#yellow truck driver had good musical taste

[ririchonne]

🎶 So amazing to be love by you🎶

[zooophagous]

Strauss sat slightly curled in the passenger’s seat of the dirty pick up. He was very pointedly staring out the window, away from the driver, watching the reflective markers by the road fly past in a yellow blur like shooting stars. Sylvain was grinning, seemingly at nothing. She wasn’t apparently concerned with Strauss’ refusal to look at her. She was too busy. Too busy haphazardly steering with one hand while fucking with the radio with the other.

“Ugh, country music. I can’t stand this twangy shit. How about you? You got a preference?” She craned her head to look at his tee-shirt, which bore the band emblem of The Rolling Stones. 

“Classic rock fan? We can do that. You at least have good taste, Lu.”

“Where are we going?” He asked without turning his head. 

“Like I said, we’re gonna have a little fun. Seems like something you’re out of practice on.”

“I am concerned that your idea of fun will not mesh with mine.” 

“Oh come off it. I do have other interests beyond tormenting mortals you know.” She rolled her eyes. “You aren’t still MAD at me, are you?”

“You tried to kill a friend of mine and in saving him I managed to shatter my femur and be confined to bed rest.” Strauss replied flatly. “I loathe bed rest.”

“Come on. That was weeks ago!” Sylvain protested in a mock whiny voice. “You were barely on bed rest for two weeks, if that, I’m sure. I know you didn’t take long to heal. A drop in the bucket, for someone as long lived as you. Practically a minor inconvenience.”

“It is less minor for Mr. Samuel, who nearly lost his life.”

“Look, I had no idea he was as gung ho about dying as he was, ok?” She huffed. “Fine. You win. I’m sorry I almost killed Mr. Samuel by using my advanced powers of psychic suggestion to convince him to commit suicide. That’s as much of an apology as you’re going to get. Now will you try and look at me when I’m talking?”

Strauss inhaled deeply, and did as she asked, finally forcing himself to look at her. She felt so much larger than him, even though the opposite was true. She was nearly too short to reach the pedals of the obnoxiously large truck. Her claw rested casually on the steering wheel, the other tapped along in time to the music on the car door out the open window. 

He harbored a multitude of regrets. This was supposed to be an expedition in information gathering. Doing so would be nigh impossible if he couldn’t look at her, much less talk to her. 

“Forgive me. I am being rude. It is just… very new and strange for me, to be in the presence of another immortal like this. I am used to it being a bit more combative. It is not as if our previous meetings have been enjoyable.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I enjoyed them just fine. But! Apology accepted, Lu. We may as well start fresh and make nice. We have more in common than not, I’m sure.”

“Beyond both of us being dead, you mean?”

“Both of us being captives- excuse me, FORMER captives of the Van Helsings? Both of us being occult researchers?”

“How about both of us being wanted murderers?”

“Speak for yourself, Lu. You’re the one with the record. I’ve been keeping my claws clean.” 

“Is that because you’ve been good, or because you know how to avoid detection?”

“You’re so clever, Lu. Funny guy. I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

“Like me, do you?” He raised an eyebrow. “I heard quite the opposite. I was told you had a hit list of vampires to dispose of, and my name was on it.”

“Told you about that, did they? Color me impressed. They must like you, if they’re that honest with you. No hard feelings about it Lu. I can call you Lu, right? Anyway, believe it or not, I didn’t actually want to ‘dispose’ of you.”

“No?”

“Nope. You were my thesis project for graduation. Harmless little old German man. When they told me your number was up, I was actually sad about it. Sad to see you slip up, you know? That’s why I put you at the bottom of the hit list.” 

“How touching.”

“As far as I could tell, the victim in the killing that got you your murder record had it coming. But then, you did go on to kill again after that, didn’t you?”

“In self defense, yes. A Mr. Elliot Lane. Was he a colleague of yours?”

“At one point, yeah. He was a moron. Always felt like he had to prove himself. Be better than everyone else. He was a trophy hunter. It’s funny, I always knew he’d die at work. I just didn’t think I’d ever be buddy-buddy with the monster that took him down.”

“Both of those statements are false. I am not a monster, and we are not buddies.”

“Aww, don’t hurt my feelings now Lu. After all the effort I’m putting in to give you a night on the town?”

“You still have not told me where we are going.” 

“Well, I know enough about you to know you’re a biologist at heart. I also know enough about the Van Helsing Institute to know your mind is going to complete waste there. I said we’d have fun, and I meant it. Consider this a peace offering, yeah? You’ll like this place.”

“What is it?”

“We’re going to the zoo.”

“The zoo?” Strauss raised his eyebrows and turned to finally face her directly. “The zoological gardens where they keep wild animals?”

“That’s the one.”

“Why?”

“Two reasons. First, because I know you’ve never seen one and it’s pertinent to your interests. Second, because they have a petting zoo with goats, and I don’t want you to get peckish.”

She grinned evilly. Strauss grunted in reply. At least she wasn’t expecting him to join her in hunting humans just yet. “This facility is surely not open after midnight.”

“Doesn’t need to be. We can get in and out easy. Besides, it will be a nice quiet place to talk. That’s what you wanted, right? To talk? You still haven’t told me what about.”

“Yes. I am… building my courage to speak of it.” He swallowed hard. “It is a difficult topic to broach. I worry it may… trigger your temper.”

“Are you scared of me?”

He hesitated before answering. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Strauss returned his gaze to the roads. He rested his head on the window. The cool of the glass was comforting, even though the heavy rumble of the truck was off putting. The road slowly became the city. He had been here often enough to recognize parts of it now. There was the path that led to the bar, and further down, the road to Mr. Samuel’s house.

He winced inwardly at the thought. With any luck, she’d forget about wanting to hurt Sam. If she tried again he may have to break his promise to Artemis not to fight with her. She seemed content to sing along to “Paint it Black” on the radio until it faded into an obnoxious car dealership commercial that played several decibels louder than the music. 

Strauss frowned, and abruptly shut off the radio. 

“Not feelin’ the tunes, Lu?”

“If I have to listen to one more moment of commercials I will lose my composure. Are we close? I wish to get out of the car.”

Or at least, he wished not to be trapped in a small moving object mere feet away from her while she subtly mocked him.

“It’s right up this way. We’ll have to park and walk. If we climb the fence in the back corner here, there won’t be any alarms.”

“You talk as if you’ve done this before.”

“Of course. Many times.”

She parked the truck and hopped out of it eagerly. Strauss meekly trailed after her. This was already taking far too long. He’d allowed her to call the shots and get him to a secondary location. He was just along for the ride at this point. He absentmindedly stuck his claws into his pockets and felt the smart watch still there.

He gripped it momentarily. That watch was a lifeline. So long as Artemis was on the other side of it, he wasn’t completely alone with Sylvain. Not that Artemis could help very quickly. He almost missed Frau Harker. 

“Y’know Lu. Before I got into the vampire killing biz I wanted to be an exotic veterinarian? Graduated with a biology degree and everything.”

“You must like animals. I suppose we have that in common as well.”

“More than I like people.”

“How did you come to join the Institute?”

“Some of my exotic animal research led me to some interesting places. Namely, old records of vampirism in animals. One of my advisors had ties to the institute, so I wasn’t exactly discouraged from learning more from there.”

“And they convinced you that these unique new specimens you’d just discovered needed killing?”

He followed her in the dark down a tree lined path. He could smell hot compost and dung- no doubt the dumping grounds of the large animal waste. Sylvain was the one not looking at him, now. She scanned the fence line for an entry point.

“It’s something they teach you when you learn about wild animals, Lu. Large predators and humans have conflict. Large predators need careful management.”

She found her spot on the fence and made the climb. She looked not unlike a squirrel, or rodent, scaling the sheer face of tall wooden slats. 

“If people are in conflict with large predators, and someone doesn’t remove the problem predators, then the people feel unsafe, and they retaliate. They retaliate hard. If a problem wolf isn’t shot, a ranger might poison the entire pack. If a problem vampire isn’t dealt with, then every vampire loses their veil of secrecy, and all of them are in danger.”

“So your venture into the murder of our kind was done out of some desire to save us?” He tilted his head. “It was for our own good?”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t sound stupid in hindsight. You want the answer? You got it.” 

She disappeared over the fence. Strauss gripped the top of the fenceline and slowly pulled himself up. Chin ups were arduous, but he cleared the obstacle easily, and lowered slowly to the tall grass of the other side. 

“Is that it?”

“Is what it?” She led the way down the gravel path of the staff areas. 

“I suppose I was expecting a renowned slayer to have some deeply personal reasons for collecting such a body count. I thought perhaps some vampire had wronged you, planted a desire for revenge, I did not expect your interests in us to be so academic.”

“Not every bad person has the luxury of a good reason for being that way.” 

Strauss followed her slowly. His head was on a swivel, taking in the grounds. He could feel many eyes tracking him, and many excited heartbeats in his ears, but none of them human. No doubt the animal denizens of the facility were not used to seeing visitors at this hour. He worried one might sound the alarm, somehow, like a guard dog. No such alarm came.

“I suppose our paths aren’t terribly different. I too took an interest in vampires from the perspective of the biologist. I was more interested in medicine than zoology, however.”

“Interesting, ain’t it? I ended up joining the hunters, and you ended up joining the wolves. Interesting choice on your part too, Lu.”

“I did not go by choice.” He replied flatly. “I thought perhaps, given your research into my life, you might know that.”

“You had more of a choice than I did.” 

“You and I both walked willingly into the tiger’s den.”

“Wrong. I walked in to kill a tiger. You walked in because one promised you something and you believed it. Maybe you should think twice about questioning my background when you’re the one taking candy from strangers.”

Strauss shut up abruptly. Her anger was still dangerous, despite the attempts at familiarity. 

“Forgive me. I did not intend to upset you.”

“Relax, Lu. You didn’t make me mad. When I’m mad, you’ll know.” She turned to face him with aggressive eye contact. He felt himself falter even further behind her. “Besides, all that’s water under the bridge now. We ended up on the same team.”

“Same team, are we?”

“Sure. Vampires should stick together. We’re a rare breed. We won’t get a lot of people who understand us. Doesn’t make sense to fight.”

“Why then, in our previous meetings, were you so keen to intimidate me?”

“Large predators have a hierarchy, Lu.” She lingered slowly by the fence line as a pack of captive wolves approached the chain link with hungry curiosity. 

“I had to be the one calling the shots. I needed you to know in no uncertain terms who was in charge. I didn’t want it to even be a question. So, a little vulgar display of power here and there. I figured your curiosity would bring you out even if I was kind of a bitch.” She grinned.

“Why is it important for me to be brought out?”

“I already said I didn’t want to kill you.” She leaned over the guardrail to look at the gathering wolves more closely. “I still don’t. I didn’t really think that you deserved it. I also know that most vampire research subjects at the Van Helsing Institute are kept there in jars, not in dorms.” 

She crossed her arms with a sigh. “You’re doomed there, you know. They want to pretend to be your friend but you’re just an exotic pet, and soon enough you’d be another skull in a cabinet. I wanted better for you. I wanted to… I don’t know. Release you back into the wild.”

“The fact that I can tell you that I am happy and well cared for notwithstanding?”

“A psychological cage is still a cage.” 

The wolves dispersed along the fence line. The novelty of the visitors had worn off. Sylvain followed the pack with her eyes till they were hidden from sight. 

"It's a bit late to try and just put you back, unfortunately. Whatever worked for you before back home is gone now. If you're going to survive now you're going to have to adapt. And I know you're bad at adapting."

She started down the path again. Strauss wandered after her. "What makes you think I'm bad at adapting?"

"If you were any good at it you'd have done it on your own. You lived in a hole underground slowly starving to death. Don't take this the wrong way Lu. Most large predators aren't very good at adapting. Especially adapting to a bigger predator. They don't know how to cope with it. I get the feeling that it was all downhill for you once bloodletting started becoming less common for illnesses. Am I right?"

"I admit, yes. The advancement of modern medicine was beneficial to humanity, but the loss of that treatment did leave me very hungry."

"Damn shame isn't it. But you know, Lu. Even if donations run dry, you can still keep a clear conscience if you just stick to those who have it coming." She flashed her awful shark toothed grin at him, almost more like an animal baring its teeth than a person making a smile.

"Is that what you do, Frau Pietra?"

"Accusatory tone much? Besides, I know you've done it." She hand-waved him away as she strode down a path labeled "Asia." 

"Yes, I have. But if you remember, that one was practically forced on me. It wasn't my original idea."

"Sure, the dead child molester wasn't your idea." She shrugged. "But I know he wasn't the first time you cleaned up the streets a little in the name of a hot meal. Maybe it didn't make it to your file, but I have a hunch, Lu. You can tell me. I won't blab to Ursula over it."

"If you must know, I have lived through two world wars, and I admit that yes… perhaps I did take advantage of the fact that so many people simply disappear into the fog of war. A dead Nazi here or there was not terribly missed. Is this sort of thing what you do often? Do you hunt, Frau Pietra?"

"Shhh. Hey. Look." Sylvain stopped and pointed at a fence. There was a panel built into it made of glass, for the viewing pleasure of the public. Strauss approached the glass slowly.

On the other side of the fence stood an apex predator. It was long, longer in body than Strauss was tall, and it weighed more than three of him. Its fangs likewise envied his own. Strauss ran his fingers along the raised letters of the bronze plaque that gave the beast its name.

PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA

The Amur tiger. Small yellowish dots of reflected light glinted in its eyes. It stood not but five feet beyond the glass, regarding its audience with cool indifference. Strauss made eye contact with the animal, and felt that for a moment he could actually hold that eye contact comfortably.

The tiger blinked slowly, and began to pad silently past the glass, treating the pair to the full spectacle of its size and striped coat.

"That is a tiger. A real one."

"Yeah. Pretty fella, isn't he? Hard to believe they get that big."

"I've never seen a real tiger before." 

"That one's not a real tiger. Not all the way. It has the fangs and the claws, sure. But it's not a hunter. It won't ever kill a deer or defend a territory. It will only ever eat and sleep and mate as its handlers allow it to."

"The sign says it is an endangered species. Perhaps places like this keep it safe."

"Safe is different from whole."

Sylvain walked off down the path again. Strauss lingered a moment to watch the tiger. It looked like a real enough tiger.

"I am sure it is quite real enough to humble anyone who tries to tangle with it."

"That's true. That's one thing I like about this place, you know? I don't even think a vampire is a sure winner against a tiger. Puts me in perspective. There's always a bigger fish."

"That is a cat, not a fish."

"Shut up." 

"How much longer do you wish to linger here?"

"So impatient. How about this. Let me go feed the ducks in the koi pond and then we'll leave. We can talk more there. Maybe I can give you some pointers."

"Pointers on what?"

"How to be a real tiger, Lu. I feel like that's what you're really curious about anyway. I'd be happy to give you a little lesson."

"Lesson?"

He asked, though the answer was obvious. 

"Of course. Before the sun rises, I'm going to need a snack. You're going to help me get it."

"I'll do no such thing."

"I wasn't asking."

She produced a quarter from her pocket, and fed it to a coin slot machine that spit out a small handful of crumbling brown pellets.

"Here. Feed the ducks."

She forced the feed into his hands. It left an unpleasant residue. He helplessly tossed the feed to the waiting waterfowl and watched it sink and be devoured. 

[therobotmonster]

That was the deal.

That should have been the tell. The thing with its rotted rags and cackling bird skull was insistent that you accept it. You had to take the 'magic' willingly.

It reached in its chest and gave you a shard of something yellow, and crystal, yet organic. You slip it into your hand, pushing the shard under the skin until it starts moving on its own. Just like you were told.

It's more painful than it sounds.

That pain turns to anger, a sense of betrayal. You feel rage. How dare that thing torture you like this? Lie to you? The anger is hot. The anger is you. The anger is in your hands.

The anger is fire.

You're burning him and he's still laughing. The fire doesn't hurt it. You can't drown a fish in water, you can't burn a demon with hate.

It didn't mean anything, didn't do anything. But letting it go feels so good. You feel strong. Powerful. Righteous. You can feel the magic. It's emotion and metaphor, turning how things are into how things feel. It's a storm in your blood and you can ride the wind from inside.

So you leave.

It isn't hard to figure out how to control. It's easy to let go of the rational when the irrational flows from your hands. The flames and the ice and the lightning are all incredible.

It's other people's magic that's the real thrill.

When the tow-truck driver dives from his cab to avoid a stroke of lightning, instead of the sharp pang of ozone, you smell something sweet and heady, like chocolate melting into bubbling caramel. When the bolts hit it tastes like steak, juicy and tender. The fleeing people shimmer like diamonds in slow motion.

Their confusion as you step through a shadow and emerge in Chicago sounds like music.

You're shocked by how easily you interpret these sensations, how easy they are to decode. You know what they've done. What they fear. What they are ashamed of. You can smell it on them, taste it, like a sommelier with wine. The flames and the ice and the lightning are nothing compared to that. A wizard trades in secrets, after all.

In months you have everything a wizard might want. A tower of steel and glass. Minions. Treasure. The ear of the the local regent.

Things are just as you wanted.

-

The child was invisible.

He wasn't, not really. You've just aren't used to seeing with light anymore. You even remember the sound of him yelling as he charged you but you didn't react. It didn't feel real.

Unlike the pain in your head. That feels very real.

You always knew the assassins were coming. Their songs were loud. Their scents were heady.

The mighty wizard, clubbed by a child who was defending an animal. The acid your embarrassment weeps onto the floor sizzles as you try to stand.

You hear familiar claws on stone.

"Wondering why you didn't hear the brat coming?" It cackles.

"Obviously." You hiss.

"What is magic, great wizard?"

"Emotion."

"Simple as that?" It giggles like a kid waiting to open a birthday gift.

"Rage burns. Fear teleports. Disgust corrodes. Resentment freezes." You name off the tricks you've learned. "When they're mine. They smell and taste and feel when they're someone else's. Simple."

"So why didn't your sense the boy approaching? He was very emotional, I imagine. You injured his creature."

"It nipped at me. Wretched beast." You grumble. "Brave of the little basta-"

You stop. You don't know what bravery sounds like. Or how it tastes, smells, or looks.

You had to have sensed it somehow! You've seen many brave people, often before testing a new spell. You've seen happy and contented and joyful people, couples in love, a boy and his dog.

But only with your eyes.

"Negative emotions?"

"Oh, no need to be scientific. You aren't the mighty physician, you're the great wizard. Evil, friend. My magic is evil. Not the adjective or adverb. The noun. That which you do. That which you suffer." The bird thing cackled. "That's why you had to agree."

"Evil is a choice." Your voice sounds strange and hollow. "And the boy... There's nothing evil about protecting the helpless, those you love."

"Exactly."

"But I can still feel-" You try to protest but you can't finish the sentence. "Impossible! I've done so much. Used my power well. I'm a good person!"

"No. You're a very bad person." The creature's laugh becomes wilder and you can only watch as its head shakes loose from its spine. The creature's skull drops, falling to land in front of you. Even as it does it is still laughing, still speaking, as its body stumbles in search of it. "But lucky for you, I'm not here to make you a good person."

You look up at your creator, through his rib cage at his unbeating heart made of clear yellow stone. You can't feel your heart beating. You can't remember the last time you did.

"I'm here to make you a great wizard."

Becoming a wizard changes you

Biologically you are human

But for the purpose of magic and spells, you no longer are...

[xwing-baby]

Impulse: Part 2 (Javier Peña x Reader)

Summary: Top of your class, the DEA have sent you to Colombia to be the poster child for their new ‘placement program’. You’re thrown in at the deep end into the drug war. With Agent Pena as your mentor, what could possibly go wrong? 

Warnings: ANGST!!! Explicit drug and alcohol abuse from the beginning, depressive thinking/intrusive thoughts, swearing, major character death, blood, smoking, gun violence, show level violence

Word Count: 6.1k

A/N: The response to the first part of this has been fucking insane! I was not expecting you guys to like it so much, so thanks a lot! Like I said before THIS IS THE END OF THE STORY BUT NOT THE END OF THE SERIES.

Part 1

--

Sleep never found you. You drank the bottle of wine Connie gave you without a glass, letting the alcohol wash away your anxieties as you stared out the window to the city surrounding you. You had dreamed of coming here since the idea was first put forward to you. You had the chance to capture Escobar! Ideas of chasing him through the city being the one to catch him, finally stop the war and be a hero had flooded your imagination. You knew that was never going to happen now, not only because the true scale of the horror here was much larger than just one man, but because you were going home. 

It was the only logical solution. The only one that didn’t result in your death, at least. If you stayed it was almost certain to be a death sentence, by your hand or at the hand of someone else. If you stayed you would die. If you went home, maybe someone could help. As much as it pained you, it was the only plan that made sense. 

Still a little drunk, you called the ambassador’s office leaving a message on the answerphone for the secretary to find when she got into work. There was no going back now. 

You showered, changed your clothes from the day before into new clean ones. You spent a little extra time on your hair, singing along to the radio while you attempted to fix the birds nest on top of your head. You looked tired, not just your skin- it was like your soul had been tainted now. You forced a smile, practising in the mirror. You were not convincing even yourself; your eyes were red and sunken from lack of sleep; your nose was red from the constant scratching and your eyes had no light. You looked as rough as you felt, cravings were starting again you felt like your whole body was on fire, itching from the inside out. As the effects of alcohol wore off, the need for a replacement was heightened.

Still wanting to avoid Javier, you knocked on Steve’s apartment and he took you to work. When you arrived, Javier was already at his desk. As if nothing was wrong, he slipped a packet of cigarettes over to you as had become your tradition. You never brought cigarettes here, it just became a habit that the two of you shared. You took one, lit it with your Zippo and took your first nicotine hit of the morning. Javi claimed he let you share because he was trying to cut down, you doubted that. It was a peace offering today. 

From then on you could almost forget anything had happened the day before. The three of you got on with your usual day's tasks. A cigarette never left your lips all morning. It wasn’t what you wanted but the nicotine was doing well at curbing your cravings. Javier and Steve were in and out all morning while you did the paperwork that they didn’t have time for. The mundanity of it was exactly what you had needed. 

Lost in concentration as you struggled to read Carrillo’s terrible handwriting for his part of your case report, you didn’t hear the phone ring. Being closest, Steve answered the call, said something you didn’t hear and held the handset out in your direction. You looked up. You never got calls. 

“It’s for you,” Steve passed the phone to you, a suspicious look on his face. 

You took it and placed the receiver between your head and shoulder while you looked for a paper you’d been looking for. You nearly dropped it when the receptionist on the other side told you she had got you a meeting in the hour. You hadn’t expected it so soon! You hadn’t practised what to say! You thanked her and hung up, quickly standing up to collect your things. 

“Hey, hold up Rookie where are you going?” Steve called after you. Javier looked up from his work, equally as confused.

“Out,” you called back, already through the doors. You didn’t see the look of concern the two men shared when you left the room. 

It felt strange driving somewhere on your own. You always had Javier, Steve, or Connie. You could count the number of times on one hand that you’d driven yourself somewhere. But you needed to do this alone. You needed to prove to yourself that you could do one thing right completely alone. 

You were scared, terrified of what was going to happen. Your palms were so sweaty you could hardly grip the wheel. Each intersection you were tempted to turn around and go back, pretend nothing had happened. The idea of giving in one last time filled your mind, you became so distracted you didn’t notice the traffic in front of you and nearly rear-ended a taxi in front of you. The annoyed driver flipped you off out the window. The near miss brought you back to reality, you took a deep breath and shook your head of all the thoughts. You could survive without it. 

On the walk through the embassy, you passed the place Javi had pushed you against the wall, where you’d flipped out. A black scuff mark was the only evidence anything had happened, but your memory supplied you with the rest of the details. Hot guilt spread over the back of your neck and you sped up, averting your eyes when you passed the bathroom a little further on. You had let this go too far, but you were fixing it. You were going to be better.

The assistant outside the door beamed at you, offering small talk while you waited for the ambassador to finish his meeting. She mostly asked after Javier. After a few minutes, the ambassador emerged, two well-dressed men walked out with him, and he smiled warmly. 

“Y/N, nice to see you again so soon,” You took a deep breath and quickly wiped your sweaty palms on your pants, “Come on in,” He showed you inside and offered you a seat on the couch to the side of the room. You sat down, gladly accepting the drink his assistant offered. The ambassador dismissed her and sat down opposite you, sipping his glass of whiskey. “What can I do for you?” 

---

You stepped out of the room and felt lighter and heavier simultaneously. You confessed, told him everything from the beginning when you first met Maria to yesterday’s events. You’d confessed, you were on your way to help but that had come at a cost. You were leaving on Monday; your position was in question and the ambassador had been far from sympathetic. You managed to hold it together inside but as soon as the golden sun hit your face you broke down into tears. 

He had been kind in not arresting you, but his words were far from it. Called you a failure, weak, pathetic. A disappointment to the agency and the country. The disgusted look on his face was one you wouldn’t forget, seemingly imprinted on the back of your eyelids flashing with every blink you took. Your nose itched as if automatically knowing what you would do to soothe your pain, body craving the solution to its problem, but you ignored it. 

Instead, you got back in the truck and drove. Music cranked way up so you couldn’t hear yourself think, driving until you felt better. You didn’t need the drug; you were stronger than that! You thought you were until you came to Maria’s house. Like a homing pigeon, you had subconsciously driven down her street, despite it being in nearly the opposite direction to your destination. You slowed down and sat outside the building just watching it. Tempting yourself when you know you shouldn’t. You knew she was home; you knew she would have some for a party or just for her personal use! She could help you. She was a great friend. She wasn’t going to judge you. 

Before you knew it, you turned the car off and had a hand on the door handle. Your hands were trembling as your body was fighting against itself. You knew how easy it could be, how good it would feel to get just a little taste. Maria would probably have good food too, maybe you could go inside to have lunch. You hadn’t eaten since dawn and your stomach growled. If she happened to have coke it wouldn’t be your fault, you would be being a good guest! 

You were about to give in when you spotted Javi’s yellow sunglasses reflecting on the dash and his words from the day before rang in your head. You’re better than this. Your hand let go of the door and you sighed heavily. Even in your head, the asshole was right. If you gave in now, what was the point of everything you had just done in the embassy? If you gave in now you were exactly what the ambassador thought you were; weak and pathetic. If you left now, you were still you. The real you. The one who had fought tooth and nail to get down here. The one who helped people, who saved people. You had proved yourself against people’s preconceptions every day here, you couldn’t give up now. You took your hands back to the wheel, turned the ignition and drove away, tears rolling down your cheeks.

The office was empty when you returned to the compound. Confused for a moment, you looked for a note that was usually left if the boys were called away quickly. There was nothing. You sat down at your desk and wondered. Steve’s jacket was still on the back of his chair, Javier’s tie discarded haphazardly on his desk. They couldn’t have gone far. Then you remembered.  You had a strategy meeting with Carrillo which according to the clock on the wall started thirty minutes ago. You cursed aloud and ran to Carrillo’s office. 

“Rookie, nice of you to join us,” Carrillo said sarcastically as you slipped through the door into the room.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” You said, taking a seat on a desk across from the men. 

“Maybe Peña should make a note of it for your report card,” Carrillo added with a smirk, you frowned.

“I said I’m sorry,” You grumbled, not in the mood for his bitching. You had just had one of the hardest conversations of your life, you didn’t need Carrillo making your mood any worse. You crossed your arms and sulked in the corner. Carrillo always had a way of making your mood sour instantly, you detested him. 

Luckily, he gave up quickly and returned to his previous speech. You were barely listening, constantly catching yourself drifting off in thought, until you heard your name.

“Peña and L/n are on stakeout tonight,” Carrillo said. The mention of your name with Peña’s made you snap back to reality quickly.

“Can’t Steve do it?” You asked, interrupting him. The idea of spending any time with Javi felt like a nightmare. You could barely even look at him out of shame and embarrassment let alone spend ten hours with him in a car.

“You’re late and now you want to start questioning my authority?” Carrillo bit back.

“I’m not questioning your authority, sir,” You snarled, “I am saying I- actually no I don’t need to explain myself to any of you. I refuse,”

“Do as you’re fucking told, Rookie,” Javier finally snapped. He had been silent throughout, letting Steve and Carrillo discuss the plan while he smouldered in his seat, watching you instead. You had that faraway look you had in your eye yesterday, red eyes and constantly fiddling with your sleeves, he assumed the worst. He was sick of it. 

His sudden outburst made everyone in the room stop. You were shocked, he’d never used that tone on you before. Everyone looked at him, then to you. Your eyes were big and glassy full of tears, mouth dropped a little, staring wildly at Javier. After a moment, you swallowed down whatever back talk had been sat on your tongue and settled down again, looking away from the man and down to the files on the table.   

As soon as the meeting was finished you walked out as fast as possible. You were trembling with a mixture of anger and shame; you couldn’t work out if you were going to cry or scream. Both would work. You wanted to hide away and hope that Javier would just leave for the stakeout without you. 

“Are you going to explain to me what the hell is going on with you and Javi?” Steve asked from behind you, jogging to catch up with you as you marched down the hallway. You sighed in annoyance, you just wanted to be alone. 

“Nothing’s going on,” You grumbled.

“So that in there was nothing?” He pressed. You shrugged and shook your head. Steve scoffed, “You leave all afternoon on your own, you won’t tell anyone where you are going. You come back late, and then try to get out of a shift? Fucks wrong with you?”

“Fuck off, Steve it’s none of your business,” You muttered, sitting down at your desk doing your best to ignore him and start some paperwork. You didn’t look at what you were doing, more just using it to cue him to leave. He didn’t take it.  

“You’re part of my team, it is my business,” 

“It’s nothing to do with you. It's between me and Peña and it’s none of his business either!” You snapped. You dropped the pile of paper in your hand making it thud and you looked over at him with a hard glare, “Both of you need to back off. I’m not a kid, I can deal wit\`h it by myself. I don’t ask you about the arguments you’ve been having with Connie, do I?” Steve scoffed and shook in disbelief. It was a low blow, but you were angry and hurt. He didn’t deserve it, but you just needed him to leave, “Leave me alone. I’ve got shit to do,” 

Steve left in a huff. He brushed past Peña, giving his partner the same glare he’d given you, as he stormed out the office. Javier took one look at you sitting at the desk, and walked the other way, he didn’t want to talk to you either.

Alone in the office, you worked almost to spite the two older agents. You could still be productive despite the incessant devil on your shoulder telling you about the as yet unweighted bags in the evidence locker. You could go get some and you'd be much happier, and nobody would know at all. You ignored it, gritting your teeth, and forcing yourself to focus. You couldn’t steal from the evidence! The words on the page didn’t even look real anymore, your brain so overwhelmed you could hardly make sense of the parts in English let alone Spanish.   

Memories of better times crept into your mind, remembering the last time you were here so late. You, Javi, and Steve were the last ones in the building still pacing through the coded list of names you had found through your CI. You were all delirious and someone found a radio at some point, you managed to catch a station playing some American pop music. Prince and Bon Jovi, even some Abba. You danced around the room singing and laughing, dragging an initially reluctant Steve with you. Javier sat and watched, laughing at the two of you making fools of yourself. You were happy then, confident and content.  

The warmth of the memory was cut by the ice of the room surrounding you now. There was no laughter, no joy. The two people who meant the most to you hated you now. Where you once felt bravely on the edge of greatness here, you now barely gripped the ledge before you fell to despair. You felt your grip slipping every day that passed.  

You sighed, rubbed your hands over your face shaking off the memories and returning to your work. You wondered about food but decided against it, here you were safe from yourself. You couldn’t do anything here without somebody catching you. As well as you hidden your habit you knew you couldn’t try it here, that would be truly insane. You had promised yourself you would stop so you sat and worked alone until Javier reappeared and called you to heel.  

No words were spoken on the way out of the compound. You knew the plan already and neither you nor Javier felt like small talk. Javi drove and parked outside a row of houses near the top of Medellin. It was quiet, there was a good view out over the city with all the lights trickling down the hillside to the city centre. You focused on that, turning away from Javier in your seat, to focus on the view. 

You dragged your jacket tighter around your chest as the winter air crept into the car. You should have gone home to get a better coat. As mild as it was in the day, up in the hills at night the air was sharp and bit through the thin leather material easily.  

The silence in the car was awkward. You could tell Javier wanted to say something, it sat on the tip of his tongue as he flicked from looking at the target and you. Usually, you filled these long tedious times with quiet chatter about something or other that you had read or heard around the office, often teasing Javier over the latest secretary he’d bagged. He often complained about it, protesting that he would rather sit in silence than hear you babbling on, but now there was nothing he would like more.  

He wanted to know what was going on in your head. Seeing you so reckless and out of control had scared him. It was his fault he’d not stopped you sooner, not done his job as your mentor properly. He’d only proved himself right by letting you fall like this, that he was never fit for the role in the first place. He had proof of his failings now shivering silently in the seat next to him. Out of everything that he had done, you were his worst failure yet.  

Memories of the first stakeout you had been on with Javier came to mind, you remembered how surprisingly fun it was. It was the first time you got to know the man, about a month into your time in Colombia you were still a little awkward around him. Still trying to work out what kind of mentor he was, you had never spent more than half an hour alone with him before. But somehow, you talked all night, got takeout and the time seemed to fly by. Nothing exciting happened but from that moment you two became a lot more comfortable with each other and trust began to form.  

You missed being able to have fun with him. You were going to miss Javier, despite the ups and downs of your relationship you admired him and held him with the utmost regard. He was an asshole at times, you butted heads a lot, but he never did anything rash and always had your best interest at heart. You were going to miss him a lot. You wanted to tell him about your decision, but you thought he wouldn’t care, not now. It would be easier for both of you if he never knew.  

You looked back at the glowing clock on the dash, barely an hour had passed. It was going to be a long night.  

“Where did you go earlier?” Javier finally broke the silence. He wasn’t angry, merely asking. You frowned. 

“Why do you care?” You grumbled.  

“Answer the question,” He sighed, exasperated by your attitude. 

“If you must know, I went to the ambassador’s office,” You said, Javi frowned, it was not the answer he was expecting, “What? Did you think I was going to get high or something?” Javi shrugged. You scoffed. “I do listen to you, you know that?” 

“Hard to believe sometimes,” Javi jabbed back. You didn’t have a particularly good track record of doing what you were told, but things always worked out in the end. That was half the reason Javi had left you so long in this mess. He trusted you could get yourself out like always. You scoffed, crossed your arms, and turned away again. The truck fell silent again, Javi took another drag of his cigarette and sighed before speaking again, “What did you talk to the ambassador about?” 

You realised he was going to drag it out of you whether you wanted to tell him or not. He couldn’t tell if you were lying, he wanted to believe you- that you had made the right choice by yourself, but he needed to hear it from your mouth. He wanted proof that he hadn’t entirely fucked you up. You took a deep breath before you spoke, facing forward looking out the window so you couldn’t see his reaction.

“I asked to be transferred back to the States, I can’t be here anymore,” Javier looked over at you, his face was almost entirely unreadable. A cigarette smouldered between his fingers, unmoving while he listened to you, “I told him everything, I’m being transferred out on Monday. If I don’t get dropped from the DEA entirely, it’ll be a fucking miracle,” You took a deep breath as tears pricked your eyes, “I let you down. I let you and Steve down, and I am completely in over my head now. I can’t in good conscience stay when I am putting you two in more danger and doing harm to myself. Ever since I got here you have been nothing but helpful. You’re a great mentor and a great friend and-,” You choked on a sob, tears streamed down your face as you confessed to him, “You were right, I wasn’t ready for this, I am fucked,” 

“Shit,” Javi cursed under his breath. 

“That’s all you're going to say?” You laughed humourlessly. You wiped your eyes and nose with the cuffs of your jacket. That was not the reaction you were expecting from him, “You can tell me you told me so, go ahead I know you want to,” 

“We’ve got movement,” He said gesturing to the car that had just pulled up in front of the property you had been watching. Three men got out of the car and walked into the house. Your heart leapt at the thought of this finally being Escobar, that you had caught him when he was least expecting it. There had been rumours he was using this house for a little while, that's what you and Javier were there to investigate. 

“Shit,” You echoed Javier’s previous statement, “What do we do?” 

“We stay here and watch,” Javier replied sensibly. You knew that was what you should do but the emotion of the day was catching up to you. This could be your last chance and you were going to take it.

“No way, that could be him!” You exclaimed, “I’m not just going to sit here and watch while fucking Escobar passes a hundred feet in front of us!” You sat up in your seat, bent over to tie your shoes ready to go.

“Y/n, no. We don’t know it’s him,” Javier tried to reason but your hand was already on the door, gun ready in the other. You’d made up your mind, too full of frustration and emotion to stop for a minute to think.

“Javi come on! I know you’re sick of this bullshit too! If I’m leaving Monday, I don’t want this to be wasted. Call Carrillo, get some backup, we’ll go now,”

“I said no,” He protested. 

“Fine I’ll go by myself, you stay in the truck and keep deniability,” You opened the door and slipped out into the cold Medellin air before Javi could answer. You pulled the gun from your back, loaded it, and crept to the house not once looking back at Javier in the car. 

You ran across the road and slipped through the alleyway which separated the house from the rest of the row. Around the back of the building, pressed up the wall, you peered through a window. A small crack in the curtains didn’t let you see much but you could hear at least two voices. You took a deep breath to calm yourself, held your gun tight and moved again, walking along the wall to the first door you could find. It was open.

You crept inside, keeping as quiet as possible. It was dark inside the small porch; you couldn’t see your footing. Your foot met with a glass bottle kicking it across the floor till it clattered against the wall. You winced and stood still, listening out for any sign the occupants had heard you. Sound from a TV still played, you were in the clear for now. You pushed on through the house, carefully pushing open another door which opened into a kitchen. 

The warm light hurt your eyes a little, you squinted to adjust. The kitchen was well used, a pile of pans sat dirty in the sink and a pot of half-eaten food sat on the stove. You stopped to think for a second what your plan was. Until that moment you had been so caught up in the fact Escobar could be here, you’d run in without a plan. You were starting to think that wasn’t the best idea. You considered turning back, waiting outside for Javi to join. 

You looked up from your spot to see a man had entered the room. Tall, dark curly hair, you instantly recognised him. Diego, Maria’s boyfriend. Your stomach dropped; this was the worst possible thing to happen. He recognised you too, his dropped jaw quickly turned into a smirk as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at you.

“Isabella?” He asked using the name he knew you by. Isabella Rodriguez, you had used the name for months to get into Maria’s group and get intel. “I knew there was something off about you!” He smirked. 

“Lower your weapon, now!” You ordered. Your heart hammered in your chest, feeling the absence of a tact vest now. You were completely vulnerable, stood up against Diego’s gun in nothing but a leather jacket. He didn’t move an inch, so you pressed again.  “Put it down and I don’t put a bullet in your skull,” You growled, becoming impatient. You were completely stuck; you had no plan at all other than to stall until Javi arrived.

Suddenly a cold press of metal stamped against your back. Your breath hitched at the contact, but you remained as calm, keeping your focus on Diego. Before you could even register it, your legs were swiped out from under you. You fell forward with a thud, your gun sliding across the tile away from you. 

You fell hard, hitting your nose on the ground instantly cracking it. It throbbed and blood poured out. You pressed up but were pulled back onto your knees by the hair by the unknown man behind you. You groaned and spat out the blood that had trickled into your mouth. That was when another familiar face appeared in the doorway. The man who haunted your dreams, who’d driven you to this mess in the first place, Pablo Escobar. 

He was older than the photo that donned your office wall, fatter, and more tired looking; but his image had been drilled into your brain so much it was unmistakably him. It was almost underwhelming to finally meet him; he was far too human. Far too real. There had been an air of omnipotence that had built up whilst you chased him, always just out of reach. He always knew the next move; he planned every move. But now to be here in front of you, in flesh and blood, you realised he was just that. Flesh and blood. 

He sighed when he bent over to pick up your discarded gun. He inspected it in his hand, grimaced then flicked the safety off and pointed it at you. Your heart rattled so fast it made your chest ache. Bottom lip trembling, eyes filling with tears, your eyes locked with his. This was most undoubtedly the end.

The cold metal of the gun’s barrel pressed against your forehead and you screwed your eyes shut, praying for Javi and Carrillo to come through the door and save you. You wished you could apologise for being so brash, and forever causing such a mess. You slowly opened your eyes again to meet with your reaper, tears rolled down your cheeks. His cold dead eyes saw into your very soul. You didn’t need to say anything, he could read your mind.

“You know how we deal with rats, right?” 

--

Javier had called for back up, Carrillo and his a team of men came quickly with Steve in tow. Javier hadn’t explained much of the situation, there wasn’t much too explain yet but Steve was furious. 

“Why the fuck didn’t you go with her?” Steve burst from the truck before it stopped moving, barrelling towards Javi. 

“She ran off! I had to call you,” Javi exclaimed, backing up away from his partner.

“That’s a fucking first,” He snarled.

The men were saved an argument as the sound of a gunshot disturbed the air, reminding them of the task at hand. The black car parked in front of the house screeched as it sped away, out of the city. The men shot at it but missed. That wasn’t their priority. Headed by Javier, the men ran on into the house through the open front door. They had to find you. 

“You go upstairs, I’ll take down,” Javi barked at his partner, who obediently followed the order. 

It was clear from the contents of the house, whoever had been here hadn’t been here long. There was barely enough furniture to make it comfortable, what personal items had been left were few and far between. The entire place stank of urine and burnt food. Javi moved through the property quickly, clearing every small room he went. 

“Y/n!” Steve called as he searched upstairs. There was nothing upstairs except for a couple of stained mattresses, a disgusting bathroom, and a discarded razor. There was barely a sign that people had been living there let alone any sign of you. Dread was starting to creep up in his stomach as he walked back down the stairs. He hadn’t heard anything from Javier to announce you’d been found. Maybe you were taken in the car they’d failed to stop. 

Steve found his partner standing in the kitchen at the back of the house. Javier stood still, his back turned to the entrance. He didn’t move a muscle when Steve entered the room. 

“Javi?” Steve prompted when he didn’t move. He came closer and saw what was holding his attention. 

You. 

Slumped on the floor, knees trapped under your chest, blood poured out of an open wound in your head. Blood covered the tile floor, spilling down channels in the grout. Steve couldn’t look, nearly vomiting as if his body was rejecting the horror that overtook him at the sight. He quickly dragged Javier by the arm, to turn away. Javier lashed out, shoving him off. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, lit up in the dim light of the house. Steve had never seen him cry before.

“Fuck!” He yelled, throwing himself at the dirty couch in front of him. It didn’t move. Unsatisfied, Javi stormed out, shoving past Carrillo and his men who had returned from their search, to get some air. Steve let them through, pointing over at your body. 

Grief had settled over him quickly, guilt came second, making Steve’s whole world fuzzy. He was stuck between joining Javi in running for the hills and not wanting to leave your side. He watched on patiently as your body was laid out. One of Carrillo’s men took photos of the scene, Steve almost laughed at the sight. This wasn’t something he was going to need physical reminders of, it would be etched on his memory forever.

Eventually, an ambulance was called, and your body was taken away. Steve followed you out, getting one final look before the doors were closed. People trickled away, Carrillo clapping him on the back in some attempt at comfort, and soon Steve climbed back into his truck completely alone again. Javi’s truck was gone. No doubt burying himself in some poor girl somewhere to burn the anger out. 

Steve was angry. Angry at Javi for letting you go alone, angry at himself for not switching with you when you protested. He lashed out, slamming his hands onto the wheel, and letting out a cry of frustration. He wondered if you knew this would happen. There were so many things he didn’t understand about what had happened, and it seemed he was never going to find out now. It was all over.

He drove back to his apartment in complete silence. His anger had cooled, red hot now cold settled in his chest as cold blind rage. Rage at your actions, at Javi’’s, at Escobar and this fucking country. Everything about this place was hell, what had he done to deserve to see someone so young, so promising, die like that. It was not fair. 

Steve stumbled into his apartment and was met by Connie making dinner in the kitchen.

“Hey! Everything okay?” She asked innocently. From the kitchen, she couldn’t see her husband collapse on the couch or his slumped over form and how he scraped his hand over his face as if to pull the guilt out of his skin. “Hey next time you see Y/n, could you give her this?” Connie started talking, walking into the room with a sweater in her hand. The mention of your name made Steve’s heart break a little more and tears spilled from his eyes, “She left it here after dinner last week, I keep forgetting-“ Connie entered the room and instantly saw Steve’s anguish.  “Baby? What happened?”

“She’s gone,” He croaked out. He didn’t need to stay anymore. He couldn’t. Connie dropped the sweater in shock and stumbled to Steve who instantly wrapped himself around her. 

---

Javier, in typical fashion, rang his usual girl and fucked his frustration out. Unusually rough and uncaring, he hoped the excursion would force the overwhelming remorse out. Even when he finished and the girl hobbled out the apartment, clutching his money, the guilt didn’t leave. It only got worse. 

He couldn’t remember how long he had stood looking at your body on that floor. The shock was so overwhelming he had just locked onto you as if waiting for you to jump up and say it was a prank.  He took a long drag of his cigarette, holding it until it nearly made him choke to enjoy the heady sensation of it. He hadn’t moved from where the girl left him. A bottle of whiskey was within reach and another pack of cigarettes, he could stay there sinking into the couch until it all made sense.

He assumed you had given up. The hope he held at the beginning of the day, seeing you walking into the office smiling and happy had been shattered by the time you returned from your secret visit to the embassy. Of course at the time he was ignorant and had thought the worst of you. Then in the truck you had told the truth. You were trying to fix it the best you could and he never had a chance to say how proud he was of you. It had all been snatched away.

Javi couldn’t get his head around it. Death wasn’t new to him, he’d seen it countless times before, he had seen worse things working with Carrillo, but tonight threw him into a spiral. You had so much promise, so much more to give. It wasn’t fair. He should have intervened sooner, should have taken the time to talk to you the first time you showed up high at his door. Maybe this would never have happened if he had done his job properly. He may as well have shot you himself.

You said you had failed him, but he had failed you in the end. He should never have let you go alone even for a minute. He didn’t even stay to help move your body, he abandoned you for his own comfort. Guilt pressed down on him hard at that fact. He was selfish. He claimed to care about you but had left you dead on a dirty stone floor for someone else to pick up. You didn’t deserve that. He wanted to apologise to you, but that was never going to happen now.

Possibly the worst part was that he knew he had to write up the events that lead to your death. He would have to repeatedly explain it to the DEA, to the ambassador, to anyone that fucking asked him why the hell he let you go in there alone.

He drank more until the glass wasn’t fast enough. He drank straight from the bottle letting it burn his throat. He drank like the answer to the questions surrounding him was stuck to the bottom of the bottle. He wondered if you knew this would happen. Who had shot you? Why? At what point had this become inevitable? Did you know just how much you meant to him? 

Eventually, the whiskey swept him up and let him sleep. He would have to wake up for the nightmare to start. 

NEXT PART

---

*insert evil laugh* wanna get tagged in the next part? Let me know!!

tag list: @beskar-tano @beskarbabs @buckysbeloved @all-hallows-evie @harrys-stan @this-cat-is-dea @themidnightsun-12 @wille-zarr @danniburgh @itsaisopodkillmepls @urbankaite2 @whataloadofmalarkey @ahsofka @yeetus-my-feetus @sara-alonso @lesbianlena​

[johnnydoe69]

Beware the Evil Eye

In the peaceful twilight on the island of Euboea, a bright yellow Hummer sped down the road leading to a grand villa, Eurotrash music blasting over the speakers. 

Kosmas watched this from the front windows and sighed. The clouds of dust kicked up by the Hummer were dirtying the grapes that grew on both sides of the road. 

When the Hummer loomed from only a few miles away, Kosmas rang the service bell. At once, four other servants crowded into the foyer. 

A nervous electricity rippled between them as everyone got into position.

“You better not fuck this up,” Giorgos hissed from behind. 

Kosmas flipped Girogos a warm and comforting smile, “Oh, don’t be pessimistic. It’s always been harder to keep that boy in his clothes, rather than out. I’ll have that nazar in the palm of my hand within the hour.”

Behind his confident grin and laidback tone, however, Kosmas had his doubts. In all his years working for his grandmother, Kosmas had never seen Paul take off his nazar. It was a protective amulet meant to ward off the evil eye- spiteful magic aimed to target sources of envy and disgust- and it directly prohibited Kosmas from using his magic on him. 

If Kosmas couldn’t convince Paul to take it off from around his neck, or at least sneak it off without him noticing, there was little chance he could take it by force. The man was built like a dump truck and would break him in half if he was seen as a possible threat. With little other choice, but to go forward, Kosmas took a deep breath and opened the foyer doors. The five of them quickly trotted out the front door and down the marble staircase leading into the driveway. 

    By the time they reached the last few steps, Paul’s truck had come to a complete stop, a few feet away from the steps.

    For a few seconds no one moved. Even from inside the massive vehicle, Kosmas could see the dark blue energy radiating from underneath Paul’s tank top. 

Kosmas immediately began to sweat and had to dab himself with a handkerchief before Giorgos nudged him from behind. Paul was glaring at them from the Hummer.

    Remembering himself, Kosmas quickly ran to the driver’s side door and opened it. Paul came out with a thud, his massive feet stomping into the dirt. 

Walking back around the car he came before the servants,     a scowl prominently on his face, but before Paul could yell at them Kosmas interjected.

    “Paul, it’s so good to see you,” Kosmas exclaimed, a smile plastered on his face.

    “It’s good to see you too,” Paul said, lazily, striding past him.

    Paul turned his attention to Girgos and threw his car keys at the massive man’s chest.    

“Put this in the garage after the others get my bags. Kosmas, follow,” he ordered, walking past them and ascending the stairs.

Kosmas looked to the others for one last bit of assurance, but they had already moved on to taking care of Paul’s possessions, their backs turned to him.  

    Seeing that Paul had already made his way up several steps, Kosmas sprinted after him.     “How was New York?” Kosmas asked, panting.

    “Miserable. I was trapped on the Upper East side for six months with nothing to do but work from home and exercise in my private gym,” Paul said, glumbly. 

    “Have you tried reaching out to Dimitri and Lysandros?” Kosmas asked, trying not to trip as he shared Paul’s massive strides up the steps. “I remember you telling me about how you always had the best workouts together.”

    Paul grunted approvingly, “We did, but everyone’s too afraid to go anywhere. Lysandros promised he’d swing by Greece after his visit to the Caribbean, but that’s in two weeks. Now, look at these biceps, do you think my body can wait another two weeks?”

    Paul paused on the staircase and flexed inches from Kosmas’s face. Thick blue veins popped out from underneath his pale skin and stretched over his cannonball bicep. 

“This arm used to be at least three inches larger. I was practically wasting away back there,” Paul said.

In the past, Kosmas would have been weak at the sight of Paul’s raw muscle in his face, but he couldn’t let himself get distracted.

“What about the private gym you said you had at home?” Kosmas asked, trying not to let his annoyance show.

“Pft, I barely had any weights. I only had a treadmill and bowflex to keep me together.” Paul said, as they resumed their climb.

“Well, I’m sure you won’t have any problem maintaining a pump here. Your grandmother had the whole basement refurbished into a private gym for your arrival,” Kosmas said, sweating profusely through his white linen shirt. 

They reached the top of the stairs shortly after, Kosmas having to lean over and take a quick breath, while Paul beamed down at him without a drop of sweat on his body. 

“Some things never change, right, Kosmas?” Paul asked, slapping Kosmas hard on the back.

“Yes, of course,” Kosmas wheezed, balling his hands into tight fists. 

Paul left him there as he journeyed inside, while Kosmas once he collected himself and un-balled his fists followed behind. 

“So where is Evita anyway?”  Paul asked when Kosmas entered the foyer, taking off his baseball cap to scan the balcony above them. 

    “She had some business to attend to in Athens, but she told me to offer you the warmest greeting in her absence. She should be home by morning,” Kosmas said, still panting a little.

    Paul nodded and without another word strode into the lounge. Kosmas rushed ahead of him and quickly started getting together a bottle of bourbon and shot glasses.

    “What’s this, Kosmas? If this is from Evita’s private stash she’ll have Giorgos beat you like last time,” Paul said, taking a shot when it was offered to him, and plopping himself down on the couch.

    “Don’t worry, Paul. I haven’t forgotten about last time.” Kosmas said, with a polite smile. It was only until recently that he recovered feeling in his toes and it still hurt to curl them.

“I bought this bourbon in advance for your return home.”

    The liquor in this case had been drugged, weakening both the protective power of the nazar and increasing Paul’s sex drive. Kosmas made sure not to drink any of it himself, he couldn’t allow himself to get twisted up by Paul’s influence. It was always hard to say no to the man as it was.

He poured Paul another glass and placed it in his pitcher’s mitt sized palm. 

Paul looked around, curiously, “shouldn’t there be more servants milling around? I’d hate to think that I would have to fetch my own meals.”

“Oh, it won’t come to that, the few servants who are left are more than capable of picking up the slack after your grandmother fired most of the staff,” Kosmas said, cheerily, dying a little inside as he sat down besides Paul.

    “Wow, covid really hitting everyone hard,” Paul said, stretching out his thick arms and legs, before resting against the back of the couch.

    “Most of my friends in New York had to lay off their serving staff too. Too much risk of infection and with the stock market the way it is, it doesn’t hurt to remove extra liabilities.” 

    Paul kicked up his legs on the coffee table, forcing Kosmas to work around him as he poured him another glass.

    “Did she fire your father, too?” Paul asked, glancing down at Kosmas’s bowed head.

    “Yes, she did,” Kosmas said, gritting his teeth, handing Paul the finished shot glass.

    “Wow, harsh,” Paul said, snatching the drink out of Kosmas’s hand and gulping it down.

    “And knowing Evita, I bet she’s not giving that old fuck his severance pay,” Paul said with a chuckle.

    The dark blue aura around Paul’s neck was fading and Kosmas could feel his own powers surging as Paul’s slowly declined. He was so close to taking Paul’s body he could taste the sweat dripping off him. Kosmas slowly inched over to Paul, leaning his arm behind the big man’s neck. He was going to enjoy this.

Just before he could grab it, Paul turned to him and with a serious look in his eyes asked, “And that good for nothing fisherman hasn’t been coming around, has he?” 

Kosmas shrank away from Paul. The idea of touching him, even to steal his body suddenly repulsed him. To keep his sanity, Kosmas had banished all thought of what had happened to Andros from his mind, and Paul had once promised him that the man would never come up again.

“No,” Kosmas said, weakly. “He died in prison. Covid.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Paul said, sliding his large vascular hand on Kosmas’s thigh. Kosmas felt his dick harden and he saw that even through his jeans Paul was full mast as well. 

“I know you think I’m cruel for what happened and I’m sorry you feel that way. But I did it because I love you Kosmas. I couldn’t stand anyone coming between us,” Paul said, kissing Kosmas lightly on the cheek.

“Don’t give me that. You have fucked every gay man from here to Istanbul. You just couldn’t handle me paying attention to someone that wasn’t you,” Kosmas said, bitterly. He poured himself a glass and choked it down. Fuck the plan, whatever was going to happen wasn’t going to happen with him sober. 

Paul frowned, and grabbed Kosmas by his chin, pulling him in close. His grip was strong and Kosmas was terrified the man might accidentally break his jaw. His hot breath was blowing in Kosmas’s face and he could smell the faint tinge of spearmint gum on his breath. 

“I can handle competition. What I couldn’t accept was that you would choose someone so beneath me as a rival for your affection. You easily could have picked any of my friends, any of the wealthy bachelors on the island and you picked filth scraped off the bottom of a boat?”

Kosmas glanced over at the nazar, its energy had nearly faded from around Paul’s neck. He reached for it as Paul shot him a carnivorous smile. 

“But it’s okay now, because we both know I’m the only man for you,” Paul whispered, grabbing Kosmas’s hand and placing it on the back of his neck. He leaned in and began kissing his neck, sending sharp electric pulses all up and down Kosmas’s body.

Kosmas, feeling his chance slipping away, but unwilling or unable to act, gave himself over to the pleasure of the enchanted booze and Paul’s embrace. 

Paul moved his hand off Kosmas’s chin and foisted the smaller man onto his lap. He ripped at Kosmas’s work shirt, buttons tearing off and bouncing to the floor. 

His dick shot through the fabric of his jeans, massaging Kosmas’s ass as he moaned. It had been years, since he was fucked by another man and as much as he hated him, he couldn’t stop himself.

“Wait. I don’t want the other servants to see,” Paul said, pulling away. 

“Then, let’s take it upstairs to your room,” Kosmas said, pulling playfully at the small strands of hair on Paul’s head.

Paul shoved Kosmas off him, nearly knocking him off the coffee table, before snatching him by the wrist and pulling him out of the lounge and up the stairs. 

They threw themselves into Paul’s bedroom and on his bed, kissing furiously and grabbing at each other. Paul briefly pulled away and threw off his tank top, his charm necklace now prominently displayed on his chest. But instead, of the menacing power it once had, the amulet was now powerless, all its energy being soaked into the enchanted booze that seeped out through Paul’s sweat. 

Feeling his power return to him came with a sense of lucidity as Kosmas tested out the control he had over Paul.

When Paul leaned in to rip the underwear off Kosmas’s legs he found that he could no longer move. Every muscle strained against him as his blood vessels contracted, leaving him terrified and utterly helpless. 

Kosmas overcome with his sense of success laughed at the display of the larger man hanging over him. He slid out from underneath him and traced a finger along Paul’s back feeling the many hills and ridges of his massive muscular frame.

Small, confused grunts escaped Paul’s lips as he tried to make sense of what was happening, so Kosmas decided to let the man speak. 

His body partially freed from Kosmas’s control, Paul panted and took a deep shuddering breath.

“What are you doing to me?” Paul asked, quietly, his breathing labored. 

    “Remember, when you told me that I was to be yours forever?” Kosmas asked, kicking his underwear to the floor.    

“In a way, I am going to be yours forever, just not in the way you thought,” Kosmas said. He got in the bed behind Paul, using his control over Paul’s body to make him shrug off his jeans, while he faced the headboard, unable to look back. 

    “For you see, in all our years together a resentment has been building. An intense hatred. You treated me as a plaything, because your family controlled my father’s paycheck. You hurt me whenever you wanted, fucked me whenever you wanted, and killed anyone that came in danger of severing your control of me.”

    After Paul pushed off his jeans, Kosmas decided to do the extra work of pulling Paul’s tight red jock strap off his ass. The soft fabric curled in his fingers as he pulled downwards, Paul whimpering slightly. 

    “I didn’t know he would die in there. It was a mistake,” Paul stammered, cowed probably for the only time in his life. 

    “That’s the fun bit about the magic of the evil eye, Paul. It doesn’t give a shit about accidents or circumstances,” Kosmas said, sliding the jockstrap out of Paul’s dick and ass before sliding it down his thighs. 

    “It only cares about outcomes. The outcome in this case being, the only man I’ve ever loved is dead because of you.” Kosmas said, calmly, throwing the underwear behind him.

    “So, to repay your earlier favor I’m taking your life because you stole mine,” Kosmas whispered into Paul’s ear as he rubbed his back.

    “Please, my grandmother will give you anything. Just don’t kill me,” Paul begged, tears sliding down his cheeks.

    “Oh don’t worry, you won’t die, not really. I’ll just be taking your body and your identity as my own. And don’t worry about Evita either, the other servants and I have big plans for her,” Kosmas said, plucking a baseball cap off the nightstand and placing it on Paul’s head.

Kosmas grinned. 

“There’s my favorite sports star,” he whispered, kissing Paul’s ear.   

    Paul said nothing as Kosmas gathered himself into trance, using the entirety of his magic to make his body into a superfluous membrane. 

    Within a few minutes, his body had become a clear viscous like substance. Still in trance, he pushed against Paul’s back, feeling him gasp with pain as Kosmas entered his body. 

    He slid inside the man in seconds, but he was left in pitch darkness. His form had to grow and stretch against the confines of Paul’s body, his legs inflating, his back adding several inches of spine.

    Paul bucked against this of course, frothing with rage as he engaged in a losing battle against his own body, but within a few moments it was done.

    His essence was constrained and then enveloped by Kosmas’s, sucking in his emotions and memories, before crushing what remained of his free will and sense of self. By the time he was done with him, all that was left of Paul was a library of thoughts that Kosmas would have full access to.

    Finally in full control, Kosmas allowed himself to concentrate on his body’s physical sensations.

    He felt his massive chest breathing in and out. Around his neck the nazar still hung off his neck, once again glowing with a blue intensity, but instead of the sharp pain or weakness Kosmas feared there was nothing. The nazar recognized this body as his own.

He cracked his neck and pulled his arms over his head, surprised at their weight. He pulled his arms down and opened his eyes. Crawling off the bed, Kosmas took a few unsteady steps forward and curled his toes. No pain.

He grinned.

As the years passed, Kosmas or Paul as he was known publicly, whittled away at Evita’s title and fortune using lawsuits, bribes, and blackmail until he could finally run her off the estate. 

With Evita removed from power, the fired workers were able to return and together with several nearby villages were able to operate an agricultural co-opt that guaranteed housing and jobs to the people. 

Kosmas thrived as an administrator of the co-opt, keeping things running smoothly with his eye for finances, while his well-muscled body helped out in the fields. 

He still felt conflicted about wearing the body of someone he hated, but he found ways to alter his appearance without drastic measures, growing out a beard and letting thick brown hair grow all over his chest. He was in control of things for the first time in his life and Kosmas couldn’t be happier. 

[morphituu]

Milagro

Chapter 22: Rehearsals 

Ch: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 

“Maaaama, mi amore- say mama,” Callie encouraged, her shirt clasped in Leo’s hold and a wide smile clamped around a melting teething chewy. The round, golden eyes locked on Callie still glimmered with unshed tears after waking from a nap following a sharp tooth breaking through his gums, but now his short legs kicked excitedly when she squealed like he after some numbing gel was lathered across his swollen pads.

“Oh my osito,” she sang, giggling when his staticky voice spiked into an excited shriek after she laid him across her chest. With any luck he'd catch the last of his afternoon nap and not completely derail his schedule the night before they left him. With one hand rhythmically patting his bottom in tune with a gentle song she hummed, the nails of her other dragged down his thick stripe of sandy colored locks, thick and tangled as hers always was.

Leo’s sleepy growls wound down to soft grunts, his little mouth pursing when he sucked on his tongue.

Her bottom lip quivered. To think she'd go four days without kissing this face or hearing his voice almost made her call off their already brief honeymoon despite desperately needing the break, not to mention the alone time she so craved from her husband to be. Quickies were fun in the moment, but when she'd have to walk right back out and balance Leo on her hip and a stack of laundry and dishes in the other arm, the yearn for a quiet, post-sex cuddle session resounded loudly in her bones.

“You know we’ll be back, right Leonardo? You won't even notice us you'll have so much fun with abuela y abuelo,” she smiled, recalling all of the toys Oleg had gone out to purchase in preparation for his grandson's extended visit, excitedly sending pictures to Nick every time he found something new.

Callie giggled, her eyes drifting up. She gasped softly, looking down at Leo. “Guess who's back?”

Her door swung open and Leo’s head craned back to find Nick placing their contribution to the dinner at her feet, a smile spreading across his gummy face immediately.

“What's with those sad eyes?” Nick pouted, reaching for Leo.

“His tooth broke through,” she handed him over, their son rubbing his tired eyes against Nick’s chest after being leaned into the crook of his beefy arm. Nick groaned, rubbing Leo’s back.

“I feel bad we're taking off right when this starts,”

“Me too,” Callie sighed, pushing her messy hair back from her face. “I keep rethinking it,”

Nick’s head lifted with a pout. “You don't wanna go anymore then?”

She exhaled loudly, shaking her head. “I really wanna go but I don't think the guilt will go away so I just gotta suck it up and deal with it,”

“We’ll only be a few hours away,” he reassured, a comforting squeeze left on her knee before he carried Leo to the backseat. Nick wiggled his face between Leo’s round cheek and shoulder to elicit bubbly giggles, his affections unyielding even after his son was safely strapped in his seat again, not until Callie reminded him that they were needed elsewhere.

A final squish of his cheeks, and Nick was off to the drivers seat again.

“Let’s do this,” he chimed, the dark clubmasters hiding the excited glint in his yellow eyes.

The weather was ideal for the windows to stay down, a soft breeze drifting through the cab that neither worried about overwhelming Leo as long as the traffic stayed this slow, but neither minded that, either. Nothing- not even that Callie’s dress had been delivered with a rip in the seam, could dampen their moods that day.

For weeks, more notably the sleepless nights they'd planned this and endless trial and error from music to food to seating, keeping enough excitement alive until their day came, and through rejections from churches that deemed their union unholy to now having a backyard wedding at his parents that a shocking number of family wasn't arriving to, they were here, the day before their wedding, and Callie couldn't shake the warmth that had held in her cheeks all day.

The butterflies fluttered about her stomach, bubbling in her throat when she tried to speak. As usual he held her hand while they drove, but now more than ever he toyed with her singular ring that would soon have it’s pair. When they stood in line to pick up Leo’s fitted outfit, he brought her decorated hand up to his lips to kiss shamelessly before the humans that rolled their eyes in disgust, further stirring the churning excitement before she leaned into his side to hide her blush.

Callie’s head landed against his arm rested over the center console, his big hand landing on her leg. Nick kissed her head while he drove, his thumb tracing the supple skin of her freckled thigh.

Callie grinned then. “I hope this song plays tomorrow,” she noted the raunchy beat bumping softly through the speakers.

Nick snorted. “Someone's uncle is gonna grind on someone's aunt,”

She giggled harmoniously, her face rotating in to hide against his bicep. Nick egged her on, the dirty comments flushing her cheeks and leaving her breathless as they drove leisurely along the backroads. At red lights he made it a point to steal kisses, his hand leaving the steering wheel to hold her jaw when a taste of her tongue became too tempting to refuse. They were honked at a few times, but Nick blew them off, telling his pretty fiancée “this is why we should've put the cans on the truck today”.

Their bantering settled enough to let silence pass between them, listening to Leo babble against his crinkly blanket or exclaim when he caught sight of himself in the mirror.

“Did Ward tell you what you guys are doing tonight?” she asked, pulling her hair over her shoulder when it whipped before her face.

“He won’t even give me a hint,” Nick huffed, endlessly worried they’d end up at a strip bar. “What about Rosie?”

“Just a girls night at her house,” she shrugged, hiding her excitement. A night to kick back with her feet up and gossip? With unproblematic people? It’s fucking paradise, she’d clarified to Nick when he was confused as to why bachelorette parties weren’t rambunctious like the mens. “I’m not drinking until the reception though,”

“Is it the Orkish champagne?”

She moaned, her eyes closing as saliva pooled in her mouth. “Forget the food, just hand me another glass of it when mine is empty,”

“One glass will have you on your ass, mama,” he reminded, peeking at her from over his clubmasters.

“Good thing my husband will be there to carry me away from the judging eyes of the public,” she said, her chin balancing on his shoulder as he pulled into his parents' driveway. The street was lined with their guests, the chatter from the backyard heard over their engine.

“Only because my wife is the fairest in all of LA,”

She pouted. “Just LA?”

“Who even matters outside of LA?” he asked.

“You’re right.” She leaned in for a quick kiss.

The pair went about gathering Leo from his seat and his numerous bags they’d store tonight in preparation for the following day, including a bouncer and swing. He was excited as ever when Callie lifted him from behind the buckles, the teething toy in his grasp. It took only three months for Leo to reach a girth that Callie could carry on her hip like a six month old, his head unwaveringly steady and held upright as he learned the world around him. Their pediatrician warned he’d fly through milestones faster than they could record, so when Leo started angrily gnawing on their hands and crying through the night, it took them some time to figure out he was simply teething when they’d normally not expect it until later. Moments were cherished with greater excitement after they realized how quickly Leo was growing, and how brief this baby stage would be.

It wasn’t until they’d at last received the results of his genetics test were they able to find some peace of mind knowing when he’d hit a year, this rapid aging would slow drastically.

Being seventy-six percent Orc meant doctors felt confident leaning towards the likelihood that Leo’s growth would match that of a full-blooded one, but the moments remained bittersweet for the parents. In the blink of an eye Leo went from being a wiggling newborn to a hefty calf able to sit up on his own and mimic their mouths when they spoke to him.

His yellow eyes tracked and narrow in on objects he wanted, his colored hands able to pick items, and Nick’s ear was always on the menu of items he loved to gnaw on.

At the call of his name he’d turn his head, and a smile would grace his lips when it was either of his parents. Callie would walk from corner to corner with him between her feet, his grasp tight around her fingers and his feet dragging less everyday he built up the muscles of his strong legs. When he’d be done from such an exerting exercise, a frown up at Callie would signal his reluctance to waddle any farther.

The pouts and angry chuffs were Nick’s favorite. He’d gnaw Leo’s thighs and roll him side to side just to see his little face snarl, a sharp cry rattling in his throat before he’d clamp onto Nick’s arm. Now that the sharp fangs were coming in, he found instigating a fight with his vicious little boy wasn’t in his best interest. It had only taken a few times for Leo to learn if he laid over his dad’s head, he was further defenseless, including those ears.

“Ah!” Leo exclaimed, reaching over Callie’s shoulder towards Nick. “Ahh!” he cracked again, looking at Callie.

“He’s comin’, don’t worry,” she assured, his chuff tickling her ear.

The door was cracked open upon walking up to it, and inside the furniture was already being moved around to create more space to linger around in.

“Late to her own rehearsal!” came Oleg’s booming voice, strutting in false intimidation from the hallway, but his angry scowl melted into a wide smile once Leo recognized him and reached.

“Is everyone here?”

“The booze went quickly,” he teased, walking toward the back of the house with Leo excitedly squealing in his grandpa’s arms.

“That’s what happens when you get Orcs and Mexicans together,” Nick commented, grunting his way in with all the bags slung across his arms and shoulders.

“They didn’t drink the champagne, did they?” Callie frantically asked, following Oleg and leaving Nick to topple over with Leo’s luggage.

Nick and Ward both sipped their beers alongside Matuk and Sergey, the summer sun having been unbearable until Dinara silenced the mens whining and dished out the cold drinks. But the sun still kept glaring down at them even as it drew near sunset, their shirts sticking to their skin and hunger growing. Dura had been the only one to be blessed with a chair at the front, her belly near bursting as her due date approached.

“Pay attention,” Dura hissed at Sergey, fanning her face with her sun hat.

“All I do is stand here-” he hissed back, silencing when Ward elbowed him.

“Can you shut the fuck up she’s about to come down,” Ward growled, jabbing his hand in the direction of the house.

“We’ve done this eight times, why do we need to be quiet?”

“He’s right, there’s no point,” Nick answered loudly, sipping his beer.

Ward glared at him in disbelief. “At your own rehearsal?”

“Look, they’re talking,” he pointed to Callie’s mom who sat beside Dyani and Joaquin, Leo and his mother coming to join them once she’d finished walking down the mock isle.

“Okay music, yada yada everyone stands, then Callie,” Dinara called, tip-toeing around the line of bridesmaids to stand beside Nick at the front.

It was just the rehearsal, and there was nothing to match how spectacular and dreamy it would be the following day, but Nick still smiled watching her walk down like that, a glowing smile on her face and hanging onto her father's arm. Nick tossed a kiss to her before she was even there, tipping his bottle back over his lips to hide a nervous smile when she winked at him.

For the eighth time, Nick shook Diego’s hand and accompanied Callie back to their spot at the front, his actions growing clumsier with every round.

“Pre-gaming?” she asked, smiling at Nick’s loose nod. She was sure his eyes were half-lidded behind his sunglasses.

“Okay dearly beloved and all that, they exchange vows, beads, rings and kiss,” Dinara recited from the front with Leo still in her arms, wiggling towards Nick when he made faces at him. He stopped only to peck Callie sweetly, snatching his son from his mother's arms. “And we’re done,”

There was a collective sigh of approval from everyone placed about in the wide yard, all of which were starved for the cool drinks and savory dinner laid out under the shade of the patio.

Sergey stumbled to Dura’s side and only laughed when she scolded him for already drinking himself into a cloud, but Callie was there to loop her arm around the expectant mother’s and assist in her waddle across the yard. Nick and Ward picked Sergey back up, leaving hard slaps on his back while they teased him over being a lightweight.

“I hope Morn feels better by tomorrow,” Callie pouted, feeling her friend's absence.

“She kicks shit fast, she’ll be good,” Ward answered. It was useless denying they’d become quite cozy with one another, especially when Nick had stopped by unexpectedly to find her wandering around Daryl’s house in his shirt. It was a sensitive topic, but Callie thought it sweet how lovingly he spoke of Morn when she wasn’t around. There was always the hint of a longing sigh somewhere in his words, a hardened pout pushing his mustache up.

“Was it a stomach bug? Daryl wasn’t feeling too good either,” Rosie noted, following her ear into their conversation.

“Was Dejza sick too?”

“Yeah I think that’s where she got the bug from. Grandparents wanted to see her,” Ward explained, finding a spot beside Nick once they all came up to the table. Leo perched on Nick’s thigh, reaching over to tap Callie’s arm so she’d talk to him as the others found their seats. The chatter of Callie and Nick’s chosen family was lively among their friends, the last minute preparations or concerns rising into question and then settling quickly. Food was passed through mouths as fast as the words, the plates filling just to empty minutes later for seconds and thirds. The men of Nick’s bachelor party were ordered to lay off the beer and instead fill up on food before their night of celebration and farewell, waving off their disapproving groans and wails.

By the time they were all dug into their meals, Leo was drifting in Nick’s arms with a bottle balanced on his chest, at last catching a nap to soothe away the throbbing in his gums they’d managed to mostly keep at bay all day with the chaos swarming around them.

When Leo spat out the bottle and rubbed his face, Nick took a final bite of the crispy pork ribs to lean back in his chair and cradle his son closer to his chest, a wide palm patting his bottom. Soft chuffs were the last of Leo’s attempts at consciousness before Nick’s purring did him in, his big eyes finally sliding shut.

Nick was lost staring at his son when Ward suddenly came into view, his ear almost close enough to press against his shoulder.

Ward snapped up, mild disbelief coloring his expressions. “Are you… vibrating?”

Callie laughed out loud, covering her mouth filled with food.

“Does Morn not purr?” Nick asked, Ward leaning away from him.

“P-purring? Y’all… purr?” he looked up hesitantly at the other Orcs around him who were unphased by his discovery.

“Does Morn really not?”

“No! I think I’d know if I heard somethin’ like that!” Ward exclaimed, returning to his meal with a shudder.

“I bet she does n’ it just puts you to sleep,” Sergey added, talking around a corn on the cob.

Daryl looked back to Nick. “Sophia always told me she reminded her of a cat and I thought it was cuz of the ears n’ shit,”

The table chuckled at that, their laughter heightening when Daryl again leaned into Nick’s chest to listen to the rumbles, even placing a hand flat on him to make sure it wasn’t some elaborate prank. The fervent manner in which everyone devoured the food calmed into small pickings here and there and the low rumble of chatter filling the backyard, everyone in their separate conversations or stories until Dinara pulled Nick's attention away from Callie and Rosie who spoke so fast, it only sounded like clicking.

“Ukmall, you’ll need to be here before eight to get Leo,” she informed, and his brows furrowed.

“So early?” he groaned, having fully expected a few hours to sleep off a hangover.

“Callie needs to get her hair done. The fumes are bad for him,” she scolded, and he looked back to his bride.

“You’re changing your hair?” he questioned with big eyes.

“Just a little bit,” she smiled, internally screaming. She’d come to this decision to alter her hair after talking herself out of going entirely blonde despite her curiosity for years pulling her the other direction, but now she wondered if he’d even notice.

“I guess I can get him,” he griped, leaning down to kiss Leo when Callie and his mother sucked their teeth in discontent.

“What time are people arriving?” Callie asked around Nick.

“Three, so we have a lot to do and a lot of cooking before people start showing up. That being said,” she grunted, standing at the head of the table with her glass of sweet tea raised. “I’d like to propose a toast and a thanks,”

Everyone hushed, reaching for their variety of drinks to hold up.

“We want to extend our thanks to Callie’s family who have graciously accepted us in, not to mention our son who came with a reputation,” she gestured at Nick, the table chuckling. “To everyone who’s helped and put up with my screaming,” she admitted to bashfully. “To my son, who I knew would be the father his own raised him to be, and now the husband I always knew he could be,” she smiled lovingly at Nick, his own grin goofy and adoring. Callie rubbed his arm, squeezing his wrist affectionately.

“And to Callie,” she cleared her throat, raising her glass. Callie’s smile dropped when she looked up, her anxiousness kicking into high gear. “It’s because of you my son smiled again, and it’s with your help he’s shown that beautiful baby in his arms such love. You weren’t only a gift in his life, but ours too, and no matter the paths you both might take from here on out, you’ll always have a place in our family. Cheeruk, mausan daughavas. Lat've bleukukun avhiuk famipak.” She finalized, her glass raised and Oleg following suit.

“I’d like to also say something,” Diego stood creakily, his age at last catching up to him after decades of back breaking work. He smoothed his hand down his church shirt, lifting his glass. “Mija, you haven’t always had the best of luck when it came to men, and to be honest I would’ve pulled my hair out if you had brought home another white boy,” he chuckled, the table following suit as Callie hid her face in despair. “But now I can rest easier at night knowing you have a man I would’ve hand-picked for you specially,” he tipped his head at Nick, the orc nodding once in return even though he was inwardly elated.

“I’m sorry the ones you were told growing up were your family didn’t make it here, but it’s their loss, cariña. If they can’t grow as much as you, let them leave. You’ve always been better than them. Nick,” he turned, startling his daughter’s groom.

“Thank you. You’re the standard I raised my daughters to expect, so thank you for taking care of her and Leonardo. I only want forever for you two.” He finished, his free hand resting on Luciana’s shoulder as she looked on at her daughter with watery eyes.

“I second that!” Rosie declared, Santi’s glass following his sister only to spill across the table's surface and onto her plate.

Her cheeks were hidden in her palms when they toasted, Dinara’s words whispered in translation into her ear by Nick after drinking to their parents speeches. He kissed her flushed cheek, promising the sincerity of her words. Her eyes wandered while Nick adored her secretly, watching their parents take turns hugging and speaking with smiles plastered across their faces. It helped ease some of the burns she’d been dealt when her family started RSVPing just to say they wouldn’t attend, and she wondered how much of it was because of Leo and how much was because of their choice to marry. Either way, she knew now who to keep up with.

The couple was dragged from their steamy bubble of secret kisses and whispers when Ward elbowed Nick insistently until he turned, motioning his head toward the door, but his hairless brows drew together.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, noting Ward’s lighter complexion.

He shook his head, waving his hand. “Drank too much,”

“They took our drinks-”

“Man let’s go!”

Nick turned back to Callie, a loose smile curling her lips.

“Is it time?” she asked, and he nodded, leaning in for another lengthy kiss. “If I get a call from Jake that one of his girls is shaking their asses in your face I’m gonna make sure you can’t make anymore babies,” she warned quietly, trying not to laugh when he gagged.

“I hid a nanny cam in the house so if I see a male stripper shoving his junk in your face I’m gonna throw you in the ocean,” Nick cracked back.

“I can’t swim!” she giggled, trying to frown.

“Yeah, you’ve been warned,” he kissed her before she could respond. “I love you, have a good night and be safe,”

“You be good,” she reminded, pursing her lips for another kiss before he lowered Leo into her arms and smooched him goodbye. “No tequila,”

He sucked air through his teeth, pointing at her. “I can’t promise that,” and he was off, following the others into the house after kissing his mom on the head. They grew rowdy once separated from their lovers except Matuk who was as stoic as ever, and they could be heard causing a commotion all the way to the cars until they were off.

“Ten bucks says they don’t make it past midnight,” Rosie announced.

“Make it twenty,” Oleg raised his beer, his bright smile tightening when Dinara elbowed him in the side before making her way over to Callie as the rest of their guests found separate conversations to delve into.

“Callie, I’d like to show you something we picked up today,” she said under her breath, tugging on her elbow.

“Oh?” she piped, tapping Rosie’s shoulder so she could deposit her hefty son into her arms. Rosie doted over him lovingly, endless kisses pressed into his cheeks as he was roused from his nap, but that would be her problem, now. By the time Leo was awake and gnawing angrily into his tia’s cheeks in retaliation, Dinara had led Callie into her room where the bed was lined with pressed and covered clothing, some decorations and linens hung over the small bench at the end. Callie wandered, her hands gravitating towards the colorful flowers protected in plastic boxes.

“Here, look,” Dinara called from the desk at the corner of the room.

The small lamp was flipped on when Callie was at her side, watching as she lifted the lid from a silver box carefully, but upon removing the satin material protecting whatever was underneath, her hands moved even more gingerly than before until a shining, silver plate looked up at them. Orkish letters were carved deep into its face, but the polished grooves were clean, elegant.

“Marriage Armor, it’s called. The bride wears the plate with her new name upon her back and the groom wears the bride's zodiac on his shoulders and chest,” she explained, a smaller pouch that she had in the top drawer of the desk emptying into Callie’s palm. The charms were attached to thin, dainty chains, and carved from a deep, grey metal shaped into bull heads.

Callie smiled, studying their details. “Nick will wear these?”

“Mhm. You’ll both wear the bracelets that are exchanged, but those are kept for the day of. Right now we need to get this on you to make sure it fits,” she explained, opening the pouch so Callie could deposit the charms back inside.

The ‘armor’ had length to it she at first couldn’t see between the satin covers. Her own sparkling chains braided across the shoulders as one long, jeweled piece ran the length of her back, stretching from the plate that spelled Jakoby. When Dinara had it balanced on her shoulders so she could clasp it at her front, she saw where the chains came together into the shape of the Taurus symbol. With delicacy she touched the pieces on her shoulders and at the center of her chest while it was adjusted at her back, her smile beaming. It was heavy- this was definitely some special mineral, for she’d never seen one of such weight be polished finely enough to catch even the smallest glimmer of these dim lights.

“Tomorrow you’ll glow during that sunset,” Dinara smiled, tugging the chains at either side of her shoulders. “Poor Nick will be so blindsided we might have to give his men a heads up,”

They giggled, Callie’s smile wavering when Dinara held her hands tightly, staring at her with glossy eyes. “These plates are traditional. A male’s mother hands them down to his bride if she approves, so these should have come from my own mother in law, but they didn’t,”

Callie’s smile fell. “What?”

“Oleg’s mother hates me. She wanted her boy to have the smiling, waxy wife who pops babies out like rats. So I had these made the day before we were married, and I wore them in front of her,” she grinned.

“Reclaimed the name?” Callie smirked.

Dinara nodded. “It’s a good name despite the reputation that came with it when you met my son,”

Callie only hugged her, their arms tightly wound one another in that moment. “Thank you,” she said, giving her a last squeeze before they both wiped their cheeks of any stray tears.

“Well it fits,” she giggled before the two got her out of the intricate chains and back into the sleek box.

“Come on then,” the orc sniffled, turning the light off. “Let’s finish the night.”

↠

Nick’s hand still hadn’t come down from shielding his eyes, but as long as Ward was emptying his dinner and three beers onto Sergey’s lawn, he wasn’t going to even bother glancing at him. His excitement had drained the entire two hours it took to get here, it’s gradual drip starting as soon as they’d left his parents.

“I’m fine, I just drank too fast,” were the kind of things Ward kept saying to excuse his deteriorating, sweating form, but Nick knew he’d heard him heaving into the toilet after calling Morn to ask exactly what she’d come down with. Still, he insisted he was fine the entire duration it took him to shower and change before they headed to Sergey’s next, but by the time they’d gotten in the car, Sergey was starting to look worse for wear, too.

As soon as the car had come to a stop, both of them were falling out, one running into the house and the other making it to the lawn before he lost his composure. Now, Nick was alone in this filthy mess after Matuk had ditched them, but Nick hadn’t expected him to go, really. Bachelor parties didn’t seem like his thing even though there was nothing to celebrate anymore.

“Juh- just gimme a min-” Ward choked, retching loudly.

“For three months I’ve dealt with puke almost daily,” Nick explained calmly, his eyes still hidden.

Daryl coughed.

“You’ve been hyping me up for this for weeks,”

Ward nodded, spit hanging off his bottom lip. “I’no,”

Nick dropped his hand and sighed when thirty seconds had passed- the longest yet- without him heaving, and he couldn't help laugh a little. Ward wasn’t the kind of person to ever show vulnerability even when he was hurt, so seeing him hunched over and whimpering meant taking a few photos should’ve been his top priority, but Nick showed mercy on his friend while the other was lost somewhere in his house likely calling Dura to cry.

“C’mon,” Nick groaned, lifting Ward’s limp body off the ground.

“I need t’go to Morn's,” he grunted, walking unsteadily beside him.

“She can come get you after I drop you off,” Nick used his lighter voice, clearing his throat when he realized what he was doing. “Sit down,”

Ward instead flopped into the backseat, exclaiming when his head smacked the door panel. He continued to wail when Nick used his foot to push his feet in, flinching at how loudly he protested.

“Jesus now I know why Sherri was such a bitch,” Nick mumbled, closing the door before Ward could scream at him. “Stay there,” he knocked against the window, turning towards the house. “Let me go check the other child…”

What started as Nick’s bachelor party he had looked forward to for weeks, had turned into a mini-pandemic between the parties involved- thank god they left his parents house when they did- and had resulted in Nick getting one giant man baby into bed with clean clothes after he was found on his bathroom floor, and cleaning the puke out of Ward’s car when he voided even more of himself while waiting. It hadn’t come without a cold scolding from Nick, demanding to know why he couldn’t have opened the door beside his head if he had enough power to sit up and spray everywhere, but Ward stopped listening when the words became languages he didn’t know.

He hollered and gagged the entire way back to driving Daryl home, bursting from the car as soon as he was parked, but that only meant helping clean this one up too.

After nearly three hours of scrubbing, and gagging, and screaming, Nick sat on Ward’s porch waiting for his Uber, a cold beer in hand. No amount of air freshener or borrowed cologne would mask the raw stench of vomit under his nails and on his clothes. He’d likely throw these away- his nose was too keen to allow back into his closet. Too bad; he really liked this shirt.

Night had at last crept over LA, leaving only a soft orange glow where the sun had slipped from. The night was humid, but cool, and the woven chair he sat in wasn’t half bad.

He looked at his phone, tracking the driver who was coming down the street.

He’d made the move multiple times to message Callie, but he couldn’t bring himself to halt her night, either. If she hadn’t messaged him about anything, that meant no sickness had befallen them either, right? Maybe they’d been lucky to avoid catching it from Daryl. He texted his mom at least, warning of a stomach bug floating around and to keep a closer eye on Leo.

A compact little sedan rolled up, and Nick groaned. Now he had to squeeze into that.

What am I even gonna do all night… he pondered, walking towards the car. He chuckled. Sleep.

Nick slipped in the open door, closing it noisily behind himself before spinning the bolt shut. His palm popped up just as he smacked his inner arm, his keys flying onto the counter and sliding noisily across its surface.

Never, not even after his most grueling days at the academy or after an even more grueling workout did he ever desire a shower and sleep like this moment, kicking his shoes off excitedly.

“Nick?”

He froze, his head half in the cabinets looking for something to take with him. Nick leaned out of the kitchen entry, his ears twitching. Was that…?

“Cal?” he called back warily.

“Maybe,” she called back, and he was off towards the bedroom he hadn’t even noticed had been shut.

The TV was mumbling lowly with her favorite show, but she wasn’t on the bed like he expected. Instead, sitting on the carpet on a folded blanket surrounded by her phone and wires that made up her headphones and charger with a pre-roll between her fingers, he found her sitting beside the cracked sliding glass door so the smoke could wisp out into the night.

Her eyes were just as wide as his, the pair speechless.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, almost afraid to move. Where’s Leo?

“What are you doing here?” she returned, knowing he’d seen the joint in her hold.

“Ward and Sergey-”

“Got sick?” she interrupted, her mouth tightening. He nodded, snorting.

“The girls too?”

She nodded, relaxing a little bit. “I thought you were off already doing the bachelor party thing so I just came home… and left Leo with your parents,”

“Yeah I didn’t call them either,” he confided softly, licking his bottom lip.

“So…” she looked around. Why was this so awkward!?

Nick watched her, leaned back on his hands after pulling a fresh shirt over his scrubbed skin. His head lolled to the side, watching her at last let out the insane breath she’d pulled in. The smoke from this one smelled foul compared to the scented trails from a cartridge, but he wouldn’t speak out against it.

By the time he’d come out of the shower, she had gone through half its length and her eyes were already falling shut. Eight months of sobriety brought her tolerances way down, but this was also the first time in months he hadn’t seen her chewing her inner lips or bouncing her knee. What a wonderful remedy this was, but the stigma attached to it would always leave Nick hesitant.

“That wine is gonna knock you out tomorrow,” he mumbled, grinning when she swatted sleepily at his foot.

“I thought we already agreed you’d catch me,” she reminded, twisting the butt in the ashtray before looking at him.

“Only if I can get really shit faced in San Diego,” he whined, and she laughed.

“Duh, me too,”

He smiled, watching her fidget around on the blanket and fix her hair hanging around her shoulders. She looked down at the ring on her hand, smiling adoringly at its face then clutching her palm to her chest. Soft humming came from her, a soft sway back and forth starting.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, knowing she’d fallen into her dreamy haze.

Callie shrugged, looking up at him. Those balmy eyes were glowing, her cheeks flushing. “I can’t believe we’re getting married tomorrow. It feels like it’s taken decades to get here but it’s only been… pfft three years? And now we have our baby?” she pouted, holding her own face.

“Wow,” Nick mumbled, smiling at her in amusement.

“I shouldn’t have left him there, I need to call your parents-”

“Cal,” he called, catching her frantic eyes. “He’s fine. Take a breath,”

She paused before nodding, sighing instead of taking an appropriate breath.

“I wanna be on whatever planet you’re on,” his words nudged her away from that guilt, a little smile lifting his spirits when he worried about her mental state. Sometimes the break-through anxiety was sneaky.

Her brow perked up, her smile growing devious.

“I can’t,” he reiterated.

“You can,”

“I can’t,”

“It would be out of your system in two days. We’ll be back way after that,” she too reminded him of the miraculous gift that was an Orcs metabolism, but Nick was a faithful worker and had his own, brittling views on the earth-made herb she relied on. “You didn’t get enough that first time,”

“It tastes like ass,” he defended, growing weary when Callie sashayed towards him with the ashtray and lighter pinned under her palm. “It makes my lips dry,”

“I’m not stopping until I hear ‘no’,” she clarified, sitting between his spread legs stretched across the floor and lighting the end of the blunt.

Still, Nick remained silent, watching her suck in her own small hit until the embers were crackling at the end. “I won’t make you do it if you don’t want to,” she told him, sensing his hesitation. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. If he liked the buzz from drinking, he was sure he’d like the buzz from smoking, but his encounters in the past not to mention the particular one that had left him in a room full of laughing people during a bad trip left bitter emotions.

But he trusted Callie when reminding him she’d never do such a thing, and she trusted her when she said, “You’ll like it,”

“And I’ve seen how jittery you’ve been,” she noted, patting the hand that had moved to rest on her thigh when he sat forward.

“Who wouldn’t be?” he asked, pinching the shrinking joint between his fingers when she passed it. Then she sat back on her bottom, crossing her legs.

“It’s your decision, baby. I want you to have a good time but not if you’re uncomfortable,” she told him, knowing even in her bombed state that despite Nick accepting this more over the years and his own curiosity growing, pressuring someone wasn’t how you did it.

He rolled it a little bit between his fingers, glancing at her with his critical, yellow eyes.

Ugh, he’s so yummy-

“How long do I hold my breath?” his voice disrupted her thoughts.

“As long as you can,”

Nick sighed, looking at it one last time. “Fuck it, why not,”

Callie’s eyes widened every second he kept inhaling, caught between warning him and possibly making him panic or letting him get one huge drag in instead of coughing through a bunch of little ones, but by the time she decided, he was done. Silent, holding his breath, his eyes already watering when he handed it back.

Without looking she snuffed it out, waiting. “Nick?”

He exhaled loudly, a cloud of smoke blowing around her that she swatted towards the cracked door. The coughing started before he even finished his breath, the next one bubbling up his throat before the previous one finished. His throat and nose burned, and he could’ve sworn he felt his trachea vibrating with every ragged cough.

“Cough as hard as you can, it helps,” she coached, rubbing his back when he rolled onto his stomach to smother his teary eyed face in the carpet.

The ferocity of the coughing rang down his arms, his head throbbing when he managed to sit back up, but with the calming of his body came… warmth.

Nick cleared his throat over and over, wiping the back of his hands across his eyes, but the warmth surrounding his head was making it hard to keep his eyes open. They felt like they could fall into a slumber at any moment, but his mind was as wakeful as ever. He glanced down at his body; why did he feel so… floaty? He cleared his throat again of its scratch while rocking side to side, tensing his arms. Upon lifting his hand, he found he still had full coordination.

He snorted, coughing a little.

“Are you okay?” His head snapped around, finding Callie staring at him in suspense. “How do you feel?”

He inhaled. “I feel like there’s cotton in m’head,” he mumbled, an eye closing. “Like fuzzy cotton,”

She repressed giggles. “But are you okay?”

He nodded loosely, looking around their cluttered room. “It’s like being drunk but sober,”

“I’ve never been able to explain it that well,” Callie grieved, her arms throwing up into the air. “Are you gonna be one of those insightful people when you’re stoned?”

Nick blinked, his eyes reflecting when Callie snapped a photo of him. “Who?” he asked.

“Oh my god.” Callie mumbled.

“Damn,” Nick exclaimed under his breath, his face twisted in horror.

“I know,” Callie nodded, her knee draped over his thigh.

“Could you imagine…?

“No. It’s bad enough we have dragons,” she said against his chest. Every blink felt like eternity.

“Imagine if they did that,” Nick pictured, his body shuddering under hers. “What’s this movie called?”

“Princess Mononoke,”

He scoffed; no way he was remembering that. Nick took a final bite of their ordered dinner, chewing slowly as he stretched to rest the bowl on his nightstand. Maybe this would finally calm his voracious appetite, but as long as Callie kept opening that bag of Doritos, he was hopeless.

“I’m gonna gain thirty pounds by tomorrow,” he mumbled into her hair, the both of them chuckling.

“I never lost my thirty,” she pouted comically, stuffing another chip into her mouth.

“Damn, what that mouth do?” he teased around a yawn.

“Yo mama,” she mumbled, giggling when he snorted.

Silence lulled between the two snuggled and surrounded by snacks in the bed, both of their minds lost somewhere in the clouds as they re-watched various Netflix series.

He thought he’d heard her slip in and out of sleep earlier, but truth be told, he could’ve been listening to himself breathe. There had been a few times his reddened eyes snapped open to be in the middle of a completely different episode, but mentioning it would be admitting he was falling asleep which he continued to adamantly deny. With a blind reach, he retrieved his phone from the nightstand.

Just a little past midnight, but way too late. He was enjoying this too much, though. Nick was only selfish in the sense that sometimes he just wanted to snuggle right up to Callie and feel her body against his. The last time they’d had a moment like this without Leo in the way was at the beginning of her pregnancy, and laying like this only made him realize how long ago that was.

“We should be in bed,” Nick mumbled, rubbing his eye.

“We are in bed,” she laughed, sliding her cheek up to look at him.

“You know what I mean. Big day tomorrow,” he looked down at her, reaching to move some of her hair from her cheek so he could better see those big eyes that always sparkled.

“Everytime I think about it I get so nervous,” she whispered.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. It feels like that first time I met you at Santa Monica. I stress ate like seven funnel cakes. I was so anxious,” she admitted shyly.

“I changed a bunch of times. Couldn’t decide on anything,”

“Oh you did good, sir,” she winced, biting her bottom lip. “You could’ve drowned in my panties,”

“I would’ve if your sister hadn’t’ve interrupted,” he grumbled, forever bitter.

“Oh hush, it was a sign we would be together forever,”

“How so?” he questioned, twisting in her direction a little.

“I would’ve never called a guy back if that happened with anyone else, but you were so perfect that I swallowed the embarrassment and saved my horniness for another day,”

Nick smiled, a big goofy one. “Shut up,”

“Shut me up then,” she came back with, fast as a whip.

His eyes dropped to her lips, lingering before coming back to her eyes. “Isn’t that bad luck?”

“It was bad luck when we both ended up home,” she whispered, the weight of her hand once on his chest now coming to stretch across his meat.

That was enough convincing for Nick.

Callie was a little slower getting over him, but her heated kisses kept him concentrated on what they both wanted. When she was in her spot sitting in his lap, he could better taste her tongue after pulling her chest flush against his, his strong hands quickly continuing to her round ass he pulled back and forth over his growing dick. A steadying hand against his chest meant he could leave her skin that was marked red where he grabbed, her hips resuming the motions.

With his bottom lip pinched between his teeth, he easily pulled her loose sleeping shorts aside, revealing her plump pussy lips.

He could already feel how warm she was through his sweats, shortening his breaths in anticipation.

“You’re so hot,” he admired, looking up in time for her hair to fan around them when leaning down to kiss him. Strong, sinewy arms wrapped tightly around her waist, grounding himself to the angel that squirmed in his hold deliciously. Silently, inwardly, he thanked those who had blessed him with such a girl, promising to worship more as soon as he was done with this.

A firm tug on the ends of her shirt had it flying past her fingertips, thrown to the floor.

Callie gripped the railing to the headboard when he pulled her chest into his open mouth, a long lick gliding over a hardened nipple that had goosebumps fire up her arms. She snickered when he smacked his lips a few times, moving onto the other side. An old technique had her limp in his hold, her thighs tightening at his sides. He encouraged her hips to keep moving, his cock desperate for attention, but her mind was only a pool of melted pleasure at that point.

A hard gasp fell from her wet lips when he graced her clit with tight circles, hanging off of his neck to look down at his hand flat against her lower stomach as his thumb massaged her into a trance. Gradually her eyes fell shut, hair sticking to her cheeks while she panted softly.

His loose smile made her rock into his touch. “You want it already, don’t you?” he asked quietly, his voice vibrating with growls; Callie could only nod. He pecked her sloppily. “Get naked,”

Callie stumbled off into the center of the bed to kick off her shorts and socks, moving onto the food and remotes and phones that were now being swept onto the floor without a care.

Nick’s shirt and sweats had already been tossed off, but now as he rummaged through the drawer of his bedside table, his excitement was plummeting. Here was the box, but…

“We’re out of condoms,” he announced, looking back at her sat naked at the center of the bed on her knees with her dishevelled hair a mess around her shoulders. It only added to the tragedy of the situation.

“So?” she asked, her fingers drumming against her thighs.

Nick stood straight, his head cocking.

Since she’d been cleared for sex there hadn’t been a session they forgot to use protection, no matter how it dampened the sensation. He’d done it for her, for he wasn’t the one who’d be carrying anymore surprise babies, although it was the memory of her sweet, bare pussy around his unsheathed cock that helped bring him to an end, now. He’d wanted to ask her, even just for one quick slide in, but Nick had always assumed this was the new norm until either of them were snipped.

“Are you- really?” he asked.

“I hate them, Nick. I’m so over using them,” she exhaled, her shoulders drooping. “I’ve been trying to be good but if I have to ride your dick one more time with a balloon over it-”

She yelped, her legs pulled from under her ass and Nick finding his spot between her flailed knees when she realized what happened.

The mood shifted again, and suddenly they were in perfect sync.

Her knees drew upwards when the top of his thighs pressed under her bottom, his hand finding its place at the bend of her leg that was closest to her chest.

She made it up onto an elbow when he spit at his tip pressed against her entrance, her hand hovering against his belly.

“I’ll go slow,” he soothed, meeting her eyes. The first time they’d reunited in bed, his excitement resulted in hurting her, and from that came the need to remind him to be gentle, even this far down the road. A guilt he’d always carry, but he’d work on fixing it.

It didn’t burn this time his head popped in, his thick shaft following until she was filled to his base. Her shoulders fell back with a loud sigh while his eyes slammed shut, pressing to her as tightly as he could. He’d dived into a pool of ecstasy, sending strong shivers up and down his spine as he basked in her heat.

The stinging tug of a condom was at last absent, and there was only Nick’s velvet skin gliding against hers, creating the friction she so wildly desired.

“Baby,” she called, holding the hand at her leg when he stared down at where they were joined. His dilated eyes landed on hers, a low snarl curling his lips when he withdrew only to slip back in.

Her head rolled back in time with her eyes, a loud moan rumbling under the hand that slid up his chest when he rested forward on his hands, her knee hooked around his chiseled arm. He’d draw out until her heat was kissing his head, just so he could feel that delicious pressure before pushing back in. Nick leaned into one hand so he could touch her, dragging his rough hands up and down her body that gravitated towards his caresses. When her pussy bucked into his thrust, a surprised moan came from him, an eager thrust bouncing her.

A low, rumbling growl moved into her when he yanked her hips up in line with his, his nostrils flaring as he scented them together like this.

“Do it,” she smiled, her feet planted into the sheets behind him.

Their eyes locked during the time he adjusted his feet beneath himself, his breaths deep and loud. A few leisure bucks were her warmup, and then came that smirk. She bowed until she balanced on her shoulder blades, his grunts and chuffs nothing compared to the singing made in his name during his fucking. He was a force driven purely by instinct; the need to fill his girl again, to lay claim to what would officially be his that day.

The slapping of their bodies coming together drowned out the TV beside them, Callie’s resounding cries piled atop his raucous moans as he shoved his way into her body again and again, her juices covering them as he pounded that spot hidden deep between her tightening walls.

Her ass was dropped from his hold so he could lean forward for a kiss, her mind spinning when he rolled her on top of him.

With a flip of her head to move her hair off her sticky back, Callie sat straight, her fingertips guiding him back in as her knees slid out until she was sitting flat on him, flinching when his tip found the back of her pussy.

God, she was so small in his hands when he held her cinched waist; if he stuck his thumbs out, they could touch.

A deep moan rang in his chest when she snapped her hips back and forth, her sweet cunt massaging his entire length. When a dip of her center was particularly low, she’d gasp, holding her stomach where it felt he was poking, but a wide smile always followed those overpowering shocks of spine curling bliss.

Nick held steadfast to her hips, guilty in keeping her flat against himself so there was the added friction on his head.

“Oh fuck,” he drawled, his hand landing back into the sheets.

“Nick-” she gasped, her hand flying to his chest. “I’m-”

His last burst of energy was used flipping them again so she was spread below him, his hands hooking under her knees to push back into the bedding beside her ribs.

There was no more words as he poked his way back in, pistoning into her with such power her toes curled, her arms falling limp above her head when her climax came crashing around her. In an instant, she was stiff as a board, her legs strong enough to fight past his hold and stretch straight in tight trembles at his sides as he continued. When she could catch her breath, she shouted, a deep flush blooming across her cheeks and chest. Nick watched with a proud smile as she convulsed under him, her silent mumbles barely words as she came down from her high.

Her limp thighs shook mightily in his hold when he pushed them apart, their bodies touching in a paused moment so he could adore her with soft kisses.

She was still breathless as he brushed his lips across her jaw, her soft throat pulsing with the blood racing through her. Her pussy throbbed dully around him compared to the fist like hold he barely made it through moments ago.

A soft whisper in his ear brought the tempo back up, but Nick wanted to stay like this.

A beauty such as her was only admired best this close, and even though she’d found her climax, she whimpered below him, holding his face as he fucked her sweetly. Her ankles locked behind him, a heady groan to follow before he dropped his face beside hers.

“Should I cum on your stomach?” he panted, his thrusts weakening as the pleasure peaked.

“Inside me,” she kissed into his cheek, tightening the hold with her legs. “Cum inside me baby,”

The hand lost in her hair gripped her roots, a loud hiss coming from between her teeth when his entire body tightened and jerked against her flushed cunt. The screaming engine of Nick’s orgasm overtook him like a wave would at the beach, ringing from every end of his body and back to his center that spilled into his ecstatically beautiful bride to be. He grunted with every thick stream of semen forced into the space they both snuggly occupied, slowly stilling until they were both a heaving pile of sweaty parts and cloudy minds.

He worried he’d crush her the longer he laid over her, but the soft gliding of her hands up and down his back were too good to pass up. He exhaled, his face buried between the mattress and her head. “Fuck,”

Callie giggled, her cheek leaning into his so he’d force himself up to look at her. The urgency was gone in their kisses, but now he could feel how sleepy she was.

“Ready?” he asked against her mouth, only moving when she nodded. Her thighs trembled when he dragged out of her, bringing a thick stream of the nectar he’d left behind.

“Oh I can feel that,” she grimaced, sitting up on her elbows warily. It wasn’t clear at that point if it was the weed or sex that had left her feeling like her head was vacant.

“You should see it,” he smirked, his cocky pride coming through. “How many siblings did you want Leo to have?”

“Ha,” she shouted. “Good luck getting me pregnant ever again. My body said one and done,” she grunted sitting up, scurrying off to the bathroom after Nick had hoisted her up. He didn’t answer, and wouldn’t. Callie adored the idea of having a big family, but the night the topic came up when Leo was two months old, it only ended in her confiding in Nick that she felt she’d never be so lucky again. She wasn’t wrong in saying her body would likely fight off pregnancy for years, maybe endlessly if they ever tried again. Where it once happened so effortlessly, the time following to get where they were now had left them both a little… doubtful.

Nick yanked the blanket off their bed, tossing it beside the door so he could flop into the cool sheets of the mattress after turning off the lights and TV. His arms were already open when she came wobbling back in, her naked body collapsing into his. They rolled and wiggled until they found their spots, her head tucked under his chin and their legs tangled.

“We broke like four traditions,” she mumbled through a closed jaw.

“Thinking about it, I don’t think it applies to us,” he yawned; the sleepiness was at last getting to him. She looked up at him curiously.

“Our whole relationship is taboo. Curses don’t apply to morally incorrect choices,” he explained, laughing when she did.

“Yeah I guess you’re right,” she settled, her soft smile lingering when he rubbed her arm. The soft breeze from their ceiling fan moved her loose hair around his arm, tickling his skin, but the gentle strokes across his chest from her was lulling him into sleep.

“You’re not gonna bail on me tomorrow, right?” she asked suddenly, and his eyes opened.

He leaned away from her so he could better see her face when she looked up. “Why would you ask that?”

“I had to ask, my mind wouldn’t let me put it to rest,” she sighed. “I’m sorry,”

“Hey,” he pulled her chin up, holding her face. “I’ve been trying to get you to marry me for years, remember?”

She giggled, nodding. “What if right when I said yes you were like ‘fuck, she said yes, what do I do now?’”

“Oh my god that brain of yours,” he sighed, laying back down to pull her tight against his chest. “I’ll prove it to you when I’m waiting at the altar,”

“Promise?” she asked, her big eyes already closed. He pushed some hair aside, her lids fluttering a moment.

“Always.”

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did i plant a seed in this chapter? are those church bells in the distance? honeymoon in san diego where they have the best tacos HWHAT?

only 3 chapters left! ;_; thanks for reading, my loves! ❤

[rubyinasnuggie]

Rosegarden Week Day 1 — Modern AU

“You know, you could always try… talking to her.”

Oscar jumped and turned around to see Nora standing behind him, grinning. “What? I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’ve been staring at that girl for five minutes, Oz,” Nora replied.

The girl in question was Ruby Rose, a sophomore at Oscar’s university. Currently, she was sitting in the quad wearing adorable red and black headphones. Oscar, meanwhile, had been silently debating what kind of music she liked, and if maybe they had similar tastes. After all, his favorite band was about to have a concert—

Nora grabbed Oscar’s hood and pulled it down over his face. “You didn’t even notice my texts.”

He glanced down at his phone to see five texts from his sister: messages informing him that she was there with varying degrees of patience. He winced. “I’m sorry, Nora. I—”

“Nope. No time to apologize, let’s just goooooooo.”

Oscar scrambled to grab his backpack and swing it over his shoulders without looking too frazzled.

The motion must have caught her attention, and Ruby glanced up from her studying. She smiled and offered a small wave.

A blush spread across his cheeks as he waved back. Even though he had seen her eyes countless times, they still blew him away everytime she looked at him. They were silver, like little mirrors. And god help him when they reflected the lights, bouncing the tiniest of rainbows back at him.

Nora beamed and waved enthusiastically, earning a slightly confused laugh from Ruby. Ruby watched in amusement as Nora dragged Oscar away, recognizing an older sister when she saw one.

“You did a terrible job parking,” Oscar commented as he pulled open the passenger door.

The junky old orange truck was at a diagonal, it’s bumper clearly over the line and into another parking spot.

“I thought you’d be ready to leave and I wasn’t going to have to park,” Nora replied, hopping into the driver’s seat. “So. Who’s the girl?”

“Ruby,” Oscar admitted, knowing it was futile to hide it from her. “We have a history class together.”

“Is she a freshman too?”

“No, at the beginning of the year she said she was a sophomore. But I’ve only really seen her hang out with seniors.”

“Yeah? Like who?”

“You know the Schnees?”

Nora let out a hoot. “Ruby is friends with the Ice Queen?”

“I think so. I think they might be roommates, actually.” He frowned, trying to remember the other girls in Ruby’s group. “Then there’s this pretty girl with dark hair, Blake? And then her girlfriend, I think. Blonde girl.”

“Yang? Oh!” Nora grinned. “You know, I think Ruby might be Yang’s little sister, actually. That must be why she always hangs out with seniors. Cracked it!”

Oscar frowned. “I wasn’t… really wondering?”

“No, this is good. This means Ruby’s just as shy and awkward as you!”

“Thanks, Nora.”

“What are sisters for?”

xxx

You can do it. Just talk to her.

Mustering up all the courage he had, he strode up to Ruby Rose. She glanced up at him approaching and removed her headphones with a smile. “Hey Oscar.”

“...hi.”

She tilted her head. “What’s up?”

Okay. This is it.

“I was… wondering. If you’d like to maybe go to a concert? With me?”

Ruby’s eyes lit up in interest. “A concert? Sure. Where is it?”

“It’s at the Beacon Lounge, this Saturday. My sister bought two tickets.” Oscar rubbed his neck and laughed. “And then she promptly made plans so I had to ask someone else to go.”

“Older sisters,” Ruby laughed. “What band is it?”

“The, uh, Mechanisms? They’re this—”

“No, wait! Don’t tell me! I want to be surprised!”

“Are… you sure?” he asked.

She grinned and nodded. “Want me to pick you up? I can swing by on my way from work at 7.”

“Y-yeah! Sure!”

A loud engine roared across the parking lot, and the two looked up to see an orange and yellow motorcycle zooming up.

“Oh, my sister’s here, I gotta go!” Ruby pulled out a pen and grabbed Oscar’s hand, scribbling some numbers. He tried to hide his shock at her touching his hand. “Text me your address, okay? See you Saturday!”

The blonde girl on the motorcycle tossed a helmet to Ruby and gave Oscar a two-fingered salute. Oscar waved as the motorcycle zoomed off, leaving him alone in the parking lot.

xxx

“What are you gonna wear on your date?” Nora asked, waggling her eyebrows.

“Oh, I was just going to wear this,” Oscar answered, realizing immediately this was the wrong answer. He shrunk back into his shoulders like a turtle, eyes wide.

She shook her head. “I knew you were going to do this. Ren!”

Without a word, Ren strode in and tossed a bundle of clothes at him.

xxx

“Thanks for letting me borrow bumblebee!” Ruby called.

“I’m sorry, what?” Yang demanded, whirling around to see her sister holding the keys. “Ruby!”

“Sorrycanttalkgottagobyeeeeee!!”

xxx

Just when he thought he couldn’t get any more smitten, Ruby rode in on a motorcycle. She lifted the visor of her helmet so he could see it was, in fact, her. She handed him an orange helmet, one he recognized her sister wearing the other day.

“Hold on tight!” she cried over the roar of the engine.

Despite his face burning, Oscar looped his arms around her waist and held on for dear life.

They made it to the venue just in time. Ruby whipped the helmet off and beamed at the crowd. She turned to look at Oscar, eyes sparkling.

xxx

“Hey, Weiss!”

The icy-eyed girl shot daggers at Ruby, and Oscar’s heart shot into his throat. “We’re closed, you dolt.”

Oscar was about to back away and leave, but Ruby propped her face in her hands and leaned against the counter. “I know you made me something.”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “You don’t know that, actually.”

“Yes, I dooooo.” She turned back to Oscar, winking. “What do you want?”

“She said it was closed…” Oscar whispered.

Ruby leaned in close and cupped her mouth mockingly, “She’s just teasing.”

“Oh. Uh.. I guess a heath bar sundae? Is that okay?”

“Sure thing! Go sit at that picnic table, I’ll bring it over.”

Oscar smiled as he walked away, chest still thrumming from the heavy bass and the crowd singing.

She returned to the table, ice cream in hand. She handed him his heath sundae before sitting down.

“What’d you get?” he asked, peering at her sundae. It was chocolate ice cream with what looked like cookie dough mixed in, and the entire thing was absolutely covered in sprinkles.

“Clown car,” she answered with a grin.

He paused. “That’s not a real thing.”

“Sure is,” Ruby replied with a smirk. “Weiss wouldn’t stop teasing me about it for years.”

Oscar chuckled.

“So… what made you finally talk to me?” Ruby asked, looking at her clown car as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. She looked up at him, her silver eyes once again taking his breath away.

xxx

“I hope you had fun,” Oscar said, shifting back and forth on his heels. “I-I know I did.”

“I had a great time,” Ruby replied. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Well, I don’t think they’re coming back, they’re from London—“

She cut him off with a quick kiss to the cheek. “I’ll see you on Monday.” While he reeled from the kiss, she put her helmet back on and revved up the engine. With a wave, she took off.

Oscar smiled so wide his cheeks hurt as he waved goodbye.

//okay this is like,, super unpolished but oh well (: honestly my struggle w modern AUs is I just come up with a bunch of headcanons instead of any kinda plot. so this is just a bunch of moments scattered around their first date!

@rwbyrosegardenweek

[ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult]

Wild Ones-James Dean Imagine

Requested: Yes

Warnings: None

A/N: I apologize for being MIA lately, but I’ll explain everything in a future post

Y/H/T: your hometown

  For the entirety of the early 1950s, the name Y/N Y/L/N was synonymous with partying. At the beginning of her career, no one expected the wide-eyed Y/H/T child to fall into the party scene. However, there was little for an actress to do in Los Angeles when she was not working and one of her best friends, Y/B/F/N Y/B/F/L/N, dragged her to a party. Some musician had released their first hit album and threw a huge party at their mansion to celebrate. All the hot up-and-coming talents were in attendance, drinking and dancing the night away. That was the first time Y/N ever tried champagne and it tasted the way sparklers looked. She felt a buzz shoot up and down her spine. It made her feel jittery and relaxed all at the same time. She wondered why in the world her parents forbade her from drinking because it was amazing. That night, she had to have had around five glasses of champagne that cast a pretty peach haze on the rest of the evening. She recalled twirling with Y/B/F/N, getting awfully close to a fellow named Darren, and loud band music. The next day, she felt like hell and swore to never drink again, until the next party came along.

  Partying became a drug for her and it made her feel more alive than any acting, singing, or dancing job ever did. At parties, people adored her and she adored them. She loved the way young men pawed at her and how every girl filled with contempt because they weren’t the ones with all the attention. She could never get enough of it. Of course, partying and working didn’t necessarily go hand in hand and Y/N was able to pull herself together to get acting jobs. When she walked in to read for Judy in Rebel Wihout a Cause, she was positive she was going to get it. While tabloids could not help but spread gossip about what she did at parties, critics equally could not help but spread praise about her performances. It was the third time the casting directors asked her to read for the character and that had to mean that she was going to get the role; actors are never seen more than once if they are not in serious consideration for the part. To her suprise, a strong, handsome, blonde boy around her age was also standing in the room. He was wearing nice blue jeans and a white t-shirt, and his lip appeared to be in a pout. Y/N was almost struck dumb by his intense blue stare, but forced herself out of it so she could focus.

   The reading went well and the blonde boy obviously had Jim’s part. He was too good to not get the part and that meant Y/N got her role. There was so much chemistry between them as Jim lamented his thoughts to Judy that the casting directors couldn’t deny it. Later, Y/N would learn that they gave it to Natalie, but she was the one who James pursued after the reading to get her number. 

   Y/N quickly learned that James was much more than the brooding, tortured, bad boy that he was so adept at playing. He was smart and took acting seriously, but he didn’t mind going to the occasional party. Y/N loved going out with her friends and their even rowdier associates, but James was a lot more cautious. This caused a lot of unpleasant tension between them as Y/N kept toeing the line of fun and dangerous while James tried to hold her back. It was the main topic they argued about and it exhausted both of them. Y/N could never understand James’s attitude about her partying. It wasn’t her fault that he was the type of guy that preferred driving his car and hanging out at bars with friends while she preferred big parties. She knew her limits and she stuck to them most of the time.

   However, that one dark night made Y/N re-think everything. She and James had had a full-blown argument over the phone about Y/N going to Sam Clay’s birthday party. Sam was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and used  that priviledge to break nearly every law in America, but he was good to network with since he knew all the European producers. James wanted Y/N nowhere near Sam, but Y/N explained that he could never understand her decision because he had everything practically handed to him. Her anger was still flooding through her by the time she got to the Clay’s mansion and gin was the only thing that subdued her anger. 

   So, she had several gins and tonics with her friends, danced as she usually did, and made good conversation with Sam. At some point, Sam insisted that they all go for a ride in his Bentley. No one tried to tell Sam that he was far too intoxicated to drive since they were all highly intoxicated themselves. Plus, Y/N was ready to use any excuse to get close to him and charm him into getting her meetings with European producers. So, Y/N, Y/B/F/N, a fine trumpet player named Emmett, and Sam laughed as they climbed into Sam’s car. Y/N was in the front passenger seat while Y/B/F/N and Emmett necked in the back.

   “Hey, keep it down back there!” Sam yelled as he began driving down the winding driveway away from the mansion.

   Emmett glanced up from kissing Y/B/F/N. “Careful, Sammy, your green’s showing!”

  Y/B/F/N laughed and gasped when Emmett turned back to her.

  Y/N shook her head. “They’re such animals.”

  Sam pressed down on the gas pedal, speeding past all the land that his family owned. Thanks to the liquor, Y/N thoguht they had been going fast the whole time, and smiled as she felt the wind whip through her hair.

   “Faster!” Y/N said.

   Sam revved the engine and the car went even faster, all their surroundings blurring. Y/N felt unstoppable and powerful the faster they went. In the back of her mind, she knew she should’ve stayed at the party and networked more, but she was not about to be called yellow.

  “Faster!” Y/N chanted.

  “You are one wild girl!” Sam exclaimed as he sped up.

  Y/N wished that the car was a convertible, so she could stand up and really experience the effects of flying. James was missing out on a good time. She’d show him how “dangerous” Sam was-----

   Then, Sam swerved into the next lane, and the only thing Y/N saw were impossibly bright lights.

   When Y/N woke up, she felt groggy. Something was off about her body, something that she couldn’t really explain. She couldn’t feel any pain but she felt stiff. Then, Y/N blinked and saw that she was surrounded by four pale yellow walls. There were a few pictures of a field of sunflowers and different flowers overall. Then, she looked down and saw that her right leg was being elevated by a pulley and her left arm was wrapped up in white gauze and put in a sling. She was stunned to say the least since she couldn’t feel anything. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t since she was still so surprised.

   “Oh, good, you’re awake.” A kind, older woman with strawberry blonde hair and a muscular body walked over to her. 

  “What happened? Where am I?” 

  “Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?” she asked.

  “Y/N Y/L/N.”   “Alright, I’m Nurse Hayley and I will be taking care of you for the duration of your stay here. Do you remember attending a party last night?”

  Y/N nodded. “Yes, Sam Clay’s.” 

  “And do you recall getting in a car with Sam and some associates?”   Y/B/F/N. If Y/N was as injured as she was, how was Y/B/F/N?   “Are they okay?” Y/N asked.

  “They will live, but you are all fortunate that truck driver did not kill you,” Nurse Hayley said. 

  That was why the lights were so bright, they belonged to a truck driver. Y/N wanted to cry again, but the tears still wouldn’t come up.

  “When can I see them?” 

  “I’m afraid not for a long time, but there is a nice young man waiting outside for you.” 

 “James?” Y/N whispered. 

 “Yes, he’s been awfully worried about you, couldn’t keep still all day. I’ll send him in.” 

  “Thank you.”

  Nurse Hayley nodded and strolled out of the room. Y/N sort of wished that she would have had more time to prepare to see James. She could not begin to think of how he was feeling. He had to be so proud of himself for being right. At least her state would dissuade him from trying to rub that in, or so Y/N hoped. A moment passed and James walked in. He had dark bags under his eyes and those usual piercing eyes were surrounded by rings of red. He closed  the door behind him and took long strides until he got to Y/N’s side. He grabbed her uninjured hand and looked at her.

   “How are you feeling?” he asked.

   “Bad. I’d be feelin’ worse without the medicine they gave me.” Y/N’s thumb rubbed the top of James’ hand. “How are you?” 

   James shook his head. “I was so scared, Y/N. When your mother called and told me what happened, I thought that I’d lost you for good and the last thing I ever said to you was so cruel.” His head was bowed but he maintained eye contact with her. He was being so sincere and humble that it broke Y/N’s pride. “I couldn’t live with myself if I knew the last thing I said to you was to have fun with the dogs.” 

   “I should’ve listened to you. If I had just stayed with you, I wouldn’t be here.” The tears finally welled up in Y/N’s eyes and made James’s face blurry. “I only got in the car with him because I didn’t want him to think I’m a coward and to tell all of his producer friends that I’m a coward.” 

   Y/N laughed spitefully. “All of this just so I could finally break into European films. Now I’ll be out of work for at least a year and I can’t imagine what I put you or my parents through.” Her shoulders started to shake. “I’m so sorry.” 

   James gently pulled her into his chest and let the young woman cry out her pain. He stayed silent as he ran his hands through the parts of her hair that wasn’t held by the bandage around her head. “What matters is your safe and when you get out of here, I’m gonna be the best nurse you’ve ever seen.”

   “No,” Y/N sniffled, “you have to keep working. I couldn’t bear being the one holding you back from your career.”

  “I can take breaks when I want to and if I miss a few parts, so what? I gotta make sure my girl’s in good health.”

  Y/N smiled and looked up at James. “From this moment on, I promise to never go to a party again.”

  “Ah, you can still go to them, you just can’t go with wild people. But I promise to always escort you to them and make sure you get home safe.”

  James held Y/N like that for nearly twenty minutes and it was one of those moments that assured Y/N that she and James were supposed to be together. 

[folklore-musings]

Holding Onto Nothing - Bughead Au (part 1)

Summary:  One late night while Jughead’s working in the town library he’s putting away an old worn out book when he sees the glinting of silver sticking out between torn pages. Tucked away inside he finds an old charm bracelet. Perplexed by its intrigue Jughead brings it home with him. The next day he sees this girl - almost as if from a dream - come into his life. Only its not a dream and she’s not a figure of his imagination, but an actual ghost in search of a way to move on to the afterlife and she needs Jughead’s help. Can Jughead help solve the mystery of Elizabeth Cooper’s death, or will he end up facing the same fate as her own?

Read on AO3 here

It was another late night at the library, as Jughead spent his time organizing the books and returning them to their rightful places on the shelves. The day had been chaotic and it seemed like at one point or another everyone from town had set foot in the palace of books. Jughead didn’t mind the busyness he just hated the mess that he had to clean up after.

Before turning down the next aisle of fiction, Jughead pulled the Walkman from his pocket and switched over to the next song on the CD he was playing. He nodded his head along to the beginning chords and made his way down the next aisle of fiction, pausing to place a morbidly worn and weathered copy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald on the shelf. If he hadn’t noticed the glint of silver that seemingly poked out from within the pages, he would have never thought anything of the old book itself.

“Hmm…interesting.” Jughead whispered to himself in the now empty library. Retrieving the book back from the shelf he propped it open to reveal a silver charm bracelet.

He fell back towards a table between the two aisles and settled into one of the wooden chairs. Setting the bracelet on the hardwood surface, Jughead was able to examine the piece of jewelry a little more clearly. The bracelet had a number of charms including a ballerina dancer, an airplane with a spinning propeller, a compass and an hourglass among plenty of others. The trinkets were small, barely larger than the size of his fingernails, but the detail in each piece left Jughead taken away by the craftsmanship that went into each and every charm. Figuring that whoever the bracelet had belonged to was probably missing it, Jughead headed back to the front desk to check the records of who had returned a copy of The Great Gatsby earlier that afternoon.

As Jughead rifled through the place cards, he had no luck. There was no copy of the book checked out or returned within the last week. Perplexed, Jughead thumbed his way through the pages, noticing a set of initials, E. C., penned into the top right corner of the title page. Underneath the name was a date marked October 12, 1944.

“What the-“ Jughead whispered again. Tearing his attention from the book, he looked to the calendar on the wall behind him. “Strange. Very strange.” He said, wondering what the odds were that he’d find this book exactly 50 years later, on the anniversary of the date scribbled on the yellowing page.

Jughead pocketed both the charm bracelet and the book and decided to call it a night. No doubt the return cart full of books would be right where he’d left it the next morning, Jughead’s stomach was churning, and it wasn’t just because he was hungry.

Making sure to shut off all the lights, Jughead locked up shop for the night and headed towards the only place still open in town – Pop Tate’s Choc’late shop.

“Good Evening Jughead,” Pop greeted him at the counter, throwing the rag he had in his hand over his shoulder and propping his elbows on the linoleum counter between them.

“Hey Pop, how’s it going?” Jughead glanced around him. The diner was almost deserted except for the few exceptional booths full of straggling teens or truck drivers on a quick rest stop before passing on through their sleepy little town.

Pop filled a glass with Coca-Cola, knowing it was Jughead’s favorite before meandering his way back into the kitchen and turning the fryer on high. “Oh you know, just trying to stay busy. Not many people come by after dark, except for the usual few.” Jughead swore Pop had a small twinkle in his eye when he said the last few words.

“Glad I can come and help cancel out the overhead costs of running this place 24 hours a day.” Jughead smirked and took a sip of his pop. The sweet liquid tickled his taste buds and his stomach grumbled in happy delight. It’d been almost three hours since he ate dinner and Jughead was practically ravenous.

Pop laughed as a he slapped a patty down onto the grill. “Thanks for your support Jug. You’re here a little earlier than usual. Bad day at the library?”

Jughead shrugged and removed his lips from the plastic straw. “Not bad, just a bit busier than usual.” With his mind returning back to the book in his pocket, Jughead chose to risk it and ask Pop if he recognized the initials labeled inside the cover. After all, Pop was the heart and soul of Riverdale, maybe there was a chance he would know.

“Hey Pop, do you know of anyone with the initials E. C.? I found a book today that’s not property of the library, and those initial are the only sort of significance I could find inside it.” Jughead decided it was best to leave the bracelet out of the discussion. He didn’t know what it was, but a strange warmth radiated from the small charms, and Jughead wasn’t ready to let his little finding out in the open just yet.

Jughead heard a patty flip from the kitchen, recognizing the familiar sizzle of the juices soaking up the greasy residue. His stomach overturned, he was so hungry. “Male or female?” Pop asked.

“I’m thinking a female, by the look of the writing.”

A few moments later, Pop returned from the kitchen with a cheeseburger and a basket of fries, sliding the plate in front of Jughead. “Don’t think I can be of much help there, sorry Jughead. You work at the library, take a look through the town archives and see if anything pops out at you. That may be a start.”

Already chewing on a mouthful of savory bun, cheese, and beef Jughead just nodded, wondering why he didn’t think of that in the first place. Once he was able to swallow, Jughead wiped his mouth on this sleeve and thanked Pop for the idea. “You’re a genius Pop.”

Pop just chuckled and returned to wiping off the counter. “I wouldn’t go that far Jughead.” He said.

“Ok maybe not, but definitely a culinary genius. This food is to die for.”

“Thanks Jughead.” Pop said and turned his back, allowing Jughead to enjoy his second dinner in peace.

Once Jughead was finished he left his money on the counter along with a generous tip and bid goodbye to Pop, promising to see him the following evening after another long day of dusty shelves and the Dewey Decimal System.

Jughead didn’t notice the rain that had started to fall while he had sat in Pop’s. He transferred the book from the back pocket of his jeans to the inside breast pocket of his jacket and held the jean fabric to him a little tighter as he made his way home in the rain. He was so rattled from his discoveries today that he was oblivious to the fact the rain was only falling around him and nowhere else. As if he had his own little rain cloud to follow him home.

Jughead stepped over the threshold into his tiny one bedroom apartment. Shaking like a dog from the cold and the rain outside, he placed his old wool beanie on the table near the door, kicked off his combat boots and shrugged out of his sopping jean jacket making sure to grab the book from its pocket. A few steps later Jughead fell into the hole that was his living room couch and reached for the lamp beside it, turning on the light and wrapping a crocheted blanket around his shoulders. From his pocket he pulled out the bracelet, twirling the silver chain around his fingers absentmindedly.

After further examination of the jewelry, he noticed a singular charm inscribed with the same initials from the book. The letters E. C. were surrounded by a heart. "E. C.," He repeated to himself, trying to think of possible names it could be.

Maybe Edith, Eleanor or Eloise? Or perhaps Emily, Emma or Esther? His curiosity was beginning to get the better of him, and he even considered sneaking back into the library to look up old editorials from the year dated in the book. There had to be something about E. C. somewhere. 

Giving up for the night, Jughead decided it was probably a good idea to turn in and head to bed.

                                                             ◊◊◊

The next morning came after a dead, dreamless sleep. Wiping the weariness from his eyes, Jughead rolled over in bed groggily before adjusting to the world around him. He heard music. Soft and low, maybe from the mid-fifties he guessed – he wasn’t sure. He assumed it was his old neighbor Mr. Clayborn who lived across the hall, but the more he listened he could’ve sworn it was coming from just outside his bedroom door.

       ‘If you call I'll hear you, no matter how far        Just close your eyes and I'll be there’

Jughead stepped out of bed and made his way carefully towards the door. The music was eerie and slow, reminding him of the old Disney movie Peter Pan. The oohs and the ahhs from the background singers gave off a “The Second Star to the Right” sort of vibe. Itching with curiosity Jughead walked out into the living room, his heart momentarily stopping at the sight before him.

Standing there, swaying to the music playing from his boom box was a strikingly beautiful blonde girl. She wore a high collared pale pink sweater and a deep white ankle length skirt to match. Panic stricken, Jughead didn’t know what to do.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, taking another step into the room he grabbed the first item he could reach to defend himself in case the girl may have been dangerous. All he had to protect himself was the TV antenna.

The girl continued to dance along to the music as if he weren’t there standing behind her, talking to her back. The music played on still.

       ‘Please walk alone and send your love and your kisses to guide me        Till you're walking beside me, I'll walk alone’

“Hello? Hey girly!” The blonde jumped and spun around to face Jughead. She gave him a confused look. “What the hell are you doing here?”

The girl carefully tiptoed a few steps toward him, closing the space between them. There she stood in front of his face, waving her hand just so, as if she were about to ask him how many fingers she was holding up.

Jughead swatted her hand away and glared at her. “Ever heard of personal space? Who. The hell. Are you?” he spat, still clutching the antenna in his right hand beside his hip, waiting and ready if he needed to strike at any moment.

The girl hopped back in fright, grasping her hand to her chest. “You can see me?” She asked, biting her lip fearfully.

“Uh yeah I can. What are you doing in my living room?” Jughead slipped by her and pressed the button on his stereo to turn off the spine tingling music.

The girl glanced around the room in skepticism. “But how?” she whispered. Jughead watched her gaze as it traveled around him, finally settling on the coffee table where he’d left the bracelet and the book from the night before. “You found my bracelet!” she exclaimed.

Jughead stood rooted to the spot, frozen in fear. “T-that’s your br-bracelet? Y-you’re E. C.?” he choked out as the girl scampered over to the table and sliding the piece of jewelry rightfully onto her wrist.

“Yes. Elizabeth Cooper is my full name. I can’t believe you found this! I can’t believe you can see me!” Her eyes were as wide as a deer in headlights.

Jughead scratched the top of his head in worry and turned his back on the girl, Elizabeth, heading for the kitchen. “I need to eat something,” he said to himself. “I think I’m hallucinating.”

He pilfered around in the kitchen, grabbing the makings for a bowl of cereal. He poured the milk into his Coco Puffs and waited as the milk turned from regular to chocolatey within seconds. Just as he took the first bite he heard her silky voice from behind him. “What’s a Coco Puff?”

The spoon fell with a clatter back into the bowl, haphazardly spilling milk onto the table. “Don’t fucking sneak up on me like that!” Jughead warned her, spinning around so fast in his chair his head was dizzy. “Why are you here? How are you here?”

Elizabeth looked to the chair beside him and nodded to it, silently asking for his approval to sit down. Jughead lifted his hand in a gesture as if to say yes while nodding his head. There, Elizabeth slid into the seat and leaned her elbow on the table, watching Jughead with pure adoration on her face. “I think that somehow when you found my bracelet, that it gave you the ability to see me.” She moved to clasp her hands together on the table, now staring at the wall. “No one else has ever noticed me before now.”

Jughead took another bite of cereal and wiped at the milk that seeped from the corner of his lips. He had a feeling he already knew the answer, but he had to ask anyway. “And why is it that no one can see you, Elizabeth?”

Glancing away from the wall, she turned her head to meet his gaze. For the first time really looking at her, Jughead noticed that her eyes were a deep cerulean blue – his favorite crayon color. And her lips looked so soft - like little pink rose petals. Shaking the thoughts of her beauty from his mind, Jughead waited for her to answer, taking another bite as she paused.

“What’s your name?” She asked instead, throwing him off guard.

“J-Jughead.” He replied between chews.

A sickly sweet giggle escaped those rose petal lips. “Well you see Jughead, nobody can see me because I’m dead.”

Elizabeth spoke of her death the way a normal person talked about their day or the weather outside. As if it wasn’t abnormal for her to be dead, or to be dancing around a stranger’s home to a song Jughead figured was as dead as the girl sitting beside him.

He continued to chew, letting the chocolate melt on the tip of his tongue as he pondered about what to say next. “Well, you’ve found your bracelet. You can go now.” He grabbed the bowl between his hands and lifted the rim to his lips to drink the milk that remained. Elizabeth watched in awe, a little grossed out but fairly impressed.

“No, I can’t.” Her voice was so firm it rattled Jughead to his core.

“Yes you can.” Jughead stood up and placed the bowl in the sink, running the water to rinse it out. “The door is right there.” He pointed to the door that was still chain locked and dead bolted the way he left it the night before. “Don’t let it hit you on the way out.”

Elizabeth got to her feet and walked over to stand in front of Jughead, forcing him back against the counter top. “You don’t understand. You found my bracelet for a reason. You have to help me!”

Jughead pushed past her and made his way into the living room and down the hall, wondering how for a ghost she could be so… so solid. He turned into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, making sure to click the lock as well. He could sense Elizabeth’s presence on the other side of the door. “Go away Cooper, I’m not helping you.” Jughead said, unzipping his pants, ready to take a leak.

“B-but if you don’t, I’ll never pass on. And I need to pass on. Everybody’s waiting for me.” Elizabeth cried from the other side of the door. Jughead heard the handled quake as she tried to force her way in.

“You’ve got the wrong guy, Lizzie. Find someone else to help you.” Jughead flushed the toilet and began to wash his hands and brush his teeth. In the mirror he stilled mid-brush as saw Elizabeth’s form melt through the doorway out of his peripherals. What worried him more was that she had no reflection in the mirror. “What the fuck.”

“Don’t call me Lizzie. If Elizabeth is too much for you to handle, call me Betty instead.” She leaned against the counter to his side, unfazed by Jughead’s shock at her ability to travel through walls and doors. “No one else can help me Jug, there’s only you.”

With his tooth brush dangerously dangling from the side of his mouth Jughead spoke. “How did you do that!?”

“I’m a ghost, duh.” She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side. “Please help me Jughead. The sooner you help me, the sooner I can leave this place and go where I’m meant to be.”

After regaining control of his breath, Jughead finished brushing his teeth and gargling mouth wash before deciding to speak again. Reaching for the towel hanging besides the mirror, he wiped his mouth and stared point blank at Betty’s pouty lips and puppy eyes. “You promise if I help you, that you’ll leave? And that you won’t walk through doors and shit anymore? Because that’s fucking terrifying.” He said.

Betty clapped her hands and squealed in delight. “I promise!” She lunged at Jughead and forced him into a hug, somehow solid once more. Hugging her was like hugging a bag of ice, and Jughead kept his arms stock straight as his sides. “You won’t regret this Jughead. I pinky promise.”

Once Betty let go of him, Jughead was able to feel the heat resurface to the areas where Betty touched him. Why was it that everything strange that happened in the world, had to happen to him?

[shebe67]

A Weekend in Paris

Yes it’s a different header pic than I normally use for this story, but this chapter is really different. I felt challenged to write this chapter because of how wrong GMW portrayed the city of Austin, Texas. I have a friend that lives there and this was written with her help. This is dedicated to Kayla. The above pictures were taken from the internet with the exception of the State Capitol and UT Austin pics, those were provided to me by Kayla. Thank you and I hope you enjoy. If you need links to previous chapters I will update this later tonight with those links.  A Weekend in Paris

Riley and Lucas do a bit of sightseeing in Austin. I’m doing this in hopes you can get a feel for Austin. The show got it so wrong. Austin is a city full of art galleries, museums, live music and amazing places. As a friend said, “It’s the least Texas-like city in Texas.” So hopefully you will get a sense of that.

Chapter 7

Thursday, June 13, 2023 in Austin, Texas

Riley and Lucas had been at the ranch for a week and so far, and they hadn’t left Pappy Joe’s property. They had spent days helping with chores on the ranch and spending time with Lucas’ Aunt, Uncle and cousins. They had taken the horses out. She was rusty, but it came back to her pretty quick. They had walked all over the ranch, checking out the cattle and goats that Pappy Joe had just added. Cows and goats were interesting, but not Riley’s favorite thing. She did like the calves and kids that had just been born a few months before. All in all, they were having an enjoyable time, but Riley was anxious to explore Austin and had been planning their trip to the city for a week. Lucas had promised her a day in Austin because they had never really been to the city. They had driven through when they came from the airport on her previous trips and had explored the small-town Pappy Joe lived in, but she was a city girl at heart and wanted to see what Austin had to offer.

Today was the day and they had gotten up extra early and left the ranch at 7 a.m. Pappy Joe was more than happy to loan Lucas his old truck for the trip into the city. As they piled into the truck for the hour-long trip, Riley snapped a picture of her and Lucas and uploaded it to her Facebook with the status, Headed to Austin for a day of sightseeing with my favorite guy! She had done some research on places to visit in Austin. She didn’t want your normal run of the mill touristy places. She wanted to go to places that were unique to this city.

Lucas was glad to take Riley into Austin and see the sights with her. He was afraid it would pale in comparison to New York City though. They had only been on the road for 10 minutes when Lucas looked over to say something to Riley and noticed she was asleep. She needed the rest, she was trying to pack so much into each day. He had to remind her on multiple occasions that they were here for a few months and that she needed to pace herself. He loved her enthusiasm and how excited she got about things. He knew today would be one adventure they wouldn’t ever forget.

Lucas had Riley’s sightseeing map pulled up on his phone’s GPS. There’s no way he would be able to find his way around otherwise. He hadn’t lived in Austin in quite a while and everything looked strange to him. Their first stop was to be Jo’s Coffee on South Congress Street. Lucas followed the directions and they ended up in a parking lot near the shop. After he parked, he reached over to tap Riley on the shoulder to wake her up. “Babe, wake up, we’re here.”

Riley woke with a yawn, “where are we?” she asked. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She wanted to see the city when they drove in. She took in her surroundings and would have sworn that they were in New York City. The only telltale sign that they weren’t was a man walking by wearing a cowboy hat. “Sorry, I fell asleep, I wanted to stay awake so I could see everything as we drove in. Are you sure we’re in Austin? With the exception of being surrounded by tall buildings, this looks like New York,” she said.

“You wanted Austin and that’s where we are,” Lucas informed her. “We are at Jo’s Coffee. Why’d you want to come here?“ He asked.

"Well, I read about it online and saw pictures of it and thought it would be a cute place to visit, plus they have breakfast tacos and I’ve never had a taco for breakfast.” She informed Lucas. “Besides there is something here I wanted to see. It’ll make for a great photo op.”

“Oh, breakfast tacos. Your dad would love this place.” Lucas said with a smile. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go check it out.” He opened the driver’s side door and got out. He stretched a bit before he closed the door. Riley took the opportunity to check out his backside in his jeans. She smiled and bit her lip as she continued checking him out. He turned around and looked at her and smiled. She had been caught!

“Riley Matthews, did I just catch you checking out my backside?” He asked with a smile.

“Maybe. What if I was?” She asked. “I was just admiring the view.” She could feel the heat in her cheeks. “Just doing a little comparison. Sam the cowboy, has nothing on my cowboy. She slid over towards the driver’s door and grabbed him by the shirt. She pulled him to her and kissed him. "I was so foolish to get caught up in his good looks. No one else could ever measure up to you.”

He smiled and pushed his hat back on his head, “I could stand here and kiss you all day, but you mentioned tacos and my stomach is letting me know it’s hungry.”

She could hear his stomach and if truth be told hers was letting her know she needed to feed it soon. She looked in the rear view mirror to check her makeup and hair. She decided she looked presentable, grabbed her bag and got out of the car. “Lead the way, cowboy.” She said.

With a tip of his hat, he said, “Yes ma’am.” He took her hand and led the way to Jo’s coffee. They walked the two blocks to the shop. It stood on the corner and wasn’t a very large building. It was painted yellow green with dark green trim and a red stripe around the top. On the very top of the building was a large red ball that said Jo’s in white letters. The order window was kiosk style and there was a covered patio to the right with tables. Riley and Lucas looked over the menu. They both decided on Potato Tacos which was eggs, potato and cheese on a flour tortilla and cups of black coffee. The smells coming from the shop were heavenly. They walked to the patio with coffee cups in hand to wait for their food. They made small talk while they waited and after a few minutes the server brought their tacos. They ate in silence. Things around the coffee shop got busier as some of the other shops started opening. This was a good spot to just sit and watch people go by.

“How’s your tacos, Riles?” Lucas asked, he had all but inhaled his. He too, was enjoying watching people walk by the shop.

“It’s delicious. My dad would love this. Maybe someday he’ll get to Austin and be able to enjoy his own breakfast taco.” Riley said.

If she only knew what was in the works. He had been getting texts from their mothers regarding plans for the proposal and it was hard keeping secrets from Riley. “Maybe we can talk your mom into serving them at Topanga’s. It would be a great item on the menu. A taste of Austin in the big city. That way we could have them anytime you we want.” He knew her dad would love for Topanga’s to serve tacos all the time. He and Maya did love their tacos.

They finished eating and threw their trash away. As they were walking away from the shop, Riley turned down the side of the building, pulling him along with her. She suddenly stopped and was just staring at the side of the building with a smile on her face.

“Riley, why did you stop?” he asked.

She looked up at him with a smile and pointed at the side of the building. He looked up to see what she was looking at. There on the side of the building someone had spray painted in red lowercase cursive letters was, i love you so much.

“Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” she asked. “I want us to have our picture taken here. Would you be willing to do that with me?”

Of course he would do it. it may be the cheesy, tourist kind of thing to do, but he could never deny her anything. “Yes, Riley. I would love to have our picture taken here.”

She asked a lady that was standing near them if she would mind taking their picture and she said she would. They went to stand in front of the wall to pose. Lucas leaned against the wall and  wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head toward her shoulder. She was standing in front of him. The woman snapped a couple pictures and smiled at them. As she handed the phone back to Riley, she said, “the two of you are the cutest couple.”

Riley smiled that mega watt smile of hers and thanked the woman for taking the picture and the compliment. She looked at the picture and smiled. Even though Lucas wasn’t showing his face it was a really cute picture. She showed it to him and he just smiled at her. Taking her hand and leading her back to the truck, he asked her, “where to next?”

As they walked back to the truck she told him about the next stop. “It’s not very far from here and it’s really just a mural on the side of the building. I thought we could get our picture taken there and send it to everyone. It’s the greetings from Austin mural. What do you think?”

“I think that’s another real touristy thing to do.” he laughed. “I thought you didn’t want to do that kind of stuff?”

“Well, I am a tourist and so there has to be one touristy thing on the list.” she added.

They got in the truck and Lucas pulled out his phone to set the GPS. “What’s the address?”

“1720 South 1st Street.” she answered.

Lucas set the GPS and started the truck, “That’s just southwest of here. It’ll only take a few minutes to drive there.” Once they got close Lucas started looking for a place to park. he found one just in front of the building where the mural was. “Roadhouse Relics, that sounds cool. Look at the neon signs. What do you think this place is?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s check out the mural first, then we’ll see if it’s open and explore for a bit. Is that ok?” she asked.

“Of course,” he answered.

They got out of the truck and found the mural on the side of the building. No one else was around, so they couldn’t get a picture together. They took pictures of each other and Riley took one of just the mural. They walked back to the front of the building and looked to see if it was open.  “Lucas, it’s an art gallery. Original art from neon signs, how cool is that. We have to check this out. I promised Maya we’d check out some of the local art.” she grabbed his hand and they walked into the gallery. There were a couple of other people looking around. She saw a man that appeared to work there and asked him if it was okay to take photos of the artwork. He told her it was and that they needed to check around the back of the building. There was more are out there. They looked around inside for a few more minutes as she snapped a few more pictures. They walked outside and went around toward the back of the building. They couldn’t believe their eyes. All kinds of old neon signs turned into some kind of art. Riley snapped a few pictures while they walked around. She’d send those to Maya later. It was a fascinating place for sure. She never knew someone could take an old neon sign and make such beautiful and interesting things with it. They walked around for about 30 minutes or so. Riley went back inside, as she saw some t-shirts hanging in the window and bought one for Maya. Telling Lucas that she did promise to bring something back to her.  

They went back to the truck and Lucas asked what the next stop was and Riley said. “The boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake. It’s just a short drive to the closest access point. I’ve read so much about it, we have to do it.”

“As you wish,” Lucas said. He entered the address she gave him on the GPS and off they went.

Lucas followed the directions on the GPS as they drove along. He found a place to park. Riley grabbed a hat she brought with her to keep the sun out of her face and they set off to the boardwalk. They walked along the sidewalk until they reached the access point for the boardwalk. Riley wasn’t expecting the sight that was in front of her.

On all the maps she had looked at Lady Bird lake looked more like a river and it kind of had that feel. It was beautiful to be sure. The boardwalk went all the way around the lake and the views she could see of down town Austin were breathtaking. As they walked along the boardwalk Riley would spout facts about the lake and boardwalk project to Lucas. “The lake used to be called Town Lake. It was renamed for former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. The surface area of the lake is 416 acres. It was created in 1960 during the construction of Longhorn Dam.” “There’s a Hike-Bike Trail that surrounds the lake as well as this boardwalk.” The boardwalk wasn’t overly crowded as it was a weekday, “can you imagine how crowded it gets on the weekends?” she asked.

“I’ve heard that ever since they built this boardwalk, the lake has really become a center for activity in the city.” Lucas responded.  

“It opened in June of 2014, but it was 20 years in the making.” Riley snapped some photos of the Austin skyline as they walked along. They encountered several people walking and running along the boardwalk. There were even some people fishing off the edges. They saw lots of turtles and birds, as well as lots of people canoeing and kayaking on the water. They walked for quite a while taking in the beautiful surroundings and just being together. They would stop every so often to just look at the water and enjoy the views. At one point along the way Riley noticed a western style belt on one of the railings. “Huh, I wonder what this is?” she asked.

Lucas, ever the funny guy, “It’s a belt, Riley.”

She squinted her eyes at him and tried to make herself look mad at him, “Ya think?!” she said. “I wonder what they mean?”

Before she even got the words out of her mouth, Lucas had his phone out looking it up. He was good that way, always trying to answer her questions.

“It’s part of a public art project commissioned by the City of Austin. The project is called Belting It Out and artist Ken Little created them, using lyrics from songs by well-known Texas singers and songwriters. That’s pretty cool.” Lucas said. The one they were looking at said ‘Crazy for cryin’, crazy for tryin’. “That’s from the song Crazy, written by Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline also had a hit with it.

“This is so cool.” Riley said smiling at Lucas. The guy did have a vast knowledge for country music. She looked at her watch and noticed the time. They had been roaming around the boardwalk for almost two hours. It was noon. No wonder her stomach was growling. They hadn’t eaten since 8 a.m. “Lucas we should head back the truck we’ve been out here for two hours.” she informed him.

Lucas looked at his own phone, as well. “You’re right. We better go. You still have more sights for us to see and I’m hungry.”  They made their way back to the truck and decided on McDonald’s for lunch. They ate in the truck in silence. Once they were done and ready to head out again. Lucas asked Riley, what was next on her list.

“We’re going to check out some more art. Graffiti Park is our next stop. We won’t have too much time there but we can still check it out.” she told him.

Lucas entered the address and off they went.  Graffiti Park or HOPE Art Gallery was about 2 miles from where they were. He had heard about the place as a kid. It’s an outdoor art gallery that occupies the remains of an old building foundation.  “Locals call it Castle Hill. It sits on three stories and anyone can come and paint, it’s totally free and pretty cool to look at.” He told her.

“Have you been here before?” she asked.

“No, but I remember Zay’s older brother, Gordon, talking about it when we were kids. You can go and look at the art or just watch artists paint.” he told her.

Riley was in awe of what she saw as they walked into the park. It was beautiful. There was a sign that said, ‘Hope Outdoor Gallery.’ She could see the artwork as they entered. It reminded her of Maya’s Hope Mural that she painted in that little park when they were high school freshman. There were some people painting and a lot of people just milling around looking at all the different works of art. “Maya would love this!” Riley said as she pulled out her phone and took some pictures. She started taking video of an older man painting. He noticed her and asked if this was her first trip here. She told him it was and asked if she minded him taking a video. He told her that he didn’t and kept painting. She asked him why the owners of the land just let people come paint on the walls. He explained that the owners thought it was a chance to do something for the city and saw it as a way for local artists to use it as an inspirational message board of sorts. She thanked him for answering her questions and watched him paint for a few more minutes before shutting off the video and moving on with Lucas.

They headed back to the truck, walking hand in hand in silence, when she spoke, “Can you believe that there is a place that just allows people to come paint whatever they want? That’s really cool. It’ll be there forever and it will always change.”

Lucas smiled at her, “Yeah, it’s really cool when you think about how long it’s been here and how many people have painted here over the years.” they waked back to the truck, Lucas looked at her and asked what she wanted to do next.

“I’d like to see the State Capitol building. We don’t have to go inside for a tour or anything. I read it’s the sixth tallest state capitol and that it’s one of several that’s taller than the U.S. Capitol building in D.C. I think that deserves a look see, don’t you?”

“I’ve been to the State Capitol building, Riley. We used to go every year when I was in grade school. So, I’ve seen it many times. But, we can go. It is a pretty spectacular sight.” He answered. “We’re less than a mile from there now and you can see it from here. Do you want me to stop and park somewhere are do you just want me to  drive by?”

“Actually, our real destination is the University campus. I want to see where you almost went to college, is that ok. You can just drive by and I’ll take a picture of the capitol building and then we can go explore the campus for a bit, then we can get dinner. How does that sound to you?” she asked him, apparently very excited.

“You want to see the University of Texas?” he asked.

She shook her head yes and asked again if it was okay. He seemed in disbelief that she wanted to see the campus. She had been in tears for months their senior year when she thought there was a possibility that he might leave for college. He had applied and gotten into UT Austin and NYU. He had a choice to make at the time. In his heart there was no choice to make. He would always choose her.  

He set the GPS again and chose the route that would take them by the capitol building. He couldn’t wait to get to the campus. “Is there any certain place you want to see on the campus or are we just going to walk around?” he asked.

“The only place I would like to go for sure is the Blanton Museum  of Art. Seems like this trip has kind of been about art today. We’ve seen so many wonderful things, I’d like to top it off with an art museum and it’s open til five so we have a little time to explore. Then maybe we can get dinner somewhere nearby, is that ok?” she asked.

“That’s a great idea Riley. I was going to suggest a great BBQ place, but it takes forever to get food there,” he said.

“No offense to Ellie or Pappy Joe, but I’ve had enough barbecued food to last me a life time and we’ve only been here a week,” she said, laughing.

“I understand completely. Maybe we can get some Thai food if there is something nearby.” he suggested. Thai food had become a favorite of there’s  over the years. The rest of their friends didn’t care to much for it, so it had become their thing.

“Sounds good to me.” she agreed.

As they got close to the capitol, there was a bit of traffic so Riley was able to get a good look at it and some great shots with her phone. The building was impressive to be sure. Why did everything seem bigger in Texas?  As they drove along, Riley kept looking at everything they were passing. This is an amazing city she thought. A city full of things to do and see. A lot like New York, but so far removed. She could fall in love with this city if she spent enough time here.

They made it to the campus. It was huge, Riley thought. Lucas found a place to park, they got out and started walking. Riley knew that UT Austin and NYU had roughly the same enrollment. But this Campus was nothing like NYU. It was amazing it seemed to sprawl on as far as her eye could see. There was a beautiful fountain and the buildings were amazing, there was even a tower. She got her phone out and started taking pictures. NYU felt very much like any other place in the city. “Lucas how big is this campus?” she asked with wide eyes.

“The campus sits on 5,000 plus acres of land, why?” he asked with a curious tone.

“Do you know how big NYU is?” she asked again.

“I think NYU buildings, excluding Washington Square Park, sit on about 240 acres. that’s smaller than Pappy Joe’s ranch.” He explained.

“NYU doesn’t even feel like a college campus. It’s so much apart of the city, I don’t even feel like I’m on a college campus. This is a college campus.” she explained.

“What do you think of it Riley?” He could tell she was in awe, he felt the same way when he first set foot on this campus as a senior in high school.

He had dreamed of the University of Texas at Austin for so long that he was so sure if he was accepted that this is where he would go, no question. It was home for him after all.

“I love it.” She said quietly. She was being completely honest with him. She loved the feel of the campus. Yes, it was large and overwhelming to the eye, but everyone they passed was friendly and welcoming. She felt right at home. It wasn’t scary at all.

“You love it?” he asked, very curious. “You really like it?”

“What’s not to like. This place is beautiful and all the people are so friendly. I can understand, why you wanted to go to school here so badly. This is your home and this campus just fits you.” she told him. “Lucas we never discussed why you chose NYU over UT. Why did you? It wasn’t because of me was it?” This was a burning question for her. She was a wreck for months over the possibility of him going away for college, yet he chose NYU.

“Riley, I had a choice to make. Both New York City and Austin are apart of me. Both places made me who I am.” he explained to her. “But home for me isn’t a city or a building. Home is you and wherever you are. I chose NYU because my first and only choice will always be us.”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, “Really?”

“Yes, really. I will go wherever you are. I love you and I want us together. If you had gone to school anywhere else, I still would have followed you.” he was holding her hands and looking into her eyes. He needed her to understand what he was saying.

“I’m sorry for being so selfish about college. I tried hard not to be, but I just couldn’t bare the thought of you leaving. I was even considering applying at UT if you had made the decision to leave.” She had never admitted that to anyone. Not to Maya, her parents or Farkle, Izzy or Zay. “So, it seems I choose us too.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her gently. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled, “I guess that makes us a package deal then, huh?”

“Yes, I guess it does?” she replied. “Come on let’s go explore.” She took his hand and they took off down the sidewalk.

Riley feels like they walked all over the campus. They did make it to the Blanton Museum of Art. It’s one of the largest university museums in the country. It houses a vast collection of different kinds of art and Riley thought if her and Maya ever got to Austin together again, that Maya would love it. She would get lost in here for hours. Riley looked at the time on her phone and noticed that it was almost 5 p.m. The museum would be closing soon.

She walked back to where Lucas was interested in a piece of contemporary art. He seemed to be trying to figure out exactly what it was supposed to be. “Hey, we need to go. The museum closes in 10 minutes.”

“Okay, I’m right behind you.” he said.

They exited the museum and found a bench nearby to sit on. Lucas did a search for Thai food on his phone and found a restaurant that sounded like fun. “How does ‘Thai How Are You’ sound, Riley?”  Lucas asked her. “I think you’ll love the place. It has a mural of a frog on the wall.”

She looked at the information he found online and decided it seemed to fit with the rest of their day. “Sounds good to me, I’m so hungry, anything sounds good at this point.” she said.

They walked the short distance to Pappy Joe’s truck, they to the restaurant, went in and placed their orders. Riley had to admit it felt good to sit down. She didn’t realize just how tired she was until that moment.

They restaurant was on Guadalupe street near the campus. Lucas asked her if she wanted to go for a walk after they had eaten to check out some of the stores and things in that area. Lucas explained to Riley about the street being referred to as ‘The Drag’ by locals.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Well, the story is people used to drag race up and down Guadalupe Street, so locals and students refer to it as ‘The Drag’.” he answered.

“I guess that’s cool.” she remarked. There food arrived and they spent the next hour talking about everything they had seen during the day and there thoughts about it. She was glad that they got to spend the day together.  She wanted more days like this in the future. Just the two of them spending time together, doing things they both enjoy.

After they finished their food, Riley mentioned taking a picture of the ‘Hi, How are you?’ mural outside.  They decided to take a walk down the street and see what else this area so close to the campus had to offer. They walked for a few minutes when Riley saw a shop that interested her.

“Lucas, can we stop here?” she asked. “They have ice cream and cookies.”

Lucas looked at the shop that they had just passed. it was a place called Moojo’s. According to a sign in the window, they made homemade cookies and ice cream and made ice cream sandwiches and milkshakes. “Sure, why not, some ice cream sounds good.” he answered.

The shop was just about the cutest place Riley had ever seen. One of the walls was brick and the other was brown with white cow spots on it. They had a slogan painted on that wall in green, pink and yellow. It said, I Found My Moojo in Austin. There were cute little tables and stools lIning both walls when you first entered the store. As they headed toward the counter where you placed your order Riley noticed some other tables toward the back of the store. They were swings with little tables in between them.

She tapped Lucas’ arm to get his attention, “look at those tables over there. Aren’t they the cutest thing ever?” she asked.

He smiled at her taking in their surroundings while they waited their turn in line, “that is pretty cool.” he said. Everything about this place screamed Riley to him, only thing missing was her favorite color of purple.

They finally got to the counter to place their orders. They each ordered a sidekick. He ordered vanilla bean ice cream and snickerdoodle cookie and she ordered butter sugar cookie with chocolate chip ice cream. The cookies were warm and the ice cream was melty. Riley had never had anything so delicious in her life. Lucas thought it was pretty good, as well. They sat at the tables that had swings for seats and ate their ice cream sandwiches.

“You know who would love this place?” Lucas asked her.

She looked at him and smiled, he had ice cream running down his chin. She picked a napkin up off the table and wiped his chin off for him. “Who?” she asked. knowing the answer before he even said it.

He smiled and they both answered at the same time, “Zay!”

They both laughed and Riley said, “You think they would put ice cream between two of his Grandma Gandy’s cookies?”

Lucas said, “If Grandma Gandy has a say, you can bet they would.”

“You know this is something my mom could sell at the bakery.” Riley said. “I know you want her to consider breakfast taco’s, but she already has cookies and ice cream.”

They finished their treats and decided it was time to call it day. They had an hours drive back to the ranch and were both pretty tired.

“Did you have fun today, Riles? Was the city everything that you thought it would be?” Lucas asked her.

“I had a wonderful time today. Thank you for indulging me and yes, the city is amazing. I think this would be a wonderful place to live some day.” she told him.

“You liked it that much?” he asked. It made him happy to hear that she loved the city and wouldn’t mind living there someday.

[lovemesomesurveys]

If you could drink only 2 things for the rest of your life, what would it be? Coffee and water.

Would you date someone taller than you? Well, yes. Just about everyone is taller than me for one thing.

Have you met anyone that has been a major influence on you this year? No.

Ever kissed someone who smokes? No.

Have you ever liked someone a lot older than you? Not including celebrities, the oldest person I’ve liked is only two years older than me.

Have any interesting conversations lately? Not really.

If your friends warn you about someone you like, do you listen? I would hear what they had to say, yes.

Who did you last pinky promise with? I have no idea when the last time I pinky promised was.

What do you do when you’re having a bad day? Go about my day as usual and do what I always do, which are things like Tumblr, surveys, rest, watch TV, listen to music, read, and color.

Does it take a lot for someone to annoy you? No. I get irritable pretty easily.

Do you want your tongue or belly button pierced? No.

Do you hate it when people smoke around you? Cigarettes, yes. I can’t stand it.

Is there someone you care about right now? Uh, yeah. I care about my family. I love them more than anything.

If you could see one person right now, who would it be? I don’t really want to see anyone right now.

Do you say “I love you” when you don’t mean it? No. I don’t just throw those words around, if I say it, I mean it.

Do you smoke? No.

Have you ever been to a football game? Yes, actually.

How old is the computer you’re on? Like eight years old. It’s a MacBook. Wow, that’s crazy I didn’t realize just how old it is. In tech world, that’s ancient.

When you looked in the mirror today, what was your first thought? Ew.

Last furry thing you touched? My giraffe print body pillow.

Have you ever faked sick? I’ve never had to fake sick. I feel that way enough for real.

What is your blood-type? I actually don’t know. I’ve had blood work done so often throughout my life, I’ve had surgeries, and I’ve had a few transfusions. You’d think I would know by now.

The last time you were in the fridge, what were you looking for? A Chick-Fil-A sauce. I always get extra sauces when I go there, so that I have it at home to use. Apart from chicken strips, it goes well with eggs, sausage, and hash browns as well.

Do you like clowns? No.

Has anyone ever under-estimated your intelligence? Probably.

Can you take a bra off with one hand? I think so.

Do you have big dreams for your life? No. I know how sad that sounds, but it’s true.

Are you donating your organs? I don’t know.

When was the last time you talked to you mom? This afternoon before she went to work.

What did you do yesterday? The same stuff I always do that I already listed.

What kind of deodorant do you use? Secret.

Do you sleep on your side, stomach or back? I sleep on my side.

What is one show that is canceled that you wish was still on? I wish True Blood was still on. Also, The Vampire Diaries is on its final season, so that’s sad.

Ever met any online friends in person? Nope.

Do you know how to sew? No.

Does your room need cleaning? I need to straighten up a bit. I need to hang up my jackets, put away some clothes, and vacuum.

Do you like pumpkin pie? Nooo. Blech.

Do you own your own computer? Yes.

Did you ever have to share a room with one of your siblings? Yes.

How do you get to sleep? I listen to ASMR videos.

What happened at the last party you went to? I hung out with some friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, caught up, had lots of laughs, played a game, and just chilled.

Have you ever smoked a cigarette? No.

What’s your hair like at this present moment? It’s in a messy bun.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? Hmm...

Are you an untidy person? I wouldn’t say that.

Have you ever been a fan of ‘N Sync? Yesss.

Do you watch a lot of television? It’s most only as background noise, but I tune in now and then. I also have shows that I do watch and keep up with.

Do you think you’re fat sometimes? No.

Do you like to flex your muscles? What muscles?

Have you ever completely misunderstood what somebody was saying? Yeahhh.

Favorite kind of cake: Funfetti, red velvet, white cake, and strawberry. Apart from red velvet that has cream cheese frosting, I love buttercream frosting on my cake. I don’t like whipped.

Name something you are doing tomorrow? Same ol’, same ol’.

Where are you going to be at 4 PM tomorrow? At home.

Did you have any unread text messages this morning when you woke up? Nope.

Do you think you would be a good parent? I would hope so. I don’t know if I want kids, though.

Are you tanned? No.

Did you get any compliments today? Nope. I’ve been home all day and I look like a mess.

Do you get jealous easily? More envious than jealous.

What were you doing at 3 AM this morning? I was asleep.

Are you any good at math? Nopeeee.

What’s your sign? Leo.

What is your favorite color? Yellow, teal, mint, and pastels.

Last time you were sick? I always feel unwell in some way. That’s chronic illness for you. I haven’t had a cold or anything like that in like two years, though.

Did you have a good day or a bad day? Just a typical, average day. If you haven’t noticed, my life isn’t very exciting. It’s very routine and predictable.

Do you eat healthy? Haha.

Have you ever been told that you need an attitude adjustment? Yes.

What’s something that you wish your pet could do? I don’t have a pet anymore... :(

Can you tango? No.

Do you know anyone that has/had cancer? Yes.

Have you ever read somebody else’s diary? No. Unless it was a public journal entry on a blog.

Have you ever been called a hick? No.

Are your parents going to buy you a car? No. I don’t even drive.

Have you ever rode around in the bed of a pick up truck? Yes.

Do you enjoy going to school? I liked it overall.

Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Nope.

Do/did you have any family in your school? I attended middle school and freshman year with one of my cousins, and in college I went to community college with one of my other cousins.

Were you a big jump roper back in the day? I didn’t jump rope at all.

Have you ever been in your kitchen naked? No. I don’t walk around naked. I don’t live alone for one thing, and for two I don’t feel comfortable naked. I put clothes on when I step out of the shower.

This time last year, what was your relationship status? Single as always.

When was the last time you went to the mall? Earlier this month.

Do you like the smell of coconuts? Yes. Just not the taste.

How many of the Harry Potter books have you read? None. I’ve seen all the movies.

When was the last time you checked your Facebook? Yesterday, I think.

Look out your window. How many people do you see? Zero. It’s took dark right now, but even still all I’d see is a fence.

Where was the last place you bought a clothing item? JCP.

Are you the youngest person living in your house? Nope. I’m the third oldest.

Did you reject or accept your last friend request? I think rejected because it was someone I didn’t know.

Are you wearing any socks? Yes.

Can you play pool? No.

Do you think that you are a good singer? Nope, I know I’m not. It doesn’t stop me from singing along to songs even belting out now and then. haha.

Are you sure of your sexuality? Yes.

Do you love your parents? Yes. My family is everything to me.

Do you think that you are smart? Meh. I’m probably more average.

Are you pretending to be someone that you’re not? I used to pretend I was more okay than I was or that I knew what I was doing. I was pretty good at it until this past year or two when I started to slip and couldn’t hide it well anymore. I still downplay a lot and keep to myself, but those close to me know I’m struggling.. just maybe not to the full extent. It’s also obvious I have no idea what I’m doing.

Do you like to read? I love to read.

How often do you talk on the phone? Not often at all. I don’t like talking on the phone.

Are you a local celebrity? Ha, no. I was on the news and in the newspaper when my accident happened, and there was a little fundraiser put together in my name, but that was twenty-six years ago. No one remembers any of that or knows who I am.

Do you like your English class? I’m no longer in school, I graduated two years ago.

What was the last compliment that you got? My grandma’s friend commented on a photo my aunt posted of me on Facebook, and said I’m “beautiful.”

Do you eat candy daily? No, but I have something sweet daily.

Have you ever moved to a different home? Yes.

Have you ever switched schools? Just when transitioning from preschool to the kindergarten through eighth school I attended, from there to high school, from high school to community college, and from community college to UC.

What is your name? Stephanie.

Have you ever been to camp? Yes. I went to science camp in 6th grade, and to a Girl Scout camp.

Do you get nervous with public speaking? Extremely. It never got easier, no matter how many times I had to do it. They claimed it would help, but nope.

Do you know anyone with a really weird name? To some it might be weird, but I’m used to it because he’s my cousin and we grew up together so I’ve heard it for most of my life.

Do you fight with your parents all the time? No.

Are you in pain right now? My pain meds are doing their job, thankfully.

Are you wearing a sports shirt? Nope.

Do you have a reason to smile right now? Not really.

Do you wear shoes in your house or take ‘em off? I take them off.

Does anyone call you babe or baby? Nope.

Who is your last text from? My brother.

What languages can you count to ten or higher in? English and Spanish.

How old were you when you got your drivers’ license (if you have it)? I haven’t gotten mine.

Have you ever broken a bone? Yes.

Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you they loved you? Yes.

Has a boy/girl ever cheated on their boyfriend/girlfriend for you? Nope.

Do you drink lots of booze? No. I don’t drink anymore. It’s been almost four years.

Have you ever felt like you literally needed someone? Yes.

Have you read The Lovely Bones? Are you excited for the movie? I have. The movie was okay.

Do you try to eat healthy or do you just eat whatever you like whenever you like? I eat what I like.

What memory are you most afraid of losing? Memories of loved ones, and other good memories.

[uprootedandroaming]

July 28: In the Quivering Forest

For what it’s worth, today felt like the first day of the real journey. We stayed the night in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with Captain George and the crew, sleeping inside his RV in the backyard with our two cats. The day got off to a fine enough start, with Vicky fixing us a delicious breakfast complete with bacon, eggs, toast, and grapefruit. She even supplied those nifty little grapefruit spoons with the serated edges. It was a hearty meal -- just what we needed before hitting the road, once again, in our rented Nissan Pathfinder, which was packed to the brim with what amounted to about 90-percent of our material belongings.

Before we hit the road, however, we had to figure out where, exactly, we were going. We had three options: 1) drive eight hours to Pittsburgh to visit my grandpa, 2) drive seven hours to Roanoke to stay with Caitlin’s parents, or 3) drive roughly five hours to Asheville, a small, hippie-fied city in the Blue Ridge Mountains that Caitlin and I plan on moving to within the coming months. The third option was our top choice - namely because it split up the trip nicely and allowed us to explore a new city - but soon we learned that a regional anime convention had left 90-percent of Asheville-area hotels packed to the brim. Thankfully, after some arduous searching on AirBnB, we found a rustic cabin in Flag Pond, TN, about 40 minutes north of Asheville, for $45. We booked it on the spot.

After forced-feeding the cats sedatives to keep them from yowling like stuck pigs in the car, we said our goodbyes and began the journey to Flag Pond, our soon-to-be temporary home. The journey was anything but bright and sunny. We hit a major storm on 40E in the Smoky Mountains, and after consulting the radar, it became clear that we were actually driving with the storm, and thus probably wouldn’t see much of a respite from the dull grayness for some time. And, true to our prediction, we didn’t. Exceedingly heavy rainfall followed us as we made our way over the mountain. We passed one relatively major accident -- a car with a major dent in the driver’s side door was completely turned around on the shoulder. An ambulance and a fire truck or two rushed to the scene, clogging up traffic for some time. Thankfully no one appeared to be hurt, and before long traffic cleared out like a blown nose.

The grayness, however, did not lift.

The rest of the trip was spent eating boiled peanuts (which taste surprisingly similar to mashed potatoes) and listening to two short stories: 1) Jack London’s brilliant To Light a Fire, and 2) Mark Twain’s account of his brief stint in the Confederate Army. The climax of Twain’s story occurred when he and five of his comrades accidentally shot and killed an innocent man riding through the woods on a horse at night. The fact that he had become a killer was almost too much for Twain to bear at first, but sharing the brunt of the burden with his fellow Marion Rangers (the name given to his troup), each of whom had fired at the same time as Twain, alleviated a bit of the guilt. Twain’s well-told tale carried us into the Blue Ridge Mountains, which appeared before us, fog-covered, just as twilight began to set in. The rain and the fog and the half-light and towering lush mountain face combined to create quite the eerie scene. This eeriness was compounded as we wound our way through isolated mountain roads that twisted like witches’ fingers over the mountainside.

The strangeness of it all increased yet again when we reached our destination and met our host, a bulbous man named Taft who had a timeless East Tennessee drawl and was quite obviously drunk. When Caitlin attempted to inform him how to spell her name, he scribbled “CALiiN” on his yellow notepad and groaned “Ah, I’ll get it eventually.” He didn’t. Nor did he manage to take us to the right cabin. We followed him up the pitch-black east Tennessee mountainside in our pregnant Pathfinder, over pot-holed gravel roads and grassy half-trails, only to end up at a residence that was already occupied.

“Looks like I took you to the wrong place,” said Taft, slow as a mule. “Your place is back where we were at the beginning. Sorrrrrrrry.”

He led us back down the mountain to base camp. Once there, things began to smooth out a bit. He lit and cigarette, cracked a few jokes, and supplied us with sheets, pillows, and blankets. I even began to like ol' frumpy Taft. He then showed us to the rustic cabin, one of five lined along a creek that flowed heavily due to the abundance of rain earlier in the day. It rushed along like a pleasant train past a cozy little screened in porch, complete with two deck chairs and a fine hammock. Taft waddled around the cabin, showing us this and that, then asked us what we were going to do for food. He suggested hot dogs and hamburgers. We told him we were most likely going to head into Asheville, even though it was 10:30 and still rainy as hell.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he warned. “It’s about forty minutes away.”

We went anyway, to a neat bar/restaurant/venue called Mojo. We found a parking spot right around the corner, despite the fact that we were downtown on a Friday night. Dreadlocked hippies and butch-looking chicks with sidecuts roamed about. Coming from Austin, this was no culture shock. In fact, it was our kind of place. Even though Caitlin and I are generally normal-looking people without any distinguishable quirks on the exterior, our souls are knotted and strange. I drank a hot tea and ate a kale salad topped with some memorable smoked chicken. Caitlin drank an IPA and forked down some sort of Mexican salad with tortilla chips. We listened to tight funk music for a spell before jumping on 26W and heading back to our idyllic cabin in the woods.

All in all, it was a good day, despite the gray skies and the weirdness. It did seem like the initiation of our real cross-country trip, in earnest, I mean, and knowing that we have many more days ahead likely  just as memorable as this one makes me feel as though this whole crazy scheme might end up being worthwhile after all. Even if we finish the month broke-of-pocket, which we undoubtedly will, I have high hopes that our souls with be watery and lively with new, meaningful experiences.

We will be the all-the-better for setting out.