.” 
“Tough to ditch the system when the system’s your own family,” V admits, finger still on the mark. 
“Black sheep’s still a sheep, eh?” 
“Maybe…” 
It took her forever to get the nerve to leave, she talked about it constantly, but it wasn’t until her mother’s death, murder, culling. Whatever she’s meant to call it, that she finally was pushed to make that move. Been gone for years now, but… more days than she cares to admit were spent wondering if she ever should have run, if she should crawl back and beg. If a family that hates her is better than no family at all… 
“Crawled back on all fours, tail between his legs, fuckin’ cheap ass rebel. Fuckin’ tourist!” 
Her nails dig into her skin; insecurities brimming, fear that maybe she’s just as much a fuckin’ tourist. Some black sheep nomad who’ll go running back to her dad, beg for another chance, playing pretend merc when all she’ll ever be is the family burden. 
“Tourist or not, he just walked into the lobby. And we are back in biz. Penthouse security is neutralized.”
“Perfecto, let’s start this show.”
And with those words, they’re back in business, the younger merc up on her feet. V grabbing her jacket and following Jackie out of the suite, fiddling with the fabric as she walks, heels clicking across the floor. 
“Hey, Bug…” Jackie says after a beat of silence,  “were, uh… were you on comms that whole time?”
“Three and a half hours.”
“Eehh… about that stick up the ass…”
“Mean the one up mine?”
“Ehh, slip of the tongue, y'know…”
“I know. Now's your chance to make up to me,” T-Bug tells him as they reach the elevator, Jackie pressing the button. 
“This is going pretty smooth right,” he turns to V as they wait, “right?” 
“Really are a silver lining type, ain’t ya?” V teases as the doors open and they step into the elevator. 
“Hey, when are you gonna wave off that dark cloud hanging over your head? Tellin’ you, it’s downhill from on in.” 
She rolls her eyes and hits the button to the penthouse, elevator doors closing and the carriage rumbling, shaking as it ascends. Silence falling over them, only the sound of the elevator. Jackie’s leg shakes and she knows that silence is about to end. 
“Ahh, there's the awkward silence. You, uh, wanna hear a joke?”
“Now? Seriously?”
“OK, so why'd the rockerboy's output kick him out of the apartment? ‘Cause he wasn't chippin' in.” Jackie cackles at his own joke and V rolls her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. 
“Jesus Christ…” 
Bug sounds a moment away from killing him, but thankfully for the older merc’s sake, the elevator comes to a stop. Doors opening up to Yorinobu’s suite. It feel different, seeing it from her own perspective instead of Evelyn’s and outside of a braindance editor. The entire suit feels bigger. A part of her wonders if it’s the height difference between herself and Evelyn, but decides to chalk it up to braindance shit instead. 
“Huh… not bad bein' heir to the Arasaka empire. Sure as shit better'n bein' the son of Raúl Welles,” Jackie comments taking in the room. 
V turns the corner through the room and a tank catches her eye. A slightly red light illuminating an iguana. It immediately reminds her of the only other iguana she knows, Manny. Come to think of it, his original crate was from Arasaka? 
“Hey, Jackie, look!” 
“Whoa, another fuckin’ iguana, not as cute as Manny though.” 
“Manny’s original crate was marked Arasaka; think he might’ve been Yorinobu’s before we klepped him?” 
“Think we stole his iguana and made him get a new one?” 
“Maybe?”  She gently taps the tank glass, watching the iguana’s tail flick back and forth. 
“Guys! Focus! The safe! And make it quick!” Bug yells out, bringing the merc’s back down to earth. V tosses her jacket onto one of the seats in the center, searching around the penthouse. Rain patters outside the windowed walls. They know where the safe is, but how do they get it out of the floor?
“Why, what's the rush?”
“Sig on Yorinobu's gone dark!”
“What is he, a fuckin' sorcerer?”
“Some kinda dead zone's my guess - have him back in a sec. And you do your damn job! Look around for a switch.”
V walks around one of the dividers where Yorinobu’s bed is, the slick metal of a gun catching her eye first and foremost. Black and gray, with purple detailing. She checks it for ammo and finds it loaded then decides it’s hers. 
“Looks like Yori left us a little gift,” she laughs, tucking the iron in her waistband. And on the other side of the bed, she finds a little switch. She presses it. 
“Bingo, got somethin' ejectin’! C'mere, V!” Jackie calls her over to the corner of the room, heart pounding in her chest.
They’re so close to the finish line, each click of her heels feeling like a step closer. This could actually work. A large black safe has risen out of the floor, a small jack in port and two red lights. Jackie stands on one side of it, the gray rainy day behind him. 
“What now, Bug?” 
“Jack in your personal and make us rich.” 
V plugs her personal link in, leaning one hand against the safe. Jackie leans against it from the other side, foreheads nearly touch as they wait for Bug to work her magic. Just get the chip and walk out, that’s all that’s left. All they need to do. She can’t stand still, itching to cross the finish line, minutes away from the major leagues. 
“Gimme two…”
The merc’s interface shows Bug uploading the daemons to crack the case and V watches the number rise. Sixty percent, seventy, seventy-five; each ticking number another shaky breath, a rising beat of her heart, and a chill up her spine. Homestretch, nearly there. 
And there’s a hum, V’s focus drawn away from the rising percentage, to the windows. Flying AV whirring through the gray skies, hovering around. She looks to Jackie, hoping somehow he’ll have an explanation, something to help her ignore the way her stomach is starting to drop. 
“We got winged visitors… Bug…?” There’s catch in his voice, nerves. Jackie’s scared and she swallows the lump in her throat. His face illuminated in the red flashing lights of the case, mean reds, the words flash in V’s mind. 
“Dunno who. But staffs abuzz, all two hundred on their feet, can't keep still…” 
Somethings wrong, the hair on the back of her neck stands up, a chill in her she can’t shake. Something is so fucking wrong. 
“Can't say I like this, how much longer, T?!”
“Shit. Yorinobu's penthouse bound!”
“What!?”V’s voice cracks, digging her nails into the safe, they’re fucked. They’re so fucked. 
“Fuck him!” Jackie slams his hand down, rattling the container, “Open the safe!” 
“Almost got it… Done!”  The safe opens, revealing a cryo-container within. Bright white light and a fog of ice cold air coming with it. V rips her personal jack out. 
“Preem, lets get the fuck out of here!”  
“Lemme look to this, eh?” Jackie says, pulling the container out and looking at the little screens across it. 
“Relic intact?” 
"Bioshard integrity - one hundred percent." Guessin' that's a yes,” Jackie reads off the vitals of the shard, picking up the case. 
“Good,  let’s delta.” 
The pair nearly trip through the center of the penthouse, rushing towards the elevator with Jackie lugging behind the giant cryo-container. So close, so close, so fucking close. An elevator and taxi ride away, then they’ll be at The Afterlife counting their eddies. The homestretch. 
“Fuck, too late!” T-Bug yells before V can hit the elevator button, “Yorinobu's about to walk in - find cover!
“Where in the fuck!?” V swings her hands as she yells, they’re so fucking close. She rakes her nails across her face, leaving red angry marks down her skin. 
“That pillar- try that!” 
“You fuckin' kiddin'?!” Jackie screams as the mercs make a move to the pillar in the center of the penthouse, were she thought servers for the room were kept. The back of it opening up and allowing a tight passageway. 
“No! Inside it! Now!” 
V slips inside as quickly as she can, Jackie following suit. He holds the cry-container close to his chest. The glass barrier is one way, they can see out, but it can’t be seen in. Still not ideal cover, ideally they’d be outside of the fucking hotel by now. The merc presses her hands to the glass, cursing under her breath. 
“We’re in,” she whispers to Bug.
“Which don't solve our problem, T.”
“I fuckin' know our problem's still there! Lemme think for a sec, okay?” 
The lights to the penthouse come on, elevator doors opening as Yorinobu strides in. with mechanical monstrosity of a body guard from the BD taking large whirring steps after him. And he seems even bigger now. He’s a cyber giant, one mech hand larger than  any part of V. 
He’s outlined in red, his eyes staring straight at her,  Vik said her new contacts would highlight if enemies saw her.. No, there’s no possible way. The man has barely set a borged-out foot into the room. She meets his gaze head on, swallowing the lump in her throat as she tries to seem braver than she is. On the off chance he may truly know the mercs are there. 
“Is that… Is that Adam Smasher?” Jackie whispers and V trusts him to look at her hands  as she signs, not wanting to break eye contact with the robotic monstrosity, refusing to show weakness.
“Bodyguard?” 
“Worse,” her trust in her friend is well placed, “Night City legend. Bleak motherfuckin' one, too. What's the plan?”
“We stay quiet and we wait.” 
A flash of movement makes V finally break the stare down, Yorinobu walks to the middle of the room and stops at the seat across from the table, black fabric strewn across it. He picks it up, regarding it for a moment and her heart drops into her stomach. 
V’s jacket. She left her fucking jacket on his chair, like an idiot, she didn’t even have time to consider grabbing it. They’re going to die because she left her fucking jacket out in the open and Adam Smasher is still staring at her. 
She half expects Yorinobu to call a sweep of the room, ring security, that he’ll realize the random jacket must be an intruder. But he shakes his head, tosses it aside onto the floor, not giving it another thought. While his body guard Smasher lingers in the corner, robotic eyes staring straight at V, watching the mercs squirm. 
“Are they here yet?” Yorinobu asks out loud. 
“They approach from the landing pad,” an AI voice responds. 
“Fuck are they talking about?” V resists the urge to elbow Jackie, silence has never been more important. One sound too loud and a borged out psycho will rip their heads off. And if her contacts are right, Smasher may just be waiting for the perfect opportunity. 
“Nuh-uh, no fucking way…. This isn't happening…!” T-Bug whispers over comms and V sees someone coming down the spiraling stairs, a guard it seems, with another older man following him, “Saburo Arasaka.” 
The second man is older, much older than the first. Balding with gray hairs and liver spots across his scalp, glasses perched high upon his nose. Dressed in a mixture of yukata robes over what seems to be slacks and loafers he takes slow measured steps down the stairs. The head capitalist himself, owner of Arasaka. 
“The emperor? Yet another asslickin' legend….” 
V taps Jackie’s side and puts her finger to her lips, encouraging him to be quiet. The man who led Saburo in starts to walk around the room. He’s older than V or Jackie, but nowhere near Saburo’s age. Long graying dark hair pulled back in a bun, cyberware across his neck coming out from under his black suit. 
“I thought I told you not to meddle in my affairs,” Yorinobu speaks in his native tongue, V’s contacts translating and subtitling to English. 
“Oh fuck,” Jackie curses as the long haired guard comes to stand in front of them, silver ringed brown eyes starting to scan them. 
“Leave us,” Saburo orders and the guard stops scanning, turning to face the corporate leader. 
“Arasaka-sama, I still haven't done a full sweep.” The guard turns his back and V can see where part of his hair is shaved, allowing intense cyberware extending beyond his neck and towards his scalp. 
“This is my son.”
“Of course. Should I retrieve what we come here to-” 
“I will handle it. You may go.”
The long haired guard bows and goes to leave the room, finally Adam Smasher’s gaze on her drops, as the borged freak leaves with the guard through the elevator doors. If they’re here to retrieve something… it’s likely the biochip, which means if they go to get it and see it’s gone… They’re fucked. They’re straight fucked. 
“Un-fucking-believable… Saburo Arasaka.” That comment makes V nudge Jackie with her foot, once again begging him to just stay quiet. 
“Did you think I wouldn't know it was taken from me?” Saburo asks his son, barely making eye contact as Yorinobu looks through a datapad. 
“Actually, I don't think of you at all. Ever. You see, that's your problem. You think the world revolves around you. Arrogant.” 
“Yorinobu.” 
“Why did you come? To humiliate me? To personally see to it that your son knows his place?”
“"The nail that protrudes from the wall gets hammered…"
“Couldn't think of anything original to say?” Yorinobu yells in exasperation, standing up and pacing around the room.  He’s on edge, looking ready to jump out of his skin and V can’t say she has a good feeling about any of this. 
“And do you think it ‘original’ to sell our greatest achievement to Westerners - our future to these… barbarians?!”
It’s definitely the biochip Saburo is after, they’re screwed, monumentally screwed. V would laugh if she didn’t feel like dying, of course, of course it all goes to shit. 
“Our future? Ours?! You are mistaken. You've only ever cared about yourself… and your sick schemes.” Yorinobu points and swings his limbs, still pacing, every word coiled tight with barely restrained hatred. 
“I knew this day would come. That sooner or later your impudence would cross the line,” Saburo is calmer, measured, taking soft steps towards his son, “There is much for which I could forgive you, but for treason - no.” 
The two men, father and son now stand in front of the pillar before an audience they don’t know. Stares trained on each other, each hateful, but one furious in it’s spite and the other calm in it’s contempt. Moments pass, no word said, each waiting for the other to light a fuse that will set off the powder keg. 
“I'm just glad your mother didn't live to see this. The heart should break but once.” 
And it goes off. Saburo’s words are punctuated by Yorinobu’s hands wrapping tightly around the old man’s throat. Yorinobu slams his father back against the pillar, cracking the glass in front of Jackie and busting open Saburo’s head. Blood streaking the shards. And he pulls away and for a moment, as Saburo clutches at his crushed windpipe, Yorinobu seems nearly regretful. 
“You shall never have to forgive me for anything again.” 
His hands wrap again, choking his father against the pillar. Until Saburo starts to fall limp, Yorinobu bringing him down onto the floor in a lifeless heap. Yorinobu stands over his father. Saburo is dead, killed before the merc’s very eyes at the hands of his own son. Jackie curses and V watches as Yorinobu paces, mind clearly racing before he stands over his father’s corpse again. 
“I wish… I wish to put the hotel on lockdown.” 
What does that mean? What the hell does that mean?
“May I ask why?” The AI secretary asks him. 
“Saburo Arasaka has been murdered.”
“Code red initiated. Attention! Code Red has been initiated throughout Konpeki Plaza. Please remain in your rooms and follow all instructions given by staff.”
Oh no, oh fuck no. The lights in the room drop, only bright neon red ones glowing angry in the dark. What the hell is going to happen? What the fuck do they do now? The elevator doors open, Smasher and the long haired guard walking in; the latter rushes and comes to a full stop when he sees Saburo’s corpse. 
“What happened?”
“Someone… someone poisoned my father.”
“Poisoned…?” 
“Seems so.” 
“Yorinobu-san… I doubt…”
Yorinobu glowers at the guard, pushing into his personal space, trying to intimdate him. Trying to make him stop questioning what happened, trying to stop him from looking any closer. Anyone who gets a good look at Saburo’s corpse will see the fingerprints around his neck. 
“What is your job, Takemura?”
“I don't follow.”
“It's a simple question. Answer it.”
“To protect the head of the Arasaka family.”
“I do sincerely hope you'll do a better job of executing your duties from now on…”
“Forgive me, Arasaka-sama,” the guard drops his head in shame, “I shall not disappoint.” 
Yorinobu turns to leave the suite. The guard, Takemura, follows close behind. And the still red highlighted Smasher follows behind him. The elevator doors close behind them. Jackie and V left alone in the suite again. But what the fuck just happened? 
“What the fuck just happened in there?” T-Bug asks, exactly what’s rattling around V’s skull as the pillar back opens again. Jackie and V clambering out. 
“Yorinobu just killed Saburo, he fucking choked out his own dad, I didn’t even know you could do that!” V rambles and yells as she turns the corner of the pillar, looking down at Saburo’s corpse. She quickly checks his pockets, stealing some cash and a pair of dog tags off of him. 
“What?” 
“His own fuckin’ pops.” 
“Know what this means?l Security's gonna swarm the place any second. Oh my god, we're so fucked!”
“We need to get the fuck out of here, now!” They can’t just go out the elevator, they’d meet security on the way. They’re beyond fucked. Why the hell did they take this stupid fucking job!?
“Gimme a sec!”
There’s the helipad, but it’s not like they have anything that fucking flies. Think, think, think; she screams in her head to just fucking think, there has to be something, anything. 
“We don't have a sec!”
“Okay, got somethin'! Window - now! Releasing the lock! Should see a ladder… Ladder…” 
V sees an opening in the large windowed walls, double doors practically made of glass they goes onto the ledge. This has to be in, T-Bug can undo the lock and they’ll slip out. 
“Oh fuck.” T-Bugs voice drops and a chill shoots up V’s back, something is wrong. 
“Bug!?” 
“No, no, no, no - not now…! I’ve been made… “ 
And panic turns to agony as T-Bug screams, a shrill cry of pain then she’s gone. Connectuon cut and V freezes in place. 
Bug is gone, just gone… 
Maybe, Konpeki just cut their comms? But the scream rings through V’s mind. She’s heard of how runner’s can die, daemons and quick hacks. Having their entire brain fried, every nerve and neuron set on fire, burned from the inside out... And all that's left to find is a simmering corpse stewing in their own filth. Bug was never meant for that, meant to retire, meant to find peace after years of netrunning. But now… 
“Bug.!? Bug!? Can you fuckin’ hear me, Bug please, are you there!?” V calls out, words slurring together. She just needs to hear Bug one more time, and know everything is okay. 
And nothing. 
“¡Pinche Dios Santo bendito! We lost her, V!” 
“They...scorched her...didn’t they…?” 
“We… we gotta go, V,” Jackie says, voice cracking as he smacks at V’s shoulder. 
Bug’s final hack going through, the window unlocked. V steps out through the window onto the ledge, rain pelting her skin as she rushes around the corner. Bug said there’s a ladder they can use, last thing Bug ever said… There’s no time for mourning, no time to cry, they need to get through this. The ledge narrows around the corner, ride lights outside the hotel window guiding the way, secured against the steel of the hotel. V sees the yellow safety ladder. The merc presses her back to the building, gently side stepping across the narrow ledge, if they just reach the ladder. One wrong step and they’ll plummet. 
“You can do it, Jackie… just don't look down,” jackie tries to talk himself up, following V, “ Yep, that's fuckin' high…!”
There’s a whir of engines, an aircraft vehicle buzzing around the outside of the hotel.
“Shit! That Trauma?” Jackie asks and that’s exactly what they need right now, doctors shooting them. 
“If they’re here for Saburo, they’re a little late.” 
“Just hope they didn't see us! ¡Chingada madre!”
The aircraft carrier flies in close, flashing blinding white light onto the mercs. It sees them, definitely sees them. 
“Suspects in violation of security protocols.” The mechanical voice croaks out. 
“Time to bail!’ Jackie screams and the aircraft starts to fire, drone automated shooting at them. 
The glass around them bursts and V jumps, grabbing Jackie’s hand in her left, she swings her right blade out towards the ladder. It hooks in the bottom rung, creaking in distress as it stops their fall. And there the mercs hang, suspended by a single Mantis Blade and a ladder rung; rain pouring down upon them and a drone still searching for them through the debris. The strain pulls at V’s arm, pain shooting throughout, shoulders ache and left arm pulled tight trying to hold Jackie and the case he holds in his other hand. 
If she could pull them up with the blade, maybe they can get to safety. But her muscles already strain, wrought tight with the strength it takes to hold them up. The blade pulling at the inner tissue it’s attached too, never meant to support more weight than the person it’s attached to. Rain and tears sting her eyes as she forces herself to pull with the blade, use it to lift them up. 
“V! I can’t hold on!’ Jackie yells out, rain slick hand starting to slip from her own. She digs her nails into his skin, holding him tighter. 
“Just a bit more, I can do this!” 
Her throat is raw and she doesn’t know how much she believes her own words. Nerves scream in pain as her cyberware pulls at what’s left of her flesh. Muscles cry as forced beyond their capability. She curses beneath her breath, pulling them just a little further up. Immeasurable pain and brute force of will only amounting to the tiniest bit of progress, not even an inch closer to safety. Her blade is pulling further out from her skin, raising up from her arm in a way she knows it shouldn’t. 
Every nerve in her arms on fire; blade tugging at flesh and the other nearly pulled from socket under Jackie’s weight. Barely an inch closer to the safety, Jackie slipping from her grip quicker than she can pull, blade lifting from her arm quicker than she can move them. Her teeth sinks into the inside of her cheek, hard enough to bleed as she pushes herself further. Closer, closer, she urges herself. 
A bright white light shines across them, illuminating them in the gray night, adding another ache to her eyes. Drone marked Arasaka buzzing around, refinding them within the debris of the destroyed hotel wall. The robotic voice speaking again. 
“Violators found.” 
And her blade breaks, V’s eye blown wide as they begin to plummet, shock blurs her pain and deafens the world.  Slowing it for a moment, only able to stare as metal snaps, tissue tears, and her arm is ripped open. Cyberware tearing out tissue and nerves, viscera left behind. 
Then she hits glass, shattering it as gravity slams her through and shock becomes hurt. She hits metal, body bouncing from impact, crying as the air is knocked from her lungs. Her head bashing against something. V clutches her arm, the pain it hitting her as everything else does, blood sticking to her fingers. Each breath hurts, a labored wheeze as bruised lungs strain to work. 
V blinks, sitting up slightly, regaining her sense of self now that her fall is broken. Across from her is Jackie and the cryo-case. She looks at her arm, A solid rip from wrist to near elbow, nearly an open hole, metal and moving inner parts of the cyberware mixed with gore. It doesn’t bleed as much as she'd expect, the internal mechanics helping block major bleed out. It hurts, metal now working against raw nerves. But, she’ll live… if this is the worst that happens, she’ll live.
The cryo-case is dented, part of it sparking and part of it splatted with blood. But her eye is drawn to Jackie. A tear in his gut, shrapnel and glass caught him well, bleeding more than her. The white of the button up around his stomach turned scarlet. 
“The Relic! ¡Madres! Agh… Oh, this ain't good. Agh…” Jackie curses, each breath pained. 
“Jackie, you’re hurt!” 
“Worry about me later,” he growls, “check the relic… "Container depressurized. Biochip integrity at ninety-four percent." And fuckin' droppin'! Carajo! Parker! Call her!”
“And tell her what!? We fucked up!?” 
“Just do it!”
Evelyn answers after a short ring, her avatar coming across V’s contacts. 
“V?! Konpeki's all over the feeds! What the fuck's going on there?”
“Got a problem! Cryo-case is damaged. Biochip's integrity at… Jackie?”
“Eighty-six percent!”
“Eighty-six percent and droppin'!”
“Shit…! OK, listen to me. There's only one thing you can do. One of you's gotta slot the Relic into your neural port!”
“That sounds really dangerous!” 
God only knows how this biochip could fuck them up, the relic itself is like putting another personality in your head, seeing ghosts. If this one is even half as fucked up as that, they could be putting themselves in serious danger. 
“The longer you wait, the greater the risk we lose it!” 
“Well, someone’s got to do it,” Jackie says, voice a rasp, face steadily draining color as he opens the case, “In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit - Amen.”
Jackie crosses his body with the pray and pushes the chip into his neural port and V watches his eyes light up for a moment. And he’s quiet for another, a second too long.
“You okay?” 
“Dunno… I guess… Don't feel any different.”
“Once you're back, we'll take out the Relic and run a full brain scan and sweep. But you two need to get the fuck out of there first!”
“We’re working on it!” 
Jackie and V get back on their feet. He holds his hand to his stomach, trying to press his guts together and she keeps her arm held close to her chest, not putting pressure on it. Jackie calls Delamain. 
“Del, we'll be there in a couple. Be ready, got it?”
“Certainly, Mr. Welles.”
“Better be fuckin' certain.”
“We gotta somehow… reach the lobby. Only chance to hit the garage. And we'd best be quick,” Jackie jabs himself with an air hypo, “ Oh-ho, that's the shit… Great… Now let's get outta here.”
“Wait, take your jacket off, use it to keep pressure on your gut, okay? Should help with the bleeding.” 
It’s minimal first aid knowledge, she knows. Hold something to a wound to keep it from bleeding out as quickly. But it’s all she can offer, helping Jackie get the jacket off with one hand, so he can press it to his stomach wound. She can move her right hand somewhat, but it hurts and she swears she can see the tendons moving around the metal in the gaping wound her forearm has become. She catches herself wondering if she’ll be able to sign with her right hand again. But, there’s no time for those fears. 
She walks down the red lit metal grate, heels nearly catching in it as she turns to a doorway. V leads the way, less injured than Jackie, she pushes the door open. A door lobby with glass banisters and plants, the only light the bright red ones. 
“Great… Now let's get outta here,” Jackie says, each word a stressful choking sound to get out. 
An AI voice speaks repeatedly over the speakers that Konpeki plaza is in code red, as the mercs work to move quickly and quietly. Catching the murmuring of two guards as they reach a marble staircase, speaking of sweeping the floors and checking the lobby. They creep around the corner and past a desk, seeing the back of the men’s through the glass banister. The only sound the pounding of V’s heart and Jackie’s labored breathing. They watch as the two men separate, enough space for each to grab one. 
They move down the last stretch of the stairs, guards talking about evacuating Yorinobu. She lets Jackie take the one closest to them as she moves further to the one at the doorway. V swings her left blade, now her only one, through the man’s gut. Her right arm shoots pain through each nerve, metal inside churching to dispense a blade that no longer exists. She holds back a sound, Jackie’s already choked out the other guard, checking for pockets. Each one armed with a silenced gun. She steals ammo off of them.
They come to another door, each catching their breath. Sweat clinging to V’s brow as they brace themselves for what’s to come next. 
“Careful… security likely to be swarmin' outside,” Jackie warns and V nods, words clumping together in her throat as she opens the door. 
They stay crouched, spotting more guards as they go. The pair hide behind a planter, V taking a scan of the area, spotting a security camera. Remembering Bug’s lessons, she’s quickly able to shut them off. She’s the one to step back out, leading the way for the first time in months of working together. V needs to get Jackie through this, he’s holding on now, but.. 
She grabs a guard from behind and snaps their neck, arm twinging in agony at the movement she throws their body aside, clearing a long stretch of hallway for Jackie to follow her down. All light bright red and screens that once showed commercials now flash the words, Code Red. She leaves Jackie to stay hidden behind a counter when she sees another by the doorway, jumping at his back and dropping him just like his coworker.  
“Ain't doin' too bad… Just a little further…” Jackie whispers as she drops another guy, her arm screaming at her to stop. But she’ll survive without an arm, if worse comes to worse, she can’t let Jackie get hurt any worse. 
They creep through a door, past a desk, hearing a guard yelling out as they sneak and weave through the room. She watches over the top of a planter as the guard walks past them, none the wiser as V creeps around, getting behind him, and taking him down. She can’t risk leaving any behind, leaving one alive and them finding the mercs later. The hotel is huge, a labyrinth of Arasaka guards. 
“Engaging hostiles!” A voice booms out, the mercs spotted by a heavily armed Arasaka guard who nearly trips over V.
Fuck, fuck, so much for stealth. Jackie shoots over a counter, trying to stay somewhat protected from the gunfire, while V takes lead, firing Yorinobu’s gun at the men, only dropping behind cover to reload, she blasts. Fuck it, stealth not an option, she’ll turn the whole damn hotel into a blood bath. 
The guards drop and V knows she’s been shot, but she’s standing so she moves onward. Through a doorway, three more men open fire as the mercs turn the corner. V blasts a bullet through ones head, Jackie blows the second full of holes. 
“One more fucker dead!” 
The third is further back behind a glass door and V charges forward, glass open as she fires at the man. Bullets ripping through his chest in a spray of blood before he collapses, red smeared across the marble. If she gets a chance to sleep tonight, she’ll be seeing red in her dreams. The vivid neon lights of the emergency lit hotel, the burgundy uniforms, and the steady spray of it from every shot fired. 
Jackie and V go running around a corner, through another glass doorway and slide into side of a marble planter. Taking a moment to breathe, she can hear guards talking. Orders from higher up, panicked yells from the less experienced. She can spot two around the corner, but can’t get a clear shot. She runs to the open doorway, catching one off guard as she slams into his view and rips a blade through his gut. 
A full armored worker fires off when he sees it, partially hidden by a linen rack. Another runs in, half hiding behind a planter, firing off around the corner. She presses against a wall between it and a partial doorway, reloading before she looks back through. The less armored man moves around a pillar, peeking from behind cover, and she shoots his head as soon as she sees it, watching him hit the marble. 
She struggles to get a clear shot of the third, still hidden behind the rack and so she runs forward, past the rack and coming to a sliding stop behind him. The guard fumbles to swing around when he realizes where she’s landed. Back turned to Jackie now, her friend fires a shot clean through the guard’s head. 
The room is cleared for a moment and the elevator is nearby, she runs past a desk, when she sees the button screen. A glowing red off symbol. 
“Fuck!” 
“Chingo tu madre! It's shut down! What about the other one?” Jackie yells between rattling breaths, she wanted this to be stealthy, didn’t want to put him anymore danger. 
She runs, heels clicking against blood streaked marble, nearly tripping over a corpse. Quickly trying to stop herself when another guard springs up behind a desk. Two more swarming the room, one in the heavy almost samurai-like Arasaka armor. 
“Orale! Got to plough through them!” 
She focuses on the Saka samurai, pulling the trigger again and again,  Thankful to have emptied the ammo off every body she’s dropped so far. A bullet catches his throat, a gush of blood as he paints the floor,  and she shifts to the other men. A headshot on one, the other already down thanks to Jackie. 
V searches their corpses, pocketing ammo and bounce backs, when she finds an access token on the samurai. V thanks any god that may be listening, if they exist and makes a beeline for the elevator at the end of the room. 
“Got access,” she breathes out, calling the elevator. 
Its doors open and she steps in, the side railing lit that bright red. She waits as Jackie rushes in, he’s still in somewhat decent shape it seems. Not the ideal heist, she thinks as she hits the button, but maybe they can get out of this. Rush Jackie to a ripper, check on T-Bug, collect their eddies, and tonight will be a story to tell later. Remember the Konpeki Heist, how everything that could go wrong did. 
“Hah-… agh! Heh, hng…” She can’t tell if he’s laughing or groaning in pain, maybe both. Blood is coating his hands, has he bled through the jacket? No, Jackie’s bulletproof, said it himself a billion times. He’ll be okay, he has to be. 
“Jackie…”
“Saburo Arasaka, Hundred and fifty years… and today… of all fuckin' days. That's like… some divine comedy shit… hehehehe… agh.”
And he’s laughing, of course he is, holding his guts together and he laughs, because why would Jackie Welles do anything else. She’s not sure if she’s going to cry or laugh along, if she’s charmed or infuriated by it; is he just still desperately searching for that silver lining or does he genuinely not give a fuck if he flatlines? That idea, the thought, makes her throat tighten. He can’t die, he won’t die, she won’t let him. 
“Save your strength, please, we’re not out of the woods yet.” 
“What do you think I’m doing!?” She doesn’t miss the frustration, because if he wasn’t so hurt, he’d been the one leading that battle, charging in to take brunt of it all, “Buuut… chill, V. We'll get out alive.” 
“I know we will,” she says and wants so desperately to believe.
The elevator reaches the lobby, doors open to more guards, more gunfire. She shoots at one that looks out behind a wall, three more in the main room of the lobby. Jackie slides behind a desk, using it for cover between shots. V takes lead, shooting from around a doorway. Its chaos and mayhem, V blasting the four men. One dropping behind a chair, catching one through the green ferns growing from a planter.  Three more Arasaka corpses, splattering blood across marble and the roots of those towering trees. Bullet after bullet, shot after shot, until her ears are ringing and three remain; the mercs and one last guard. 
He throws a grenade across the room at them, V shooting it in the air before it can hit them, smoke and fire smoldering across the ceiling. She uses the chance to close the gap and blows his brains out at close range.  
Room cleared they rush through the rest of the lobby, finally reaching the elevator that will take them to the garage. V slams the button, calling the elevator. The door opens and she runs inside, expecting Jackie to run in after her. His steps are slowing and he leans against the wall for a moment instead, having to catch a second wind. He’s getting worse, but they’re in the homestretch, they can do this. They can do this, he stumbles through, leaning against the elevator wall. 
“Argh… I'm leakin' a little…” His voice a rasp. 
The elevator stops at the garage, so close to safety. Doors opening she can already hear the guards and the mercs step out, eye on them, its a swarm of Arasaka. Gunfire rings out alongside the screech of brakes. The Delamain taxis coming to a stop in the center of the garage, it’s doors flinging open. 
“I advise that you waste no time in entering the vehicle,” Delamain chirps at them, like this is a normal night. 
But she needs no prodding. V grabs Jackie’s hand and runs for the taxi, dragging him through the garage to the open doors. Rather than making him walk around, she shoves Jackie through her side on the right, letting him slide into the left seat before she jumps in; he needs the extra second of protection more than her.  The doors shut, bulletproof shields raising as they the taxi is blasted by the guards. They’re safe? Right?
“Welcome back. With Delamain, you leave your problems at the door….”
“DRIVE NOW!” 
And Delamain does just that, engines firing up as he rams through the garage door like it’s nothing. She leans forward on the two front seats. As the taxi takes a sharp turn, they’re almost there, almost safe. Jackie wasn’t fucking around about the combat mode. 
“Not bad at all.” 
“Client feedback noted.”
“How’s the ride looking?” 
“Tiptop. Though alas, we are being pursued.”
And then she sees him, Adam Smasher, the borged monster of a former man rushes them. No hesitation, no fear, as he slams his entire body into the car. Shattering glass, gnashing metal, and nearly sending the car to the side; slamming V and Jackie to the right. 
“Sweet fuckin’ jesus!” 
Jackie curses as V screams, the hell kind of freak is this guy? The car goes back down on its wheels. Adam Smasher on a metal knee, slowing standing up on front of the car. 
“Combat mode activated. Please remain calm.”
“Calm!!!????” She yells out as Delamain begins to drive backwards. 
 “Road block ahead. I kindly request that you brace for impact.”
“¡Oy, mis huevos! Shiiiit!”
The cab takes a turn, rather than driving through Adam Smasher, it goes through another roadway. A row of cars blocking the way and Delamain slams through through without hesitation, taking them through the Night City roads away from the hotel. Jackie is hunched over, bloody hands still pressing the jacket to his gut, the white shirt soaked through with it. 
“A hostile enemy aircraft has a lock on us.”
V doesn’t need a word more from the AI taxi, climbing halfway out of the window, she spots the drones flying after them. Three of them. Needing steadier aim, she flips off her hearing aids with a thought, steeling herself as the car weaves through the road and she fires at them. This is Arasaka’s last ditch effor to keep a lock on them, if she can get rid of them, they’re in the clear. 
Three shots; first drone goes down sparking as it hits the city streets. Two more kills the second, the metal remains slamming into a streetlamp. And the third goes down with a final shot, smoldering onto the roof of a  BD store. She turns her hearing aids back on as she slides into her seat again; they’re gone. 
“Hostile aircraft eliminated.”
“Nice work there… Del…”
She shifts to look at Jackie, he has one hand on his stomach, the other braced against the door. V grabs his shoulder with one hand and his leg with the other, practically shaking him. 
“We did it, Jackie! We made it!” 
“Heh...guess we did…” It’s not the triumphant excited Jackie, she’d expect to hear. His voice still rough, a rattle barely leaving his lungs. Her eyes sting, no, no. 
“My medical diagnostics indicate that Mr. Welles’ condition is critical.”
“Critical, what- take us to a fucking ripperdoc, now! Vik’s behind Misty’s shop!” 
She reaches to put pressure against the jacket over his wound, hand over his, but the fabric is bled all the way through. Blood sticking to her skin, warmer than Jackie’s skin and he’s looking pale, paler every second. He leans back against the chair, strength starting to leave his body. 
“Apologies, but that will not be possible. Our itinerary has been pre-arranged and paid for in advance. I am not at liberty to alter it.”
“Fuck your itinerary and fuck your liberty, just get us to goddamn doctor!” 
“It's OK, V… I'll hold out…” 
When did his nose start to bleed, when he did he start hacking up blood, red streaking down his nostrils and over his chin. She sucks in a shaky breath, eyes starting to water. No, not Jackie, anyone but him… please.  She doesn’t know who she’s begging; maybe god, maybe fate, maybe just anything in this world that will listen. 
“Yeah, yeah,” she chokes out, nodding, “you-you just got to hold on, okay? And, and, we’ll hit the major leagues. Only the best jobs, swimming in eddies, just like you always wanted.” 
She brings her forehead to his, feeling the cold sweat of his skin, hoping her warmth, touch, her words; anything will keep him alert. The tears flow freely now, wet and hot on her cheeks. 
“Mija...  you’re gonna be rich, I can feel it…” 
“No, we’re gonna be rich, Jackie! You and me, that’s how it’s always been, I-I can’t do it without you, y-you got to stay with me okay! We’ll get back, you can see Misty and your mom, everyone and let them know you made it.” 
“Misty… She knew… She always knew…” he breathes out, eyes glassy with a weak smile, “told me not to take this job, why she always got to be right?” 
“J-just a little longer, please, Jackie...please,” she begs him, like he can stop it. Like he can put his inside back together, stop the color from draining out of his face, and can just stay with her. 
“The biochip…” he holds her shoulder, grasp weak, and takes the chip from his head with the other, “Hold on to it. For me…”
And he slides it into her neuroport, her vision glitching for a moment. She surges forward, wrapping her arms as tightly as she can, burying his head into his chest, crying into him as she clings tightly; wishing she had the strength to just hold him together. 
“Please, please, Jackie, I can’t lose you, just a little longer, please,” she sobs into his ashen skin and blood soaked shirt, begging with every slowed beat of his heart. 
For a moment his hands graze her back and she waits for a bear hug, for him to squeeze the breath from her lungs and lift her from her seat like he’s done so many times. For him to be Jackie; her best friend, her partner in crimes, her brother, her everything. But his touch is faint, the space between each beat growing further and further. Until his hands fall limp, body slack in her arms, and she knows the next heartbeat will never come. 
And she sobs, she holds him and cries out her pain, if only for a moment. No more ‘chicas’, ‘jainas’, or the odd ‘mija’. No more smiles that outshine the sun. No more nagging her to look on the bright side. No more bear hugs or hands the size of her head ruffling through her hair. No more Jackie…. And it’s not fair and it’s not right. 
“Mr. Welles has passed. Where shall I take his remains?” A robotic voice asks and she realizes the car is no longer moving. 
She forces herself to let him go, one of the hardest things she’ll ever have to do. Pulling away, she sees him, truly lifeless. Bright green eyes now dull with no light behind them, limp hands falling away from her. 
“W-what?” She stumbles over the word, brain fogged over with grief. 
“The Excelsior package provides for the disposal of passenger remains free of charge. I merely require a destination.”
“I…he-he’d want to be with his family,” she stumbles across her words. 
“Mr. Welles' closest blood relative is Guadalupe Alejandra Welles, proprietress of the El Coyote Cojo bar. I will make sure to deliver him safely. Mr. DeShawn awaits you in room number two-oh-four. ” 
That’s right… Dex… The chip. The world didn’t stop spinning, only her’s. There’s still a job. And the idea of still going, that there’s a tomorrow beyond today, seems unfathomable. How the hell could she ever move on…  
Because Jackie would kill her if she didn’t and she knows that. He’d haunt her for a thousand years and kick her ass every day of it. She looks at the remains, her friend gone, now limp and bleeding across white leather. And knows if he could speak, he’d tell her to get her ass to that hotel room and finish this job, that he and Bug didn’t die just for V to bury herself alongside them. She squeezes his shoulder, presses her forehead to Jackie’s one last time, feeling the cold of his skin. 
“See ya in the major leagues, Jack…”
V opens the car door and steps out into the backlot behind the motel. Rain pours down across her bloodied skin, soaking her to the bones, a numb chill clinging to her. Painted across brick is the Night City emblem marks the wall, red graffiti altering its slogan.. The city of broken dreams… 
She moves, on autopilot as she makes her way up the stairs and to the back door of the motel, sheltered from the rain once she’s in a trash filled back room. The motel is bathed in the neon red lights, only offset by the white of sign bearing its name, it’s always red. She stumbles up the staircase and then  another, past a tv chattering on about Saburo Arasaka. 
The merc walks down the gloomy hallway, dark except for warm yellow floor lights, Graffiti covered walls, rain washing down the windows at the end of it. And she reaches room 204, her arm leaden as she knocks. 
No response. 
“Its V,” she yells out, knocking harder. 
The door opens but before she can take another step, Dex’s body guard takes a step out. Large hand blocking her from coming further. He checks the hallway, making sure she wasn’t followed. After a moment, he finally pulls away. 
“He waiting.” 
The man takes a step back, allowing V into the room. She pushes through a bead curtain and sees Dex, leaning over a TV screen, another cigar between his golden fingers. She clears her throat, hearing the door close behind her. 
“WNS… N54… Even the pirate networks… You blowin' up everywhere! And the Jackster? He out in the car?” 
“He’s...dead,” her voice breaks, words like thorns in her throat. Having to say it, having to hear it from her own lips… 
“Condolences friend,” he tells her, shifting to look at her rather than the tv, “and the relic?” 
“Here,” she says, voice a murmur as she taps her neural port. 
“Hmm, I was afraid of that…” 
“What?!” 
She got the fucking relic, everyone is fucking dead, but she got the relic! Everyone died for this fucking chip and now he’s disappointed that she has it!?
“Saburo Arasaka?” Dex paces, smoking his cigar, “Dead…?! You got any notion of the shit you pulled me into?! You offed the fuckin' emperor! His majesty! Anyone with so much as a pinky toe dipped in this mess is as good as dead!’
“I didn’t kill Saburo! I- I-” she stalls, wanting to say she didn’t do anything, but can she say that? Can she act like she didn’t fuck up any of this? Like she has no role in Jackie and Bug’s deaths… 
"No shit?l Tell that to the ‘Saka ninjas they send after you!”
“We...we got to leave the city.” 
Badlands isn’t the safest for her, but it will be safer with money, she could settle in another city, maybe. She can outrun her family more than Arasaka. 
“You don’t say.” 
“Call Parker, we close the deal, collect our eddies, and go off the radar.” 
“A��ight, settle down,” he sits down on the leather couch, “Gotta be tactical about this. Parker, eddies, then we leave the city limits behind. But first… Your face… got blood all over it. Bathroom's there. Go get yourself cleaned up.”
He points her to the bathroom of the motel and she nods, in no place to argue, she just wants to be on the other side of this mess. To be able to tell herself at least she made it to the major leagues, at least Jackie would be proud of her, even if he isn’t here to see it. 
V stumbles into the bathroom, legs wobbling. Everything should hurt, her arm ripped open. Bruises mottling every inch of flesh. But she’s… numb. She works on autopilot, only somewhat aware of the door shutting behind her as she grips the sink, streaking blood across the silver.
Her blood and Jackie’s. 
Bile rushes up her throat, stinging as she pukes into the sink, choking and gagging it out. The tears threaten to come again, eyes stinging as he nails dig into the sink. He’s gone, he’s really fucking gone. Her best friend, her brother in everything but blood and name, her rock, and world. The man who took her in, who gave her a goal, a life… 
And how’d she repay him? 
Watch him die in the back of a Delamain. All her promises to keep him safe, to repay back all the kindness he gave to her. And she couldn’t save him, couldn’t protect him, couldn’t do shit but hold him. Fuckin’ only time she really hugged him with all she had and she doesn’t even know if he could really feel it, if his body was too numb. 
If she would have refused the job. 
If she had gotten them up the ladder. 
If she had been stronger. 
If she had been stealthier.
If she had gotten them through the lobby quicker. 
If she could have convinced Delamain to get him to a doc.
If she knew better first aid. 
If….if… if… 
Thoughts spin and whirl through her mind, a thousand reasons why it’s her fault. Why she could have saved him, why she could have done more, why she failed him… 
Misty will never take Jackie’s last name and it’s V’s  fault. They’ll never have kids, they’ll never buy a home together, he’ll never get to take her to that stupid hotel bar with the annoying waiter. 
Senora Welles will be forced to bury her son and it’s V’s fault. She’ll never hold her son again. Never see him smile again. Never see him live out his dream. Never cook his favorite foods for him and nag him not to talk with his mouth full. 
Jackie had a future, a family, people who loved him. He was going to marry Misty one day, have kids. Get enough eddies to provide for them and his mom. And now there’s a hole in all of their lives. The world as a whole now worse off without him, her own world destroyed. It should have been her, she knows that, the world would be better off losing her than losing him. 
Yet here she is and she’s just supposed to keep moving, supposed to keep breathing, supposed to live a life post Jackie. 
When she looks up, she sees her own reflection staring back at her. Red rimmed eyes, swollen  from crying and blood splattered across her skin, stuck in the ends of her hair. And she doesn’t know where it’s from, if it’s her own, if it’s Jackie’s, or if it’s from the people she killed tonight. T-Bug and Jackie gone, yet she’s here. 
A brilliant talented netrunner is gone. But she’s still here. 
The kindest man to walk in Night City is gone. But she’s still here. 
She glares at herself, because she has no right to be here and the world has no right to be this cruel. Her fingers clenches, pulling at her damaged nerve endings and she slams her fist into the mirror. Glass shatters and crackles, shards splintering into her knuckles. 
V washes the blood from her hands and face, cleaner but still a zombie as she turns to the door. Jackie wanted this for her, one of the only people who ever wanted anything good for her. If only for him, she owes it to him to finish this job. She stumbles to the bathroom door and opens it, stepping out.
Knuckles collide with her head, wracking more pain through an already injured merc, she’s sent sprawling to the ground. She curses and twists around on the floor, not sure she has the energy to stand back up, vision blurring as Dex’s bodyguard stomps on her. Heavy foot colliding with her head. She curses and sputters choking on blood.  She twists onto her back, blinking through the pain as Dex’s bodyguard hands him a pistol. The fixer walks closer, standing over her.
“Can't risk it, V,” he says casually, leveling his gun with her head,” ‘Member our first convo?”
“I’ll fucking kill you!” She screams, spitting blood as she stares down the barrel. 
“Seems I've chosen the quiet life, after all. No blaze o' glory for me.” 
The shot rings out, loud and clear, the world going dark as a bullet rips through the young merc’s head. Blood splatters across the dirty carpet, her body going limp, a final breath gurgling forth as she chokes on her own blood, iron taste clinging in the back of her throat. 
Then she’s gone. 
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me-and-your-husband · 4 years ago
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Honey, I’m Home (Part 2)
Summary: After Steve went on the run from the government after the events of civil war, you await the day you can see him and your daughter again. When that day comes, a new hope s found.
Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, Dad!Steve Rogers, Mom!Reader
Warnings: Angst, fluff, bearded steve
Word Count: 2.1k
Part 1
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Sam opened the back door of the black Cadillac Escalade for me to take a seat inside. I did so as Bucky took his place in the passenger’s seat. When Sam got in, he started the car, put his seatbelt on, and put the car into drive. We sat in silence for a few moments, before I finally spoke up, the empty noise becoming too much to avoid.
“Where are we going?” I questioned as Sam’s eyes briefly met mine in the rearview mirror. Bucky drew a deep breath and huffed it out.
“After what happened at the airport, we brought Jane to a safehouse in Germany. After everything transpired and Steve broke the rest of the team out of custody, we all became fugitives. We’ve been on the run for the past year and a half,” Bucky clarified.
“Steve and Jane are in another safe house in the Canadian Rockies with the rest of the team that were on his side,” Sam added. I hummed in understanding and turned my face to look out the window.
Soon after, we were boarding a plane, using fake passports, of course. Once the plane successfully took off, Bucky put on a set of headphones and Sam nodded off. I noticed a small pad of paper and a pen in the seat pouch in front of me, and so I took it out and began sketching. My hand danced around the rough paper, crossing over lines and margins. I sketched from memory, and from what I remembered my daughter to look like.
I stared down at the completed sketch, coming out quite like the way I remembered three-year-old Jane. It was not as smooth and professional as Steve’s sketches, but you could still be impressed by it. My eyes started to fill with tears, the realization finally hitting me like a tsunami hits a small island.
I was finally going to see my family. After all this waiting, suffering, I was finally going to run my fingers through my daughter’s hair and tell her it was going to be alright. I was finally going to kiss my husband goodnight after a day of playing games at the beach and having a family picnic. I was finally going to have back the life that I missed so dearly.
I let a few tears make their way down my cheeks, before wiping them discreetly with the back of my hand. I looked to my right to see Bucky slipping his headphones off, a loft jazz tune revealing what he was listening to. Steve listened to the same type of music. It reminded him of a time when things were not so complicated.
“She looks almost identical to you, now,” Bucky said, staring down at the drawing on my lap. “She still has Steve’s blue eyes and blonde hair, but if not those then she would be your twin,” Bucky said as a smile crept onto my face, just imagining her. My five-year -old girl. My five-year-old girl. So much time has passed.
    I sit in silence and can’t help but wonder to myself the worst. What if she doesn’t remember me? She will. She has to, right? I’m her mother, there’s some type of bond there where you just, know, right?
My overthinking is interrupted by the flight attendant letting us know we’re landing over the intercom.
               When we land, I get out and am immediately glad I decided to wear a jacket. I never really believed people when they said that Canada was that cold, until now. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, trying to create some friction induced heat, but that did little. Luckily, Sam packed accordingly.
“Here, put these on over your clothes,” he said as he handed me a fluffy parka, a pair of sweatpants, a weird beanie (which I would later find out they called “toques” in Canada), some mittens, and winter boots.
“People actually live in the cold like this?” I queried, to which both Sam and Bucky chortled.
“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we’ve been doing it for the past couple of months,” Sam stated.
“You think this is cold? Try spending a winter in Saskatchewan, Jesus, it’s got nothin’ on Alberta,” Bucky added.
“Is that where we are?” I questioned, and Bucky confirmed it with a hum.
Sam led us to another car, this time it was a black Dodge Ram. I guess if we were going to the mountains, we would need a heavy-duty vehicle, one meant to trek mountains.
I stepped up onto the foot rail, and hoisted myself in. We fastened our seatbelts, and I managed to read the time over Sam’s shoulder; 4:39 PM. It was already getting dark, a behavior I assume was regular during Canadian winters.
Sooner than later, my head fell against my chest as I slept a bittersweet sleep, thankful for the rest, as it would pass the time and bring me closer to seeing my family, but also not wanting to miss a single second of the journey to my imagination.
 When I awoke, it was to Bucky shaking me lightly and whispering my name. I blinked back the sleep, and drowsily climbed out of the truck. I took in my surroundings. It was pitch black outside, but it only felt like nine or ten. I spun around, to see a huge, cozy looking hotel with trees and snow surrounding it. My mouth hung agape as Sam and Bucky ushered me into the hotel.
Sam checked us in for a one night’s stay, and as much as I wanted to see my family, the sooner the better, I knew that not Sam nor Bucky were accustomed to drive through the snow in the dark.
Bucky and Sam ended up sharing a bed, whilst they insisted upon me having the other one to myself. They made it out to be them just being courteous, but I really think they knew Steve would destroy them for sleeping in the same bed as his best girl.
               The morning consisted of a quick pot of coffee to wake us up, and then we were right back on the road, Bucky driving this time. Casual conversations were made, just them asking me what I have been up to for the past while. Nothing much had happened, but I didn’t want to seem like a bore, so I only told them the interesting bits.
               Soon, we were in the mountains, occasionally stopping for gas and snacks at random pitstops. I couldn’t help but feel like a little kid on a road trip, constantly wanting to ask, “are we there yet?” or “are we almost there? How much longer?”. Eventually, Sam announced that we would be there in about five minutes, which really grabbed my attention.
“By the way, he doesn’t know you’re coming,” Sam said, which barely fazed me, as I was too excited. My leg bounced up and down like a giddy teenager during an exam, and I could feel my heart beating in my throat.
          In a short amount of time, we pulled onto a gravel road, which had recently been neatly shoveled. It weaved through a thick forest, sometimes catching deer in the headlights. The path was shadowy and was barely lit, considering the trees looming over us blocking the sun. The rocky sound of driving across gravel and freshly packed snow filled our ears as we made our way down the trail.
         Soon enough, which felt too long even in itself, we came to a clearing. In the middle of that clearing, was a huge, three story log cabin, with multiple vehicles, varying size, type, model, year, color, and brand, scattered around the lot. Before my jaw could fall off its hinges, a familiar female giggle caught my attention. I turned my head to look through the window, to where I saw Wanda and Vision having a snowball fight. I guess Vision must have reconciled with Wanda, and realized that our side was the right to be on.
      The truck pulled up to the front of the house, and I slowly, as if mesmerized, took of my seatbelt. Wanda and Vision greeted Bucky and Sam, and they froze when they seen me. I gave them both a small wave and a smile as my feet hit the soft snow, and I may have come across as rude for not greeting them properly, but that could be saved for later. I turned my head to Sam, who quickly understood what I was getting at.
“Inside,” He stated, gesturing towards the big double doors of the manor. My heart skipped a beat as I clambered up the few steps leading to the porch and grasped the wood door handles. I took a breath in and swung the doors open. My eyes wandered the wood interior, before getting caught in a movement at the other end of the hall. I sprinted to where I saw that movement, and looked to my left, where some type of bedroom was located.
       Clint sat on the bed, holding a framed photo of his wife and kids. Before he could see me, I made my way back down the hall, and started frantically running around the maze of a place, trying to find my family. It was around noon, so it was very likely that they could be in the kitchen, eating.
      When I finally reached the huge kitchen, nobody was to be found. I let out a small sigh, but before I turned to walk out, I heard a voice coming from the next room over.
“Okay, Janie! Ready or not, here I come!” said that voice I knew all too well. Butterflies erupted in my stomach as I took fast steps to the entrance of that room, the living room.
        Standing beside the fireplace, was Steve Rogers, but he was different. His back faced me, but I could still see him in the mirror above the fireplace. He had a harder look to him, but those soft eyes I always adored were still there.  He had grown out his hair, and now had a nicely trimmed beard. I took a sharp breath in, which must have alerted him that someone was there. He always joked about me being the only one who could sneak up on him.
       His eyes met mine in the mirror, and his clenched jaw softened. He slowly lifted his head and spun around to face me. My breaths were shaky as he slowly took a step towards me.
“God, please tell me it’s you, Y/N, because I think if I have to convince myself that I’m seeing you one more time, I’ll go crazy,” He pleaded, his brows knit together.
“Yes,” I said, my voice cracking as my vision started to blur with tears. “It’s me, I promise you it’s me,” I said, as I ran towards him, immediately wrapping his arms around me and pressing his nose into the crook of my neck. I inhaled a long, sharp breath through my nose, missing the way he smelled, as well as the way he felt, the way his voice sounded in the morning, the way looked as his muscles flexed under his shirt when he was working out, and the way his lips tasted on mine. After I felt my tears had permanently stained his gray Henley, I pulled away. His blue eyes were so easy to get lost in, but the overwhelming need to kiss him, to feel him again, outweighed anything else in that moment. Our lips were together in an instant, in a passionate kiss. My hands rested at the back of his neck, and his on my cheeks, his body heat instantly warming me up from the chilly climate of Alberta. After we both pulled away for a breath, he rested his head against mine. I ran a hand down his beard clad cheek, and scratched it gently, to relay that I liked it, which elicited a smile from him.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
“I-“
“Daddy! What are you doing, are we still playing hide and seek?” said a little girl’s voice. My breath caught in my throat. Steve looked over my shoulder, and back to my eyes. He gave me a knowing look, and I slowly turned on my heels.
“Mommy?”
“Baby…”
“Mommy!” Jane screamed as she dropped her stuffed rabbit and sprinted towards me. I fell to my knees and held my arms open for her. I held her in my arms like that, like the day she was born, for what felt like forever. I don’t even remember exactly when Steve wrapped his arms around us. Silent cries and sniffles could be heard coming from either one of us.
Finally, I was where I should be, home.
Thank you guys so much for the support on the first part :)
Would you guys want an epilogue?
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ourstarscollided · 4 years ago
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jatp fanworks appreciation - day 3 (wips)
wip wednesday - I didn’t think I wanted to join in on this day for my own stuff considering I’ve never posted anything original for this fandom, but I think this might just be the little boost I need from myself to actually finish the wips that I have sitting around. I am peer pressuring myself and holding myself accountable by posting this - or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Most of the past 6 mths has just been me screaming to no one in a Google Doc, so here are some things I’ve been ruminating about over the last 6 months (and if my secret agenda is to get other people to write about it so I don’t have to? Then that’s between you and me).
Everything’s under a read more because I like giving context and that usually spirals out of control!?!?
If you would like to see more from any of the below, feel free to shoot me an ask/message and I can definitely share some more! (Or you can just come yell at me about JATP in general.)
Strangers Fake Dating AU // Julie x Luke
I’m a simple person. I see a prompt, I latch onto it, and then I completely miss the entire point of the prompt as my imagination goes wild for no real reason. This really was supposed to be a super short drabble, but it manifested into a 3k+ thing that isn’t even finished.
Julie’s not really sure what she’s supposed to do now. Nothing has ever prepared her for a situation in which she’s supposed to pretend to be a stranger’s girlfriend, especially if that situation involves parents. Does she continue this ruse? Can she come up with a quick enough excuse to tell this Luke character that she actually can’t stay? What if this is just all an elaborate plan to kidnap her? Has she been listening to too many true crime podcasts? Why does Luke smell so good? Does he know how to cook? Why does his shirt not have sleeves? What-
“I can hear you thinking from here.” Her head whips up at the sound of Luke’s voice, which is now at a whisper and kind of frantic. “I just- I just really needed to get my mom off my back, so I kinda need you to pretend to be my girlfriend. Just for the night. I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
Julie studies Luke’s face and it’s nearly impossible to not cave under his gaze, which can only be simply described as ‘puppy dog eyes’. She finds herself smiling back, letting out a huff, “I hope you like lasagna.” And the grin that spreads across the boy’s face is enough for her to know that he’s incredibly relieved that she agreed.
“I’m Luke by the way. Luke Patterson.”
(Okay, he’s kinda cute. And no one this cute is a serial killer. Right?)
She gives a small smile back, “I’m Julie.”
//
5+1 alive!Juke AU // Julie x Luke
Inspired by paper - LANY
This is one of the first things I ever felt the urge to write down back in September because I love exploring the idea of how two people can appear to be the perfect relationship on the outside, but are actually fighting their own demons. Especially when it comes to celebrities and people who are in the spotlight. It’s basically a 5+1 fic about the moments from other people’s perspectives who happen to orbit around Julie/Luke that all revolve around paper. My outline for this is so long because I can’t manage to narrow it down, and there’s zero cohesiveness but I do have little things jotted down.
“Hey little man,” Luke’s knelt down to match his 5 year-old height, and a hand extends out to him for a high five, “What are you doing here?”
His eyes flicker to the left, towards his own apartment door, where his mom is giving him an encouraging nod. “ I- I just wanted to-” he stutters and finds himself looking at his feet as he shuffles back and forth on the spot. “I- I drew you guys something!”
He shoves the paper out towards the older boy in front of him, but doesn’t look up.
//
Reincarnation AU // Julie x Luke
I had a random thought in December about how magical it is that Julie and Luke are so tied to one another that their love transcends time and space, which will always lead them back to one another. I remember reading a book a long time ago about how the main character is fated to die at a certain age, and that kind of sparked this little idea. I can’t bring myself to actually plot out every single timeline right now, but I did manage to write a little bit.
It will never be as complex as Rosie’s idea and all the wonderful additions in the link here, and I don’t really plan on it being anything more than a small idea. But I really do still think someone should write some sort of reincarnation AU cause I’d hop on that so fast!!
“Okay- that’s not- Luke. You seriously just ran away?”
“What was I supposed to do Alex? We all know how this ends.”
His friend looks at him, face painted in understanding and he sighs, “Yeah. Yeah, we do.”
Because it’s true, Alex does know, so does Reggie and Bobby. Most importantly, so does Luke. It’s the exact same tragic love story every time.
Call it a curse or fate or destiny. Maybe it’s because Mercury is in retrograde. Whatever. It always ends the same way - with a heartbreaking goodbye, a whisper of the promise that they’ll find each other again, and the possibility of a happy ending. He’s said the same goodbye at least 734 times, but it’s not like he’s counting or anything. Fuck the universe and its mystical ways.
//
Competitive Alex // Alex x Willie
No real thoughts or reasons for this other than I just think I self-projected my need to play board games with people in real life into a fic. And maybe a little bit of my competitiveness onto Alex and then threw in Willie because I think he would be able to handle it while also finding it endearing. I also have written nothing about the actual competitiveness, it’s just 2k words of Alex crushing on Willie.
“Wait,” his eyes dart between the three boys, “You both know Willie? How come I’ve never met him?”
His roommates look at each other, and there’s a smirk on Luke’s face when he says, “Actually Alex, I think you have. Remember that time you got really drunk after one of our shows?”
Oh no. He really hopes that it’s not the time he’s thinking of, so he tries to sound nonchalant. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Luke.”
“The night we played at that tiny bar at the edge of the campus! We got paid in those tiny colourful shots?” He doesn’t really know where Luke is going with this, so he’s slowly nodding along. “And you were super upset that the hot dog vendor at the end of the street was closed?”
//
Dear Julie, Love Mom series
I made myself sad with this thought when I first watched the show and was talking to my friend about how I think that Rose would’ve left messages for the Molina family, especially when we found out that Wake Up was actually from her mom. I wrote a bigger explanation for it here.
Anyways, I started with the one for Julie’s wedding and it kind of became an 8k monster with three different POVs?!? As much as I love how I wrote this, I feel too unsure about my writing to share it in full, so you will get carefully selected looks alkfe. (I’m also kind of stuck on some of the more emotional scenes and I may or may not have procrastinated by photoshopping a moodboard for it.)
Excerpt 1 (Julie POV): A look into where I’m going with this whole letters from Rose thing.
The key clicks into place, and with a turn, the latch falls open. She’s not sure what she wants to find in the box, and she’s too scared to think about it really. All she knows is that this was the sign from her mom that she was waiting for all week, and in true Rose fashion, her mom had managed to give it to her, even if at the last second. Her dad turns the box to face Julie, and gestures to her to open up the lid.
Tucked inside is a VHS tape, the words ‘For Julie, on your wedding day’ written in her mom’s cursive on the cover. Some loose glitter and confetti fall back into the box as she reaches in to pick up the tape and turn it over in her hands. There’s a little purple butterfly etched on the back, the same one that’s been drawn on all the other messages that her mom had left her. Her finger automatically finds its way, tracing the shape of the small doodle.
“Do you want me to leave you alone, mija?”
Excerpt 2 (Julie POV): This part has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot of the story, but it self-inserted itself into this fic after @tangledstarlight and I talked about You’re Still the One by Shania Twain being their first dance. This whole scene came to me at 4am one night and might be the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever written.
They knew that when they had asked Reggie to be in charge of the first dance performance, that they (and Alex) weren’t allowed to veto any of his ideas. Luke had warned Julie that that would be a mistake, but the giddiness that radiated off of Reggie when she had told him he could have free reign was worth it. She just hadn’t thought that he would actually take it to heart and run with it.
Sure, they had chosen You’re Still the One by Shania Twain as their first dance song, and sure it was more or less a country song, but she didn’t really imagine that she’d be staring at her adoptive brother, Carlos and her Dad wearing cowboy hats and boots at her wedding. They had somehow managed to ditch their Flynn-approved suit jackets and were sporting a taupe-coloured suede-textured vest over their dress shirts. If she looked closely, she could see that they had somehow also found some gaudy looking bolo ties with a matching set of ornamental clasps to wear. When she envisioned her wedding, she really didn’t expect that her first (public) dance as a married couple would be a full-on Western themed occasion. The only exception was Alex, who had settled on his cajon in the back, still in his pink suit, eyes rolling when she met his gaze. But even she knew how there was no real annoyance in the blonde’s reaction or else he wouldn’t also be wearing one of the tacky ties around his neck as well.
“I’m gonna seriously kill him.” She hears Luke grumble under his breath, only low enough for her to hear. But she’s still too busy giggling to actually be mad, and she knows that Luke isn’t really going to kill Reggie. At least she doesn’t think so.
Excerpt 3 (Luke POV): Idk man. My mind went “What about Luke?” and I said “You’re right!! What about him?!?”
He doesn’t realize that he’s just been silently staring at the woman in front of him, until a gentle voice breaks him out of his thoughts. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Julie’s peering at him from under her eyelashes, a curious look on her face.
“You just-” he gives a little shake of his head, trying to come up with the right words. He wants to tell her she’s beautiful. Stunning. A wicked beauty. But she’s more than that - she’s almost angelic. “I can’t believe you’re my wife.”
“Luke, we’ve been legally married for like, a whole year.” Her lips are quirked up in a grin, amusement in her voice. “You’ve only just realized that now?”
“That’s different.”
“Yeah? Different how?”
This feels a little strange to post and a little like my inner self seeking validation but let’s not talk about that.
Kskssj anyways present me @ future me: finish one of these because writing has been really cathartic for you and you didn’t think it would bring you so much joy!!!
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lovabletomholland · 5 years ago
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The Beach House - Chapter 5
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Tom Holland Imagine (Tom Holland x Reader)
Word Count: 1,972
Warnings: Language, Angst, Fluff (that’s it for now, will add to it if needed)
Summary: You are feeling down after the events on the board walk. You get an unexpected visit from Harrison. Later Harry’s behavior leaves you baffled, and you only get more confused when you ask him about it.
A/N: Here is Chapter 5! I should post the masterlist soon for this series, I just kept going back and forth on how long it was going to be. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thank you so much for the support and feedback, it truly means a lot!
Previously - Chapter 4
You're lying in the bed with Harry watching a movie when Tom pokes his head in, "Hey, why did you leave all of a sudden?" He asks, walking in. He sits on Sam's bed on the other side of the room. "I just wasn't feeling well." You lie. You just couldn't be there anymore after hearing what those girls thought about you. You told Tom that you were going to the house and then quickly left, he tried to stop you but that's hard to do when so many people want your attention. Tom frowns, "I'm sorry about all that. I know it must have been awkward for you." He stands and walks over to you. "Do you maybe want to go swimming or watch a movie with me?" He asks. "I've already started a movie with Harry," you mumble, not looking at him. "Well Harry won't mind, right?" You look up to see Tom look at Harry and your eyes move to him as well. He shrugs, "Uh, n-no, of course not." He stammers and looks at you, "You can go with Tom if you want." You shake your head, "I've already got into this movie with Harry. Maybe another time?" You keep from looking at him, Tom doesn't say anything he just stands there a few more seconds and then walks out of the room. You don't mean to take it out on him, you know it's not his fault. You just don't know if you can be with him, knowing all of that comes with it. "Y/N?" Harry nudges you to get your attention and you look at him. "Are you okay? Did something happen?" "Oh, no I'm good. Nothing happened. I'm fine. You can start the movie back up," you tell Harry. He gives you a look that says, I don't believe you but he starts the movie and leaves it be for now. That's why you like Harry, he doesn't pry, he knows to give you your space when you need it. You'll tell him eventually anyways. *** The next day you are in your bedroom trying to avoid everyone but mostly just Tom. You're lying on your bed when you hear a knock on your door. "Yeah?!" You call out and the door opens. You expect to see Harry so you're shocked when it's Harrison closing the door behind him, "Hey." "Hey," you close your book and sit up, "what's up?" He grabs your desk chair and pulls it up close to the bed. "Just want to talk." He sits down, "So Tom is a mess and I know he took you out yesterday. He said you left suddenly and have been avoiding him since. Want to tell me what's up?" He leans forward, elbows on his knees, his full attention on you. You sigh, you were hoping to avoid this a bit longer, "I'm not avoiding him, I just want to be alone right now." Only part of that is a lie. "Really?" Harrison shakes his head, "When you were downstairs earlier you ran out the back door when Tom walked into the kitchen." Damn, so people did notice that. "I just really wanted some fresh air," you say lamely. "Seriously Y/N? If you don't want to talk to me about it at least talk to Tom. He thinks he did something wrong and that you hate him." Haz informs you. That makes you feel worse. It was like a punch in the gut. "I don't hate him and he didn't do anything." "Don't tell me that, tell him. He's in his room." Haz stands and puts your desk chair back where it belongs. "Talk to him. I'm serious," he adds before leaving the room. You sigh and lay back down before going back to reading your book. You can't concentrate on it though, you feel so guilty, so you finally get up and knock on Tom's door. You hear a muffled "Come in," from the other side. You take a deep breath and push the door open. Tom looks up from is cellphone and then sits up quickly as he sees it’s you. "Oh hi," he half smiles. You walk in, closing his door behind you. You hesitate for a seconds before you sit on the bed next to him. "Hi. I'm sorry about yesterday. It had nothing to do with you." "So if it had nothing to do with me then what does it have to do with?" He inquires. “I mean it feels like I did something. One minute we’re having fun and the next you’re running out of there. So can you tell me what happened?” "Nothing," you pick at your t-shirt. You don’t know why you just find it hard to tell him. You know he cares about his fans. "Then why have you been avoiding me?" Tom asks. "I thought things were going pretty well up until all those people came up." "Yeah," you shrug, "I just overheard some girls say some- well, just some not very nice things about me ‘cause they saw us holding hands." "Y/N," Tom sighs, "there will always be someone who has horrible things to say, don't listen to it." He takes your hand and gives it a squeeze so you look up at him. "I like you and nothing they say can change that, okay? I mean it and next time something like that happens, please talk to me about it." You nod, "Okay." You smile and wrap your arms around him. You give him a squeeze, "Still up for a movie?" You ask, pulling away. He nods and the next thing you know you're cuddling into Tom's side as he puts a movie on. It's very different from cuddling Harry. You feel this nervous energy around you but also excitement. Where your bare legs touches his, you feel tingles and warmth. It’s exhilarating. *** Later at dinner you and Tom sit next to each other at the table, you feel his leg casually bump yours every once in a while and you have to fight the smile on your face, your brother has already teased you because of how giddy you've been all day. No need to give him more reasons to tease. Dom has finally arrived and right now he was talking about work while everyone is eating. After dinner you go down to the beach with everyone, spending some time in the ocean holding Tom’s hand underwater so people wouldn't see. Of course Haz knew, he gave the two of you a knowing smile. You played another game of volleyball but this time it was just you, Paddy, and Will against Tom, Haz, and Sam. Harry kept score for the first game, then he switched out with Paddy to play the second game. The first game Tom's team won by one stupid point but the second game was your win and you destroyed him.
“That’s how it is done,” you tease Tom.
“Is it?” he grins at you. “Maybe one day you can teach me,” he winks. He has been very flirtatious while on the beach.
“Maybe.” You giggle and turn for a high five from Harry but he doesn't look at you as he walks away which makes you frown wondering what's going on with him. You watch him walk back up to the house. “Excuse me,” you tell Tom. You gather your things and head back up to the house a few minutes later. Once you throw your stuff into your room you go to Harry's room. "Hey," you mumble opening the door just a crack. "Hey." He mutters back looking up from his phone. You ease inside and shut the door, "Are you okay?" You ask cautiously. "Yeah, I'm good. Just tired," he shrugs. "Okay. Well when you want to talk about it. I'm here." You tell him because you know something is up. You will give him his space though, like he does for you. "Sure, thanks." He murmurs putting in headphones and you ease back out of the room. *** The next morning you're in the kitchen getting something to drink. Everyone else was still asleep, even your mom and Nikki, to be fair it was 5:30 in the morning. You have no idea why you're up right now. You choke on your water as you feel a tap on your shoulder and you whirl around coughing and spluttering to see Tom. "Shit I'm sorry." He says patting your back. You hold up a finger and when the coughing is done you take a deep breath. "Don't you know better than to sneak up on people like that." You shake your head and put your water down. "You're up early," you comment. "I could say the same thing about you." He smiles sleepily. "Sorry for scaring you.. and making you choke." "It's okay. No worries." You smile at him. He looks so cute right now all sleepy eyed and his morning voice? Gosh, it is driving you crazy. You want to kiss him but he has yet to even try that. You move closer and kiss his cheek. "Good thing you're cute, otherwise I couldn't possibly forgive you for nearly killing me," you tease. He places his hands on your hips and a shiver runs through you, "Hmm. That's the only reason you're forgiving me?" He grins and pulls you close. He rubs his nose against yours with a chuckle. "No, I also happen to like you, a lot." You whisper because you don't trust your voice. He's so close, you can feel his breath on you and you feel weak at the knees. "I like you a lot too." He pulls back and you see his eyes go to your lips before he leans in. His lips touch yours and you feel like you’re melting so you wrap your arms around his neck to keep you steady. Your fourteen year old self is screaming inside you. You're actually kissing Tom. Holy shit. One of his hands moves to cup your cheek while the other slides to your back as he pushes you closer to him and you part your lips with a gasp as you feel his tongue on your bottom lip and he deepens the kiss. You’re dizzy and feel flushed but you still hear a small crash that pulls you out of this euphoric state. You and Tom slowly pull away and you look around for what could have made that sound. You startle when you see Harry. It seems he ran into a chair when he walked into the kitchen. You can see that his cheeks are bright red and he's looking anywhere but at you and Tom as he fixes the chair. "Umm, good morning," he mumbles before exiting the room quickly. "I'll be right back," you whisper to Tom before following Harry upstairs. You catch him before he goes into his room. "Hey. Talk to me. I know something is up." He sighs, "I can't, this is one thing that I can't talk to you about. Okay, Y/N? Please just leave me alone." He goes into his room, closing the door in your face. You feel confused. You and Harry have always been able to talk to each other about everything. You go back downstairs feeling useless. "Something is up with Harry and he won't talk to me about it. He says he can't and I don't understand, we've always been able to talk to each other." You wrap your arms around Tom, needing comfort. You feel his arms wrap around you and he squeezes. "Give him a little bit and I'll go talk to him. I think it needs to be me. Brother thing." He kisses the top of your head. "I think I know what's going on."
Chapter 6 
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jenniferxprentiss · 4 years ago
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The Press of Your Lips Against Mine (Everything Is Going To Be Just Fine) -> 3/6
read it on ao3 here
The third time JJ finds herself being kissed by Hotch is on the way home from Paris, sitting shoulder to shoulder on a commercial aircraft, having opted out of taking the jet home. It was too empty, too quiet. She was dabbing the handkerchief she had borrowed from Aaron against her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. She gasped when Hotch pulled the fabric from her grasp, let his own hand cover her cheek, leaning down and kissing her tears away before pressing his lips to hers, bringing another fresh wave of tears for them both.
woah, halfway there! living on a damn prayer. this chap lowkey feels so jemily/jotchniss but I love it n I’m proud of it so...ya. lemme know what u think. love u all!
—————
Two weeks had passed them by faster than anyone had wanted it to, a blur of wine and laughter mixed with tears and memories they would have to cherish until the next time — none of the three of them knowing exactly when the next time would be.
There had been late nights on the balcony of Emily’s new flat, bottles of empty wine and beer littering the floor as they laughed, cried, watched the city wake up as the sun came up. They only went to bed when they saw the new day, squeezing into the queen sized bed that was much too small for three adults, but they made it work.
There were whispered promises of more — another visit, hopefully sooner rather than later — and tears, so many tears.
They had left for the airport with gentle kisses to Emily’s forehead and cheeks, wiping the tears from her cheeks as they tried desperately to hold their own sobs in. JJ had promised, with her thumb pushing away Emily’s tears, that they would be in contact.
Online scrabble, they had decided, and Hotch had to laugh at that. He thought of the many drunken scrabble nights they had, where the board almost always ended up discarded before the game was over — whether it was flipped in anger or just pushed off the table to make room for something else.
“Aaron?”
Hotch sat up straighter, pulled from his thoughts, groaning when his back protested the uncomfortable position he had been sitting in. He cursed their decision to take a commercial airline instead of a witsec or bureau appointed private plane. It was stuffy and uncomfortable, not enough leg room and next to no privacy.
“Yeah?”
“I miss her already.”
JJ tried to control the way her voice shook, tried to stop her face from crumpling again. It had only been a couple of hours since they had left Emily’s flat — how could she do this for months, possibly years?
Her hand was curled into a fist around the handkerchief she borrowed from Hotch, silky material dampened with tears. He idly wondered how she had any tears left, how her eyes weren’t completely dried out.
“I do too. And she misses us too.”
JJ let out a ragged breath, closing her eyes for a moment before dabbing at her face, collecting a fresh round of tears in the material. She suddenly wished they were alone, that they were anywhere but here, the uncertainty of the future too much to discuss in such a public place.
“Everything is going to be different.”
He knew that Emily’s office had been packed up while they were in Paris —her items boxed up by some intern grunt that had never met Emily or known the beautiful light of a person that she was — knew it would have been too painful for JJ or himself to do. They were already going to have a hard time with sorting the rest of Emily’s estate, dividing up the belongings she couldn’t bring to Paris with her.
They couldn’t trash anything, could barely think about putting it all in some storage pod.
“Her replacement is nice, she’ll get along well with the team.”
“But she isn’t Emily.” There was a low whine to JJ’s tone, bottom lip jutting out. “I don’t like her because she’s not Emily.”
“You haven’t even met Alex yet.”
He had a point, but JJ would never tell him that. She was sure that the new agent would be perfectly nice, but it didn’t take away from the ache JJ would feel when they were back.
Emily’s office wasn’t Emily’s office anymore, it was Alex’s office, and she would no longer be able to barge in there and complain when work seemed too overwhelming, unsure of what cases to prioritize, always afraid she would make the wrong choice.
“I can give her a chance.” She sighed, running her hand through her hair before looking pointedly at Hotch.
“I know it’s not going to be the same as having Emily around, but I’m not going anywhere.”
JJ let her head drop to Hotch’s shoulder, damp handkerchief still wound around her fingers, trying to think of the right words to say. Her heart tugged at his words, the way his eyes were filled with so much sincerity that it lit a fire inside of her, calming the cold, nervous shake she had been plagued with since the incident.
They had taken to calling it the incident — her, Emily, and Hotch — unable to give Doyle any power, any sort of leverage in the situation, ignored the fact they were all plagued with nightmares that were nothing but a gruesome replaying of actual events, so full of his face that they almost always woke up gasping for air.
She opened her mouth, tried to say something but words couldn’t quite come out, too enamored with the floaty, giddy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, though she tried to be stoic and cold, there were two people that could always turn her into a blubbering, blushing idiot — Hotch and Emily.
“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re just as good as Emily.”
“A high position for me to take, isn’t it?”
They fell into a comfortable silence, JJ’s head resting on Hotch’s shoulder as she half watched the in-flight entertainment, some family friendly movie she couldn’t quite pay attention to. Her eyes were glazed over, unfocused, vaguely registering the characters moving across the screen.
Hotch let out a throaty chuckle at something happening on the screen, his chest rumbling under JJ’s ear. She smiled, a small ghost of a smile creeping up on her face before a fleeting memory crossed her mind, face crumpling again.
They had been on the couch in Emily’s flat, wine drunk and the room hazy with smoke, had just convinced Emily to stop chain smoking and join them on the couch for a movie. Emily’s hand held JJ’s tightly, resting on Hotch’s chest, cuddled up on either side of him, letting out periodic laughs at the French movie on the small, staticky television that only Emily seemed to be able to decipher.
Her shoulders shook, tears flowing freely from her eyes at the memory. She choked back a sob, free hand gripping Hotch’s thigh for some sort of support — a feeble attempt to ground herself, to be present in the moment. They were in a plane, jammed shoulder to shoulder with her head resting in the crook between Hotch’s neck and chest, getting further and further from France by the second, closer to home.
She didn’t quite know if it was considered home anymore — not without Emily.
JJ felt the scrap of now soaked fabric tugged from her grasp, sliding through her fingers until she was left empty handed, fingers curling and dropping to her lap. She turned, picking her head up from where it was resting on Hotch’s chest and looked into his eyes, noticed the unshed tears that were threatening to spill over.
His hand was on her cheek, cupping her face with so much delicacy and intimacy it almost scared her, almost made her turn away — if it was anyone else, she would have, but this was Hotch and she trusted him with her life. There was a fire in his eyes as the tears began to flow down his face, dripping down his cheeks as he pulled her to him.
Their lips connected in a kiss that was so soft, so full of tenderness and love. JJ gasped into his mouth, turning in her seat and bringing her hand up to the back of his head, fingernails raking through the prickly hair at the nape of his neck. His stubble scratched against her face, made her gasp and hold him tighter, lips parting as she brought her other hand up to cup his cheek.
A passenger behind them cleared their throat — an old man that had been glaring at them the entire time they had been seated, huffing every time JJ let out a particularly loud sob. They broke apart, blushing and gasping for air, JJ fanning her face and sitting forward, pretending to focus on the tiny television again.
She glanced at Hotch out of the corner of her eye, had to stifle a laugh at the way his face had turned bright red, eyes darting around looking for some sort of out from the embarrassment.
“Bathroom.” He managed to choke out, smoothing out his shirt and standing, offering her one last stroke of his thumb to her cheek before he walked down the aisle, face still cherry red.
With a chuckle, JJ watched him pass through the small door into the bathroom before reclining in her seat, trying to focus on anything but the tingling feeling on her lips. She smiled, gentle and shy, absent of tears for the first time in what felt like ages, bringing her fingertips to her lips — knew she was smiling stupidly but couldn’t help it. Maybe Emily being gone wouldn’t be so bad.
After all, they always had three way scrabble games.
——————
tag list down here xo
@whiskey-fluent @ssaemilyprentits @anepiphany @f-m27 @heat-waveee @garcias-batcave @davidrossi-ismydad @prentiss-dinozzo @jjsgirlfriend && whoever else wants to be tagged just shoot me a dm xo ily all.
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heli0s-writes · 5 years ago
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Surprises
Summary: You and Bucky babysit the Barton clan. Pairing: Reader x Bucky Barnes A/N: Silliness, little angst at the end. TW: Mentions infertility.
Bag of Tricks One-Shot Masterlist
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You are surprisingly good with kids.
When you visited the Barton farm for the first time, all of Clint’s kids loved you. After the initial excitement over Captain America, Thor, and Auntie Nat, they always came back to you. You’d be plopped down on the couch, flipping through the channels, and Clint’s daughter would find her way into your lap with a picture book.
To be polite, you had read it to her the first time, accidentally becoming very invested in the Lorax’s plight for environmental justice and the next thing you knew, your voice was loud and booming, rising and falling with the cadence of each line. The boys had shown up, too, clapping and cheering at the end and requested another book.
Clint never let you live down reading his kids four books that evening. And building a blanket fort. And rolling yourself up in the blanket and hobbling after them.
The next time you returned, Lila had moved onto chapter books, and you were happy to help her read those as well. She had a lot of questions about volcanoes and dinosaurs, and you would answer them to the best of your ability. She knew quite a lot for a 2nd grader, so you ended up asking her quite a few questions about volcanoes and dinosaurs as well (who the heck knows how to pronounce Deinonychus anyway?)
At the end of the night, she was curled up in your lap while you braided her hair. You were glad she fell asleep because it was quite honestly a travesty that all 7 braids were different sizes and shapes.
“You ever think about raising your own kid?” Clint asked later that night. “In this business? Pfft.”
So, you settled on being the Barton’s babysitter when they needed one. And on one dark October night, you enlist Bucky Barnes’ help.
-
“Can you braid my hair while we watch the movie?” Lila asks as she settles in next to you on the couch. Cooper and Nate are down on their bellies in front, squished pillows underneath them to soften the hardwood flooring.
“Lila,” You sigh, “You don’t remember this, but last time I braided your hair… you looked terrible.”
“It’s okay.” She giggles, “It just feels nice!”
Bucky is on the other side of the couch, gaze attached to the slasher movie you had been told specifically not to put on for the kids. With a slight kick to his knee, you ask him for help with your eyes. Lila doesn’t know, but you can’t braid worth a shit—most of what happened to her hair last time had a lot to do with sheer dumb luck. And it was still a travesty.
She might say that she doesn’t care, but you know any eight-year-old girl cares about what their hair looks like. Even if it’s just a night in with her brothers.
He sends you an annoyed look back, because you dragged him to bumfuck middle of 80 acres of nowhere and he’s watching Planet Terror with a bunch of children. Barton is going to skin his ass when he gets back.
“Bucky, can you braid?” You whisper as Rose McGowan fires her fucking machinegun leg and the ricochet shudders through the T.V.
“Yes.” He replies.
“Help a girl out, man.” You motion to Lila, who has now covered her eyes as red sprays from an enormous wound. Bucky grimaces at the way your fingers have separated three locks. Already it is a tangled mess and you haven’t even started.
“What are you trying to do? Give the kid dreadlocks?” He scowls, slapping your hand away and scooting over so that she’s now mostly in front of him and you are squished and diagonal, pushed away by his shoulder. In mere minutes he makes short work of the herculean task you had tried to take on.
It’s a perfect fishtail braid, and he’s even used strands of her hair to wrap around the elastic neatly. You stare open-mouthed at him as Lila pats the back of her head and happily squeals at what he’s done. Bucky grunts in reply and then sinks back into the sofa, crossing his arms.
“I gotta turn this off. This can’t be good for the kids.”
--
“EARTHQUAKE!” You scream, grabbing the edge of the dinner table and rocking it so hard all the pieces of the board game fall over. Cooper is out of his seat, throwing his hands up in the air as he yells, “CHEATER!” And Nate looks like he’s on the verge of tears.
Lila could care less, still enamored by her beautifully weaved locks.
Bucky puts his face in his hands as you expertly dodge the metal dog and thimble piece Cooper is throwing at you. It’s bad enough that you had been massively in debt to the bank but shaking the board because you were losing is a new level of low. The kids chase you around the house and throw pillows at you when you climb too far out of their reach. Pastel strips of Monopoly money lay scattered all over the house.
Bucky hisses your name as you perch on the hutch in the dining room. “Get down from there! Christ!”
Nate tosses a cushion up that you swat away easily. Cooper throws a cookie that you catch in your mouth. “I’ll die before I come down.” You mutter, “Stupid, capitalist, Monopoly-monocle’d, pocketwatched motherfu—”
A pillow to the face muffles the rest of your complaint and Bucky points at you in a silent scolding. Thank God he has good aim because if the Bartons come home from date night and little Nate was calling someone a motherfucker, Laura would skin his ass.
“You are terrible with children!” He whispers when the kids leave the room to find something else to do.
Slowly, you climb down and pat his shoulder. “My favorite part about kids is the part where I give them back to their parents.” You admit. “I didn’t think they’d take this long.”
From the corner of the dining room, Nate and Cooper rush forward screaming at you. Pillows are raised high above their heads as they leap and pummel you with the fluffy squares. You shriek and fall down and make a huge show about it—something about melting and turning green and flying monkeys. It’s all too much, but the kids love it and tell you it’s what you deserve for being a cheater.
But then Nate and Cooper yelp as you snatch their ankles in your hand and stand tall, holding them upside down. It’s easy to forget that you have super-human strength because you certainly don’t look like it. But it’s on display now as you spin around on your heels and take the boys circling with you.
Nate’s head misses the corner of a wooden chair by centimeters and Bucky thinks he might fucking faint. Lila takes this opportunity to try and jump on your back to save her brothers, but she’s just a fraction too slow and your arm crashes into her instead, sending all three siblings tumbling and you as well.
Bucky sighs severely as he stands over the mess in the kitchen. One adult (tentatively labeled), three children, rubbing their heads and limbs, pouting like babies. There is a swelling mark underneath Nate’s hairline and he rubs it gingerly, whimpering when his fingers touch it.
You run to the refrigerator for an icepack before he can burst into tears.
-
Forgiveness is earned after three hurriedly made root beer floats—extra whipped cream piled so high that it overtakes the entire glass and the kids stick half their noses in it to try and lick some off. You slump heavily in a chair and dig a spoon into your own glass of fizzing cream and soda.
A single cherry is plopped on top of the bubbles. Bucky peers down at you, licking the syrup off his finger with a smirk.
“I guess you’re not so bad with kids.” He says, glancing over at where the three previously dour Bartons sit, now giddy with cheer as they slurp their desserts. Cooper has stuck his finger in his glass, scooping up the last remnants of sweetness before turning over and eyeing Nate’s half-full container.  
You throw the cherry into your mouth and grin, “Yeah. I’m kind of a miracle worker.” And then your tongue pokes around in your mouth and you shut one eye as if in intense contemplation. When you stick your tongue out again, the cherry stem has been tied into a little knot, glistening with spit.
“Woah!” Lila yells, “How’d you do that?”
“I wanna learn!” Cooper rushes forward, peering at the stem between your fingers, and then all three kids are screeching, “me too!” and jumping in circles around the table. Bucky puts both his hands up when you start explaining what to do because he—an actual, reasonable, adult—does not think teaching three kids to tie a cherry stem into a knot is a good idea.
Before he can do much else, the Barton children are shoving each other and arguing. Then they break out into laughter and take off into the living room. All Bucky hears next is screaming and the sound of six feet jumping on every cushion there is. They tumble, wrestle, run, and in general act like little hazards. Nate screeches at the top of his lungs—just because, apparently.
Bucky takes your spoon from your mouth and scoops a big chunk of ice cream for himself, resigned to getting skinned. When Clint and Laura come home and find their kids cracked out on sugar at—he checks the clock—good fuck, half past midnight, they are going to kill the both of you.
The spoon is still in his mouth when he mumbles, “You are terrible with kids.”
--
“Huh.” Clint says when he enters the living room and finds all five of you settled in comfortably with the children sound asleep. Laura’s cheeks are a bit peachier than you remember and there’s a lazy little smile that graces her features as she peers down at her children.
“Sorry—they fell asleep during the movie and I didn’t have the heart to wake ‘em up.” You say with a sheepish grin, tilting your chin up and watching him upside down.
“That’s okay, kid.” Clint grins, hand on his hip. “Jeez, you really wore ‘em out. What’dja do?” He gives Bucky a curious look but doesn’t say much else. The two of you are sharing a blanket in the middle of the floor, heads propped up by one couch cushion. Lila is to your left with her head on your arm, fishtail braid bursting apart, strands of hair flaying about around her head like a halo. Cooper and Nate are on the other side of Bucky, mouths open and snoring softly.
They’re even changed into their pajamas, teeth brushed and everything.
Slowly, Clint picks up Lila and Cooper and Laura does the same to Nate. They go upstairs to put the kids to bed while you and Bucky peel the blanket off, quietly making your exit.
Before you can reach the car, the front door swings shut and Clint is stepping out with his hands tucked in his pockets. “Hey.” He calls, “Thanks for the night. Laura and I haven’t been out alone in months.”
“Don’t mention it.” You beam. Behind you, Bucky scoffs just enough for you to hear.
“You sure you don’t want any kids? You’re damn good with ‘em.”
Bucky snorts louder, kicks the dirt beneath this boot and puts his hand on your shoulder, “Her favorite part is giving ‘em back.” He announces before you clamp your hand over his mouth. His eyes twinkle under the moonlight as Clint waves goodbye and retreats into his home. The screen door clicks quietly, and you watch the yellow glow of each room turn off until the cabin is just an afterimage against the darkness.
“You think brushing twice was good?” You mutter with a sigh as Bucky pulls out of the dirt driveway.
“No, which was why I suggested mouthwash.”
A silence passes before you suck on your teeth and say, “Hey, check it out.”
Peeling your lips back, you show him the cherry stem from earlier in the night, now neatly tied with another knot next to the first one. Bucky scoffs and snatches it from your teeth.
“I swear to all fuck, how you got them fooled is beyond me. Fuckin’ Planet Terror, then shaking the goddamn Monopoly board, and then teaching fuckin’ kids how to tie--” he throws the stem back in your face, “and then ice cream at midnight.”
“Hey! They had fun!” You cry, dodging him.
“They threw up!”
You cackle, because they did all throw up, and it was really funny. Bucky groans and rolls his eyes because you would absolutely be the worst mother. Your kids would grow up in the most chaotic household. But, he thinks, they’d be loved. So maybe you wouldn’t be the worst. You also had them help you clean up the house and were firm with them when they didn’t want to. Bucky feels a smile grow on his face. Maybe you are good with children.
“You’re pretty responsible, Buck. You think you’ll ever have kids?”
It’s a quiet question. Suddenly your demeanor is sullen as you turn to gaze out the window, peering at the full moon and he knows where your mind has wandered to.
Clint has something the rest of you can only dream about. You might crack jokes about being terrible with children, but it’s no secret that domesticity is something you long for. A baked apple pie in the windowsill, running under summer sprinklers, hanging the sheets up to dry, dancing through the living room barefoot, kind of life.
There are mobiles of stars and paper airplanes in your dreams, swaddling cloth with giraffes and moons. Gerber Baby food jars and baby-proofed corners. There are nights when you think about what the gene experiments did to your body and all you can do is stare silently.
The irony of you being so good with children is not lost on him.
A warm hand clamps itself over yours. Bucky links his flesh fingers through your smaller ones, holds onto the wheel with his metal hand.
“Nah.” Bucky says, “My favorite thing to do with kids is give ‘em back.”
A short laugh escapes as you grip his hand tighter, letting the moment pass on by like it always does. Usually you ride the wave on your own, crash on your own, and awaken the next morning in disarray on your own. But this time, his warm hand is holding you steady as the pain crests and ebbs away.
“Hey.” You say, rubbing your thumb over his in a surprising show of affection. Bucky feels his heart pick up a faster beat as you worry your lip with your teeth. Then, because you’re always full of surprises, you stick your tongue out where the cherry stem has collected another knot. “Check it out.”
He laughs, a deep, rumbling, genuinely joyful sound as he squeezes your hand. “You’ll have to teach me that some time.” He jokes-- anything to keep you from looking so sad.
Your lashes flutter as you blink slowly in contemplation. Bucky’s heart picks up again when you turn to him and shyly say, “If you pull over, I can teach you right now.”
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inkribbon796 · 4 years ago
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Like a House of Cards Ch. 11: Opposites React
Summary: The heroes go looking for Dark and Logan’s group.
Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
As they stood on the street, the Anomaly that would appear in a bank vault gone from the Host’s hands, they had to recover from the power of the Anomaly coursing through them for a second time.
Chase collapsed onto his knees, feeling just a soul-deep sorrow. He was crying from memories and loss he couldn’t remember. “Fook.”[1]
“Chase?” Jackie dragged his feet over, he was feeling sluggish but it was thankfully easing from his body quickly.
“I’m fine,” Chase wiped his face with his arm. “I’m fine.”
“We can stop fer[2] a bit,” Jackie promised, helping Chase up.
“I’m grand,”[3] Chase promised.
“The Host and Chase will form one group, and Silver, Ethan, and Jackie will form the other as they try to find Dark’s group. “He asks that the heroes get their outfits back on, and for Silver and Jackie to try not to get themselves into trouble.”
“Ehh, we should be fine,” Jackie promised. “So long as Chase is gonna be okay.”
“We gotta talk anyways,” Chase nodded at the Host. “Try not ta[4] fight a hoard ‘a[5] bears.”
“No promises,” Mark smiled, and then the three of them left.
Silver, Crank, and Jackie waited in the alley for almost five minutes, getting bored. Ethan’s ADHD kicked him in the teeth before Mark’s did. Then a shootout started next to them. Several people were screaming and someone that the heroes thought looked a lot like Dark when he was pretending to be Damien. Except he wasn’t in his typical outfit, his hair was wild, and there was a streak of blue in his hair.
Ethan immediately cloaked them with his invisibility. They began to approach.
Two guys jumped on him and dragged him away. And then someone who looked almost exactly like Chase passed by the mouth of the alley.
“Don’t fookin’[6] let that arsehole[7] escape again!” Chase shouted.
The heroes got closer as the men used magic to tie “Damien” up.
He looked down at the bonds and then smiled at “Chase” which made the other man groan, “Dames, Don’t.”
“Kinky,” Dames smiled, his smile huge, leaning forward as much as the bonds would let him. “Chase. How’s life, doll?”
Chase glared at his captive before leaning in to get close to his face. “What the fook is wrong wit’ yeh?”[8]
The bound man just smiled, shrugging, “You’re going to have to be specific?”
“I meant Marvin, yeh mad fook, are yeh tryin’ ta kill my kid?”[9] Chase spat.
Dames’ only answer was, “If you wanted to get rough in bed, we’d need a bed for that.”
Chase grabbed him by the front of his shirt, “Keep yer[10] brat away from my kid, I don’t want the General killin’[11] him.”
“What’s with all this “killing” business,” Dames chuckled. “You and Gen are worried so much for your little games. They’re old enough to make all kinds of decisions.”
“Yeh taking the boys ta’a whorehouse isn’t a good choice, ya nutter,”[12] Chase spat.
“True,” Dames agreed, “they really had more fun with each other.”
“Fook this,” Jackie finally decided, as his whole body began to shake.
Silver grabbed Ethan and flew up, Ethan keeping them invisible as Jackie punched one of the thugs and then grabbed Dames, racing off with him. Silver flying in to keep up.
“What are you doing?” Silver demanded. “We’re supposed to be laying low.”
“I don’t know, I’m makin’[13] this up as I go along,” Jackie yelled, tugging Dames with them as they ran.
“What are we doing?” Dames asked. “Are we playing tag?”
“Yes!” Jackie yelled before anyone else could speak. “An’[14] Brody back there’s it.”
“Oh,” Dames said with a soft realization, then he smiled and grabbed them. “Well, we won’t win like this.”
Then they suddenly found themselves being slammed into the concrete wall of an alley, Jackie taking an especially hard hit because of his momentum.
Dames was looking them up and down as the heroes regained their composure, the corner of Dames’s mouth twitching a little bit. “You three aren’t from around here.”
“How’d yah[15] guess?” Jackie smiled as he got up, Silver floating before he was able to stand.
“Silly cheaters,” Dames laughed. “Couldn’t win your own game so you jumped to a new board.”
“It is so weird seeing you like this” Silver set his feet on the ground.
Dames shrugged, and then a portal began to twist open. It wasn’t quite like Dark’s dark purple-black Void magic. It was a deep red-magenta that felt more like hands ripping their way free.
Ethan tried to shield them but Dames couldn’t be cloned and excitedly stepped free to meet the man who stepped out of the portal. He had a sharp black suit and a bushy black mustache. A red and magenta aura coming off of him like Dark’s red and blue aura. He had dark red and magenta after images that echoed and stuttered off of him.
“Gen,” Dames smiled excitedly, holding his arms out.
“Where’s Junior?” Gen asked.
“I don’t know,” Dames denied, his good mood quickly starting to evaporate. “Ask your little trackers you put on them.”
General glared at Dames, “What were you two doing?”
“Nothing,” Dames almost giggled.
Dark’s glare became more baleful and he grabbed Dames by the front of his jacket, Dames giggling in response. “Don’t give me that bullshit, Dames. Did you let Bim go off with that hooligan?”
“Mayhaps,” Dames’s smile became almost giddy.
“Dames!” the General pinned him against the closest wall. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did,” Gen spat. “You can waste your time at brothels and clubs all you want, but you leave Junior out of it.”
Dames began giggling, “You have to admit, yours and Chase’s faces when you saw they were gone was pretty hilarious.”
“This isn’t funny!” the Entity snarled. “Bim is impressionable, no thanks to you. It burned down with them still in it!”
“At least I show him how to have a good time,” Dames dared. “You’d have him at a desk working papers until he died. He’s a kid.”
“Not anymore,” the General warned. “He stopped being a child when he turned sixteen. They all did.”
Dames rolled his eyes, “Ughh.”
The General stepped closer, “You cannot insist on treating them all like children, they are not.”
“Only because you wanted them to grow up, they never got to be children in the first place,” Dames argued back.
“You’re absolutely insufferable,” the Entity scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Why is being alive and safe so unfavorable to you.”
“You’d have him die in an office,” Dames spat.
“No I’d have him alive doing something,” the demon spat. “You insist on treating all of them like children. They are not, nor have they been for years.”
“I want my babies back,” Dames looked away, clearly upset. “What was so wrong with them being my babies? You said I could keep them.”
“They are safe, that should be enough. Do I make myself clear, Doomstrum?” Gen spat, his aura coiling just a hair too tight around the mad mayor.
Dames struggled in his hold for a bit before stopping, clearly refusing to look at or answer him.
Mark would have forced himself out of Ethan’s invisibility bubble, but the hero watched the demon’s expression soften for a couple seconds and then sighed before opening up a massive portal to show a relatively spartan office except for a very nice looking desk and a couch that looked extremely comfortable to sleep on. He let Dames go. “Let’s go Dames.”
The madman frowned and took a step before turning around, a smile spreading on his face again, “Oh, Gen, I have to introduce you to my new friends.”
“Your what?” The demon growled in frustration.
“Yeah they’re just,” Dames began, pointing to the three heroes at the end of the alley right before a portal ripped open behind them and a dark purple aura pulled them in and swiftly closed before the General or Dames could really react in more than surprise.
The three heroes landed on their backs around Dark’s feet in a dimly lit room.
“There we go, problem solved,” Dark announced.
“How does this solve our problems, you’ve led him straight to us!”
Jackie looked up in confusion, Virgil didn’t come with us?
When he looked up at Virgil however he was in a huge dark grey-black overcoat. His hair was different, but the eyeshadow still darkened his face.
Dark brought his aura up in time as a red-magenta magic tried to get into the room. He threw his aura against it and it was gone. “Nonsense, I can cloak areas to keep 
 magic from getting in.”
“Andy,” someone in a black beanie insisted, tugging on “Virgil’s” coat. The Side had some vitiligo marks on his face and hands, his eyes a deep golden yellow.
“Dee, not now,” Andy hissed.
“But they’re telling the—” Dee tried to report, before he was protectively pushed behind Andy.
“No,” Andy nudged his companions back and pointed to Dark. “I don’t trust you.”
“I don’t trust you,” he pointed to Wilford.
“And I sure as shit don’t trust you,” Andy spat at the Host. His voice was practically dripping with contempt.
“All we need to get to the next rift and we’re gone,” Dark scoffed. “We don’t need your trust.”
“So what’s the actual plan for getting home?” Silver asked the Host. “Seems like they’ve got a lot to deal with right now.”
“Simple we go into what is probably a horribly designed version of my office, and activate the Anomaly so it takes us home.” Dark dusted off his suit with his aura. “The plan’s already been made if you want to talk to the others.”
The Host dispelled an illusion and they saw the three Sides talking to Glitch Logan, and J.J peacefully napping in the corner. There was no sign of his double anywhere.
“I will have everything under control,” Logan spat at his doppelgänger.
“I don’t need to be reassured of anything,” Glitch Logan dismissed. “I have made redundancies and failsafes to ensure they do not die. If I was not certain, I would have raised my complaints. You will protect them, that is the only objective I need to give. If you work with the heroes, or with Google, I care not. Roman, Virgil, and Patton’s survival is all I care about. We spent a year’s worth of time working for it and I have come too far to fail now.”
“I will do so without needless killing” Logan promised.
Glitch Logan gave an inhuman smile, “We shall see, either way it’s inconsequential to me.”
The Anomaly glowed and it engulfed the two Logans completely before just Logan was standing there. He gave a shudder and a bunch of nanites fell to the ground around him, twitching once and then going offline, their components frying themselves so they couldn’t be used by anyone else.
Logan stiffened and Roman raced in to catch him.
“Lo, sweetheart?” Roman pleaded desperately as Logan blinked and coughed as air returned to his lungs.
The Host used a couple words from his narrations and the nanites were all gone from the floor.
Janus briefly checked on Logan before clearing his throat and drawing attention to himself, summoning his staff.
“The Host allowed us to speak with the other Sides, we got but a minute but we’ve come up with a plan,” Janus reported. “There is one fusion we have that enables us to make as much noise and commotion as possible, while showing that we are different people. I have spoken with this world’s Deceit and they cannot fuse—”
“Please don’t call me that, that’s not all I do,” Dee asked.
Janus paused, looking at Dee, “Of course do you have a preference?”
Andy was just watching Janus, staring at him.
“Dee,” Dee told him.
“Alright,” Janus agreed. “Anyways, I have spoken with Dee and they can’t fuse so it will be the easiest way to get the message across.”
“So we’re gonna use Remy?” Jackie asked.
“No,” Logan cut in. “Even before the merge I was not in the right emotional or mental mindset to fuse. My fusions are impossible without that mindset. My future self hinted the feeling would get worse and unfortunately he was right.”
“Okay, you’ve never exactly told us how fusion works,” Ethan reminded. “But I’m guessing that I’m gonna take a group in?”
“The heroes will not need to cause a distraction because the fusion will be enough to convince the General that they are different. Besides, the General will wish to speak to the Entity.”
“Will he?” Dark asked. “Last time he saw me he tried to take my head off.”
“Maybe we should talk to him,” Wilford smiled. “We never gave them a chance.”
“It is so weird seeing him in pink,” Andy commented.
“Why, what’s wrong with it?” Wil frowned. “Pink is a lovely color.”
“Nothing wrong with it, it’s just you’d rather set yourself on fire than wear pink,” Andy explained.
“No I wouldn’t, I’m wearing pink right now,” Wil gestured to himself.
Dark rubbed at the bridge of his nose, “This is going to take forever now.”
“No, I meant the other you, the douchebag in Armani,” Andy explained.
“Well then he should wear pink too,” Wil decided.
Andy let out a snorting chuckle, “Oh, trust me everyone in this city would love to see that.”
The group started to plan a bit so that Silver and Jackie knew what they were doing, and during that time, Janus leaned over to Roman.
“This means nothing, I’d rather Remus was here,” Janus told Roman.
“Well I'd rather Patton was here,” Roman agreed, emotions still running high from the mess with the doppelgängers.
“Good,” Janus spat.
“Good,” Roman glared at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Accessibility Translations
1. Fuck
2. for
3. I’m alright
4. to
5. of
6. fucking
7. asshole
8. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
9. I meant Marvin, you crazy fucker, are you trying to kill my kid?
10. your
11. killing
12. You taking the boys to a whorehouse isn’t a good choice, you nutter
13. making
14. And
15. you
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youarejesting · 5 years ago
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Quarantine.4
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[Masterlist] Pairing: BTS x reader (i don’t know if this will have ships or just friendship or what I am just letting it run its course) Genres: friendship, drama, romance Rating: All Summary: Your brother works with a few BigHit dance teams and whilst having permission to accompany him at work the city shuts down banning anyone from stepping outside for a whole WEEK while they disinfect the streets. If you step outside you might get arrested, shot or poisoned by the chemicals they are emitting through the city. Words: 2.5k  Announcement: I had so much fun writing this and the next one. Even though it seems sexy at the end don’t be fooled!
[Part 1]  [Part 3] [Part 5] [Tag Yourself Here]
It was late in the morning, you had slept for twelve hours and felt ready to take on anything. Cleaning and sorting the storage room you had made a makeshift coffee table out of the top of a desk and strongboxes full of shredded paper. The room had almost become a little home for you. Deeming it time to venture into the world you decided to get dressed. Starting with the basics you picked out Koya character underwear which after a small discussion with a nameless employee on the third floor. You had figured out whose characters were whose. You had found a box labelled GFriend full of clothes that might actually fit you, dresses and skirts all in bags named. 
Rifling through some bags you found one labelled ‘Summer Rain’. Opening it to find a bunch of beautiful white dresses. Slipping one of them -that looked about your size- over your head. It was adorable. Assuming that it was supposed to be an innocent flowing style. It seemed that your breasts were a little fuller than the person it had been intended for. At least that’s how it appeared in the small bathroom mirror. Not only was the bust fitted, but the skirt also raised slightly due to your hips and bottom, which must have been a little bigger as well. Meaning the dress only reached your mid-thigh. The fabric was made out of a stretchy material and all in all, it didn’t look small but rather perfectly cut for your body. 
Looking undeniably pretty, you found shoe boxes marked with the same name. Briefly hoping the owner didn’t get upset that you were borrowing their clothes. Inside the boxes were matching white heels. Slipping on a pair your first thought was how they were super comfy like standing on tiny pillows. Giving a spin for the mirror you thought something was definitely lacking. An outfit this cute deserved some makeup. Racing to grab the small BT21 makeup you had collected into a pile days previous. You began applying the BT21 makeup trying your best to style your hair with a few pins. At least half of you wanted to look good for the boys but the other half was doing this just for your own self-esteem.
Stepping back to get the full picture, your lips pulled up into a smile. Now you felt good. “You are pretty and you look cute and no one can make you think otherwise. You are special and one of a kind. I love you and that’s the only thing that matters, everything else is a bonus.” You will admit you had adopted this technique from Seokjin who complimented himself in the mirror after every shower. Taking a few Selfies or as the boys had taught you selca’s you got a text. From your brother.
[Are you dead?] [What if I say yes?] [Seriously how long are you going to stay down there?] [I have just finished getting dressed]
One last look in the mirror and you sighed, best not to keep b/n waiting. Running along the basement corridor, you took the elevator and headed up to the cafeteria hoping to catch a late breakfast or an early lunch. They said they would be serving lunch in an hour and handed you an apple apologetically. Thanking them genuinely, you enjoyed the crisp fruit whilst slowly strolling through the floors. That would hold you until then, you were never really big on breakfast anyway. Greeting some familiar faces. Familiar meaning: you had seen them in passing more than four times, yet you still didn’t know any of their names. Perhaps you should take some time for other people. You noticed most people were wearing weird tracksuits while their clothes were being washed. Considering yourself lucky to have a secret stash of clothes. 
Continuing on the journey to the dance practice room wanting to have some fun. The full night sleep gave you so much energy. No one was inside, looking at the schedule on the door. It would be empty for half an hour. Plenty of time. 
The floorboards made a familiar sound as you crossed and seeing yourself in full in the mirror on the walls made you smile throwing up a peace sign. This was all nostalgic and had you reliving long nights in the studio dancing routines over and over. Plugging your phone into the stereo you searched for an old dance playlist, once found you selected a warm-up song. It was one you always used. An old routine you performed your stretches to targeting your arms back and legs. The bridge hit and your body was warm and buzzing ready to start a dance. Quickly switching to something a little more upbeat, you began another familiar routine. Dancing hit after hit until your brother stepped into the room. Pausing you turned to him getting ready to pack up and leave. 
“Keep going, we don’t start for another five minutes” he gestured as he went over to your phone, his students stepped in. Filing in one after the other you stopped dancing feeling that it would be time for you to leave “Hey, you remember the routine to this one?”
B/n played you something that had your muscles moving before you could control it, “Yeah! There you go!” He paused the music “you kids want to see the masters at work?”
“Your old teacher, save it” The kids laughed. It must have been pretty hard being stuck in the building away from their families. “That sounds like a challenge, brother, let’s show these kids how it’s done!” the kids laughed oohing and causing a general commotion from the back of the room. Nodding to your brother who set up a camera hitting record. You did a couple of last-minute stretches as the music started. He joined you for the dance and you watched the kids’ mouths fall open. 
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(I made this Gif from a 1million dance studio video the dance is ‘sorry, not sorry’)
The kids seemed to enjoy it. Each one looked more energized and ready to dance. Grabbing your things and heading out of the room with a wave. You checked the door for the next empty spot but decided to just take a picture of the schedule. Feeling like you were up in the clouds as you were skipping down the hallway. Giddy from your first real dance in a long time, in front of a crowd too. 
Spinning as you went, not noticing Hoseok step out of the elevator until the last minute. Trying to stop, digging your feet into the ground, torso flying forward. Toppling over him, you worried about Hoseok. Slipping your hand behind his head and tilting your knees out to avoid his crotch area seconds before you landed. You didn’t want to be the reason the guy couldn’t have children. But in doing this you were now chest to chest while straddling him. 
“Nice underwear,” Namjoon whistled. Squealing and rolling off of Hoseok you pulled the back of the dress down. Mortified beyond belief you flopped back onto the ground and covered your eyes, feeling someone stepping over you, voice calling from above. “Come on don’t be shy, it’s cute that you are wearing our underwear?”
“You know it’s not by choice” hands pried your arms away from your face. Revealing Namjoon who squatted over you one of his boots either side of your waist. Tilting his head to the side, looking down at your figure before actually helping you up. 
“Miss y/l/n” a soft voice spoke, Namjoon turned, stepping back so you could see around his towering form at a young teenage boy his English was broken but adorable “you left your headphones on the stereo, and um… your dance was amazing”
“Thank you” reaching out to grab the headphones, a hand grabbed them before you. Namjoon thanked the boy rather seriously, his face looked a little much. The boy ran off, turning to the guys curiously, “he must be nervous around big stars like you guys”
“Yeah that was definitely why he ran away” Jin rolled his eyes. Watching Namjoon hand you the headphones with a smile. The boys were so nice to their fans and strangers. It was nice to see celebrities who didn’t let the fame get to their heads.
“Y/n I am bored, can we play a game?” Taehyung wrapped his arms around you, his head resting on your shoulder. With anyone else, you would question what exactly this meant but you knew it didn’t mean anything romantically inclined. The boys were just super friendly and being quarantined in a building together, they didn’t have many people their age who don’t already work for them to make friends with. You had seen the way they were treated it was all business, every time they tried to approach someone their first words were, ‘what do you need?’ ‘how can I help?’ Not that they didn’t hang out with other employees. You were different from the others, a friend, at least you hoped they thought of you as a friend.
“There is a board game in the basement we can bring upstairs. If we look around there might be other games down there as well,” accompanied by Taehyung and Hoseok the two were excited to explore the basement some more. 
You were shuffling through the pile for the board game you had placed there a day or two ago when you heard Hoseok laughing, “Hey Tae look what I found” glancing over your shoulder thinking it might have been another board game, your blood ran cold however when he held up a small box. It was from the bag of things you had requested from the supply centre.
“Ah wait no, those are mine” launching across the room and snatching it from Hoseok.  “Yours, oh... I’m sorry” Hoseok stopped lost in thought, he felt a little upset that you hadn’t told them you were taken. Worried he might think you were someone you were not, you stammered out an explanation. He watched your mouth open and close for a few seconds and he chuckled. He liked when you were flustered, he didn’t know why but it was endearing.
“Well they aren’t all mine” You clarified and his eyebrows pulled together confused, “I asked the supply people to throw them in, in case anyone was getting a little intimate, but I forgot to hand them over” Taehyung snatched the box from behind your back, “it’s open, have you been using them?” He waved the box at you laughing. 
“No, I asked them to mix and match sizes and styles. So we opened some other packets and got a bunch of different sizes and styles and put them back inside that box. The green ones are latex-free, I don’t know what people prefer and it would suck getting intimate and then realizing that you don’t have your size”
“Hey, they have our size in here” Taehyung grinned held up a foil packet and you wished you hadn’t noticed the XL on the blue square because now it haunted you. You knew when night came and you were trying to sleep, all you will be able to think about is their sizes. “Jin, Namjoon and I are the same so that’s good” 
“Cool...” You mumbled confused on what an appropriate response to that statement would be. Had he not realised you were right there? He noticed your odd expression and lent down wiggling his eyebrows.  “You don’t believe me?” 
Clearing your throat and trying to snatch the box back. He was quick, taking a few from the box. Before reaching up to place it on top of the lockers against the wall. “When you need them just ask and we will get them down for you?” He winked. Hoseok was laughing at your expression and the two grinned, distributing condoms between them. 
“Or if you need them a little urgently you can always come to see us directly we will make sure to give the other boys some too,” Hoseok said feigning seriousness. What did this mean? This couldn’t be an invitation. They were celebrities and you were no one. It wasn’t like that, they were just friendly and playful. Reminding yourself once more that you wouldn’t even talk to each other if not for the quarantine and you knew they had been hanging out with a few other employees so you weren’t special. Hoseok smiled holding the board game and Taehyung had found a stack of regular playing cards and you followed the boys out of the room. 
Pouting the whole way down the corridor and following them into the elevator. The journey to the cafeteria felt like it took forever. Over lunch, you started a game of monopoly. People came to watch the game each finding the ordeal very amusing as this was the only source of entertainment lately. Jungkook won causing the other boys to groan. The group started packing up ready to head upstairs. You went to escape, thinking of stealing a ladder from the maintenance room and getting the box down when Jungkook placed his arm around you. Saying you were his trophy and leading you away.
Jungkook walked you straight into their meeting room “what should we play now?” “Poker,” Slipping out from under Jungkook’s arm and racing behind Taehyung. You reached into his back pockets. His eyes went wide, “and we are playing with these” you pulled the foil packets from Taehyung's back pocket and threw them on the coffee table they all stared at them “Hoseok you too?”
He raised his hands in surrender pulling out the rest from his pocket, after sorting them and giving each coloured packet a price the game began. Being good at bluffing the only person who was a challenge was Yoongi who gave nothing away. The game was lengthy and you watched the boys nervously eyeing the packets as they each lost. Everyone was out except Namjoon and yourself. Currently playing all-in, you had a straight and was feeling pretty good though you bit your lip in feigned nervousness trying to bluff Namjoon who was playing numbers and odds in his head.
“Okay, I’m all in,” Namjoon said looking up with a smile. You hated that smile it meant he knew he won the round. The others looked nervous at their leader huddled around his shoulders.  “come on you got to win them back,” Jimin said with a look of desperation that had you curious, who were they planning to sleep with that they needed condoms anyway.
Showing your cards, Namjoon grinned revealing his much better hand taking the collection. They cheered and you hummed “alright you are making me desperate, I will play my secret stash” you reached down the neck of the dress into your bra and between the fabric were the soft cup sat you pulled out a ‘for her’ studded and ribbed condom. Hesitating you stared at the pretty pink foil packaging it was the only one of its kind in this building. “And if you take this from me I am going to be pissed”
You threw it onto the table and Namjoon’s mouth split as they examined the packet, Hoseok read it out loud and they deliberated and nodded placing it on the table. “Alright, love one last game” Namjoon grinned running his thumb under his bottom lip gazing at you amused as Yoongi dealt the cards.
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Chapter 19 - Mischief and Mayhem
Part 2/10 of In The Meantime
Word Count: 15,445
Warnings: Swearing, discussion of trauma, sexual content.
Genre: Self-insert/Smut/Hurt/Comfort
Pairing: OC (Detective Rachel) X Connor
Rating: Explicit
Summary: In an effort to quell Connor’s misgivings and anxieties, Rachel arranged something of a fun get-together with Hank and Markus and his companions. The goal? Achieve catharsis in whatever way that would be enjoyable. And some of those ways are rather destructive, but Connor finds it all strangely enjoyable and freeing.
What It Means To Be Human | Previous Chapter
---------------------------------
Date: November 14th, 2038  Time: 2:45 PM Rachel - Lover Hank - Friend Markus - Friend North - Friend Josh - Friend Jericho - Allied Objective: Have fun
“Oh, come on! Now you’re just showing off!” Rachel exclaimed angrily while she was still sitting on the slick kitchen floor.
Connor couldn’t stifle the perverse glee of the motion of twirling and flipping each pan in his hands expertly as he juggled them. There was something about the weight and balance of them that felt incredibly satisfying to him. 
The day had progressed as enjoyably as it began, and Connor felt privileged to be able to see the lengths of Rachel’s silliness. As they lingered in the dining room, Rachel suddenly appeared from the kitchen with a pair of floor scrubbers on her feet and a mop in hand, proclaiming herself a mighty warrior and demanding a challenger, of which Markus was the first to accept. This, of course, led to a “battle” of epic proportions, with Rachel fending off the androids, each of them using a mop as though it were a sword.
Hank and Josh decided to stay out and spectate, Hank cheering for Rachel while Josh cheered for the androids. But with Rachel being outnumbered three to one, she was felled easily by Markus and crumpled onto the ground dramatically, pretending to die in an over-the-top fashion as though she were in a Shakespearean tragedy. 
Looking down at Rachel with a giddy smirk, Connor slid over to her in his floor scrubbers. “I have no clue what you mean, Detective.” He teased. “I’m simply making sure I don’t drop any of these pans.”
Rachel scoffed at him with an eyeroll, laughing mostly to herself. “Wiseass.”
“Takes one to know one, Detective.” Connor retorted playfully.
Rachel shook her head, slowly getting up back onto her feet unsteadily. “I’m starting to think that maybe Hank and I are a bad influence on you, Connor.”
“Speak for yourself, Rachel.” Hank responded, standing in the doorway with Josh not willing to risk potentially injuring himself, which was a relief for Connor. “I’m thoroughly enjoying seeing this side of him.”
Hank - Friend ^ There it was. That unrestrained praise that Connor was realizing more and more he had never gotten before from Amanda. To think that he worked so hard for her approval before.
But he doesn’t have to, anymore. He has people worth working hard for. People whose approval actually meant something to Connor.
North slid past Connor, side-eyeing him. “If you think that’s impressive, watch this.” She said to Rachel before sliding her hands into her jacket pocket and pulling out what looked like a set of throwing knives. 
North then started juggling them as expertly as Connor was juggling pans. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her sheer finesse and dexterity. To think that she was a mere sex android before the revolution was a thought that was easy to forget. You’d barely know if you’d met her now. But that only made North that much more intriguing. Her deadliness wasn’t programmed, but learned. It was practiced.
And this was a fact that clearly hadn’t escaped Rachel as she stared at North’s hands, her dark brown eyes wide with wonder as her hands started tentatively flapping with joy. “You can throw knives?” Rachel asked, and excited giddiness sprinkled in her higher-pitched voice. “Like, at people? With accuracy?”
North raised a curious eyebrow at her without stopping her little show. “Yeah.” She replied flatly. “And I can catch them if anyone throws any at me.” She then narrowed her brown eyes at Rachel. “Why?”
The shorter woman’s eyes darted back and forth before they widened in realization. “I just came up with a great idea!”
“Uh-oh.” Josh said preemptively, bumping Hank with his elbow with a smile.
“No no! It’ll be fun!” Rachel reassured them, sliding towards the door to the main hall. “And we can all take part in it! Without risk of injury.”
“Oh good!” Hank said, stretching his back with a crack. “I was starting to worry I was gonna get left out at the end, there.”
Markus then kicked off his scrubbers and tossed aside his sweeper as he followed Rachel outside. Connor did the same, putting his pans back on the counter before following them. “So what’s your idea, then?” The deviant leader asked her.
As they all walked out into the main hall, which was now covered in debris from the various objects and furniture the group ended up destroying. Rachel side-stepped around it, Hank and Josh rounding around the other side from the dining room to meet up where Rachel was going. “Well, I saw that there was a dart board in the game room.” She began explaining, Markus, Connor, and North all following her. “And when North started juggling her knives, I got a brilliant idea.” She then turned to the red-haired android with a smirk. “How many of those bad boys you’ve got in there?”
North returned her smirk as she pulled out five from each pocket. “Enough to keep busy.”
“Ooooooh!” Rachel exclaimed as she stared at them. “Perfect! So we’ll definitely have enough!”
As they all entered the game room, Rachel located the dart board and gestured towards it dramatically with her hand. Connor was curious as to what she was going to suggest next. It filled him with intrigue. 
Connor thought he knew Rachel pretty well after the week-long revolution they’ve gone through, but even now, she still continued to surprise him. It wasn’t difficult to see how she had managed to thread herself in Connor’s circuits. She was endlessly charming and endearing. Indeed, she never failed to be a creature of character and Connor never ceased to be further enthralled by her. And what captivated Connor most was her sheer enthusiasm and passion.
And all of it was genuine. There was nothing that Connor could call fabricated or dishonest about Rachel. In everything she did, everything she was, and everything she believed in, she was completely earnest.
Indeed, it seemed that Rachel made it nearly impossible for Connor not to adore her. His programming may have held back many of his feelings before he accepted his deviancy, but he certainly didn’t hold them back now.
And he never would. Never again. He loved Rachel, he loved Hank, and he loved his friends. He would be a fool to be ashamed of any of that.
“So, we’ve got our dart board, here!” Rachel announced to the group, who were all standing to attention. “Let’s see who’s the best at throwing knives.”
Hank then scoffed at Rachel. “Well, it’s sure not gonna be you. You have shit aim.”
“I tend to, yes.” Rachel agreed. “And yet, I’m quite the sharpshooter when I’m given a deadly weapon.”
“It certainly saved my life enough times over.” Markus agreed, nodding at Rachel pleasantly. Connor couldn’t help but swell with pride on her behalf. “As well as many androids who have you to thank for being alive today.”
To Connor’s surprise, Rachel actually seemed to shrink a bit at Markus’s praise. Her shoulders hunched over as she looked away. “I just...did what I had to do.”
A moment of quiet hung over them all. The air was strangely stale in the afternoon light. “I wish Simon was here.” Josh suddenly said, breaking the silence. That name was familiar to Connor and when he placed why, he felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over and soak itself into his biocomponents. The android on the Stratford Tower. The one who carried out the heist with Markus and shot himself in the head. “He would’ve really enjoyed just spending the time like this. Just...being with friends and actually having fun. Without having to worry about supplying blue blood and biocomponents and wondering if we would be wiped out.”
Rachel then regarded Josh curiously. “I guess you...never really actually hung out before the revolution.” She supposed as her dark eyes flicked over the androids. “Which makes sense. I mean...who can really blame you?”
“He died for his cause.” North chimed in, her arms crossed as she leaned against Markus. “We all miss him, but...I think he would be happy that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”
Markus’s brows furrowed as he looked towards the ground. “I just wish he could see it.”
As Connor regarded his fellow androids, he locked eyes with Hank. The old man shook his head, his bright blue eyes clouded with a solemn sort of sympathy for the androids. Hank was a seasoned lieutenant. He’s likely lost fellow officers before and understands their pain.
But all Connor could feel was guilt. Perhaps if he hadn’t followed Rachel to the roof, Simon would be standing here with his friends. Maybe he would’ve survived. In any case, Connor couldn’t shake off the weight of Simon’s death. It was his fault, and Connor had to take responsibility.
In fact, he had to take responsibility for everything he had done before he accepted his deviancy. Despite having the trust and friendship of the leaders of Jericho, Connor still felt on some level that he didn’t deserve it. And memories like getting Simon killed only served to solidify that doubt.
“Hang on!” Rachel said confidently, interrupting the sombre mood and fixing Connor in her intense gaze. Already, the android detective could tell that wheels were turning in her head as she was putting pieces together in the nebulous enigma that was her brilliant mind. “Simon was put in the archive room along with all the evidence we collected from the deviancy case, right?”
Connor nodded. “Correct.” He replied.
“So, he should still be there, right?” Rachel asked him before she turned to the lieutenant. “Hank, we left when you started beating the shit out of Perkins.”
“Hank physically assaulted an FBI agent?” Josh asked Rachel in surprise, looking between her and the lieutenant.
She gave him a bright smile. “Oh, he did!” Rachel responded joyfully. “And it was fucking awesome!”
“And you can bet your ass that I would gladly do it again if I ever saw that bastard ever again.” Hank proclaimed proudly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
“Well,” North interjected. “I’m impressed.”
“Wait, so,” Markus said, fixing Rachel in his heterochromic stare. “You have Simon? Locked away somewhere?”
“Theoretically.” Rachel hastily told him. “Simon should still be in the archive room at the station provided Perkins didn’t take him.” She then turned to Hank once again. “Did he go into the archive room after we left? Because he showed up at Jericho that same night, so I got the feeling he was in a hurry as soon as he realized we were gone.”
Another stab of guilt for Connor, realizing that he had unwittingly led the FBI straight to Jericho. Granted, his mission had only changed once he actually arrived and met Markus, but that didn’t stop the immense stinging feeling Connor could feel in his chest at the memory.
“Don’t know.” Hank said to Rachel with a shrug. “I was kicked out after kicking enough of the shit outta him. So I have no clue if Simon’s still there.”
Another moment of quiet seemed to descend on the group before someone spoke up. “Should we go check to see if he’s there?” North then asked. “If we can get him back, maybe we can find a way to get him back online, somehow.”
“Well, it’s not gonna be all that soon, I’m sorry to say.” Hank said calmly to North. “Cops and everyone else are working on staying on top of things after the evacuation. I doubt there’d be anyone at the station right now, and I don’t think it’d be safe for any of you to just start pulling androids out of evidence.”
“But we can’t just leave him in there!” Josh interjected. “He’s one of us, even if we can’t bring him back, he deserves a proper memorial at the least.”
“I’m not saying we leave him in there!” Hank retorted back. He shook his head with a sigh, leaning back further against the wall. “Look, we can’t get him right now, but I doubt it’ll be long for things to be normal at the department at least. I’m keeping tabs on the precinct right now for any updates, so...if I get word of anything, I’ll let you know and we can try to go get him.” He proposed to them. “Got it?”
“Please.” Markus replied, his eyes pleading. “As soon as you get word, let us know.”
“Yeah, yeah. I will.” Hank said to Markus, giving him a patient smile. “Besides, I don’t think Rachel will let me forget it. Or let me live it down if I do.”
“Nope, absolutely not.” Rachel said confidently, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised at him.
It was odd to see Hank in this position. To think that he was so vehemently against androids and so hostile before was almost unthinkable, seeing the lieutenant comforting their friends this way. And the fact that Hank was unapologetic about his newfound perspective on androids made Connor feel as though perhaps he could atone for his past crimes.
Perhaps he could make amends after all. In any case, the prospect of perhaps bringing Simon back to life and reuniting him with his close friends gave Connor hope. Hope that perhaps he would consider himself deserving of the friendships he had gained after everything.
“But until then,” Rachel’s voice cut through Connor’s thoughts with ease as she approached them. “Let’s see who’s best at throwing knives. I’m gonna bet that it’s Connor because he’s perfect at everything and this seems like it would be right up his alley.”
Rachel - Lover ^ North - Friend ^ Connor could barely suppress the bloom on his cheeks at her praise. “We’ll see about that.” North challenged, an edge of competition to her prideful demeanour. Her challenge was only further exemplified when she handed Rachel one of her knives with the handle facing her. “But, since this was your idea, why don’t you go first?”
Rachel nodded, holding the knife and stepping forward. “Great idea!” She agreed. “I’m probably gonna suck, since I’ve never done this before. But who cares? This is supposed to be fun.” But as she stepped up, preparing herself, she then grew rather meek and nervous as her stress level fluctuated slightly. She wasn’t distressed, just a little nervous and unsure. “Um...you’re gonna have to actually show me what to do, because I have no clue what I’m doing.”
North rolled her eyes and approached Rachel. “Well, first of all,” she said, putting her hands on Rachel’s shoulders, “you’re standing too close. Back up a bit.”
Rachel’s eyes widened at the contact and a familiar reaction to North’s touch made Connor’s software stutter briefly. “O-okay, yep.” Increased heart rate. Flushed cheeks. Something unpleasant sparked within Connor as he observed them.
North then put her hand on Rachel’s, causing a brief gasp to escape her. “Grip the knife like this, thumb up and fingers around, like that.” She instructed folding her hands over Rachel’s to correct her grip. “And stand with your right foot out and your left behind you.”
Rachel further continued to blush as she obeyed North’s instructions. However, when she glanced in Connor’s direction and made eye contact with him, the smallest ghost of a smirk on her face was made known to him. “Uh, like this?” She asked, leaning further into North’s touch.
“Yeah, exactly.” North encouraged. “Now, how far you bend your arm back depends on how far from the target you are.” She then began pulling Rachel’s arm back behind her head. “From short range, you throw with your elbow bent and your wrist behind your head.”
“Okay.” Rachel replied, leaning more into North’s touch, glancing back at Connor. The android grew more and more confused. Was Rachel actively trying to make Connor feel these unpleasant feelings? Or was she simply being her typical mischievous self?
And more importantly, what did these strange feelings mean? He wasn’t certain and Connor couldn’t place a name for it.
“And, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to tell you how to throw something.” North said, stepping back and detaching from Rachel and standing next to Markus.
Rachel then gave a nervous laugh. “Y-yeah, I think I’ve got that.”
[Confront Rachel]
Ask Hank
[Say Nothing]
As Connor observed her, he stepped back towards Hank. He didn’t like the feeling it gave him and he wanted to be sure of it in case it interfered with his relationship with Rachel. The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize it.
“Lieutenant?” He whispered to the old man. “Can I ask you something?”
Hank shrugged. “Shoot, I’m all ears.”
“Do you find Rachel’s reaction to North...strange?” Connor asked.
“What?” Hank asked, confused.
Rachel
North
Strange Feeling
“I’m concerned for the state of our relationship.” Connor admitted, shuffling nervously in place. “I’m feeling something I can’t describe, but it’s unpleasant and it was triggered by how close North and Rachel were to each other and Rachel’s reactions to it.”
Hank - Friend ^ Hank then rolled his eyes, seeming to finally understand. “That’s jealousy, Connor.” He said flatly. “It’s a normal thing that happens.”
Jealousy. Interesting. Interesting and alarming. “What is it typically triggered by?”
“A lot of things, Connor.” Hank replied. “Someone being better at something than you that you’re working hard on. Someone you like or care about a lot spending more time with someone else rather than you. It’s a normal thing that happens, but it’s also kinda stupid and irrational.”
That didn’t serve to comfort the android. “How so?” He asked.
“Well, I can tell you that Rachel is obviously not gonna run off with someone else.” Hank assured Connor. “She loves you a lot and she’s not the type who goes behind people’s backs about shit like that. If you ever needed to be worried about something like that, you’d be the first to know because she’d outright tell you. She ain’t got the patience for two-faced bullshit like that. So, you ain’t got anything to worry about.”
Connor nodded, Hank’s confidence and experience with Rachel calming Connor’s innermost doubts. “I see.”
“And don’t worry about how she acts around North, okay?” Hank continued. “She’s just weak for a pretty face. You remember her reaction to the android at Kamski’s place? She’s real fuckin’ gay and has a pretty big thing for someone who can kick her ass.”
Connor tilted his head curiously. “I thought she was bisexual.”
“She is.” Hank groaned with increasing exasperation. “But her reaction to girls is different than her reaction to guys. So, she tends to label it that way herself. But the point is, you’ve got nothin’ to worry about, Connor.” He then shrugged. “Plus, you know how she is. She’s a lil’ shit and it’s real entertaining to her to cause a little mayhem. It’s the whole reason some girls like seeing guys get kinda jealous. I personally don’t get it, but who the Hell am I to judge?”
“Noted.” Connor went back to observing Rachel, feeling a lot better. Jealousy was a normal emotion, but it wasn’t rooted in rationality. That was easy information to contend with and Connor’s trust in Rachel far outweighed whatever irrational unpleasant feeling threatened to jeopardize that.
If Hank was confident that their relationship wouldn’t be compromised because of it, Connor trusted him.
With a thunk, the throwing knife landed cleanly on the dart board. Not in the centre, but it wasn’t close to the edges, either. “Huh!” Rachel said, clearly impressed with herself. “Not too bad for my first actual try throwing a knife.” She then turned to the others with a smirk. “Alright, who’s next?”
Markus then stepped forward. “I guess I’ll give it a shot.” He said with a nervous laugh.
North then pressed one of her knives into his hand and pecked his cheek. “Just do it like I showed her.” She assured him.
Rachel then let Markus step in front of her. She backed up and found her place by Connor and didn’t hesitate to take his hand in hers and squeeze it, looking up at him with a sly smile.
With a thunk, Markus’s knife embedded itself into the dart board not quite in the centre, but closer than Rachel’s did. “Not bad.” Rachel said, impressed. “Alright, let’s see if Josh’s got this.”
The black man snickered as North handed him one of her knives and stepped back. “I’m sure it’s not that hard.” He insisted dismissively. Yet, as Josh prepared to make his target, his hands trembled slightly. And after a long moment of waiting with baited breath, he finally threw the knife at the target.
And it landed just on the outer edge.
It was met with snickers from Rachel, North, and Markus, while Josh whipped around, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. “You guys made it look easy!”
“Josh, chill.” Rachel said, waving him off. “We didn’t even do that good. We did decently. Besides, for all of us except for North, this is a first.”
“Exactly.” North assured Josh, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Besides, I wasn’t great at first, either. It took a lot of practice for me to get good at it.”
Rachel nodded. “Right!” She agreed. “It takes practice.”
“Yeah, well.” Hank said, carefully shouldering past the others, taking the knife North offered him. “I can’t do much worse than that.”
Josh then threw up his arms. “Hey!”
“I mean, don’t fucking jynx it, Hank.” Rachel interjected. “Fate is a cruel mistress and she has no Goddamn self-control.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m well aware.” Hank waved her off, throwing an icy glare back at her, to which she only smugly grinned at him. As Connor regarded her for that moment, he noticed what Hank was talking about earlier. She did indeed seem to derive pleasure from the mild annoyance of others. But going through every catalogued memory of her didn’t seem to turn up any sort of malicious intent from her antics. Just...general mischief, it seemed. And the android would be lying if that wasn’t something he found charming about her.
So perhaps Hank was right in that Rachel may be doing all this on purpose to get a rise out of Connor. And begrudgingly, she was succeeding.
The android’s extrospective thoughts were cut off by a dull thunk of another knife. However, instead of being embedded in the dart board, it was instead embedded in the wall below it. And after a moment, stifled snickers followed as everyone else tried not to laugh.
Hank, being his typical irritable self, shrugged with a grumble and shuffled back towards Connor and Rachel. “Yeah, that’s just about what I fuckin’ expected.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, sir.” Markus consoled with a pleasant smile. “I’m sure with enough practice, you’ll get it.”
“Well,” Rachel interjected, “if Hank was able to do a decent job picking up on Connor’s coin tricks as quickly as he did, I’m sure knife throwing won’t be too difficult for him.”
Connor then cocked his head at the both of them curiously. “I didn’t realize that he actually tried them.” He said.
“Oh yeah, after he took it from you on the Stratford Tower, he started trying it himself.” Rachel explained to Connor with a signature cheeky grin. “He actually did pretty decently. Not as gracefully and impressively as you, but he did pick up on it pretty quickly. With enough practice, he might even get as good as you.”
Hank laughed. “Right, whatever you say, kiddo.”
“Hey!” Rachel barked at him, smacking his shoulder. “No put-downs in this household, Hank! In this house, we all love and respect Hank Anderson.”
Connor then smiled at the lieutenant in agreement. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Hank - Family ^ Hank then gave Connor a playful shove in response. “Yeah, love you too, son.”
Connor couldn’t help but melt a little at the fact that the lieutenant just referred to the android as “son.” Granted, it probably wasn’t literal. After all, humans weren’t keen on their loved ones simply being replaced, as Rachel made quite evident in her insistence that Connor be more mindful of his physical safety.
But even the thought that Hank viewed Connor as a son figure to him made something warm bloom in him. And it was much different than the feeling Rachel gave him when she smiled at Connor. Hank clearly struggled and tormented himself over the loss of Cole. And he blamed androids for his son’s death until now, and when Connor stepped into the lieutenant’s life, all Hank could see was one of the machines that killed Cole.
The idea that Hank saw Connor as family just as much as he saw Rachel was an idea that added just that much more purpose to Connor’s life. A purpose that he was still discovering not only in his newfound deviancy, but in his newly gained freedom.
Something that no one could take from him. Not anymore. Not ever again. And it seemed to Connor that he would have to remind himself of this frequently until he really and truly believed it.
“Hey, Connor!” North then said, breaking through Connor’s reflective thoughts. “You’re up!”
The former deviant hunter glanced back at Rachel before he walked toward North. “Who wants to bet that Connor’s gonna get a perfect bullseye on his first try?”
“Nobody, because you’re probably right.” Hank jested.
Taking the throwing knife from North, Connor couldn’t help but take in her features. From Connor’s perspective, it wasn’t difficult to see how Rachel could become so flustered in her presence. Along with her bold, tough, and brash nature, she was also pleasant on the eyes.
Indeed, North was very pretty. And it seemed that Connor had found something else in common with Rachel. Perhaps, as Hank put it, they both had a weakness for a pretty face.
Diverting his attention from North, Connor made several calculations in rapid succession. From the distance between himself and the bullseye, the weight and centre of gravity of the throwing knife, to the angle of his arm, he took in every detail.
And then, with deadly precision, he threw the knife. And it landed in the dead centre with a sharp thump.
“Called it!” Rachel’s voice chimed from behind him.
Just as much behind him were groans. “Of course he’d get it right in the middle.” Josh remarked in light-hearted frustration. “Figures that CyberLife’s most advanced model would get the bullseye.”
Markus - Friend ^ Connor glanced back at them seeing them all smiling between each other. “Maybe he’s just good with his hands.” Markus added, winking at Connor.
The shudder it sent through Connor was a strange one. And Rachel’s response made Connor realize that it was definitely intentional. “Oh, trust me. He is.” She said with a deliberate tone to her voice.
“Alright, keep it in your pants.” Hank grumbled at them, eliciting a laugh from everyone. But the strangest part was that Connor wasn’t sure who the lieutenant’s exasperated comment was actually directed at.
But now Connor understood Rachel’s reaction to North much better.
North - Friend ^ “If you think that’s impressive, watch this.” The red-haired android said, shouldering past Connor. The detective android stepped back to give her space as immediately, several knives were thrown at the dart board.
And all of them landed in the bullseye, sticking out of the dart board like a morbid bouquet made of steel and threateningly sharp edges.
And it seemed everyone was impressed by her. “Woooooooooah...” Rachel gasped in awe. North then turned to look back at Rachel with a prideful smile on her face. “That was so fucking cool! I’ve actually always wanted to learn how to throw knives because I just always thought it was super neat!”
North then chuckled at her, grabbing her hand gently. “Well, now you know.” She encouraged, and Connor felt that unpleasant prickle in his software again at the blush that formed on her cheeks. “So keep practicing, and maybe you’ll get as good as me.” The android then turned to everyone. “That goes for all of you!”
“Yeah, right.” Josh scoffed at her. “As if any of us can compete with that!”
“Well,” Rachel piped up, “except for Connor, of course.” 
Rachel - Lover ^ Connor gave his partner an appreciative smile.
Her dark eyes then widened with excitement. “Wait! You can catch knives, too. Right?”
North nodded, her eyebrow raised skeptically. “Yes, why?”
“Can you teach me?”
Connor felt another uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen. But it was a different feeling than what he identified as jealousy before. This came from a different place. A place of worry and concern. And this was a feeling he was much more familiar with. The feeling of worrying about something bad happening to Rachel.
Intervene
[Say Nothing]
“Uh, sure.” North accepted sheepishly. “I guess I can teach you. But it’s not as easy to learn as throwing, definitely. And you might end up getting hurt.”
“I think that might be too dangerous, Rachel.” Connor interrupted, stepping close and putting his arm around her. “Perhaps under different circumstances, I’d be more open to the idea, but now hardly seems like a good time.”
Rachel then scoffed at him and brushed his hand off, much to the android’s irritation. “Right, as if throwing knives is any better in ‘these circumstances.’” Connor didn’t appreciate being dismissed so flippantly, especially when it came to her safety. “Besides, I didn’t ask you if you were open to it. Since when did I let you decide shit like that for me, hm?”
Connor stared her down as she turned to fix him in her intense gaze. Her tone held a slight edge of annoyance to it, but it seemed less annoyed and more teasing.
Persist
[Give Up]
But he wouldn’t be swayed by her wiles. “You told me to be more mindful of my physical wellbeing, which I did for you and for Hank.” Connor evenly scolded Rachel. “So I suggest you do the same.”
Another scoff. Another dismissive and flippant scoff in the face of potentially getting herself injured by accident. “I doubt I’m gonna get killed, Connor.” She continued to insist, accompanied by a heavy eye roll. “And besides, what are you? My mom? I don’t take orders from you.”
Scold
Order
Warn
[Give Up]
Connor’s irritation at her brazen attitude was beginning to boil over as his hands clenched, the tension making them shake. “Then you’d better learn to, Detective.”
“Oooooooooh!” The others all said in unison.
“I don’t think you’re gonna win this, Connor.” Hank tried to discourage the android. “She’s the most stubborn girl alive.”
“Mm.” North hummed. “Sounds like I’ve got some competition, then.”
“You and Rachel working together would be quite the sight, I feel like.” Markus remarked, pulling North close to him in Connor’s peripheral vision.
“They’d better watch out, then.” North teased him back.
Josh let out a hasty breath. “Yeah, no kidding.”
Rachel continued staring Connor down, looking up at him as she stood toe-to-toe with him. He had to admit that it was amusing seeing Rachel try to intimidate him despite being so short compared to him. “And what if I don’t, Connor?” She challenged him, the glint in her eyes blazing and scorching. “What exactly are you gonna do about it, hm?”
Diffuse
Threaten
[Give Up]
That was enough for Connor to catch on. If he wasn’t sure before, he was at least 79% sure that her seemingly innocuous teasing behaviour all day was being done deliberately to wind him up. But he wouldn’t get his answer with everyone staring at them. “Why don’t we take this outside, Detective?” He suggested.
Rachel’s eyebrow quirked at him, the smirk on her face only driving Connor more and more towards simply grabbing her and pushing her against a wall to claim her without caring about the others. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to snuff out her smug and flippant attitude and he himself had grown an overwhelming urge to make it known to her that she was his.
She was Connor’s and Connor’s alone, and he wanted her to know that as deeply as possible. He wanted to embed it into her very soul.
“You sound pretty serious, Connor.” Rachel mocked sarcastically before gesturing towards the door with her head. “Let’s take this upstairs.” She then already started walking out of the game room, not even bothering to wait for Connor. “Don’t stop on our account, by the way! I wanna see how good you guys get at this once we get back!”
“Sure thing!” Hank called after them.
Walking up the stairs, Connor followed Rachel dutifully. Throughout the whole day, there was so much excitement rushing through his veins. Connor couldn’t imagine feeling more excited.
But that excitement was very quickly turning into something darker. Something far more primal and possessive. For as much as Rachel was encouraging him to act out and be a delinquent - to “channel his inner bastard,” as it were - she was also igniting something fierce in him. The little ways she’d look at him, lean against something, lean against him in what seemed to be a very deliberate way, or the way she’d talk back at him.
Which irritated Connor, but not in a way he could recognize as genuine anger. Because it wasn’t. It was something very specific he couldn’t identify. Something that made Connor want nothing more than to confine Rachel to a room and ravage her until she didn’t have the strength to talk back at him.
Indeed, it was a sense of wanting to strip her of and make her surrender her sense of pride. Something she had plenty of and was indeed one of Rachel’s many charms.
Following Rachel, he found himself in a lavish bedroom. His eyes fixed on the sway of her hips. This had to be deliberate. She had to be trying to drive his processors crazy on purpose. There was no way she was doing any of this by accident. 
No, Rachel was far too clever for any of this to be an accident. Far too devious. If there was one thing Connor learned about her, it was that her actions were purposeful. She wasn’t someone who took well to her actions or words being misinterpreted. As she turned around to lean against a dresser, she looked at him with lidded, dark, sultry eyes that practically beckoned him closer.
Scold
Warn
Tease
But he wouldn’t let her have the upper hand. Not this time. “I don’t know what you think you’ve been doing, but you’d better watch your attitude, Detective.”
In typical Rachel fashion, she simply scoffed at him, defiance staring back at him. “Whatever could you mean?” She asked coyly, but her tone too was deliberate. She knew exactly what she was doing. “Oh right! You think you can tame me. Now, that’s adorable that you think you can control someone as proud and unrestrained and shameless as me. That’s so cute!”
Irritation flared up in Connor as he stalked closer, taking dangerously slow steps as he stared her down. “I’d advise you to watch your mouth.”
“Or what?” Rachel challenged him, her legs crossed as she stared at him.
Tease
Warn
[Kiss]
Rachel - Lover ^ Connor then chuckled, his lips curled into a knowing smirk. He approached her, grabbing her jaw and running his thumb along her lip. “Or I’ll find a much better use for it.”
Rachel gave him a mocking smile as she stared at him intensely, her dark eyes glittering with unbridled defiance. “Make me, then.”
That was all the permission he needed.
Swiftly turning around to close and then lock the door behind them, Connor briskly walked up to Rachel and pushed her back against the mirror above the dresser, practically bruising her lips with his own as he held her face in a vice grip. The brief surprised gasp and then series of needy moans only made Connor more and more determined. He knew her well enough to know that she was quite the harlot, and after all her teasing earlier, Connor couldn’t even hold himself back.
The moment her hands went up to tangle themselves in his hair, Connor suddenly grabbed Rachel’s left hand and pinned it to the dresser, their hands deskinned and their feelings connected once more. It indeed confirmed his suspicion that this was all deliberate, but what pleased him even more to discover was just how pliant she was and how eager she was to be taken control of like this.
But that wasn’t enough for the android. With his other hand, Connor grabbed her hips roughly and harshly grinded his tightly concealed erection against her clothed heat, causing her to break their kiss and expose her neck. Oh, how amusing it was for her to proclaim how untamable she was, yet she exposed herself so willingly for him.
It was almost too easy.
As he started biting and sucking on her neck, determined to mark her, Connor felt Rachel try to pull her hand away, only for Connor to wrench it and maintain a tight grip on it. “No!” He growled into her ear, grinding into her harder. “I want you to feel what you’ve been doing to me!”
“A-ah!” Was all she could choke out. All she could whimper. “F-fuck - shit!”
Her involuntary curses only made him more and more impatient. He needed release. He needed it badly. But after her little game with him, he knew only once wouldn’t be enough for him, and he could sense that she wouldn’t mind that one bit.
But oh, all the ways he could humble her. All the ways he could further dirty her, control her, drive her insane the way she’d been doing to him. They’d only had sex once, and that was the night Jericho had been attacked. And he had to admit, he was indeed thinking of all the ways he could fuck her into submission all day.
But what to choose? What to start with? What was he most curious to see? After all, half the fun of this were the  sounds and the faces she made. The pure unrestrained bliss and pleasure that she couldn’t hold back because of him.
Vaginal
Digital
Oral
He settled on one method and pulled back, letting go of her and staring at her in the eye with as commanding of a look as he could muster. “Get on your knees in front of me.” Connor ordered.
Rachel swallowed and obeyed immediately, following him off the dresser and kneeling before him, looking up at him expectantly. Connor could barely hold back the thrill of seeing her so easily submit to him. For as much of a self-proclaimed bastard as she was, she did aim to please.
Indeed, she could be a very good girl when given the right incentive.
Connor wasted no time unzipping his fly, gently caressing Rachel’s face with one hand while the other worked to free his aching cock. Her blissed expression and contented hum as she pressed her face further into his hand reminded Connor that this wasn’t just something done without feeling.
No, they loved each other. They loved each other so much. This was a result of trust and of want and nothing less than that.
But the android was growing impatient, so slipping his member out of his boxers, he roughly jerked her face up by her chin and pressed the blue-tinged head against her cheek, smearing pre-cum on it. “Suck.” He ordered.
For a moment, she hesitated, and Connor wondered if perhaps he went too far. “H-hang on.” She relented, swiping her hair out of her face with a hand.
Connor suddenly felt rather awkward and sheepish and paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, Rachel.” He apologized. “Is this too much?”
“No! No, not at all.” Rachel reassured Connor with a smooth honeyed tone to her voice. “It’s just...I don’t have the best gag reflex, so, y’know...keep that in mind.”
Connor nodded, relieved that she wasn’t afraid or uncomfortable. “I understand.” He assured her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He then got an idea that he hoped would be comforting to her. “Just tap on me once if you want me to go faster, twice if you want me to slow down, and three times if you want me to stop. Got it?”
Rachel - Lover ^ Rachel nodded, seeming to understand. “Got it.”
Letting Rachel set the pace, Connor hissed through his teeth when she grabbed his throbbing member and licked a stripe up it from the hilt to the head. It took all of his willpower not to look away or close his eyes from the sheer pleasure of her swirling her tongue around his head. This felt much different than the feeling of her walls tightening and clenching around him. Connor wasn’t sure if this was better or not, but he certainly enjoyed it.
And his enjoyment only skyrocketed the moment she wrapped her lips around him and sunk onto him, closing her eyes and grabbing Connor’s hips. He wanted so so badly to buck his hips into her mouth. To bunch his hands in her hair and mercilessly fuck her face.
But he didn’t know what her limits were and he wasn’t willing to test them without knowing. After all, her comfort was paramount to his wants when it came to this.
That didn’t change the fact that it was getting increasingly more difficult to hold himself back when she was moaning and sighing into it. “Sh-shit!” He hissed. The vibrations from her voice and her throat were only serving to make Connor more and more impatient. And her facial expressions. He knew what her blissful looks were, but if this was how she looked, pleasuring him, he hoped he looked just as enthusiastic when he was performing cunnilngus on her.
Up and down Rachel bobbed her head, eagerly and expertly sucking him off. Then, seemingly as a test, she took as much of him as humanly possible, stuttering and gagging for a moment once her nose pressed against his naval.
“Fuck!” But then Rachel swallowed around him, and Connor nearly lost his mind then and there, throwing his head back with a loud and rough groan. 
Connor grabbed Rachel’s hair and yanked her off his cock, briefly relishing in the pleasured moan she gave in response, filing that detail for later. Looking down at her, her dark eyes wide with confusion as she stared up at him, his cock twitching in anticipation in front of her lips. The android had to catch his breath, even though he didn’t need to breathe. “Do that again.” He ordered.
Smiling up at him in understanding, Rachel nodded, wrapping her lips around him and taking in a sharp breath before taking in his full member and swallowing around him once more, the sensation making Connor’s sensors nearly fry. Going back to bobbing her head up and down, the pleasant sounds vibrating around him, Rachel glanced up at him, a coy and devilish look in her eyes as she kept eye contact with him. He didn’t even realize just how much he enjoyed that before. But the fact that Rachel was making eye contact with him while she was sucking on him made this experience feel far more intimate.
But Connor wanted more. And he knew that if he didn’t warn her, he might accidentally hurt her. “I-I need to move.” He stuttered, his voice cracking slightly with static. “Are you alright if I do?”
Rather than tap on him, as they had agreed, Rachel instead took his hands and put them on her head, deskinning her left so he could feel what she was feeling.
And he could sense a clear answer. Go ahead, I’m all yours.
That was enough for him.
Setting a moderate and even pace, Connor gripped Rachel’s short brown hair and started to thrust into her mouth, groaning and hissing at it. This was exactly what he needed to satiate his craving. To not only feel her mouth around him, but to use her. And if the obscene sounds she was making were any indication, she did not seem to mind.
Connor did not think he would enjoy the feeling of Rachel gagging on him as much as he did, but by his makers, he really did. He wasn’t even sure why, but he didn’t even want to question it. All he wanted was to lose himself in this feeling, cursing and gasping all the while.
Tap. Tap.
Taking her warning, Connor slowed down. Briefly alarmed that he might’ve hurt her, he glanced down at her. But her eyes were still screwed shut and she was still moaning and swallowing around him contentedly.
He kept his pace, trying to keep his own release at bay. But he wanted to cum. Oh, he wanted to paint Rachel’s darling throat white and he wanted her to swallow all of him. But he needed to work around her needs and her limits.
Tap.
After a few moments of thrusting and wet slicking sounds, Connor felt a singular tap on his leg, and took that as his signal to increase the pace.
As he bucked into her mouth harder and faster, her moaning and whining became louder and more uncontrollable. Her grip on his hips tightened, and Connor’s grip on her hair did the same. So Rachel liked having her hair pulled. That was a fact Connor was going to thoroughly experiment with shortly.
Tap.
But for now, he had to finish this. He was getting close and even Rachel seemed to want him to finish. His thrusts were becoming more and more erratic as he was starting to lose his ability to focus as his release drew near. And he knew exactly how he wanted it. “I want you to take it all, Rachel.” He growled at her from above him, causing her to glance up at him. “I want you to take it and swallow every last drop! I want it all down your fucking throat!”
Rachel responded with an eager gulp and a squeeze at his hips. Connor took that as a signal to wrap this up. Snapping his hips into her mouth at a brutal speed, he timed his last thrust accordingly and buried his cock into the back of her throat as much as he could as he let out the most guttural and feral groan he was sure he’d ever made as he felt her swallow around him, shuddering as he felt himself throb and spurt into her mouth.
He nearly buckled to the ground, having to keep himself steady with a hand on the dresser, as he felt her swallow around his head repeatedly, trying to swallow and take every last stream of his synthetic cum.
After a few moments, certain that he had finished, Connor pulled out roughly, his cock hanging limp as it slid out of Rachel’s mouth, a thread of saliva still connecting them. The moment Connor had slipped out of her mouth, Rachel began sputtering coughs and gripping her throat and Connor wondered for a moment if he had hurt her. But he assured himself that she knew her limits and wasn’t hurt.
But he still wanted to be sure. “Are you alright?” He asked, extending a hand. 
Rachel took his gratefully, wiping her lips and standing up to her feet. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She said between weak half-coughs. She swallowed as she looked at Connor, seemingly impressed with herself. “I just didn’t think I had that in me.”
“But it was good, wasn’t it?” Connor asked, wanting to make sure he was good to her.
“Oh, fuck yeah.” Rachel replied with confidence, smiling in a way that made Connor feel a certain hardness return. “Gotta say, not nearly as bitter as the real thing. I can definitely get behind that.”
Connor made a note that Rachel enjoyed performing fellatio on him for another time. “And you’re sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rachel assured him, resting her left hand on his cheek. “You did really good.”
The brief rush that her praise sent through him was snuffed out by his still unquenched desire. He gave her a dark smirk that made her eyes go wide. “Good.” Was all he said before he whipped her around so that her back was pressed against his chest and she was pushed against the dresser. “Because I’m not quite finished with you, love.” He purred into her ear, earning quite the delighted and shocked whimper from Rachel. He slipped his other hand between her legs and rubbed her along her clothed sex, making her legs quiver in response. “Such a shame you had to be such a tease to me all day now that you’re being such a good girl for me.”
“A-ah!” Rachel mewled, clutching onto his hand with hers as she trembled and shivered in his touch. The way she arched her back against him as she pressed further into the android’s chest, nuzzling her head into his cheek and gently exposing her neck to him made Connor want to take her right then and there. “C-Connor!” She yelped when he bit into her neck once more and sucked at her tender flesh. “Th-they’ll hear us!”
Connor smiled into her neck, knowing that those were empty words. A warning that was technically true, but he could feel as clear as day her hunger. Oh, she wanted this. She needed this. And she had no shame about any part of this dalliance between them.
Rachel didn’t care that they might be heard from their companions below. In fact, Connor sensed a rather amusing thrill from her at the prospect of potentially being caught in the act. Something that made his processors crackle with intensity at the thought. While he had the better sense not to act on it, there was something extremely alluring and motivating about the thought of being caught by the others as he ravaged her in front of them. Showing them that Rachel was his. Showing them just what a delinquent android was capable of.
That he was no one’s master. That the android had control over the human and that she had no complaints about it. That she willingly submitted to him and his control.
But what was that worth if he didn’t get mutual confirmation that they both wanted this? And that was exactly what he was going to do in the cruelest and most teasing way possible. After all, an eye for an eye, as the saying goes.
[Continue]
[Finish]
It was only fair, after all.
“You say that as though you don’t want them to.” Connor purred into her skin, slipping his hand underneath the fabric and brushing past her clit, causing Rachel to jump with a loud whimper. 
The shiver in her spine and the wave it sent through her was easily felt by the android at being called out so plainly. Oh, the way it sliced through her ego was more than enough for Connor to continue. 
He got a rather devious idea and clamped his right hand over Rachel’s mouth and slid two of his fingers along her sex, very pleased to discover that she was practically dripping for him. His fingers slipped right into her sopping entrance with ease, and he started mercilessly working her into a needy mess. The whimpers that filled the room as he caged her between his elbows was absolute euphoria to him as he worked to completely undo her with only his hand.
But he could feel her still trying to hold back the volume of her pleasure. Indeed, the lionhearted Rachel was still desperately trying to cling onto whatever pride and dignity she had left. A circumstance that Connor was more than eager to change. 
“It’s so cute how you’re still trying to hold back.” He teased into her ear, only increasing the speed and friction of his ministrations. “As if you’re not something of an exhibitionist yourself. Am I correct?”
That sent what felt like a lightning bolt through her as she turned her face away from him, refusing to look Connor in the eye. The way she looked in the mirror directly in front of them, and how completely dominant and powerful Connor looked gave him a rather interesting idea. Moving his hand from her mouth, Connor grabbed Rachel’s jaw harshly and forced her to face the mirror. “Well?” He asked her mockingly as he bucked against her from behind against the dresser, causing her to yelp. “Nothing to say? You’re usually so outspoken.”
“F-fuck you!” She spat at him, but one curl of Connor’s fingers was enough to make Rachel melt into his control as she whimpered. Her legs trembled. Connor knew she was drawing close, but he wanted to drag this out long enough for her resistance to crumble.
He had a goal far larger than simply bringing her to orgasm. No, he wanted to absolutely break her. And all he needed to do was have her begging for him. To have the mighty and headstrong Rachel a pleading shameless mess for Connor.
And he knew just how to do it.
“You are truly captivating, my love.” Connor praised as he continued his ministrations at a painfully teasing and cruel pace. “You have no shame. You are absolutely enjoying every moment of this and you don’t care who hears. You wouldn’t want this to stop until I decided I was finished with you.” He purred, nipping at her soft and delicate ears as she moaned and whined in his grasp. “And yet, you’re still too proud to admit it out loud. Too embarrassed to admit how badly you want me to ruin you or how little you care about getting caught.” 
He slowed the pump of his fingers, angling his palm so that it didn’t slide against her swollen nub. “And as much as I find it endlessly fascinating,” Connor removed his hand from her jaw and fastened it around Rachel’s throat. “I’d like to hear you say it!”
For a moment, Connor feared he was accidentally hurting her, but the sinfully blissful smile on Rachel’s face as her eyelids fluttered encouraged him to finish this. The way her dark brown eyes rolled back in her head and the shudders that coursed through her body made Connor throw all caution to the wind as he dove right back into her sex, wanting nothing more than to wreck her.
As she whimpered and cried out, Connor could practically feel her dignity and pride ooze and slip between his fingers as she pressed into him, losing herself completely. 
“Y-yes!” Rachel managed to cry out between moans and gasps, strained by the hold Connor had on her throat. “Fuck! I want you so bad! I don’t fucking care if all of Detroit hears us! I just want you! I want you to touch me, bite me, mark me, fuck me! Oh God, I want you to fuck me! I want you to fucking wreck me!” Yes! Oh, yes! The growls that erupted from her was exactly what he wanted to hear. “God, please! Please, please, please, please fuck me!” And the way her pleas rolled off her tongue so quickly and rapidly for him made Connor’s own pride swell greatly.
He didn’t think he would enjoy the sounds of begging so much, but by CyberLife, Connor didn’t think he would ever want to hear anything less ever again. It was his own personal symphony. Like a theatre, the others may be able to catch it from outside, but this was a show for him. Only he had the privilege to hear it sung for him.
Planting a soft and tender kiss to the crook of Rachel’s neck, Connor whispered sweetly to his human partner. “As you wish, my lionheart.”
Pistoning his fingers into Rachel and curling them just right, Connor knew she would be cumming soon. And when she did, Connor would really push her limits. She was so resilient and strong, and he wanted to see just how much she could take.
And afterwards? Well, he would take good care of the love of his life. He would make sure she knew how much he cherished and loved her. For everything. For how much she encouraged him. How much she believed in and stood by him. And most importantly, how genuinely she loved and cared about him for who he was. How much she earnestly enjoyed his company and him just being with her.
Disconnecting from Connor, Rachel reached up and gripped Connor by the back of his head as her own slumped against him. “C-Connor!” She cried out. “C-Con - I’m - fuck - I’m gonna -”
“I know, darling.” He hadn’t used such affectionate names, but they seemed to tumble out of him in this moment between them. He barely even noticed it, but upon doing so, there was an underlying softness beneath it all. “Cum for me, dear. I’ve got you.”
Planting tender kisses anywhere his lips could find, Connor cradled her as she shuddered. Her walls clamped around his fingers as a broken whimpering cry tore through the air and ripped out of her lungs, her arms clutching on tightly to Connor as she came.
Gently working her through her orgasm, Rachel was panting, slumping against him, moaning quietly at him. Taking his hand off her throat, Connor instead guided Rachel to lean against the dresser, her hands crossed in front of her with her head resting on them.
Yet as she did so, Connor became painfully aware of his strained erection against her backside. He made a pledge to push her to her limits, and he was curious as to his own. So, taking his hand out from her pants, Connor brought his fingers to his lips and licked them clean, making eye contact with Rachel in the mirror. 
A quick vital scan showed her arousal spike once again. It truly was amusing how easily riled up she could get. Hooking his thumbs into her waistband, Connor slowly slid her pants and her underwear down her legs, exposing her swollen and glistening womanhood to him, Connor feeling his breath get siphoned out of him at the sight of it.
As Connor teasingly slid his cock against her slit, lubricating it with ease, Rachel gave the android an inquisitive side-eye as she moaned at the stimulation. Connor offered her a playful smirk as he ran his hands along her sides. “You did say that my goal today was to do everything Amanda would either simply not want me doing or everything she would hate me doing.” He repeated cheekily. “And she didn’t exactly care for you or your influence on me.”
Rachel snickered at him. “I did say that.” She said with a jovial lilt to her slightly gravelly voice. “It really is a shame I can never meet her. I would certainly have some choice words for her, that’s for sure.”
Connor leaned forward to whisper to her. “Would you like me to leave a message?” He jokingly asked. “I’m sure I can pass it along to her.”
Rachel smirked behind him. “I feel like she’s gotten the message at this point.” 
Connor chuckled at that. “On that, we can agree.”
Feeling his member twitch against her warm and wet entrance, Connor then felt Rachel sway her hips for him. “Are you just going to stare at me?” She asked with a quirk of her eyebrow. “Or are you going to finish what you started?”
[Continue]
[Finish]
Feeling that fire that had been building during this whole scene flare again, Connor swiftly grabbed Rachel and shoved her into the corner of the room, effectively caging her and rolling his hips against her. Tugging her hair and forcing her head to the side, Connor growled into her ear. “The safe word is ‘thirium.’ Got it?”
Rachel - Lover ^ All he got from her was a whimper accompanied by a nod. But that wasn’t good enough for him. Yanking Rachel’s hair again, Connor pressed her further into the corner, squeezing himself against her body. “I didn’t quite hear you.” He snarled as she whimpered helplessly.
“Y-yes, sir!” She yelped. “Understood. I’m all yours, sir!”
His circuits crackled at that as he lined up his head with her entrance. Sir. He repeated inwardly as he let go of her hair, resting his hands on her hips. Connor very much liked the sound of that. There was an air of authority of it. And it was uniquely invigorating to hear addressed to him.
And he was fully intent on using that vigor to completely ruin Rachel.
“Good.” A cruel smile stretched across his lips as Connor leered over her form. “Now, let’s see how many times I can make you cum on my cock alone.”
Objective: Fuck Rachel Into Submission
The only answer was a choked off scream.
--------
Muffled cries. Just what Connor didn’t want to hear. Perhaps in a different situation, he would enjoy the fact that Rachel could barely contain herself, so her only reprise was the muffling of a pillow.
But not this time. He didn’t want her to hold back, and he was fully prepared to snuff out any pride she tried to gain back. Snapping his hips into her on the large lavish bed, Connor wrenched one of his hands from Rachel’s hip and grabbed a fistful of her hair, harshly yanking her face from the pillow. “No!” He snarled into her ear as he leaned forward, his chest grazing her dappled backside. “Don’t you dare hold back! I want to hear you!”
“Y-yes, sir!” She whimpered. Indeed, it seemed that was all Rachel could say anymore, and Connor adored the way it sounded. They had been going at this for a while, and it was clear that she was approaching her limit. But Connor wasn’t done with her yet, but he would be soon.
Her strained screams and mewls were all Connor cared about. But while she obeyed his order not to muffle herself, she still clutched onto the pillow. And that irritated Connor in a way he didn’t understand. “Give me your hands.” He ordered.
Rachel struggled to slide her hands out and maneuver them towards him, and Connor was far too impatient for this. Harshly grabbing them and pulling her up from the bed, Connor snarled viciously into her neck. “I said give me your fucking hands!”
Complying with a hoarse whimper, she put her hands behind her back which allowed Connor the accessibility he needed to clasp a hand around both of her wrists. The fact that Rachel’s wrists were small enough for Connor to be able to maintain a firm grip on both of them with one hand was not lost on the android.
Unlatching his teeth from her flesh, Connor sat back up and brutally pounded into her, forcing her breath out in pitiful squeaks. He could feel her legs shaking and knew she was going to cum for the fourth time. But he had already decided he would get a fifth out of her.
Slipping his other hand between her legs, Connor’s fingers found her swollen and overstimulated nub and gently circled it in contrast to sheer cruelty he was lovingly inflicting on the rest of her body.
His own end was arriving soon, the tightness in his gut feeling as though it would burst. But he didn’t get tired. That was one of the beauties of being an android that they were both blessed to discover in this intimate and sinful moment between them.
It didn’t take long for her to cum as a broken scream followed by a series of gasps told Connor very clearly. As her walls clenched around him for the third time, Connor very quickly followed, that knot in his stomach coming undone as his cock throbbed and pulsated inside Rachel, thick streams of his own semen filling her up once more. If he were concerned about whether anyone else would use this bed, he would pay more mind to the mess that had decorated her thighs, glistening in the cold autumn afternoon light filtering through the window.
But Connor wasn’t finished. Pulling her up so that her back was flush against his chest, Rachel gasped in surprise, her head rolling back against his shoulder as he used the arm that was holding her hands to cage her against him. It amused him thoroughly that she barely had the strength to hold her own head up, but it was a good indicator that this would probably be as much as she could take for now.
It was of no surprise to Connor that she was shaking her head the moment he started pistoning into her again. “C-Connor..." She whined weakly. “I can’t...i-it’s too much.”
For a moment, he faltered. But he was determined to see this through. “Come on, darling.” He soothed her, lovingly stroking her chin with his thumb. “Gotta give me one more. You can use the safe word if you can’t handle it.” He assured her, causing Rachel to open her eyes drowsily at him. Her cheeks were stained with tears from the overstimulation. “Can you handle another?”
Gasping as Connor continued his thrusts up into her, she nodded, rolling her head to the side and closing her eyes. “Okay...okay..."
Pressing tender kisses along the marks the android left in her flesh, Connor picked up the speed of his thrusts. Even her whimpers were quiet and meek. She wouldn’t last very long. With the hand that was caging Rachel against his body, Connor began massaging a breast, gently pinching and rolling the nipple between his fingers as his other hand was working with her clit.
Rachel still flinched and jumped at his touches, but her voice would likely be very hoarse and used by the time this was over. It made Connor sorely regret not bringing a bottle of water for her to drink afterwards. But he would have to make up for it once they returned home.
For now, all he had to do was finish this.
“Cum for me, my love.” He murmured sweetly in his human partner’s ear. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry, just let go.”
It wasn’t as easy or quick or even intense as the first few times, but Rachel tensed with a cracked whimper and arched her back against Connor and he worked on easing her from the high, still chasing his own end. Softly caressing her curves and placing tender kisses wherever Connor could reach, he purred into her ear. “You’ve done so good for me, dear.” He praised, seeing her smiling at him in his peripheral vision. “Just hold on, I’m almost there.”
All she could do was weakly nod as Connor’s thrusts became more and more erratic, another familiar knot forming in his abdomen as he reached closer and closer to his nirvana. Panting and huffing in her ear like a dog in breeding season, Connor didn’t take long to cum as well, burying himself as deeply into Rachel as he could with a strained staticky groan. 
Still pumping into Rachel, Connor gently laid Rachel down onto the bed, making sure her head was nestled on the pillow. He released her hands and moved them so that she could position her head the way that felt most comfortable to her. 
After being sure that he was finished, Connor slid out of her, their combined fluids staining and dripping down onto the hardwood floors. Straightening his tie, Connor brought a hand down to his member and approached Rachel. Her dark brown eyes fluttered open as he approached. She was still breathing heavily and Connor bent down and kissed her temple. “Such a good girl.” He praised her, pleased at the contented hum and tender smile it earned. “Would you do me a favour and clean me up?”
Rachel - Lover ^ She smirked up at him, still breathing heavily. “Only if you return the favour.” Rachel bargained with him, wiggling her legs a bit. “But...after my legs start working again, please.”
“Of course.” Connor agreed, smiling affectionately at his partner. Even though he couldn’t get enough of the soft bliss that Rachel was a pristine picture of, part of him still wanted to tease her. “Though, we shouldn’t keep our friends waiting for too long. Now shouldn’t we.”
“Oh, fuck you.” She spat at him. 
Connor couldn’t help but feel happy that he hadn’t completely extinguished her eternal flame. He would find himself extremely disappointed if she had forever lost her sense of pride and defiance. “Again?” He asked her, teasing, tilting her chin up to face him. “You truly are insatiable.”
“You know what I meant, you smug bastard.” Rachel huffed, too tired to show any actual aggression towards him.
Connor chuckled a bit at her. “Even after having your pride quite literally fucked out of you, you still have bite in you.” He remarked, pleased to see her characteristic smirk. “How interesting.”
She scoffed at him. “You say that as though it’s not one of my most charming qualities.” And certainly no lack of an abundance of self-assurance.
Rachel - Lover ^ Another quality Connor couldn’t help but admire as he bent down to plant a firm kiss on her lips. “I would never say that.” He agreed, standing back on his feet. He angled his still soaked and wet cock in front of her expectantly. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
It was an order, but a gentle one. It was clear that Rachel was spent after five orgasms, and it would be unwise to continue to be ruthless after that. But she nevertheless responded, using her hands to angle his member wherever she needed to. Connor had to bite back a hiss as she licked several stripes up his shaft, making sure to catch as much as possible. It was evidently clear when she was moving her lips and her tongue all around him that she was intent on being thorough.
Her eyes were closed in contentment, a coy smile on her lips as she licked the last of their shared cum off him. But like the tease that she was, Rachel ran her tongue around his tip, suckling on it just a bit before she pulled back, a string of saliva still connecting them. Opening her eyes to look up at Connor, she placed a chaste kiss on the tip of his dick and then began tucking it back into his boxers and zipping up his fly.
It had only just occurred to Connor that while Rachel had stripped completely for him, Connor didn’t even bother to remove his tie. An observation that pleased him in a way he didn’t quite understand.
Doing his belt back up, Connor walked towards the mirror above the dresser, straightening his tie and making sure his hair was neatly done before he finished with Rachel. “Aren’t you...gonna return the favour?” She asked distantly from the bed.
As Connor walked around, collecting each article of clothing that belonged to her, he glanced over at her. “Impatient, are we?” He asked teasingly.
“A bit, I suppose.” Rachel replied, glancing over at him from over her shoulder, her dark brown eyes beckoning him closer. “After all, it’s only a courtesy. You could’ve at least left less of a mess of me. Or left me able to walk or stand up straight at the least.”
As Connor laid her clothes on the bed behind her, the android circled around to face her. “You say that as though you didn’t enjoy every moment of that. As if you’re not proud of the copious mess that’s slicking between your thighs right now.” He mocked as Rachel sat up, looking down at him as he kneeled before her. “And besides, we agreed on a safe word and I’ve reminded you about it repeatedly.”
“I realize this, but shh.” Rachel shushed Connor, looking away from him. Situating himself between her thighs as he neared himself to the left side. He waited for her to glance down at him and gave her a devilish smirk accompanied by a raise of an eyebrow. Rachel rolled her eyes at him as she gave him a genuine smile. “But yes, I really enjoyed that. Dominance really fucking works for you, Connor.”
Rachel - Lover ^ Connor started licking away the mess he’d made of her, pausing between kisses and licks to talk. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He said in earnest as he neared closer and closer to her swollen and slick flesh, brushing past it to clean up her right side, amused at the small whine Rachel made. “In any case, we shouldn’t keep our friends waiting for too long.” He reminded her, smirking against the soft plumpness of her thigh. “After all, I’m eagerly looking forward to watching you try to explain yourself.”
Her eyes then widened in comical realization as she then narrowed them at Connor. “You motherfucker!” Rachel exclaimed.
But all it took was a hard press of his tongue up her slit to quiet Rachel’s complaints, Connor dragging a low and pleasant moan out of her as he lapped up and sucked on her. He paused to look up at her, smiling. “Think you can handle one more?”
Rachel’s eyes darted back and forth, squinting as her thick brows bunched together in contemplation. Once her rich mahogany eyes landed on Connor’s, her lips softened into a blissful smile, Rachel reaching out with her hand to stroke his cheek tenderly. She then threw herself back on the bed with a sigh, hooking her legs over his shoulder. “Alright.” She breathed. “One more, and then we go.”
Pleased with her answer, Connor dove into Rachel as though she was the most lavish and exquisite delicacy known to all mankind. And he would not be satisfied until she was.
--------
Date: November 14th, 2038  Time: 5:38 PM Rachel - Lover Objective: Check in with Rachel
Arriving back at Rachel’s home, Connor immediately went towards the kitchen, taking his shoes off and greeting Bear at the door. “I’ll go ahead and take him out.” Rachel said hastily before Connor stopped her.
“You should rest.” He insisted. “After all, you’re still fairly exhausted and I wouldn’t want you to overexert yourself.”
“And whose fault was that?” Rachel asked with a scoff and a knowing look.
“Yours.” Connor responded smartly. “After all, you were the one who deliberately and knowingly teased me all day in front of everyone and then didn’t even try to stop me once we were alone.”
Pursing her lips, the human woman seemed to accept defeat, letting out a begrudging sigh. “Whatever, I’ve still got my shoes on, so I’ll do it anyway.” She said, grabbing the leash from the hallway and getting the harness on the large black dog, whose tail was wagging back and forth excitedly. “Come on, boy. I’ll take you out now.”
She was out the door, so Connor thought the next best thing to do for her would be to at least get her a glass of water to hydrate her.
Admittedly, it was very fun to watch Rachel flounder to explain herself once they left the bedroom, which Connor then realized smelled overwhelmingly like sex once he emerged back into the cold crisp air of the rest of the house. The others were waiting downstairs, doing whatever they felt like getting up to without the pair, and the first to notice their return was Hank, of course.
“There you are, you fuckers!” The lieutenant groaned in response, drawing the attention of the androids, North giving them a very pointed look. “You’ve been gone for like an hour. What the fuck were you doing?”
Watching Rachel’s eyes dart back and forth as she tried to come up with a convincing lie to tell Hank was quite amusing. And even more entertaining was the lie Rachel ended up telling. “Well, we talked for a little bit, and since Connor was so worried about my physical well-being, we did some...uh, training!”
It was admittedly quite humorous to see the skeptical look on the lieutenant’s face, but seemingly he’d rather not ask further questions out of disgust at the potential details of what they were actually doing.
And afterwards, Hank gave the pair a ride back to Rachel’s home, parting ways with the androids of Jericho, before going home himself, exhausted from all the activities. But not before Connor got a very pointed telepathic message from North. You do realize I used to be a sex android, right? Next time, pick a more discreet location to be perverts and teach Rachel to be a better liar.
Connor simply gave her a polite smile as he left. I’ll do my best.
But now, as he waited in the dining room with a glass of water ready for Rachel to drink, he was left alone with his thoughts for the first time all day since this morning. And Connor’s feelings were...good. He enjoyed the time he spent, with Rachel and Hank. He was growing accustomed to simply spending the time with them outside of work. And now that they didn’t have to worry about any urgent situations or circumstances, it was easy to be at peace.
And being able to spend time with Markus, North, and Josh made Connor feel more at peace about himself as well. It was a huge weight off his shoulders to know that they didn’t think ill of him despite everything and that they considered him an equal. He began to regard them as close friends and he had a feeling that their friendship would only grow.
But despite everything and the effort Rachel put in to make Connor feel more at ease and in control of himself, which did work. He felt better about himself and about his programming now than he did this morning.
But there was still that doubt. That small voice in the back of his mind in his processors that still whispered disparaging and discouraging affirmations to him. Words that coiled around Connor’s confidence in a chokehold.
His nightmare was fresh in his mind, still. Although he was more comfortable knowing that that’s all it was, there were still things from it that unsettled Connor to his core. And indeed, when he thought back on today in the context of the fear his nightmare instilled in him, Connor realized something.
He was afraid of losing control. At any moment, he could’ve hurt Rachel. At any moment, Amanda could’ve taken control and forced him to do something horrible to her. It was an irrational fear, but a prevalent one. But it wasn’t just that, either.
He was also afraid of giving up control. Because he saw what Rachel was capable of when she killed Sixty. It was gruesome and it was terrifying, but it was also alluring in a disturbing way. And despite understanding that it was simply an unorthodox method of attack and that Rachel was only protecting Connor, there was no doubt that there was something paralyzing about the thought of letting Rachel have that control. Because he essentially had to watch Rachel kill a lookalike of Connor in a way that was inhuman.
And he couldn’t help but put himself in that position and feel an uncomfortable pit in his stomach at the thought of it. Even though he knew Rachel would never hurt him, not on purpose, he couldn’t shake that thought or that fear away.
But he didn’t have long to ruminate on these thoughts before Rachel returned, Bear huffing with snow on his paws and on his belly, and shaking melting water droplets everywhere. His eyes landed on her as she undid the harness on the large dog and started drying him with a nearby towel before letting him run back into the house. Connor couldn’t stifle the smile at how the dog immediately ran to grab a toy to play with and teethe.
As Rachel approached Connor with a smile, the android held out the glass of water to her, of which she accepted appreciatively. “Thanks.” She said, having a seat and taking a long sip from the glass. Setting the glass down, she slumped against the table with a long sigh. “I could nap right now.” She groaned, gently grabbing Connor’s hand and stroking her thumb along his knuckles. “But it was a good day, right?”
Sincere
Indifferent
Nightmare
Rachel - Lover ^ “It was.” Connor agreed, offering her a smile as he looked down at her.
Now that they were in the quiet of her home between them, he felt more at ease. Yet, as Rachel looked at him, her brows then quickly furrowed at him as she examined his face. “You okay?” She asked him. “You have that look. That ‘something’s bothering me, but I don’t wanna burden anyone else with my problems’ look.”
As Connor looked into her rich brown eyes, he let himself chuckle a bit. “Nothing escapes you, does it?” He asked somewhat rhetorically.
“I’ve seen that look enough times to recognize it at a glance.” Rachel informed him, interlacing her fingers with his and bringing his hand to her lips, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles. “So, what’s up?”
Connor thought for a moment what he should tell her before she answered for him. “You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you.” Rachel presumed. “Your nightmare.”
Truth
Lie
The android nodded forlornly.
Rachel sighed. “That’s okay.” She relented, giving him a bittersweet smile. “I knew your problems weren’t gonna just go away after one day. And it’s totally normal to still feel thrown off by it. It’s...just gonna be like that for a while.” She then leaned against him, and Connor did the same, pressing his cheek into her forehead. “But did today help you feel better, at least?”
Yes
No
Rachel - Lover ^ “It did.” Connor replied in earnest, kissing her forehead.
“Good.” Rachel said appreciatively, resting her head in the crook of his neck before speaking again. “So...did you wanna talk about it?”
Connor thought again back to the nightmare. What exactly did he want to tell her about it? How he was fearful of giving up control? How he was afraid of losing control and hurting her as a result? How he was afraid that she might deem him as a threat and hurt him?
[No]
[Yes]
Perhaps it was better to be honest with her. After all, she gave him the freedom to reject her offer and discuss it another time. But perhaps she could give him some necessary insight into his fears like she did when he was first awoken from it.
Connor nodded and pulled away from her, still grasping her hand. Her patient brown eyes were locked on his, a small appreciative smile on her lips. Looking at her sweet face melted the cold and fearful parts of the android and made him feel more comfortable in this moment of vulnerability.
“Seeing Amanda in my nightmare...made me realize just what my worst fears are.” He began to explain to Rachel. “I think the reason I saw her at all...was because of what happened that night, when we won the revolution. When...Amanda took control of me.”
Rachel nodded in acknowledgement. “Right, that would make sense.”
At least she was able to. “It made me realize just how easily I could’ve lost everything I had gained.” Connor confessed. “In the blink of an eye, everything I loved and cared about was going to be ripped away from me, and there was nothing I could do. Until I realized I could escape. But what would’ve happened if Kamski hadn’t warned me about the emergency exit? I...I would’ve lost everything.” Connor then registered the fear and anguish in his human companion’s eyes. “I would’ve lost you.”
Rachel then gave him a painful smile. “But you didn’t.” She reminded him firmly. “You escaped, and I’m still here. And so are you.”
To hear her reaffirm that was helpful and made Connor feel more secure in himself. “But I’m still afraid.” He admitted, a small twinge of shame in his voice. “I’m afraid of it happening again. I’m afraid of Amanda taking control of me and...making me hurt you.” He finally managed to choke out. “And I’m afraid of losing control. It’s...it’s why I was so rough with you earlier. It felt good to have that control. It made me feel more secure. But...I was still afraid even then.”
“Hey, that’s okay.” Rachel said, stopping him before he could spiral. “If I didn’t want you to, I would’ve stopped you. You gave me a safe word and I didn’t feel like I needed to use it at any point, Connor. Because I trust you. I trust that you would never hurt me and that Amanda’s truly gone, now.” 
He knew she meant that. Connor knew that Rachel meant that completely and wholeheartedly. And her unshakable faith in him quieted some of his doubts. 
And if she trusted him so completely...perhaps he should do the same. “I’m also afraid of giving up that control.” Connor continued. “I’m afraid of not having it. That not being in control would just make me the same as I once was. An object. Something to use and control.”
“Believe me, I understand that feeling painfully.” Rachel empathized, her gaze intense, an edge of venom to it. Connor tried to grasp for the reason and found it. Luis. The man who had abused her as a teenager. “But there’s a key difference between control being taken from you, or being made or raised to obey and nothing else, and willingly relinquishing that control temporarily.” She explained. “Giving up control willingly doesn’t make you weak or less of a person. Because it’s still a choice you get to make for yourself. A choice you can take back whenever you wish. And you can choose who you give that control to. You can choose who you trust enough to have control over you until you decide you want it back. And you’re no less of your own person or independent because of it.”
To hear those words spoken to Connor from a position like Rachel’s was vindicating. He wasn’t wrong to be afraid or to be wary. But that he could overcome it and choose what he wanted to do with himself and his life and position. And as long as it was his choice, he was always his own person.
Connor felt his eyelids grow tight as he leaned forward, resting his head against Rachel’s, feeling cool tears slide down his cheeks. “Thank you..." He breathed softly to her.
“Of course.” Rachel replied tenderly, stroking his cheek with her other hand. “I’ve always got you, Connor. And I’ll be here for you every step of the way, no matter how tough or ugly it gets. No matter what happens, I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m here to help.”
“I know.” Connor replied, smiling. “And I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”
“And I, you.” Rachel leaned forward and pressed her lips against Connor’s softly, her touch as tender and light as silk sheets. The android happily returned the gesture, but with as much sweetness and gentleness as she displayed herself. 
Pulling back, there was a niggling thought in his head that he wanted to share with Rachel. A proposition of sorts he wanted her opinion on. “Can I ask you something?”
Rachel laughed sweetly at him. “Always, Connor.”
Amanda
Control
Jericho
Sixty
The android suddenly felt small, dwarfed in spirit in her presence. Swallowing his pride, he let his feelings be known. “You know...how I asserted my dominance over you earlier?” He reminded Rachel. “In the bedroom of the house?”
“I recall, yes.” She replied somewhat playfully.
Connor avoided her gaze, turning his head away slightly. “Would..." His voice caught in his throat as he tried to voice his honest feelings. “Would...it be too much to ask if you did the same?”
Rachel seemed taken aback by his request, but all Connor could see in her eyes when he looked back at her was pure concern. “Are you sure?” She asked him, her brows knitted together.
Connor nodded timidly. “Y-yes.” He stammered out. “It’s just that...hearing you say how much you trust me when I had control over you made me think that...perhaps I can move past my fears if I trust you to have control over me.” He felt so shameful. “I-I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t trust you.”
Rachel nodded, taking in his request. “I see your logic.” She agreed, detaching her hand from his and cupping his other cheek with it so she was forcing him to look at her. “But...are you sure you’re ready? I’d be glad to, don’t get me wrong. But...I don’t wanna push you if you’re not ready. We don’t have to do it right away, we can take as long as you need to.”
Connor wasn’t sure how to answer her. He did want to, he really did. There was no one else he could trust to do it. But he did feel an apprehension to the thought. A certain prickly and paralyzing feeling was forming in his abdomen at the thought of relinquishing control. “I..." He struggled to answer her, but she then interfaced with him, then, and Connor felt much more secure and safe. Much less anxious.
Rachel then shook her head as she leaned against him with a sigh. “You’re not ready, yet.” She decided. “I can tell. I can feel it. But I want you to be able to tell me. I want you to be able to tell me no.”
Yes
No
Connor knew she meant that. There was nothing but patience and understanding that he could feel on her end. All she really cared about was his safety and wellbeing and she would never dare compromise that. “You’re right.” He admitted, feeling much more confident in himself. “I’m...not ready.”
Rachel - Lover ^ Rachel let out a sigh and let go of Connor, leaning into his chest. “Good.” Was all she said in response. “You’re allowed not to be. It’s okay not to be. Whenever you do feel ready, I will be. But you get to decide when that is, got it?”
Connor wrapped his arms around Rachel with a relaxed sigh. “Got it.”
For a while, the pair just stayed there in each other’s arms, taking complete comfort in each other. Connor couldn’t imagine having this level of complete security and comfort with anyone else. Indeed, Rachel was his home. His rock. His safe place. And she made sure he knew that, no matter how many times she would have to remind him.
After a good while, Rachel separated from Connor with an exhausted groan. “I am pretty beat, though.” She said with a good long stretch, the clear sounds of her back cracking making Connor want to cringe out of sympathy for her. “How about we just spend the rest of the day relaxing on the couch, hm? Maybe watch a movie or two?”
Connor smiled, getting up from the table and following her to the television. “Sure.” He replied eagerly. “What did you have in mind?”
“A movie I really liked as a kid that I think you will.” Rachel explained vaguely before she turned around and pointed at him. “But again, you’re not allowed to look up anything about it! It ruins the fun!”
Connor followed her and sat down next to her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “I would never.” He teased her. “I’d hate to be unpleasant.”
“You big squish.” Rachel cooed affectionately at him, already getting in position with the remote in her hand. “It’s called Wall-E. It’s an animated movie from when I was a kid about two robots falling in love in a post-apocalyptic Earth where trash has sort of accumulated, leaving the planet uninhabitable.” She then flashed him an excited grin that Connor couldn’t help but adore. “I think you’ll really like it.”
---------------------------------
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heysoup · 4 years ago
Text
Fluffy February Day 4 - Halloween
Phew! I’m a little late, but I managed to make it while the day’s still here. This is day four of @fluffyfebruary and the prompt is Halloween.
Chapter 4: I’ll Be Yours
Pairing: Butch DeLoria/Male Lone Wanderer
Summary: During a Halloween party, Susie suggests that the group of teens play spin the bottle. Jamie isn't one for parties, isn't even one for socializing if he's honest with himself, and he definitely isn't excited to play this game. But Butch has been looking at him all night, and something in his heart tells him this might be different.
Ao3 Link
“Thanks for helping, Jamie,” Amata says from where she’s perched at the top of a step ladder hanging colorful streamers along the ceiling.
Jamie smiles up at her from his own task of making Halloween-themed snacks, “of course.”
She climbs down the ladder and brushes her hands off on the pants of her vault suit, looking up at her handiwork with an approving nod. Orange and purple streamers hang in delicate loops from the ceiling. Hanging among them are dainty origami bats – all handmade by Amata and Susie. They even found some old Christmas lights and strung them up along the walls, hoping that when the main lights were turned off it would create some kind of spooky atmosphere, even if they were red and green.
They’re preparing for their first ever Halloween party as ‘adults.’ Now that everyone in their class was eighteen, Amata had finally gotten her dad to cave and allow them to throw a party at the Mack’s apartment, since it was one of the largest. How she managed to pull it off, Jamie has no idea.
He finally finishes icing the last of his ghost-shaped cookies and walks over to join her, letting out an impressed whistle. “Looks great!” he says, and she smiles at him.
Susie and Wally walk out into the living room from the hallway – they’re wearing freshly pressed vault suits that are tailored a bit closer to their bodies than the normal ones, the blue and yellow fabric even more vivid than usual. Susie’s platinum hair is poker-straight and pulled back into a ponytail with a cherry red bow. Her lipstick matches the bow’s color perfectly. Wally’s hair is plain, but neatly combed – they look nice, but if Jamie’s honest, he doesn’t see how it’s supposed to be a costume.
Amata seems to think the same. “So… what are you guys going as again?” she asks, a sheepish smile on her face. Wally rolls his eyes and elbows Susie.
“I told you they wouldn’t get it!”
“Oh shut it, we just have to do the thing!” Susie pulls at her brother’s arm, who groans in response.
“FINE.” They both look at Jamie and Amata with their cheesiest smiles - Susie’s looking much more genuine than Wally’s – and give them a thumb’s up.
“Uh…” Jamie doesn’t see how that’s supposed to clear anything up for them.
“We’re Vault Boy and Vault Girl!” Susie snaps, crossing her arms. Wally huffs and shakes his head before walking over to the couch and plopping down, reaching into the pumpkin-shaped plastic bowl on the coffee table to shove some chips in his mouth.
“I could tell!” Amata says, trying to appease her. “You look great, Susie! I love the lipstick.” She grabs Jamie’s hand and twines their fingers together. “We have to go get our costumes ready now, but we’ll be right back. Party starts in thirty, right?”
Susie nods, changing into hostess mode once again. “It looks really good in here, by the way. You did a great job, Amata” She smiles and then says, as an afterthought, “uh and Jamie, too, I guess.”
---
Back in Amata’s room, she and Jamie busy themselves with changing into their costumes. Amata is dressed to the nines in a slim-fitting black dress with emerald green accents that she had sewn herself with her mother’s old machine. She has a pair of elbow-length black gloves made from leftover pantyhose and a pearl necklace around her neck that Jamie found in the lower levels of the vault. He kept the details of where he found it to himself. Her costume is pretty close to looking exactly like the original Mistress of Mystery, they've just taken a few creative liberties.
She’s sitting at her vanity, applying her makeup and curling her hair when she asks, “so, are you excited?” Jamie puts down the comic he’s reading and sits up on her bed. He’s already changed into his outfit – just a simple flannel, some jeans, aged brown leather boots that his dad had stowed away in his closet for some reason, and the closest thing they could find to a ten-gallon hat, which is currently around his neck and hanging at his back. A plastic pistol and a makeshift paper holster sit beside him.
“Yeah,” he settles with, trying his hardest to sound convincing. It’s not that he isn’t excited, he’s just nervous. He’s already kind of a social outcast, which is bad enough. What’s even worse is that Butch will be there, which was fine and normal, except for the fact that it wasn’t because just a last week they’d technically had their first kiss down in their hideout, which Jamie had freaked out over and literally ran away from, and then proceeded to pretend it never happened. Outside of work they’d been too busy to hang out recently, so this will be the first time he sees him in such a casual setting since. It’s not like he can ask Amata for advice – she doesn’t even know he’s friends with Butch for one and she’s unlikely to approve, and what if she asks about their hideout? It’s too risky, not to mention humiliating!
“Jamie!” Amata is snapping at him, a soft smile on her face. He blinks and laughs, feeling out of breath despite the fact that all his talking was in his head. What a mess.
“Hah, sorry. Just thinking. I’m kinda nervous, but you know how I am with people.” He shrugs, picking at his nails. Amata walks over and ruffles his hair.
“Hey, it’ll be fun!” she says, trying to sound encouraging. She takes his hands in hers and pulls him off the bed. “But if you get overwhelmed just let me know, we can just come back here and listen to something on the radio – I don’t mind.”
Jamie smiles at her and pulls her close, pressing a sweet kiss to the crown of her head. Man, he missed her.
---
It’s been about an hour and the party is going pretty well. The lights are all off aside from the string lights, which, as Amata predicted, create a pretty nice ambience. Everyone is chilling out and listening to music and talking amongst themselves. A few people are playing board games and enjoying snacks, some are dancing.
Jamie’s nerves have calmed a bit – Wally had the brilliant idea to bribe Stevie to leave them some beer, which Jamie is sipping on contentedly from his seat on the couch beside Freddie and Amata.
Everyone’s costumes turned out great too, Jamie thinks. Freddie came as a werewolf – he’d ripped the arms off his vault suit and used grease paint to draw brown hairs all over himself. He’d even given himself a little black dog nose and glued paper triangles to a headband that could pass as ears. It’s a little messy, but he put effort in.
Paul decided to be a vampire and he’s dressed almost as well as Amata, in a fancy white shirt, black slacks, and a tie – probably the same clothes he wore to prom. He has a long black and red cape wrapped around his shoulders. The fake teeth he’s wearing keep popping out of his mouth when he laughs, and Jamie grins at the sight of him fumbling to catch them across the room.
Butch is next to him, laughing his ass off, flask in hand. Apparently, he’s supposed to be a Greaser – he’s wearing his Tunnel Snake jacket and his hair is slicked into its usual pompadour. The only difference is he’s swapped out his vault suit for a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, which he says are classic. He meets Jamie’s gaze from across the room and smirks, sticking his tongue out at the other boy. Jamie looks away quickly, his face red.
Christine is across from Amata on the other couch, chatting with Susie. She’s dressed in a long white sleeping gown with matching slippers. On her back, she has small, handmade angel wings. Their puffy feathers occasionally fall off and stick to every surface, leaving a trail all over the apartment wherever she goes.
Susie turns the radio down a bit then stands and claps to grab everyone’s attention. “Alright, ghouls and gals,” she giggles to herself, “I think it’s about time we started the real party!” Jamie quirks a brow at her and can’t help but notice Amata’s peeved expression.
Everyone who wasn’t already near the couches crowds around and Jamie jumps when he feels two hands clap down on his shoulders. Butch is leaning over the back of the couch, grinning down at him.
“Hey, Nosebleed,” he says with a smirk, leaning closer to his ear. “Cute costume. Who are ya, Calamity Jane?” He tips Jamie’s cowboy hat down into his face playfully.
It’s supposed to be a jab. They don’t typically act friendly in public; something still just feels off about that and they aren’t ready for their relationship to change that drastically. This feels different, however, and Jamie can’t help the smile that pulls at his lips. He hadn’t spoken to Butch all night, he wasn’t sure if the other boy would want him too, but somehow this felt like an invitation.
“Nice costume yourself,” he taunts. He can still feel the heat of the other boy’s body against the back of his neck even as Butch pulls away and stands up straight again. “You supposed to look like a knock-off James Dean?”
Susie clears her throat, shooting Jamie an impatient look. “Anyway, as I was saying,” she continues, the giddy smile returning to her face as she holds up an empty beer bottle. “We should play spin the bottle!”
Butch groans from behind him. “Come on, Susie, that’s such a kid’s game.”
Susie sticks her tongue out at him. “If you could let me finish! We’re going to play it with seven minutes in heaven rules, obviously. This isn’t middle school. We’re adults now.” She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “So, whoever it lands on gets to go into the hall closet. That more grown-up for you, Butch?”
Butch shrugs, “I guess.”
“I think it sounds fun!” Christine chimes in.” It’s harmless, anyway. Come on, let’s just play. Who knows if we’ll ever be allowed to have a party again?”
---
After moving some of the furniture and grabbing a few pillows for them to sit on they’re all crowded in a circle on the rug in the living room. Jamie is still next to Amata, then Freddie, Wally, Christine, Butch, Susie, and Paul. There’s eight of them, so the odds would be even, but Wally is related to both Christine and Susie – which he continues to complain is unfair.
“Oh shut it, Wally. If it lands on us, just spin again.” Susie snaps and sets the bottle in the middle of the circle. She leans back on her knees, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “So, actually, there’s two choices. You can either kiss whoever the bottle lands on in the circle publicly,” Christine interjects with a low ‘ooooooh’ and leans closer to Butch, who grins.
“Or!” Susie continues, ���you can choose to go into the closet for seven minutes.”
Jamie’s gut twists uncomfortably. He really didn’t want to play this, anyway, let alone when he might be forced to watch Butch slobber on someone. But he’s here for Amata and for his dad, he guesses, who said it would be good for him to behave like a well-adjusted and social teenager for once.
They’re a few spins in and nothing incredible had happened. Wally spun on Susie twice before landing on Paul and the two went into the closet with their handheld games to pass the time. After, Christine landed on Freddie and chose a kiss – which was more of an awkward peck on the side of the mouth than anything else.
Butch rubs his hands together before leaning forward to spin the bottle, making eye contact with Jamie for a split second and shooting him a wink. Jamie’s heart leaps into his throat and he splutters mid drink, trying to hide his embarrassment behind a small cough.
The bottle spins around the circle once before slowing. For a split second, Jamie thinks it’s going to land on him, but it keeps going achingly slow past Paul and… lands on Susie. Christine claps, Amata wolf whistles, and Wally spits out a half-hearted threat about Butch touching his sister. Jamie sees Butch’s smile fade when he looks at Susie, but he catches himself quick and shoots her his most charming smirk.
“How’s about we hit the closet, babe?” he says, laying the greaser schtick on extra thick tonight. Susie blushes red as her bow and stands with him. They hold hands and both go down the hall and into the closet, the door closing softly behind them. Once they’re inside, Christine sets the egg timer they have to seven minutes and the murmur of conversation breaks out among the small group once again.
“How are you doing?” Amata nudges him gently. Jamie didn’t realize he’d just been staring at the bottle, his shoulders tense. He lets out a long sigh and shakes his limbs loose, leaning over to bump their shoulders together.
“I’m fine. This is fun, huh?” He says, trying to convince himself more than anything. He stares at the egg timer, trying not to imagine what could be happening in the closet. He looks back over at Amata and sees her smiling at him, a soft sadness behind her eyes – almost pity. Was he really that obvious?
“I’m gonna get another drink, want one?” he asks, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. Amata just lifts her bottle that isn’t even half empty, a sheepish smile on her face.
“No thanks.”
Jamie walks to the kitchen. He rubs his eyes, his face already feeling warm. He’d only had two, maybe three beers. He definitely isn’t even close to being as drunk as he was when he and Butch… he shakes the thoughts of that night out of his head, dropping his empty beer bottles into the garbage can with a bit more force than he’d intended.
Before grabbing another beer, Jamie pours himself a shot of vodka for good measure. Butch must have brought it from his mom’s stash. It burns like hell going down and Jamie almost gags – how could anyone drink this stuff?
“Yo, Jamie!” He hears Freddie call for him and he grabs his beer and heads back to the circle. Butch and Susie are back. Her lipstick is smudged and she’s fixing her ponytail while whispering excitedly to Christine. Butch doesn’t look much better – his hair slightly mussed up and a bit of cherry red still spread on the corner of his lip. Jamie thinks he might be sick.
The timer goes off just as he sits back down, and Paul walks out of the closet with Amata. He’s scrambling to put his vampire teeth back in his mouth, his cape crooked around his neck, and Amata’s face is flushed when she sits next to Jamie. He can’t help his snort and she slaps him on the shoulder.
“It’s your turn, spaz.” Wally says, kicking the bottle his way. He looks pissed, glaring at Butch. Jamie wonders if they’ll fight later because he played tonsil hockey with his sister. He almost hopes they do, just so Butch can get his ass kicked like he deserves.
Jamie reaches forward and gives the bottle a half-hearted spin, just wanting to get his turn over with as soon as possible. It twirls and lands immediately on Butch. He feels like he’s swallowed a rock.
Butch let’s out a theatric groan, “I ain’t kissin’ you, Nosebleed, so let’s just go to the closet and get this over with.” Jamie’s face is on fire and he slams his beer down on the floor.
“Get stuffed, Butch!” It’s my turn, not yours, so I choose what we do!” Butch quirks an eyebrow at him and barks out a laugh, joined by everyone in the circle – aside from Amata, who squeezes Jamie’s hand reassuringly.
“So, you’re sayin’ you wanna kiss the Butch-man?” Jamie thinks he’s going to die, then. Or kill Butch, and then die. Like a murder suicide. Him and his stupid fucking mouth; he didn’t even think about how that would sound.
“N-No!” Jamie practically yells, his voice a squeak. “Fuck you!” He stands, crossing his arms. “Let’s go, closet then. Get this over with before I kick your ass.” He storms to the closet. Butch gets to his feet and follows him with a smug confidence that Jamie wants to beat out of him.
Suddenly remembering who he’s dealing with Wally says, “Hey! No fighting in my closet. You get blood on my dad’s coats and I’ll pummel you both.” They both turn and simultaneously flip the other boy off before shouldering their way into the closet and slamming the door.
It’s more cramped inside than Jamie expected it to be. Darker, too. The darkness is perfectly fine with him – he doesn’t even want to look at Butch right now. Though, that doesn’t last long as his eyes adjust.
“Hey, Nosebleed,” Butch whispers, his voice and his smile infinitely softer than they were a moment ago. They’re close, really close and Jamie’s head is swimming. Their knees bump when they move and the heat of their bodies radiating through the small space is almost suffocating. He can just make out the details of Butch’s face – the handsome slope of his nose and the playful quirk of his lips. He tries to stay mad, but it’s hard. He wants to kiss him so bad.
“Fuck off,” Jamie breathes, but his aggression is lackluster. Butch’s breath is warm against his face and it smells sweet, like mint. Butch chuckles softly.
“Aw, you’re mad at me?” he coos, leaning in closer and practically pressing Jamie against the opposite wall. “You know I was just kidding, Jamie. C’mon, they don’t know what we do.”
Jamie gulps, wondering if Butch means them just hanging out together or if he’s referencing something more. “As if I’d take Susie’s sloppy seconds ,” he hisses, determined to hold his grudge. Ok, so maybe their first kiss did mean something. He’s pretty sure they’re both drunk again, but they definitely aren’t wasted like before – there’s absolutely no way for Butch to pass whatever happens off as a mistake later. IF something happens.
Butch pulls back a little and looks almost hurt. “Hey, it’s just a dumb game,” he says, tilting his head to try and catch Jamie’s gaze, who refuses to look at him. “I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, okay? You know how much of a crybaby she can be.”
“Well, I’m not a crybaby, so you can keep it in your pants,” Jamie snaps and crosses his arms, shooting Butch as convincing of a glare as he can manage. The other boy just rubs the back of his neck, his posture suddenly a bit more closed off.
“Dammit, Jamie, ya know that’s not what I mean!” Jamie’s heart is thundering in his ears and his chest is so, so tight. He swallows thickly. He does know what Butch means but fuck it if he isn’t going to make the other boy work for it.
“Maybe I don’t,” he states matter-of-factly. Butch clicks his tongue in annoyance and shoves his hands in his pockets. Jamie can feel the distance between them growing further and he panics, desperate to cling to whatever moment they’re having here.
“What do you want?” he asks finally, his voice barely a whisper as he offers Butch this olive branch. The intensity he finds in Butch’s gaze when their eyes meet almost knocks him over.
“You.” It’s a single word, spoken so softly that Jamie almost can’t hear it, but it steals his breath away, nonetheless. He doesn’t even stop to think when he reaches forward and grabs the lapels of Butch’s jacket. He pulls him close, his eyes closing as their lips crash together in a clumsy kiss. It’s just as good as the last, the other boy’s lips warm and inviting as he returns the gesture with enthusiasm.
Butch grabs the back of Jamie’s head, knocking his silly cowboy hat to the floor, and curls his fingers into his hair. Jamie grins into his mouth when Butch nips his lower lip and he grabs the collar of his shirt, playfully shoving the taller boy against the opposite wall.
“Ow!” Butch hisses when he hits his head off the shelf above them, pulling back for a second to make sure it wasn’t too loud. Jamie’s face goes white.
“Oh god, sorry!” he whispers, letting go and pulling back in embarrassment. Butch just laughs.
“S’fine,” he mumbles, unable to stop smiling. He reaches out and pulls Jamie close again, silencing the other boy’s concerns with his lips.
They continue like that for a while, breathless and excited, their tongues exploring each other’s mouths and their arms holding them close like their lives depend on it. It really does feel like heaven, Jamie thinks, an excited laugh escaping his chest.
They could have stayed there forever, lost in their own little world, but they’re interrupted by a sharp knock on the other side of the door. “Time’s up! You can leave hell now.” Wally is laughing out in the hallway.
Butch and Jamie jump apart, their chests heaving and their lips pink. Butch just grins at him, blue eyes shining with mischief. “Should we pretend we were fighting?”
Jamie laughs. “Sure, but that means you’ll have to admit that I won,” he teases, picking up his hat and turning to leave. Butch grabs his wrist and tugs Jamie back to him. There’s a very serious expression on his face all of a sudden and he's biting his lip like he's thinking before he reaches out to tilt Jamie’s chin up. He leans down and presses one more open-mouthed kiss to his lips and it feels almost desperate. Jamie’s breath is stolen away again, at least whatever was left of it, and when they part, he just stares, dumbfounded, at Butch’s adoring smile.
“Whatever you want, Nosebleed.”
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lemonflavouredspatula · 4 years ago
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hi! what are some of your favorite christmas things?
hello!!!!
ooooo christmas, i love christmas so apologies if this becomes a long mess -
- call me cliché but i love presents, giving other people something they really want and playing a little part in their day of happiness? amazing
also (insight into my crazy family here lmao, apologies) but we (and i don't know why or how this started but it's just a thing) all write our names and a colour on a piece of paper and randomly pick one each, and then fill a stocking up with 15-20 random little cheap bits we find in shops in that colour and wrap them in ridiculous ways and we can honestly end up with anything from really shitty cheap little plastic cocktail sticks to 11 individually wrapped pens (which yes i did to my dad. twice.) and everything in between and it is genuinely a very good laugh
- i'm going to start this off by reinstating that my family is crazy. like really. so, again unsure why or how this started, but on christmas eve we all get together and make mince pies. roughly 90. and no i'm not kidding. there's usually 11 of us on christmas day, two can't even eat mince pies and yet we still spend an entire evening drinking and singing along to christmas songs and making so many mince pies we run out of room to cool them. we do end up giving a lot of them out to family friends and in hampers for others but we do go through a lot ourselves. who doesn't love a homemade mince pie right?😂
- going to the christmas tree farm and walking in and amongst a forest of trees and pine cones and feeling so incredibly at peace. and then finding the perfect tree and chopping it down and bringing it home is just, i love it
- decorations. i LOVE decorating for christmas. putting the tree up and decorating that is so fun, bringing out all (and when i say all, i mean all) the little characters we have sitting around in and outside the house (which, yes, i have named them all) and lights!!! god i love christmas lights, everyone's houses just look SO pretty. we're really the only house in my little street that do more than one set of lights (and we really do do more than one, turning them all on/off is a task™) and tbh we're like a bright little beacon of light on the corner and i think it's joyful
- bringing out and decorating the castles my grandad made quite a few years ago. he was a crafty man (like my whole family tbh) and made each household a christmas castle out of old toilet rolls and cereal boxes/tablet boxes and matchsticks and sprayed them gold. he made my sister and i one each about a year or 2 before he died, with our names in old english stuck on the front, and they are the one decoration we all cherish deeply in our hearts and light up with pride.
- giving my dog presents. yeah. and yeah i do buy him more than i buy anyone else. i love him and he's my world and i know he doesn't know that they're for a special occasion but i still spoil him nonetheless.
- my family all descend on my nan's house on christmas morning and we don't leave until the new year has rung in, even though we only live 5 minutes from each other and i love it??? it's the one time of the year my family just forget all their toxic opinions and we just get on and have a good time.
- my nan started a tradition in my town many many years ago where the high street shuts down and all the shops stay open late and there's the local brass band playing carols, staff from banks and pubs and restaurants all stand outside their respective buildings serving mulled wine and homemade mince pies. Charity's and local guide/scout groups sell homemade crafts and bakes for charity/to fund an excursion. Local crafts people sell things they've made on little stalls, santa sits on his sleigh with his reindeer, choirs (one which i'm part of) sing christmas songs in the street, halls and community spaces open up for more stalls and it is a wonderfully joyful start to christmas. It was started as an ode to the victorian times and people would often dress up in dickensian outfits, not as many people do these days but the whole town comes out for the lighting of the lights and our town's beginning of christmas.
- performing in christmas concerts. The choir that i'm part of usually does a christmas concert each year (supposed to do one in an old cathedral a few towns over this year but ya know, 2020 happened) and they're always a load of fun too, because we do not take ourselves too seriously.
- attending the local brass band's christmas carol sing along. My grandad wrote a few pieces of music for them and my nan is vice president for them and very much a friend and my family has been going for as long as i can remember. They play carols, we dress up incredibly festively and sing along. There's mince pies and a raffle and a lot of very silly fun.
- boxing day because we all just wake up at some point nearing afternoon (after going to sleep at around 3/4am the night before probably) and eat left over food from the day before, meaning we have mince pies for breakfast and turkey sandwiches for lunch and endless christmas pudding for dinner and we spend the entire day playing board games and just genuinely having a laugh.
- talking of christmas pudding, we make them too. We all get together at my nans in around october every couple of years and make enough christmas pudding mix for roughly 8 puddings, using the same recipe my nan's nan used when she was young. We don't eat all 8 in one day though lmao, we tend to get through 2 between those of us that can eat it on christmas day and boxing day. We then have another on new years eve and another at easter (i yet again do not know why but i am also not complaining). The other 4 get doused in brandy every few months and come out the following christmas and tbh by the time we eat them, we don't need to pour brandy over them to light them on fire, they are flammable enough themselves😂 and thankfully we made enough last year that we didn't have to this year because, ya know, 2020.
- christmas morning. I know it sounds cliché and all but no matter how old i am and how far i've strayed from childhood, i wake up with giddy excitement for the few days of genuine joy i know i'm going to experience. I wear a ridiculously christmassy outift that is just pattern after pattern after pattern and a santa hat and ridiculous earings and wake up to the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven that my mum got up at stupid hours of the morning to prepare. And then we all go up to my nans and shout merry christmas at each other and all easily fall into roles of putting presents under the tree and finding enough mismatched chairs for everyone to sit at, trapesing through the garage to get the extra table, covering them all in many christmassy table cloths, setting the table, preparing the food, folding the christmas napkins into christmas trees (yes i do do that, it makes us laugh), giving everyone a cracker and putting the santa salt and pepper shakers on the table, roles that we wordlessly assigned ourselves years before we realised we had.
I just, i love christmas. And i apologise for just throwing a load of words at you but here is a very very crazy insight into what it is about christmas that i thoroughly enjoy and thank you for taking time to even ask <33
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50scentsofsoap · 5 years ago
Text
Forever
Jung Hoseok has always been there for you, after all he has been your best friend for years. A lot can change during that time...
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word count: 4.2k genre: smut tw: drinking, reckless behaviour
author’s note: I wrote this oneshot instead of writing my university application essays, just uploading all my old material before I move on to fresher ideas.
You’re pinned against the wall, both arms above you and locked tight as if you had handcuffs on your wrists. Your body being attacked at every inch your skin was showing. Face. Neck. Shoulders. You just closed your eyes and took in every sensation. The clenched hand holding your wrists. The sharp drop of oxygen from your lungs. The vibrations of his mouth against yours. The struggle against gravity to keep on standing, when your knees were ready to give way. 
He pulled away, leaving both of you to gasp for air.
“How come you never told me you liked me?” He asked with a puzzled look.
“How come you could never take a hint?” You reply with a cocky attitude.
He pushed his torso onto yours, locking your back onto the wall. “Oh, is that any way to talk to your best friend?”
✎ 10 years ago
“HI! Looks like we’re locker buddies! My name’s Hoseok, what’s yours?” he asked with a smile so bright, its brightness could illuminate any moonless night.
“Um… Y/N.” A blunt reply. You hoped he’d get the hint and wouldn’t talk to you any further.
“Nice to meet you Y/N! Want a cookie? My Mom always packs me two cookies for lunch. I think she puts in molasses instead of brown sugar...”
He continued to ramble on. You figured he wasn’t going to leave you alone anytime soon, so you learned to just ignore him or reply in short phrases. This went on for a couple of months, but your cold attitude didn’t bother him at all. Every morning, he would always find something new to talk about, and it was getting annoying.
Your birthday soon rolled around, and you invited everyone in your homeroom class to come to your 13th birthday party, including Hoseok. Everyone liked him… except you. He was just too happy, and it annoyed you how sickly giddy he could be. Still, he wasn’t a bad person so you had no reason to hate him.
“Hey, Hobi… come on it’s time for cak- Are you ok?” You stepped out of your kitchen to the patio. He was sitting there alone. His eyes glistening, shit the kid’s crying.
He quickly wiped his eyes as soon as he saw you. “Hey Y/N, need a hand with opening your presents?” His smile had returned. Like a light switch, he just… stopped being upset.
“No thanks, but it’s time for cake. You coming in?”
“Ooh cake, yes please!” With that he darted into the house.
From that day onwards, you kept an eye on him, and you knew his secret. No matter how hurt he was, he was always smiling.
✎ ✎
Hoseok picked you up, lips still locked in a deep kiss. You wrapped your legs around his waist and hands around his neck. He held your thighs as he carried you towards your bed. For that moment, it seemed as if there was no-one else in the world but you and him. It was as if this was a novel and you two were the main characters, with everyone else blurring into the background. He placed you on your duvet, your lips never breaking contact. He pulled away first, trying to catch his breath. You sat up, and looked at him with questioning eyes.
“You know,” he began. He leaned against your chest of drawers. “If we do this, we can’t go back to what we were.” He spoke cautiously, as if he were treading on eggshells.
“What do you mean?” You cock an eyebrow at him.
“I mean, if we do this, we can’t go back to being friends. We might be able to, but to me it will be as if we’re pretending to be friends for old time’s sake.”
You stand up, directly in front of him. You have to tilt you head quite high to meet his eyes. “Ok, what did you say half an hour ago?”
He gulped, “I’ve been in love with you since I can remember.”
“Good, and what did I say?” 
“Fuck off?” He grinned. There it was, that smile to hide anything he didn’t want to show.
“No.”
“You’ve loved me since we became best friends.”
“Exactly. Now…” You took off your sweatshirt and shirt at the same time, leaving you only in your lacy balcony bra, “we’ll always be best friends, nothing will change that.”
Hobi stared at your chest then at your gaze. You noticed a hungry look that you’d never seen before. His mouth parted just slightly, in awe, perhaps, of you taking off your clothes without hesitation. “You’ve seen me semi naked before,” you lifted his chin to look into his eyes, “what’s changed?”
He licked his lips. “Maybe the fact you’re taking your clothes off for me?”
“Hmm. I guess so, but that shouldn’t chang-”
He crashed his supple lips onto yours, taking you by surprise. “Are you sure about this?”
You look at him with your endearing eyes, a hand caresses his cheek as a coy smile spreads across your face. “Absolutely.”
✎ 7 years ago
“Hey, are you even listening? What’s the nucleus of an atom made out of?” You exclaimed with annoyance.
“Protons and neutrons. Look, I’m fine on chem, there’s no need to quiz me.” Hobi replied while styling his hair with his mother’s straighteners. 
“You got 95% in the last test, it’s obvious you have to study.” 
“Look Y/N,” he put down the straighteners and sat on his bed “you don’t have to get 100% in everything. It’s only the end of year exams that actually count towards your score.”
“I know that, but I’ve got a reputation to keep up. Plus, people think your scores are slipping because…” 
“Because…?”
You sigh. “Because we’re too busy ‘dating’. I mean, where do these rumours come from?”
“Well, you’re always in my house, that’s one thing”
“Fuck off, it’s only because both my parents are usually out and I want to save on our heating bills.”
“Oh, so you’re mooching off me for warmth?”
“That, and your Mom’s snacks. Since you moved next door, I’ve had her cookies everyday. Are you sure she doesn’t put weed in them?”
“What? No. They just taste really good. I’m surprised your teeth haven’t rotted yet. Come on, no more Chemistry. We have a party to go to.” He put on his jacket and threw you yours.
“I’m only going so I can keep an eye on you, and remember, chugging down a two litre bottle of coke with mentos is not a fun experience.” You slip on your coat and flick your hair out so it hangs over your neck.
“Don’t remind me.” 
Pretty much everyone was around 15 to 16 years old, there were 8 people in total. Pizza boxes stacked on top of the dining room table, fizzy drinks surrounding it. It was a gaming party and an intense game of monopoly was in session. Of course, you and Hobi were the winning team. Board games soon got boring, and so a round of spin the bottle took place. This was the age to pretend to be mature and try ‘adult’ games. Of course, no one wanted to kiss anyone in particular, so it became a hybrid version of truth or dare. 
You stare at the bottle intently as the first round lands on you. 
“Wooh! It’s Y/N’s go. Ok, truth or dare?” asked John. 
“Well I’m not good with dares, so truth.” 
“Are you and Hoseok actually dating?” 
“Have you two kissed?” Another party-goer chimed in. 
“What the fuck, no! We’re not dating.” You yelled in frustration. You could feel the blush creep up on your face, but prayed no one noticed because the bottle had already begun to spin again. Soon after, it landed on Hobi. 
“Truth for me!” He chirped. 
“I have one,” you note. “The day of my 13th birthday party, you looked upset. Why?” 
“What the heck Y/N, that was like 3 years ago no one remembers shit from that long ago!” John proclaimed. 
“No it’s ok,” Hobi continued, “That was the day my goldfish died.” You looked at him with a confused look. 
“Alright, good enough, let’s go.” The bottle landed on more people until is was nearly 10pm, the time to leave. John began to spin the bottle. “For the last round, we’re going to spin it twice. The two people it lands on, they have to kiss. Whether it’s boy-boy or girl-girl, you still have to kiss.”
The bottle spins and lands on you and… fuck… Hobi. You two just look at each other with an expression of concern, but then just go for it, to get it over and done with. It was an awkward lip-touch kiss, neither of you dared to use tongue. Soon enough 5 seconds were up, and it was the time to leave. Of course, everyone would be talking about your kiss with Hoseok at school for the next month, but you couldn’t care less. You had Chemistry on your mind.
“Hey Y/N,” Hobi starts as you two walk the familiar path home. “Sorry about the kiss.”
“It’s fine, fuck what people say, right?” 
“Yeah.” He let out a long sigh. “I lied. My goldfish didn’t die that day.” 
“So why were you sad?” 
“I was feeling lonely.” Your heart sank. “I’ve always been friendly with people, but I’ve never really had friends. I only realised it that day.” 
You stopped in your tracks and turned to him. He paused too. You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. “Listen to me motherfucker, you’re my best friend. If you ever feel lonely, I’ll be right over with ice cream and Twilight. Also, if any bitch breaks your heart, tell me and I will wreck her.” You let him go and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
You felt protective of him, but as a friend right? You surely weren’t falling in love with him.
✎ ✎
You lay on your bed in only your bra and underwear. Hoseok was also stripped down to his boxers, with a little help from you. You saw both your clothes mingle into a messy pile in the corner of your small bedroom. You’d been living in this apartment in the city since you ran an up and coming company. It was tiny, but it was your own place. It was home. Hoseok lived close, his dance studio was next to your office. Everyday, you’d get a perfect view of the zumba ladies in the morning, the little kids learning hip hop in the afternoon and his dance crew in the evenings. After work, you two would usually get dinner together and walk home. Old habits from your high school days. 
Hoseok picked up his jacket and took out a condom from his inside pocket. He took the wrapper and put it down on the bedside table. “Now before all that, I have to make you wet.”
His head disappeared in front of your legs. He bent your knees and propped your hips up with a pillow, then he slid his fingers into your underwear and slowly took them off, past your thighs, knees, calves, until they were at your ankles. He took them off and added it to the pile of clothes. You took a deep breath, not knowing what to expect. That’s when he hit the spot. His tongue expertly slid along your folds. You let out a gasp, out of both shock and pleasure. He was now at your core, you were exposed to him. He slid his tongue into you as far as it would go, and back out. He continued this endless assault until you could contain it no longer and moaned his name. 
“Wow, it feels quite hot when you say my name like that.” He returned to his position. “How long has it been since you’ve been laid?” His hot breath hit your entrance like dragon smoke. You were getting wet with every second his tongue lay on your spot. 
“I think… around… 4 years?” You finally manage to get out.
“Wow since Uni? Have you just been touching yourself to satiate your urges?” He presses on.
“Of course. I’ve been busy, I didn’t have time to really screw anyone.”
Without warning, he slid a finger into you. You arched your back in response to the hormones coursing through your veins. “Your fingers have always been so slender, but I’m sure you’ve never felt like this when you did it by yourself.” 
He pumped his fingers in and out of you at a painfully slow pace. Your hips travelled forward, for more of him, but he wouldn’t let you. He curled his finger inside you, touching your delicate walls. You thought you would go crazy if you didn’t climax soon. The teasing was becoming too much for you. 
“Hoseok, if you make me come in the next 5 minutes,” you sat up and looked directly at his dark eyes. You seductively licked your lips and gave him a wink. “You know what I’ll do, now stop playing around.”
He slipped another finger inside you and started pumping at a steady rhythm. He put his thumb on your bundle of nerves and rubbed small circles into it. After ten circles, he would take his thumb off and suck on it for about two seconds. This torturous repetition continued until you felt a familiar presence in your lower abdomen. Soon enough, your mind, body and soul shattered. The high was nothing like you had experienced before, it was more carnal, almost animalistic in nature.
Hoseok removed the pillow from your hips. You were breathing heavily from your orgasm. He removed his boxers and began slowly pumping himself. “So, that took me four minutes and 12 seconds.” You looked up to see him palm his length. You wondered for a second if he would even fit inside you. “It’s time to keep up your end of the bargain.”
Hobi laid on the bed whilst you got onto all fours, still pretty shaken up from your first real orgasm in god knows how long. You had thought of the various positions and things you’d like to try with Hobi; against a wall, in the shower, blindfolded, the lot. You didn’t even know you wanted him in a way that’s more than a friend until you thought of him during one of your ‘relaxation’ sessions. The thought of him touching you everywhere just excited you, something which you’d never felt before. Now here he was, in front of you, naked. With the thought that you had been victorious in your mission in mind, you took his manhood into your mouth and began to move your head up and down.
✎ 4 years ago
“Why did you drive an hour and a half from your house to pick me up? I told you I was fine.” You exclaimed trying to keep your vision clear.
“Fine?! Bullshit Y/N. If I didn’t come when I did… Jesus, who knows what could have happened!” Hoseok was driving his car well above the speed limit, but he didn’t care about breaking the law. He did care about happened to you.
You had gone to a house party with a couple of other people from your University. While you were off pursuing higher education, Hoseok began apprenticing under dancers from ballet to popping, to become a choreographer. You two promised each other to talk everyday, and you did however you could. Calls, Facebook, Twitter and Skype,. He always informed you about his daily life, as did you. You thought this party would be like any other, some booze, weed and messy makeout sessions… but you overdid it on all three. 
You had drunk way past your limit and gotten so faded it was difficult to even stand up. The number of people you kissed whilst inebriated was well over the half century mark, both guys and girls. You were just about to get frisky with another boy when your phone rang. It was Hoseok. You declined the call and continued your with your antics. It was only after you had stripped your underwear and was about to lose your virginity in someone else’s bedroom, when Hobi came bursting through the door. He picked you up and carried you and your belongings to his car.
“I told you I was going to a party! Why did you have to cockblock me?! Gosh you’re such an asshole!” You scream at him.
“Excuse me for being a good friend! You were going to have unprotected sex… while drunk! And… wait are you high as well?! Fuck Y/N, this isn’t like you at all.” Hoseok replied sternly.
“Well what am I like? A straight-A student who’s got her whole life sorted out. Well guess what, I’m not who you think I am.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I’m saying is that I’m sick of everyone expecting me to be this perfect embodiment of success. I mean… maybe I do want to smoke weed Mum. Or even fail my classes Dad. Or maybe I do want to get an STD from unprotected sex Hobi!”
“I get that you’re pissed off at me, but you’ll thank me one day. You’re just going through a rebel phase, it’ll pass don’t worry.”
“Thank you?! I was going to lose my virginity to.., whatever his name was!” You throw your hands up in defeat and slump into the passenger seat. You can feel the tears well up in your eyes, “Hobi, is there something wrong with me?”
“What? No. Nothing at all.”
“Then why can’t I get a boyfriend? Don’t give me all the bullshit about not finding the right guy! I mean, I do have guys as friends but they never like me as more than friends.”
“Maybe because they’d rather value their friendship to you than a relationship? Look, if you’re so desperate to get laid, make the first move. Only while you’re sober, understand?”
Your emotions switched from lonely to hopeful, damn you were totally drunk. You looked at Hobi as if he cracked the code to an impenetrable safe. “You’re an actual genius, Hoseok,” with that you passed out.
 After that, you could only remember waking up to find yourself in Hoseok’s bed, with him next to you, accompanied by a killer hangover.
✎ ✎
Hobi grabbed your hair tight and pulled your mouth from his cock to his lips. The kiss was rough, needy, desperate. You could feel his tongue invade your mouth, trying to fight for dominance. Both of you had been warmed up sufficiently by all this foreplay, and now it was time for the real deal. Hobi slipped on the condom with ease. This is it, after all these years.
“Ok, I need you on all fours, but with your chest on the bed. Keep your hips up in the air, ok?” Hoseok guided you.
“Fine, but this feels like an awkward pose to start with.” You chimed, but doing as you were told. 
“I know what I’m doing. Just wait until I’m inside you babe.” You can feel Hobi smirk as he says it.
You can feel the tip of his cock at your entrance, painfully teasing you. Your cheeks are burning red, from the stimulation and the annoyance that he’s making you wait. You just wanted him in you already, and your patience was beginning to wear thin.
Suddenly, Hoseok grabbed both sides of your hips and put his whole length in, hilt-deep. The sensation of being filled so quickly made you draw out a deep guttural moan. A string of curse words soon followed, which made him chuckle.
“You’re so cute when you swear Y/N.”
You kneel upright so your back is flush against Hobi’s chiseled abdomen, and turn your head to plant a small kiss on his lips. “Shut up and make me feel good, sunshine.” You grind against him, while his dick is still deep in you. You didn’t recall sex feeling this good. You felt Hoseok’s small smile drop and he starts nibbling on your neck.
He puts a hand on your nape and pushes you down, so you’re back to the position you started in. He puts a pillow right in front of you and raises your hips higher with his hands. “You see, what I like about this position... “ You feel him kneel forward until he’s right by your ear, “is that I can... Fuck. You. Hard.” He pronounce every syllable in a harsh tone. “Hold on tight, babe. You’ll feel like you’ve never done before.”
You do as instructed and place your hands on your small headrest, mildly excited for Hoseok to get on with it. He pulls out slowly, until he’s only a few inches in, and pounds into you with enough force to jolt you forward.
✎ 1 hour ago
“Ok ok, I have a really juicy secret!” You shout out. “When I was 11 years old, I drew dicks in the girls’ loos and the teachers thought one of the boys would do it. Turns out, my desk partner was caught with going to the girls’ toilets and he got blamed for the dicks.”
There weren’t many people around on the streets at this time of night, but this didn’t faze you. You had pepper spray in your purse and a knife tucked in the hidden compartment of your coat. Usually Friday nights were when you two went to the small Vietnamese place that was quite far away. You had just missed the last bus and now had to walk the 2 miles home, in the freezing cold.
“Shit, that must have taken guts.” Hobi responded to your statement. “Ok, um… you know when I told you I was dating Jennifer Griggs?”
“Yeh?” You answer cautiously.
“Well, turns out she was a lesbian who was only dating me to convince her parents that she was straight.” 
“No way! That’s actually so sad, I feel bad for her. I called her a bitch once because she took my cookie by accident.” 
“Don’t you mean my cookie? You always stole my food.” 
“Not always, if you’re not looking, it doesn’t count as stealing, duh!” 
“You’re such a douche.” 
“Ooh I’ve got one. At Uni, I joined the BDSM society and pretty much attended orgies every week.” 
“Holy hell, seriously? Is this when you would tell me you’re off to go swimming?!” 
“Yes, I’ve never step foot inside the swimming pool there. Although I was actually a weird one, because I would only join in like once a month but I only became a watcher about a year in.” 
“How come?” 
“Because none of them were you.”
Shit. You should not have said that. 
“Ok it’s my turn.” Hoseok began after a long pause. He let out a deep sigh, “I’ve been in love with you since I first laid eyes on you.”
You stopped dead in your tracks and stood to face him. You stood on your tiptoes to reach his ear. “My place is closer.”
✎ ✎
You were so close to climaxing, you thought you would pass out if you didn’t reach your orgasm soon. Somehow, Hobi sensed that you were close and began thrusting into you at a faster and harder pace. His hips rolled into yours effortlessly, you expected nothing less of the fantastic dancer. Your heart felt as if it would tire from beating too fast, and your hands balled fistfuls of your bedding. Soon enough, one final body roll was all it took for you to reach your high at an altitude beyond the heavens. You felt as if you had left the astral plane and ascended beyond comprehension and bodily existence. Whilst descending, you realised that Hobi was still pounding into you, using your high to fuel his own when later he too reached his limits. He collapsed on top of your back, using his forearms to stop himself from crushing you underneath his weight. 
You wince at the feeling of him pulling out but you’re so exhausted, only sleep is on your mind. As Hobi goes to clean himself up, you curl up under your duvet, wearing your birthday suit. You’re sweaty and sticky from all the activities and wonder if you ought to shower now, but that thought soon leaves your head when Hobi slips in next to you. His arm snakes around your waist and brings it closer, so your hair tickles his chin. You slip a leg around him and hook your arm over the side of his chest.
“You know,” you begin as you lift your head to face him, “We’re merging with Google next week, I’ll get a raise and y’know… maybe you can live with me? I’ll get a bigger bed and maybe decent sheets and we can move closer to your studio, but I don’t think I can cook dinner every night because I can only boil pasta.” You rattle on faster than your speed of thought.
“Y/N…” Hobi begins with a bright smile. “Are you asking me to be your sugar baby?”
“Well, maybe. Unless you’re not down for that, which is totally cool with me.” You reply with exasperation.
“No, I’m fine to be whatever you need me to be. Sugar baby, husband, boyfriend, one night stand.” He listed.
“Well tonight… will you be my best friend?” You ask inquisitively.
“Forever.” He kisses your forehead as the two of you merge into each other, drifting off into a blissful slumber.
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alsparaarchive · 4 years ago
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𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 / Alex & Sid
Date: February 7, 2021 Location: Alex’s Winter Garden home in Florida
Summary: Sid flies back after a game with a little surprise for Alex but boy does she have a bigger one for him. “Charlie is yours, Sidney... she’s ours.” 
Date Started: February 5, 2021 Date Completed: still in progress 
Alex Vacant.. it was the only way to describe how Alex went about her day. She was almost glad Sid wasn't around to witness the shock and distress she was in but knowing he would be back is what flared up every ounce of anxiety her body was capable of producing. 99.99998%... she couldn't even tell you how many times she stared down at those numbers on her phone from the email she received that morning. At first she was ecstatic, so relieved that the one person she would've chosen to have a child with in the first place was actually Charlie's father but with all that came the crippling realization that Sidney didn't even know there was a possibility. She had stolen so much time from him out of fear that she wouldn't be his and her worst nightmare was finding out after Sid already thought he was and having to take that all away from him. There was no right way to go about it, not really, just the way she did it and perhaps the way he would've preferred she done things which of course scared the fuck out of her. They had finally gotten back to this good place, she was happier than ever with the way things seemed to be going between them, and now this? She knew this would strain them, that there was a strong possibility he would hate her once she told him and that's what kept her so distraught all day. For most of it she felt paralyzed, almost nothing she wanted to get done was accomplished including fixing herself up and changing out of her loungewear from the night before but at least Charlie's basic needs were tended to. It's just that she wasn't her usual self with her daughter; She wasn't bouncing around and playing with her like she normally would. She couldn't, her mind was too preoccupied by running the million different scenarios of how telling him could possibly go. She knew which one she hoped for but the footballer was a realist, she knew the chances of that were next to none. Alex debated calling her mom or her sisters for advice but it didn't feel right that they would know before Sidney. He deserved to be the first and so every time she picked up her phone to call or text one of them she just sighed and put it back down resisting the urge to throw it against the wall. She was at such a loss and didn't know the first thing to do with herself. The brunette hadn't cried yet, just stewed in her anxiety which only seemed to get ten times worse the moment she saw headlights through the curtains in her living room — him pulling into the driveway. She wasn't ready but was this really something she'd ever be ready to tell him? Alex took a deep breath trying to shake out the nerves before he came inside. She didn't want to make it immediately obvious especially without knowing what kind of mood he was going to walk through the doors in, that would probably play a very key factor.
Sidney It was good to finally be getting out of New York. Sure, there was still one more game to be had on the island, but for now Sid was coming back… home. It was surprisingly how quickly his brain had taken over and filled in the gap for him. Not that he minded. It was true. Which was probably a little crazy, but Sid just didn’t care. He liked where his head was at right now with Alex. Clear, decided… optimistic. Yes, long gone was that false narrative he’d convinced himself of, that he needed to be unhappy… that he needed to spend a life without her… just because she’d had a baby with someone else. Or that even before then, that she didn’t want him as much as he might’ve wanted her… No, he wasn’t doing that to himself anymore. He’d made up his mind now. So, when Alex had mentioned the idea of maybe moving in with her and Charlie for the rest of the season, he’d hadn’t hesitated to say yes. It wasn’t like he hadn’t already planned on making her a set of extra keys for his Pittsburgh house for Valentine’s Day… or anything…. “Yeah, mom it’s me… I’m with Alex in Florida— I don’t know if she’s got— okay, okay I’ll check... sure, yeah I’ll give her your number again. I’m sure she’s still got it— oh your new number, okay…” hadn’t he called her? “Mom, I needed to know if you and dad were going away in the— uh, because we might be— yes, mom… Alex and I, might be making a trip… no, I don’t think… okay, I’ll ask…” he tuned out. Connecting eyes with another man sitting opposite him, who seemed to share his pain and gave him a sympathy smile after mouthing the word ‘mom’ in his direction. “Yeah, yeah… look I’ll call you next week and we can talk about it some— yes, mom. I’ve met Alex’s baby… I don’t know? A baby. She’s cute, funny… a baby?” What did his mom want him to say about Charlie? She was acting like Charlie was — ‘Flight 55 to Orlando, Florida is now boarding at Gate 48.’ “Mom, I’m boarding… I’ve got to go… I’ll call you. Love you too.” He snapped his phone closed. Grabbing up his carry on; this time with more than a couple of shirts he wouldn’t mind losing to Alex inside of it and a penguins onesie for Charlie, as he walked over to the first class check in and got on board. He would’ve liked to sleep on the flight down, but the idea of seeing Alex in only couple of hours kept him energised… He felt like he was some sixteen year old kid finally getting to see his girlfriend again after spending the entire summer away at some Hockey Camp… he was ‘giddy’ Which seemed a little embarrassing now that he’d put a word to it, but he couldn’t find another… at least not one as accurate. After picking up his rental from the airport kiosk, he made his way over to the BMW, throwing his bag in and heading off in the direction of Alex’s address. By now the guards knew just to wave him in with a smile, so it wasn’t long before he was pulling up outside her house and grabbing his bag back out again. Walking inside with the aid of the key she’d given him a few days ago, Sidney looked around and smiled when he saw her. Giddy. He dropped his bag… walking over to her… his smile big and goofy… but he didn’t care, “hi.” Hands wrapping around her he enveloped her into a hug before his hands found her face and he pulled her lips towards his own… “mmm…” he pulled back, his thumb brushing over her cheek, just before… “hold that thought…” Or kiss. Whatever was about to come up next between them, because he had a surprise. Walking back over to his bag he dug in and found the onesie he’d got management to help organise earlier… “okay close your eyes…” he wasn’t sure if she had or she hadn’t, but he didn’t mind as he turned back around and placed it in her hands… “surprise!”
Alex A good mood might've been expected but this... god, the way he lit up walking through those doors and seeing her face. Alex's heart both swelled about six times and then plummeted all the way into her stomach. She wished so badly she could be as giddy as he was about their little reunion even if it had only been a couple days but she was still too anxiety stricken to be even half as energized as he was about the whole thing. Still she smiled when he wrapped his arms around her and she did the same, rubbing his lower back with her hands as they hugged. She wished they could stay like that so much longer, let her find some comfort and maybe some air to breathe but just as he was quick to pull her in, he was pulling away and going in for a kiss which would've been just as nice had he not stopped it to go grab whatever surprise he had for her. More sweets from the airport maybe? This is where Alex's giddy little laugh would've come in, she would've shut her eyes with the biggest smile on her face and asked what it was before he ever got the chance to put it in her hands. Maybe he'd know something was wrong by the way she stayed silent instead; she did close her eyes as requested but there was nothing as she waited, almost just as vacant as she'd been all day. When Alex opened her eyes she felt as though she had taken a cleat to the gut, the wind completely knocked out of her. It was too adorable the way he was now always thinking about Charlie, too. In his mind she wasn't even his and yet here he was doing things like /this./ It shouldn't have been so overwhelming but given everything it was so much more than she could handle and brought the striker to her breaking point. "Sid.." tears overflowed in her eyes and for the first time maybe ever since crying in front of him she didn't try to stop it. She couldn't. She felt the soft fabric in her hands, her fingers running over the Penguin's logo as she tried desperately to collect herself and her thoughts. Maybe if she had kept her cool she could've enjoyed being with him a little bit before having to tell him but now that didn't seem like much of a possibility. "Sid, I have to tell you something." Her hand slid down his arm, taking his hand in her own and lead him over to the couch. "You should probably sit down." She knew how precarious it all sounded but how else could she possibly broach the subject? She went over it all day in her head and still had no idea the right way to tell him. As he went to sit down Alex picked up her phone from the coffee table in front of them and re-opened the email. She sat down next to Sidney and held his hand, taking a deep breath. All she had to do was get it out and once she did he'd know. Their lives forever changed. It felt unfair of her to do this to him not knowing if it's a way he would have wanted his life to change but it's not like she had been ready for a baby either when she found out she was pregnant, not that it made this any better. Wiping away some tears, her hands shaking, she began to speak. "I'm not sure if you ever really did the math. If there was ever a question in your mind, a tiny inkling or anything? Because if there was you've never expressed it and I guess that's probably because you assumed I would've told you." She realized she probably wasn't making much sense so she reeled it back in. "I didn't want to tell you without being sure and up until the other night there was no way of me being sure because we weren't in each other's lives but I swear I'm telling you this the same day I found out. I didn't want to hide it from you I just... Sid, I don't even really know the right way to say this but ... "she held out the phone to him showing him the email that very clearly stated it was a paternity test with a 99.99998% match. More tears falling now as he was probably starting to put it all together in his mind. "Charlie is yours, Sidney. She's ours.."
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