#yes it's been on an uptick since the Time of Troubles a little over a century ago

[some-pers0n]

Hey guys I've been working on the worst thing in the world. You like Qinter? Here's an excerpt from the Coffee Shop University AU I've been working on. Crackfic, obviously, but I wanted to see what I could do with such an outlandish premise.

He was cleaning up the counter when the shopbell rang. He turned his attention to it. "Hello, welcome to Caribou Cafe. How may I Cari-care for you today?"

In the doorway stood an IceWing. Pristine, silvery scales and arctic blue eyes. There was a wool sash bag around their neck, a couple scrolls poking out of it. They made eye-contact with Qibli, pausing. Their expression dropped.

"Qibli?"

It was a voice he knew all too well. That small uptick when saying his name. That haughty, smarmy snide.

"Winter?"

Winter narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, me? Well, since I'm behind the counter and all with this apron on, I'm clearly putting on a clever little disguise. I'm not actually a worker here and I've been stealing money."

The corners of the IceWing's mouth tightened. "Haha, very funny," he said, his voice frozen over. "What are you actually here for?"

"What? Not convincing enough for you?" Qibli snickered. He leaned on the countertop. "I've got a job now."

"I can see that. Why here of all-" He stopped himself midway. "You're enrolled, aren't you?"

"Ding ding! We have a winner here! I got here last week and have been working here for a while. How about you?"

"I came yesterday. Queen Snowfall insisted that me learning at the best college in Pyrrhia would do me some good. Paid for it all." He snorted. "The last thing I expected to see was you in here."

"...truth be told, yeah. I didn't think you'd be here too. I thought you were fine in Sanctuary."

"I was. I was in the middle of a scavenger rehabilitation program when I received Queen Snowfall's letter. It's quite nice there. I hoped you would've visited me at least once."

Awkward silence. Qibli tapped his talons on the counter. "Yeeeahhh sorry about that. I was busy!"

"Busy with Moon and the rest of the Jade Winglet?"

"No! I was helping around with the Academy and repairing all the damage that Darkstalker caused. Then Thorn needed me to help out with finding Vulture and that took several months. Then Luna happened and we discovered a whole new continent and I had to become the ambassador of SandWings cause of me going on the mission and..." He slowly cut himself off.

"Couldn't find the time to visit?"

Qibli glanced away, trying to think of what to say. "Heh, what? You seem to care a lot about me not coming over? You sure you don't care what I say?" Defaulting to quips. Always works.

"That's not it!" Winter snapped. "I just thought it'd be nice if you at least pretended to be a friend."

"But I am your friend, aren't I?"

"And aren't friends supposed to visit each other? The only ones who seemed to care was Kinkajou and Turtle. Even Peril came over a couple times. You coming over to Sanctuary with Queen Snowfall was the first time I saw you in over a year." He scowled. "It's fine though. All okay." He clearly was not fine if his tone was any indication.

Qibli felt a small pit in his stomach begin to form. Moons above, he did neglect Winter quite a bit. He got so caught up in his own troubles and worries. What kind of a friend was he? After all they've been through he couldn't give him even the most basic of acknowledgement?

He hesitated. "...do you want coffee?"

"Yes. Just give me the coffee. Medium latte with light foam and two shots of espresso and whole milk." He sneered.

[willowbrookmanor]

The Tailor

First story for these OCs I hope you enjoy

It was a cool Autumn evening and the town of Willowbrook was brimming with life. One of the wealthiest families in town was hosting an extravagant party and all were welcome to attend. There was just one rule: All in attendance must wear a mask.

The party has actually been the talk of the town since it was announced. The family that was hosting the party, the Dearden’s, are a notoriously reclusive family that aren’t known to leave their estate. Normally, any and all errands are run by their staff. Ever since the party was announced, rumours began circulating amongst the townsfolk about the reason for hosting a party, when no one aside from the staff has seen the family in over two decades.

Of all the rumours that were in circulation, two had taken a fairly big hold in the community. One was that the family was going to announce some kind of grand donation of their money, and the second was that it was going to be some kind of announcement regarding one of their three children. Either way, everyone was bustling about, getting ready for this masquerade event.

Elaine Dixon was one such person excitedly preparing for the party. As the daughter of the local tailor, she's been hard at work helping her mother and her father hem and alter the outfits the locals were bringing in so they'd look their best for the party. The uptick in business had been excellent for her family's finances. However the uptick in business also meant that Elaine had little time to work on her own outfit for the event.

While her family wasn’t hurting for money, they certainly didn’t have the money to purchase a brand new dress from one of the shops. Elaine’s father had given her permission to use fabric scraps that they would otherwise be throwing away for her dress. As unfortunate as it sounded, it worked out in her favor. A client that had ordered a custom outfit changed their mind on fabric at the last second, allowing Elaine to use the entire roll of discarded fabric to make her dress with. She decided to use the other fabric scraps to make accents.

It was the day before the party and Elaine had been in the back of the shop working on the finishing touches of her dress. She was keeping her ear open for the door as both her parents were currently out running other errands. She wasn't expecting any customers though because everyone that had asked for adjustments or custom made outfits had already picked up their things. Elaine was grateful for that because she didn't normally run the front of the shop. She normally stayed in the back to help sew the alterations.

“Um yes, I was hoping you could help me with something for the masquerade party?” The customer asked. Although the man standing just inside the door looked absolutely lost and unsure if he was in the correct place.

Elaine was busy sewing in some embroidery when she heard the bell that hung over the door ring. “I’ll be out in a moment.” She called as she carefully put her dress down in a way so it wouldn’t get wrinkled or anything. She then took the ribbon out of her hair, letting her dishwater blonde locks fall into her face. She preferred to have her hair up or better yet short, but her parents made her grow it out and they have a rule that she must have her hair down whenever dealing with customers so they wouldn’t be able to see the scar that runs from her right eye to her right ear.

“Goodmorning. Welcome to Dixon’s Tailoring, how can I help you today?” Elaine said as she entered the front of the shop.

“I’m sorry sir, but with the party being tomorrow, we are not taking any alteration requests because there won’t be enough time to get everything done.” Elaine was trying to figure out why someone would be looking to have their suit altered or even custom made the day before they needed it.

“Oh, um. It’s nothing like that. I’m in need of a tie, but the other shops don’t seem to have what I”m looking for. Would it be too much tro-trouble?” The man seemed to be absolutely timid. He was playing with his long black hair, as if not sure what he should be doing with his hands.

“How are the clothing shops not helpful? They should have a wide variety of ties.” Elaine found herself asking.

“It’s just th-that hehsieshhh, hihSTIeshh, HEHSTIESHHHH, sorry. It’s just that the clothing shops only seem to carry solid colored ties, and I’m looking for some kind of pattern. One of the owners recommended I come here.” The man sniffled before pulling a floral handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed at his nose.

“I suppose that could be doable. What kind of pattern are you looking for?” In all honesty they too primarily only had solid color fabrics in stock. They had maybe two or three rolls of patterned fabric in stock that seldomly got used. Otherwise it was a special order for a client that asked for it in advance. If they’re lucky, she might be able to use fabric scraps. Elaine wasn’t all that confident that she’d be able to help this timid man.

“I was hoping for something animalistic or aviary. Aviary would be better if I have to be honest.” The man sniffled again. “If you’re unable to help me, that’s fine. It’s a long shot anyway. Sorry for bothering you.” The man said a little too quickly as he began to turn around.

“Sir.” Elaine said, causing the man to freeze. “I actually have some options available that you can look at. Just give me a moment.” Elaine disappeared to the back room and quickly found the fabrics she was looking for. They were both around three feet of fabric that were left over from orders that were unrelated to the party. She brought them back to the front.

“Alright sir, I have these two bird themed fabrics.” She showed the fabrics to the man. The first one was cream colored with black and white birds perched on branches. The second was a very colorful peacock feather pattern.

“I know it’s not a whole lot of fabric, but since you’re just looking for a tie, I should have plenty regardless of which pattern you choose.” It’s the truth. Elaine didn’t have enough of either fabric to really make anything, but she could definitely make a tie.

“If it’s not too much trouble and it’s not too short of notice, could you make a tie with the black and white birds please?” Elaine nodded as she began to write down the order into the shop’s book.

“A-also if it’s not t-too much to ask, would you be wil-hehstieshhh, hehSTIeshhh, HEHSTIESHHH. Oh bother. Excuse me.” The man quickly stepped outside the shop, causing the bell to ring. Elaine watched as he pulled out his floral handkerchief and he blew his nose. The man re-entered and looked utterly embarrassed.

“Sorry about that. I was wondering if I could also have a few squares of the other pattern as well. I like how the color pops.”

“Certainly sir. For the silk underside of your tie, would you like a certain color?” The man nodded and selected baby blue. He also asked if there was any royal purple fabric that could be paired with the other fabric. The answer was yes.

“Um, my name, is um Emmett.” The man, Emmett said, still completely timid. On his way out, he sneezed again, and his long hair whipped to the front of his face causing him to have to fix it before he could attend to his nose. Elaine grabbed the fabrics and returned to the back to get started on her next order.

“Alright sir, I think I can have this order ready for you by this evening or tomorrow morning. Which would you prefer?”

“This evening would be preferable.” The man once again sniffled and he brought his floral kerchief out of his breast pocket again to dab at nose, which was slowly turning pinker and pinker.

“Excellent sir, Now I just need a name for your order.”

[eve6262]

jayvik week day 6 - dancing/[dream]

He could believe it's a dream. It would be so easy, to assume that the body he touches is warm because he wants it to be and his subconscious has claimed it for itself; but there is metal everywhere and it's cold and distant and frightening aside from Viktor himself.

Coming here was a nightmare, maybe. Blitzcrank didn't fight him but he still felt the stare of two eyes that can't blink, saw every unfeeling machine that watched him with beady eyes; predators lying in wait, except even that attributes too much malice to them. And feeling means something that is infinitely less terrifying than apathy.

What's the difference between a dream and a nightmare, anyway?

That's stupid. He knows the answer to that question. He wakes up at least once a week from them, usually every night- it's him, in the snow, again, nearly dying, but uncaring of the cold that he can't really feel because Viktor is dying there. The snow seeps into the metal joints, causing both limbs to be unusable, the Hexclaw ripped apart by the storm, a body shivering in his arms before eventually falling still-

"Jayce?"

"Yes?"

"I asked you a question."

"Sorry, I got distracted."

Viktor sighs. The Viktor of his dreams would either repeat the question immediately, a relic of how they would be in their Hextech dream days (ha, now there's a relic), or know to come over and comfort him. But this one is more realistic- married to his work first and his husband second, utterly focused, only really talking for efficiency's sake. "I asked if you were aware whether the capacitors cause an uptick in the latent magic surrounding them."

"Oh. Uh, no."

"No as in they don't?"

"No as in we don't know how to check that sort of thing," he says honestly. "It's never come up. Why? Wait, latent magic in the air?"

"Hmph." Viktor slashes something with chalk. It leaves white dust in the air where he moved. "Yes, I suppose you wouldn't. It is much less taboo here, however. A mage or two has been willing to explain in exchange for metal limbs or food."

A response almost makes its way out of his mouth, but his mind's eye blinds him with images of runes floating in the air, a teleportation spell that gets them both out of this conundrum, his mother living and the man who saved them giving him a single, quiet stone. Viktor has since said that you'd need a particularly powerful mage to revive it, if you'd want to use it- not because of the power needed, but the incredible fragility of the object.

Viktor has learned a lot since they've separated. Now that they're back together, Jayce is struggling to catch up.

It's not all his fault, though. It is in large part that he simply could not research magic properly topside, what with their Demacian attitudes towards witchcraft and the like. Zaun, uncaring, has its fair share of mages and maguses, and as such Viktor has found no trouble in his efforts. Couple that with his lack of a need for extraneous funding, as his robots do the work for him and charge a pittance because the only thing he needs to survive is produced in his foundries, and you have a man who does as he pleases.

"Jayce." There is a hand on his, now. "What is it?"

"Nothing, V," he says, trying to be honest, and it kind of is nothing. Just his mind attempting to make any thoughts at all and proceeding to take that as sure, I'll give you the least helpful things you have ever wanted. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"Y'know. The past."

"Ah." Metal hinges stop, muscles freezing in place. Viktor pauses for but a moment, trying to calculate his next move, but Jayce sees it and thinks of a little Zaunite sumprat caught in the Enforcer's flashlight. Wide-eyed, unmoving, but thinking and planning and knowing. Not nearly as helpless as it seems. "It is quite late. Do you need rest?"

"You need rest too," Jayce insists.

"I do not."

"When was the last time you slept?"

Viktor pretends to look at the blackboard.

"I know you still need some sleep."

"Fine," Viktor acquiesces, and that was quick so he must have been exhausted already. Mostly a fight with himself, and if he's losing? Then Jayce should've forced him into bed days ago. "I will, but only because you are."

"Sap," comes the affectionate reply, and the two of them head into Viktor's bedroom .

This routine is easy, familiar. Viktor takes baths whenever he can be bothered, which is whenever someone is willing to help him, and Jayce takes them in morning. Thus they both strip down, with Jayce in nothing but his boxers and Viktor in a set of soft pants. There's not a word between them as Viktor cuddles up into the other's space, easily slotting into each other like two cogs in the machine.

"Sweet dreams, V."

"Sweet dreams, Jayce."

--

the vibes returneth

~Eve6262

[jadethest0ne]

In need of Refueling, Chapter 2 - Silken Web

Summary:    “You?! Why would I trust you? You have brought me nothing but failure. Time and time again; nothing but disappointment!”

His father’s words might have been a result of his possession by the White Bone Spirit, but whether or not they were his true thoughts, Red Son vows to prove them wrong. To do so he seeks to attain a power strong enough to destroy his father’s immortal enemy. After all, he’d much rather throw fire at his problems.

Word Count: 1384

Ratings/Warnings:  Teen and up; injury, burns, angst and hurt/comfort, toxic thoughts caused by toxic parents

Notes: Time for another villain to appear! Big thanks to @painted-arachnid and @simplyfornardo  for helping me bounce ideas off of them. And also thanks to @lemonsqueazie for providing me with “Journey to the West” lore. I don’t know much about the original novel or other iterations, but I still tried to keep some things compliant with the lore. You should check all of them out, since they’re really great content creators with neat ideas!

Read on AO3

———-

Red Son stands in front of a decrepit market stand. Shriveled brown excuses for vegetation dust the bottom of containers labeled as produce and cooking ingredients. But the demon he is looking for is nowhere to be seen. He peers into the tented area covered by curtains with an unimpressed glare. Still, the spider insignia on the stand’s sign is unmistakable, so he calls into the gloom with a demanding, authoritative voice. “Spider Queen! I have come to have some words with you. I am looking for something and I think you have the information I seek!”

At first there is nothing. But a soft wind picks up around his ankles and a sultry whisper drifts out of the stand. “Come in…” it says.

Red Son glances around the area, then slips inside the curtains.

“Farther inside…” the voice calls.

Red Son knows a trap when he sees one, but he continues on without fear as he looks around for any traces of trickery. It is dusty and the area seems untouched, except for the circular disk that he just stepped on.

“Right there…” says the voice, and Red Son can hear the smile in it as the disk drops down revealing a trap door.

Red Son gives a tired sigh as he falls and activates flames underneath his feet, slowing his descent on his way down the sudden hole in the floor.

He lands smoothly and kicks up flames around his feet in a circle to push back any potential enemy waiting for him below. It is dark, and he can hardly see anything. He hears some drip of water echo, giving a hint of a cavernous area. A scuttling noise bounces around him.

Red Son holds his palm upward in front of him and brings a ball of flame to life, lighting up his surroundings. He is indeed in a cave, as he thought, and it is covered in spider webs. The webs rustle and bounce as a result of quick movements that Red Son forces his eyes to follow despite them still adjusting to the light. The scuttling and the web movements sweep around him, and he twists around adjusting into a defensive stance as he prepares for what is facing him.

As he turns around he finds who he is looking for directly in front of him. If one weren’t paying attention, one might mistake her as an attractive human woman with long black hair and sparkling green eyes. But her greyish-purple skin and sharp fangs reveal a more demonic nature. Her spider-like body, complete with eight spindly legs with sharp ends come into the light, and she lifts herself high above Red Son, looking down at him with the ease of someone who knows how much power she holds.

“Spider Queen,” Red Son says with as much control as he can, despite an uptick in his heart rate. He takes a bow.

“My, what a polite boy,” the eight-legged spider demon drolls amusedly in an earthy accent. “To whom do I owe the pleasure of visiting me down in my Silken Web Cave?”

Red Son straightens himself up and introduces himself. “I am Red Son - the son of the Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan.”

“Yes, and a fire demon it seems,” she says eyeing the flame in his palm warily. “Spiders like us do not take kindly to fire like that…” Her mouth twitches in a hint of a grimace, but the smile never leaves her eyes.

“I did this so I can see, not so I may harm you… as long as I don’t have to…” Red Son says keeping his expression cool, but a smile of his own twitching at the corner of his lips. “I have come to request your assistance.”

“Assistance?” Spider Queen says with a tittering laugh. “That is amusing! What would I be assisting with?”

“Information. I want to know of any artifact or power source strong enough to kill an immortal.”

The Spider Queen quirks an eyebrow. “Might you be looking to destroy the Monkie Kid? I hear he has been causing you trouble. But I also hear that he is not indestructible. Your flames or a good enough whack should do the trick, I’d say,” she says clicking one of her legs harshly against the ground for emphasis.

“Not the Monkie Kid. The Monkey King!”

“Oh, is he still wandering around these parts!? I suppose that makes sense given that the Monkie Kid has been giving us demons a hard time.” She crosses her arms and looks up, tapping a finger to her cheek. “Well… I don’t know of any specific artifact that could destroy someone as powerful as that…” She again, eyes Red Son’s flames. “Buuuut… I do know of a way to power up your fire in a way that might allow you to gain the upper hand in a fight against him.”

Red Son’s eyes light up and the fire in his hand flares with his excitement. “Really!? Magnificent! Tell me! I must know!” He grins widely and wickedly, barely containing himself.

“Hahaha, you lose your manners so quickly when you are excited it seems,” Spider Queen laughs without joy. “Why would I give you such information without anything in return? What do you have for me?”

Red Son’s grin doesn’t falter, spreading further to show his teeth. “Oh, I hear that you’re looking for rare and powerful ingredients, and I have some for you right here.” Red Son pulls a pouch out of his pocket and opens it to reveal dark hairs sticking out of it. “The Monkie Kid’s hair, leftover from his defeated clones. I’m sure that's worth a little bit of information, now isn’t it?”

Red Son can tell he’s got her interest by the way that her eyes glimmer with no help from the flame he wields.  She stretches out a hand, and two of her all too sharp legs reach toward him as well. “Yes!” she says, as if entranced by the sight of the hair.

“Uh, uh, uh!” Red Son tuts as he brings the bag close to the fire in his other hand, causing the Spider Queen to stop her advance. “I want my information first.”

Spider Queen’s smile tightens, and this time it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’re a shrewd little boy. But yes, I will tell you.”

Red Son smiles and listens intently.

Her posture straightens and with a flick of her wrist she spools out a strand of thread that begins to take shape into an abstract picture of a flame. So skilled is the puppetry of her silk webs, that the false flame seems to dance. “The power you are looking for is called ‘The True Fire of Samadhi.’”

As she weaves her story, so does she weave pictures into her web. She creates the image of a ring of mountains around a taller one. “You must seek out the Flaming Mountains surrounding the Monkey King’s own Flower Fruit Mountain. He knows not that his own weakness lies within the very fires that seemingly protect his solitude.” The abstract map-like picture shifts to a mountain to the left, with an opening about midway up. “In the tallest eastern mountain, there is a cave that leads to a shrine that can only be revealed by the rising sun. In there, you will find the power you seek.” Spider Queen releases her webs, letting them dangle, lifeless. She shifts her stance and her speech from storyteller to businesswoman in a second. “Is that enough information for you, sugar?”

Red Son nods enthusiastically and hands over the pouch. “I will be on my way, now.”

Spider Queen picks her finger through the hairs in the pouch as if counting gold coins. She certainly handles the pouch as if it were just as precious. “Oh, and one more thing, sweetie,” she says, waving an errant hand over her shoulder. “A warning, since you seem like quite the impatient type. The power there is as old as the mountains themselves. It has the power to overwhelm if found in the wrong hands.”

Red Son scoffs, barely giving her words a second thought. As if there were any fire that he couldn’t handle. He leaves, having gotten what he came for.

<-- previous // next -->

[originalhybridloverfics]

Good To You - CH 24

A/N: I'm sorry for the insanely long wait but I hope the length of the chapters makes up for it!

Updates are really slow for me, I have some family stuff that came up, if you follow me on tumblr or twitter you probably already know about it, and on top of that I got sucked into another fandom that has consumed me.

I want to thank everyone who is still reading this story despite the unbelievably slow updates.

Genevieve and Celeste stroll through the cemetery. 

“Oh, I remember this cemetery. Hmm. Hasn't changed a bit.” Genevieve mused. 

“I've been coming here over a century, wearing one face or another,” Celeste replied. 

~*~ ~*~ ~* ~

1919 

Genevieve approaches a woman kneeling in front of a tomb in the Lafayette cemetery, praying to her ancestors.  

“Clara Summerlin, will you come on?” Genevieve complained. “We're gonna miss everything.”  

The two walk over to where a crowd of witches is standing around a bonfire, playing conga drums and watching as a witch dance around the flames. Papa Tunde walks out with an albino python around his shoulders, which he hands to his twin sons after clapping in order to quiet the crowd.  

“Told you. Every witch in the Quarter is here to see the great Papa Tunde,” said Genevieve. 

“Witches of the French Quarter, thank you for your welcome.” Papa Tunde addressed the crowd of witches. “It is good to be among people of the faith. I, too, practice ancestral magic, honoring those who walked the path before us. From them, we draw strength. And you will need strength, for a great darkness is coming. The city your forefathers left you is now overrun by pirates, beasts, and vampires.” 

Papa Tunde takes the python from his sons and throws it into the fire, and many of the witches gasp in surprise and fear. 

“I practice other magic, as well. Sacrificial magic, channeling power from the lives of my offerings.” Papa Tunde explained. “I use this strength to vanquish my enemies, and I will punish your enemies for their greed. In return, you will accept my family into your coven, and me as your leader.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

1919 

Two men enter the room and join Elijah and a police officer at a table where a meeting was taking place.

“Gentlemen, make yourselves at home.” Elijah greeted. “Mayor O'Connell appears to be running late, but there's much to discuss, so I shall begin.”  

Klaus walked down the stairs to join them. “One moment, please, brother. You know how much I enjoy these illicit, little gatherings.” 

“Do not be troubled. Despite my brother's reputation, I can assure you, we've invited you here to broker in peace.” Elijah assured the men. “You have my word.”  

“And, lucky for you, my brother always keeps his word,” Klaus told them. “You two are from the Guerrera crime family, a brutish pack of thieves and killers. And that's nothing compared to what you become on a full moon, is it?”  

“Yes, yes, yes. Of course, a bite from your kind is not lethal to an Original. Conflict between us would not end well for you at all,” Elijah cautioned. “Let's state our proposal here. My brother and I control the ports of the city, but with Prohibition soon to be the law of the land, there'll be a certain uptick in the kind of federal presence we prefer to avoid. Therefore, I'd like to suggest a system whereby, under our supervision, of course, the Guerrera family can traffic alcohol into the city of New Orleans for a profit. We would still be in charge, but our rule would remain a secret.”  

Papa Tunde walks into the room with his sons following behind him.

“This all sounds very good, but tell me, how will it benefit the witches?” asked Papa Tunde. 

“I am sorry.” Said Elijah. “This is a private meeting.” 

“Yes, for kings of the city, but I, too, am a king, and I have rules,” replied Papa Tunde.  

“I'm impressed. You're either quite ambitious or quite mad. What's your name, mate?” asked Klaus.  

“I am Alphonse Bellatunde Delgado, Papa Tunde to my followers, and I come to ask that the witches be granted fair tribute for allowing your existence in our city.” Papa Tunde responded.  

“Are you suggesting that you speak for the French Quarter witches?” Elijah questioned.  

“I do now, and I expect our future negotiations to go very smoothly.” Papa Tunde answered. “As a guarantee, I brought a gift. I await our next gathering.” 

A small leather case is placed on the table. Papa Tunde and his sons leave. Everyone else gathers around as Klaus lifts the lid on the trunk to reveal a head inside with a symbol carved into his forehead. 

“Well, I suppose we'll need a new mayor,” Klaus said.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Marcel walked into the Abattoir Courtyard Davina and Josh beside him. 

Marcel grabbed a table with Davina and Josh. Davina was supposed to be meeting with Sophie at Caroline’s request to start searching for a way to save Katherine. 

Most of Marcel’s guys weren’t happy that Klaus was now in charge and Marcel appeared to be following his lead without question. And were shocked to see Davina alive and well having believed she was dead after learning the truth about her and Marcel’s connection with her. 

Diego sees him enter and approaches. He walks over to the table Marcel had chosen.  

“Hey, Marcel, maybe you know what's going on. Klaus ordered us to meet here, and now he's a no-show.” he looked at Davina. “And how are you alive?” 

“Caroline,” Davina answered simply.  

“Klaus has a lot on his hands to deal with. Give him time.” Marcel told him.  

“Like what?” Diego challenged but before Marcel could answer. Klaus enters the room with Caroline and on his other side is Thierry.

“Dearest brethren, your attention, please.” Klaus’s voice ringed loudly through the courtyard. “No doubt, you're all surprised to see Thierry Vanchure, who's supposed to be rotting in the Garden for the crime of killing one of our own, and I personally decided to issue him with a pardon.” Klaus declared. “I hope you'll all welcome home Thierry.”  

Thierry smiles and gives Diego a hug. 

“Welcome home, man,” Diego told him.  

“Now some of you may see the difference with Caroline.” Klaus continues, pressing his hand to her lower back and the other resting on her stomach. “It turns out the wolf Hayley who I had believed to be carrying my children was working with the witches all along and had stolen my children from their true mother. Now they are back where they belong and the witches will soon pay for what one of their own has done.” 

Caroline forced a smile before moving toward Marcel’s table, ignoring the stares of disbelief she was receiving. “Davina, thanks for coming.” 

“You said you needed my help,” Davina replied. 

Caroline frowned, tilting her head at the younger girl. “You know you don’t have to help me just because I helped you, right?” 

“Caroline, you saved my life.” Davina countered. “I owe you everything.” 

“No, you don’t,” Caroline told her. “I didn’t save your life so you would feel indebted to me. I want you to live your life how you want. I do want your help but I don’t want you to feel obligated that you have to. You can say no.”

Davina smiled. “I know, that’s why I want to help you. You're not like everyone else.” 

“As long as you know you have a choice.” Caroline gestured to the stairs. “Let’s go see Katherine.”

Davina smiled and linked their arms. 

“You too, Josh,” Caroline called over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. 

“Coming.” Josh quickly followed. “Hey, Caroline, any chance you have some blood bags lying around. I haven’t eaten all day..” 

Marcel tuned out the sound of Josh's voice turning to Klaus as he took a seat across from him. “You're in a good mood,” Marcel said to Klaus. “You must really love the fact that Caroline is the mother of your children.” 

“It’s definitely a gift,” Klaus responded. “But before I can truly celebrate this turn of events I have responsibilities that I need to tend to.” Klaus turns to address the crowd of vampires. “The witches have gone too far with their actions against Caroline. Actions they will pay for. However, since their Harvest failed, their magic will soon be gone forever. Now there has been a debate, on whether to kill them or keep them on their toes. I, however, want them dead, every last one. Diego, I wonder if you might lead a rousting in the cauldron. One that ends in blood and carnage.” 

Diego smiles and starts to plan with the other vampires. 

Marcel smiled. “As much as I would love to shed some witches' blood, especially after everything they put Davina through, I do have another girl to see so I will be taking a personal day.” Marcel stood and left. Confident that Davina would be fine in the compound with Caroline there. 

Klaus' eyes narrowed, wondering where Marcel was headed and who he was going to see. Almost everyone he knew was at the compound. 

Diego and the others looked up at the sound of multiple voices and a group of men, women and even a few children walked into the compound. 

Klaus smiled at Zach and the other wolves and walked over to them. “Caroline has been expecting all of you. She’s currently occupied with helping someone who doesn’t deserve saving but until she has a moment free why don’t you get to know the place and divide up some of the empty rooms amongst yourselves.”

“We will be staying here?” Zach asked speaking up on the behalf of the wolves who were more than a little surprised.

“Caroline has insisted that you all stay with us and what Caroline wants she will get,” Klaus responded, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

“What the hell is going on here?” Diego walked over, glaring darkly at Zach and his group of wolves. 

“I’d like you to meet Zach and the rest of my pack,” Klaus smirked. “They will be staying here at the compound. Indefinitely.” 

Diego's eyes darkened with hate. “You’re kidding, right? They terrorized the Quarter for centuries. It’s why Marcel ran them out of town.” 

Zach stared Diego down. “Wrong pack. We don’t run from anyone. Not anymore. And we only came to New Orleans once we heard of Klaus’s children.” 

Diego scoffed as more vampires gathered behind him. 

“What he says is true. Zach is of my bloodline. Not the New Orlean wolves and they are welcome guests in my home and every single one of you will treat them so or face my wrath.” Klaus’s voice hardened like a steel blade. 

The other vampires started yelling out their protest. 

“Quiet.” Klaus thundered, eyes flashing, a growl emitting from deep in his chest. 

Diego glared but was wary. “You expect vampires and werewolves to co-exist? You’re crazy.” 

The other vampires' protest increased. 

“Maybe so,” Klaus smirked. “But you will work together, starting today. Zach here will be joining in on the witch hunt.”

Diego glared but said nothing. Klaus was in charge and as of right now there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Katherine looked over at the door as it was opened, feeling Elijah squeeze her hands in reassurance. 

Caroline walked in followed by a girl who couldn’t be more than sixteen and a young male not much older than Caroline. 

“Caroline,” Elijah greeted. 

“Sorry to interrupt but I was hoping to check on Katherine and introduce her to Davina.” 

“And why do I need to be introduced to kids?” Katherine raised a perfect brow as she sat up more in the bed. She had been feeling weaker and weaker. It was only a matter of time before her body completely gave out on her. She didn’t want to think about it, refusing to think of the fear that came with knowing you were going to die. 

She hated it. She was Katherine Pierce, sick, frail, weak, was not the way she was supposed to go out. For the last 500 years, she had clawed and kicked and screamed to get everything she wanted to make it this long when she had a man like Klaus Mikaelson intent on killing her. 

“Because Davina here is going to save your life.” Caroline wrapped her arms around Davina’s. “So if I were you I would be a little nicer.” 

“Nice isn’t in my vocabulary.” Katherine retorted. 

“Expand your vocabulary because without some witchy interference you're going to die soon.” Caroline stepped further into the room. 

“And you care so much about my well being, why?” Katherine asked. 

“For telling me the truth. Let’s not pretend we’ve ever been friends because it would be a lie. Still, this is my way of repaying you for once doing something when you had nothing to gain from it.”

“I wonder what Elena would say about you trying to save me?” Katherine taunted, trying to push Caroline’s buttons. 

“I don’t much care what Elena has to say about it.” Caroline retorted. “This has nothing to do with her.” 

Katherine smirked. “I gotta say, I’m warming up to you. Getting out of Mystic Falls suits you.” 

Josh cleared his throat, making Caroline realize she hadn’t introduced him. “Oh, and this is Josh.”

Katherine looked him over. “He comes across as a puppy,”

“Puppy?” Josh wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not. 

“Caroline,” Elijah interjected. “Just how do you intend to save Katherine's life. She is getting worse by the day. I’m not sure how much time she has.” 

“Yes,” Katherine said. “How do you and this young witch plan on keeping me alive?” 

“Well, I planned on seeing if Sophie knows anything or maybe looking at The Original Witch book of spells. Generations after generations of witches walk this city. Someone has to know something.” 

“Caroline, I don’t think Sophie is going to be so keen to help,” Elijah interjected. “We’ve ruined all her plans and have taken her prisoner. Let’s not forget the torture.” 

Caroline’s eyes darkened at the mention of Sophie. “Who said she had a choice in the matter?” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Sophie’s arms dangled above her from chains attached to the ceiling, her feet barely touching the ground, she had to stand on the tip of her toes, her shirt was soaked with blood, her neck covered in red stains. 

Her skin pale and dark circles beneath her eyes, exhaustion coming off her in waves. 

She looked up as a knock sounded on the door. The werewolf guarding her sent her a disdainful look and pulled the door open. 

Caroline stepped in. She was alone. Davina was with Katherine, Josh had stayed with his friend. 

“Did you really come here alone?” Sophie asked, eyes glaring. “How wise is that?”

Caroline moved forward. “You and I both know, you are too weak to do a thing to anyone, and secondly if you did anything and I mean anything you would be scattered in pieces across this floor.”

“What do you want?” Sophie asked through clenched teeth. 

“Your help.” Caroline stepped closer, her eyes filled with hate. 

“You have got to be joking!?” Sophie exclaimed in disbelief. “You’ve chained me up like an animal, tortured me, fed on me, healed me only to do it all over again. You keep me weakened and you expect me to help you?! You’re crazy!”

Caroline grabbed her by the neck, eyes blackening, her temper flaring. “You will do whatever I asked you to do. You live because I say so, because I allow it. The second I say otherwise you will be dead and forgotten. Don’t test me. The sight of you makes me see red and I want to rip you apart until there is nothing left. Even now I fight the urge to kill you. I rather delight in your screams as I slice you open and cause you excruciating pain.” 

Sophie's eyes darkened and she looked at Caroline in revulsion. “You sound like Klaus. Has being with him changed you that much?” 

“Being with Klaus has been the most freeing thing I’ve ever done,” Caroline said, feeling like the words were the most honest she ever was in her life. “Selfish, deplorable, disgusting individuals like Hayley and yourself have no legs to stand on moral ground.” Caroline pressed closer, her hand tightening on Sophie’s throat cutting off her air. “You can do as I ask or we can make this into another torture session. If you won’t do as I say. I will turn you into a vampire. I know from a friend that there is no worse fate than this for a witch. I’ve seen it. The disconnect a witch feels is hollow.” 

Sophie glowered. She hated Caroline. She underestimated her and now she was just starting to realize who she was dealing with.

Sophie tried to pull back from Caroline’s hand. “Okay. Okay.” Caroline released her. “What do you want from me,” Sophie asked, struggling to breathe normally again. 

“You’re going to help me save someone’s life.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“Klaus.”

Klaus was in the middle of giving orders to the wolves and vampires, splitting them up into two separate parties when he heard his name from someone he wasn’t expecting to hear from anytime soon. 

He turned to see Stefan standing in the middle of the courtyard. “Stefan, mate, what are you doing here?” 

“I came to see Caroline?” Stefan’s brow furrowed as he saw all the people lined up awaiting further instructions. “What is going on here?”

Klaus turned back to the two groups. “You know your orders. Go.” 

The wolves and vampires shared a hateful look and dispersed. 

Klaus focused back on Stefan. “Now is not a good time.” 

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not here for you, isn’t it?” Stefan replied.

Klaus tensed, a voice in his head whispering that Stefan was there to convince Caroline to leave him behind and go back to Mystic Falls. 

“Look, Klaus, I’m not here to play games. I’m here to see my friend. You can tell me where she is or I can call her and tell her I’m here, either way, I’m not leaving.” 

Klaus rolled his eyes heavenward. He would never hear the end of it from Caroline if he told her he sent Stefan away. She had such a soft spot for the younger Salvatore but so help him if he was there to take Caroline from him, he would find himself in Marcel’s Garden. 

“Dwayne,” 

Dwayne stepped forward seeming to move out of the shadows startling Stefan. 

“Take Stefan here to Caroline, then if she wishes for you to leave do so,” Klaus ordered. 

Dwayne’s face brightened. He wanted, needed to be near Caroline. 

He started walking, not even stopping to see if Stefan was following. 

Stefan shot Klaus an uncertain look before following behind Dwayne. 

Dwayne led him down a corridor and down a flight of stairs, the sound of a bloodcurdling scream had him, stopping. His mind screamed that Caroline needed his help and he took off on a run past Dwayne. He burst into a room, slamming the door open with his shoulder. “Caroline!” he looked around the room frantically and froze. 

A dark-haired girl was strapped to a med table, blood pouring down her skin, dripping into a large puddle on the floor, she was crying out in agony, she tried to thrash around, attempting to get away, to break free but was restrained tightly to the table with barely any movement. When she turned her head his way, shaking from the pain, Stefan recognized her. 

Hayley Marshall. 

His eyes shot to the blonde standing over her, pouring something over the girl. The blonde’s back was to him, he couldn’t see who it was but he knew he had to stop her. What did Hayley do to deserve to be tortured like this? Her cries were echoing off the walls, the stench of blood filled the air. 

He moved forward grabbing the girl by the arm spinning her around. “Stop, what are you-” Stefan released the blonde, taking a step back in shock. “Caroline?!” 

“Stefan, what are you doing here?” She pushed her hair back from her face, streaks of blood coating the blonde strands from her hands that were coated in Hayley’s blood. 

“What the hell are you doing, Caroline?!” You’re torturing people now? This isn’t you?!” Stefan stepped forward again, crowding her. “First Damon, now Hayley, who’s next?!”

“She deserves it and so did Damon!” Caroline shoved him back not liking the way he was standing over her. 

Suddenly Stefan found himself pinned against the wall by Dwayne. 

Stefan’s eyes widened as he stared in the face of an angry hybrid. “Oh my God,” he looked past the werewolf to Caroline. “Klaus can make hybrids without Elena’s blood?”

Caroline turned and stuffed a gag into Hayley’s mouth cutting off her screams and cries of pain. 

“Klaus didn’t make him. Tyler did, trying to prove he was right about why Klaus cared about his children.” Caroline said, her hand drifted down to her stomach. “Let him go, Dwayne.” 

Dwayne let Stefan go reluctantly but he was eager to get closer to Caroline, coming to stand beside her. 

Stefan pushed off the wall, rolling his shoulders, he followed the movements of Caroline’s hand’s, his eyes widening. “Your mother told me what was going on but I had trouble believing it.”

But how could he continue denying it when he could see the roundness of Caroline’s stomach. “I don’t understand.”

“You want to know what Hayley has done to deserve this? She stole my babies, she used magic to steal a pregnancy for her own gain. I’ve taken back what’s mine but that doesn’t mean, she gets to walk away from this after everything she has done.” 

Caroline turned back to Hayley gripping the surgical tool, a rib spreader, and spread Hayley’s open wound where all the blood was coming from open wider. 

Hayley whined in pain, sniffling. “Please, it hurts.” 

Caroline’s eyes hardened. “Good.” She lifted a bottle of liquid and started pouring it inside Hayley, watching Hayley’s insides burn and sizzle as her bloodcurdling scream filled the air. 

“Is that wolfsbane?” Stefan asked, alarmed. 

“Yes, mixed with hydrofluoric acid,” Caroline answered, a dark smile pulling at her lips. 

“Caroline, you have to stop.” Stefan came forward again. 

Caroline put down the container of Acid and wolfsbane. And removed the rib spread from Hayley’s body. “She needs time to heal until next time.”

Caroline bit into her wrist and squeezed it over, Hayley’s mouth giving her only enough so she would heal slowly and not die from her wounds.  

“Next time?” Stefan repeated. 

“Dwayne take care of this for me,” Caroline ordered and walked out of the room. 

Stefan followed her. “Caroline, stop, we need to talk about this.” he grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him. 

“What’s there to talk about?” Caroline asked, shrugging him off. “I am causing Hayley pain for her deceit.” 

“Caroline, this isn’t you. You don’t torture people.” Stefan protested. “You’re good.” 

“What I am is tired. Why am I always the pawn in someone’s larger game? I will not allow my children to suffer nor will I allow them to be used. I’m done being a casualty. If I have to do things that I otherwise wouldn’t then I will without hesitation and if you can't accept this then maybe you shouldn’t have come here.” 

“I came here because I realized what a bad friend I’ve been. I’m not going to turn back now. I wasn’t there for you. I can’t make up for what happened to you in Mystic Falls but I can be here for you now. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling. How you handle this is up to you but I am not going back to Mystic Falls.”

“Then follow me,” Caroline said and turned walking down the corridor, expecting Stefan to fall into line behind her. 

Caroline led Stefan upstairs and into a room, he was shocked to see Katherine lying in the bed, Elijah sitting beside her and on her other side was Nadia. 

Nadia had shown up, demanding to be with her mother. Caroline hadn’t much cared about keeping the mother and daughter separated. 

There was a woman in the room and a younger girl, a dark hair male, and another man who was watching the dark-haired woman like a hawk. 

“What’s going on here?” Stefan questioned, looking to Caroline for answers. 

“We’re going to save Katherine’s life,” Caroline told him. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Stefan was in disbelief. 

“I’m still doubtful about it myself,” Katherine spoke up. “It’s good to see you, Stefan.” 

“Klaus is okay with this?” Stefan asked, looking to Caroline.  

“He’s willing to accept it for me,” Caroline said and then did a quick round of introductions to the room. 

“Have you found anything yet?” Caroline asked Davina, coming forward. 

“Not yet,” Davina answered, casting a curious look at Stefan. 

“Stefan and I will go through the books Elijah has required and I’ll call Bonnie, see if she knows something. Maybe there’s something in the Bennet books that can help.” Caroline said, after thinking it over. 

“You really think Bonnie’s going to want to help save Katherine’s life?” Stefan asked skeptically. 

“No but I’m asking as her friend and I will explain why I am trying to do this.” Caroline insisted. 

“I believe Katerina is in good hands.” Elijah smiled over at Caroline and walked past her and Stefan into the hallway. “I will be back shortly.” 

“Alright, so this is what we’re going to do, Sophie and Davina continue searching here. Josh and Stefan will go through the books in the study. I will call Bonnie and see if I can get her to help. Dwayne.” 

As if he was just waiting for Caroline to need him Dwayne appeared. 

Caroline shifted away. He made her uncomfortable with how he was always ready to do whatever she asked. She didn’t like using the sire bond he had to the twins and how he was always lurking in the shadows wherever she was, creeped her out. 

“Dwayne, you will make sure Sophie doesn’t try anything if she does lock her up and get Zach or one of the wolves to deal with her until I have the time to do it myself. Nadia, you can stay with Katherine.” No one moved much to Caroline’s annoyance, she clapped her hands. “Well, you got jobs to do. Go!” 

Davina nodded and continued searching the book in front of her, Sophie glared but did as she was told. 

Josh motioned to Stefan to follow him and led him out of the room. 

“You really think this is going to work?” Katherine asked Caroline. 

“Yes, because I will make sure of it,” Caroline answered. 

“I don’t want to be human,” Katherine argued. 

“You don’t want to be dead either, do you?” Caroline retorted. 

Katherine shot her a look. “What do you think?” 

“Good, we’ll save your life, and then we’ll find a way to turn you back into a vampire.” 

Caroline stepped out of the room to call Bonnie in private. 

Katherine watched the door close behind her. She hated the feeling of hope that was beginning to rise within her.

Damn Caroline Forbes and her unending optimism and determination. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Rebekah and Elijah walk through the streets of the Quarter as they talk about recent events. 

“Now, you may doubt him, but today, I saw Niklaus demonstrate mercy towards an enemy. Tell me that's not progress,” said Elijah.  

“That’s Caroline’s influence,” Rebekah stated. “He wants to be better for her. He’s not the same brother we knew the last thousand years. Honestly, she is the only reason I’m not still working with Sophie.” 

Elijah turned to her abruptly. “You were working with Sophie?” 

“Not anymore. Not after everything she has done.” Rebekah responded. 

“Are you the reason he let Thierry out?” Elijah eyed her with suspicion. 

“No, that was Caroline,” Rebekah told him. “She didn’t like that he was locked up for protecting someone he loved. Though we should keep a close eye on him. Thierry despises Klaus and for good reason. He got the witch he loved killed. However, I was thinking, he knows about French Quarter covens because he dated a witch. Maybe he can lead me to whoever stole off with the Harvest magic.”  

“Rebekah, we are all devastated by the outcome of this ritual,” Elijah began.  

“That's just it,” Rebekah interrupted. “There was no outcome. Davina is only alive because of the Elixir. We both know that power like that doesn't just vanish. I say someone stole it. I'd like to know who, and then I'd like to make an ally out of them and then kill them.” 

“To what end, exactly?” Elijah asked. “When will killing everyone who challenges us be enough?” 

“I'm tired of being threatened and controlled by our enemies, being moved on a chessboard like sacrificial ponds,” Rebekah told him. “If you want to stop bullies, you need the power to stand up to them.”  

“You’re not alone in this Rebekah. You have me and you have Niklaus.” Elijah insisted. “He is finally making an effort. He's invited us back into our family home. He yearns for our family to be reunited. He’s there for Caroline and their unborn children.”  

“Yes. He's in a brilliant mood now, but for how long?” Rebekah challenged. “What about when things fall apart with him and Caroline? What then? He was bad before but if anything were to ever happen to Caroline or their children, he will be inconsolable, wreaking havoc and pain wherever he goes. And who says he won’t turn that anger on us and bury a dagger in our hearts?”

“I believe that he is approaching some semblance of peace here. As long as we keep Caroline safe we have nothing to worry about,” Elijah argued. “Leadership may, in fact, be a good thing for him and as I am quickly learning Caroline may very well be the best thing to ever happen to him in his thousand years on this earth.” 

“I hope it’s enough and that Stefan has not shown up here to take her back to Mystic Falls. That’s not her home anymore.” Rebekah said. She had been surprised to learn that Stefan was here but she didn’t think he would be staying long. It was only a matter of time before he found his way back to Elena and his brother in Mystic Falls. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Her phone call with Bonnie didn’t go as well as Caroline had hoped. Bonnie was hesitant to help Katherine but Caroline kept insisting that she owed Katherine. Caroline reminded Bonnie that Katherine was human and was no longer in New Orleans. 

Caroline kept insisting until Bonnie finally gave in. Bonnie ended the call with the promise to look through her family journals and she would let her know immediately if she finds something. 

Caroline walked to Elijah’s room and sifted through his things until she found what she was looking for. 

Esther’s grimoire. Grabbing the book she left the room and found a sitting room in the compound, she settled into the end of a couch and started sifting through it. 

The smell of blood filled the air and she looked up to see Klaus carrying a glass of blood and a plate of food. 

“What are you doing?” Caroline asked.

Klaus set the plate and glass on the table in front of her. “Have you eaten?” 

“No,” Caroline shook her head and took a drink of the blood, savoring the warm liquid sliding down her throat. 

“You should,” Klaus took the seat next to her. “I know you're dead set on finding a way to save Katherine but you can’t neglect yourself or the babies.” 

Caroline’s eyes widened suddenly and pulled the glass of blood away from her lips. “Do you think blood is bad for them?” her other hand dropped the book in her lap, placing her hand over her stomach. 

“I think nothing that is good for you can possibly be bad for them.” Klaus reached for the book. “Are you looking through my mother’s book for a spell?” 

“I was hoping it might have something to help Katherine,” Caroline admitted and reached for the place of fruit grabbing an apple slice. “I found nothing so far.” 

“Where did you find it?” Klaus asked. 

“Elijah’s room. I went and took it,” Caroline took another drink of the blood. 

Klaus laughed. “Elijah’s is not going to like that.” 

Caroline shrugged. “I don’t care.” 

Klaus tossed the book on the table and turned his body more towards her. “Did you speak with Stefan?” 

“I did. My mom told him about what’s going on here and he came out of concern, I guess.” 

Klaus nodded, his body becoming tense. “Has he managed to convince you to go back to Mystic Falls?”

Caroline placed her glass on the table and turned toward him. “Klaus, we’ve been over this. I’m not returning to Mystic Falls. Not even for Stefan.”

Klaus swallowed, choosing his words carefully. “Things are different now. Why would you stay here after everything that was done to you?”

Caroline nodded slowly. She needed to get her point across. Klaus had insecurities and she more than anyone understood how powerful they could be, if she let the insecurities take root it could ruin what they were building. He needed her reassurance to silence the voices in his head telling him she would return to Mystic Falls. 

Caroline pushed at his shoulders, shoving him back. 

Klaus fell back against the cushions surprised. Caroline threw a leg over his hip, settling into his lap, and grasped his face in her hands. “I need you to listen to me and hear me, Klaus. I am not going back to Mystic Falls no matter what happens. Not for Stefan. Not even for my mom. My life is here, with you. I will go where you go. As long as you want me by your side I am going to be there. I won’t leave you.” 

Klaus leaned his forehead against hers, his hands coming to rest over her stomach, over their children. “I am never going to want to let you go, love.”

“Then don’t,” Caroline whispered. “Don’t let me go. Always fight for me. Always want me.”

Klaus couldn’t take it anymore. He surged forward, burying his hands in her hair and clashing his mouth against hers. 

Caroline deepened the kiss and Klaus licked into her mouth, tasting the blood she had been drinking on her tongue. 

A groan tore from his throat as she circled her hips, grinding against him. He grasped at her hips urging her down on his rapidly hardening jean-covered cock.

A whimper pulled from Caroline’s mouth and she gripped his shoulders for leverage, looking for friction as she ground her hips against his, desire taking over. 

“Hey, guys, we got a problem,” Diego announced entering a room in the compound, looking worried.   

Klaus broke away from Caroline with a growl, his hands digging into her hips. 

Caroline looked over her shoulder at Diego, perched in Klaus’s lap. “You know there’s this thing called knocking.” 

Diego’s worried expression twisted into mild disgust. 

“Just a little common courtesy would be nice.” Caroline reluctantly removed herself from Klaus’s lap. 

“What’s wrong?” Klaus asked, readjusting his jeans as he stood. “And there better be a real problem or I might just kill you for the interruption.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Thunder rumbles overhead as Diego leads Klaus, Caroline, and Stefan to the Cauldron to show them what he found. 

Stefan had insisted on tagging along last minute when he realized Caroline was going.

“We came to kill the witches, just like you said,” said Diego. “And these two, they went missing. Found them like this, not even staked. Just dead.”  

Two vampires were on the ground desiccated, symbols carved into their forehead. 

“Someone has to account for this!” Klaus growled. 

“Are we talking about revenge?” Caroline questioned. “I’m only asking because even though I’m no expert on magic, I know that marks got to be tied to some bad mojo.”

“I don’t like this,” Stefan said, having a bad feeling. Caroline was in complete agreement. 

“Revenge is only the beginning,” Klaus told Caroline before turning to Diego. “We're gonna find whoever did this, and I will show them what suffering is.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Thierry and Rebekah walk into a warehouse at the docks to investigate. 

“Used to run things down here for Marcel,” Thierry explained. “Thought you'd like to see what I found before Klaus did.”  

Rebekah smirks. “Not a day out of the Garden, and you're already proving yourself useful.”  

“We made a deal, and if it screws things for your brother, I'm all for it,” said Thierry. “Though, to be honest, this stuff makes my skin crawl. I've never seen anything like this.” 

“Except you’re a little late to the party,” Rebekah told him. “I have ceased my plans for my brother.” 

“What?” Thierry glared at her. “You can’t-”

“Quiet,” Rebekah cut him off. “I have seen this before,” Rebekah said as they stop in front of another salt circle on the ground with two dead vampires inside. Both are desiccated and have the same symbol carved into their foreheads. “I have, a long time ago,” said Rebekah, recognizing the mark. “Somebody is copycatting a very dangerous witch. They draw their power from sacrifice.”  

“I just don't understand why someone would leave it here for us to find,” said Thierry, distracted by the turn of events.   

“Unless they wanted it to be found.” Rebekah pointed out.  

Papa Tunde appears from the shadows behind them. Rebekah notices him in shock and horror. 

“Mademoiselle Mikaelson.” Papa Tunde greeted.  

“That's not possible,” said Rebekah, still unable to believe what she was seeing. 

“Sure, it is, chére. It's magic.” Papa Tunde told her.  

Rebekah speed vamps toward him to try to kill him, but Papa Tunde simply reaches out and grabs her by the throat. “Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi. Embrace-toi. Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi. Embrace-toi. Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi. Embrace-toi. Symbole du masque et de l'ombre, embrace-toi.”  

Rebekah starts to desiccate, and thick gray veins pop up all over her face and neck. Terrified, Thierry speeds vamps and disappears out of the warehouse, leaving Rebekah on her own.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Klaus, Caroline, Elijah, Stefan, and Diego, and many of the other vampires are congregating in the courtyard, discussing their current situation. 

“Ah! Someone will die for this.” Klaus declared.  

“Remarkably, I don't disagree,” said Elijah. “However, I would like to know where they learned such dark magic.”  

“I had hoped never to see that symbol again,” said Klaus. “I recall it is the signature of a fool who once stood against us.”  

“Isn’t someone always standing against you?” Stefan asked with an arched eyebrow. 

Caroline smacked his arm. “So not the point, Stefan.” 

“Clearly, some upstart witch is salvaging old tricks,” Elijah responded.

“Ugh, witches,” Caroline said. “I’m really starting to hate them.” 

“Bonnie was a witch,” Stefan reminded her. “Before she became an anchor, she was a witch.” 

“Bonnie’s, Bonnie.” Caroline defended. “And she’s different. She’s not morally questionable.” 

Stefan couldn’t argue with her there. Plus, Caroline’s hate for the witches in New Orleans was understandable. “What about Davina?”

“Davina is innocent, nothing that has happened is her fault.” Caroline defended her new friend.   

“I'll do for him as I did the other.” Klaus turns to Diego. “Diego, when night falls, I want you to gather every vampire in the Quarter. Get me the head of whoever did this and put it on a stick.”  

“Yeah. That's gonna be a problem,” replied Diego. “Everyone is freaked out, man. We haven't had witches killing vampires in a long time. Marcel made sure of that.”  

“Marcel is no longer in charge and is busy chasing after his human. You lot are left with me. Now, who of you will fight to defend our home?” Klaus looked around to see that no one comes forward. “Not a single one of you will stand with me, so afraid are you of this new threat? You should know better. I'll handle this myself.”

“We will stand with you,” 

Klaus turned to see Zach and his pack stepping forward and he smirked. “Good.” 

He turned to Caroline. “Stay here, I don’t want you near this,” 

Caroline wanted to argue but she did not want witches near her unborn children again. “I’ll be fine,” She brushed a kiss against his stubble jaw. 

It wasn’t nearly enough for Klaus, he grasped her chin and kissed her deeply. 

Stefan cleared his throat after a moment, uncomfortable seeing Klaus and Caroline kissing each other like they’ve been doing it for years. 

Klaus turned and the wolves followed, sending disgusted looks the vampires’ way.  

Caroline lifted a hand to her lips watching him leave. 

“Stefan a word,” Klaus called over his shoulder. Stefan rolled his eyes and followed him out onto the street. 

Klaus turned to him. “Keep an eye on Caroline, will you? It’s only a matter of time before she involves herself.” 

“I’m not going to keep her prisoner for you,” Stefan glared. 

“I didn’t tell you to keep her in.” Klaus rolled his eyes. “I said keep an eye on her as in help her if she needs it. I promise you now if one hair is harmed on her head and you could have prevented it, your brother won’t be the only Salvatore I want to kill.” 

And with those parting words, Klaus left. 

Stefan sighed, he came here for Caroline but it looked like he was going to have to deal with Klaus on the regular. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Cami spoke into her phone. “Sophie, the restaurant is an epic disaster again. Do you think maybe you could come in today and…” 

The voice mail interrupts: "User's mailbox is full." 

“Good-bye,” Cami said annoyed, ending the call.  

“Looks like I should've been here last night,” said Marcel.  

Cami, startled, looks for anything she can find to use as a weapon, finally settling on an empty liquor bottle on top of the bar. “Before you try anything, I'm on vervain.” 

“Yeah, Klaus mentioned you broke free of his compulsion. Good for you.” Marcel wondered. 

“What are you doing here?” asked Cami.  

“Wanted to see you.” Marcel sits down at the bar.

“I thought now that you have Davina back you wouldn’t be leaving her side.”  

“Except now I need to keep New Orleans from falling apart,” Marcel told her.  

“Is Klaus causing trouble?” Cami questioned. 

“When isn’t he?” Marcel responded, “and I’m more than likely going to have to be the one to clean it up. He has his hands full with Caroline and his kids and Hayley’s betrayal.” 

“What are you talking about? What did Hayley do?” Cami questioned. 

“Right,” said Marcel. “You wouldn’t know.” He reached for a bottle and poured two shots. “You’re probably gonna need a drink for this.” 

Cami joined him at the bar. “Tell me,” 

“Caroline is the one Klaus knocked up before coming back to New Orleans,” Marcel said. 

Cami’s eyes widened. “But she's a vampire and Hayley is the one who's pregnant.” 

“Not anymore,” Marcel shook his head. “The twins are back with Caroline now.” 

Cami’s shoulders slumped forward. “I’m so confused.” 

Marcel laughed. “It’s pretty unbelievable. From my understanding before the witches brought Caroline to New Orleans, she and Klaus got busy in her hometown, and by some dark magic on Sophie’s and her sister’s behalf they made it possible for Caroline to get pregnant and-”

“But how did they even know about Caroline?” Cami questioned. 

“Witches talk.” Marcel shrugged. “Plus, when Klaus Mikaelson truly cares about someone other than himself people tend to notice. It’s no surprise word traveled. Anyway, when the Deveraux witches learned their plan worked and that she was pregnant they lured her here, took her babies, and put them in Hayley’s womb. Hayley went on to pretend it was her pregnancy.”

“Why would someone do that to another woman?” Cami was disgusted. 

“The witches promised to help Hayley find her family and she was desperate enough to take the deal,” Marcel said. 

“Still,” Cami shook her head. 

“So while he’s dealing with that I have to deal with all the other drama he’s left in his wake,” Marcel stated.

“Marcel, I'm sorry,” Cami told him sympathetically. “This all sounds so complicated.” 

Marcel shrugged. “Same old, same old.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Elijah walks into Davina’s room to find her going through her old sketches.  

“There you are.” Elijah greeted. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping Katerina?” 

 “I needed a break and something keeps bothering me,” Davina answered, continuing her perusal of her sketches. 

Elijah gestures to the sketches. “And it has to do with your drawings?”  

“I don’t know but I feel this pull. I know they're telling me something,” Davina insisted. “I don’t understand why I was drawing a witch who has been dead for longer than I’ve been alive. I’m killing time, now that I'm on vampire lockdown.”  

“Are you sure it has nothing to do with the harvest?” Elijah asked and Davina glared at him. “Whoever did this, we will deal with them,” Elijah stated. “It won't be long.”  

“I'm not worried.” Davina declared. “I can handle what’s thrown my way. I just want to be prepared. I don’t want to get caught off guard. Something’s coming and I need to know what it is so I can protect the people that I care about.”   

“I do apologize if you feel all of our problems have fallen on your shoulders,” Elijah told her. “Finding a way to save Katherine, the Sophie and Hayley situation, Caroline. Stefan’s arrival. Rebekah is off trying to make things right. Niklaus grows more agitated with every new threat. You're just a child none of this should have fallen on you.”

“I’m not a child,” Davina said strongly. “I was forced to grow up sooner than I should have but I did it and I can handle this and I will. For Caroline but ultimately for myself. They have not beaten me down and I intend to show them they never will.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Marcel is still sitting at the bar with Cami when his phone rings. It's Klaus. He hits the ignore button and returns to his drink. 

“El presidente?” Said Cami.  

“He likes to keep track of his people,” Marcel responded.  

“Why are you loyal to him, exactly?” Cami wondered.  

“For someone who says she can't stand the guy, you sure ask a lot of questions about him.” Marcel pointed out.  

“My interest is purely academic.” Cami defended.  

“I know what you're doing,” Marcel said, knowingly. “You're mad he used you, and you want to get back at him. Maybe you're hoping I'll let slip some chink in his armor. Friendly advice--don't do that. It won't end well. Let me tell you a story about someone who went up against Klaus.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

1919 

Marcel returns home in his military uniform to find a party being held at the compound. Marcel sees Rebekah sitting at a table with an unknown gentleman, and walks toward her.  

“This was right after I returned from World War I. I'd been trying to get away from New Orleans for a while. Something kept drawing me back.” Marcel began. 

“Why don't you get me some Martinis?” Klaus suggested. “Thank you.”  

“Aren't you gonna welcome me home?” Marcel asked Rebekah.  

“I wouldn't want you to think that I was happy to see you,” replied Rebekah.  

“How long you gonna hate me?” Marcel asked.  

“You left me in a box for fifty-two years.” Rebekah glared. “Twice that seems like a good start. Come on, boys.”  

Marcel watched her walk away with a look of longing. 

Klaus approaches Marcel. “There he is. Our war hero triumphantly returned. Oh, good to have you back, Marcellus. Welcome home.” They drink together. “Mm.”  

“Haha! The prodigal son has finally learned to hold his liquor.” Elijah teased.  

“The Army'll do that to you,” Marcel replied.  

“Well, it's good to have you back,” Elijah told him. “Niklaus was beside himself in your absence.”  

“Now that you are here, perhaps you could help settle an argument,” said Klaus. “You see, you've traded a war abroad for one here in the Quarter. Some rogue witch wants a piece of the city we built, and Elijah, for reasons beyond my comprehension, insists that negotiation is our best recourse.” 

“Yes,” said Elijah.  

“On the topic of your failed comprehension, you neglect, as a soldier, Marcel has seen not only how small the world has become and how fast news can travel, but also the very horrors of war itself.” Klaus continued. “Surely, Marcel would agree with me.” 

“The best way for us to defend our home is by exercising discretion.” Elijah insisted.  

“So who's the witch you want to kill?” Marcel asked.  

“His name is Papa Tunde,” Klaus answered. “I think he's a charlatan. “ 

“Well, Marcel shall be able to decide that for himself. You invited him here.” Elijah reminded.  

“Of course. We're not savages, are we?” Klaus replied.  

Papa Tunde arrives at the party, and Klaus immediately approaches him. 

“Thank you for accepting our invitation, and welcome.” Klaus greeted. “I hope you'll allow me to play the role of host. If there's anything you need- Anything at all…”  

“Pleasure before business, then,” replied Papa Tunde. “Hahaha! Hahaha!”  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“I didn't get it at first,” said Marcel. “Klaus was the one who wanted to go to war.”  

“So, why was he inviting his enemy into his home?” Cami questioned. “Why be so generous to someone who he's gonna have to kill?”  

“But, you see, that's the thing. It was all part of Klaus' plan.” Marcel told her. “He was sussing the guy out, learning his weaknesses, his strengths, getting him to let his guard down. That's how Klaus does it. Then he goes in for the kill.”  

“Because he's a two-faced sociopath.” Cami accused. “There's nothing enviable about what Klaus does. He is a monster.”  

“We're all monsters, Cami,” Marcel told her. “If you're powerful like Klaus is, you just don't have to bother hiding it.” 

“Davina’s powerful,” said Cami. “She is not a monster.”  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Papa Tunde finishes doing his spell on Rebekah. She laid desiccated in a circle of salt, with his symbol carved into her forehead. 

He stands back and admires his work. “It is done. The power of the Original sister flows through me.”  

“And will that be enough to make Klaus suffer?” Asked Celeste. 

“I will hurt Klaus Mikaelson as he hurt me,” said Papa Tunde. “When I am done, he will wish that he could die.”

“You’re going for Caroline?” Celeste inquired. 

“His children will die before they even take their first breath.” Papa Tunde promised and celeste smirked. 

Caroline had interfered with her plans when she saved Davina, she would celebrate the blonde’s untimely, tragic demise along with Klaus’s abominable spawns. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~   

“You gonna open this place today?” Marcel asked.  

“And risk you eating the clientele?” Cami asked in return.  

“Oh, and here I thought you were starting to like me again,” replied Marcel.  

Marcel's phone rings again and he answers it. 

“Ah, you've stopped chasing after Cami long enough to pick up the phone.” Klaus’s voice came over the line.  

“I figured you'd just keep calling,” Marcel replied.  

“I'm in the Cauldron now,” Klaus informed him. “You could meet me here, we could start burning passersby at the stake.”  

“Sorry. I'm in the middle of something here.” Marcel replied.  

“Is she more important than what is happening?” Klaus asked.  

“Is Caroline?” Marcel countered. He knew the answer but he wanted Klaus to understand that he could care about someone as well. 

Klaus scoffed. “Please you couldn’t possibly feel so deeply for Cami so quickly. Finish up with her and come and help me end this.”  

Marcel hangs up the phone not taking too kindly to Klaus’s tone. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Katherine tensed as Klaus walked into her room. Her face forming into a scowl. “Have you finally come to kill me?” 

Klaus scoffed. “You have long since lost your importance to me. You live because Caroline wants you to, if you want it to continue that way, I would advise you keep in her good graces.” 

Caroline walked in and swatted at him. “Be nice.” 

Stefan snorted from the doorway. “I can’t believe you just said that to him.” 

“You’re still here?” Katherine asked Stefan in surprise. “I would’ve thought you would have returned to be Elena and Damon’s third wheel by now.” 

“Perhaps, I’m learning,” Stefan countered, shooting her an annoyed look. 

“Enough,” Klaus said, impatiently. “I did not come here for you.” He turned to Sophie who was glowering at them. “I came here for you, the witch I was looking to brutalize.”

“What now?” Sophie shut the book she had open in her hands. “I am trying to do as you asked.” 

Caroline stepped forward. “While I would love to torture you some more, there are some more pressing matters at hand.” 

Klaus speeds vamp towards Sophie and grabs her in a chokehold. “Perhaps you could explain the attacks on my men.”  

“What about helping me?” Katherine protested, the witch couldn’t help her if she was dead. 

“I will handle it.” Davina stepped back into the room, picking up the book Sophie dropped when Klaus hoisted her up by the throat. “We haven’t given up on making sure you don’t die.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Elijah is in the courtyard, trying to reach Rebekah. 

“Rebekah is not answering her calls,” said Elijah.  

“You worried about whoever killed those daywalkers still being out there?” Josh asked.  

“Yes, I'm worried. She is dead set on making things better for Caroline,” replied Elijah. “I’m not sure how far she will take this.” 

“Can she really be in any real danger?” Stefan asked. He had left Klaus and Caroline to deal with Sophie not wanting to get involved with torturing the witch. 

“Things here in New Orleans are a lot different than Mystic Falls. Much more dangerous. Enemies around every corner.” Elijah notices Thierry drinking alone at a table and joins him. “Thierry, is it?” 

“That's right,” Thierry answered.  

“My sister is rather fond of you. Strange, she's not typically drawn to unremarkable men.” Elijah commented. “Would you care to explain your sudden magnetism?”  

“I don't know what you're…” Thierry started.  

Elijah, annoyed, grabs him by the throat and pushes him against the wall. 

“You can either tell me what you know, or I can distribute tiny pieces of you throughout the Quarter.” Elijah threatened.  

Stefan crossed his arms wondering where Elijah was going with this. Usually, it was Klaus’s method to use threats and fear to reach a goal. 

“She asked me to keep an eye out on witch stuff,” said Thierry reluctantly. “I found something, and when I showed her, we were jumped by some guy. He desiccated her with his touch.”  

“Like a coward, you left her.” Elijah accused angrily.  

Stefan dropped his arms and stepped forward. “You did what?” 

“What was I supposed to do, fight some warlock that took out an Original?” Thierry asked.  

“Yes, if you were friends you shouldn’t have left her,” Stefan scolded. 

“Where was this, exactly?” Elijah questioned.  

“The docks, warehouse 57,” Thierry answered. “I was just doing what she asked. You cannot tell Klaus about this.”

Elijah throws Thierry against the wall. He's unconscious. “I shall take that into consideration,” said Elijah.  

”I'm coming with you.” Caroline appeared. “I need a break from hearing Hayley wail when all I want to do is kill her.”

“You're not going with Klaus to handle the witch thing?” Stefan asked. 

“No,” the truth was she was concerned for Rebekah. She was still mad at Rebekah but she didn’t want her in any real danger. 

“No. Stay here.” Elijah instructed. “The compound is safe.”

“First, Rebekah is in trouble. I'm going. Second, I don’t care what is safe” Caroline was not going to stay behind. “And third, you don’t get to tell me what to do. No one does.”  

Elijah considers this and sighs. “Do not leave my sight. I don’t look forward to being daggered by my brother for the rest of time.”

“If Caroline is going, I’m going,” Stefan said. He was determined to stay by her side and be there when she needed a friend. He needed to make up for being a bad one. 

Caroline nods, and the three leave for the docks.  

Elijah prayed nothing was going to happen to Caroline. He would really hate to end up in a coffin even longer than Finn or watch Klaus ripped Katerina’s heart just to watch him suffer. 

Niklaus was the most vengeful, vindictive person he knew. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“Me calling things off with you wasn't lack of interest. I was hoping to save you from all this.” Marcel told Cami.  

“Well, thanks, Romeo, but I'm in it,” Cami replied. “So, when are you gonna get to the good part with Klaus and that Papa guy?”  

“Papa Tunde said he wanted to empower the witches. Mostly, he wanted money and territory. Klaus and Elijah weren't about to give him either. He didn't like that, so he went on a rampage.” Marcel continued his story. 

“No one was safe. Not the humans in the faction. Not the Guerrera werewolves. He even went after the witches who opposed him. Elijah offered a truce. He gave his word, in fact, but Klaus, being Klaus, he had another idea.”  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Papa Tunde is waiting in their meeting place when he hears someone enter. “You're late, Elijah. It's not like the noble brother to keep me waiting.”  

“I'm sorry, mate. Elijah is the brother you meet when negotiations are to be had. I'm the one you get when negotiations are closed.” Klaus informed him, something dangerous shining in his eyes.  

“You do not scare me,” said Papa Tunde. “You have no idea the power I possess.”  

“Oh, in fact, I made it a point to learn all about your power,” Klaus responded. “I noticed how you're almost always near those twin sons of yours, how they bear your distinctive mark. Got me to thinking--you channel their power, don't you? Which, of course, begs the question: what would happen were that power to be taken away, if those sons whose lives you depend on were suddenly struck down? What of that power then?”  

Marcel brings in a box and sets it down. Papa Tunde looks into the box and sees the severed heads of his twin sons. 

“I will kill you for this.” Papa Tunde vowed enraged.  

“I cannot be killed.” Klaus declared confidently. “You, however…”  

Klaus zooms over to him and presses his thumbs into Papa Tunde's eyes. 

“Aagh!” Papa Tunde cried out in pain, blood streaming out of his eye sockets.

Klaus pressed harder, his thumbs smashing through his eyes and into his brain, killing him. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“That's awful!” Cami was horrified.  

“Oh, to Klaus, it's just business,” said Marcel.  

“And don't you think there's something fundamentally wrong with that?” Cami questioned. “Don't you worry you'll end up one of his victims or, worse, just like him?”

Cami wondered how Caroline could justify being with someone like Klaus if this was the man that laid beneath all the art and charm. Let alone have children with him. 

Papa Tunde suddenly appears in the bar. “Poor Marcellus. You remain always in the shadow of your father. Climb out from beneath it, will you, so you can die like a man?”  

“Cami, you need to run now. Don't look back. Just go.” Marcel urged her urgently, wanting her to get to safety.  

“I think she should stay,” said Papa Tunde. “I prefer an audience, and I'm about to put on quite the show.” 

“Marcel?” Cami was unsure of what to do.   

“I said get out of here,” Marcel ordered. 

Cami, terrified, hesitates in the doorway, not wanting to leave Marcel alone. 

“You cannot defeat me.” Papa Tunde declared, he strode forward like he was stalking prey, his sights set on Marcel. “I channel the power of an Original vampire. Soon, I will have all three. But first, I will take you, however not before you can tell me where I can find Caroline Forbes. I will take from Klaus what he has taken from me.”  

Even after all this time the loss of his sons still left him with unbridled rage and the need to take everything from Klaus. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Sophie examines the abandoned desiccated vampires that Papa Tunde left for the vampires to find at the docks. “It's a complex spell. Old-school stuff, rooted in sacrificial magic. Whoever did this to your guys, my guess is they were an offering to gain more power. More guys they kill, more power they have.”  

Klaus's phone rings, and when he sees it's Cami, he answers it, motioning for Zach beside him to not take his eyes off of Sophie. “I didn't expect a call from you.”  

“You need to get to Rousseau's now. Some lunatic witch doctor looking for Caroline is killing Marcel.” Cami told him. “He refuses to give her up. I can maybe buy him some time, maybe lie about where she is-” 

“Say one word about Caroline to him and I will make you regret it. There is a line that can’t be crossed. Not even by you.” Klaus hung up abruptly, meeting the worried eyes of Zach, he was gripping Sophie by the arm, ensuring she didn’t try anything as he got distracted by the mention of the only vampire he considered a part of his pack. “Stay with her.” He ordered 

Zach nodded. “Caroline?”

“Don’t worry about her. I have it covered. Keep your focus where it’s needed.” Klaus looked at Sophie. “If you try anything your coven will suffer the consequences.” 

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t try anything.”

Klaus turned to see a familiar face. 

“You, your Katherine’s daughter, right?” Klaus' eyes narrowed on the brunette who's been in and out of the compound since they brought Katherine to New Orleans. He hadn’t really cared to question her whereabouts. She held absolutely no importance to him. 

“Yes,” Nadia answered. “We don’t need her breaking free. I need her to save my mother.” 

“I need her to suffer.” Klaus retorted. “Don’t make me regret this or I’ll take you from your mother just like I did the rest of her family. “

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Caroline, Stefan, and Elijah arrive at where Theirry told them about. Rebekah's body was on the ground. Caroline started to run toward her but Stefan stopped her pointing toward the magic circle beneath Rebekah’s body. 

Elijah is also on the phone with Sophie. 

“Rebekah!” Elijah goes to kneel next to her, but can't cross the barrier made by the salt. 

“What’s going on?” Caroline questioned.  

“Some kind of boundary spell.” Elijah answered..” Someone is channeling her. Typically, it's a lethal process, but, because she's an Original, she can't die. Instead, she's an endless source of power. “

“So what are we supposed to do?” Stefan asked. “I can only imagine the damage that could be done by channeling an Original.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Papa Tunde bends over Marcel and holds his knife to his forehead as he begins to carve in his mark. “As I recall, you're one of the few people Niklaus Mikaelson ever gave a damn about. You know what he did to my family.”  

“Aah!” Marcel cried out.  

“The sins of the father are paid for by the son. I will take pleasure in telling Klaus how you died.” Papa Tunde told him. “And how you refused to give up the woman carrying his spawns.” 

“Wait!” Cami screamed, running back inside. “I can get Caroline here. Just don’t kill him.” She ignored the look of betrayal coming from Marcel. She was trying to save his life. 

“No!” Marcel snapped through the pain. “She has to stay away from him.” 

“Marcel, he's going to kill you.” Cami protested. “If we give him what he wants-” 

“You will do no such thing!” 

Cami gasped, whirling around to see Klaus, his face black with rage.  

She took a step back frightened. 

“I would kill anyone who puts Caroline in danger for whatever the reason.” Klaus shoved Cami back and she crashed into a table, crying out in surprise and by the force. “No one’s well being is worth more than hers.” 

Papa Tunde glared. “You cannot protect Caroline or your children she carries, no more than you can protect Marcellus, here.” 

Papa Tunde prepares to kill Marcel but Klaus runs forward, ripping him away from Marcel. 

“I remember killing you,” said Klaus. “I rather relished it. What a joy it is to relive fond memories.”  

“I can crush you before the eyes of your son.” Papa Tunde said, brushing himself off. “Then, I will consume you both and then I will kill Caroline and end your children’s lives before they take their first breath. This time, I'm stronger.”  

Klaus' eyes turned amber. “Stay away from my family!”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“You're not listening. We cannot enter the circle. There's some kind of confinement spell... If I can't remove her, we can't break the link.” Elijah explained to Sophie on the phone.   

“It's a convoluted spell. It's like a witch's recipe. You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient.” Sophie informed him. “A mystical binding agent. I don't know, volcanic ash, rock salt...anything up to and including eye of newt.”  

“What about the blood of a witch?” Elijah inquired.  

“Do you have the blood of a witch?” Sophie asked, confused.  

Elijah turns to Caroline. “I need a favor.”  

“Why are you looking at me? I have vampire blood.” Caroline protested. 

“The babies, Caroline,” Stefan interjected. “Their Quarter witches.” 

Caroline nodded slowly, she raised her wrists to her lips and bit into it gingerly, drawing blood. She walked toward the circle, holding her wrist out and letting the blood fall on the magic boundary line. It starts to fizzle and deteriorate. 

Elijah is able to get through, and he quickly picks up Rebekah and takes her out of the circle. 

He nodded at Caroline and Stefan to follow him before speed vamping out. 

Caroline looked down at the ruined magic line. A little surprised it had work and that her vampire blood had not tainted it. She vamped away and Stefan followed in her wake. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Papa Tunde has the upper hand on Klaus, Papa Tunde’s superior strength throwing Klaus off and is about to finish him off when he suddenly becomes weak when his link to Rebekah is broken. Klaus is able to stun Papa Tunde long enough to run over to Marcel. 

“Uhhh, is he dead?” Cami asked.  

“Get out of here.” Klaus glared at her.  

“Is Marcel dead? Did that guy kill him?” Cami questioned, ignoring his glare. 

“He didn't finish him off. Marcel needs blood to heal. Go. Find me someone off the street.” Klaus ordered. 

“I'll do it,” Cami told him.  

“Fine. Get over here.” Klaus snapped. He didn’t have time for this. 

Cami rushes over to Marcel and puts his mouth to her neck. “It's ok, Marcel. It's ok. It's ok, Marcel.” 

Klaus barely spared the two of them a look, needing to find Caroline. She was being used as a target against him. Again. 

He needed her beside him. He needed to know she was safe.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Rebekah ambushes Thierry in an alley. “Ah! I should rip out your coward heart.”  

“What, Rebekah? We made a deal to take out your brother. You were the one to go back on that deal, and at the end of the day, it's every man for himself.” Thierry responded.  

“I am so sick of self-serving narcissists. Are men simply incapable of thinking about anyone but themselves?” Rebekah demanded angrily.  

Elijah speeds up to Thierry and snaps his neck. 

“Oh, I asked you to cease these petty moves against our family, and yet you conspire with this fool. Is this what it's come to, making moves against your own blood?” Elijah asked, looking at Rebekah with disappointment.  

“I called it off and don't you try and shame me,” Rebekah replied. “Nik grows more powerful by the day, and you do nothing but encourage him. Before the truth came out, I was set on taking him down but this isn’t about Klaus anymore, it’s about our whole family. I know we need to stick together for the sake of Caroline. She has a target on her back. If we don’t stick together her children may never see their first sunrise. I refuse to let that happen. She has inherited enemies she doesn’t deserve.”  

“I offer him, my counsel because it's clear to me that he needs to make the city our home. Now, perhaps leading these derelicts will curb some of these impulses, grant him some degree of happiness. Caroline is that happiness. We will all protect her.” Elijah said. “We all will make sacrifices in the name of this family, Rebekah, but know this. I will never stand against you or Niklaus.” Elijah told her.  

“What about Hayley?” Rebekah questioned. “Are we just going to let her live after everything she has done to deceive our family for her own gain? Are we just going to let her go?”

“We are going to let Caroline and Niklaus decide her fate, she wronged them more than any of us. It should be them who decide her punishment. Not us.” replies Elijah. 

Rebekah glowered, she wanted to kill Hayley for her treachery. The wolf girl didn’t deserve to breathe another breath. 

“I think death would be a blessing for her.” 

Elijah and Rebekah turned to see Stefan standing there. 

“How long have you’ve been there?” Elijah questioned with narrowed eyes. 

“Long enough to know Rebekah was making plans against your brother,” Stefan answered. 

“Will you tell him and Caroline?” Rebekah demanded. 

“No,” Stefan answered. “I don’t see what good it will do.” 

“Be sure that you don’t, Stefan,” Elijah told him. “Or your time here in New Orleans won’t end well.” 

Stefan watched him and then looked at Rebekah. “Did he just threaten me?”

“What are you doing here, Stefan?” Rebekah asked on a sigh. 

“I came here for Caroline. She should have a friend here.” Stefan said. “And I have a lot of making up to do in that department.” 

“I know that,” Rebekah rolled her eyes. “I meant here. Why did you follow me?” 

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Stefan admitted. 

Rebekah met his eyes, she could see his honest expression but then again it wouldn’t be the first time Stefan deceived her into thinking he actually cared about her. 

She looked away. “Don’t bother yourself with me. I’m fine. I always am.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Marcel walks into the Jardin Gris Voodoo shop, where Rebekah is standing and waiting for him.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Rebekah said in greeting.  

“That symbol is already up and down the cauldron, more of them popping up everywhere,” Marcel said.  

“I suppose Papa Tunde is marking his territory,” Rebekah replied.  

“I'm told you saw him, as well,” said Marcel.  

“Yeah. Brought up a lot of memories. Memories that are best left buried.” Rebekah stated.  

Marcel swallowed. Memories of a secret long since buried 90 years ago that if it ever came to light would find him and Rebekah on the run for their lives. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

1919 

“You're soused. Celebrating Klaus' defeat of the mad Papa Tunde?” asked Rebekah.  

“Not celebrating, drowning sorrows,” Marcel told her. “I'm the one who brought Tunde to town.” 

“What?” Rebekah replied. 

“I made some inquiries while I was abroad, wanted the most dangerous witch anyone could find,” Marcel informed her. 

“Why on earth would you do that?” Rebekah wondered.  

“For you,” Marcel answered. “I figured if someone as bad as Tunde comes in, maybe Klaus gets chased off. Very least, he's occupied enough that he can't stop me from trying to get you back.”  

“You mean to tell me that you would tear down everything my family built, everything you helped us build, risk your own life on the off chance that I would show you the slightest bit of affection?” Rebekah asked.  

“I would,” Marcel answered. “I did. I'd do it again.”  

“Klaus has killed a thousand Tunde's. All his life, there's only ever been one man he has truly feared. My father Mikael.” Rebekah told him.  

“The vampire who hunts vampires,” said Marcel.  

“If he came here, Klaus would flee and never turn back,” Rebekah told him. “All we need is a witch who can help us find him.”  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Klaus commanded the attention of the whole compound as he spoke directly to the vampires of the french quarter.  

“Not long ago, you all united against me. You failed. Since then, in my benevolence, I have wiped the slate clean, yet it seems clear you think that I am the one who needs to earn your respect, your loyalty. You're mistaken. It is you who must prove yourselves to me. Our community is under attack. I require soldiers. I need warriors, not cowards. Each of you has a decision to make. You either fight alongside me and my wolves or you leave now.” 

“We don't owe you anything. If staying in the Quarter means living under your rule, working with wolves, I'd just as soon get the hell out.” Thierry declared.  

Caroline grabbed Klaus’s hand as they watched a handful of vampires join Thierry and walk out of the compound. Thierry looks at Diego in hopes that he'll come along, but he gives him a pained look and stays behind. 

Theirry couldn’t believe his friend was choosing to stay. Diego hated wolves and for good reason. His family was torn apart by them. 

Afterward, Marcel, Caroline, and Klaus talk with Sophie. 

“I got to admit, I thought you'd lose a lot more guys than that,” Marcel told him.  

“Well, good riddance to them, I say,” Klaus replied. “We've no room for slackers or cowards in our kingdom. Now that you've regained your composure, let's move on to the next item of business, shall we, with a little help from our prisoner Sophie.”  

“The last thing I want to do is help any of you!” Sophie snapped.  

“Now, now, don't be difficult,” Klaus told her. 

“You're lucky you’re still alive. You should be more grateful.” Caroline said, wanting nothing more than to slap the taste out of the witch's mouth but now was not the time to torture her some more. That time would come again later.  

“You'll only live as long as you're of use to me, and right now, your best use is to explain why a witch I killed has come back for revenge. Come on. Resurrected witches with vast power?” Klaus insisted.  

“It's the Harvest. To die and be reborn.” Sophie told him. “I don't know how, but someone jacked that power, and they used it to bring back three witches, just not the right ones.”  

“Davina’s not in danger, is she?” Caroline asked, speaking the words before Marcel could. 

“I don’t know,” Sophie answered. 

“Well be sure.” Marcel ground out. “I will not lose her.” 

“Let's concentrate on the immediate problem, shall we?” Klaus suggested. “Papa Tunde wants revenge. He'll continue to attack us, channeling power from the vampires he sacrifices. He kills, he grows more dangerous. So how do I end him? He needs sacrifices to gain power.”  

Klaus needed to kill him, he wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he was out there, wanting to take from him what Klaus himself took from Papa Tunde. 

“Hmm. You keep him from killing any more nightwalkers, that's a start.” Sophie told him. 

“Easier said than done in a city full of them.” Caroline snapped at her, just hearing Sophie speak made her want to rip her tongue out through her throat.  

“Caroline’s right,” Klaus said. “If he finds the one place with a load of vampires ready to be sacrificed,” Klaus stated.  

They all look at each other with a look of dawning realization.

Stefan who was standing back, for the most part, minding his own business stepped forward. “What’s happening now?” 

“Nothing good,” Caroline said and leaned into Klaus’s side, seeking his touch. She felt more grounded when she could feel any part of him pressed against her. 

Klaus’s arm wound around her waist, his hand curving around her side, unthinkingly, he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. 

It was actions like these that threw everyone around him, having never seen Klaus so tactile so affectionate.   

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Klaus, Marcel, Stefan and Caroline, and Zach arrive at the garden only to discover that they are too late. All of the vampires are dead, sacrificed by Papa Tunde.

Not only that the wolves he had guarding the place until he got there were dead. 

Caroline’s hand went to her mouth, she knew every wolf by name, she had got to know in the short period after being introduced to them and had formed an attachment. 

They were good and they had welcomed her into their pack, willing to overlook that she was a vampire, they trusted her and protected her and she did the same for them. 

Now, here they were. Gone. Dead at her feet.

Anger coursed through her with a viciousness that left her reeling. 

“How could this happen?” Zach stumbled forward, falling to his knees in disbelief.

“This..this act of violence,” Caroline turned to Klaus, her eyes blackened with her rage. “Can not go unanswered. Their lives meant something. These were our people and they slaughtered them! We have to make everyone involved pay!”

Marcel's brow raised up to his hairline at her harsh reaction.

Klaus was enthralled by her words, the anger coming off her in waves, she vibrated with righteous anger for their wolves. 

The way she had accepted his wolves as her family was something he admired. “Nothing that has happened today will go unanswered, I promise you that, love.” He cupped her face, his thumbs tracing the black veins beneath her eyes. Soothing them away. 

Caroline breathed slowly, her eyes closing at his touch. A calm washing over her, pushing her anger back down just beneath the surface. She nodded and released him. She stepped forward and placed her hand on Zach’s shoulder. “We will make this right.” 

Zach nodded numbly, his hand coming up to cover her own. Thankful for her support, he looked at Klaus seeing the same readiness to avenge the wolves in his eyes.

Stefan wanted to reach out and offer his support to Caroline but it seemed she had all the support she needed. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Celeste meets with Papa Tunde near a crypt in the Lafayette cemetery. 

“Is it done?” asked Celeste.  

“This blade now contains all the power I harvested from the vampires. It will do things worse than death, even to an Original,” said Papa Tunde.  

“And are you ready for the final offering?” Celeste questioned.  

“Will you avenge my sons?” Papa Tunde asked. 

“Klaus will never get the chance to see his children be born,” Celeste vowed darkly

Papa Tunde nodded in acceptance. “In the name of the witches of the French Quarter, it is my honor.” Papa Tunde hands her the bone knife. 

“Thank you, Papa Tunde.” Celeste stands behind him and slits his throat with the knife. 

Celeste breathed deeply, her hands coated in Papa Tunde’s blood. Her plan of making Klaus suffer was closer than ever thanks to Papa Tunde’s sacrifice to her cause. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Caroline walked into Katherine’s room, Davina sat on the floor surrounded by a mountain of books. Elijah was seated on the bed next to Katherine who appeared to be asleep. 

“Where’s Josh?” Caroline wondered. 

“I told him to go find something to drink. He couldn’t stop talking about blood.” Davina looked up from her book to Caroline. “How did today go?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Caroline said. “I rather talk about how things are going here. Have you found anything yet?” 

“No,” Davina answered reluctantly. “But I will find something. I will, I just need more time.” 

“I don’t know how much time she has left.” Elijah didn’t look away from Katherine. He reached his hand brushing her hair back from her face. “We need to save her before it’s too late.” 

“She knows that,” Caroline cut a look at him. “Don’t pressure her. It’s not all on her.” 

“I promise I will try everything I can to help her.” Davina insisted. 

“Good but don’t forget to take care of yourself too. Have you eaten at all today?” Caroline asked. 

“No,” Davina shook her head. 

“Come on, then,” Caroline looped her arm through hers. “I haven’t either and I am starving for blood but I am craving actual food. I talked my friend Stefan into cooking for me. He’s a good cook. He makes great pasta.” 

“Caroline,” Elijah protested but Caroline ignored him and walked out the door with Davina. 

She would not allow Davina to neglect taking care of herself. 

Nadia, Katherine’s daughter appeared in front of them in the hall. “Where are you going? You're supposed to be helping my mother.”

“And she will but right now, she is going to eat and then get a good night's sleep and rest her mind.” Caroline moved protectively in front of Davina. “And if you don’t like it, you can leave.” 

Nadia took a step forward as if to challenge her and Caroline raised one pointed brow, daring her to try something. 

Nadia with an angry huff pushed past them into her mother’s room. 

“Do we like her?” Davina asked as they walked down the stairs. 

“Not sure yet,” Caroline answered, leading Davina to the kitchen. “Don’t really know her.” 

Stefan was pulling something out of the oven, Josh was seated at a table, drinking from a bag of blood while engaging Stefan in conversation. 

“Something smells good,” Davina said, looking toward Stefan.

“That would be baked pasta. I hope you like Italian.” Stefan popped the platter on the counter. 

Caroline leaned forward getting a better look. The melted cheese mixed with red sauce and beef looked delicious and smelled even better. “It looks great, you know, if you’re going to be sticking around I might talk you into cooking for me more often.” 

“I am sticking around and shouldn’t Klaus be the one taking care of your food cravings?” 

Klaus walked into the room. “I take care of all her cravings.” He tugged Caroline into his side, placing a kiss on her neck. 

Davina made a disgusted face. “TMI.” 

“Agreed.” Stefan put two plates on the counter and filled them with pasta putting them in front of the two girls. “I am not used to seeing the two of you together.”

“Well, you better get used to it then because it’s not about to change.” Caroline took a seat and started digging into the food. “Thanks for the food, Stefan. I’m starving.” 

“I would imagine,” Klaus moved around and set a glass of blood in front of her. 

“Is it your blood?” Caroline asked curiously, giving Davina a look of encouragement to eat. 

“No,” Klaus pulled up a seat next to her, his hand resting on her knee. 

“Pity,” Caroline said, wishing it was his blood. She loved the taste of his life-sustaining life force on her tongue. 

Klaus moved his hand on her knee higher, fingers curling around her thigh. “Later.” his eyes held promise and Caroline felt heat rush through her. 

“You guys are blood sharing?” Stefan asked, surprised. Wow, being together was one thing and accidental pregnancy another but blood sharing, that was like a whole other ballpark of seriousness in a vampire relationship. The only thing more serious would be if they had shared the vampire mate claim. 

“Not really,” Caroline said. “He doesn’t drink from me and I don’t like being poisoned by a hybrid bite”

“You could always bite your wrist for him,” Davina suggested and Caroline looked at her. “I know this is not a discussion for me.” 

“Actually, that’s a great idea. Klaus and I will have to try it.” Caroline said, her interest piqued. 

“We will?” Klaus asks, his eyes darkened with want, imaging the taste of Caroline’s blood on his tongue as he was buried deep inside her. 

Caroline bit her lip. “We will.” 

“Okay, that’s enough.” Stefan cut in. “How about you keep the blood sharing interest in the bedroom and eat your food.” 

Klaus grinned. “I could eat but it’s definitely not food.” 

Davina’s eyes nearly widened and Caroline choked on air, her cheeks heating. “Klaus!” 

Klaus smirked at her in response that devilish smirk that had Caroline squeezing her thighs together as desire shot through her. 

“I think I am going to take my food back to my room.” Davina stood up and made a quick exit, waving a hand when Caroline called out an apology. 

Stefan sent Caroline a strained smile. “I’m going to leave you to enjoy your food.” 

Caroline watched him go, knowing it was just an excuse for him to leave. He might be weirded out by her relationship with Klaus but she didn’t care.

She dug into her food, moaning at the taste. Stefan sure did know how to cook. 

Klaus’s hand tightened on her thigh and she looked at him to see his pupils were blown wide, eyes dark with that look she was quite familiar with and despite the hard and difficult day, her lips pulled into a smile. 

“Want some?” She asked, her smile coy and flirty. 

“Yes,” he answered. 

Caroline extended a bite to him. 

“Not of your food,” he said roughly, resisting the urge to pull her against him. 

Caroline's own eyes darkened with want. She quickly ate her food and pushed the plate away and downed her glass of blood. 

The second she was out of her seat and on her feet, Klaus hauled her against his body, urging her to wrap her legs around him. 

Caroline did so eagerly, her arms going around his shoulders, eyes sliding shut as his mouth slanted over hers. 

Klaus groaned, he could taste the blood she had been drinking on her tongue. 

It was mere seconds before Caroline felt her back resting against soft sheets, Klaus’s weight a comfortable feeling settling over her. 

Klaus pulled his mouth from hers tugging at her shirt. 

Caroline rose up, allowing him to remove her shirt. 

She fell back against the bed as he kissed a path down the valley of her breast to her rounding stomach. 

His hands moved to cup her belly, the softness in his kisses had tears filling Caroline’s eyes, her chest tightening with emotion. “I’ve been avoiding my mom.”

Klaus looked up at her, waiting for her to say more. “I know she’s going to have questions about the pregnancy and I can’t talk about it with her.” 

Klaus pushed down his desire and moved back up her body, he rolled off her laying on his side, and pulling her into him. “Why?”

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” Caroline confessed. 

“What?” Klaus looked at her taken aback. “What doesn’t feel real? Us? The babies? All of it?”

Carolien placed her hand on his heart, wanting to reassure him. “Not us. What we have is the realist thing I have ever felt in my life. I meant the pregnancy.”

Klaus's hand came to rest over her stomach. “Trust me it’s real. I can hear their small hearts. I know you can too.”

“It’s a beautiful sound,” Caroline’s eyes grew wet with unshed tears. “I love hearing it, knowing they're there.” 

“Then what’s the problem?” Klaus asked, his hand absentmindedly stroking her belly, caressing his unborn children. 

“What if they’re more hers than mine?” Caroline whispered, voicing her fears. 

“I don’t understand,” Klaus said, her words confusing him. 

“She had all this time to connect with them, to form a bond. I feel like I missed so much. I feel like they're no longer mine. It's almost like she has this claim on them that I don’t. And if I feel like this now, how can I possibly be a good mother to them?” 

Klaus lifted a hand to her cheek as a lone tear slipped from Caroline’s eye and brushed it away. “Caroline, love, you are everything any good mother should be. Your kind, loving, caring, selfless, forgiving and so fiercely protective of the people you love. Being a mother is going to come naturally like everything else for you.” 

Caroline's lips pulled into a smile before she put her hand on the back of his neck and leaned forward, pressing her mouth to his in a meaningful kiss. 

Klaus kissed her back, his arms going around her, pulling her flush against him, his lips moved down her jaw. “Is that all that’s bothering you? Today was a hard day. How are you dealing with everything?” His every word was pressed against his skin as he spoke. 

“Shh,” Caroline rolled onto her back, pulling him on top of her. “Everything else can wait. Talking can wait.” She pulled his mouth back to hers. “I just want to feel us.”

Klaus kissed her deeper, her mouth opening beneath his inviting him inside, he reached behind her unfastening her bra. 

Caroline pushed her head back, her body arching as his lips traveled across her skin, leaving a burning fire in his wake. 

She put everything else out of her mind and focused on the here and now. 

She and Klaus, the way he made her feel, how he knew her body like one of his sketches.

She lost herself to the most real thing she ever felt. 

And when he finally pushed inside her, eyes locked on hers, one hand digging into her thigh the other planted next to her head, she felt like everything would work itself out.

She would make damn sure of it because she was not giving up the life she was building or her new family. 

Always and Forever. 

It was the Mikaelson family motto. 

And now it was hers. 

She held on tightly to Klaus as he moved inside her, branding himself on her soul. 

She opened herself to him, letting down all her walls and defenses, pushing the love she had into his heart, wanting him to know, to believe after all his time on this earth he wasn’t alone and he never had to feel like he was. 

She will always be there. 

She wasn’t going anywhere without him. 

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Tags: @zinebaklaro @eloiselili @caritobear @paulinhaals @lord-luminous @bellarkehotchniss @fantasylover4evr @storm-pirate

[captainbfresh]

Prompt: Somehow Buck is at the hospital volunteering and he ends up getting wrangled into holding not one but two seriously ill babies like Dr. Karev did in Grey's Anatomy. What's supposed to be only a few hours ends up being an entire day of Buck cuddling the infants and letting them soak up his warmth, when Eddie and other members of the 118 come looking for Buck they are greeted by the devastatingly adorable sight and Eddie finds his heart making it clear he's fallen in love at that moment.

Hey! so thank you for this prompt I hope this is at least a little bit like what you had hoped for aha!

Warnings: mentions of infant death. (NOT DEPICTED).

Ever since joining the 118 hospitals had become a very much reluctant second home to Buck. Between visiting friends, surgeries and PT it felt like Buck was spending most of his free time at the hospital doing things he’d much rather not be doing so when Buck had heard one of the nurses talking about the voluntary positions in the NICU while he was waiting for a check-up on he’d jumped at the chance to sign up. 

If half of his life was already being spent sitting in the hospital he could at least do something meaningful while he was there. And it helped, a bit, when everything with his leg was bringing the world down upon him he’d find himself scurrying to the hospital to sit in the quiet NICU and murmuring in low voices to strangers babies to quiet the troubles in his own head.

When he’d first started he’d figured he’d stop once he was back at the one-eighteen. That it was just something to pass the long months while he fought his way back to them. But when finally, after blood thinners and tsunamis and lawsuits Buck found himself rejoining his team he found himself unable to stop going to the NICU.

They’d been there for him when he was struggling, it was only fair he return the favor. Some days it hurt, hurt more than the job. When he’d come in to find one of the incubators empty and knew without having to ask that it wasn’t because the baby had gotten better. Some days when he’d find himself sitting with those so new to the world and already so alone he’d find himself biting back tears as he stuttered out assurances he knew they’d never remember. 

Still, even when he’d find himself returning home with his chest aching and bile in his throat as he knew full well the baby he’d been talking to that day wouldn’t be there the next time he returned he never considered not going back, because even if they weren’t going to make it at least he knew that they had someone around who was rooting for them.

“That’s it?!” Buck looked up from his perch next to a late-term premature baby to see a new volunteer standing next to a doctor, rage written all over their face as the doctor began unhooking the majority of wires. Buck felt the familiar ache in his chest as he realised what was happening, it wasn’t the first time he’d seen the doctors accept the fate of babies too early to survive even with their help, he was sure it wouldn’t be the last. “You’re not going to do anything?!” The woman hissed. 

“We’ve done everything we can.” The doctor said softly. Disbelief was written clearly across the woman’s face.

“Everything you can, you’re doing nothing-” Buck turned the two out. Only focusing in again when the woman stormed from the NICU, tears shining in her eyes as she tore the visitor sticker off.

“Be right back.” Buck hummed softly to the baby beside him, pushing himself out of his head and picking his way over to the somber doctor. As he got closer his heart lurched at the sight of two babies, so small they reminded him of the baby they’d found in a pipe so long ago. 

“There really nothing you can do?” Buck asked, even though he already knew the answer. The doctor’s eyes flickered up to meet his, latent anger fading the moment they met, a miserable smile twitching at their lips.

“Nothing short of a miracle.” The doctor said. Buck nodded in understanding, eyes moving back to the doors where the volunteer had long since vanished. 

“You know she didn’t-”

“I know.” The doctor said. “Volunteering here takes something not a lot of people are willing to give. How’s Ellis?” Buck turned to the baby he’d left in his incubator with a small smile.

“Oh, you know him, a little fighter.” And he was, when Buck had first sat next to Ellis he’d been 35 weeks and sporting nasty purple bruises around his neck from the umbilical cord doing it’s best to strangle him. The bruises had vanished long ago and Buck knew that with a little bit of luck he was going to be able to leave the NICU within the next few weeks.

Buck’s eyes returned to the two less fortunate babies.

“The parents?”

“The Mother had a complicated birth. If she wakes up it won’t be before... I know you’re meant to be here for Ellis today but would you mind?” Doctor Alvarez nodded towards the two. “The woman who left was the only other volunteer scheduled today, without her they might-” Buck found himself nodding even as the doctor trailed off.

“Yeah, of course.” He said. He was meant to finish in ten minutes but it didn’t matter. He could spare a bit more time.

Buck cast one last glance at Ellis before he let his full attention turn to the two infants, the doctor unhooked the last of the nonessential wires from the girl, Leaving only the wire monitoring her vitals. Buck scooped her up as gently as he could. 

“Hey sweetie.” He breathed, she was light. Lighter than even the baby from the pipes, Buck wondered just how early they were. He settled into the comfortable chair by the incubator as Doctor Alvarez unhooked the boy and placed him into Bucks free arm carefully. He was heavier than his sister but not by much.

“Okay?” Doctor Alvarez asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be back soon. If you need anything just press the call button.” Buck didn’t point out that his ability to call for help was severely limited with a baby in each are. “Thank you, Mr. Buckley.” She made her way out of the NICU silently, leaving buck amongst the beeping of the machines.

“So my names Buck.” Buck said pointlessly, tilting his head between the two babies tucked against his chest. He looked to the incubators to see that they were simply Baby Boy and Baby Girl Webster. “Well that won’t do, how about this. You can be John and you can be Jane.” Jane wriggled in his arm, a movement so small and weak that it made his heartache and tears begin to build in his eyes. “I know it’s not very inventive.” he continued. “But I figure it’s better than being named baby girl right? And, you know, I’m sure once your Mommy wakes up she’ll give you both super cool names. So I can’t name you properly.” Buck whispered. He wished he could, he knew what would happen once the mother woke up, How she’d be forced to sign their birth and death certificates at the same time. How whatever names she chose would forever be imprinted into her mind with a world-shattering blast of pain.

John wriggled, just as weakly as his sister had a cry that sounded more like a broken whimper passing his blue-tinged lips.

“Hey, hey, none of that now.” buck said, hiking the two closer to him. “We’re gonna be happy right.” He said, there was no way these two could spend what would most likely be their only time being held crying from lungs too weak to force out a full sounding wail. He swayed softly in his seat. “I got you. It’s gonna be okay.”

*

“It’s been two hours Mr Buckley.” Doctor Alvarez said prying John from his arms. “You’ve done your part.”

“I have a bit more time, I can help-” Buck tried, he didn’t want to just leave them, not yet. Not to a room so quiet. Where they’d be so alone.

“You did help.” She said softly, lips wavering in the attempts of a smile. “Now it’s time for you to go home, Mr Buckley.” Buck felt the reminder that home wasn’t where he was head hit him like an electric shock, his eyes snapping around for a clock. 

“Right. Yeah. I should-” Buck said, forcing his eyes away from John as he was laid back in the tiny crib, still far too big for his small body. 

He had to go, he had to get to work. He’d done everything he could for them, to make it easier. At least now they’d been held before...Buck swallowed, turning towards the door.

“Wait!” Buck snapped back around. “Take off your shirt.”

“Um-” Buck blinked at Doctor Alvarez. “Listen, I’m flattered but-”

“Gross.” She sneered. “It’s for the babies.”

“What?”

“You said you wanted to help them right? Take off your shirt.” Buck did as he was told, stumbling back over to the twins as he shrugged out of his shirt.

“Here-” Doctor Alvarez handed John back to him, Buck barely had time to get him settled against his chest before Jane was being placed in his other arm.

“Why am I shirtless?” Buck asked. “I thought you told me to go, that I'd done all I could.”

“That’s was before.” She said, brushing a hand over John’s head, eyes shining in delight.

“Before what? What’s going on?”

“Right now? a Hail Mary.” Doctor Alvarez said, eyes moving to the screens. “But if we’re really lucky, we might have found our miracle.” 

“Me shirtless is a miracle?” Buck turned to look at the screens that had Doctor Alvarez so mesmerized and blinked when he saw the oh so slow uptick of Jane’s heart inching towards a healthier rhythm. “What’s happ-” Doctor Alvarez shushed him.

“Just, hold them, okay?” Buck watched as John’s heartbeat picked up to match his sisters. “You can stay right?”

“Yeah.” Buck said. “I’m..I’ll stay. I.. I need to let my boss know though. I’m meant to work-” Doctor Alvarez’s face fell.

“I’m sorry.  I’ll find someone else-” She reached forwards for Jane and Buck backed away.

“I’m helping them right?” Buck asked, looking back to the monitors. “They’re getting better?”

“There’s no guarantee that-”

“Right now are they doing better than they were when I started? Yes or no.”

“Yes.”

“Then I'm staying. He’ll understand.” Buck said, he knew there were enough people at the station to cover for him for a few more hours. “Look i’ll give you the number and I’ll stay here with them I just need someone to call my Boss.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure me staying is way easier than you finding someone else willing to stand topless without an explanation as to why.” Sure, he could get in trouble but he doubted it, once Bobby knew why he’d be more likely to get some deep cleaning duty for the next few shifts just so he could say that he did punish Buck for skipping a shift. 

“What’s the number?”

*

“Let’s go.” Bobby said, waltzing into the hospital after the patient they’d just handed off like he hadn’t stopped each of them from doing exactly that a thousand times. Eddie turned to Hen and Chimney to see they looked as clueless as he felt. 

“Uh Bobby?” Hen called, jogging after the Captain. Eddie and Chimney followed her lead. “I know we’re at the end of our shift-” and God had it been a long shift without Buck there to help them. Something they’d all found out five minutes after the shift started. “-but our job ends at the door right.”

“Not here for the job.” Bobby said, veering left as their patient was taken right.

“So why are we here?” Chimney asked.

“To see Buck.” Bobby said. Eddie’s feet stuck to the floor like they’d suddenly been encased in concrete. A cold sweat breaking out over his skin as he felt like ice water was being pumped through his spine leaving him gasping.

When Bobby had told them Buck wouldn’t be showing up and had continued to brush off their questions as to why Eddie had just assumed Buck was sick. That maybe he’d caught the stomach bug that had been circling Christopher's school and Bobby figured it wasn’t important enough to waste time talking about.

The idea that perhaps Bobby hadn’t been telling them why Buck wasn’t there because he knew if they did know why it would leave them unable to focus on their jobs hit him like a truck. Like if he was badly hurt. If he was-

“What happened?” Eddie was aware that his voice sounded like it had been dragged over sandpaper. Bobby stopped, turning back to the three frozen in fear.

“Okay. I need everyone to breathe.” Bobby said, a smile twitching at his lips. “Bucks fine.”

“Then why are we visiting him in a hospital?” Hen said uneasily.

“What happened?” Eddie repeated, hotly. How could he leave them working all day complaining about Bucks absences when he was-

“Buck is okay.” Bobby repeated softly. “He’s not a patient here.”

“Then why-”

“If you’d all follow me you would know by now.” Bobby said, waving them all forwards. Hen was the first to move. Chimney followed her. Eddie chewed his lip, eyes flickering around for some sign to tell him what the hell was going on.

“I-”

“Diaz, Trust me.” Bobby said, laying a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie felt it tugging him forwards softly, chipping at the concrete around his feet as they moved away from the intensive care signs.

“Are we going to the maternity ward?” Chimney asked, as they turned once again with a sign that pointed that way.

“Close. The NICU.” Bobby said.

“Tell me Buck didn’t have a kid.” Hen said. Bobby grinned. Eddie felt his stomach bottom out. Buck had a kid? “Cap I swear if he’s reverted to Buck 1.0 and knocked some girl up and didn’t even tell us I-”

“He doesn’t have a kid.” Bobby laughed. “He’s volunteering.”

“He skipped work to volunteer?” Chimney said.

“Apparently he’s been helping perform a miracle.” Bobby laughed. They reached the NICU before they could ask anymore questions. A doctor perked up the moment she saw them, shuffling out from behind the glass doors.

“Captain Nash I take it?” she said.

“Yes.”

“Thank you for letting me borrow Mr Buckley today.”

“I think that’s the first time I've ever had a doctor thank me for letting one of my team have the day off.” Bobby chuckled. “How’s he doing?”

“See for yourself.” She said, gesturing through the glass. Eddie felt the breath get knocked out of him as he spotted Buck, his head lulled against the chair, eyes hooded with sleep as he looked to the two minuscule babies pressed solidly against his bare chest.

“I keep telling him he can take a break. That I can have someone else sit with them but he’s only moved to use the bathroom and even then I'm pretty sure he sprinted the whole way there and back.” She laughed.

“That sounds like Buck.” Bobby said. “And the babies?”

“Amazing. It’s a miracle, his body heat-” the doctor started explaining, voice barely registering to Eddie as his eyes swept over Buck’s sleep soft face, his lips were tipped in a smile so gentle it felt like a breath would break the moment. 

Eddie felt his heart wavering in his chest, the beats rolling and jumping in a way that if he didn’t know better would leave him calling for a doctor himself. But he did know better. Knew that the way his heart tumbled wasn’t from a heart attack but from the sheer punch of adoration he felt sweeping through him like a warm breeze as he looked through the glass doors to Buck whispering to two babies as he saved their lives with nothing more the love he was willing to give out.

He shifted, swallowing past the lump in his throat that he was fairly sure was his heart trying to burst forth and throw itself at Buck. Buck rolled his neck once again, his eyes catching the huddle of people outside the room. Eddie watched as his attention was snatched, momentarily, from the babies as he caught sight of the team standing outside. Eddie offered a shaky smile. Buck smiled back, because of course, he did, slow and soft. It reminded Eddie of a sunrise, the way it would steal your breath away the moment the colors started to pour over the horizon, how even if it was cold just the beauty of it left your bones feeling the phantom warmth.

And Eddie knew he couldn’t ignore it anymore, couldn’t brush aside the way his chest filled every time Buck was near him as simple friendship, could keep pretending that the ‘i love you’ that circled his head whenever Buck smiled at him was platonic.

Later, when Buck was free to move and their mother had named them and signed two shiny birth certificates stained with tears and no death certificates Eddie would tell him. He’d tell him again and again until his throat was raw and maybe then Buck would feel a slither of the love he gave so freely to everyone else. 

Until then though, Eddie was content to watch greedily as Buck turned the smile back to the babies tucked oh so safely in his arms.

“Well, He’s winning a place on the calendar this year.” Chimney snorted. Hen hummed in agreement.

[xiao8-bb]

Man, I Feel Like A

A Linked Universe fic

[chapter 1]

Chapter 2: A Sticky Situation [posted on ao3 here]

At what point is it considered appropriate to tell your travelling companions you’re actually a man, and at what point are you supposed to take the secret to your grave?  Wild has no idea and it’s driving him mad with anxiety.  He’s kinda waffling towards keeping it a secret forever at this point.

It’s not like he’s a man all the time.  He was genuinely just having a lot of girl days at first and so forgot about the problem, and he didn’t bother to correct anyone on a boy day when they happened.  But now it’s been a few months, he’s been a boy consistently for at least a week now, and if anyone calls him “she” one more time he thinks he might solve his problem purely through violence and yelling.

This is such a weird problem.  He’s used to the opposite in his Hyrule, where he’d be having girl days and be constantly called “young man” or whatever.

The funniest part?  He wasn’t even a girl when he first met them.  He came straight out of Gerudo Town after talking with Riju on a boy day and didn’t think to correct them, and now look.  It’s been months.  

Gender is an awful curse sent down by Hylia Herself for using Her name in vain too often, and now Wild has to reap the consequences.  What a vindictive goddess.  He endeavors to use it all the more wastefully whenever he has this thought.

Usually it’s not much of an issue.  He calls his ever shifting moods “girl days,” “boy days,” “goron days” for the times he feels more neither than anything.  Almost always, he feels like… half a gender at most.  Like he took a bite out of an apple and found that enough.  

On girl days she fixes in an earring Issha recommended and calls it a day.  She hardly ever bothers correcting people, like how the Gorons won’t mind if you call one sister instead of brother.  On boy days, he puts in a different kind and knows it’s enough.  Even if the Gerudo call him Little Hylian Vai (as they’ve taken to nicknaming him), he feels about the same as he always does.  Goron days are the easiest, where they forgo the earrings entirely.  There’s the little thrill when someone gets it right, but it’s not a big deal.  Link is Link, after all.  At his core, no matter if he’s called Wild or Link or Champion, no matter if he’s called a boy or a girl or, once, a hellion menace to society, he’s always solely himself.  Gender feels more like an accessory than it does part of his identity.

Except it’s been months, and Wild is going insane.  He didn’t realize how much he depended on the occasional slivers of—validation? insightfulness? understanding?—having someone call him correctly.  His friends back home knew, at least in few in almost every major settlement, and they always referred to him correctly after checking his ears.  

At the risk of being redundant: Wild has gone months without that.  In one go, he solved the problem of being referred to almost solely as a man and ended up with the problem of being referred to solely as a woman.

And now the second problem: how in the name of Hylia (blessed goddess who is the source of all his troubles) is he supposed to tell the others?

Hey, I know you’ve been under the impression I’m a woman this whole time, but surprise, I’m actually a man!  Except it’s not all the time, but today I am and have been for the past week.

Could you do me a favor and call me he until I tell you to stop, and to keep doing that if I ever ask again?

You know when that man in the town two portals back said to grow some balls and take up his gambling challenge?  Might’ve found a solution to that.

“What’re you muttering to yourself?” Twilight asks, and Wild nearly drops his armful of mushrooms back to the ground with a squeak.  He turns with wide eyes to see the rancher raise an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing!”

He gets a disbelieving sigh at that, but he’ll take it.  Better Twilight believe he’s planning to dump Goron spice into someone’s bowl than hear what he’s saying before he’s found the words.  

Wild stands up from his crouch, disappearing his haul into the slate.  “Did you get the herbs I asked for?”  At Twilight’s affirmative, they start heading back to the camp in companionable quiet.  They hadn’t wandered too far off, but it’s still a walk back.

It’s Twilight who breaks the silence first.  “Say, Wild…”  He stops, both verbally and motion-wise, forcing Wild to stop as well.  Wild looks up at the man’s face.  There’s hesitance writ in the uptick of his mouth, and his gaze is unreadable.  “You’re a good kid, you know that?”

“Huh?  What brought this on?”

“Ah, it’s been a few months since you’ve joined our group, hasn’t it?  Got thinking, ‘s all.  You’ve got a good heart, so don’t hesitate to let us know if anything’s bothering you.”  He reaches out and ruffles Wild’s hair, smile widening into something genuine when Wild protests and pulls back.  “You’ve been looking a bit down.”

He… hadn’t realized his mood has been that obvious.  Wild looks down and kicks the dirt under his feet, hoping his ears aren’t as red as they feel.  A sincere, well-intentioned talk about his feelings?  Horrible.  Worst experience of his life.  “I’ll—”  His voice catches.  “I’ll be fine, Twi.”

He doesn’t need to look up to know Twilight is giving him that look, the one Wind calls the Big Brother Face.  “If you say so.  Just know we’ll be willing to listen and support you,” he says, gentle as if Wild is one of his goats.  

Wild runs his tongue over his teeth, feeling warmth and dread in equal amounts prick at him.  “Of course.”

And he’s not lying.  They’re all kind people at heart.  No one will care.  You don’t know that for sure, a little nagging voice says.  You lied to them for months, another hisses.  Should’ve spoken up earlier.  He can imagine the twinge of hurt in Hyrule’s face, the particular furrow in Legend’s forehead, the way Wind’s smile will drop a little if he tells them he’s been lying for so long and, worse, that they might’ve been hurting him, unintentional though it may be.  They’re too kind, is the problem.

It would’ve been one thing if he’d told them earlier.  Easier to laugh off, to brush aside as something that hadn’t crossed his mind until just then.  Like it wasn’t an intentional farce—it wasn’t!  Wild isn’t different at all, not where it matters.  Clothing doesn’t factor into it, because he’d wear whatever regardless of gender.  Neither does the way he acts, because a sashay is fun to pull off at any time, and as a girl Link has no problem swimming shirtless.  He’s just been going with the flow.

It feels like a farce though.  He never lied, not really, but he didn’t fix any of their assumptions, didn’t say anything, for months.  It’s a lie of omission that sits sour on the back of his tongue.

Twilight clicks his tongue, waiting until Wild looks back up at him to speak.  “Is it dangerous?  Whatever’s bothering you.”  He doesn’t seem stern or any more solemn than earlier, just an open, neutral expression on his face.

Uncomfortable, yes.  Dangerous?  No, not unless they run into a monster that feeds off conflicted guilt and pent up frustration.  Wild shakes his head.

“Then I’m not gonna pry.  I’ll keep Time from trying to dad you too, if you want.”

Unbidden, a giggle slips out of Wild.  “‘Dad’ me?”

“You didn’t think I’m the only one who’s noticed you’ve been down, did you?  I just got first dibs.”

Wild lets himself laugh fully at that, ignoring the stone in his stomach.  

-

Warriors flicks his gaze to the campfire, where a still-smiling Wild sits in front of a cooking pot.  She and Twilight had returned a while ago, snickering like mischievous children while sneaking looks to Time.  Old Man’s probably going to get some nasty purple chu jelly in his dinner tonight, he’s assuming.  A bit of a surprise she’s got Twilight in on it, though.  

It’s good to see that Wild’s in a better mood than before.  She’s been… not sullen, but a tension none of them can ease has been sitting on her shoulders for a few weeks now.  There’s nothing obvious that brought it on, but it’s heavy enough that even Legend will have worry flashing across his face whenever Wild pulls away from their group with no indication as to why.

“She’ll say something when she’s ready to,” he hears Twilight murmur to Time.  They’ve got some mentor/mentee plan going on to get Wild out of her mood.  Successful, he supposes; she’s been dropping off into frowns whenever left alone in her thoughts for too long, but right now she’s almost definitely brightened up enough to pull a prank.

Still, he can’t help but scoot over to insert himself into the conversation.  “It’s not anything dangerous, right?”  He trusts that she would tell them if it were; Wild is the least team friendly player in their group, but she’s got enough sense in her to know what’s necessary.

Twilight shakes his head.  “Confirmed it wasn’t.”  Here he hesitates, and his words come out slow, deliberate.  “I’m not sure if it’s… one of her memories?  I don’t remember there being one before she started acting weird, but it might’ve come as a dream.”

Warriors purses his lips, thinking.  It could be.  He’s certainly entertained the thought before.  Wild doesn’t fall into a memory too often, but they’re hard to hide, so everyone became aware of her amnesia and subsequent flashbacks sooner than later.  Almost always she’ll draw into herself a bit, hidden away in a large cloak until the world stopped being too loud and bright for her, and even then Wild would still be withdrawn until something coaxed her out of her shell.

It doesn’t feel like it, though.

He takes another look at Twilight’s face.  It says it all.  “You don’t think that’s it.”

The rancher really is a farm boy through and through, honest as the day is long.  “I overheard her talking to herself earlier, but I’m not sure what I heard and it’s not my place to say anyway.”

A sigh, and Time hauls himself up to his feet.  “Then we wait,” he says decisively.  They watch him amble over and strike a conversation with Four about the forest they’ve landed in.  Twilight goes back to sharpening his sword.

Warriors’s mind is still stuck on Wild, though, and he’d bet a bag of rupees so is Twilight’s.

He prides himself on being a good commander.  Quick to judge a situation and quick to notice if anything is wrong, able to lead squadrons of forces with only minutes to prepare.  Often, his command was too numerous for him to know everyone, but he did his best to be there for anyone who needed it.  Perhaps it’s foolish of him—too many faces, half-familiar from life, unmistakable in death haunt him to this day—but he refuses to give up caring.  It hurts, but to hurt is to be alive, and he carries his ghosts with him even as he locks eyes with a new trainee.

Here, their motley group is a lot smaller than the armies he used to command.  He’s never been an older brother before, but he finds himself falling into it naturally.  It’s easy to tug on the back of Hyrule’s tunic to keep him from wandering off, normal to nudge Four and encourage him to keep talking about smithing, effortless to pull Wind into a friendly scuffle.  With Wild, he finds himself looking after her like it’s instinct.

Maybe it’s because she’s still young at heart.  The scars riddling her face and body age her up years, but there’s something heartwrenchingly childlike about the way she’ll wander off from the group to catch a bug or pick a plant, not understanding why they’ll scold her to stick with them.  She’ll often show her finds off, grinning like there aren’t a million twigs in her hair and mud on her face.

It’s painful to see someone like that pull away without any indication as to why.

He sighs, leaning back on his palms to look at the evening sky.  The brightest stars are beginning to shine, flickering around the rising moon.  The smell of sweetly roasted vegetables wash over him.  Quick headcount: Sky and Wind sparring; Twilight sitting nearby; Legend checking their perimeter, Hyrule with him; Four and Time talking about where to go; Wild at the campfire, standing up and stretching.

“Dinner’s ready!” she announces, loud enough that Legend and Hyrule should hear.  Without waiting, she begins pulling out plates from her slate and spooning out portions.  Warriors watches her closely enough that he sees the glob of something purple being hidden under some greens.

Definitely purple chu jelly from Twilight.

It travels down the line, Warriors hesitating before handing it off to Time, who’s last.  It’s all in good fun though, and Wild’s figured out (after much trial-and-error) how to make sure the jelly doesn’t kill anyone, so he keeps quiet, only checking his own plate to make sure he’s not going to be a victim as well.  Wild catches his eye and winks.  Twilight, across the campfire, has a little feral edge to his grin.

Warriors watches with bated breath as Time takes a scoop of his food.  It’s riveting, seeing his expression go from pleased and content to I-will-kill-whoever-did-this.  Reminds him of the little pissed off kid he knew before meeting him again as an adult.

Time raises his head to glare balefully at Wild.  “Why did you do this.”  It falls flat of being a question.

“Do what?” Wild asks back, eyes wide and confused.  “I thought you liked carrots?”

Wind giggles into his own meal, shoveling another bite into his mouth when that earns him an unamused look.  “I didn’ do nothin’!” he protests before Time even starts saying the accusation.  “Yer face wa’ funny.”

“Don’t talk while chewing,” Sky reminds him.  “Time, what’s wrong with it?  Mine tastes fine?”

Without speaking, Time takes another scoop and presents the purple chuchu glob.  The camp falls into hysterics, speaking all at once.

“Some weird seasoning you’ve got there, Old Man.”

“Are you going to need a potion?”

“Where did someone even get their hands on that?”

Warriors sits back, letting the rambunctious laughter and chatter surround him.  Wind denies it some more, pointing to Hyrule, who was apparently looking at Time’s dinner too intently.  Hyrule denies it right back, pushing the blame to someone else too.  There’s shouts of protest as accusations go flying.  He tunes it out, just smiling to himself.  A small prank, but a big reception.  It’s nice to see spirits so high, especially Wild’s.

He’s too busy feeling reassured at Wild’s bright, impish grin that he nearly misses the accusation thrown at him.

“—paused before giving it to Time, too.”  Legend says this nonchalantly, but one’d have to be blind to miss the smirk he shoots Warriors as he says it.  “Seems suspicious to me.”

Twilight makes a faux thoughtful noise, failing to hide his laughter as Warriors whips his head around to stare in betrayal.  “He was rummaging through our bags earlier, could’ve taken it from mine or Wild’s packs then.”

Warriors splutters, “I was taking inventory!  You know, the thing I do every other night?”

There’s a little gasp from Four, too theatrical to be natural.  “He was staring at Time when we started eating too…”

Betrayal!  Ganged up on by the miserable lot he dared call his brothers!

Clearly they’ve figured out it wasn’t him.  Wild’s just about collapsed with laughter at the sight of his panicked face, but it’s obvious no one wants to spoil her fun.  Time gives him the sternest, most I-am-your-father-listen-to-me face he can muster and says, “What do you have to say for yourself, Warriors?  Why would you put purple chu jelly in this delightful meal Wild worked hard on?”

Warriors is speechless.  Wild titters, looks up to see Time raising an eyebrow at Warriors, and breaks back out into gleeful wheezing.  Wind and Legend don’t seem to be far off, delighted at his misfortune.  

Golden goddesses, the things he does for family.  “You’ve done it,” he says, strangled, “you’ve caught me in my dastardly tricks.  Oh woe is me, what punishment will I be given?”  Sky is the next to break, hiding his laughter behind a hand.

Time, the little snot, looks at him with thin, disappointed lips and mirth dancing in his eyes.  “This,” he intones gravely.  The purple chu jelly jumps from his spoon and smacks into Warriors’s face.

Even Twilight is losing it now.

“ARGH!” he squawks, not expecting Time to actually go through with it.  It’s to the others’ cackling that he slumps to the ground, groaning at the sticky feeling on his cheek.  He can deal with a little grossness (no matter what Legend says), but it’s not a nice feeling when he could be clean and not sticky.  

Someone hands him a clean cloth.  Hyrule, bless his heart.  It’s one of Twilight’s cloths, so he feels no guilt in scrubbing off the jelly and throwing it at the traitor himself.  Twilight takes the assault with a grin, the infectious mood lingering even as the laughter calms down.

“Here.”  A scarred hand dips into view, and Wild refills Warriors’s bowl with some fried greens fresh from the pot.  Steam rises up lazily.  She smiles at him through it, cheerful and alive like she hasn’t been for the past week, and he instantly forgives her for pulling him into her prank.

He takes a bite and sighs.  Fresh, still sweet yet crispy from quickly frying it.  “Delicious as ever,” he compliments, trying to force some grudge into his tone.  Wild sees right through him and beams wider.  “Oh, shove off.”  He wipes a hand, still a little sticky with goo, across her nose, grinning himself when she shrieks a little in delight.

“Be careful, mister, or else the goo’s going in your meal next!” she teases before scampering off to her own meal.

It’s sometime after dinner that Time approaches him.  “Thank you for playing along.”

Across the clearing, Wild’s wide grin has dropped to a faint upturn of her lips.  She’s scuffling with Wind and the large wolf that follows their group every now and then, trying to claim a sleeping spot.  She’s happy, and after the past week of halfhearted interaction, it feels like everything.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

-

The sun’s rays are beginning to skim past the treetops when Wild wakes up.  Legend notices immediately; there isn’t anything hostile in the area, so he’s been sitting closer to camp for the past hour now.  He doesn’t say anything when she sneaks out—at least, not at first.  When she doesn’t return after 10 minutes, 20, he shakes Twilight awake to keep watch before following.

She hasn’t gone far, just within hearing range if someone shouts.  Legend stands at the treeline, watching her pull and put back different earrings from that slate of hers.  Studs, hoops, drops, different fashions he can’t name, all reflective of masterful craftsmanship.  They gleam in the early morning light as she holds each pair up for examination.

“You can choose today’s accessories from the camp, you know,” he calls out.  Wild, to her credit, doesn’t react other than her shoulders raising a few centimeters.  “Pretty sure Wind won’t try stealing them.”

That earns a short laugh.  “He wouldn’t dare unless he wants his breakfast burned.  Besides, I’m just… trying to decide how I feel today.  Hard to do that around that noisy lot.”

Legend stops in his tracks.  Normally he’d like to tease, but there’s something brittle about her voice.  “Want me to leave then?” he offers.  He may be a prick, but he’s not about to inflict his presence on someone who needs some time alone.

Finally, Wild turns to look at him.  “No, stay,” she says, and even she looks surprised at how firmly she says it.  She pats the stone next to her.  “C’mon, sit with me for a while.”

It’s nice and quiet in the spot Wild’s chosen.  He sits with his back to her, not wanting to crowd.  Faintly, the tittering of birds sweeten the air, and if he closes his eyes and focuses he can smell the rich petrichor lingering from yesterday’s early evening rain.  Wild goes back to picking out earrings, the faint chime of her slate’s magic rhythmic in its repetition.

It’s like this often, Legend finds.  They’re both pretty silent people on their own, and perhaps not as close as they are with some of the others.  Sure, they jibe and bicker, but to avoid too much tension they end up not seeking each other out.  Legend isn’t even sure if he wants to be close to Wild anyway; she’s almost guaranteed to die violently young and violently so, given her track record of scars and reckless combat techniques.

Still, his treacherous heart cares, and he heaves a sigh as he thinks of her recent melancholy.  A conversation wouldn’t hurt, right?

“You’ve been wearing a lot of stud earrings lately,” he says.  He doesn’t turn to look, but the chiming stops.  “Maybe one of those dangling ones?  The amber gems give a nice glow to you.”

Quietly, so faint he almost misses it, Wild replies back, “...Maybe.”  He risks a glance to guess her expression; she’s staring distantly at her hands, eyes locked on a struggle Legend can’t see.  “Change things up a little, right?”

He raises an eyebrow, though she doesn’t see it.  “You don’t have to go with my suggestion,” he points out.  “If you want to wear studs, wear studs.  They get tangled up less in the twigs and branches you insist on jumping headfirst into, at any rate.”  

“And if I don’t want to wear any at all?”

What an odd question.  Legend fully turns around to squint at her.  “Then don’t?  What, am I missing some watchmen that will arrest you if you don’t put some metal in your ears?”

Wild huffs a laugh at that, but it’s half hearted.  “No, I don’t think so.  Don’t mind me, I’m just overthinking things.”

“Overthinking… types of earrings?”  He doesn’t mean to sound so doubtful, but Wild is both a ridiculous fashionista and someone who could not care less for her appearance.  She’s got a multitude of outfits, sure, but she’s never exactly cared if they matched or how she looked as a result (leading to a very distressing time where she sprinted through Twilight’s Castletown wearing her Barbarian shorts, clunky torso armor that glowed, and an odd mask that looked like a fish was eating her head.  He’s pretty sure they’re banned from the inn for life).

She shakes her head.  “No, forget it, it’s… related, but it’s not—”  This time, her head shake is harsher, more aggressive.  “It’s got some meaning for me,” she reveals reluctantly under Legend’s interrogating stare.  “What type of earrings I wear, I mean.”

He considers this, lining it up with the past week.  He almost wants to ask “why would you ever wear earrings that make you feel horrible?”, but obviously that isn’t an option.  Choosing wearing a specific type probably isn’t an option she has, either.  Something dictates the type she wears regardless of how she feels, but how could a type of earrings make one feel bad…?

Hylia, this is giving Legend a headache.

“Are the earrings hurting you?” he settles on asking.  There’s no way he’s getting the full story out of her anytime soon, but the important answers need to be established first.

“Wh—?  No, they’re fine.”

“Do they upset you?  Is that why you’ve been weird this past week?”

“... it’s not the earrings, not really.  Kind of?  It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it, then.”

He gets a jab to the side for that.  “I don’t know how to,” she admits, bitterness sharpening her tongue.  “I’m working on it, okay?  I’m… I’ll be fine, just give me some time to figure it out.”

Legend jabs her right back, tickling her sides for good measure and ignoring her squeak.  “Well, figure it out faster,” he says drolly.  “Whatever it is you’ve got going in your head can’t be that bad, considering it’s mostly empty in the first place.”

Now that earns him a tackle right off the rock, and they tussle around like children for a few minutes before wordlessly agreeing to stop, flopping onto the grass to stare at the brightening sky.  Neither of them are breathing very hard, but Legend thinks he can hear Wild’s become lighter, less burdened.  He bites his tongue to focus his thoughts.  

“Just wear whatever you feel like wearing, you menace.  If it’s not the earrings making you feel bad, then deal with whatever is making you act like a kicked puppy.”  He kicks out blindly and catches her ankle.  “If it’s one of us, or something we’re doing, or, I don’t know, maybe you’re just allergic to the grass here, tell us.  If it’s something from your past, then however you deal with it is up to you, but between the nine of us we’ve got all sorts of trauma covered, it’ll be easy to commiserate with someone.”

He rolls over to speak and finds her already looking at him.  “Uncomplicate it.  Whatever it is, either you’ll get past this or you won’t, but things will only get worse if you let it stagnate.”

Wild breaks eye contact first, sitting up but gaze fixed low.  At this angle, he can’t see her face.  “Get it over with, basically.  I guess that’s good advice.”

The sky looks bright enough that the others are probably awake by now.  “Of course it is,” he says.  She’s not going to take it, at least not right now, he can tell.  “Decide on the earrings yet?”

Clacks of fingernail against glass.  The now-familiar chime of the Sheikah slate.  “Studs again today.”

“Amber?”

“Amber, yeah.  You made a good point.”

“I always make good points.”

A snort, and they fall back into silence.  It feels like a moment in eternity before Wild speaks up again.  “We should make it back to camp.”  She sounds almost regretful, and Legend feels it too.  The area is warm and peaceful, and it feels like a crime to have to spend the entire day trekking their way through an adventure no one signed up for.  

Neither of them move.  He closes his eyes, feeling the morning sun warm his skin.

“Legend?”

It takes a moment to respond, the siren call of sleep beginning to pull at his senses.  “Hm?”

“Thank you.”

He hums, not resisting the lull of the little bubble they’re in.  “No problem.”

[thran-duils]

Watch Me Burn (P.6)

Title: Watch Me Burn (Part Six) Summary: Fem!Reader x AU!Cas. Fem!Reader x AU!Sam. This fic was inspired by both parts of “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem & Rihanna. Castiel and the reader are toxic for each other and keep falling back together until the reader moved away. It’s been years and now she is back home, waltzing back into Castiel’s life. She is determined to do better this time, to make them work, but outside forces as well as the scars the two have left on each other weave their way into their reconciliation. Will they be able to overcome the past and new threats to their sustainability? Words: 2,111 Warnings (for the fic in entirety): Extreme angst, domestic violence, smut, unprotected sex, dom/sub dynamics, BDSM trust breaking, fluff, language, alcohol abuse, !!! eventual !!! happiness Author’s Note: Italics are the past!

Chap 5 || Chap 7 || Fanfic masterpost || Masterpost (mobile)

You managed to drive yourself, claiming you had to make a few stops on the way back to the office after lunch. Dean, Sam, Charlie, and Tara had carpooled together and were already seated when you arrived. The only chair open was fortunately by Charlie but unfortunately across from Sam. The double decker sandwich looked good and you could take it home for dinner. But having Sam staring at you across the table… you ordered a salad. You did not miss the quick uptick on his lips, satisfied by your choice. You felt shame clawing away at you inside for succumbing to his shadow. Focusing on the conversation happening around the table and pretending to be okay was proving hard.

“Today’s a good day. I am so excited you’re here,” Dean said slapping Sam on the back. He looked beside himself.

“Likewise, man,” Sam said in turn.

“And Dean did get himself out of a ticket this morning apparently. He’s having a great day,” Tara jested.

Sam laughed asking Dean what she meant. And Dean explained he had talked his way out of a speeding ticket; that was no surprise, he was suave.

“And I got an extra cookie at the coffee shop by accident!” Charlie piped up, looking pleased with herself. She took a long drink of her milkshake before offering you the straw. You laughed, waving her off, gesturing at your water. “Party pooper.”

Dean pointed at you and you sat up straighter, “And Y/N is having a good day too. Getting flowers.”

“Aw, did Cas send you flowers?” Charlie exclaimed teasingly. She was only poking fun and normally that would be okay, but Sam’s gaze was burning into you. Charlie did not know better, how could she? You had not told her the specifics of your time at Austin, specifically who you had had the relationships with.

Tara cocked her head in curiosity. “Cas?”

“Her man,” Charlie informed her, and you wanted to melt into the ground.

“You move fast,” Dean chuckled, a twinkle in his eye. He was giving you a knowing look before shooting a quick one at Sam. He brought his glass to his lips, taking a drink, looking amused.

Him and Sam must be closer than you initially thought. There was no mistaking he knew about you and Sam with the way he was acting.

Stumbling, you opened your mouth to say something, but you were having trouble gathering yourself. For better or worse, Charlie was having no problem.

“Oh, he’s not new, don’t worry. Y/N isn’t foolish,” Charlie told Dean, coming to your defense.

“No, no. We’ve known each other for years, actually,” you said, finally finding a steady voice.

Sam’s nose twitched as he cleared his throat. The food came interrupting the conversation for a few moments, giving you time to breath. But not for long.

“He’s got a bar,” Charlie intoned, digging into her fries. “Real good bar food too.”

“Is that so?” Sam asked, looking at you pointedly. You nodded, faking a small smile.

“It’s a dive bar,” you explained and then wondered why you felt you needed to downplay Castiel’s place. Who cares if it was a dive or a high-end bar? It was his and it was special to you.

Scoffing loudly, Charlie said, “It’s a hell of a lot of fun is what it is. Heyyy!” She clapped her hands and you already saw the words forming. Your stomach tightened, wanting to slap your hand over her mouth. “Since we are supposed to be going out next week, maybe instead of that other place, we could go to Cas’ place! That would be cool. The drinks aren’t badly priced and I am honestly sick of sushi restaurants. Evelyn can eat it – sorry, Tara – because she’s gotten to choose the last couple places!”

There were murmurs of agreements around the table, as well as chuckles shared at Charlie’s expense of her lack of a filter.

“Yeah, maybe. It’d be nice to see where you set your roots down, Y/N. You’re missed in Austin,” Sam commented, taking a sip of his water.

You were sure you were.

Shrugging, smiling around the table, you said, “I am sure Cas won’t complain about the business.”

“Of course not, I’ll be there,” Charlie chirped, drawing another chorus of laughs.

<> <> <>

It had taken everything in you for the rest of the day to keep yourself together knowing Sam was so close. You tensed every time someone knocked on your door, let alone walked by. He had not popped in after lunch, much to your relief. But still, you had spent all afternoon waiting for him to appear in front of your desk, peering down at you, making you feel small.

That first time when he had ignored the rules should have been the moment you walked away. But you had not; you had let him make it up to you. And he did.

Until it happened again. And he told you he would make it up to once more.

He had managed to begin wedging himself into your life outside the bedroom. He talked you up at parties, told people you were planning on going for more education – something you had flippantly mentioned and he latched onto it, insisting that that was the right path for you. Whispers fell on you as he passed about your outfit, encouraging you to wear more dresses because that was more suitable, and it was pleasing to him to see you walk by. Whispers about how many calories were in the tenders and fries you had ordered along with a few others from a local restaurant for lunch.

Sam talked about you coming back after school and taking a leadership position. He talked about your future, like he was in charge of shaping it himself. There was no mistake he was plotting to get you firmly in his clutches, mold you into the perfect little wife for himself.

Educated, pretty, and good in the bedroom.

As soon as you had heard about the opening back home, you had jumped on the opportunity. You had asked Jerry to keep it under wraps that you had applied, praying he had no idea about the relationship between you and Sam. When he agreed, you assumed he had not, and you had been relieved. Seeing the look on Sam’s face when you were clearing out your office was worth it. He had cornered you and you told him with more bravery than you thought you possessed that the other office had a better position, and you were leaving that night. You had planned it out to be able to escape from the city, so he did not have an opportunity to try to persuade you to stay by showing up at your place.

He could not cause a scene in the office and you were able to slip out the door and away.

If only he had just stayed in Austin.

<> <> <>

You slapped a twenty on the counter in front of Castiel, plopping into the bar stool. “Double. Please.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Castiel leaned forward, “What’s wrong, Y/N?”

Shrugging, you said, “Nothing. I just need a stiff one. Quickly.”

He studied you for a few moments before taking the twenty and moving back hesitantly. He fetched you the drink and you exchanged a hello with a regular that passed by. You had gone home, thrown your bag on the couch and come downstairs immediately to the bar still in your work attire. There was no wonder why Castiel seemed confused and concerned about your demeanor.

When he placed it in front of you, you gave a quick, ‘Cheers’ before downing half the drink. When you came up for air, you exhaled deeply, closing your eyes, feeling the drink move down.

Opening your eyes again, you saw Castiel down the bar topping off the other patron’s drinks before whispering something to the cook, Raphael, who had come out. Raphael nodded at him and Castiel came back towards you.

“Come on for a minute,” Castiel said, beckoning you with two fingers. You opened your mouth to protest, but he said, “Bring your drink if you need to. To the back.”

Reluctantly, you followed him, drink in hand.

He led you to the back room and closed the door behind the pair of you. He turned on his heel and asked, “Alright. Cut the shit. What’s wrong?” You again opened your mouth, but he held up his hand. “And don’t feed me bullshit, Y/N. Be honest.”

Castiel was not going to let it go until you told him. Maybe it was just better to get it off your chest now rather than hold it in. You did promise yourself you were going to do better by the two of you this time around and keeping something like this from him was not going to serve you well in the long run.

You wet your lips. “Do… do you remember that guy I told you about?”

Castiel looked confused for a moment. “Which…?”

“The one who… who didn’t, you know, listen to me? With the safe words?”

It was hard to get it out.

Realization dawned on Castiel’s face. He straightened up, staring you down. “Yes. Why?”

“He’s here!” you blurted, your hands shaking, holding tightly to your glass. Castiel cocked his head, his forehead creasing. “He moved here. To the office, I mean.”

“Wait, what?” Castiel asked, stepping closer.

“He’s working on a project here.”

“He was an ex coworker?”

“Yes. One of the junior partners. One of my superiors.”

Castiel looked in disbelief for a moment before he let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “Christ, Y/N. Really?”

Defending yourself, you snapped, “I didn’t ask him to come here!”

“No—That’s not it,” Castiel sighed, running his hand through his hair. “You don’t get involved with coworkers. Especially your bosses!”

“You are really going to chastise me right now?”

“Fuck. No. I’m sorry. Just…” Castiel trailed off, hands on his hips, staring at the ground.

You took the silence as an opportunity to take another long gulp off your drink.

“How long is he gonna be there?” Castiel asked after a few moments.

“I’m not sure,” you told him honestly. “Projects vary. This one is a big one. He is thankfully working more so with Dean and not just me directly.” You took another drink. “But they wanna come here. To the bar.” Castiel looked at you expectantly and you explained, “Well, Charlie – and she didn’t mean to because she has no idea what happened, believe me – suggested everyone come here sometime after work. And Tara agreed. And of course Sam did because he knows about you now and he is gonna wanna–”

“Sam?”

“That’s his name.”

“You hadn’t said it yet. And what is exactly gonna wanna do?”

Throwing your hand out at him, you said, “To see you. Size you up.” Castiel cocked an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. “You know how people are when they wanna see their competition.”

Castiel closed the space between the two of you and he asked seriously, “Am I competition?”

Realizing how that must have sounded, you quickly said, “Of course not! I left Austin for a reason.” Castiel did not look convinced and you grasped his hand tightly. “Seriously. I almost threw up when I saw him. And not in a good way! No excitement there. Just… dread, I guess.”

He was quiet for a few moments before saying firmly, “You should tell your boss.” You started to shake your head and he cut in roughly, “Why? Why would you not if you are not feeling safe?”

The absolute last thing you wanted to do was rehash anything that happened with Sam with anyone else other than Castiel. Not right now or maybe ever. Who would believe you in that company anyway? Sam was a golden boy, loved by everyone and a superstar at his work. Trying to talk to someone, especially your boss, about what had happened could cost you your job.

“I don’t want to,” you said thickly, tears forming. “I don’t wanna talk to anyone else about it. I just… wanna forget it.”

“You can’t.”

“I know. But I want to try to. He’ll be gone soon enough and…” you exhaled shakily, squeezing Castiel’s hand once more and he returned the gesture. “I can get back to normal after that.”

Nodding knowingly, Castiel enveloped you to him, holding you close.

“I’ll kick his ass if he tries anything,” He told you quietly.

You laughed, letting out some tension. “I know. I know you would, Cas.”

~~~

CASTIEL FOREVER TAGS: @willowing-love @perseusandmedusa @greenappleeyes @afanofmanystuffs @earthtokace @shikaros-blog @marisayouass @splendidcas

[missjosie27]

Year 3 Part 3- Access Denied

Hey, guys! Really short chapter but the future ones will be much longer. Already at work for Year 4! Nothing much to say except I hope you enjoy! Bigger things are yet to come!

‘Work’ proved to be an understatement during the month of September.

With the addition of two electives, school work suddenly became much more difficult to manage. Of the ones David took, Care of Magical Creatures turned out to be quite wild. He didn’t really have much interest in animals but having Charlie in the class certainly helped him get along (though he remained hopeful about possibly seeing a dragon). The class was run by a rather eccentric man by the name of Silvanus Kettleburn, who had been at Hogwarts since the 1940s. That longevity was evidenced by the sheer number of injuries he had sustained during his time spent with creatures which included but was not limited too- a fake prosthetic leg, an eyepatch over his left eye, and a metal claw for a hand. Though Professor Kettleburn preached safety and caution, he himself did not always live up to such standards, as he constantly was being healed by Madam Pomfrey. Case and point was the first day when he received severe burns from fire salamanders. 

“This is nothing,” Charlie told him afterwards. “Legend has it that he was ten times more energetic than this back in the day. The previous Headmaster Armando Dippet placed him on probation sixty two times!”

Such a comforting thought.

There was no immediate risk of injury in Ancient Runes though David could tell right away that the class would not be easy. Professor Octavius was an extremely competent man at his subject but deciphering and learning ancient languages, codes, and other magical artifacts was not for the faint of heart. Bill Weasley told him that it was useful for curse breaking and one of the main reasons he took it was the focus on Ancient Egypt. He would hold off making a judgement just yet. Either way, it meant more homework for all of them.

Adding on to this was his own personal popularity. As he was reminded by Rowan, any secret at Hogwarts didn’t remain one for long. As returning students recovered from the shock of the previous year, rumors spread quicker than wildfire about his involvement in the cursed ice vault. Far from being seen as mad or miniature version of his brother, most regarded him as a hero who saved the school. The Slytherins weren’t too keen on congratulating him but aside from Merula and her squad he didn’t face much trouble from them either. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but David couldn’t deny it felt good.

Combining all of these factors, and the possibility of learning more about his brother at Hogsmeade, he was becoming increasingly distracted which would later come back to bite him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two weeks before Hogsmeade, Professor McGonagall made an appearance in the Gryffindor common room to collect all the permission slips.

“All third years please line up with your written signatures from your parents. The first Hogsmeade weekend will be October 14th on Saturday,” she announced.

David, Charlie, Rowan wasted no time in dashing upstairs with Ben in tow. Even Jae seemed eager to stamp his ticket to the all wizarding village. 

“Is Hogsmeade really all it’s cracked up to be?” Ben asked. “My parents couldn’t understand the appeal, but they allowed me to go anyway.”

“Trust me, mate. You’re going to have your mind blown by how amazing Hogsmeade is,” David told him enthusiastically. He’d personally never been but his parents and brother had regaled him many times about it…before the dark times.

“Bill’s gone loads of times,” Charlie added. “Says the experience never gets old. Even as you get older.”

“Especially since it will allow me to meet with contacts a lot more,” Jae said, giving a shifty grin. No one bothered to ask him what that meant. Sometimes with Jae it was better not to know.

By the time they reached Professor McGonagall, the girls had already turned theirs in (Olivia Miller was already giggling about a new brand of nail polish). However, when David approached his head of house she frowned.

“Mr. Grant please step to one side.”

He obeyed but did not like the way she looked at him when she said. Any time Minerva McGonagall used that tone it meant nothing positive.

“I’m sorry, Grant but I cannot allow you to visit Hogsmeade.”

David picked at his ear and strained in order to ensure he heard her correctly.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me, Mr. Grant.”

He began sputtering like an old worn out automobile.

“But-but…why?”

“Unfortunately, I am under specific instructions to forbid you to leave school grounds even with a permission slip.”

Instant indignation crept into his bones as he tried to resist giving a trademark sardonic remark.

“My parents, of all people, signed this slip. Now all of a sudden for no apparent reason I’m not allowed to go? How the hell is that fair?”

For a second he feared going too far with McGonagall, but thankfully she did not take away points.

“You seem to forget why you are at Hogwarts in the first place. Given your disregard for school rules, endangerment of others, and lack of self control, I have plenty of reason to prevent you from going to Hogsmeade.”

“I promised I’d meet Hagrid and meet Madam Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks,” David continued to complain. “Professor, she knows more about my brother.”

He thought a family appeal might soften her heart, but he thought wrong as the Transfiguration master held firm and her posture was as uptight as ever.

“You are demonstrating my point. Like your brother you are too focused on trivial matters as opposed to your grades and schoolwork. Do not think I haven’t noticed the slip in your marks.”

“Oh, come on, I always get top marks in your class.”

“It is not my class that the concern stems from,” Professor McGonagall huffed, and David swore he saw the steam coming out of her nostrils. “Professor Flitwick has informed me that your charm work has suffered considerably since last year. If you want to earn Hogsmeade privileges, you will need to earn them Mr. Grant. And nothing you say will change my mind until I see evidence of that fact.”

David wanted to scream, shout, stomp his foot, do anything to show he wasn’t going to take this lying down. That he was not being held to the same standard as everyone else. How many poor marks had Jae received in his time at Hogwarts. He knew that either his parents or Dumbledore was behind this. Yet, there was little choice but to take her words in stride.

“Yes, Professor.”

“Good.”

As she walked away, no one looked him in eye (Charlie began whistling), not even the older students. David began muttering under his breath before a familiar voice began chastising him.

“Grant, don’t blame McGonagall. I know she’s tough, but she also has a point.”

He saw it was Angelica Cole and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Oh boy what a shocker. The person who enforces the rules supports the person who also enforces the rules. What a coincidence.”

“I’m well versed to your quips by now,” his prefect told him. He was almost as tall as her by now yet her stern gaze did not waver. “And you need to approach this differently.”

“Don’t pretend you’re any more objective than she was,” he shot back. “I know I lose as many house points as I gain but can you not point out my every flaw for once?”

“I’m not telling you this because I want to kick you while you’re down, Grant. Do as she says: study hard, improve in charms and she will treat you fairly. You know this as well as I do.”

There was something odd about the way she was speaking to him. In the previous two years, she would have been either condescending or lecturing. But ever since the incident with Ammon Lucian and helping Blishwick defend his sister’s honor her attitude towards him had noticeably changed. 

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because I’m trying to help you. You’re more than just Jacob Grant’s little brother and you’ve shown that time and again. Now it’s time for you to show you’re also more than wisecracks and causing trouble.”

If he didn’t know better David could have sworn he saw an uptick in Angelica’s mouth as she walked away. Almost as though she were humoring him in her own unique way. He almost didn’t notice Rowan come up behind him.

“I’m sorry that happened, Dave,” he said. “In front of everyone no less.”

“It’s alright,” he said shrugging. 

“For the record I don’t agree with Professor McGonagall banning you from going to Hogsmeade. But there is a bright side to this.”

“Which is?”

“You still have a couple weeks to raise your grades in order to come with the rest of us. And I’m not going without you.”

David gave a reluctant grin. He also knew that Rowan despite his misgivings was also ensuring he met with Madam Rosmerta in order to learn more about Jacob. He was also being a good friend.

“Well then, guess we better hit the books.”

“I’ve studied in nearly one hundred places all across Hogwarts and I can safely conclude that the library is the most efficient place to improve one’s marks in a subject in two weeks’ time.”

Thinking back to what Angelica told him, David gave an affirming nod. He wasn’t going to let a minor inconvenience like a bad charms grade stop him from going to Hogsmeade. 

“Then that’s where we’re going next. Let’s go.”

[vexedtonightmares]

prompt via @draymalfoi​: Could you please write a friends AU of the scene where Chandler kisses every one after coming from London because he doesn't want to reveal his relationship with Monica! 

The One With All the Kissing

Lucas was hanging out with Eliott and the boys, playing video games mindlessly the first time they slipped up. He and Eliott had only been dating a few weeks after pining for years, and none of their friends knew yet. They didn’t want to have to deal with all the questions that would come with the announcement, so they decided to give themselves time to navigate their relationship without outside input for a while. 

It was a good idea, in theory, but sometimes they forgot that it was a secret. Lingering looks did more than linger and they had to pass it off as zoning out so often that their friends probably secretly thought there was something wrong with them. 

“Fuck,” Eliott whispered to himself, frowning down at his phone from where he sat beside Lucas. They’d been discreetly holding hands, crossing their legs just so to make it impossible for the other boys to see them. Not that they were paying attention anyway. 

Lucas furrowed his brows and looked at Eliott. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Eliott shook his head. “Just a study session I forgot about, which means I’ve gotta run.”

“Booooo…” Basile called from the floor, pausing the game to focus his attention on the conversation. Arthur and Yann nodded in agreement, looking at Eliott with understanding sympathy. Eliott subtly released Lucas’ hand from his grip.  

“Yeah,” Eliott agreed, “It sucks, but if I don’t go I’m not passing my exam, so…”

“Well, know that we’ll spend our time crying until you can return,” Arthur reassured him, and Eliott laughed, throwing a pillow at him as he stood up. He made his way around the room to gather up his things before returning to where Lucas was sitting and leaning down. 

Before Lucas could register what was happening, their lips were pressed together. It was a great kiss, and he might have enjoyed it if his eyes weren’t frozen wide open in shock, the look reflected on Yann, Arthur, and Basile’s faces. Eliott broke away with a soft, contented look before seeing Lucas’ face. “See you later,” he said, then realized his mistake. 

Lucas blinked rapidly and Eliott did the same. He could tell they were both thinking the same thing: fuck. 

Eliott recovered more quickly than Lucas expected and he had to do a double take to make sure that what he was seeing was actually happening. After blinking again and rubbing his eyes, he confirmed that it was. 

Eliott was bent down over Arthur, pulling his face up to meet his for a brief kiss. After they broke apart, Eliott moved on to Yann, then Basile, giving each of them a kiss. He cleared his throat after straightening up, giving them all a two fingered salute, rushing out the door before any of them could say a word. 

Arthur looked a bit dazed, Yann confused, and Basile kept touching his lips as if he wasn’t sure what had just happened. Lucas didn’t know what he looked like, but he could bet it was a mixture of the emotions reflected on his friend’s faces. 

Arthur was the first to break the silence. “What the hell was that?”

“Eliott… he just… did he… we…” Basile was stammering, and Lucas might have laughed had he not been paranoid about what everyone might say about the whole thing. He’d have to nip it in the bud before they thought about it too closely.

“Maybe it’s something he picked up when he was travelling,” Lucas suggested with a shrug. Eliott had been away the month before school had started up again, touring various countries in Europe with his parents. It had been at that point that Lucas’ feelings had reached their climax and when Eliott got home they could hardly stay away from one another. Absence did, in fact, make the heart grow fonder, and though Lucas had been upset when Eliott had said he would be away for a month, the month apart had allowed them to reach a conclusion about their feelings for one another and everything had been amazing since then, so Lucas had no reason to complain about it after all. 

Yann raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “He travelled around the continent, not to a different planet.”

“Still,” Lucas argued, “We don’t know everything about various European customs. Have you ever even left Paris?”

“I have, as a matter of fact, and no one kissed me randomly,” Yann said with an uptick of one of his eyebrows. Lucas didn’t know what to do but shrug again. 

Basile’s eyes widened. “Maybe he has a crush on one of us.”

“Oh, come on Baz,” Arthur laughed, hitting Basile on the upside of his head. “First of all, I think Eliott is straight, and second of all, he’s literally the least subtle person in the world. If he liked someone, especially one of us, we’d know.”

He knew there were other things to be focusing on, but Lucas couldn’t help the surge of satisfaction that had arisen in him. Everyone thought Eliott wore his heart on his sleeve to quite the extreme, and it just wasn’t true. Sure, Eliott did express his emotions in much more visible ways than most people would sometimes, but the deeper part of his love was only visible to the person he had those feelings for. Lucas was just lucky enough that person happened to be him. 

Plus, it meant that they’d been surprisingly good at hiding their feelings for one another. 

“Why aren’t you freaking out, Lulu?” Yann asked with genuine curiosity. He definitely would have been, if Eliott’s kiss had come from nowhere, and Yann knew him enough to know that. 

Lucas blinked a few times to stall as he thought of an excuse. “Because it’s not the first time he’s done that since he got back. That’s why I assumed it was a travelling thing.”

Arthur choked out a cough. “Excuse me?”

“The other day,” Lucas lied, realizing he was digging himself quite the hole, “We hung out and Idriss and Sofiane came over too and he did the same thing when we left.” He should have just pretended to freak out as much as Basile still was. 

“He’s not…” Yann trailed off, but Lucas caught where he was going. He bristled unintentionally, but it was Basile who answered. 

“Just because he did one little weird thing it doesn’t mean he’s having a manic episode,” Basile stated plainly. 

Yann bit his lip, “I didn’t mean—”

“Yes you did, and it’s natural to think that, you can’t imagine the amount of times I thought that when my mom made too much food for dinner or woke up too early it meant she was having an episode, but people with bipolar disorder can still have some quirks without it meaning that something’s not right,” Basile explained, and Yann looked at his hands. 

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just not that knowledgeable about bipolarity and all that,” Yann apologized, but Basile shook his head. “Like I said, it’s ok, you just have to try to become a bit more knowledgeable, especially when one of your friends is bipolar himself,” Basile suggested gently. 

Lucas was and wasn’t surprised that Basile had jumped so readily to Eliott’s defense. Of all of them, he’d been the most receptive when Eliott had told them he was bipolar a few months after they’d met. Lucas, Yann, and Arthur hadn’t even known Basile’s mother was bipolar until then either. The part that did surprise him was that Basile was still so willing to step in and try to educate them when they were either being ignorant or complete dumbasses without realizing it. He probably would have gotten fed up with it after a while. Actually, he knew that he would, because he had to do the same fielding questions and assumptions about his sexuality. 

“We can all still agree that was weird though, right?” Arthur clarified, and Lucas was sure to nod along with the others. Thankfully, the subject was dropped, but Lucas knew that he and Eliott would have to be more careful from then on. 

***

The second time they slipped up, Lucas and Eliott were taking a bath together. They had the flat to themselves for the night, or so they thought, so they decided to make a romantic evening out of it. Eliott had even brought over some mini battery powered candles and a bottle of sparkling apple juice they could pretend was real champagne.

They’d barely had time to clink their glasses together, giggly love drunk messes that they were, when Lucas heard a door slam. Eliott widened his eyes. “I thought you said no one was home for the night.”

“I thought no one was home for the night!”

“Well what do we do?”

Lucas considered their options. If it was Lisa, they didn’t have to worry about anything, she was so oblivious that she probably wouldn’t even notice if they made all the noise in the world, and if she did, Lucas could convince her he’d just had a one time hookup. Manon might cause more trouble. She wouldn’t barge into the bathroom or anything, but she would definitely notice that Lucas had someone over and definitely question him about it until he gave in. If it was Mika, they were screwed. He had no qualms about barging into the bathroom and would probably want to sit there and talk with Lucas until he was done in the bath, especially if Eliott was there too. 

“Kitten! You better be decent!” 

Fuck. He and Eliott communicated with a wide eyed gaze before Eliott dove his head under the water, just as Mika walked in. Mika opened his mouth, then closed at as he took in the sight. Lucas was sure it looked quite odd, him sitting in the bath alone surrounded by fake candles and fake champagne. Mika looked at him sympathetically. “Did a grindr date stand you up?” 

“What? No!” At least his reaction was genuine, that had most definitely not been the question he’d expected from Mika. 

Mika gestured to the scene. “Then…?”

“Can’t a guy treat himself every once and awhile?” Lucas scoffed, realizing that Eliott was still underwater holding his breath. Lucas poked Eliott’s foot with his to make sure that he was still alive down there. Eliott poked him back and he nearly let out a sigh of relief. 

Mika nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, of course, you do you. I guess I just didn’t think that this was… you.”

“I’m trying to get more in touch with my softer side, break down the barriers of toxic masculinity, you know?” He felt Eliott kick him gently and he wondered if it was an accident or if Eliott could hear his bullshit. 

Mika was eating it up, though. “Oh, of course. I do things like this all the time. So sorry for interrupting, kitten, I’ll leave you be.”

“Thanks, Mika, you’re the best,” Lucas smiled, hoping it appeared genuine. Mika turned to leave and Eliott had almost raised his head to the surface when Mika turned back around and Lucas not so subtly pushed him back down. He tried to cover it up as if he’d been shifting into a new position in the bathtub. 

Mika narrowed his eyes again, but then thankfully decided to ignore Lucas’ weirdness. “I almost forgot, I came in to ask if you wanted anything from the bakery on the corner? Manon will kill me for eating something she hasn’t baked, but their chocolate éclairs are to die for.”

“I’m good, thanks Mika,” he said hurriedly. Eliott was going to kill him if he wasn’t already dead. Mika waved over his shoulder as he finally left, closing the door behind him. 

Eliott resurfaced with a loud gasp and Lucas shushed him, earning a look that screamed Really? After I almost drowned for your dumbass? When Lucas heard the door slam again, he slumped against the side of the bath, laughing weakly. 

Eliott flicked water onto his face and Lucas scrunched up his nose in outrage. “Seriously!”

“Yes, seriously,” Eliott said, flicking more water, “I just won the world record for breath-holding and you sit there and laugh.”

“You didn’t win a world record, it was like, a minute,” Lucas pointed out, even though it had probably been longer. 

Eliott raised his eyebrows. “Oh really? You weren’t scared I died?” His eyes glimmered with mischief and Lucas could feel himself falling more and more in love.

“No way, you suck at holding your breath.” 

“Oh, I suck?” Eliott challenged, and before Lucas knew it, his feet were being pulled so he slid closer to Eliott, head falling below the water in the process. 

“Dick!” he exclaimed in outrage when he popped his head back up. “Asshole!”

Eliott nodded. “Yup, those are both things you probably saw down there.”

Lucas couldn’t contain the scandalized laugh that bubbled up in his chest. Eliott laughed too, pulling Lucas closer still, more gently this time. “And I believe you’re the one who sucks at holding their breath.”

“I wasn’t even trying, you ass,” Lucas said as he folded his arms around Eliott’s shoulders. Eliott leaned his head in and hummed against Lucas’ mouth. “Even though you suck at that, I’m still going to make a movie about you,” he said. He’d been saying it since they first started dating, coming up with ridiculous fake titles every time Lucas did something embarrassing. 

Lucas drew away slightly, smirking. “Oh yeah? What’s it going to be called this time? Lucas Lallemant, boyfriend extraordinaire!”

“No… not catchy enough.” Eliott paused, leaning back in for a small kiss. Lucas happily obliged. “I was thinking The Boy Who Couldn’t Hold His Breath Underwater.”

Lucas scoffed, splashing Eliott in retaliation. “Fuck. Off,” he said, but he couldn’t stop giggling, melting into Eliott’s arms. 

***

The third time, they really should have known better. The foyer was definitely not the most private place, but they generally had a hard time keeping their hands off one another as it was, and the foyer was empty at the time of their arrival. 

Lucas had his arms thrown around Eliott’s neck, bodies pressed together so very closely. Eliott’s mouth searched his, and he searched back with even more passion, forgetting where he ended and Eliott began. 

The door banged open and they shot apart, looking at the stunned faces of Daphné, Alexia, Arthur, and Imane. Eliott closed his eyes and Lucas could see the moment he came to a decision, realizing exactly what that decision would be the moment before Eliott said, “Well, see you later, then,” and stepped forward, pulling Daphné into an equally passionate kiss. Lucas fixed his hair in the meantime, pretending that this was all normal. 

Once he separated from Daphné, he moved on to Alexia, who looked shocked but not entirely opposed to the idea. He supposed he couldn’t fault her for that, Eliott was hot. Daphné looked at Lucas in a daze and Lucas shrugged nonchalantly. 

Arthur got another kiss too, but at least he was expecting it this time. He pulled back first, looking at Eliott with a crease between his eyebrows. Eliott turned to where Imane stood right in front of the door. She pointed her finger at him, opening the door. “Don’t even think about it,” she said, and Eliott nodded hurriedly, ducking his head before bolting out the door. 

“He’s still doing that?” Arthur asked Lucas, and Lucas nodded. 

“He’s done that before?” Imane asked incredulously. 

Arthur looked between her and Lucas. “Yeah, once the other day when it was me, Lucas, Baz, and Yann, and then another time before that with—” he cut off when he saw Lucas’ look of warning. The last thing he wanted was for Imane to learn that he’d lied about Eliott kissing Sofiane and Idriss. 

Imane narrowed her eyes and Lucas jumped in. “With Mika, Lisa, and I.”

“I can’t believe Eliott Demaury just kissed me,” Daphné said, touching her lips gently. Alexia laughed at Daphné’s reaction. “I wouldn’t get used to it,” she said sorrowfully, placing a hand on Daphné’s shoulder. 

“I didn’t mind it,” Arthur said casually. Lucas stared at him in alarm. “I mean, the first time was a surprise, but kissing Eliott isn’t too bad.”

“Join us on the dark side,” Alexia pleaded, gesturing between herself and Lucas. Arthur shrugged again, licking his bottom lip absently. Dear god, the last thing Lucas needed was for Arthur to develop a crush on his boyfriend. Of course, if anyone was to trigger Arthur’s sexual awakening, it had to be Eliott. 

Lucas put his face in his hands, wondering what exactly he’d done to deserve this sort of karmic revenge. 

***

All the boys and girls were hanging out at the colloc and Eliott and Lucas were sitting a few feet apart, mostly for their own sanity. Lucas briefly wondered if Eliott was going to kiss every one of them before he left that night. 

Basile cleared his throat during a lull in conversation and placed a hand on Eliott’s knee. Eliott startled slightly and gave Basile his attention, eyebrows cinching in confusion. “Listen, bro, we gotta talk.”

“Oh?” Eliott asked, looking briefly at Lucas, who shrugged. 

“You can’t keep kissing everyone when you leave the room. It’s getting weird,” Basile said seriously, and Lucas choked on his drink. 

Eliott’s eyes widened in discomfort. “I’m sorry?”

“No, it’s fine, man, really, we get that you probably picked it up from somewhere you travelled to over the summer, but we don’t do that here. Save the kissing for whenever you get a girlfriend.” Basile patted Eliott’s knee once, and Lucas almost laughed at how extremely uncomfortable he looked. 

“Or boyfriend,” Arthur suggested, winking, and making Eliott look even more confused and uncomfortable. Lucas tipped his head back, trying to hold in a sigh of exasperation. How did he get himself in these sorts of situations? Really? 

“I won’t lie, I didn’t hate it,” Alexia added, “But yeah, you should stop.”

“It’s just a weird thing to do,” Yann explained. 

“Really weird,” Lucas found himself saying, earning a bemused glance from Eliott. Shut up, asshole, he told him with his eyes, I’m doing this for our benefit. Then again, maybe it would be easier to just come clean with their relationship, but when had either of them ever gone about things in an easy way?

“Ok,” Eliott said warily, “I’ll, uh, stop.”

Yann clapped his hands once. “Now that that’s cleared up, who wants more beer?” he asked, forcing a bright smile. Emma and Manon, the only ones who hadn’t been privy to all the kissing, still looked slightly confused, but they were, thankfully, willing to drop the conversation. 

“I can grab them,” Eliott said, standing up. Everyone looked at him in alarm, and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to kiss any of you, but I could use a hand. Lucas?”

Lucas hopped up immediately and joined him, following about two paces behind. Fortunately, no one found it odd and they resumed their conversations. Once alone in the kitchen, Eliott doubled over laughing. Lucas smacked his arm. “Eliott! Shh! They’ll hear you!”

“Do I even care anymore?” Eliott asked between gasps of laughter. “They already think I’m weird.”

“You are weird.”

“Ha ha.”

“Are you serious, though?” Lucas asked. “Do you think we should tell them?”

Eliott shrugged, pulling Lucas in by the waist from where he’d leaned against the counter after his laugh attack. “It’s up to you.”

Lucas raised himself up on his toes and kissed Eliott hungrily, hands running through Eliott’s tangled, perfect hair. Eliott cupped his hands around Lucas’ face like he always did, and Lucas smiled into the kiss, teeth clanging clumsily. He pulled away slightly, eyes heavy as he turned his gaze up to Eliott. “I don’t care if they know.”

Eliott’s eyes softened, then widened in surprise as he looked up slightly. He pushed Lucas away a bit abruptly and coughed into his hand. “I think they already do?”

“What?” Lucas asked, then turned to see what Eliott was looking at. 

All of their friends were standing in the entrance to the kitchen, looking not at all upset that they’d been caught. Imane held out her hand to Yann, who grudgingly handed her some money. Lucas didn’t catch how much, but it was enough to make him scoff. “Really?”

Imane shrugged. “You guys were asking for it.”

“To be fair, I totally thought it was some weird cultural thing,” Basile chimed in needlessly. 

“But how— why did you—” Lucas stammered. 

“Manon pointed out that she’s been all over Europe and no one goes around randomly kissing people, and Imane pointed out the common denominator of all the kissing occurrences,” Alexia explained, gesturing to Lucas.

Lucas crossed his arms. “So you decided to spy on us?”

The eight of them looked back and forth between one another, then nodded. Eliott laughed softly behind Lucas, and Lucas glowered at him. “It’s not funny.”

“It is,” Eliott said, pulling Lucas back by his hips and folding his arms around Lucas’ stomach now that he could do so in front of everyone. He dropped his chin onto Lucas’ shoulder and Lucas instinctively leaned his head on top. 

“Ugh,” Emma said, “If we’d have known you two would be this gross we would have let it be.”

“Seriously? We’re not even doing anything!” Lucas exclaimed incredulously.

Alexia squinted. “No, but you do look sickeningly in love which is, frankly, an affront to the rest of us.”

“Yeah, I thought we had something, man,” Arthur smirked, and Lucas couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Eliott ignored him and kissed Lucas’ cheek. “Sorry not sorry,” he said, and Lucas could hear the mischievous smile in his voice.

“You’re still weird,” Imane called over her shoulder as she turned to leave the room now that the show was over. Everyone followed behind her, but Eliott and Lucas stayed together a moment longer. 

“She’s right, you know,” Lucas said, turning around and pressing a hand to Eliott’s chest. Eliott laughed, eyes sparkling. “So I’ve been told. Can I show you one of the other weird things I picked up in Europe?”

Lucas nodded and suddenly Eliott was picking him up by his thighs, wrapping Lucas’ legs around his waist. Their heads were now at an even plane, so they could kiss without Eliott having to bend down or Lucas having to stand on his toes. “You picked this up in Europe?”

“Mhmm,” Eliott said, leaning closer so their noses brushed together, “We’re in Europe, I just picked you up. And you’re weird.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“That too.”

“Kiss me.”

Lucas was more than happy to oblige.

[kleptonancydrew]

MID Thoughts

So I’m not one of the people with the thought process for typing out a cohesive review so you’ll be catching my train of thought. Sorry.

One of the big things I have noticed in the reviews is that if you like talking to characters you are much more likely to enjoy the game. Talking to people and cutscenes (with rare exceptions) have always been my least favourite part of Nancy Drew games. So for me the major uptick in dialogue and cutscenes made the game miserable. (And yes you can skip them - but on the first play through you want to know what’s going on.) Also the captions need to be fixed before the next game - let me see the whole thing please. 

I enjoy the historical aspects of the game. I took two courses relating to the history of witchcraft in uni so a lot of this actually took me back to my Witchcraze class. There was a lot to learn but I was disappointed with the museum - it feels like we could have had several more displays. I also don’t love the way they take text from things and then put it into a tiny straight forward display. I know that for some this might help and it should be included but the control for it should be elsewhere - not in the center of the page when I’m trying to turn pages. 

The tour thing should have more clear. The tablet thing took a tick to figure out. As should the offering things to people. In previous games you have to talk to people to exchange objects and I got stuck for a bit. 

Maybe the controls are better if you are playing with a mouse but like many adults I rely on laptops exclusively. The whole right click thing was very difficult. As a somewhat petulant side note - I have a touchscreen laptop and previous games have all been pretty touchscreen friendly for most things. This game was not touch screen friendly at all. Something minor is that why did they get rid of the magnifying glass cursor - would that really have been so hard to integrate? It is fitting and cute. 

I wish a line had been dropped (maybe it was and I missed it) about how just because something is herbal and all natural that does not mean that it is good for YOU. People are all different and herbal remedies can have major side effects based on personal health. They can also screw with any modern medicines you take. Some can also interact poorly when you are using multiple. And if you don’t have the issue that something is treating that can also cause problems. I know most of us here are adults (I’m pretty sure most everyone here who wasn’t when MID was announced certainly is now), but like kids also play this game and I don’t want them getting medical advice from Nancy Drew. 

(Also maybe a line about how yes we don’t burn ‘witches’ anymore but satanism is still bad and magic isn’t real.) 

Alicia’s comments about Jason and him being attractive were really uncomfortable. I’m a teacher and I go through so many protect the young ‘ins things that this was really setting off all my alarm bells. I know he’s supposed to be over eighteen but so are some of my seniors - does not make it okay in my book. 

The plot was fine - good intrigue and was interesting. Some of it was weird but was explained by poisoning. Some parts were very confusing to me. I have no idea how anyone got underground. How could a teenager just leave their cell phone and peace out (well actually I did have to run out of the school the other day to find a kid who forgot their phone at the end of the day). I did like the scare in the bed - that was cool. 

Making the pancakes was fun - I wish you had to switch up the recipes for the special pancakes, that would be more fun in my book. The herbal stuff wasn’t really complicated after you got the first couple done. 

I didn’t really think much of the puzzles. Based on the way I played through (maybe different if I go again) they were all clumped up towards the very end. 

I didn’t love a lot of the personalities in the games. But, I rarely do so whatever. 

I’ve posted before about how the navigation feels like kayaking in DDI - you need to be in exactly the right place to get where you want to go and it takes forever to do so. I found the town center and the museum really difficult to navigate in particular. 

Maybe I’m stupid and never quite understood the laurel in the mirror thing - was that supposed to be some type of Lauren look here? Remember how Josiah Crowley put his will in a safety deposit box at a bank - what ever happened to doing that? Or one of those fireproof lock boxes? Also was there any point to the bedroom at either house? Besides the one weird dream and Teegan’s photo? 

Also I didn’t like how things kept saying the same thing when you accidentally clicked on them - like I know that has been a thing historically but it’s still annoying. 

Also what was with all the papers and stuff on the floor and spread everywhere constantly? I’m a mess and my organization is accomplished by making piles everywhere but even I’m not nearly that bad. 

Also, much like TOT - it’s really obvious who the thief is right away. 

Another thing is that like, did HER even make this game? No. If I wanted a game from another company I’d give them money. I turn to HER because they have previously had a history of turning out two decent if not fabulous games a year. 

I like having more places to explore. I dislike that they take so long to load. Even the game startup takes forever compared to other games. 

The lip syncing is really annoying - it seemed like they had fixed that over a decade ago. Also the text and dialogue didn’t match. I am someone who always has captions on things and having them so off is irritating. 

TBH I didn’t really feel like the Hardy Boys added much to this game. 

Also the whole Carson is friends with the Judge guy reminded me of how I greatly dislike my dad’s so called best friend. Just because a dad is willing to overlook some people’s faults doesn’t mean the daughter is. 

Also, the continued mention of Salem being like some sort of small town where everyone knows everyone is so out of place with our knowledge that this does take place in 2019 (or around this time). Salem has a population of over 40 thousand according to the Google. My hometown is somewhere just under 30 thousand which I considered small town, until I moved to the midwest where it is apparently bigger than most cities. I’m not saying someone cannot be a known entity in a town that size (high school sports in America make plenty of teenagers decently known in towns), I’m saying that there should be enough going on in that town that someone else has caused trouble since. The only reason I remember the name of the kid who got hit walking home from school causing the town to put in a very inconvenient traffic light is because we went to the same uni in a different state and he got kicked out twice. (I crossed that stupid highway everyday with zero issues, probably even on the same day he got hit.) I was gonna say something about modern education systems working on bleeding out such backwards thinking but then I remember that we’re literally graduating nazis so like, nvm. (My personal goal as a teacher is to contribute to eliminating innocent ignorance - kids aren’t born knowing things and the adults in their lives need to work on introducing them in positive ways to avoid the distrust, fear, and hatred that stem from ignorance.) 

Maybe if they fix the navigation and optimize it better for the vast majority of the population who use laptops with trackpads (I don’t have a desk where the hell am I supposed to put a mouse?) it could nice for the next game. But they also need to work on the character animation and other issues. But then like, do we even know there will be a next time? I know Little Jackalope’s positive media minions have said so. But they also said 2016. And October. And any number of other things that might have been said in good faith but ended up not being true.   

I think I just feel meh about everything. This was not the best game ever, and yeah maybe SCK and STFD had some pretty bad graphics too - but it’s twenty years later, I was hoping we’d be moving forward not back. If you want a really positive review look elsewhere. I’m still committed to HER but I realised the other day that very few of my newer friends/coworkers know how obsessed I have always been with HER because I’ve had nothing to talk about. It sorta feels like I’ve lost a part of my personality. 

Also the physical copy cover is real shitty. I feel like that 100% could have been fixed if more attention was payed. You can’t even see the name of the game. 

[vegetacide]

Whump●tober - Secret injuries

Veg-notables: This went in a direction I did not expect it to go.. As I woke up this morning inspiration hit me up the back of the head and I ended up rewriting the whole thing from a different perspective than I had intended. Scrapped over 1100 words as Kayo burst in the front door and demanded I write her instead of Scott and V… She can be rather scary and demanding.. 

Thanks  @gumnut-logic for dealing with me filling your inbox through I know this is not what I originally sent you last night and well.. I am expecting various hard candies to be lobbed my way.. 

Obligatory whumptober stuff: @whumptober2019 @la-vie-en-whump

Blanket warning: Hospital room conversations, a little medical jargon and some emotional turmoil.  

Characters: Kayo, Scott and a sleeping V.. yes he is out cold but only sleeping this time. 

Whumptober - TaG’verse

Previous posts can be found HERE.

24.Secret Injuries

Enjoy…

oOo

When Kayo returned sometime later the room was quiet again, the only sound that of heart monitor and the ambient noise from the hallway through the door at her back.  The shuffling of feet,  the squeak of wonky wheel on an IV pole as it was pushed by,  the laugh of a nurse.  

Despite the lightening of the mood,  the lessening of the dread that  pulled the family down there was still a lick of something hanging like a fine gossamer shroud over everything.  An inkling of apprehension that tickled up the back of her neck and had her checking blind spots and exits out of habit.

Drawing in a deep breath to calm her nerves,  Kayo crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the thick wood paneling of the rooms only egress.  Taking in the now familiar space and its two occupants with a critical eye.

A top-notch ICU room with all the bells and whistles that money could buy.  Temperature controlled,  recessed linear circadian optic lighting,  drone docks hidden away behind remotely accessed ceiling panels,  an alphabet worth of med scanners and monitor,   heated gels filled bio-bed with anti-grav capabilities, the works.  Helped that the family had made several large anonymous donations over the years.

If the donations had been anything but anonymous Kayo was pretty sure there would be a wing with the Tracy name on it but the Tracy’s weren’t the type to  flaunt their charitable endeavors.  Stroking egos was the last thing on their minds, their only goal was to save lives in anyway they could so they used their money.  Considering they had enough to buy a small country several times over,  the hospital had benefited greatly from their generosity. 

Now the Tracy’s were benefiting for their own kindness and they had a fleet of some of the world’s top Doctors to go along with it which she was eternally grateful for.    

Virgil; the man whom she had come inexplicable entangled with, was asleep again.  Propped up amongst bleach white pillows and snoring softly. Her eyes instinctively watched his chest, counter the length of the rise and fall of his chest, the  tightness in her own loosening as the information in her head computed back as safe, alive, still with her. Thank God. 

She noted randomly that the bed had been adjusted, most likely in an attempt to alleviate the discomfiture he had been experience since rousing from his coma, that he was trying and failing miserably at hide from her.  She was well acquainted with his penchant to spare those around him from worry but really,  after everything that had happened?.. Men. 

Shaking her head at her other half, she turned her attention to Scott.    

He sat hunched over close by, eyes distant as he stared off at the middle distance in deep thought.  Elbows braced on his knees,  hands rubbing worriedly between his thighs as if trying to wipe something off them. 

Kayo narrowed in on the movement,  her mind conjuring up scenarios and only dark things came to mind as the bruised knuckles finally registered. She’d missed that in the drama of her world coming unhinged at the seams.  

She pushed away from the door,  stepped further into the room and Scott’s eyes finally shifted to her.  No surprise on his expression at seeing her there.  He hadn’t acknowledged her upon entry but he’d known she was there. 

“The blockers are helping enough.”  His voice though soft, was heavy with emotion but Kayo didn’t comment on it. 

“I know.”  She replied coming up the end of the bed and resting her hand on one of Virgil’s covered feet. A physical act of reassurance she couldn’t explain but viscerally needed.  

“His speech..” He started and couldn’t seem to finish.

“I know,  Doctor’s said there could be some neurological damage from the cerebral edema. He has no idea he is slurring or muddling up some of his words but it’s gotten better since he woke up.  Swelling is still going down.”

Scott’s head bobbed up and down once.  “Nurse came by.” 

“I ran into her just outside,  she filled me in.  The neurologist will be by in a bit, she’s just getting out of surgery..”  Kayo stopped, unsure if she should continue or not.  Scott wasn’t doing so well and she didn’t want to burden him more.  He already blamed himself for GlobalMax. 

She needn’t had hesitated though, Scott already knew.  

“They keep checking his pupil response every time they come in.”  

Kayo closed her eyes, a despondent weight settling over her. The news she had secretly been dreading, fears that she had been right about voiced and confirmed by Scott with his concerned words.

“Did he say anything to you?” She asked, knowing that if Virgil hadn't told her about his sight the chances were slim that he would have mentioned it to Scott. 

“Not a peep but I suspected as much.  The Doctors did warn us.”  Scott looked down, rubbed once more at his battered fists, flicked his glance at the growing  medi-chart that hung off the end of the bed.  

Kayo watched Scott worry away at his hands,  his apprehension tightening his shoulders, distorting his usually impeccable posture.  “Have you put any ice on those?” She queried, shock spearing through his eyes as they shot up to hers.  

She leaned on the bed by Virgil’s feet,  hands in her lap playing with loose thread of her sweater.  “He might not be able to see the damage, Scott but I certainly can.”  She waited a beat,  “So can the others, mind you they won’t ask but they’re worried  about you and so am I.” 

Something flashed in his eyes at that, something she hadn’t seen in a long time as his vibrant blue gaze jetted up to hers and skittered away again.

Her own pulse kicked at the look but it was an instant only.  Something that would never be followed through on or explored.  It was from a childish youth years before she knew the truth of her adult self.  The strength of her feelings for the sleeping man quietly snoring at her back.  His leg resting against her spine, residual heat from his fading fever radiating through her clothing and warming her skin. 

Had she known then what she did now, that wellspring of youthful emotion would have fizzled to non-existence but that was the journey of life.  To experience its highs and it lows, and to see how far one could go in either direction without breaking or succumbing.  She'd found her peak, the pinnacle of her high and it was interwoven intricately with the mind behind loving, steady, sable brown eyes.  

Scott's athletic shoulders shrugged, not as wide as his brothers but just as able in a rescue. They carried many a burden, had sagged slightly under pressure but held firm time and again to whatever life threw at them.  This time though she wasn't too sure as doubt glossed over their resilience, maybe this time it would be too much. 

"You really should get them tended." She was well versed in the pain he was most likely experiencing having had her fair share of tussles over the years.  Some she'd won, some she'd lost but the pain in one's hands was always the same.  Bone deep and achy.  

"I will..just…". His attention turned to Virgil. Scott hadn't left his side since his return from wherever he had disappeared to but Kayo had her suspicions.  The haunted look in his eyes told her plenty.  

"Scott," Kayo put a hand in his jumping knee, the one she was sure he hadn't been aware danced up and down when he was overly tired and distraught. It stopped its mad jitter, his piercing blue turned back to her. "When was the last time you slept?" 

He'd comforted her during her time of need, now it was her turn to do the same in whatever small way he would allow.  She knew it was hard for him to admit needing it, a task usually delegated to Virgil to suss out but he wasn’t up to it and it would be sometime before he would be. 

"I'm doing okay, Tin". A childhood name, one seldom used and a testament to Scott’s current troubled mind.  

"No, you're not." 

His eyes shifted to the hand still on his knee and she lifted it, tucked it into the crook of her arm as she folded them again across her chest.  

“I have to be.” For his family, for the commander he was forced to be in the absence of their Father.

"Grandma was asking after you, maybe you should go and see her. She’s gotten antsy since the Doctor’s veto’ed her access to force her to rest.” Kayo tipped her head towards the door. “I wont leave him.”  

“She made you come in here to get me, didn’t she?”  He knew the woman well.

Kayo’s lips perked,  “You know Grandma,  always looking after her boys.”  She stood, offered Scott a hand.   “It was either me or TI security and a tranq’ gun. I figured I was the better option.”, 

Scott snorted, “You figured right since I could fire them all.” He took her hand,  groaned as she dragged him up to his feet.  

He stood in front of her a moment, close and she caught a whiff of his aftershave so different from Virgil’s but so Scott.  An awkward beat and she stepped back swinging out her arm to gesture towards the door dramatically.  “After you.” 

A slight uptick of a smile,  a flash of dimples before a quick glance over to his supine sibling. “You’re right.” He said as he stepped past her, long legs eating up the short distance. 

He stopped at the door,  back to her still. “Kayo…?”

“Yes?”  Her fingers combing through Virgil’s hair, brushing the tangled mess back from his pale brow.  

“..nevermind..”  and Scott was gone, the door swinging shut quietly in his wake. 

Not all injuries were visible but they hurt all the same.  

oOo

Next post can be found HERE

The Master List of prompts can be found HERE

[livinganexistence]

@sidgenophotochallenge, ~3.3K

Also on AO3

“He could still come back, Sid.”

Sid sighs and looks up from his notes. “Can we not talk about this for once? I just want to write this paper and go home, Flower.”

“I’m just saying. I know how much he cared about you, and I’m worried. You haven’t been the same since he left and I still don’t believe he’s gone for good.”

Sid sighs again and rubs a hand across his face. “You know how much I appreciate your endless, though often misguided, optimism. But can we just, I don’t know, not bring this up all the time? I’m trying to move on. He told me to move on. I can’t do that with you constantly stirring my hopes up.”

Flower looks chagrined, but continues, “But he--”

“It’s been six months, Flower,” Sid snaps loudly. The student at the next table glances up at him questioningly. His face heats and he lowers his voice. “And I’ve heard nothing. Nothing. If I’ve learned anything in my life it’s that people come and go. And Geno’s gone. Just… Drop it. Please.” Sid stares back down at the book he’d been taking notes from and is horrified to see the words swimming. He blinks furiously and turns to his laptop and begins typing.

“Oh, Sidney,” Flower says, reaching over to squeeze his arm. “I’m sorry, my friend. You’re right, I won’t bring him up again.”

“It’s fine,” Sid takes in a shaky breath and tries to smile at Flower, though it comes out as more of a grimace. He groans softly to himself and puts his face in his hands. When he looks back up, he suddenly needs to be anywhere but at the library. He snaps his laptop shut and begins hastily shoving things into his backpack “I think I’m done studying for the day. I’ll see you back at the apartment, yeah?” he says with false cheerfulness. Flower makes to follow but Sid shakes his head sharply once. “I’ll see you at home, okay?” Sid zips up his bag and turns towards the door.

~*~

The bar is busy for a Wednesday night. It’s the Pens season opener, so Sid attributes the uptick in patronage to them. More tips for him either way. He hands a customer her change and turns back to Flower, who’s been trying to cajole him into making him a complicated - and expensive - drink he’d seen online for the last 10 minutes. Sid hands him a beer instead. “You know I’m not giving you free alcohol, Flower,” he says. “I just got this job in the summer and you’re not going to be the reason I lose it.”

“Come on, Sidney, not even for your best friend?”

Before Sid can answer, a train roars by, shaking the bottles and rattling the tables. Not for the first time Sid wonders why the bar is so close to the tracks, but if nothing else it gives a certain aesthetic. Kind of. If you squint.

Once he can be heard again, he says, “Especially not for my best friend.”

Flower dips his fingers into the beer and flicks the droplets in Sid’s direction. “Kill-joy.”

“Flower!” Sid rolls his eyes and grabs a towel to wipe off his face. “Asshole,” he grumbles as a new customer sits at the bar. Before Sid can say anything, the man smiles and asks, “What kind name is Flower?”

Sid takes in the stranger, noting his warm brown eyes and full lips. He leans against the bar and grins back. “I wish I could describe this guy over here,” pointing his thumb at Flower, “but words can’t explain that level of crazy.” Flower has the decency to look affronted, and the man laughs appreciatively. Sid chuckles with him before asking, “What can I get you?”

“You old enough to be behind bar? Look young.” The man sticks his tongue between his teeth. “Don’t want get in trouble now.”

“I’m a senior at UPitt, thank you very much. I am plenty old enough,” he says, trying to hide his surprise. Is this guy flirting with him?

Before he can say anything, Flower cuts in, “I don’t know Sid, the guy’s got a point. Your baby face might be turning away willing customers.” He tips his glass towards the man.

“I’m not think that face keep anyone away,” the man says with a wink in Sid’s direction. Sid sees Flower’s eyebrows rise and feels color creep up on his cheeks. His stomach flips pleasantly. “Name is Evgeni. Can call Geno - easier for Americans.” He sticks his hand out for Sid to shake.

“Sid. And lucky for you, neither of us are Americans. I’ll still stick with Geno though,” Sid says, shaking his hand. It’s warm and soft, and Geno holds on for longer than strictly necessary. Yep, definitely flirting.

“Can have the local tap, Sid?” Geno asks, sliding over his ID. Sid brushes his fingers against Geno’s as he takes it. He smiles warmly and hands it back.

“Coming right up.”

--

Flower decides to leave during first intermission and gives Sid a significant look as he walks towards the door. Sid rolls his eyes and waves him off.

Geno, however, ends up staying at the bar all night. They watch the Pens game, argue about the PK, and learn bits of information about each other during lulls in the game. Between watching the game, taking orders, and making small talk with various patrons, Sid learns that Geno is an MBA candidate here for the credentials to take back home to Russia to help run his father’s steel company.

Right as second intermission starts another train rumbles by. “What with the trains?” Geno shouts above the noise, holding his glass tightly.

Sid waits to answer until the train passes. “They pass through every couple hours during the week and a few times on weekends. Don’t worry, they become part of the background once you get used to them.”

���Not sure I ever get used to that much background,” Geno mutters, shaking his head.

“You can get used to just about anything,” Sid shrugs before stepping away to help another customer.

Once he’s back and leaning against the counter, Geno asks “So why Canadian come all the way to Pittsburgh for master’s in sports medicine? College no good in Canada?”

Sid’s smile falters and he looks away from Geno. He grabs a rag and begins wiping the already clean bar top. “Ah, no, I needed to get away. I told my parents I was gay and they- they didn’t take it well.”

Geno puts his hand over Sid’s to stop the slow circles he’s making. “I’m sorry, Sid. Sorry you have to go through that.”

Sid risks a glance up at Geno before focusing on their joined hands. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not, but I’m okay now. I have great friends. It’s been a few years, and I’ve been able to talk to my sister more regularly again. So I guess I can’t complain.”

“Not complain, Sid. Shitty parents for not accept own child.” Sid flips his hand over to squeeze Geno’s gently. He looks back up at him and says, “Thanks, Geno.”

“Not for thank. I’m understand how feel though. Russia very old fashion. Is why I’m glad to come to America,” Geno squeezes his hand back and asks, “Not want to be forward, but can I take to dinner sometime, Sid?”

Sid huffs out a startled laugh, but grins. “I’d like that.”

--

Sid finds being in a relationship with Geno easy. Geno is great, the sex is great, and he fits almost effortlessly into Sid’s life. Falling in love with Geno is the easiest thing he’s done since arriving in Pittsburgh. Geno and Flower get along like a house on fire, and Geno spends many of Sid’s shifts at the bar either studying or conspiring with Flower to egg Sid on mercilessly, to which he feigns annoyance but secretly loves.

The summer apart is hard, and Sid spends a lot of time resolutely not thinking about the fact that Geno may be heading back to Russia once he graduates. It’s the one thing they don’t talk about in their relationship. It feels like a dark cloud in the distance that Sid’s not sure how to address. It’s not like him to avoid a problem, but if he’s honest with himself he’s too afraid of the answer to bring it up.

Geno takes the decision out of his hands one night shortly after their one-year anniversary. Geno is sitting in his usual spot while Sid makes his rounds. Once he’s back behind the bar, he says, “Talk to papa today, Sid.”

Sid is opening a handful of beers not looking at Geno. “About what?” “I’m ask papa what he thinks about me running American branch in Chicago. I said would be good for company if Russian in charge of US operations. I get American degree, I’m clearly best option, yes?”

Sid sets the beers down loudly on the bar top and turns to Geno in surprise. “Seriously Geno? What did he say?” he asks, voice betraying his hopefulness.

“He said he think about. Not set in stone yet, but I’m sure I can convince. Will take time, will have to spend time in Russia for a while. But hope I might be able to transfer by time you graduate.”

Sid reaches across the counter to press a kiss to Geno’s lips. Geno cups his face and tries to deepen it, but Sid swats at him and pulls back. “Geno, that’s great news! Are you sure your dad will be okay with it?”

Geno shrugs. “Not 100% sure, but want. Want more than anything.”

Sid grabs his hand and squeezes. “Me too.”

--

With the belief that Geno will be able to work for the American branch of Malkin Steel Corp, Sid spends the little amount of free time he has during his first year of grad school researching jobs and apartments in the Chicago area.

However, as it gets closer to Geno’s graduation date, Sid notices how much more time Geno spends on the phone and how distracted and distant he is when he’s off of it. When Sid asks what’s wrong, Geno just shakes his head and tells him everything is fine. As the weeks go on he continues to press the issue, but Geno seems unwilling to share any information. Finally, he tells Sid he’s been arguing with his father about some decisions the business is making, but it’s nothing to be concerned about.

--

About a week after the end of the semester, Sid hears Geno walk into the apartment. Sid’s lying on the couch with a book, and when Geno walks in he glances over the top of it and smiles. “Hey G.”

Geno takes a deep breath. “Sid, need to talk.”

Sid marks his page and sets the book on his lap but doesn’t get up. He holds his hand out to Geno and says, “Okay, what’s up?”

Geno moves to sit on the coffee table. He takes Sid’s hand in both of his and brings it up to his lips to kiss. “Don’t know how to say. Thought I could stay here, with you. But can’t. Was fool.”

Sid stares up at Geno, confused. “What are you saying?” he asks, pulling his hand back.

“Have to leave, have go back to Russia.”

Sid sits up abruptly, book falling off of his lap onto the floor. “Now? I thought you didn’t have to go back until the end of the summer?”

Geno won’t meet his eyes. “Papa says come home now.”

“Why-- for how long?” Sid’s mind is already doing calculations. “We can work out a travel schedule then, yeah? Figure out opportune times for you to visit, and--”

Geno shakes his head and looks down. “Going home for good, Sid.”

Sid’s stomach drops. “For good? What are you saying, Geno? What about Chicago?”

Geno stares resolutely at the ground between them. “Papa need me in Russia. Company change plan, papa says can’t work in US long term. Can’t stay here. Parents have expectations. Family have expectations. Have to meet. I’m sorry.” He sniffs and brings a hand up to wipe his nose.

“You’re-- are you breaking up with me? Just like that?” Sid whispers, disbelief and hurt taking his voice from him.

“No! Not ‘just like that.’ Don’t want break up. But don’t know when or if I ever be back. Can’t ask you to wait for me. Not fair to you so can’t be together anymore. I’m sorry,” Geno looks up pleadingly into Sid’s eyes, “I’m so sorry. But always was plan to go back to Russia. You know this.”

“I’ll wait for you. I could come visit--”

“No place for you and me in Russia, Sid.” Geno says softly. “Can’t work. Want you to be happy. You deserve better than waiting on ‘maybe.’”

“But I thought-” Sid doesn’t finish his sentence.

“I thought too. But like I said. Was fool. Can’t defy parents, have to do right thing. Have to go back home.” Geno grabs for his hand again, but Sid shakes away from his grasp and stands up. He wraps his arms around himself and starts pacing the room.

“That’s it then? The last two years were what? Just for fun, just for you to pass the time?”

Geno stands and says, “Sid, no. I love you, want you to be happy.”

“But not enough to stay,” he says bitterly, stopping in front of the window.

“Not fair, Sid. Parents give me everything.”

Silence fills the room. As Sid stares out the window, he hears the air horn blare from a train passing through town. “So that’s it then?” he asks again.

Geno walks to Sid’s side and pulls him into a hug. “I’m sorry Sid. So sorry.”

Sid clutches Geno briefly before pushing back and shoving his hands into his pockets. He turns his back to Geno and stares unseeing out the window, eyes hot and prickling. “Just leave,” he says quietly.

He feels Geno staring at him for what seems like an eternity before Geno turns towards the door. He hears him set something down before he closes the door softly behind him. Sid turns to see his apartment key sitting on the table.

~*~

Sid heads home, cold air nipping at his ears as he makes the walk. He curses himself for forgetting his toque and turns up his collar against the wind. He crosses the tracks and is almost past the bar when he hears steps rushing to catch up to him. Without turning around, he says, “Flower, I told you, I just want to go home. I have to work tonight and I’d really like to get a nap in first.”

The steps slow to a stop “What kind name is Flower?” the person asks.

Sid whips around at the voice. He stares, unable to move “...Geno?”

“Hi Sid,” Geno says, giving him a tentative smile. Sid gapes at him. “I missed you.”

Anger flares hotly in Sid’s chest. “You missed me? You left and said you weren’t coming back! What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I was wrong,” Geno says, taking a step towards Sid.

Sid takes a step back and crosses his arms. “Wrong about what? You made it very clear at the end of last semester where we stood,” Sid spits out, taking another step away from Geno. As quick as the anger came, it begins seeping out of him like water through a cracked vase. Quietly, he asks, “Why are you here, Geno?”

“I was wrong,” Geno repeats. “Thought I have do things certain way, thought I have be certain person. I’m was afraid, Sid.” Geno reaches towards him but drops his arm when he sees Sid flinch. “I’m not afraid anymore.” Geno smiles at him again, timid but hopeful.

Sid looks up at him and sees the regret and the pain and the love naked in Geno’s eyes. He absolutely does not know what to do with that, so he gazes down at his sneakers. Geno continues, “I understand if move on. I understand if not want be with me. But I’m have to try. Have to come back, have to know.” He takes a step closer again and this time Sid doesn’t step away. Geno reaches his hand out and touches Sid’s elbow lightly. “Sid?”

He looks back up. “I-” Sid’s voice cracks, and he clears his throat to start again. The words start flowing from his mouth and he doesn’t know how to stop them. “I tried. To move on. But I couldn’t, Geno, I tried so hard because you left like it was easy and now you’re back saying you want to try again like six months of radio silence was nothing. I spent days trying to squash any remaining hope I had, and I can’t--” Sid’s voice hitches, and he wipes at his nose with the back of a gloved hand. “I can’t do this again.” Sid knows he should pull his arm out of Geno’s grasp, but he can only stand there with his head down.

“Sid, look at me,” Geno says, moving his hand up Sid’s arm and cups his face. Sid leans into the touch despite his best efforts. “Sid, please?”

Sid looks up, eyes brimming with unshed tears. “I can’t,” he says, voice quivering. “You might not be afraid anymore, but I am.”

The sudden dinging of the crossing gates startles Sid into taking a step closer to Geno, who uses the opportunity to rub his hands up and down Sid’s arms soothingly. They stare at each other as the train moves past, and Sid finally lets his tears fall. Geno wipes them away, smiling sadly at Sid but not letting him go. Sid doesn’t pull away.  

Once the train is gone, Geno speaks again. “I’m know I hurt you, Sid. I’m sorry took so long for me to figure my shit out. I’m know how much I have to make up. I’m know it not easy to trust again. But I’m here to stay. I’m want to try again, if you have me. Sid, I meant what said before left. I love you. I never meant hurt you. Please, can we start again?”

Sid shoves his hands in his pockets, and Geno reluctantly lets him go. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say to you,” he says honestly, his desire to wrap himself in Geno’s arms warring with his need to keep his distance.

Geno shuffles his feet nervously. “Could say yes.”

Sid gives him a considering look. “How do I know this isn’t just as temporary as last time? Why should I believe you’ll stay?”

Geno takes in a deep breath. “Because I’m told papa everything. Told him why I so unhappy, why I want stay in America. And papa? He want me to be happy, even if not fully understand. You make me happy, happiest ever.”

“You made me happy too, G. But I can’t forget the last six months happened like it wasn’t hard, didn’t hurt.  What you did hurt me more than I can say.”

“Understand Sid. Know I have lot to make up. But want to try, yes?” Geno’s voice is so hopeful it makes Sid’s chest ache.

Sid wipes at his face to clear away the tear tracks. “I should say no.”

Geno grins suddenly. He knows Sidney too well. He nods his head towards the bar and asks, “Want to get a drink with me?”

Sid presses his lips together and takes a cleansing breath through his nose. “I guess Flower was right,” he says instead of answering.

Geno raises his eyebrow in question.

“You came back.” Geno hums in agreement and holds out his hand for Sid to take.

“Always gunna come back to you, Sid.”

[jimmie19751230-blog]

3 accused of stealing hundreds from Menomonee Falls Pick

3 accused of stealing hundreds from menomonee falls pick Weakening global growth means India can't even use a weak currency to export its way out of trouble. Under Armour, it found, offered the sweetest, though Nike was "close," Hill said. What about jewellery? Wearing a different real gold necklace for all the occasions may burn a hole in your pocket. "You'll Have an A Rodiculously Great Time!" It's all in reference to a Miami New Times article about A Rod's association with Tony Bosch, the Miami based doctor accused of giving performance enhancing drugs to MLB players. IBM's urgency in establishing its blockchain platform in this industry (the December announcement about the Blockchain Food Safety Alliance came only a few months after IBM announced a similar partnership with other producers and distributors) has quickly moved the technology out of the shadows of cryptocurrency and into suburban supermarkets.. When it comes to large bodies of content, the material should also be organized in an intuitive and easy to read way. In another tweet, Minnis wrote: are seeing bravery and fortitude of Bahamians who endured hours and days of horror. Because I have always created my own style and not been influenced by fashion I have encouraged this in my son. We still haven't told you how fuel efficient this engine is but this will make for an ideal tourer with its 21 litre fuel tank.. The video showed two vehicles that turned onto 44th Street. IKEA has remodel its 'New At IKEA' hub on the UK website, which will feature all the latest collections and will be updated every time new products enter the range. He was a curly haired guy with a paunch and puffed red lips, and he was sleeping on his stomach with his arms over his head, lying very naturally, except he had no buttocks or legs. These Olympics will set the record for revenue generation, topping each day with over 200 hours of air/online time, which means it would take a viewer almost five months to watch all of the available footage. The new Ocracoke Express passenger ferry has transported 27,153 passengers since initially launching on May 20, and hopes are high that the number can climb to 30,000 before the ferry shuts down for the summer season. Widely expect to see three per cent growth in the second quarter of 2019, marking a significant uptick from the previous two quarters when the Canadian economy had essentially stalled. I may even buy an iPhone before the year is out. Truck was coming in the opposite direction. "We had actually just got off that ride. Susan Brooks congressional seat. Best of all, it's free.Don't want to spend $300 on a BCBG dress If you're lucky, you can find one at Rag Trade for $30. Will work at a company whose core values are aligned with mine. That is, until cheap yeezy shoes the opening of Nike Town New York last Friday. Yet the implicit 'accusation' is made, and the terms of the debate are set.. It offers the same resolution as the C940, with both the 14 inch and 15.6 inch displays once again featuring HDR support. There you have it, folks! Our comparison showed in detail what each alternative to set top box PVR's was capable of Cheap Fake Yeezys and we were excited by our results. But look a little deeper into the card meaning: Balance, harmony, unity. Made me feel like Superman. Enter its nook of the Sunset West Shopping Center and find yourself in a whirl of homemade soups (made daily), patties, and a curry goat that will make you do a backflip. There isn't an adult in the room. I remember watching Prince Andrew's wedding in the TV room at primary school. Said he never liked guns. Once people get the message that you can't blame people because of religion or ethnicity we'll be able to direct our anger at those who are to blame for this tragedy.". He have to check with his superior who at the Superdome. The shoe's fiber woven upper portion allows air to pass through freely so your feet can breath with each stride. Have a lot of good sales and I just want to take advantage of them, he said. A: Katie [Swinden, producer] and I decided very early on that this was going to become a location shoot and, actually, yes fake yeezys for kids we would have our bases and we would have our key sets, but we would also get out there. All kinds of excuses. With football jamborees here and Week 1 games set for Sept. The artist teachers are placed by Rowles' questions in a quite traditional teacher / student relationship of didactic telling, at times literally drawing out the schema for her on paper, in order for her to 'get it'.. Biden, 76, has consistently maintained a comfortable lead over his rivals. (Nembot) is coming around, but we want to make sure we line up with all the Canadians to make sure we good to go. The 1830s saw three big innovations that completely transformed sneakers. At first I thought maybe it was someone hard up, but honestly, Payless has good men's shoes for way less than $80.00. The point is that they're just not very similar at all. Was born with a heart defect called double outlet right ventricle, which means her heart can properly circulate oxygen around her body. Lack of perfect wet suits hampered this surfing many times. We call them the Alpha and Omega teams. Criminal case focuses on corruption that occurred in Brazil in 2009 and 2010, and that the subsidiary corrupt acts caused the parent company to submit inaccurate financial records.

[susanmichelin]

Wanted to take a minute to thank @sorokinalina for spending her puppy-sitting time creating photos of the Echolls family as featured in my fanfic. From experience, I know how much work is involved in not only finding the right photos, but also doing the actual photoshopping. As a small way to show my appreciation, I thought she might like a sneak peek at the first chapter of the next story, Same Old Song.

The full fic is months away from being ready to post so I’ve hidden most of the chapter under the cut since it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger (read at your own risk). 

CHAPTER ONE

Veronica pulled open the front door to reveal a tall, leggy redhead. “Can I help you?” 

She hesitated, looked at the paper in her hand and then back to Veronica. “No, I don’t think you can. I’m sorry, I…” Her face crumpled and her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. A quick shake of her head and her composure returned. “I must have the wrong house.” 

“Veronica, do you want—” He froze, jaw slack with surprise.

“Logan?” The redhead rushed past her into the house and threw herself into Logan’s arms. 

Instead of pushing the strange woman away, Veronica’s husband actually pulled her closer, a smile crossing his face. One of the rare smiles- easy and unguarded, imbued with genuine warmth and happiness. His eyes flicked to Veronica and the smile faltered. 

“It is you. I was afraid…” Redhead started crying and Logan gently stroked her back, soothing and comforting her. What the hell was going on? “I’m in trouble. I need money fast and you’re the…I need two-hundred grand.” 

He gripped her shoulders and leaned back to see her face. “Whoa, slow down. What kind of trouble requires two-hundred grand?” 

Redhead took a deep breath. “It’s—” She stopped talking and glanced back at the door. “Did he call you Veronica?” 

Yes, because it’s my name. She kept the snotty thought to herself and just nodded. 

“The Veronica?” Redhead was staring at Logan waiting for an answer. 

He nodded. “I sent you a wedding invitation, but I didn’t hear from you.” 

Stunned was the only way to describe her expression, but then a wide grin split her face. “I knew it! I told you if you stopped being a fuckup she’d come back.” She shook her head. “Married? Holy shit, I’m sorry I missed it.” Her smile died and the tears started flowing again. “I’m not in Vegas anymore.” 

Pam Mitchell. Leggy redhead, wedding invitation, and Vegas were all the clues Veronica needed to put together the mystery woman’s identity. Turning away from the two of them, she closed the front door and briefly rested her forehead against the jamb. Dealing with her husband’s ex who was both in trouble and needed money was a radical change to her afternoon plan. She kissed her nap goodbye and moved away from the door.

Logan wasn’t holding her anymore, but his hands were still resting on Pam’s shoulders. “When did you leave Vegas?” 

Pam’s eyes clouded and a slight frown puckered her brow. “Right after I saw you and Carrie in Chicago?” She laid her head on Logan’s chest. “God, I’m so glad you’re here; I was afraid you’d be deployed.” 

They made a striking couple. At almost the same height, their bodies fit together; her lush curves molding perfectly to his hard muscular frame. Veronica felt like an interloper. 

“I left the Navy.” 

Dropping her arms from his waist, Pam took a step back and then another. Her gaze moved beyond his shoulder and landed on Veronica, a hostile expression on her face. “Why?” 

“Long story.” Logan dragged a hand through his hair as he glanced at Veronica and then back to Pam. “Uh… do you want to have lunch with us?” 

Not waiting for her answer, Veronica stalked from the room. If she was lucky the baby would sleep for an hour and she wasn’t going to spend that time being glared at by Pam. She frowned. It was learning that Logan left the Navy that earned Veronica the nasty look. What’s that about? 

Plates and glasses for two were already set out on the kitchen table along with a spinach salad. She took down another set of dishes and ladled out a generous serving of black bean soup. Logan sidled up behind her, slid his hand under the bowl and lifted it from her hand. “I’ve got this, you go sit.” 

Veronica titled her head back to see him and he kissed her nose. His eyes were troubled and his brow was furrowed with worry lines. Probably thinks I’m jealous. To alleviate his fear, she smiled at him before taking her soup back and turning to Pam. “We’ve got lemonade, juice, or water.” 

Opening the fridge, she took out the Brita water pitcher for herself and waited on Pam’s response. 

“Water’s fine.” 

With her hip, Veronica closed the fridge and went to take her seat at the table. Pam lingered in the doorway. She was hugging herself and staring at the floor. Finally, she raised her head and spoke to Logan: “I’m not really hungry.” 

He dished out a bowl of soup for her anyway. “At least sit down and tell me what’s wrong.” 

Her eyes tracked his progress from the counter to the table and then focused on Wyatt’s booster chair. Crossing the room, Pam brushed her fingertips across the green turtle’s head. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She swiped her hands over her face. “Boy” —her voice cracked— “Or girl?” 

Uneasiness descended over Veronica and she paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth to study Pam. The other woman was watching Logan, waiting for his answer. A grin split his face and his eyes brightened. “A girl. Actually, we have two girls.” 

His words knocked her back a step and she practically fell into the chair next to him. “I don’t… wow, you as a Dad? Shit, I’m impressed.” A lopsided smile spread over Pam’s lips and Veronica relaxed. “You don’t waste any time do you?” 

“Not when I know what I want.” As he spoke, Logan’s eyes were locked on Veronica. It was the intense stare that made her want to crawl across the table and do bad things with him. The smug uptick at the corner of his mouth said he knew exactly what she was thinking. She rolled her eyes and he chuckled. 

To get her thoughts under control, Veronica filled their water glasses and served the salad. It was made with warm bacon dressing, hard-boiled eggs, and gorgonzola cheese and was her new personal fave. She held out the plate for Pam who shook her head. Your loss.  “Two hundred thousand dollars,” Veronica prompted. 

Her husband was used to her bluntness, but Pam was not. She blinked and looked at Logan for rescue. Instead of changing the subject, he asked: “Do you owe it to somebody?” 

“No.” With an unsteady hand, she picked up her water glass and took a long sip. “When I left Vegas, I rented an apartment in Santa Monica and started waiting tables at a diner.” 

“Why did you quit the casino?” 

Pam fiddled with her glass, dragging a finger up its side to catch the condensation. “It was time for a change.” 

She’s lying. It wasn’t outright- more evasion than lying, but there was some piece of information she was withholding. Veronica’s general feeling of unease returned. Maybe I’m being paranoid. Logan didn’t look concerned and he knew Pam better than she did. “Big pay cut,” was all he said. 

“No shit” —a wry grin— “And the rent was crazy.” 

“Was? You’re not there anymore?” 

Veronica was losing patience. She wanted Pam to get to her reason for coming here and why she needed the money. The question ‘why Logan’ almost made it past her lips and she swallowed it down with another spoon of soup. Come on, Veronica you know the why doesn’t matter- Logan’s not going to say no. There was no way her husband would turn down a woman in distress. 

“There was this guy.” There always is. “A customer at the diner and he asked me if I’d ever danced before. I told him about Reno and Vegas and he offered me a job.” She didn’t make any excuses for her decision and Veronica admired her unabashed attitude. “It was a great deal; I didn’t have to pay stage fees or share tips. It was a fifty-fifty split for lap dances though, but I was an employee so,” she shrugged. 

Curiosity engaged. Veronica sighed and asked: “Stage fees? They make you pay to dance?” 

Pam nodded. “Some clubs charge a hundred bucks just for you to work. They take cuts from your tips, make you buy a set amount of drinks during your shift and some places even charge you fines- for being late, chewing gum on stage, not smiling enough.” 

“Seriously?” Veronica was surprised and a little appalled at the way the clubs were taking advantage of their dancers. 

“It’s their way of claiming you’re an independent contractor instead of an employee. This way they don’t have to pay you a minimum wage, or provide disability insurance or worker’s comp.” 

“That’s against the law.” 

Pam grimaced. “A lot of what happens inside some strip clubs is against the law.” 

Logan was being very quiet. His head was bowed and he was eating his soup like it was his last meal. Veronica rubbed her foot against his leg making him jump. “Cat got your tongue?” 

Bailey’s crying saved him from having to answer. “I’ll get her.” He practically sprinted from the kitchen.

Veronica gave him the benefit of the doubt -attributing his eagerness to leave the room because he wanted to quiet Bailey before she woke Wyatt and not a desire to escape a discussion between his wife and his ex about illicit activities inside strip clubs. 

“How long has he been out of the Navy?” 

“Almost a year.” Conversations about strip clubs and money troubles were preferable to this discussion. 

Pam was a walking and talking embodiment of the nine years of radio silence. She witnessed Logan’s drinking and drug use and sketchy behavior. Helped him through withdrawal, attended his college graduation, and watched him get his wings. Even though Logan let her read his journal, Pam still knew things about her husband that Veronica didn’t and it made her uncomfortable. 

“How is he?” 

Too many layers to that question. 

“Happy.” Standing, Veronica carried her dishes to the sink. “Are you sure you don’t want anything? Coffee?” Gracious hostess was an easier role to play. 

“Coffee works.” 

Logan chose then to return, asking: “Can you make that two?” Bailey was nestled against his chest wide-awake and sucking on her fingers. 

Veronica cupped the baby’s head. “Hey, Rabbit. How was your very short nap?” At the sound of Veronica’s voice, Bay smiled around her fingers and gurgled. “That good, huh?” Lifting the baby’s foot, she kissed her toes. “Did you check on Wy?” 

He nodded. “Still sleeping.” 

“Ah, sleep, I did that once back in the day.” She pulled three mugs from the cabinet, set the first cup to brew, and went into the living room to get Bailey’s bouncer seat. When she walked back into the kitchen, he was in the process of transferring the baby to Pam. 

Her grip tightened on the bouncer and she frowned at the two of them. Their chairs were pushed together, shoulders touching and heads bent over the baby. Bailey was gripping Logan’s finger and cooing at Pam. 

“She’s beautiful, Logan.” Pam cuddled the baby closer and brushed her fingers over Bailey’s cheek. 

Veronica slammed the bouncer seat on the table a little harder than intended and all three of them startled at the sound. “How do you want your coffee, Pam?” 

“Black is fine.” 

Turning her back on them, she concentrated on making the coffee. By the time she carried their mugs to the table, Bay was on the floor in her bouncer trying to catch the stuffed giraffe. She swatted at it and kicked her feet making the seat bounce and her squeal. 

After handing them their cups, she got her own and rejoined them at the table. “So are you still dancing at this club?” Veronica sipped her coffee and stared at Pam over the rim. Time to finish your story and go home. 

“Yes and no. Joey, he’s the guy who owned the club, started me on the day shift during the week, and then I moved to nights and weekends. After about a year, he made me manager.” 

The upward mobility of stripping. “You work there, but don’t dance.” 

Pam shook her head. “I still dance —Friday and Saturday nights mostly— plus I fill in for girls who call out sick and we do private parties.” Her coffee cup suddenly demanded all her attention. She traced the rim, nudged at the handle, and finally picked it up to take a sip. 

It was the mention of private parties that rattled her. Veronica glanced at Logan. In between drinking his coffee, he was making funny faces at the baby trying to make her laugh. She knew he was paying attention to the conversation; yet he wasn’t asking any of his own questions. If I wasn’t here would he have just given her the money by now? Veronica frowned at the thought. “Did something happen at one of the parties?” 

Her eyes widened in surprise at the astute guess. This ain’t my first time at the rodeo, Pam. “Yes, but… I thought Joey owned Shenanigans so last year when he approached me with a deal, I…” She banged down her mug. “Fuck.” 

Reaching across the table, Logan placed his hand on hers and gave it a soft squeeze. “It’s okay, Red.” A fleeting smile at his use of the nickname. “We’re going to help you.” 

Thanks for making that decision alone, Echolls. Veronica stared at their touching hands. “What was the deal?” 

Pam followed her gaze to their hands and slid hers off the table, tucking it into her lap. 

Logan’s head swiveled in Veronica’s direction, a frown on his face. Adopting an innocent expression, she gave him a one-shouldered shrug: beats me what that was about. His eyes narrowed with suspicion and she turned away. 

“Joey knew I was saving money; I make five, six hundred bucks a shift —five shifts a week— plus whatever I earn in the VIP room.” She looked away and Veronica wondered what else Pam was doing in the VIP room besides dancing. “I was banking most of it; thought I could open my own club.” It was said with a wistful tone like that dream was gone. 

“What did Joey—” 

Logan cut her off. “Take your time.” Her husband was no longer looking at her or the baby, his focus was on Pam’s story. 

Guess he’s done with me taking the lead. Veronica finished her decaf and went to put the mug in the sink. She glanced at the clock. The baby would probably be looking to nurse right around the time Wyatt got up from her nap. If Pam didn’t wrap up her story soon, she’d be telling it to just Logan. Maybe that’s what he wants. 

“He offered to make me a partner. I gave him what I had for a twenty-five percent stake in the club. What he didn’t tell me was that he already had a partner.” She planted her face on the table. “God- I’m such a fucking idiot.” 

Logan rubbed her shoulder. Does he have to keep touching her? Veronica started to load the dishwasher fully aware that she was being catty. Her husband was a very tactile person. Touch was something that was missing from the early part of his life and it was important to him. 

Without lifting it from the table, Pam turned her head. “Sam Carlucci is not somebody you want to be partners with.” 

“I figured that much out all by myself.” 

Another one of her crooked smiles- the kind that reached her eyes and lit up her face. “Logan Echolls, boy genius.” 

“Hey now, I’m well past boy.” 

“Yeah, I remember.” She sat up and tilted her mug. “How ‘bout you make yourself useful and hook me up with another cup of coffee.” 

“Pushy bitch.” 

Pam tossed her head back —sending cascades of auburn curls over her shoulders— and laughed. “Asshole.” 

Chuckling, Logan got up and fixed her another cup of coffee. “Do you need the money to pay off Sam?” 

She immediately sobered. “I wish it was that simple.” Reaching for his hand, she gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’ve made a really good life for yourself here; I’m proud of you, Logan.” 

“You helped.” They stared at each other and once again Veronica felt like she was intruding on something. “Now let me help you. I can write you a check or I can make a call and get cash.” 

Relief washed over her. “I’ll pay you back, I swear.” 

He waved away her offer. “Don’t worry about it.” 

That’s it? Have the money and don’t worry about it? Veronica shut the dishwasher. “Are you being blackmailed?” The two of them turned to stare at her. “What? If she’s being blackmailed they’re not going to go away because she pays them. In fact, if she pays them this easily, they’re going to think they didn’t ask for enough and they’re going to make a new demand. A new demand for more- it’s never going to stop.” 

Pam’s face crumbled and Logan looked annoyed. 

“You know I’m right.” 

A solemn nod from Pam. “She is right, but it’s… it’s not blackmail.” 

“Then there’s no problem.” The words were for Pam, but Logan’s eyes were on Veronica. “Right?” 

Now she was mad. “It’s your money- do what you want with it.” 

“I will.”

“Good. Glad that’s settled.” Tugging open the refrigerator, she pulled out a bag of breast milk and poured four ounces in the Mimijumi bottle. Unlike Wyatt, Bailey was not happy if she wasn’t actually nursing. Trying to feed her from a bottle was an unpleasant experience at best, but these anatomically correct, very expensive bottles made it at least sufferable. She stuck it in the bottle warmer. 

“I don’t want to cause any problems for you.” 

Logan said: “You’re not” at the same time Veronica responded with “No problem at all.” 

Pressing her hands flat on the countertop, she took a few deep breaths. If she tried feeding the baby while she was angry, Bailey would only fuss and cry more. 

“Before you decide to help, I think you need to know the rest of the story.” Pam held up her hand to keep him from protesting. “Once I bought into the club, Sam came around to introduce himself.” 

The way she said the word ‘introduce’ had Veronica’s head spinning around to look at her. Pam’s composure was a little shaken, but she pushed back her shoulders and plowed ahead with her story. “He started using the club to conduct his business. Sometimes up in front, sometimes in the back office or VIP rooms. Then he started having private parties.” 

All the color leached from Logan’s face and he shook his head. “You don’t need to tell me anymore.” 

The warmer shut off and Veronica plucked the bottle from its warm water bath. She couldn’t wait to feed the baby; Bay was already fidgeting in her seat and gnawing on her hand. Veronica scooped her up, sat at the table and got as comfortable as she could in the hard chair. 

As soon as she realized it was a bottle, the baby clamped her mouth shut and started rooting around for the breast. “Come on, Bay.” She gently tapped the nipple against Bailey’s lips until she opened her mouth and started to drink. She leveled Veronica with a baleful stare. 

Pam was watching them and her earlier tears returned in earnest. “Last week Sam had a party. It was him and two of his associates, plus three guys I’ve never seen before. I was there along with four other dancers.” She dragged her eyes away from Veronica and the baby and took a large gulp of her coffee. 

“It was a drug buy; I think Sam was looking for a new supplier so it was a small deal- five kilos at twenty grand a piece.” 

One hundred thousand dollars cash and one hundred thousand dollars worth of coke- two hundred grand total. “Did you steal it?” 

“Veronica,” he barked. 

Logan’s angry tone made Bailey start to whimper. “Ssh, it’s okay Rabbit.” She bounced the baby and gently started to rock. “I wasn’t accusing her; I was asking.” 

“Maybe you should go—” 

“I’m not leaving.” 

Pam’s gaze swung between them. “I didn’t steal it.” 

“I know you didn’t,” Logan reassured her. “But they think you did.” 

“Boy genius strikes again.” This time it was said without any humor. “Both the coke and the money went missing and they think one of us has it.” She buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking. “It’s bad, Logan.”

She dropped her hands. “They’re at the club all the time now; watching us- threatening us. One of the dancers… Karen, she called me, said they came to her house. She was whimpering and talking to herself. They… they terrorized her.” Tiny beads of sweat popped out over Pam’s upper lip. “She hasn’t been at the club and she’s not in her apartment. I tried calling her, but her cell phone’s disconnected.”

“It’ll be okay, Pam; you’ll give them the money and you’ll be fine.” 

Veronica was shaking her head. “It won’t work.” 

“Aren’t you just Little Mary Sunshine today?” 

“And you’re the King of Wishful Thinking- they’re not just going to leave her alone because you ask nicely. They think she stole from them and if she gives them the cash it’s as good as confessing.” 

She could see the exact moment the truth of her words hit him by the expression on his face. “Take the money and use it to disappear.” 

“I can’t.” Pam slumped in her chair. “If it was just me- maybe, but… I have a son, Logan. They’re threatening to hurt my son.”

[rhysand-vs-fenrys]

A PSA on Online Scams and Creeps (Please Read)

I know this isn’t typically what you all see from me, but lately I’ve gotten a lot of messages from various scam tumblrs, a handful of e-mails, and even a few phone calls. Others have been reporting the same uptick in scammers, and so I wanted to do a PSA for those of you who might find yourselves vulnerable.

Scams do not just target the old and elderly, I personally know people who fell prey to scammers who are teenagers or in their early 20s, and every personal story I share in this post is from someone within that age range.

In this post I’m going to describe some of the scams I’ve seen, and then later on I have a message for anyone who has been the victim of one of these scams.

There is no judgement against anyone who has been duped, if it comes across that way I wholeheartedly apologize. The purpose of this post is to identify some common scams and give some advice on how to handle them if you’ve been caught in a trap. Victim shaming is not my intention.

The Scams:

Hey, I’m a celebrity you love and I’m DM’ing you to tell you _______.

This is like a daily occurrence in some fandoms (Sebastian Stan fandom gets it 8 times a day and that’s why I’m tagging that fandom on this). It presents itself like this: You get a DM on twitter or IG from an account with a similar name to the URL of your favorite celebrity. They tell you they’ve seen your posts in their defense, they’ve gotten your messages, or they saw your icon after noticing you in the comments and fell in love. The first messages probably seem chaste- they’re just opening the door for a conversation and will gradually push it from there. 

The important thing to know about these is that they are FAKE, but they’re also good at what they do. They’ll back down if you start to pull back, they’ll reassure you, they might even say “I know it sounds like a scam but I couldn’t send this from my real account because ______”. 

No matter what reason they give::: It. Isn’t. Real.

It’s a lovely thought- that your favorite celebrity fell in love with you via IG or twitter. That you moved them so much with your care and honest defense of their honor that they’ve fallen for you in some kind of fairytale romance- but it isn’t real. This scam segues into asking for your address or asking for pictures or money- none of which you should be giving away online to anyone, no matter what. If they really want to contact you, tell them to do it from their verified account, no matter what their excuses are, or they can contact you through official channels.

A friend of mine in high school legitimately believed she was in an online and snail-mail based relationship with voice actor Vic Mignogna, and whatever guy it really was started by sending her little things based on the shows that actor worked on- little fangear trinkets. Over MONTHS it segued into him asking her to send him stuff- like “send me $15 and I’ll hook you up with this little exclusive thing”, or “hey, can I get a picture of you in that skimpy tee I sent”. Luckily she wised up to what was going on (after she told some of us and we told her if she didn’t sound the alarm we would) and handed that e-mail address and the address she’d sent cash to over to the police.

Hi, I’m a follower or other user or this messaging service who wants to talk to you and see where things go...

Skype is the absolute WORST for this scam, but I have personally dealt with this one though even just tumblr. Sometimes it’s a scammer, sometimes it’s just a creeper, either way, it’s dangerous.

My experience was with two followers who I’d chat with normally and they seemed fine, then they started getting more and more out there with their messages. One would ask me for pictures of me in a swimsuit, the other KEPT making comments like “I’m going out with friends tonight, I wish you were with us...” and ignored me repeatedly saying those kinds of comments made me uncomfortable (Flirting with an online person just feels skeevy to me). 

I blocked both, and that’s really the best thing you can do. Don’t forget- scammers or pervs will spend weeks if not months if they think their efforts can end in a pay day. 

It’s called “catfishing” (though that term mostly refers to when the scammers target men). You can google it for a plethora of examples of various tricks and traps used.

Skype is dangerous particularly because it deals with your webcam. You might see a legit person on your screen, but don’t let that trick you into trusting them. NEVER send an online person something- loaning money via paypal can end with your account hacked, sending stuff IRL is just paying into their hands directly, and things like nude pictures/videos??? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!! Just because you can see them on your screen doesn’t mean you can trust them.

A Note About Webcam Hacks//Videos

A lot of scams are scams because they start innocently. A relationship building via some messaging service (this one happened through an early version of skype to someone close to me) leads to... well... you know. You flash a bit of skin, maybe some cleavage, maybe you talk in a swimsuit top or bra, then maybe it slowly escalates and you’re covered by a blanket but you’re encouraged to masturbate while they watch your face or engage in some form of cybersex. 

It is absurdly easy to record what is on the screen of your computer. In most Macs, the program is even available as an app to record your screen and/or skype calls specifically. Hell, I’ve used that same program on my PC when working on projects for language classes in school. 

I talk in a moment about what to do if you’ve been scammed via an inappropriate video or pictures, but know that cyber-sex is DANGEROUS because of how easy it is to blackmail someone with a screenshot or video. 

There is good news if you’re facing that and I will get into that later, but I wanted to post this here along with that previous story.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’VE BEEN CAUGHT IN A TRAP

****FIRST OFF::: SAVE ANY AND ALL MESSAGES ON AN EXTERNAL DRIVE, FLASH DRIVE, E-MAIL SCREENSHOTS TO YOURSELF, AND/OR SAVE THEM TO A CLOUD SITE, THIS IS EVIDENCE.

***** SECOND OFF::: WITH ALL THAT INFO SAVED- INCLUDING THE SCAMMER’S PROFILE INFORMATION- CALL THE POLICE. SAVING THE EVIDENCE IS IMPORTANT, BUT CALLING THE POLICE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. THAT IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO IF YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED. 

If you live in the United States, do not be alarmed if you call the police and they mention the FBI It sounds intimidating, but the FBI handles crimes that cross state boundaries (where there are questions of jurisdiction) and international issues. Because of that mandate, cyber crimes automatically fall under their command, since they can more easily investigate.

ALSO-- DO NOT TELL THE PERSON SCAMMING YOU THAT YOU ARE CALLING THE POLICE. DO NOT THREATEN THEM, DO NOT SAY OR DO ANYTHING BUT CALL THE POLICE. 

Once you have contacted the police, report that person’s profile/username to the website or app you met them through. Every single site has a way to report scammers. Take advantage.

The Bad News:

If you’ve been scammed out of money via paypal or you were tricked into sending someone money for any purpose (to help with their “bills” or even straight-up blackmail money):: You’re not seeing that money ever again, more likely than not.

If you’re being blackmailed or scammed by someone you know, then yes- you might be able to take them to court and get that money back... But most scammers online aren’t caught. 

There’s just not enough manpower in law enforcement or cooperation between state or national governments for any kind of significant prosecution unless they break more laws than lying online or blackmail. Now, if there is a sexual component to this, that changes how strongly they’ll focus on the case, but you’re still not likely to see the money again.

The Good News

No matter what threats are made against you, no matter what the person scamming you may say--- most scammers do not follow through with their blackmail threats.

Even if they send you screen shots to prove they have whatever they are blackmailing you with (usually blackmail has a sexual component, but not always), even if they sound super serious, most do not follow through.

The fact of the matter is that a lot of scammers do this as their way of making money. They can’t be bothered to follow through with the threats, because it invites more trouble than it’s worth. Remember when I said a lot of scammers aren’t caught because countries can’t be bothered with blackmail and making false statements online? Well that goes out the window as soon as they actually follow through. The charges become more serious, especially if they release any videos or pictures they have of you.

I’ve got to put it in here to be super clear- some may follow through. When I say most scammers don’t follow through I mean that in the handful of cases I have seen of this IRL with friends or even family, the threats were baseless. They never followed through no matter how far they went with the threats- threats that included fabricating screenshots that “show” them e-mailing the file or video to mutual contacts or again doctored images that make it look like they’ve created a profile in your name.

I worked on a documentary about people being scammed, and while that mostly focused on the elderly, we saw plenty of cases where it happened to a teen or young adult. I don’t know of a single case- of the dozen or so I heard- where the person trying to blackmail the victim ever actually did what they said they would. In looking up scams online you see hundreds of stories of people calling the scammer’s bluff and nothing ever escalates.

Again, I’m not saying it never happens, I’m saying that in my experience, the odds are massively in your favor.

If someone *does* follow through with their blackmail threats though---

The Good News

Compromising pictures and media are the most common way scammers catch you in their traps and extort you for money. They threaten to post the videos/pictures if you don’t put up however much they’re demanding.

THE LAW IS ON YOUR SIDE.

Even just in the last MONTH, countries all around the world (including the US and many states individually) have been passing stricter and stricter laws against what is known as “revenge porn”. What ‘revenge porn’ means is that it does not matter if you were consenting to appear on webcam with someone and have cybersex- it doesn’t matter if you willingly recorded it- if the video or any pictures are posted online without your express consent and permission, the person who posted it can be arrested and the website the video is on can be sued.

Because of these stricter laws protecting people from having their privacy violated so wholly, porn websites are getting better about making it easy to report revenge porn and they take it down DAMN FAST. Depending on where you are, a website can be sued for EACH VIEW the video got before it was taken down, adding an extra layer of incentive for them to get it down FAST.

If someone posts ANYTHING without your consent, your first call is to the police to file a police report (in most states this can be done over the phone and you might have to go in at a later time to actually sign the papers). The second thing you do is report that video and contact the website it was posted to. Again, take a screenshot that shows the URL of the site and, if you can, the username of the person posting it. Then take another screen shot of that person’s profile page on the website.

The Bad News

The bad side of this is that yes, people will see it. It might be just one, it might be a much higher number before it’s caught and taken down. The odds are that no one you know will see it unless they’re specifically sent it by the person attacking you.

It’s a horrible situation to be in, and knowing that the law is on your side doesn’t change the embarrassment you feel or the shame of being tricked, but know that you’re the victim. Maybe you made a bad call, trusted the wrong person, but you aren’t the bad guy in this story. The person who is attacking you is the one to blame.

Call the police, I can’t stress that enough. Call the police because they see this happening and they’re police officers because they want to help people and because they want to make things safer. Everything you feel- every last ounce of stress and pain- by calling the police you have the power to maybe stop someone else from feeling that.

It’s a sad fact of the world we live in that people online need to be treated like a computer virus. Don’t trust easily, don’t trust wholly, and don’t take anything at face-value alone.

Also- if someone wants your bank account number for any reason, asks you to send them money for any reason, or even randomly one day sends you a link they want you to blindly follow, BLOCK their ass and spare yourself the headache.