#I Am just sitting here. staring at this google doc. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-s1lly-corner · 3 months

Text

Shut In (Eyeless Jack x reader oneshot!)

Basic plot: its really cold outside, and you urge Jack to stay in your home with you... he decides to stay despite knowing full well that he will be fine out in the freezing temperatures. You both decide to do things to pass the time and stay warm! Turns out Jack can make a mean cup of hot coco, too

Extra notes: I dont usually write fanfics, and the last one I've written was a personal one from late August... so to say I'm rusty and underexperienced is an understatement! I feel this one ended up a little.. weirdly paced imo but I think I'm still happy with the end result! Dialogue I feel I could have done better on but I'm going to be nice to myself since I mostly write hc posts so this is way out of my comfort zone.. Drafted on Tumblr then sent through google docs to pick up on some mistakes I missed, briefly reread no proper proof reading imo... lets hope this isnt a train wreck + it copied back to tumblr okay!! LMAO

Brief joke about pregnancy/making a pregnancy but its like one small snippet but I know that can make people uncomfortable + implies at least one of the characters is AFAB

Word Count: 2915

Extra Admin's note: I want to say again that I am so so happy about this blog hitting 1k followers, when I first started this blog I was originally going to use it to burn time and have something to do on the side, as well as having a place to put out my cringe ideas and hcs. I never thought this many people would be interested in my dumb thoughts, but here we are! I intend to keep writing this year, and perhaps even make more non-celebratory one shots this year? Maybe? I don't know I guess we'll see the reception on this fic!

It was the middle of the night, around the middle of January. Your boyfriend and you were holed up inside your apartment, you having locked the man up with you after seeing that it was below freezing out, as well as raining. You had to practically beg your boyfriend to stay with you for the night.

Your boyfriend, who also just so happened to be a man eating demon with tar dripping out of his hollowed out eye sockets. Your boyfriend, who was currently sitting still and staring forward, the only sound in the apartment coming from the dripping of your faucet. You had asked him to come visit you, it'd been a while... and he would never ever let you go to his cabin when it's this cold out. So here you both were now.

You pat the palms of your hands on your knees, sucking in one of your cheeks and working the flesh through your jaws for a moment. You were both technically stuck in the apartment now; you didn't want Jack to go out and risk getting sick, and Jack more than likely wouldn't want you to step out for the same reasons. So, you were both confined to what you already had within the space. You were about to open your mouth to speak but Jack broke the silence first. "You're shivering, do you want me to get some blankets?", blunt and almost robotic. He was never that expressive. "Or would you like to go to your room?" He added after a brief pause, his fangs poking just over his lip before he readjusted his mouth. You were both in the living room, sitting together on the couch; the front door to your left and a view of the kitchen to the right. You thought for a minute as your eyes lingered on the kitchen for a moment. You'd already eaten, before your partner arrived... but..

"That's fine, I'm probably going to make some hot coco," You pulled yourself up, stretching up. "Powdered stuff ooor..?" Jack mimicked you. You only shook your head, earning a disapproving look from him. "What?" You questioned, but he only dismissed you. "Why don't you get some blankets, I'll handle it," and he turned on his heel to make his way to the kitchen. "Maybe put on a movie, too, your choice." He added as his voice carried off. "Are you saying I can't cook?" You called back, following after him. No answer as he tugged out a pot. "I'll have you know-" you started once more

"Do you have half and half?" He was already opening your pantry to grab things.

"No, I don't,"

"Heavy cream? Whipping cream? Whatever it's called..." He mumbled as he placed various ingredients on the counter. Cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and sugar. You only nodded, and as he was about to begin working he paused. "Do you want anything else in it? Cinnamon? Nutmeg?" He paused and through gritted teeth, "Coffee?"

It was almost midnight, of course he would be opposed to you having caffeine so late.

"Cinnamon is fine," You watched him get to work. He measured everything out; even mixing the heavy cream with some milk to make a substitute for half and half.... was that really all it was? You weren't sure what you expected it to be, if it weren't..

He pulled his head up and stared at you. It was then that you noticed he had actually taken his mask off and set it at the end of the counter and out of the way. The black ooze dripping from his eyes was slow and posed little threat to dripping into your drink. He had a fistful of napkins on standby to dap his face dry should the flow quicken. "Aren't you going to get the blankets?"

You pat your hands on your thighs, pausing... watching him. His body had a warm glow on him from the old light bulb in the ceiling; it flickered every now and then. Under the yellowed light he almost looked healthy and alive, though there was no glint where his eyes should have been. His sharp nail tapping on the counter brought you back to the moment, blinking a few times. "Yeah.." you mumbled, defeated at the chance of making a drink for yourself stolen from you. But was that so bad?

You backed out of the kitchen, dragging your feet across the floor. Your apartment was.. a little on the smaller side so within a few steps you were in front of your bedroom door. You didn't really pay much attention to your surroundings as you shuffled through the blankets on the bed.. eventually you settled on just grabbing an arm full and waddling back to the living room, dumping everything you had grabbed onto the couch.

The house smelled of cinnamon and chocolate.. with a hint of vanilla.

Turning your gaze to the tv, your eyes scanned across the DVDs you had stacked messily. Nothing sounded good. "Is there anything you want specifically?" You called out as you settled yourself down criss cross in front of the tv and pulling all the cases onto the floor next to you. "Movie wise," You added as you pulled the first case into your hands. The DVD collection for Child's Play.. you had gotten it a few weeks ago, finding it on sale at your local store. You still hadn't popped it in to watch..

"I have.. Chucky, uhm..." You shuffled for the next case. "All the movies by the way.. I have that and.. most of the Friday the 13th movies," You called out. No answer, the only sound coming from the kitchen was the noise of a whisk gently being stirred. "I don't have Jason goes to hell... But!" You pulled out a third case with the Nightmare on Elm Street DVDs. "I DO have Freddy vs Jason," You mumbled and spread the three disks on the floor in front of you. Most of the disks you had, you noticed, were mostly older slasher movies. Still, Jack hadn't answered you. You pull yourself to your feet and trudge back into the kitchen. His back was to you, too preoccupied with the stove... He hadn't noticed you, not yet. An idea blossomed in your head, a smirk pulling itself across your lips. You steeled yourself, trying to force yourself to stop shivering.. Jack was always paying attention to his surroundings, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

You take a step forward and he still doesn't notice your approach.

Another step.

And another.

Jack wasn't the tallest, in fact if you wanted to you could rest your chin on his shoulder... and that's what you ended up doing, while wrapping your arms around his thick waist. You could feel his body seize up just a little bit against you, before relaxing. "You didn't answer, what sounds good?" You pulled your eyes down to look at the pot. Your drink was nearly finished. You view rocked as your boyfriend shrugged, still silent but the twitching of his pointed ears let you know he was listening.

"Anything's fine," Another shrug as he cuts the heat. "You're the one cooking for me, you get to pick the movie," You insisted. He paused mid-whisk, letting out a soft huff. Suddenly he spun around, his face just a few inches from yours. In the dimmed light his eye sockets seemed deeper, it's black ooze lazily dripping down his cheeks. You noticed the smudges on his face, from wiping the streaks. You briefly wondered what it was like to sleep with them, but your thoughts were cut short as he pulled a blackened and clawed hand to your hair; tucking a lock behind your ear. "How does...." He paused, sucking in his teeth. He looked almost embarrassed. "Bride of Chucky sound?"

"What? Want to study the characters again so we can dress up again this year for Halloween?" You tease. You had convinced him a few months ago to dress up with you. With him as Chucky, and you as Tiffany... It had taken some begging and convincing but you ultimately got him to agree. Although you didn't go out to get candy, you were both fine with staying inside watching movies together in costume. It was also that night you got him to watch the movies..

His ears darkened, before he scoffed. "No... actually this year I was thinking of..." He took a long pause, visibly scraping his brain for names of characters, before seemingly giving up. "Look I don't watch many movies I don't know any.. characters.." He grimaced, before gently pushing you off of him so he could turn his attention back to the hot cocoa. "We've still got nine months, more than enough time to come up with something..." You shrugged, then smirked. "Not enough time to make a Glen... or Glenda," You teased before turning on your heel. You held back a snicker as you heard Jack splutter, finally processing what you had just said to him.

"W-"

"I'm gonna go ahead and put in the disc, I'll leave it paused for you," You cut him off, still grinning to yourself as you kneeled down to do as you had said.

Soon enough Jack walked into the room with a mug, as well as a platter of cookies. "You didn't have to," You mumbled as you eyed the treats, but he only waved you off as he placed the plate and mug onto the coffee table. "You don't have to eat them, but I figured you might want a snack while watching the movie," He mumbled. You took the mug, and swirled the drink inside of it. "I hope I didn't put in too much cinnamon," Jack added as he watched you. He leaned over and started the movie.

You took a sip, smiling a little as the warmness crept in. "You did good, probably the best hot cocoa I've ever had." You offered a grin to him. "That has got to be the fakest compliment I've ever heard," Jack shot back, though you could see the corners of his mouth turning up just slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry! I believe this is the most decadent and satisfying beverage I've had ever been graced with in my life, and-" You began, only for Jack to hush you. "I'd rather you throw it on me, don't... say words like that again," He grumbled as readjusted himself into the couch. You took a sip and shrugged, "It's just absolutely immaculate," and he lightly smacked you on the arm. "I'm never making anything for you again," He snorted, before turning his attention to the movie.

You weren't going to lie, you felt a little bad treating yourself to the cookies, knowing Jack was unable to eat them without upsetting his stomach. Being a man-eating monster must really be hard. You purse your lips, and shoot a look at him from the corner of your eye. He must have been doing the same, because he turned his head to look at you. "Do you want to do something else?" He asked lightly, his grin from a few minutes ago already faded. "Do you ever miss eating.. food?" You asked before you could stop yourself. He didn't bother pausing the movie, instead he just fell silent and stared down, into the space between the two of you on the couch.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up, I know it's a touchy subject for you," You mumbled and put the mug on the table. You sucked in the air between your teeth, flicking your eyes up to the movie, before bringing them back down to your lap. It stayed like that for a minute before Jack broke the silence. "I mean... yeah, I do. But at least I don't have to eat every day like you do, means I can have more time to do what I want," He said. Clearly, he was still bothered, tip-toeing around the big.. thing about him. The air was still tense and thick, all of the previous joking gone now. It was nearly unbearable. Nearly.

"You know," Jack began after a few more seconds of silence when you didn't reply. "I've never tried cinnamon in hot cocoa, I didn't know that was a thing people did," He was changing the subject. "You haven't?" You asked, raising a brow. He eyed your mug, but you both knew there was no way he was going to take a sip.

"It's really good," You mumbled, and took the drink, "The combo, I mean," You added. He hummed, patting his knees lightly. You swirled the drink again, watching the... what was it called? Those lighter swirls in the drink.. Did that have a name?

"You've had hot cocoa before, right?" You asked. He hummed again, nodding his head. "Well.. the cinnamon makes it warm. Taste wise.. It makes it.." You took a sip and thought for a minute. "Richer, I guess? It's hard to explain," You muttered, then looked back at him. You tore your eyes back down when you saw he was looking right at you, totally hooked onto your words. "I hear nutmeg goes good in it, too.. but I've only tried nutmeg and chocolate together in baked goods," You shrugged. "You did really good with this, you know... not too much cinnamon.. not spicy, at least." You smiled. He nodded, before turning back to the movie.

"Woody, I hear people describe cinnamon like that," He leaned back into the couch, a dull pop came from his back.

"Woody," You repeated, then took a large sip of the hot cocoa. You put the mug down onto the table, and leaned into your boyfriend as the warmth crept and settled into your bones. You weren't even paying attention to the movie, your mind was now occupied with how tired you were. Your eyes slipped up to the clock on the wall, It was nearly one in the morning. Had it only been an hour since Jack walked himself into the kitchen?

You lean deeper into Jack, not caring about his body's natural chill. His clothing still smelled a little like the cocoa from earlier.. "Gotta invest in some cologne, you smell nice like this," You mumbled into his arm. "The cinnamon?" He asked, not looking down at you. "No.. the cocoa, I mean cinnamon would be a nice touch... but you don't seem like a sweet smelling guy, do you?" You muttered. "Are you already getting tired?" Jack asked, and he leaned over you to grab the remote, pausing the movie. You muttered, the heat of the hot cocoa doing way more than you expected on the tiredness you didn't notice you had. "A little," You shrugged, "But we can still try to finish the movie," You offered, but he shook his head. Of course he would, as much of a hard ass or party pooper he came off as, he was going to make sure you were going to get your rest.

You put your hand in his, the one that had the remote.. you unpaused the movie. He paused it, and you unpaused it again. It kind of kept up like this before Jack conceited and kept it playing, although he did lower the volume.. The subtitles were already on, though. "I win," You smirked up at him, before crawling into his lap. You placed your head on his chest, pausing when you felt him stiffen before relaxing against you. His heart beat for a moment before settling to its barely there rhythm. For a minute you thought about asking about his heart, as far as you knew he explained himself like he was becoming a walking corpse... how does that work?

You decided against it, you already asked about him earlier.. and besides, your mind was already beginning to blank as Jack reached to the side of the couch, and turned the lamp off.. It was dark now. It was still raining, you could more clearly hear the drops outside now that the movie was turned down. Plus, Jack was running his fingers through your hair, lightly massaging your scalp. It wouldn't be long until you finally gave in and fell asleep.

"Are you going to still be here in the morning?" You asked, melting into his chest as he hummed in response. "Plan on it, I still need to clean up the kitchen," He added as he curled your hair around his hand. "It'll still be cold in the morning," He added, "I need to make sure you bundle up before you go out for work," He added. "I'm not that dumb," You muttered and lightly slapped his arm. You swear, if he still had his eyes he would have rolled them.

"How do you see? I know you're not.. a normal person, but," You blurted out, lifting your head. He pushed your face back down, shushing you. "Sleep," He ordered, before loosening his hold on you a bit so you could get comfortable. It wasn't an order but it may as well have been with how your body started to loosen into him within the next few minutes, quickly snuffling out your curiosity and questions.

He'd still be here in the morning, you could pester him then. After all, it's what he signed up for when the two of you started to date one another..

#creepypasta x reader #creepypasta x you #creepypasta imagine #eyeless jack x reader #eyeless jack x you #eyeless jack imagine #creepypasta fanfic #eyeless jack fanfic

56 notes · View notes

fitzs-trained-monkey · 2 years

Text

The Result of Naps

Word Count: 4,000 (Short ik)

Warnings: Absolutely none. Just fluff.

Summary: RAFO, my darlings ;) || Elijah x reader || Here lies my Masterlist ||

A/N: I wrote for Elijah? BY CHOICE??? Wow, must be the end of the world. It just sort of happened. It's not bad tho. If y'all like this, I have a draft for a part two in my google docs. Just sayin'. Now sit back and enjoy the show!

😴 STORY BEGINS BELOW 😴

Your shift passed as it always did. Slowly and in silence. Being employed by the town as the Mystic Fall's Archive Historian had sounded like a dream come true, right up until you realized that you were really just a glorified librarian. The town archives were located towards the back of the Mystic Falls public library and it was too expensive to pay a separate caretaker when you were there to do practically the same thing.

Don't get it wrong, you loved books - history and knowledge were precious to you - but as much as you enjoyed spending each day in a large building full of literature, you weren't sure how much longer you could last spending day after day alone watching such treasures do nothing but collect dust. No one came to the library anymore - most just preferred studying from home. The library's book selection was rather outdated and no one aside from you would willingly read the town's milling or tax records. So you spent your days alone. Sitting in silence. Watching books collect dust.

That was precisely how you'd fallen into the nasty habit of taking naps on the job. It was hard not to. The library building didn't exactly have the best air conditioning in the world and it was always so deserted that you could regularly fit in a two or three hour nap with no consequences.

So naturally, when someone tapped you on your shoulder in the middle of one of those naps, you nearly jumped out of your skin.

"HOLY TOLEDO!" You shouted, stirring to life. The book resting on your chest tumbled off, but a hand shot out and caught it before it hit the floor. You looked up slowly to see who had disturbed your slumber and were surprised to find yourself looking at the face of a gorgeous young man dressed in what appeared to be a very expensive suit. He stared down at you with an inquisitive look. You smiled sheepishly. "Uh, hiiiiiiii... What can I do for you?"

"My apologies for disturbing your rest, Miss," He said, clearly just a little bit amused and trying not to show it. You bit your lip and sat up, blinking and stretching your neck out a little. You had to fight the urge to rub your eyes.

"No, no it's fine," You assured him, waving your hand. "I'm really sorry about that. It's just... nobody ever comes in here, ya know? Just the occasional founder or whatever, but that's just once in a blue moon and high schoolers only visit when they're absolutely desperate... and I'm rambling, aren't I?" You let go of a nervous chuckle and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

"It's not a trouble," He said.

"Anyway... Let's start over, shall we?" You stood, smoothing the wrinkles from your shirt and straightening your nametag. Then you offered him your hand. "I'm Y/N, Mystic Falls Public Archive Historian and glorified librarian."

The man took your hand and, instead of shaking, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a chaste kiss to your knuckles. "I am Elijah," He introduced. He provided you no other information but you were a little too distracted by his charming behavior to dwell on that.

"Okay," You breathed, blushing. "Well, what can I help you with? I've read just about everything in this place at least twice, so I'm sure I can help you find whatever it is you're looking for."

A small smile found its way to Elijah's lips and he looked you over as if trying to determine something.

"Well, you see, I'm writing my dissertation on the history of small towns in north-western Virginia-" He began.

"That sounds fatally boring," You interrupted. He didn't even have to speak to point out everything you had just said about your job, his expression did the talking for him and you realized you had no argument. "Continue."

"As luck would have it, this town possesses the largest collection of antique documents in the area. I was simply hoping you would point me in the direction of the town's archives," He said.

"Oh, finally!" You exclaimed, clapping your hands. "It's been a hot minute since anyone aside from the Mayor or the Sheriff has asked to see those. Right this way, Elijah." He frowned.

"There's no need to accompany me Miss. Y/N," Elijah politely claimed. "If you simply point the way, I'm confident I'll be able to manage the rest. I would hate to impose on your... personal time."

You snorted. "Personal time? Is there something you'd like to say about my work ethic, Mr. Elijah?"

"Nothing at all," He chuckled pleasantly. "And just Elijah will do fine."

You nodded, raising a brow. "Will it now?"

He smiled. "Of course. If we are to consider ourselves friends, that is."

"Friends?" You questioned, blinking in surprise. "I haven't been at this job too long, but I have to say I'm surprised. Just for future reference, do all writers befriend random small town librarians, or is that just you?"

"I'd like to think it's just me," Elijah replied, shrugging just slightly. He was very reserved, you noticed. "Especially if said individual is as beautiful as you and circumstances dictate I'll be visiting them quite often."

You smirked, nodding. "Visiting often for research, I'm sure. Nothing else."

"Naturally," He hummed, pleased you caught his meaning.

You laughed, ducking your head to hide the blush that colored your cheeks. There was something about that smile... "Well, in that case, Y/N will do just fine."

"Excellent, I'll keep that in mind." His eyes scanned your face and you swallowed thickly under the intensity of it. You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Anyway," You continued. "While I'm sure you're more than qualified to navigate a library the size of a broom closet, you would find yourself faced with a locked door and as I happen to be the keeper of that door's sole key, it is imperative that I accompany you to your destination."

"Valid point." He nodded and extended his arm to you - very old-fashioned like. "In that case, lead the way."

"It would be my genuine pleasure." You smiled and hooked your arm through his, starting towards the back. Within a matter of moments, the two of you had crossed the length of the library and you guided him to a non-descript door with a plaque that read Employees Only. The door was locked, of course, just as you had told Elijah it would be, thus you removed the lanyard which held your keyring from around your neck and fitted the lock with its proper key. Turning the handle, you pulled the door open and waved him through; however, to your surprise, Elijah took the door from you and motioned for you to continue first. You grinned and shook your head but took the invitation anyway, making sure to kick a doorstop next to the frame to keep it from closing all the way just in case someone asked for you while you were assisting Elijah.

"I can hold a door, you know," You teased as Elijah joined you once again. A short hallway stretched off in front of you. The door to your left opened into the library's Digital Resource Housing Accommodation - which was honestly just a fancy way of saying Computer Room but the town's council insisted on the pretentious name. (Of course, the library kept two computers out in its main area for public use, but those had a habit of getting stolen by desperate high schoolers.) Whereas the four doors to your right led to a series of small rooms for anyone in need of a quieter space for private tutors or counseling. At the end of the hall, there was another door on the left. You headed towards that one.

"I am aware." He nodded, smiling. "I happen to be a devout feminist."

"Then you of all people should know that chivalry is dead," You pointed out.

"Perhaps," He acknowledged. "Although I see no reason it shouldn't be brought back."

You scoffed. "Yeah, no. I don't think men need yet another reason to delude themselves into thinking a woman needs them for anything," You said.

"You are absolutely right," The man agreed, laughing just a little bit.

"Yes, I am." Reaching the door, you switched out your keys and unlocked that one too. Elijah reached past you and pulled it open, holding it for you. Raising a brow, you turned to face him pointedly. "What was that about me being right?"

"You are." He offered you another one of those small yet knee weakening smiles and you crossed your arms in an attempt to ground the butterflies it set off. "However, chivalry is not about doing things for a woman out of the misguided fantasy that she cannot do them for herself. Rather, it is about treating a woman with the proper respect, dignity, and kindness a lady deserves to be shown." He watched you kick another doorstop into place before leaning against the door frame to look up at him.

"Yeah, I've never met another man who buys that."

Elijah shrugged easily. "Well, anyone who believes otherwise is simply an unfortunate waste product of a primitive society."

You nodded and smirked. "Oh, I like you." Pushing yourself off the door frame, you took a left and began climbing the old and only slightly rickety stairwell. Elijah followed you in but his footsteps stalled on the landing. You turned back to see him glancing to the right, towards the staircase that descended into the basement, wearing an expression of slight confusion. "What?"

"Not to question your expertise, but typical archives I've visited in the past have been located on the lowest floors - in underground vaults and such," He explained. "Is that not the case here?"

You tried to be courteous, but there was a reason you had tried to avoid customer service work your whole life. You threw your head back and laughed, clutching your side.

Elijah tilted his head. "Did I say something wrong?"

You shook your head, still giggling. "No! No, you're fine." You wiped your eyes and took a deep breath. "Sorry, it's just-" You took one look at his face and burst out laughing again.

"What did I say?" He demanded, fighting a chuckle of his own.

"Okay, okay!" You pushed your hair out of your face and schooled your expression, calming yourself. "First of all, this ain't the Smithsonian, Elijah."

"Oh, absolutely not," He agreed, shaking his head. "For one thing, the staff in this establishment is deplorable."

"File a complaint with my manager." You shrugged. "Oh, wait... That's right, I am my manager."

Elijah huffed a laugh and began climbing the stairs. "That sounds rather tedious, but please continue.."

You grinned. Finally, someone who appreciated your sense of humor. "Second, this is Virginia. The ground floor is where we put the stuff we can afford to lose, and anything we put in the basement is destined for annihilation." He shot you a questioning look and you elaborated. "This place flooded twice last year."

"oh, I'm sorry to hear that," He said, frowning.

"Don't be - you're not the one who had to clean it up." You smirked, elbowing him playfully. You weren't sure why. After all, you barely knew this man, but despite his expensive attire and reserved demeanor, something about him just put you at ease. So you were grateful that he didn't seem to mind, going so far as to laugh along with you.

At the top of the stairs there stood yet another door, though this one was much newer and more sturdy than the rest. Once you turned the key, its digital lock required you to swipe your card and input a four digit code. "No peeking," You said teasingly, not really caring if he took you seriously.

He did look away, although not without comment. "I'm fairly confident I could kick this door down if I was truly committed."

"Mmm... I wouldn't be too sure about that." You pushed the door open and held it this time, gesturing behind you. "Go ahead and take a look-see."

Elijah raised a brow but walked in and glanced at the back of the door. "Steel reinforcement," He noted, duly impressed. "That's quite a lot of security for a small-town archive."

You snorted. "You say that as if there's some sort of conspiracy to be had here."

"Isn't there?"

You paused for a moment, then shrugged, flipping on the lights. "Take that up with the founder's council, my friend," You supplied.

The dim lights of the archive room flickered to life, revealing row after row of floor to ceiling filing cabinets that spanned to the back wall. There were no windows. The only other furniture in the room was a large wooden desk, complete with several yellow lamps and a magnifying glass. Old school all the way.

Elijah blinked and turned to you. "The Founder's Council?" He inquired.

You rolled your eyes and shook your head, leaning against the wall next to the light switch. "It's kinda like some super secret club the founding families have where they get together to share their holier-than-thou gossip and Pinterest recipes," You said with a long sigh. "They like to think nobody on the outside knows about it, but if their ancestors didn't want anyone to find out, then they shouldn't have written about it so much. Fast forward a hundred and fifty some-odd years and with the descendents of those families too lazy to go through their actual mountains of inherited documents, guess who got to read all about those little pow-wows -" You clicked your tongue, jabbing a thumb towards yourself. "- this gal, that's who.

"Do you think there's something this Council could be hiding?" He wondered.

"Oh, I think there's plenty of things they think they're hiding," You scoffed. "But as for any actual conspiracies? I think not... aside from maybe a scandal or two."

"I see." He nodded.

"It's honestly sad to see how self-important some people are," You grumbled.

"Agreed," Elijah hummed, looking as annoyed as he probably could. "Especially since they're not even the actual founders of this town."

"Right?!"

"Because it was the Vikings who actually first settled in this area almost one thousand years ago," The two of you said in unison. You paused and glanced at him. Elijah grinned

"I'm impressed," He remarked, seeming to evaluate you a second time. You shrugged.

"History is kinda my life," You admitted, a little bit sheepishly. "That being said, what might you be looking for?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "I'd hate to bother you with my research, it's bound to be dull. Besides, I'm sure you must be quite eager to get back to your, ah... study of the unconscious mind." His lips twitched upward in just the suggestion of a smirk. You huffed, placing a hand to your chest in foux offense.

"Ah, I see how it is," You laughed. "Fall asleep on the job one time and you're branded for life."

He raised a brow playfully. "Are you positive it was just the one time?"

"I don't feel obliged to disclose that information," You hummed.

Elijah chuckled. "I see."

"Regardless, it's against government policy to allow civilians to handle fragile historic documents without supervision of an archive historian," You informed, shrugging.

"I can assure you, I've handled such documents many times before," Elijah insisted.

You blinked and let the smirk drop from your face. "True as that may be, you said earlier that this research is for your dissertation - i.e. you haven't yet graduated and/or obtained your degree. Thus I am still required by law to watch you like a hawk." You tilted your head and flashed him a tight smile. "Sorry, bud." Your tone was as much a warning as it was an informative statement.

Elijah opened his mouth to say something but quickly thought better of it. "Point taken," He conceded, nodding though it was a little stiff.

"It's not that I mean to be a stickler but, uh..." You hissed. "Wait, no, yeah I am absolutely a stickler."

"I disagree, you take your duties of historical preservation seriously - I admire that. Please note that I am in no way attempting to undermine you," Elijah promised, moving to sit at the desk. "I simply do not wish to make a burden of myself."

You huffed a laugh. "You're not a burden, Elijah. I'm genuinely glad you're here, giving me a chance to do my actual job for once. I didn't go to college for six years only to end up reading children's books to second graders every Friday afternoon."

"This isn't the carrier you would have chosen?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh heck no." You shook your head, laughing softly. "With my degree I could be working at the Smithsonian."

"And would you like that?"

"It's only been my dream since I was a kid," You said, smiling wryly. "I love research - it's like a treasure hunt or a puzzle, except you have no clue what anything looks like. You just have to piece it together however you see best until the picture reveals itself."

"That's a beautiful way to look at it." Elijah smiled. "In that case, perhaps you could begin by helping me find every map, census, or property survey of areas in this town where unusual amounts of human remains have been found."

How he managed to say that with a completely straight face, you would never know.

You blinked. "Well that got dark really fast."

He gave you a small hapless shrug. "It's not the most pleasant subject for study, I am aware."

"Not the weirdest I've heard, actually," You admitted. Shaking away your surprise and hesitation, you began making your way through the isles in search of relevant cabinets. "Can I ask what this is for or should I mind my own business?"

Eijah got up to search on his own but continued talking to you as he did. "While I was in Salem researching the witch trials, I heard stories of a group of supposed witches who migrated to North-Western Virginia in order to escape persecution. All accounts led me to determine Mystic Falls as their chosen destination and, according to the stories, these women lived in the area peacefully until it was settled by this town's so-called-founders at which time they were burned at the stake for witchcraft." He poked his head around the cabinet to look at you. "I would like to find out exactly where they were murdered," He said.

Oh... well if that was the case then he had you looking for the wrong documents.

You grinned and shoved the cabinet you were rifling through shut. "You know, that's actually pretty cool," You voiced, turning to face him. Elijah raised a brow.

"Is it?" He wondered. "Most would consider my research rather morbid."

"Well it is that," You acknowledged with a slight chuckle. You beckoned for him to follow as you switched isles. "But it's also really awesome. I mean, it's almost kinda like detective work, right?"

"How do you figure?" He asked, moving with you as you perused the cabinet labels. You knew what you were looking for, you just had to find the bloody thing.

"Well, obviously the people responsible for the killings of these innocent women are long dead. The perpetrators can't be punished; yet, you're still trying to validate these deaths and make sure that these women are documented. I guess that's kind of like finding the victims of the Zodiac Killer or something - you may not be able to seek justice for their deaths but at least you can make sure they're acknowledged." You glanced up only to find Elijah staring at you with an odd expression on his face. His stare was intense and piercing, you felt yourself blushing under the intensity of it. You shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "Or maybe I just have no clue what I'm talking about... Anyway, this is what we're looking for," You muttered, nudging a rather large drawer with your foot.

"This right here?" He pointed, seeming to snap out of whatever thoughts he'd been lost in.

"Yep." You pushed your hair back. "You're gonna have to help me though." Elijah's brows pulled together and you just sighed. "There's a really, really heavy trunk in here."

"Oh, I see." He bent down, gripping the handle and you followed suit. "On three?"

"Or we could just yank really hard?" You suggested.

He grinned, smiling wryly. "That could work."

"Okay, go!"

Together you pulled on the drawer with as much strength as you could muster, slowly dragging it out. The old metal tracks squealed as they slid against one another, and the cabinet groaned with the weight of its contents. Inside the drawer was an old leather trunk, battered and worn, bearing more locks on it than any sane man would ever find reasonable. In, fancy, bold handwriting, the lid bore the inscription: FORBES. The sheriff and her daughter had donated the truck to the Historical Society about a year ago and you had spent months going through everything they had managed to stuff in there.

"I'm convinced little Caroline Forbes is a wizard," You declared, huffing as you rummaged through the stacks of old papers in search of one specific little book. "Cuz there is no way one person can fit that much stuff into one trunk without some use of magic."

Elijah seemed baffled as well, though he wasn't nearly as winded as you were. That fact probably had something to do with the extraordinarily fine biceps he was hiding under that expensive suit, which you had not failed to notice.

"What exactly is all of this?" He asked, carefully fingering a stack of what appeared to be bird sketches.

"This is hardly the tip of the iceberg," You answered, unable to stop the grin spreading across your face. "All the founding families hoard area history like it's gold; this is only what they've deemed unimportant enough to their little counsel for me to see." Finally, you found what you'd been searching for. You drew the little leather-bound book from under a stack of accounting papers and held it high in the air. "Ah ha!"

"Is that a journal?" Elijah asked with no small note of skepticism.

"Not just any journal, my good friend," You declared. "This is quite possibly the most interesting journal in all of Mystic Falls. May I present to you, the journal of Mr. Alexander Forbes."

"And why should I be interested in such a diary?" He wondered.

You raised a brow at him. "Did you honestly think a bunch of pompous, well-to-do, small towns folk would document that time they brutally murdered a group of innocent women becasue they wanted their land?" You deadpanned. He blinked, clearly stunned by your blunt comment. You continued. "If you wanna find out about this town's sketchy history, the adults won't tell you anything. That's why I like kids, they tell the truth whether they realize it or not. Take little Alexander Forbes, he would have made an excellent detective had he not died at age sixteen." You wandered back to the desk at the front of the room and laid the journal down with care, pulling one of the lamps closer, you adjusted the light so it wouldn't harm the pages. "Alex here, wrote stories about the things no one talked about..." You flipped through the book until you landed on the page you'd been thinking of. The heading read: The Garden of Skulls. You grinned. "Like a mansion on the edge of town surrounded by the ghosts of dead witches, perhaps?"

You glanced up to see the grin that twisted Elijah's lips as his eyes skimmed over the yellowed journal entry. "That sounds like a lead," He murmured.

"That it does." You smirked, glancing at the man out of the corner of your eye. "You up for a scavenger hunt?"

Tagging: @yn-ymn-yln @r13mar @rootbeerfaygo @iiskittles16ii @fandomrulesall-blog @dark-night-sky-99 @railingsofsorrow @apolloroid @thatweirdoleigh @misswe03 @eat-cake @felinegrate @trikigirl271 Hey there, people of the internet! If you want on or off the tag list for this series and/or all my other works, just send me a DM to let me know! And if Tumblr won't let me tag you, I'll just send you a friendly DM reminder at your request. Thanks for reading!

870 notes · View notes

roetrolls · 2 months

Text

(woagh! we did it again!! it's a collab between me and Chase @sasster! Look, there's a google doc!)

Appraisal

Emarra is still drunk on attention when he returns to his trailer, buzzing with adrenaline and the thrill of a crowd. He expects Sylvie will follow him here soon enough, his little sprite always so eager for his praise after a successful show.

He’s already imagining what he’ll say to her, turning the words over in his mind as he busies himself removing his jacket and pushes past the beaded curtains into his home.

“Yumeno.”

He freezes. Now there’s a voice that will kill a mood.

Ever the performer. Emarra is quick to reel himself in, shocked expression melting into a smile tight enough to rival Faithful.

“General.��

An unscheduled visit from the Marauder rarely spells good news, but retiring for the morning to find the man waiting in your home? That’s a level of horror all its own.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asks through gritted teeth.

Zerkev has already made himself comfortable–if such a word can even be used to describe such a straight-laced troll–in the seat by the window, gaze hard and stern.

“Sit.”

It is always cumbersome dealing with fuchsias that feel they can just walk into his home and tell him what to do. Resentment leaves a sick taste in the back of his mouth as he takes a seat opposite to the general.

“There’s no chance that what you’re here to talk about could have been a text message, I’m guessing.”

Zerkev’s expression tightens, not one for jokes on a good day, let alone on one where he is already beyond the threshold of having patience for the man.

“Why have you not found Mallum yet?”

Well, of course that’s what this is about. What else would The Marauder be making home visits for? There are so many ways Emarra can answer that question too, and they all flash in his mind one after the other.

Chiefly, he has been busy with his circus, and also it isn’t his job to play Pravus line babysitter.

Neither of these answers, however, would be met with the most pleasant of responses, so he swallows them down with the taste of resentment that now coats his throat.

“He’s in the company of professionals. You know that.”

“I was under the impression that you were a professional, Yumeno.”

“Gracious and the Roatus kid can’t find him either,” by the grace of God, he manages to swallow the indignance that tries so hard to claw its way out. “It’s going to take me some more time.”

“More time?”

Something snaps behind the general’s eye, perhaps his last thread of patience, something that somehow does not influence the rest of his expression.

Instead, Zerkev sits there stone-faced.

“Just a little patience, I’ll find him.”

“Mm,” comes the muted response. The seadweller stares a moment longer, gaze boring into Emarra with a scrutiny so intense he has to suppress the urge to shift in his seat. “Would you say you’ve been distracted from this task?”

Emarra all but scoffs at the accusation. Was he expected to put his entire life on hold until the kid was found? That’s a ridiculous idea, even for someone as work-focused as the Marauder.

“No,” he answers shortly, stopping himself before anything more insulting can tumble from his mouth.

Zerkev raises an eyebrow. “That so? I’d say otherwise, personally.”

He reaches into the jacket of his uniform to withdraw a phone. It’s almost comical how out of place the thing seems in his hand, but Emarra is in no mood for humor.

After a few seconds, Zerkev brandishes the screen, playing a short, looping clip of a shadow unfurling along someone’s wall.

The Ringleader feels a brief twinge of satisfaction as he makes note of the tiger-shaped nightlight by the bed, one corner of his mouth twitching as if to smile.

Then he squares his jaw, lifting a blank gaze back to his uninvited guest.

“What am I meant to be looking at here?”

The general cocks his head. “You tell me.”

“It’s a recording on your phone, why would I have that information?”

With a nod, Zerkev pockets the device once more and leans forward on his knees, fingers laced together. He pauses a moment, expression deceptively placid, before answering.

“I know you’ve more sense than to lie to my face.”

The statement, simple as it is, is easy to identify as a thinly veiled threat. Emarra, having worked with the general long enough to detect that threat a mile away, leans back into his chair as if trying to put some more distance between himself and the fuchsia. It takes some effort to conceal the panic working hard to bubble up through his chest, but he manages even then to keep his gaze level.

”Then you should know that I am not lying, to your face or otherwise.”

Zerkev purses his lips, and though his expression does not shift to betray him, he does possess the uncanny ability of letting his disappointment and irritation poison the atmosphere of the room without such dramatic shifts.

The Ringleader very briefly finds his thoughts drifting back to the other’s missing son. Yeah, I’d run away too if this guy raised and was looking for me, no question. Poor thing must’ve had an intolerable adolescence.

Locked in a terrible staring contest with his boss, Emarra then takes the opportunity to sift through a mental list of his choice in extracurricular activities up to this point. He risks being skinned alive if he admits how lax he has actually been about finding Mallum in the many perigees that have passed between now and his being given the assignment.

He risks a fate worse than that if he so much as breathes word about harassing that damn runaway of his own in the meantime.

Zerkev clears his throat, the time limit on his second chance at honesty clearly reaching its end.

“Are you telling me that you think every time something goes bump in the day that it will have something to do with me? Come on. Be real, Zerkev. I have a life, you know.”

A disappointed click of the tongue is his only response. Is he really tsk-ing him right now? Beneath his indignation, an invisible fist constricts around Emarra’s lungs, abated only slightly by the thin shred of hope that spawns in him as the seadweller rises to his feet.

Did that actually work?

Zerkev fiddles with his cufflink and hefts a weary sigh, staring ahead of himself as if lost in thought.

“Yumeno?”

For fuck’s sake, would he just go already? “Yes?”

Without warning, the Marauder’s hand shoots out to grasp Emarra by the hair, yanking him from his chair by the scalp. The motion wrenches a pitiful yelp from his lips, palms grasping at his assailant’s wrist in an effort to relieve the pain.

“I thought I told you not to lie to me, son.”

His voice, perfectly level, belies no hint of anger. He might as well be asking about the weather for all his tone suggests.

“Zerkev–”

The grip on his hair, already ironclad, grows tighter.

“General Pravus, sir,” Emarra corrects himself breathlessly, a nervous chuckle catching in his throat. It would be unwise to double down he thinks, but… Ah, screw it. He’s a carnie at heart. Honesty has never been his virtue. “I have a show to run. You really think I’m wasting my precious time on pointless games?”

Zerkev regards him carefully, lips pressed into a line. The silence hangs over them like lead, suffocating enough to prompt another anxious plea from the clown.

“You know how Maelia treats me! Why would I go looking for trouble under his nose?”

“Hm.” The general blinks slowly, fingers still wound tightly in the purpleblood’s hair. “I suppose you wouldn’t, would you?”

Emarra nods the best he can with his head practically glued to the man’s hand, eyes blown wide. “Exactly! I–”

“Yumeno.”

“Sir?” He swallows, choking down his pride with some hope of warding off the venom that lurks behind that stony expression.

“Did I tell you that was Drakon’s hive?”

Emarra’s stomach drops like a stone, the panic he’s been working so hard to suppress now lurching to the surface, plain as day on his face. Zerkev’s expression is unflinching, much like the tight and fearsome grip he maintains on the Ringleader’s hair.

A reply is hard to come by under that icy glare, but eventually the clown manages to find his voice.

“Wh-Why else would you be so upset?” he stammers, choking on his own desperation. “Everyone knows how you get about your privacy.”

The way Zerkev’s lip twitches, it’s clear that was not the answer he wanted.

“My livin’ with Drakon is public knowledge now, is it?” His tone, low before, turns downright dangerous. It’s a miracle he hasn’t ripped Emarra’s hair right out of his scalp.

Past the edges of his own hubris, the purpleblood can see that he is being given one final chance to come clean. As much as he hates the man, he can’t deny that the Marauder’s patience is astounding. Any other fish would have flown off the handle ages ago.

He swallows, fingers still clasped around the general’s assaulting wrist, and selects his next words with care.

“I made a mistake,” he says slowly, heart lodged in his throat.

“A mistake?” Zerkev echoes incredulously, almost amused at his audacity.

“A poor choice.”

“I’ll say. Unless you wanna tell me spyin’ on my home was a necessary part of the process?”

“I… I was just messing with the kid,” Emarra finally admits, voice small.

“Instead of lookin’ for mine.”

“Both! I was doing both! You couldn’t have expected me to drop my entire life for you!”

Zerkev exhales slowly, something between a growl and a sigh. It’s all the warning Emarra gets before the general throws his arm to fling him face-first into the wall, the ache in his scalp quickly replaced by a new searing pain and the scent of blood in his nose. He loses his footing in the toss and crumples to the floor in a heap, hissing quietly.

Before he has the chance to catch his bearings, the Ringleader feels a cold-toed boot upon his neck.

“I’d say I’m a reasonable man, Yumeno, wouldn’t you?” He grinds his shoe into the base of Emarra’s skull before easing up, not waiting for an answer. “So here’s what I think sounds reasonable.”

Still somewhat dazed, he can only grimace in response as Zerkev grabs him by the collar and hoists him to his feet to slam his back against the wall.

“You’re gonna get one warning. Keep that greasy nose out of my business. Leave my mate and his family alone. And find my goddamned son. Are we understood?”

Emarra squares his jaw and nods.

“Are we understood?”

His teeth are as good as dust with how hard he grits them. “Yes, sir.”

Zerkev regards him carefully, eyes flitting across his face as he, perhaps, tries to gauge the man’s sincerity. Emarra can’t help but bristle. Can’t he let him go already? What more does he fucking want?

The general frowns, evidently displeased by whatever attitude he can still detect on his underling’s face. The clown prickles under his scrutiny, for once facing down a type of attention he would sooner escape. Then, all at once, that attention is drawn elsewhere, to the small voice that sounds beyond the room’s beaded entrance.

“Emarra!”

Though Zerkev doesn’t release the purpleblood’s collar, his grip loosens considerably, just in time for Sylvie’s innocent, four-eyed face to push its way into the scene. Those eyes become saucers when they land on the Marauder, the woman’s delicate features overtaken by fear.

“General Pravus,” she squeaks, gaze darting between him and her ringmaster.

Zerkev nods in greeting, venom all but evaporated, and Emarra thanks the Messiahs for his sprite’s timely arrival.

“I-I, um…” She shoots him another anxious glance, hand unconsciously drifting toward her own nose as she spies the blood leaking from his. “I didn’t know you would have… company.”

“I was just leavin’,” the general answers, though he makes no move to do so.

Another silence descends on the trailer, with Zerkev’s pensive gaze now settled squarely on the mutant. Emarra can practically see the gears turning in his head, and he only wishes it could come as a surprise when the man opens his mouth again.

“I just got one more thing to square away ‘fore I go. Miss Selari, hon, would you mind steppin’ outside a minute? Won’t be long.”

Sylvie hesitates, again looking to the clown. With an agitated grimace, he sighs and gives her a nod. The sooner they can get this over with, the better.

His approval eases her enough to acquiesce, and soon enough she is padding back out on light and silent feet, the gentle rattle of beads all that announces her departure. The moment that faint click subsides, Zerkev’s attention is back on Emarra.

“She’s sweeter than you deserve.”

The Ringleader balks at him, the tameness of the insult somehow a bigger slap than his previous scathing reprimands. He doesn’t care what the bastard thinks of him, obviously, but it’s not the type of comment he expects during this kind of performance review.

“How long’s it been now? That you’ve had her?”

“This is what you’re hanging around to talk about?”

Evidently, the question was rhetorical, as Emarra’s non-answer glances ineffectually off the general’s chest. He finally releases him and steps away, at least, allowing the clown some room to breathe while he prepares to prattle on.

“Mallum’s always been a bright kid, you know. Wicked bright. Bit more self control and he’d be unstoppable.”

“Uh-huh,” the purpleblood responds, his irritation palpable.

“He had a hard time with schoolfeeding. Lacked discipline, always got distracted with other things. Ain’t his fault– We’re a species built on base impulse. Same reason we don’t rear our own young.”

What the fuck is he even talking about right now?

“Most trolls lack the ability to self-regulate. We found with Mallum… It sometimes helped to remove the distractions for him. He hated me for it, ‘course, but it did him good in the end.”

“I’ll remember that next time I decide to become a lusus,” Emarra deadpans, wiping the blood from his nose.

Zerkev locks eyes with him, placid expression once again turning grave.

“Yumeno. The next time you force me out here to remind you of your job, I’m taking Miss Selari back with me.”

#this guy is so fed up with his clowns #writing #guest star!#collab!#zerkev pravus #the marauder #oops i forgot sylvies here too #sylvie writing #zerkev writing

30 notes · View notes

ughgoaway · 10 months

Text

midnight, no headlights // George Daniel- pt 1

content warnings: no smut (yet) but still some kissing so minors go away, drinking, swearing, smoking, awkward flirting and writing because I am not great at either! word count- 2500-ish

a/n: hiii so the vote came out that you didn't mind this fic being split up so, this is the first part! 2014 George has had me in a chokehold recently (thanks to @abiiors) so I had to write something for him!! this is part one of two and I have absolutely no idea when the other part will come out!! I actually kind of hate this but can't cope with it sitting in my google docs any longer. I've been in a massive writing slump lately and I'm really rusty, so if it's awful... be nice about telling me lol. anyway ill stop chatting shit now, here it is

Another espresso martini, great. It seemed like all you had to do for this shift was make them for groups of obnoxious girls. To be honest, you were jealous they were able to go out and have fun on a Saturday night, you were stuck doing a shift at this shitty club for some band's afterparty. The shift started fine, a few pints here, a few ciders there but it had soon devolved into a sticky bar and overly complex cocktails with too many ingredients.

A tattooed hand stuck out from the crowd and soon the tall man attached to it wormed his way through and took a seat on the green barstool in the corner, from just his hand you had assumed you'd be getting another shitty beer but he defied all your expectations when you caught a glimpse of the rest of him.

A pile of badly blonde dyed hair sat on top of his head, either side was shaved. He had a sly look in his eyes but a gentle smile on his face, his features seemed hard individually but when you put them together you were left with a very soft look. His arms were exposed due to the white vest he was wearing, colourful and seemingly random tattoos snaked up them. You couldn't see his bottom half anymore but you caught a glimpse of his black ripped jeans, the outfit was nothing remarkable. In fact, it was kind of boring but for some inexplicable reason, he just looked fucking good.

His eyes had an alluring quality to them, pulling you in slowly. They were so alluring in fact, that whilst you were staring into them and walking over to him you tripped. Luckily, before you could fall on your ass in front of the only hot customer you've seen in ages, you caught yourself on the edge of the bar. His hand caught yours as you fell in an attempt to steady you, “Woah you alright darling? Thought you were meant to be sober on shift” he cheekily remarked.

His deep vocals sent a shiver through you, normally in a club like this you had to practically scream to hear each other but for some reason, it seemed like his voice was the only thing you heard. It sat at a different frequency that went right into your bones. You scolded yourself internally for fawning over a man who had said one sentence to you.

“Haha very funny, I’ll have you know I'm stone-cold sober. But I'm assuming that you're coming up here to no longer be that, so what can I get you?” you retort back smiling politely and leaning slightly into the puzzling man.

“I'll just have a vodka soda please sweetheart” he began but he soon looked around at the hoards of people surrounding him and quickly added, “Actually make that a double.” his correction caused you to giggle slightly. You briefly wonder what about the rowdy people made him change his order but decide not to ask and just begin making the drink.

The small cup of drink umbrellas teased you as you worked. Every time an especially manly-looking man ordered a drink you added a little umbrella, just to see their reaction. Sometimes they say nothing and just look confused but every once in a while, you get an especially good reaction. The best reactions are usually from self-described “gym bros” who are on a date, they scoff and act as if a small umbrella completely negates their manhood. It might seem juvenile, but you'll do anything to spice up a boring shift. You decide this mystery man with the “fuck me” eyes would like one so, you grab a teal cocktail umbrella and stick it in his double vodka soda.

“Here you are! A vodka soda,” you begin to hand the drink over, he reaches out but you quickly pull it away and correct yourself, “Sorry, double vodka soda” A smirk sneaks onto your face as you hand over the drink to the man. His face mirrors yours, a teasing smile overtaking his features.

"thank you, love," he smiles gratefully, going to take a sip but quickly recoiling at the sight of the umbrella in his drink. You think he'll scoff, throw it on the floor and call you a dickhead but no. he smiles, takes the small umbrella out and places it behind his ear, he finishes off the action with a wink and click of his tongue towards you.

A light laugh falls out of you at his action, not expecting him to be so cheeky about your little joke. He holds eye contact as he downs the rest of his drink, the action isn't inherently flirty but still, you feel a pulse thrum through you at the sight.

“Not such a good night then?” you remark. Despite having about 30 people you should be serving right now you remain enamoured by the man with the tiny umbrella behind his left ear.

“What gave me away huh? Chugging the drink or coming to hide in the corner?” he smiles, you can't help but feel slightly sorry for him, out to a cool afterparty on a Saturday night and he's choosing to sit in the corner and chat with the bartender.

It's then you make the decision you're gonna make this guy's night, in any way he’ll let you.

“Any reason you're hiding away? From a particular person maybe?” you ask leaning on the bar and staring at the man in front of you, “ooh are the band assholes? Wouldnt shock me if they were considering this afterparty, they're usually the overly cocky and handsy type when they party this hard” you add. The man across from you raises his eyebrows at you and his smirk grows marginally larger, you have no idea who you're talking to. And he loves that.

Soon the small amount of eye contact you're sharing becomes too much, you grab a rag and begin to wipe the bar in front of you. You figure you should at least pretend to work whilst talking to the curious stranger, still with the teal umbrella behind his ear.

“Oh no, not hiding from anyone specifically just everyone really. I was dragged here by a couple of mates but I'm hoping to make an escape soon.” he chuckled out whilst swirling the ice in his cup. Wordlessly you grab it from him and begin to make another drink.

“I won't give you an umbrella in this one handsome, not lucky enough to get two in one night” you wink at the man in front of you. The nickname slipped out thoughtlessly, you were used to flirting for tips so it felt like second nature to use them whenever you spoke. A light blush flushed your cheeks at your realisation, it didn't go unnoticed by the tattooed man.

“Handsome huh? Wow, do all your patrons get such good service?” he says looking at you whilst taking a small sip of the drink you handed him. A smile breaks over his lips as he realises it's another double, he briefly thinks of making a quip accusing you of getting him drunk but your bashful smile distracts his mind.

Your heart flutters slightly at his comment, hoping he would just ignore your slip-up. Quickly you rectify the situation not wanting him to have any more power over you than he already does, “Well when I don't know their names, yes.”

“Ahh, well nice to meet you..” he pauses briefly, indicating you to fill in the blank.

“I don't know about giving my name to a random customer… what if you're an axe murderer? I think I’ll keep that to myself” you smile, trying your best to mimic the teasing look in his eyes. The tall man opens his mouth to reply but before he can a voice comes across the bar.

“y/n! Will you stop flirting with that douche with the man bun and help? Im stuck making 25 pornstar martinis on my own!” your coworker chastises you.

You turn back to the noise of a cackle coming from the so-called “douche with the man bun” his laugh makes a mortified smile come across your features as you sigh and throw the rag you were holding to the bar in front of you.

“Calm down Tony! I'm coming you dick” you shout back in the direction of your coworker, only receiving an unimpressed glare back.

“Okay then, I'm going to work now and hopefully never see you again or I will die of embarrassment, bye douche with a man bun” you sigh jokingly at your conversation partner.

“Bye y/n” he replies with a teasing wave, you begin to walk away with your head hanging in shame but soon a loud voice from behind you catches your attention “It's George by the way, only my mum calls me douche with a man bun” he smiles cheekily, obviously proud of his comment.

In your hopeful final words to the now not-so-mystery man, you say, “Well it was nice to meet you George, may our paths never cross again” With a flourish you turn around and start grabbing ingredients to help Tony deal with the hoards of people.

Your paths did cross again, about 2 hours later in the smoker's area behind the bar. The cool air was just beginning to soothe your running mind when you heard an unmistakable voice ring out behind you.

“You got a lighter sweetheart?” he asks, the handsome man you now know as George comes to stand in front of you, with the same alluring eyes and smile but now with a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. This was your first chance to look at him in full but you couldn't pull your focus away from the cocktail umbrella that still sat behind his ear.

‘Shit’, you thought, he asked a question and here you are just staring at him like a deer in headlights. Why is it that whenever an attractive man was within 5 feet of you, you suddenly stop acting like a human fucking being?

You cough lightly clearing your mind and your throat before silently passing over your lighter, he twisted it in his hand and admired the engraving on the silver case.

“All my love, A xx” he read out loud, “from a boyfriend maybe?” he cheekily asked before flicking it open, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep drag. You watched as his cheeks hollowed around the end of it, the deep contours of his face only becoming deeper as he breathed in the smoke. You weren't sure what it was but despite the fact you had met him not even 3 hours ago, you were comfortable.

That felt dangerous considering you weren't exactly known for thinking decisions through, especially after a few drinks.

As soon as Tony said you could clock out, you did. And then promptly had 3 shots of tequila minus the lime and salt. No time for that when you're trying to get drunk quickly. The mix of the alcohol running through your bloodstream and the enticing combination of cigarette smoke and whatever cologne he was wearing gave you the confidence to do what you did next.

“Nope, no boyfriend, you trying to sus out my relationship status Georgie?'' Once again the nickname slipped out easily, feeling like old friends already. He placed his arm on the brick wall behind you and leaned in slightly closer as if he knew what you were thinking.

“Georgie already huh? And what if I was darling, is that such an issue?” he drawled out, smirking slightly as he places the lighter back into your hands, holding them slightly longer than necessary. You were shocked at how warm he was considering it was 3 am outside a club.

“No, no, absolutely no issue,” you begin, leaning up into his face, eyes flicking down to his lips and back up to meet his unwavering gaze. His eyes soon followed suit, mirroring your actions back at you, staring at your lips longingly.

The closer you got the more sure he was, even placing his other hand behind your neck, but soon you swerve left and pluck the umbrella from behind his ear and lean back to place it behind your own.

A groan comes from the man in front of you as he places both hands on the brick wall behind your head, effectively caging you in, but you didn't mind. He looks down at you and can't help but smile at the overjoyed look on your face. The small umbrella sat behind your ear just like he had done earlier in the night.

“What a tease” he complains cheekily, leaning ever so slightly closer whilst protesting, almost as if he wasn't feeling that rejected after all. You used this opportunity to study his face closely. A very light stubble dusted his jaw. A small freckle sat under his left eye on his cheek, both of which were a rosy red from standing in the cold air with you. His hair sat crazily on top of his head but not in a messy way, in an effortless “I'm so cool and I don't even try way”. God, if he wasn't so attractive and nice, you would have to hate him.

All your staring wasn't lost on George, his ear tips going slightly red from the embarrassment of being analysed. Before he could look too bashful your drunk mind said the only thing it could think in that moment.

“God you are so beautiful,” you whisper, feeling as if you spoke too loud the air between you both would be disturbed. Just as George opened his mouth to no doubt correct you, you shoved your mouth onto his without a care in the world.

Despite you all but jumping on George, he adjusted quickly. The groan you let out at his lips on yours was hastily replaced by a shocked moan as he licked into your mouth. Despite his possibly rough looking exterior, his lips were soft and gentle as they moved over your own. It wasn't long before his hands were grasping your ass and you threw your own around his neck.

George pulled away and you whined at the loss, he breathlessly giggled at your response and asked, “You live round here?” you quickly nodded, desperate to keep kissing you but just as quickly as you leaned in you shot back and threw your head back against the wall and groaned frustratedly.

He threw a questioning look at you and you swiftly told him your issue, “My place is only about 10 minutes from here,” he began to look hopeful but you shot him down, “But my roommate has her boyfriend round tonight and I've been given very clear instructions to come home and go straight to bed. Absolutely no disturbances allowed. And I'm pretty sure a 6ft man called George is a pretty big disturbance” You patted his chest dejectedly as you finished.

“Firstly,” George spoke holding one finger up, “I'm 6ft 4 thank you very much.” you giggled lightly at his insistence to get his height correct. “Secondly, we can go back to my place it's a bit… strange. But it's got a bed so?” he asked with a questioning lilt to his deep voice.

He waited with bated breath for your answer, hoping you wouldn't as too many questions he can't answer but all you said was, “Call the Uber” before attacking his lips once again.

#george daniel fanfiction #george daniel #george daniel smut #george daniel fic #the 1975 #george daniel x reader #okay this was so difficult to write #2014 george call me bff #if you all hate it let me know besties!!#okay i kinda hate this

93 notes · View notes

fyonahmacnally · 4 months

Text

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks to @casualsavant for the tag. I'm not even sure I did the first 20 Questions round, but rules be damned.

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship/fandom?

Well, like anything I write, I get ideas from everything around me - they come to me from dreams, something I see, from random prompts, etc. As most writers know, we are simply the vessel, it's the brain goblins that tell us what to do.

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

Geez, we have so many in the Supercorp/Supergirl fandom. I'm not even sure that's a fair question. HA. I will inevitably leave someone out, but here are a few of my favorites @searidings, @jazzfordshire, @chaotic-super, @lovesastateofmind1, @innamorament0, @someoneyouloved93, @lostariels, @luthordamnvers, @thornedrose44, and @fazedlight. I read such a variety of genres, tags, and tropes that I will give almost anything a chance so the authors I read will vary. There's oh so many to choose from in this fandom and the vast talent is beyond imagination!

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

Hmmm, I like writing Sam, Andrea, and Jack. The rest of the main cast is fun too, but those three characters are fun to explore in fics. The shenanigans they get into together makes it easy to play with.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

Karamel, Lames, and Kalex. I am pretty open-minded, but those are my hard limit ships. To each their own. It's not my thing at all. I'm pretty open to tropes, too. Haven't had a chance to explore too many yet.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

I'm not sure how to answer this one, really. It can vary depending on what's going on in my life and how the idea came about.

Generally speaking, I get an idea, outline the basic premise of the story (usually in a word or google doc), do whatever research is needed (longer fics), and just start writing (or staring at the outline and empty doc). That's writing too, ask any writer. LOL

One shots tend to be more like: get idea, sit at desk thinking while blank doc stares back at me tauntingly, look out window, turn back to blank doc, write three sentences, back space all three sentences, look out window again, write three more sentences, repeat previous steps, then the brain goblins take over and suddenly it's 4 hours later, somehow there's several thousand words staring back at me.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Because I am a huge nerd, the research. I love to research the things I write. Not all of my stories require it, but when they do, I dive right in. Completing the story is a big one too. The anxiety and excitement that comes with yeeting something into the ether is indescribable.

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Weirdest thing...pagan rituals and ancient runes or bondage/fetish clubs in Amsterdam. There is some really interesting things out there. I learned a lot during that time.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

I think tense is one that slips on me. I try to catch them all during rereads and edits, but those little bastards are sneaky.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

The panic attacks and abuse scenes relating to Lena in Carterhaugh-Wood Academy (CWA). Lena is my absolute favorite character and writing anything that causes her harm hurts my soul.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

Is water wet? My characters always do what the brain goblins want despite my initial protest. I am just here to convey the message, after all.

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

Oh, hands down, Lena. I wouldn't pass up a chance to speak with any of them, let's be real, but Lena would be #1.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

I am by nature a fluff and happy-ending writer. However, I am working on an angst with a happy ending fic at the moment. The tropes I have written so far have been limited to friends to lovers and a little light angst with happy ending. I'm still exploring other things. Hopefully 2024 will be the year I can flex my writing muscles and expand into new territory.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Friends and other writers. Nothing beats a good brainstorming session with writer pals. I also like to do improv writing to boost creativity. You never know where a story will go when that happens.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

The strategy depends on the story. For longer fics, I have a few writer friends that help with reading over it and helping with typos, grammar errors, and helping fluff up the places that need it. For one shots or shorter fics, I will let it sit for a bit, go back and read it again to do the editing and rewrite the places that my brain doesn't like.

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Oooof, definitely the posting anxiety. I usually immediately find something else to do so I don't obsess over it.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

Hits, kudos, and comments are always fun and rewarding, but I write for my own enjoyment and sanity. I have plenty of fics that barely get any love, but I enjoy writing them. It's therapeutic for me. The rest is just noise. Also, like any writer, I love to hear from readers and try to respond to all my comments because they mean a lot to me.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character/ship?

Sometimes, yes. It depends on what I am writing and how I am feeling. Most of the time it is instrumental piano and/or cello music because I will start accidentally typing the lyrics of a regular playlist. If I am going for a specific vibe or writing because of a specific song, I will have the song on repeat or at least an album by the artist.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

SCBB delivered that on a platter for me. CWA got art from the multi-talented @bigmammallama5. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out here.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

13 total with another one that is in the planning stages.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Write for yourself. If you love it, it brings you enjoyment, and adds to your life, continue doing it. You're not going to please everyone and there will be people who are less than kind about something you publish. Those voices don't matter. There is someone out there that has read or will read your work and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Always do it for you.

Tagging but no pressure: @lovesastateofmind1 @casualkoalatea @fabulousglitch and @sssammich

#20 questions more #ao3 writer #ask me stuff #writer #writing #fic writing #fyonahmacnally #Mac things

23 notes · View notes

whumping-valentine · 5 months

Text

🦌 Fawn and Hunter - Part 3 🦌

"Restless Nights"

Content: Paranoid whumpee, fear of being SAed, uhhh idk this is mostly setup for the next chapter which will be much more whumpy.

1,100 words

(Not) continuing on with my part-a-day challenge (to the fullest) but I'll try to get a part out on the regular! Congrats, you now know what I'm like as a content creator! Rule of thumb, if I ever say "I'll try to—" or "I will be—" you can count on me to never deliver!

However, in my own defense, I've been working my job a shit ton recently, and am also working on a 12 book series, and also working on the series for Valentine that I'll be posting here, and drawing a lot, so I'm pretty busy, lol. But as always, excuse my writing quality for this mini series, I just shit these out into Google Docs and then copy and paste them here.

With that said, I humbly bring you all part 3! The next part is where the whump is really gonna start coming through, so stay tuned for that (and the eventual off-the-rails plot I thought of at 3 am while trying to sleep)

Fawn was in a state of shock, and they knew it, too. They didn’t feel very much besides the anxiety that coursed through their veins. They should be frightened, and feel disgusted. They should be crying, and panicking, and trying to find a way out. Yet all they could do was sit up right on the old dirty mattress, hugging their knees to their chest as they stared into the pitch black darkness of Hunter’s basement.

Eventually they fell back against the mattress, hands over their chest as their heart beat wildly, yet they felt nothing. Not even tired. Sleep was nowhere near on their mind. All they could think about was their own stupidity. How they managed to walk right into a psychopath’s literal trap. Thoughts of the future wavered through their mind, and none of the scenarios were favorable.

Were they going to be killed? No, Hunter alluded to it, but said they were too pretty, whatever the hell that means. Was that really the only thing keeping them alive? What if they accidentally piss them off? What if they grow bored of them? But… What do they even want with them in the first place? Something nice to look at? A pretty pet? Where they going to be raped? They didn’t even want to consider the thought.

Fawn couldn’t hear a single sound other than the sound of their own breathing and heartbeat. They couldn't even see their own hands in front of them. There were no windows, no connections to the outside world. It was sensory deprived hell, and as the minutes ticked away they felt like they were going insane.

They couldn’t take it anymore, and sat up, slowly getting up to stand on their one good foot. They wobbled and felt weak, but once they got their footing they slowly hopped to where they saw the light string. Reaching out blindly in the darkness, they felt it in their hands, and pulled it. A click rang through the air, and the basement was illuminated, albeit dimly, but they could at least see.

The basement was full of all kinds of clutter, like tools, weapons, boxes, taxidermied animals, bones, fur rugs, and mounted animal heads. There were a bunch of spiders, cobwebs, and cockroaches scurrying around. Good thing they weren't afraid of bugs. At least they had some company.

The mattress was torn and covered in blood and dirt. Lots of dried blood, actually. How many others were here before them? How many others spent their last nights on this same, tattered bed? It all felt too surreal. It couldn't be real. This was a horror movie, or a true crime documentary in the making, and they were the next subject. Why them of all people? Life isn't fair.

They began to carefully and quietly sift through the various things Hunter kept down there. Looking through the boxes, opening drawers, peeking behind furniture. Inside a metal cabinet were multiple folders and papers. The papers being....

...Missing posters?

First came confusion, then came the wide eyed terror and the sinking of their heart. In shock their shaking hands dropped the papers, and when they got their bearings, picked them back up, examining them.

There were some from different places, but most of them came from the same nearby town that Fawn had just moved to. They could recall seeing some of them around town, or in newspaper ads. Even conversations with the locals about how people often go missing... The oldest one of the bunch was ten years ago. The most recent was only from 6 months ago.

Fawn felt sick to their stomach. Asking how many people were here before them was supposed to just be rhetorical.

Fawn grabbed a knife that was sitting on one of the tables, and turned out the lights. It was old and rusted, but just having a weapon in their hands at least gave them the illusion of safety. They clutched it tightly in both of their hands, sitting on the mattress. They were restless and anxious, with their wide eyes staring towards the door in darkness. They could hear the floorboards creak above them, and they hoped and prayed Hunter wouldn't come back down the stairs.

Especially if they thought they were asleep.

Though much like Fawn, Hunter wasn't able to rest their eyes, either. However, while Fawn's may have been from fear, Hunter was far too excited. They tossed and turned, but all they could think about was their latest victim. When they remembered they had a bag with them that they removed, they jumped out of bed immediately.

Moonlight was shining through the trees, seeping into the decrepit cabin through cracked and boarded up windows. Hunter went to the kitchen and picked Fawn's bag up off of the floor, curious to rummage through their things.

It was filled with snacks and water bottles. There was a change of clothes, a pocket knife, a book on plant identification, binoculars, and finally, they hit the jackpot. A phone with no passcode! Just who was their little Fawn, really?

Their lockscreen was a photo of two cats cuddling, looking like they took it themself at a shelter. Much to Hunter's dismay, it didn't seem like they had any social medias, but they did have lots of things in their gallery!… though they were mostly just photos of animals. They couldn't find a real name or anything that was truly personal.

It wouldn't matter much even if they did have socials, because there was no signal out here. It wouldn't connect to the internet. Maybe they had something in their calendar?... no, nothing. No birthdays or events, except for some things relating to the Animal shelter.

Their phone was so void of anything that it was almost frustrating. Either they didn't use technology much, or they had absolutely nothing going on in their life besides their volunteer work. I mean, they didn't even have a passcode, Hunter was disappointed, to say the least.

A weak knock coming from the basement door startled them out of their dissatisfaction.

"Uhh… Hunter?" A meek, muffled voice called.

"What?"

"I… have to pee."

"Okay."

"I need a bathroom."

"No you don't. You have a change of clothes right here, you can change in the morning."

"What?!" Fawn was appalled, "But—"

"You should be happy you're alive and shut up. Piss on the floor and go to bed."

"But—"

"Piss on the floor and go to bed." Hunter repeated, much more stern. It was silent for a moment before quiet thumps could be heard limping down the stairs. Poor injured thing.

Hunter had a feeling this recent capture was going to be quite an interesting one. They listen well enough, but don't seem to really grasp the situation they've found themself in. It wasn't a worry, that just meant training them was going to be all the more enjoyable.

Hunter smiled.

They were going to have fun tomorrow.

#fawn and hunter #whump #whump blog #whump community #whumpblr #my writing #whump writing #whump series

22 notes · View notes

callsignbaphomet · 14 days

Text

Okay, so I finished all three WIPs so I'll upload them one by one. I'm uploading them in "order" so it makes better sense. These don't have titles because like I've said before I am absolute trash at coming up with titles. As usual TWs are at the top and if I forget any I'm sorry, it's not my intention so kindly let me know if something needs to be tagged.

☆★☆★→Link to google Doc←☆★☆★

In case someone prefers to read it there than here.

Trigger warnings: firearms, weapons, death, drugs/chems, alcohol, sexual themes, sexual content, panic attack.

◃───────────▹◃───────────▹◃───────────▹

“Dagny, vent på meg.” Jelani called out to Dagny as the little night stalker sped up and climbed up on top of a ruined and blown up car and stared off into the distance, her ears were perked up, her body was stiff and her tail was still and alert.

“La oss gå, Dag.” Jelani said as he walked past the vehicle and continued to walk. He was in no mood for games, not when he was operating on less than two hours of sleep and heavily craving another shot of Calmex. The night before was bad, bad enough that he used up the last two Calmex he had left and he wouldn’t be able to get his hands on another batch for another five days. The nightmares were getting worse.

Dagny looked back at Jelani and let out a quiet bark to get his attention. As soon as he turned around to look at her Dagny kept her eyes fixated on him, her body was still and stiff though he noticed her left ear twitched and bent to the side. He sighed and looked to where she’d been staring and as soon as he did Dagny gave a subtle wiggle as if celebrating the fact that Jelani looked in the direction she wanted him to look. Jelani saw nothing, just tall dry grass as far as the eye could see and several miles away were some ruins and half destroyed buildings.

“A’ight.” Jelani walked over to the car and climbed it to see if he was able to see what had gotten such a strong hold of Dagny’s attention. As soon as he was on the roof he knelt beside her and looked in the same direction. “Hva er det, jente?”

With a better vantage point Jelani could see a little further away. About fifty feet away he could make out what looked like three people struggling or fighting, it was hard to tell from that distance. He retrieved a pair of binoculars from his backpack to get a better view of the situation. There were actually four men. Three of them, who appeared to be farmers, were fighting a fourth man. It was hard to tell what the fourth man was, he could’ve been a scavver, a random settler or anyone else really. Jelani looked up to see the position of the sun, it was still early and he was close to Jamaica Plain, a little detour wouldn’t hurt given how early he decided to take off.

“Kom igjen, Dag.”

Jelani and Dagny made their way to the quartet as fast as they could and once they were about twenty feet from the group both of them slowed down and hid amongst the tall grass. Now that he was closer Jelani could see each of their faces clearly, three of them he’d never seen before but the fourth one, the one the farmers were attacking, surprised him. It was that raider that saved Dagny from drowning when he’d been jumped by the Bunker Hill raiders. Jelani knelt as he grabbed his sniper rifle and once he positioned himself he pointed to Dagny with his left index finger and as soon as the little night stalker saw his hand he then brought up the same hand and pointed to one of the farmers, specifically the one holding a wooden bat, with his index and middle finger. Once he was sure Dagny understood her instructions he then held up his middle, index and thumb. While crouching Dagny took a few steps forward and patiently waited for Jelani.

“Get your bitch hands off me!” Angelus yelled as he struggled to break free but the farmer holding him pulled out a switchblade and pressed the tip to his neck.

“En.” Jelani whispered as he took aim. His crosshairs sitting right on the farmer’s left ear. Dagny slowly brought forth her right foot and set it down on the dry ground.

“From now on we ain’t waiting for no goddamn Minutemen. We’ll take care of you scumbags our own damn selves.” The man holding the bat said as he brought it up behind his shoulder and gripped it so hard his knuckles were turning white.

“To.” Jelani inhaled as he carefully wrapped his index finger around the trigger. He made enough contact with it to apply some pressure though not enough to pull it yet.

The other farmers yelled in agreement. Their frustrations were justified and their anger had made a lot of them bolder than even most of the Commonwealth raiders. Something happened in the last year that offset the balance within raider ranks. New groups and gangs were slowly filtering in little by little into the Commonwealth, these gangs were far more aggressive, destructive and far more dangerous than the raiders that had called Boston their home for years now. At first it was nothing the newly reformed Minutemen couldn’t handle, in fact, some of them seemed to enjoy the challenge, especially their new general. However, the Minutemen’s push back only managed to come off as a challenge to these new raiders and before long the Commonwealth was yet again thrust into war. Many people from both sides had been killed and the Minutemen’s numbers were suffering because of it. With the fight against the Brotherhood of Steel and the Railroad once again focusing on fighting the Institute, a new group that had swallowed the Triggermen and were making a play in the metro area of Boston meant the Minutemen were stretched thin and everyday citizens had had enough. Most were arming themselves and taking to killing anyone they suspected of being a raider. Some thought it was about time but others had grown accustomed to the new general’s proposition. She wanted to do things the way the old world did: leave the raiders, thieves, murderers and other less than pleasant people of the Commonwealth in the hands of a force that was dedicated to taking care of those problems and serving up their own brand of justice dependent on the severity of the crime.

“How ‘bout we kill this bitch and put his head on pike, boys? That way his buddies know not to fuck with us.”

“Tre.” Jelani exhaled slowly as the word left his mouth. Once he felt his lungs empty and right before he inhaled again he pulled the trigger. At the same time he pulled the trigger and the .50 bullet flew out of the silenced barrel of Gungnir Dagny took off with such speed and power her hind legs kicked up the dirt from beneath her paws. The bullet pierced the farmer’s head, the entry point being his left ear and before his body could hit the ground Dagny had pounced on the man holding the bat, the man Jelani had pointed to. She snapped her jaws around his throat. With the momentum she’d gathered as she ran she managed to bring him down to the ground where she proceeded to bite down as hard as she could and pulled so hard her claws dug into the man’s flesh. An almost gross orchestra of her vicious snarls and the man’s gurgled screaming filled the air.

The third man had turned to run but Angelus quickly moved to pick up the switchblade the other farmer had pressed against his neck and tossed it as hard as he could. The blade sunk into the back of his head, he was dead by the time he hit the ground. Angelus then turned around and saw a familiar face emerge from the tall grass, he was still tense from the ordeal but as soon as he recognized him the raider relaxed a bit.

Jelani reached into his coat and took out a silenced .22 pistol. He aimed it at the man Dagny was currently mauling and in a serious tone said, “Gi slipp.” As soon as he said it Dagny released the man and walked over to Jelani, she sat right by his feet while he took aim and shot the farmer in the head.

Once the last of the farmers was dealt with both Jelani and Angelus stood still and stared at each other in silence, it wasn’t awkward by any means, it was more like both of them were carefully analyzing the situation they found themselves in.

“Well, this is a surprise.” Angelus broke the silence once he gathered Jelani wasn’t a threat to him, he figured if he was there to kill him he would’ve been the first one he would’ve shot just to make sure he wouldn’t get away. “Didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“You okay?” Jelani asked as he put the .22 away.

“Yeah, yeah. Just…assholes caught me off guard, you know?” He waved off the mercenary’s concerns, mostly out of embarrassment that he’d been jumped by a pack of farmers. Pissed off farmers but farmers nonetheless.

“Where you headed?”

“I was uh…hmm…” Angelus was actually on his way back to Nuka World from Egret Tours, a settlement he’d befriended some time ago, but he wasn’t about to give that information out to just anyone. It was a tumultuous time to be a raider in Boston, even worse if you were a raider from outside of Boston. Angelus was in no hurry to get back to Nuka World so he smiled and said, “Wasn’t actually going anywhere in particular. What about you? You look like you’re getting ready to cause some serious damage.”

“Contract.”

“Not much of a talker are you?” Angelus chuckled as he relaxed a little more.

“Nope.” Jelani looked down at Dagny who happily looked back at him and snapped his fingers while saying, “Kom igjen.” Dagny stood back up and walked beside him as both headed south.

Angelus watched as both of them kept walking to wherever it was that they were heading and stood still. He’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t wanna stay in the Commonwealth a little longer. Life in Nuka World was beginning to feel stressful with the gangs getting worked up over Colter ignoring everyone’s pleas to expand their territory into the other parks. Plenty of people guessed it was only a matter of time before war broke out between the gangs and while some welcomed it others like Angelus were worried. He had friends in other gangs that he’d rather not kill over some bullshit started by unrest because of Colter’s lazy ass. The less time he spent in Nuka World the lesser the chances of him being involved in an all out war. Now, he could go back to Egret, he was free to come and go as he pleased, but as he looked at the mercenary another idea crawled its way into his head.

“Hey!” Angelus called out and the mercenary and the little night stalker both turned around to look at him as he ran up to them. “Mind if I tag along?”

Jelani jerked his head back as he stared at the raider in confusion, “Why?”

“Well, I’m in no hurry to be anywhere specific and maybe I can help since you helped me with those guys.”

Jelani slightly tilted his head sideways and furrowed his brow as he looked at the raider. He then looked at Dagny who looked up at him and as if she was somehow trying to voice her opinion she let out a yap and wagged her tail while rhythmically stomping her front paws on the ground and panting excitedly. Jelani shrugged as he turned back to the raider and Dagny made her way to greet him.

“Angelus, right?”

“Yeah.” Angelus answered with a pleasantly surprised tone. He doesn’t remember ever introducing himself to him, not now and much less the first time they met. However, the girls that stitched up the mercenary’s injuries did call him by his name so he guessed he picked up on it and remembered. He was honestly impressed. But then again Angelus was really bad at remembering names so someone remembering his name after hearing it once a few weeks back made him smile.

“That’s Dagny.”

Angelus crouched down to pet the little night stalker who happily wagged her tail as Angelus scratched her behind her ears with one hand and rubbed her chest with the other while cooing at her.

“Pretty name for such a pretty girl. Yes, you are.” He gleefully squealed as he continued to pet her, he then looked up at the mercenary and while still petting Dagny said, “What kinda dog is she anyway?”

“Technically she’s not a dog, she’s a night stalker. Most people just refer to her as a dog anyway.”

“Makes sense, I mean she looks a little like a dog and acts like one too. Where’d you get her?”

“New Vegas.”

“Goddamn, you’re a long way from New Vegas. The hell brought you to this dump anyway?” Angelus looked up and saw Jelani’s expression shift ever so slightly. He was still serious but there was something else behind his expression, mostly in his eyes, that Angelus couldn’t quite put his finger on and soon realized he may have asked the wrong question. He quickly stood up and in an attempt to move the conversation to another direction, and still get a little bit of information out of the mercenary, he quickly said, “Okay, so this is Dagny. What about you?”

“Jelani.” He whispered as he lowered his gaze and turned around to continue walking south. Angelus thought it best to stop asking questions for now even though he was tempted to but he knew better.

The three of them made their way south and after almost forty minutes they were nearing a large settlement called Jamaica Plain which peaked Angelus’s curiosity. With how well armed Jelani was he was sure the contract he was fulfilling was a hit so he prepared himself for a fight. However, instead of walking directly into Jamaica Plain Jelani veered off to the west several yards from the settlement and kept walking. Angelus curiously followed behind him. He was about to ask why he was heading in that direction but his question was answered when Jelani began to climb up part of the broken down highway. It was a bit of a steep climb but both of them made it to the highest point of the highway that comfortably overlooked the large settlement. Once in place Jelani put his backpack and sniper rifle down beside him and sat down as he looked over the settlement. He seemed at ease so Angelus figured he’d sit down too. He walked over to Jelani and Dagny and sat close to Jelani and silently looked over the settlement though his eyes would occasionally dart over to the mercenary. He was as easy on the eyes as he remembered him. At one point Angelus looked him up and down and felt the corners of his mouth hike up to form a smile. It wasn’t so much that he was easy on the eyes, he found him exceptionally pretty. From the very moment he first laid eyes on him he couldn’t help but be taken aback, the only reason Angelus helped him was because he was almost instantly smitten or at least that’s what he tells himself just to convince himself he’s at the very least somewhat decent. Had Jelani stayed in Egret that night Angelus had planned to make a move on the mercenary if his head injury permitted. Even now he wanted to make a move but he was sure he’d be turned down while he was yet to finish the contract so Angelus was left with fantasizing and imagining what was hiding under that coat.

“So…” Angelus began as he averted his eyes, “What uh…what are we doing here?”

“Waiting.” Jelani answered as he looked back at Angelus who gave him a look as if waiting for him to elaborate on why they were sitting on a broken highway. He sighed as he came to terms with the fact that his current companion was a lot more talkative than Jelani was comfortable with. He wasn’t angry about that, in fact, he saw it as an opportunity to relearn social skills he’d lost in the few months he’d been in Boston. Since he got there he hardly spoke or socialized with anyone. He had so many fears and so much anxiety and paranoia that it made it hard to even talk to people, even now he was fighting back against the intrusive thoughts he’d been haunted by since the day after his father found him in that basement. He looked down to see Dagny curled up and asleep next to him, he took the little night stalker’s relaxation as a sign that the raider next to him was safe for now so he gathered up his courage, inhaled and indulged the raider’s curiosity. “Ex-Gunner turned Minuteman. Was contacted through a friend who introduced us. Guy abandoned his post and joined the Minutemen so now this Gunner’s looking for some payback.”

“And why are we waiting? Why not just go down there, lure him out and kill ‘im or are we waiting for nighttime to sneak in there and kill ‘im in his sleep?”

“Nah, too much trouble. His shift usually starts at 1400, he patrols the north road where the diner is. That entire road is his until his shift ends at 1900. Take him out once he’s out there.”

“1400? What’s that?”

“Another way of saying 2:00 pm. Twenty-four hour format or as some people say military time. There’s NCR and Enclave with a little bit of Brotherhood of Steel in my family history.” Jelani was hesitant sharing that information and he immediately regretted it though there was nothing he could do about that now. He made a mental note to be more careful going further.

“Wait,” Angelus began to chuckle, “You’re an army brat? Oh, my god, that is hilarious and makes so much sense.”

“How so?”

“The way you took out those two farmers! I never even heard you approach us and that was a clean shot. I’ve never seen shit like that before. Not to mention how well trained your dog is. Also you’re, like, serious all the time.”

“Um, I guess.”

Jelani lowered his gaze and turned to look at the settlement below. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way Angelus was staring and smiling, he was well aware that he wasn’t going to hurt him but his mind was wandering to a place he didn’t want to go to, not now that he was feeling relaxed and surprised that he was actually interacting with another person. He focused on a brahmin and watched its movements carefully as he took deep breaths and exhaled as a way to calm himself in order to avoid another panic attack. With every breath he could feel his heart rate slowing down. Surprisingly the preparation he did whenever he was getting ready to make a long range shot on his sniper was exactly what helped him to calm down. Despite the rumors snipers don’t have the ability to stop their heartbeats, however, they can do specific breathing exercises to relax their bodies, slow down their breathing and maintain a type of control over their heartbeats that allows them to pull the trigger at the exact right moment to avoid movement even microscopic ones.

“So where you from?” Angelus asked almost absentmindedly and as soon as he realized what he asked and remembering Jelani’s earlier reaction he sort of flinched.

“Capital Wasteland. Was there till I was around eleven or twelve.”

“Really? Wow, I heard that place was messed the fuck up.” Angelus was surprised his question hadn’t caused any discomfort and was relieved to see Jelani was starting to relax around him.

“It is but then again what place isn’t nowadays. What about you? From your accent I figured maybe from somewhere in the south.”

“Yeah,” Angelus’s face brightened as a huge smile formed on his face. Not many people could make that connection, “from some bum fuck middle of nowhere town in Mississippi. Not a very nice place, full of just mean people, mean critters and a big ass radioactive stinky river full of some foul ass shit that will kill you if you get too close to it. Kind of miss it.”

“Sounds charming.” Jelani chuckled and smiled.

Angelus couldn’t help but stare at him, he was gorgeous and his pale blue eyes seemed to light up when he smiled. Angelus caught himself staring and as he felt his cheeks flare up he looked away and said, “Noticed you have one too, an accent I mean, it sounds weird. Not a bad weird, I mean just weird weird. That wasn’t English that you spoke to your dog earlier was it?”

“No, it wasn’t. Turns out that before the war some family came here and were trapped once the war started. Two hundred years later and I’m the last in that line.”

“Do you know where they were from?”

“Norway.”

“So is that language from where your family’s from?”

“Yeah, they kept passing it down and my dad taught me how to speak, write and read it, Norwegian by the way, before he taught me English so I learned English the same way he was taught.”

“We might have something sort of in common. According to my mom my dad was some caravan trader whose family was actually from Russia, they’d actually made it here some thirty something years before my dad was born. I don’t know what Russians spoke though. Only Russian word I know is my last name: Malakhov. So is it just you and your dad and your dog?”

“It’s just me and Dagny…my dad’s dead.” What Jelani really wanted to say was that his dad was dead because of him but given that he wasn’t ready to come to terms with that he simply left it at that and lowered his gaze as his smile faded and his expression turned somber.

Angelus picked up on the sudden change and he moved closer to Jelani till both of their shoulders were touching. Jelani jumped at the feeling of coming into contact with someone else. His immediate instinct was to pull away but he didn’t, he turned to look at Angelus who had a sympathetic look on his face and in a soft tone said, “My mom’s dead too. She got really sick and just kept getting worse and worse until she died. I later went to live with an old raider turned merc until one day he just didn’t come back home, figured he died out there somewhere. It’s just been me ever since. Hell, I don’t even have a dog.” He pointed at Dagny and then looked back at Jelani.

“Technically…” Jelani started, he waved off the need to safeguard himself by not revealing anything about himself to anyone, “my dad was actually my brother.”

Angelus coughed as he tried his hardest not to laugh so he bit his lips and said in a strained voice, “Oh, sweet pea, you sure you ain’t from the south?”

It took him a few seconds but Jelani started to laugh once he realized that the sentence had come off as a little strange and he needed to elaborate otherwise it would look like his family tree was going in circles. “Ja, pretty sure. What I mean is that my parents died when I was almost two-years-old and my brother who was seventeen at the time took care of me. I honestly don’t remember my parents, sometimes I can sort of remember little details but not enough to form an actual memory of either of them. I think it’s better that way, how are you gonna grieve someone you had no attachment to? So my brother raised me, he’s been the only parent I’ve actually known so I started calling him dad and it just stuck. I used to forget he was my brother and not my actual dad but neither of us cared. Now he’s gone. Irony of it all is we both lost our parents at the same age.”

Jelani was surprised at himself, he revealed a lot more than he had anticipated and it was the first time he thought about Loke without breaking down into hysterics and the first time he spoke about him since he died. He couldn’t explain it but talking to Angelus about it felt like a weight had been lifted off him, ever since Loke died he felt like he was pinned to the ground by a massive boulder that got heavier and heavier as the days passed but talking to him about it alleviated it, or at least some of it. He took a deep breath and let out a nervous sigh, or maybe it was a sigh of relief, he wasn’t sure. Perhaps that sensation was what Loke and the caravan doctor had talked about when they told him he needed to talk to someone about what had happened that night but he hadn’t been ready, he still wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready to relive that horrible experience that ripped away something from deep inside him.

Angelus stayed quiet for a few minutes and just watched Jelani. He couldn’t put his finger on it but he thought there was something else that he wasn’t telling him. His tone and words felt genuine yet he could tell there was something he was holding back but he didn’t dare to push the subject matter, not now that he was getting him to open up to him. He went from one word answers to full blown sentences and didn’t wanna scare him into shutting down again so he did what he knew best and decided to distract him.

“So, Jay, have you heard about the Jamaica Plain treasure controversy yet?”

“I’m sorry, the what?” Jelani turned and gave Angelus the most confused expression he could muster. That sentence was one of the most ridiculous ones he’d heard since he reached Boston.

“Oh, sugar, you’re gonna love this. For a very long time there was a rumor that there were riches hidden in Jamaica Plain. What was it? No one knew, some people said it was a building full of caps, some people said there was a secret hidden vault around the place. Other people said that before the war people hid powerful weapons somewhere down there and some said that there was gold. I don’t know what the blue hell gold is but it got some people’s underwear in a tussle.”

“Wait, who started that rumor?”

“Hush your pretty lips. Now, there were some people that thought it was all bullshit and said it was probably a trap to lure morons to their deaths. About three years ago when the Minutemen picked back up there was a group of settlers who came to JP and well, settled! That got everyone up in arms, you had raiders trying to find the treasure, had Gunners, Triggermen, farmers, mercs, ghouls, humans, Diamond City folks left their little safety nest for goodness’s sake! And those bitches are too scared to go anywhere! Everyone came down here to fight the settlers and claim the treasure. Sure as the sun sets there was a mini type of war with hundreds of people searching every fuckin’ building for the treasure or at the very least clues. Now, you see that building down there? The one with the blown up statue in front of it?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Okay, so everyone was looking everywhere except for that one. This farmer goes in and looks all over the place, another one sneaks in and people start to notice and soon everyone is running for that building and they’re trashing the place looking for the treasure. Someone finds a door to a basement and they manage to break it down and now you got hundreds of people trying to make their way in. Supposedly there were hundreds of traps everywhere and people start dyin’ or getting injured but they push on anyway ‘cause they figured that the traps mean they’re getting close. So after fighting through traps, hacking security systems, fighting off crazed robots and each other they finally make it the treasure.”

“It was real?” Jelani asked with a dubious tone and expression.

“I shit you not the treasure was a room full of some old world junk put up on display as if it was the greatest fuckin’ thing since unguarded caps. There were hair brushes, some clothing items, junk, a pretty much useless terminal and the most “useful” item there was a wooden bat. Someone even left a holotape that had an inventory of all the “treasure” and someone actually wrote a goddamn speech talkin’ ‘bout how these were special items that people back then used and shit. Well, shitfire, we still use them! Sort of!”

“I legitimately hate it here…” Jelani replied with a monotone voice and an incredulous look on his face as he blinked at Angelus as if somehow trying to make sense of the entire thing. “I’m almost afraid to ask what the fuck happened after they found that shit.”

“Nothing. Nothing happened. Everyone just quietly left the building and went wherever the fuck they came from. The wounded were tended to in the settlement and the dead were buried and everyone went home. Soon as word got out about what happened everyone denied being there, hundreds of jackasses and all of ‘em deny ever being anywhere near Jamaica Plain. Everyone that participated outright denies they were ever even here looking for that shit. Honestly? I think it’s pretty fuckin’ funny. Motherfuckers back then had a nasty sense of humor for sure.”

“What the hell is wrong with everyone here?”

“Oh!” Angelus excitedly said as he playfully hit Jelani’s arm as he remembered yet another story he picked up while in Egret. “Have you heard of the haunted quarry yet?”

“That’s it, I’m getting the fuck out of this fucking place.”

“It’s true! Or…at least they say it’s true. Pack of Minutemen had gone in to clear out the raiders that were in that quarry but supposedly the raider leading that group lost her mind and killed all the other raiders. The terminals were full of really weird entries about voices, visions, quakes and something about the light. Only one of those Minutemen came back and he ain’t been right since. He’s up in Sanctuary ‘cause he didn’t wanna live anywhere near that quarry. To this day he says there’s something ancient and super evil living down there. I forgot the name of the quarry…something sun or maybe dumb itch?”

Jelani’s eyes widened in horror as the two words sounded eerily similar to the name of a building with a less than spectacular reputation back in the Capital. He’d only heard stories and every time he asked Loke about it Loke would quickly change the subject. For a few seconds he couldn’t remember the name but repeating the two words Angelus said in his head instantly made him remember so he turned to Angelus and in an almost deadpan tone said, “You mean Dunwich?”

“That’s the fucker’s name!” Angelus said in an excited tone but then quickly turned serious. “How did you know?”

“Uh…back in the Capital there was this old building people talked about with that exact name. It was weird, every time us kids would bring it up all the grown ups would just change the subject and if we kept pushing they’d just tell us to drop it. There was this old man that lived in the area and he used to talk about it if we brought him beer. According to him, that building was sitting on some gateway or something. Apparently a lot of people that went in either died or came back wrong and there was something about some vault dweller and a book.”

“Ew, that’s…a pretty creepy coincidence.”

“I kinda wanna see this quarry.”

“Well, you’re shit out of luck, sugar. Minutemen have that thing locked down.”

“Hva i helvete? Why?”

“That was kind of a recent development and it’s up for debate as to whether it was to keep the curious out to avoid people getting hurt or lost in the quarry but a lot of us think it has something to do with the Children of Atom. Something kind of weird is happening within their ranks. A lot of ‘em have been turning up dead by their own members. A lot of them are relocating to the Glowing Sea and the few that are left have stopped being really hostile and have turned reclusive. I think they’re up to something.”

“Those quacks are always up to something. There was a lady in Bunker Hill that was keeping track of ‘em and said they’re all avoiding the coastline. Apparently there’s something in the water that they don’t like.”

“Don’t blame ‘em. Probably Ol’ Peg.”

“Oh, that is not real.”

“Lemme know when you have some free time and I’ll take you to Salem. Something…interesting…happened there four years ago.”

“A’ight, but it better be as interesting as you’re making it out to be.” Jelani teased playfully as he pointed at Angelus and smiled. He then reached over to his backpack and retrieved some binoculars as it was close to his target’s shift and he wanted to be ready.

“Promise. And if it turns out to be a dud I have a pretty good idea of how we could salvage the day.”

Confused and a little weirded out by the way he said it Jelani turned to look at Angelus who had a particularly mischievous smile on his face. It didn’t feel malicious but the implication, which Jelani picked up on, sent a cold shiver up and down his spine. He honestly didn’t know what to say so he gave him a forced smile that quickly left his lips and turned to focus on the job at hand.

On the other hand Angelus didn’t pick up on Jelani’s uneasiness and chucked his lack of a response to getting ready for the target. He moved closer to Jelani and watched him eagerly as Jelani scoped the area below them for the target. He wanted to say something but he didn’t want to distract him and cost him whatever caps were promised for the ex-Gunner. His eyes slowly darted from his face, down to his shoulders, his back, hips and down his legs.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Startled by Jelani’s question he looked up to see Jelani looking at him and somewhat frowning at him as if he’d caught him red handed in what he was doing. He thanked whatever was out there that he couldn’t hear all the shit he was thinking as he traced his body with his eyes. “See him yet?” Angelus misdirected the conversation to avoid the awkwardness from building further.

“Not yet.”

“And how do you know what he looks like? I mean, I never really thought about how mercs know what their targets look like.”

“Descriptions for the most part. Very few people have access to working cameras and they give the target’s picture if they’re able to get a shot of them. Even dealt with one very pissed off caravan guard who had a recorder and showed me video of the target. Some old world stuff still works if you manage to fix it. Sure, the quality isn’t what it used to be but it gets the job done.”

“Yeah, old merc I used to live with had a wrist watch that, according to him, his great grandfather found after he traveled east. Managed to fix it and passed it down. Of course, knowing him he stole it and fabricated the story to go along with the watch. Guy was a bit of a compulsive liar, it was hard to get the truth out of him if you didn’t know him. I still have the darn thing but it doesn’t work anymore, somebody told me the gears got stuck or something like that.”

“I actually know of someone that can help with that. Some old caravan merchant I worked for for a few weeks has a contact that can fix literally anything. Pretty sure he can tackle a simple watch.” Jelani said as he lowered the binoculars and looked at Angelus who was smiling at him.

“Really? That’d be great! Can’t tell time for shit but it’d be nice to have the thing working again.”

“It ain’t hard, I can show you.” Jelani stopped mid sentence as he slightly jerked his head back. He seemed pretty upfront about making plans with this raider he barely knew, he couldn’t take back what was already said so he decided to reel it back a bit. “If you want.”

“Sure.” Angelus replied as his eyes softened as he looked back at him.

Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds. Angelus was slowly inching closer and closer and as soon as Jelani noticed he loudly cleared his throat and said, “Guy should be out on patrol soon.” He looked into the binoculars once more and began to search the area for his target.

Angelus kept staring at him and smiling as he said, “Is it 2:00 already?”

“Yeap,” While still looking through the binoculars Jelani pointed forward as the target left one of the buildings close to the old church, “and there he is.”

Jelani handed the binoculars to Angelus and directed him to where the target was. As Angelus watched him make his way to his designated area Jelani looked at Angelus. At first he was listening to what he was saying but the more he looked at him the more his voice faded away as he looked at him. His eyes traced over his sharp jawline, then his neck and throat, his arms, his chest and stomach until his eyes settled on his thighs. A thought crossed his mind, one he didn’t think he would have ever again but as his eyes trailed up his thighs towards his crotch Jelani shook his head and turned to look at the target. Panic was starting to rise within him so he focused on the task at hand as to avoid yet another panic attack.

“You okay?” Angelus asked as soon as he looked at Jelani.

“Ja, I’m fine.”

“So what now?”

Jelani didn’t answer. He grabbed his sniper rifle and while still keeping an eye on the target he laid down on his stomach while aiming the silenced rifle towards the target. Once he was comfortable he inhaled, held the air in his lungs for a few seconds and then exhaled. This was something he always did right before taking a shot but now he was doing it to calm himself as well. There were a lot of caps riding on this job and he didn’t want to screw it up over a panic attack from staring at the man sitting next to him. He continued to breathe in the same manner as he looked through the scope, one of his fingers was carefully coiled around the trigger while he adjusted the scope with his other hand.

Angelus watched in awe at the intricate and almost ritualistic manner in which Jelani prepared himself. He wasn’t exactly good with guns, all he knew was to aim and pull the trigger in the hopes that the bullet would hit whatever he wanted dead or injured. For most of his life he was the type to rush down his victims and beat them to death with a crowbar, any blunt object he could get his hands on or a gun that was out of ammo. His strengths mostly lied in hand to hand combat which he was pretty good at. He knew his strengths and weaknesses and used that knowledge to his advantage. However, he had a huge admiration for people who could handle rifles and bigger weapons especially sniper rifles. He watched carefully as Jelani made very subtle adjustments in his position as the target moved. He kept looking at him and couldn’t help but smile as he looked at Jelani lying on the ground flat on his stomach with his legs spread open. The temptation to reach out was getting to him so he turned to look at the target through the binoculars Jelani had handed him while occasionally looking at Jelani with the corner of his eye.

Jelani had managed to calm himself down and was tracing the target’s movement. He lazily walked from what he assumed was his home towards the diner from the backroad of the huge settlement. Once Jelani adjusted to his speed he managed to keep his crosshairs on the target’s temple. The backroad was empty now that the guard patrolling the area had turned to patrol the adjacent road. Now was the right time to take his shot as it would take a few minutes for people to notice the body giving him and Angelus plenty of time to get a head start to leave the area. The target was now about thirty feet from reaching the diner road where plenty of people were. He’d been able to keep up with the target’s speed and height, as he did he calculated the speed of the wind and the humidity in the air to come up with the best time and angle to fire so the bullet could hit the target.

Jelani inhaled as he moved the crosshairs a few inches in front of his target’s head, at the same time he tightened his grip on the trigger. He exhaled as he blinked once and as soon as the last bit of oxygen left his lungs he pulled the trigger, the recoil from the anti-material sniper rifle made his entire body shake. But as soon as Jelani regained control he looked through the scope to confirm the kill. The ex-Gunner’s lifeless body hit the ground as half of his face was gone and turned to a bloody sludge on the asphalt.

“Goddamn, Haakonson!” Angelus cried out in awe as he kept staring at the body and the blown out head on the ex-Gunner.

“Keep quiet and move!” Jelani said as he folded the bipod on the rifle and flung the carry sling over himself so that the sniper could be carried easily and his hands were free. He grabbed his backpack and took out the silenced .22 and as soon as he had it he put the backpack on his back and nodded to Dagny who quickly got on her feet and stuck close to him.

Angelus quickly put the binoculars in Jelani’s backpack and ran next to him. He wasn’t sure why they had to run but he obeyed. Both of them made their way down the broken highway and as soon as they reached the ground they ran as fast as they could.

The day before Jelani had scouted the area for the best exit route. He’d come up with three different escape routes that depended on different outcomes. He didn't have time to think of the others, since they hadn't been caught and it seemed like the body hadn't been found yet he focused on the one route he had for his current situation. Jamaica Plain was a massive settlement and escaping the reach of the settlers would prove a challenge if anything went wrong. Worst part was that University Point was a few yards away, it was a sort of sister settlement founded after Jamaica Plain faced an overpopulation problem before it expanded.

Jelani ran north, as he had planned, making sure to steer clear of University Point and sticking to staying under the highway that was between both settlements. The three of them ran as fast and as quietly as possible but as they neared University Point they were startled when the unmistakable sound of an alarm siren went off. Jelani stopped in the middle of some shrubs and got low to the ground. Out of instinct he grabbed Angelus' hand and pulled him down as he watched the guards at University Point scramble to look in the direction of Jamaica Plain. They still hadn't been spotted but Jelani was watchful in case the guards noticed them.

“They found a body with his head blown off in Jamaica!” One of the guards yelled at another guard.

From the front gate of University Point a group of armed and armored guards ran as fast as they could towards the settlement. The boys saw they were running in their direction and out of panic Angelus motioned to move but Jelani squeezed his hand. Angelus looked at him with panic in his eyes but the young mercenary quietly shook his head. Angelus looked up and saw the guards running past them, they never even noticed them hiding in the shrubs. When he could no longer hear the guards' footsteps Jelani stood back up, still holding Angelus’ hand, and ran west occasionally looking back in case they were spotted but they managed to make a clean getaway.

They stuck to the south of the nearby Boston Military Checkpoint and avoided Big John’s Salvage as it had been overrun by raiders after the pack of Super Mutants that had taken it over were killed off. Jelani wanted to move as fast as he could, the checkpoint was usually full of Minutemen and while they were constantly at war with the Minutemen he wanted to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. The area south of Boston was always dangerous but it was even more dangerous now than it was four years ago thanks to raiders and Gunners expanding their reach. Jelani, Angelus and Dagny carefully made their way towards Shaw High School though Angelus was nervous. Everyone knew the Gunners had expanded their territory beyond the Gunner Plaza. It took them well over half a year but the Gunners took over Fallon’s Department Store, West Roxbury Station, and the Milton General Hospital for themselves as their numbers increased over the last two years with raiders and ex-Brotherhood of Steel soldiers joining their ranks once the Brotherhood was defeated. The old high school had been turned into a warehouse of sorts after it was taken back from the Super Mutants who’d set up a trap to lure in unsuspecting victims with a recorded message. Angelus was nervous about the direction they were headed to but he didn’t question it, he just followed Jelani and Dagny.

Once the high school was in sight Jelani deviated to the broken down building across from the school. It barely had any real cover and felt exposed but Jelani walked to the back of the building and sat down on a chair looking across the way towards the entrance to the high school and lit a cigarette.

“C’mon. We might be here for a while.” Jelani said as he nodded to the chair next to him.

Angelus walked over to the chair next to him and sat down. Jelani offered a cigarette which Angelus was more than happy to take and stared at the scenery before them. He was still nervous about the area they were in but seeing Jelani so relaxed and calm was indication enough that nothing would happen. Even if something did happen he just witnessed him make one of the cleanest kills and smoothest escapes he had ever seen in his life. He was already impressed with him but the way he calmly handled the situation made a huge impression on Angelus and given the life he’s lived so far he’s not that easy to impress.

“What are we waiting for this time?” Angelus asked.

“Gunner that hired me said that as soon as the job was done to wait for him here. Said I didn’t need to bring back evidence; he’d know when the target would be taken care of. Not really sure how but hey, easier for me. Guy’s supposed to be in the school today and as soon as he finds out he’ll come over with the caps.”

“Thought Gunners didn’t hire outsiders to handle their own shit.”

“Well, usually they don’t from what I’ve seen. Guy wasted no time in threatening me if I said anything. He didn’t want his superiors to catch wind of a recruit he recommended turning into a Minuteman so he got in contact with a contact of mine.”

“I gotta admit, that shit was impressive. I mean, the way you handled yourself? I woulda been shot dead had you not squeezed my hand. The way you handle your sniper is crazy. I can barely hold a gun right and you’re out here blowing skulls in half. How long have you been at that?”

“Oh…like…eleven years now. My dad let me handle the damn thing since I was seven-years-old. I used to joke that I wasn’t raised, I was trained.”

“Hey, better than most of us. Your dad tried to prepare you for everything out here. You’re out here earning caps on your own, killing people from a mile away and making some of the smoothest and cleanest escapes I’ve ever seen. You know what my dumb ass was doing at eighteen? I was in the back of bars blowing guys’ backs out and getting drunk as shit and probably high as shit too.”

“I guess.” Jelani chuckled, however his smile faded as soon as he saw the front door to the school open and from the building emerged a rather rogued and miserable looking man dressed in Gunner attire. He looked around before making his way to the broken down building where Jelani and Angelus were waiting.

As soon as the man approached them his expression turned even more sour than it already was as he stared at Angelus and then at Jelani. Dagny quickly stood up, she quickly made her way towards Jelani and stood in front of him and as soon as the man saw her he took a step back though his expression remained the same.

“I thought you worked alone, Haakonson.”

“I do. He’s one of my contacts; told him to meet me here.”

“Fine. Here’s the caps.” The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette cartoon, the unmistakable sound of caps crashing together jingled within it. “There’s a little gratitude bump in there too for being discreet about it.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and an acquaintance of mine might reach out to your contact in two to three weeks depending on some circumstances. We’ve kind of got some Minutemen problems at the moment, I suggest you steer clear of the area around Corvega. Might get a little intense.”

“Will do.” Jelani replied and made a mental note of the information to pass along to Varg as soon as he was able to contact him.

The Gunner turned around and walked back to the high school where he was stationed for the day and as soon as the doors closed behind him Jelani turned to Angelus and the three of them carefully made their way out of the area.

As they walked on Jelani noticed it was getting late and Angelus was still with him. Normally he wouldn’t care what time it was, he never brought anyone back home with him, the only person to know where he was currently living was Varg because the bunker was originally found by him and since he had no need of it he handed the keys to Jelani. However, Jelani admitted he had a pleasant time with the raider and part of him felt bad about leaving him out to dry at sun down. If the wasteland was dangerous during the day, it was worse at night and he didn’t want Angelus to find himself in the middle of a dangerous situation by himself. As nervous as it made him, Jelani offered for Angelus to stay the night as he wasn’t sure how far off he was from the area they were in. He could’ve offered to go with him but he learned years ago that traveling lonely roads at night by yourself was a bad idea and more often than not a fatal one.

As they approached the bunker, which was at the base of a relay tower Dagny barked excitedly and ran ahead of them. Angelus watched as the little night stalker sniffed around the area and after circling the outside and the main door she sat down by the door and looked in their direction as she wagged her tail.

“Checking for intruders.”

“What?” Angelus replied in a confused tone as he then looked at Jelani who was smiling at him. He’d noticed he was staring at Dagny as she checked the perimeter and answered his question before he asked it.

“She’s checking the area in case there’s any intruders around.” Jelani realized how it made him sound paranoid so he turned to look ahead of him. Before there was a chance for Angelus to ask a follow up question he shrugged and said, “Eh, just in case.”

Angelus didn’t think anything of it, in fact, he thought it was down right brilliant. Big John’s Salvage was teeming with rowdy raiders from the southern parts outside of Boston, to the south were the Gunners that had expanded their territories, Fairline Hill Estates was taken over by some rather disturbed Children of Atom, Jelani was surrounded by all sorts of nasty groups and the least he could do to keep himself safe was use his dog to scope the area and not get a surprise ambush. However, the truth was a little less ideal. Ever since the assault Jelani was paranoid that any of his attackers would’ve found him and snuck into the bunker or someone else with the same type of intention was waiting around the corner to jump him so to keep him from becoming too paranoid he taught Dagny to check the bunker for unfamiliar scents that lingered. So far, the bunker has never been broken into. Angelus was gonna ask a question but when he turned to look at Jelani he saw he had a bit of a solemn look on his face so he dropped it, he was still curious but he figured he could ask it later when Jelani seemed a little more at ease.

They made it to the bunker and once inside Angelus looked around to see a security gate with a heavy security door in the corner of the ten by fifteen bunker. Inside the security gate was a lone console. On the other corner was an elevator though he noticed the panel was ripped out and he wondered how it was supposed to work without it. His question was answered when Jelani reached into his jacket and took out an old rusty key and opened the door. He quickly got on the console and after a few seconds Angelus was startled by the sound of the elevator door creaking open.

“Go on, I’ll be there in a second. Just gotta lock up.” Jelani said as he fiddled with the console.

Angelus walked over to the elevator and waited inside, behind him was Dagny who sat at his feet and looked up at him as her tail wagged. Angelus smiled wide as the strange little dog looked at him. He always loved dogs and to see one, or one that looked like one, acting so friendly towards was pleasant. When he heard Jelani locking up the gate he looked up and saw a large panel on the inside wall of the elevator, there were over a dozen buttons and he wondered how many floors the bunker had beneath it. After Jelani locked up the security gate and the main door he made his way into the elevator where Angelus watched him press four different buttons, the last one he pressed twice in quick succession. After that the elevator began to descend.

After a few minutes the doors opened to reveal a short stretch of concrete and pipes lit up by red light bulbs along the roof of the hallway. At the end was a heavy metallic door. Jelani and Dagny left the elevator and walked down the intimidating looking hallway and Angelus followed close by. Less than a minute later they got to the door and next to it was a keycard reader which Jelani used to slide a keycard he had in his jacket and as soon as a small light lit up in a brilliant green color the heavy metallic door opened.

Angelus watched Jelani turn right as soon as he walked past the door. He set his backpack down in front of a shelf that was full to capacity in old but readable books, the top of the shelf had five small pots with plants growing out of them. Once he set down his backpack Jelani kept walking towards a door past the shelf, it was small enough for Angelus to assume it was some sort of closet or storage area and seeing as how he walked in there with his sniper rifle and handgun but came back out without them he figured he was right. In front of the shelf was a black sofa, on the floor in front of it was a square black rug and pushed up against the wall next to the sofa was a small black couch. Next to the shelf was a small mattress, it was small enough to have once belonged to a baby or a toddler. On the mattress was a familiar toy, it was the blue teddy bear that one of his friends had given Dagny the day Angelus ran into Jelani for the first time. He couldn’t help but smile as he remembered that day. The way Jelani hugged Dagny when Angelus gave her back to him safe and sound was the most endearing thing he’d ever seen. Jelani was bleeding from the back of his head and all he did was worry about his dog who was soaking wet but otherwise unscathed. Angelus continued to look around. Next to the small couch was a door and further down was a very short hall and at the end of it was a drawer. He then turned to his left and saw a small but fully furnished and functioning kitchen. On one wall were several cabinets and at the base of those cabinets were two very clean bowls, one full of water and the other was currently empty. Dagny was currently drinking some water out of her bowl. In front of the bowls was a small table with two chairs facing each other and next to the table was a wall with a door. Given its position he guessed it could’ve been a pantry.

He then looked forward and saw a longer hallway, though not as long as the one they crossed to get to the actual bunker itself, on the walls in front of each other were two doors and at the end of the hall was a shelf full of trinkets and items. curiosity to get a closer look at the items was overwhelming but he’d do so later. Overall the bunker was small but cozy. The thing that stuck out to him the most was how clean and sterile everything looked. The kitchen was spotless and nothing was out of place, the cabinets, sink, fridge, counter and stove were clean. The kitchen table was clean and the chairs were actually perpendicular to each other and he’d dare even say they were perfectly aligned. The sofa and the small couch, the rug and even the small mattress, which he figured was Dagny’s bed, were so clean they looked brand new. He couldn’t see a single spot on them and whatever wear and tear they had were meticulously taken care of. Just like the kitchen table and the chairs these items were also perfectly aligned and he took notice of all the doors being closed. Not only was the bunker squeaky clean but everything was neatly put away and in its place. The place looked cleaner and better organized than that one working vault near Diamond City.

“How did you find this place?” Angelus asked as he continued to look around.

“Varg. Said he bumped into this place some twenty odd years after the bombs fell. Cleared it and has maintained it ever since. Let me stay here for as long as I want.”

“I take it Varg’s a ghoul?”

“Yeah, he is. He’s one of the pack of ghouls that lives in that massive ship to the south of Boston near Poseidon Energy.”

“I’ve heard of it but I haven’t seen it.” Angelus said as he moved over to the shelf full of books. He couldn’t read but books still fascinated him nonetheless. He looked at the letters along the spines of the books and wondered what they said, wondered what the books were about, and wondered if they were fun. Judging by the full shelf Jelani seemed to enjoy them. An idea crept into his head as he reached out and touched them along the spine and hoped he was correct in his assumption, otherwise his idea would be in vain and admittedly a little embarrassing.

“You read?” Jelani asked as he made his way into the kitchen.

“No. I actually can’t read.” Angelus responded truthfully and for the first time in his life he felt shame over the fact that he couldn’t read. It was funny, he never gave it a second thought but standing in front of that shelf and looking at the books and then looking back at Jelani a few things about him made sense. He wasn’t just smart he was what he and other raiders called “smart smart”, usually book smart people were easily taken advantage of or barely lasted out in the wastes by themselves but Jelani was proof that it wasn’t always the case. He was smart, highly trained, capable of surviving even on his own, obviously more than prepared for most anything that could come his way and as Angelus turned to look at him he admitted he was easy to look at too, certainly soft on the eyes, especially his face. He could easily sit around all day tracing his facial features with his eyes and not get bored.

“From the look of this shelf I’m guessing you do?”

“Oh, ja, that's pretty much all I do in my spare time. Every time I find a new one I haven’t read I take it or buy it or trade for it. Merchant I worked for some time ago stops every so often when she gets books in her inventory and I add ‘em to the list. If I know I’ll be gone for a while I leave a few caps hidden at the entrance and she leaves the books.” Jelani smiled at the end as he remembered his last interaction with the old merchant. She was a very sweet old thing that he grew fond of. She had a habit of finding and hoarding books just for him and thanks to her his collection grew more and more over time and he was thankful for it. On really bad days he often looked for any excuse not to lock himself in his room and put the barrel of a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger and as trivial as it may seem to others he sometimes told himself that if he went through with it he would be abandoning Dagny, wouldn’t see the old merchant again, and would not feel the thrill and joy of sitting on the sofa late at night as Dagny sat on his lap and he enjoyed a book he hadn’t read before.

“Speaking of which, that’s your half.” He said as he walked towards the table, he reached out and grabbed a small bag and tossed it to Angelus who caught it and looked at it in confusion. He then looked at the table and saw the cigarette carton that the Gunner had hidden the caps in.

“Half? But…why? I didn’t do anything.”

“Kept me company.” Jelani shrugged.

“That is nothing compared to what you did. You did all the work.”

“Hey, if those guards would’ve found us I wouldn’t have made it out by myself.”

“I highly doubt that, sweet pea. You look more than capable of handling some lowly Minutemen knockoffs.”

“Kan være…but either way, you were there with me and you didn’t have to.”

“Didn’t have to but, thanks, sweet pea.” Angelus said as he put the small bag of caps in his back pocket. He then walked up to the table as Jelani opened the door in the kitchen and turned on a light. Angelus could see several boxes, bottles and cans. His initial guess was correct, it was the pantry. He saw him come back out with several items, among them was a can of dog food and as soon as Dagny saw it she rushed over to sit by her bowls and patiently waited for her food.

Jelani laughed as he saw her and after setting down the items he grabbed a knife and opened the can of dog food and carefully poured the contents into the bowl. Once he stood back up he nodded towards the food and Dagny began to eat her meal. He chuckled once again and under his breath he muttered, “Flink pike.”

He then turned to Angelus and asked, “You hungry?”

“Enough to steal Dagny’s food.”

“A’ight, give me a few minutes. You okay with brahmin?”

“Absolutely! As bloody as you can, sweet pea.”

“Hyggelig!” Jelani exclaimed as he laughed.

Preparing dinner took about thirty minutes and as soon as it was done both boys sat down to eat. Angelus mostly poked at the vegetables while Jelani insisted it was a good idea to eat them and not feed them to Dagny. Aside from frowning at the vegetables and biting into them while making faces, Angelus kept regaling him with more stories about the Commonwealth. Some were as ridiculous as the Jamaica Plain one, others were more serious and others seemed more like exaggerated rumors that were made up. Every time Jelani laughed and smiled Angelus could feel little flutters in his chest and his cheeks lit up as he looked at him. There was something in the way he laughed that made Angelus feel like he did when he was a kid holding hands with a boy he liked, there was no denying it any more, he was falling for him and hard. The more he heard him talk the more he wanted to reach across the table and kiss him as deeply as he could though he restrained himself somehow. After they finished their meal Angelus volunteered to clean up while Jelani took a shower. The temptation to follow him into the bathroom almost felt like some type of test but once again he restrained himself. When Jelani was done he sat on the sofa and played a little with Dagny while Angelus took a shower. He really appreciated the fact that the bunker had a comfortable setup along with working pipes and plumbing, it was hard to find something like it in Nuka World. He may be a raider but he was very partial to being as clean as possible especially that night.

Once Angelus was done he sat on the sofa next to Dagny who was asleep next to Jelani with her head on his lap as Jelani absentmindedly caressed the back of her neck with his thumb. As much as he enjoyed playing with the small night stalker she was currently in his way. Regardless he sat down on the sofa and gently scratched her back. He looked down at Dagny and couldn’t help but smile. She was sweet, highly intelligent, loving and best of all there was nothing else like her in all of Boston.

“You really like dogs, don’t you?” Jelani broke the silence as he looked at Angelus and smiled.

“Yeah.” Angelus replied and as he did he looked up at Jelani and followed that up with, “Among other things.”

Angelus kept staring at Jelani. It hadn’t been till now that Jelani noticed his eyes were a shade of light gray, he hadn’t noticed before or at least looked at his face long enough to register his eye color. He was starting to feel some pressure build up the more Angelus kept looking at him and lightly smiling so in order to break it he said, “Huh, hadn’t noticed you have gray eyes.”

“Yeah, yours are pretty though.” Angelus said as he placed his right arm on the backrest of the sofa and leaned his head on his shoulder as he continued to look at him.

“Oh, please. It’s the second most common color.”

“Really?”

“Ja, blue’s the second most common eye color. Not sure why people make such a fuss about it, it’s just a lack of melanin in the iris. Yours though, that’s really rare.”

“What does melanin mean? And how do you know all this?”

“It’s what determines hair, eye, and skin color on people and animals. When my dad and I left DC we spent a week waiting out a storm in a university and I practically lived in the library for that whole week. Went through a lot of books which were mostly from the science department. After the storm let up I took as many as I could and over time traded them for ones I hadn’t read yet.”

“Fair but yours has my favorite color so I’m a little attached. That and they’re just really pale, they look a little weird.” Angelus moved closer to Jelani to get a better look at his eyes. He was being genuine, blue was his favorite color and the first thing that stuck out to him as soon as he saw him were his eyes.

“Weird?” Jelani questioned. He noticed Angelus was getting closer and part of him was nervous about someone else being that close to him. He figured he wanted to get a closer look at his eyes and even if that was all that he intended he still felt a little uncomfortable, he moved a little back and as soon as he moved Dagny got up from the sofa and made her way to her bed. Jelani didn’t fault her, she had a long day and was probably exhausted but she’d been acting as a sort of wall between him and Angelus and now that she moved he felt exposed.

“I didn’t mean that in a bad way. You know…I never thanked you for helping me out with those farmers.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” Jelani said as he smiled as he looked at Dagny who was asleep on her bed.

Without warning or hesitation from the raider’s part Angelus jumped at the opportunity and grabbed Jelani by the chin, turned him towards him and kissed him. Jelani froze in place as what was happening was slowly registering in his head and as soon as he felt Angelus’ hand move up to his cheek he began to tremble. He shut his eyes out of nervousness as he felt Angelus’ thumb gently caressing his cheek and felt as he pulled him closer to him, as he did Jelani stiffened his body which only made Angelus move closer to him while he continued to kiss him. He could feel himself tremble a lot more to the point where his hands, that were pressed against the sides of his body, were starting to shake. He felt his heart beating faster and more intensely and his joints locking up making his body very stiff, he could hear his breathing intensify and it all accumulated in a single loud gasp as soon as he felt Angelus’ tongue slowly rub against his.

“You okay?” Angelus asked as he backed up a little and looked at Jelani who partially opened his eyes to see what he was doing.

No, he wasn’t okay. He was everything but okay, he really did not want to be doing what he was currently doing or better said what he thought he was being forced to do but he was afraid to tell him to stop. Jelani lowered his gaze out of fear and nodded as he said in a low whisper, “You just caught me off guard.”

“You sure?”

Instead of asking him to stop or arguing against it Jelani leaned forward and returned the kiss. He told himself that if he was the one to continue he’d be the one choosing to go through with it and it wouldn’t be the same as the night of the assault because in his head it made more sense to willingly go through with it even if he didn’t want to. It was irrational and illogical but somehow it made sense to him.

They kissed for a while and even though Jelani was starting to relax a little he was still stiff, nervous and forcing himself not to cry. Angelus completely misread Jelani’s reactions to being nervous due to lack of experience and he wasn’t wrong about that but his reaction was also due to something else he couldn’t possibly imagine. As they continued to kiss Angelus carefully pulled Jelani closer to him and then slowly and gently pushed him down so that he was laying on his back on the sofa and he was hovering over him. He placed one hand on his neck gently caressing him and used the other to slightly lift up Jelani’s shirt. He fumbled a little but eventually he found his belt and undid it, he then moved his other hand to undo his pants all the while still kissing him though much more intensely than before.

Jelani was starting to notice what was happening and he let out a barely audible whimper as he kissed him back using more tongue than he was before. He was starting to get nervous again but he was still too afraid to speak up so he countered it by trying to convince himself that this time he wanted this to happen. As soon as he felt Angelus pull his pants down his entire body went stiff and his eyes went wide, feelings and memories, sounds and sensations from that night flooded his mind all the while he was trying his hardest to contain his emotions though they were teetering on the border. As Angelus pulled on his pants he kissed him along the jaw, his neck and went further down, Jelani remained frozen in place until he felt his breath between his legs and his fear intensified. Angelus gently grabbed him with one hand and dragged his tongue along the shaft which caused Jelani to sit up.

“No, wait! Wait! Angelus, wait!” Jelani cried out as he looked at Angelus who propelled himself up to look back at him.

“You okay?” He asked as he looked at him. He seemed breathless and wired like he was afraid instead of aroused.

“Wait…uh…just do whatever you want but not that. Please?” Jelani pleaded as he looked intently at him, hoping and practically praying to no one that Angelus would at least avoid that particular activity. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep himself intact if he did what he was about to do and the last thing he wanted was to have a meltdown in front of him since he didn’t know if he would stop if he asked him to. Being assaulted again was one thing but being forced to beg and be ignored would’ve sent him somewhere he wasn’t sure he’d ever come back from.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard a guy say no to that…are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yeah, I just–I’ve never…” Jelani lowered his gaze. Part of him felt like he was lying, that he could no longer make that claim, not after what was done to him.

“Never?” Angelus picked up on what Jelani was trying to say, his behavior aligned with what he had just said and he felt a bit awkward for moving as fast as he did. Angelus lifted Jelani’s face with his hand and as their eyes met he gave him a warm smile and said, “It’s okay if you’re not ready, sweet pea.”

He wasn't sure if he was or if he wasn't but the fact that Angelus backed off without Jelani really asking him to stop made him feel strange, it was hard to describe, he felt alleviated, nervous, confident and somewhat aroused all at once. He’d be lying if he said he wasn't interested in him but all the noise in his head took even the most innocent of thoughts and twisted them making them all about that night. Quite frankly he was tired of it. Despite the fact that he hadn’t planned on having any other company aside from Dagny that day he actually enjoyed having Angelus with him. He enjoyed the conversations they had before he took out that ex-Gunner turned Minuteman. He enjoyed the walk from the high school to the bunker and he certainly enjoyed having him around the bunker. Before he kissed him Jelani hadn't felt like he was in any danger and even after he kissed him he didn't really feel like he was in danger, it felt like his traumas were bleeding all over him yet again and ruined what would have otherwise been a pleasant experience, one that made him nervous, but pleasant nonetheless.

Jelani made up his mind and acted on his impulse before his head could catch up and ruin the moment again. With both hands he reached out, grabbed Angelus by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss, a bit clumsily at first as he was internally trembling yet again. He was still nervous so he was a bit stiff but he was far more enthusiastic now than he was before. Once he felt more comfortable he himself laid down on his back all the while still grabbing onto Angelus’ shirt which prompted the raider to lie on top of him. They continued to kiss as both pressed their bodies together; Jelani then wrapped both arms around Angelus’ neck.

“Are you sure you're okay with this? You really don't have to if you're not ready, sweet pea.” Angelus asked between kisses.

As a response Jelani finished pulling off his pants and pushed them off the sofa all while still keeping his arms wrapped around Angelus' neck and kissing him. Angelus placed a hand on Jelani’s thigh and used the other to remove his shirt but as soon as Jelani noticed he pulled down on the shirt.

“Don't.” He said between kisses.

“Okay.” Angelus replied as he let go of Jelani’s shirt. He lifted that same hand up to his mouth and inserted both his index and middle finger in his mouth. After a few seconds he began to kiss him again, deeper and a little more intensely this time. He moved his hand down and with the other spread Jelani's legs open a bit more. As he continued to kiss him he couldn't help but smile a little when he heard Jelani moan as he teased him with his fingers. He slowly circled his hole while occasionally pushing in the tip of one of his fingers but pulling the tip back out. The teasing only caused Jelani to moan louder in his mouth and when Angelus figured he had enough he carefully shoved his middle finger inside him. Angelus was slow and steady at first but he sped up when Jelani began to kiss him in an almost desperate manner. After a while Angelus pulled out and as he positioned himself better he kept both his middle finger, ring finger and index finger together and pushed all three inside Jelani who gasped which caused Angelus to go a little faster. He kept increasing speed and going deeper the more he became aroused due to Jelani's reactions.

Angelus kept going and eventually moved his head down and licked along Jelani's neck and given how much more and louder Jelani was moaning when he kissed along his neck he zeroed in on his neck while he went harder and deeper inside him. At some point Angelus moved his free hand and grabbed Jelani by the hip to pin him down to go faster and as deep as he could.

Jelani opened his eyes wide as he felt a hand on his hip and suddenly he was flooded by memories of that night. He began to hyperventilate as he felt like his entire right side was on fire, he began to tremble as he remembered details both small and big of that night. He swore he could hear their voices, their grunting, the noises they made when each had their turn with him. He could swear he could suddenly smell whiskey and he couldn't help but start crying. He wanted to scream but found he was breathless and all he could do was gasp as he kept being bombarded by those awful memories that seemed to still haunt him.

“Please…” He managed to whisper and when he noticed Angelus didn't stop he couldn't help but cry a little more.

“What, hon? Harder?” Angelus confused his pleading for him to go harder, so he did, not knowing that wasn't why Jelani said what he said.

“Stop! Please stop! Please!” Jelani managed to cry out almost hysterically.

Angelus immediately stopped and looked up to see Jelani crying with a look of sheer terror on his face. Confused but above all concerned he very carefully pulled out and said, “I didn't hurt you, did I? Are you okay, sweetheart?”

Jelani didn't answer. He remained frozen underneath Angelus while hyperventilating and looking directly at him. As soon as Angelus realized that something was wrong he backed away while keeping his eye on him and staying as still as possible, mostly as a reaction to his own confusion. He didn’t know if he had hurt him or did something that he wasn’t ready for though he was taken aback by his reaction. He looked him over and saw Jelani was frozen on the spot. He’d shuffled away from Angelus and was staring at him with his eyes wide open and was hyperventilating while staying as still as possible, he then noticed he was grasping the sofa hard.

“Sweet pea? Are you okay?”

After a few minutes of watching Jelani remain frozen in place Angelus got up and went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of clean water. He washed his hands in the sink and rushed back with the water and sat down as he reached his hand out and gently placed it on Jelani’s cheek. As soon as Jelani felt his hand he let out a loud yelp and backed away from his hand, Angelus frowned but he quickly realized that it was most likely a bad idea to touch him at the moment. His concern for him grew due to his reaction.

“It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Angelus whispered as he looked at him and brought the bottle of water closer to him. He wasn’t entirely sure if water would help him, it was a knee jerk reaction. He’d seen so many people get water to people that were hurt or scared so many times he unconsciously incorporated it into his response to injury or fear. “Relax, sweet pea, it’s okay. It’s okay, you’re okay. Nothing bad’s gonna happen. Have some water, it’ll help.”

Angelus grew worried when Jelani didn’t react to anything he was doing or saying and he wondered what he’d said or done to cause this. He felt he may have pushed him too far, maybe he wasn’t as ready as he thought he was even though he insisted and the thought of being responsible for Jelani's current state made him sick to his stomach with guilt but he wanted to focus on making him feel better.

“Please, baby, talk to me. What’s going on?” Angelus insisted, his tone was growing desperate enough for him to have noticed himself. “I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong.”

Jelani made a sound as if he was trying to form a word though it got caught in his throat, he began to gasp as if somehow struggling to calm himself, breathe and talk at the same time all while scared out of his mind. Angelus stopped for a moment to look over Jelani and realized that he was panicking, he’d seen that before, it was a long time ago but he remembered seeing it. The water could help but he looked around for a blanket or a big jacket or a coat, anything that he could wrap him with. The bunker was spacious but it wasn’t large either, he could see the kitchen, the closet that he saw was full of weapons, ammo and other items that weren’t related to what he was looking for. He knew where the bathroom was so he walked over to it after he told Jelani that he was going to find a blanket. He wanted to communicate with him as clearly as possible to prevent further panicking and to establish some form of understanding so that he could focus on something instead of panicking. He went to the bathroom but didn’t find what he was looking for. Once he was back in the hall he noticed a door on the opposite wall and figured he could check it out. He opened the door and walked in, the room was dark so he felt around the wall for the switch and as soon as he found it he flipped it.

It was the bedroom and just like the rest of the bunker everything was clean, perfectly aligned and perfectly set up. The bed was made up so well that he couldn’t find a single wrinkle. At the sight of it Angelus scoffed and laughed.

“Army brat…” He chuckled as he went over to the bed and grabbed the blanket. It was almost a shame to ruin the bed but there were more pressing matters at hand than to lament a perfectly made up bed. He rolled up the blanket and tucked it under his arm to free up his hands. He figured he’d bring over some pillows as well so he could get him as comfortable as possible. There were several pillows so he grabbed as many as he could carry. When he lifted one of them he dropped everything he was carrying when he was startled by the sight of blood underneath one of the pillows and a switchblade neatly tucked underneath it. The blood on the knife and the pillow as well as on the bed was dry though it didn’t look like it had been there for too long as it still had that bright red hue to it. He looked at the pillow and was worried as it was a lot of blood, he couldn’t possibly imagine what could’ve happened nor did he want to sit there and ponder about it as he needed to get the blanket and pillows back to Jelani though he made a mental note about it to ask him later. He put the bloody pillow back exactly how he found it and put two of them back alongside it almost as if trying to feign that he hadn’t looked through the bed long enough to have found the blood and the knife to spare Jelani knowing he found it.

Angelus rushed back to the sofa and found Jelani hadn’t moved at all, he was upset but he focused on the task at hand.

“Okay, sweetheart. Let’s just try to get you warm and comfy.” Angelus wrapped the blanket around Jelani, after that he placed a pillow between his head and the backrest of the sofa and tucked another behind his back.

“Can you hear me?”

Jelani didn’t answer but he looked directly at Angelus and even though it wasn’t an answer Angelus smiled as at least he wasn’t looking through him which meant he was responsive.

“Do you wanna stay here?”

This time Jelani nodded and it seemed like he stopped crying though he was still breathing heavily and Angelus wanted to focus on that. “Okay, sweet pea. Do you want some water?” Jelani nodded again and Angelus opened the bottle and handed it to him and watched as he took little sips from it and smiled as he watched him.

After a few minutes Jelani set the bottle down and sighed as he looked down to look at it, his breathing was almost back to normal. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“Nei, you didn’t. I wanted to but…” Jelani began to cry again.

Angelus got up and carefully pushed him forward so that he could sit behind him and hug him from behind. To his surprise Jelani grabbed on to him and just cried. Angelus rested his head on his and kept reassuring him that he was safe and that it was all right all while still wondering what happened to him to have made him have a panic attack but more importantly what could have triggered it so that he could avoid it in the future. He replayed what they did in his head and nothing stuck out to him. After some time passed Angelus heard a very faint and subtle hum coming from Jelani and as he looked down he noticed he’d fallen asleep in his arms and a very big and admittedly goofy smile formed on his face as he whispered to himself, “Oh, no…he’s adorable.”

It was around noon that Jelani was woken up by Dagny when she climbed up on the sofa and yipped at him to get his attention and when that didn’t work she began to lick his face until she woke him up. Seeing her snout so close to his face startled him a little but as soon as he sat up and got his bearings he got up and looked through his backpack for a watch he always carried and saw the time. He slept for almost twelve hours. He stood back up and realized that he’d actually slept through the entire night and as far back as he can try to remember he didn’t wake up from a nightmare or a night terror, he hadn’t drunk any alcohol or taken any chems. He was almost worried, ever since the assault he’d have a nightmare every time he fell asleep for more than three hours but last night he slept fine, he even felt rested. For the first time in months he felt like he had a good night’s sleep.

“Malakhov?” Jelani called out to Angelus but he got no response.

Jelani looked around and didn’t see him so he figured he must have been in the bathroom so he walked over and knocked on the door but there was no answer. He knocked again and again was met with silence. He opened the door only to find the bathroom was empty, after he closed the door he went into his bedroom and saw it was empty as well. He walked back to the sofa and stood in the middle of the bunker and realized he was all alone and for the first time in months it left a sinking feeling within him. When he came to terms that he was alone he turned to the kitchen to get Dagny something to eat as he figured she must have been starving he noticed some items on the kitchen table and frowned. He was one hundred percent sure he’d cleaned up everything in the kitchen after he and Angelus ate dinner the night before so he went over to it to take care of it but as he got close he noticed what it was.

On the table was a plate of food, cold by now, a fork next to it, a bottle of clean water and a holotape recorder with a holotape labeled in faded black ink “Launch Codes” sitting on it. Jelani recognized both items as both were in the bunker when he first moved in. He sighed deeply and put the holotape into the recorder and hit play and after a few seconds of static Angelus’ voice came on.

“Hi! I’m sorry I left without saying anything but I didn’t wanna wake you up. Hope you don’t mind but I took another shower and made us some breakfast. Now, I ain’t the best cook but I hope it’s okay. Oh! And I fed Dagny this morning so you don’t have to worry about feedin’ her whenever you wake up. Let’s see…um…I’m gonna be out of Boston for about a week and when I get back we can take that li’l trip to Salem and see some weird shit. I promise, it’s worth it. And…listen…I don’t know what happened to you at some point in your life but I am so sorry that I triggered that panic attack. I don’t know how it happened but I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that to you. You know, I may talk a lot but I’m pretty good at listening too so if you need to talk to someone I’m all ears. Anyway, I had a good time with ya and yeah, I’ll see you in a week, sweet pea.”

Jelani shuddered as he tried his hardest to keep himself from crying but by the end of the recording he was sobbing as he wrapped his arms around himself. There were so many thoughts racing across his mind at the moment and he felt emotionally overwhelmed and ashamed of his panic attack the night before. Angelus actually felt good and so did he and for once he managed to keep his fears in check but it seemed like being grabbed a certain way and in certain areas was too much for him. For reasons unknown even to him he wanted to tell him that his panic was sparked by him grabbing his hip but the more he thought about it the stupider it sounded and he felt embarrassed by it. He couldn’t understand why but he missed him already and part of him felt like if he knew where Angelus was headed he would’ve run after him just to be near him and it both confused and scared him. He was never one to be dependent on another person but he wanted to be with him at that very moment and the fact that he wasn’t there and would have to wait a week to see him again felt rancid. He rewinded the holotape as he laid his upper body on the table and played it again just to hear his voice.

#001022 #fo: Jelani tag #fo: Angelus tag #fo: Dagny tag #Oracle Corp AU: Fallout

10 notes · View notes

whumpiary · 8 months

Text

technically a follow on from this piece. could probably stand alone. this piece has been 80% done in my google docs for three years so if you see any big holes in it uhhh. no you didn't.

if you've ever wanted some vague exposition on cass' powers or choices, then this is for you

content warning: mentions of death, victim blaming, aftermath of violence/assault, referenced dubcon/noncon, brief mind control

The common room at Bergen Estate gets quiet at night. Most of the charges prefer their own rooms as it gets dark. Hiding from the bogeyman.

But Harley liked the large, dark emptiness of the common room.

The curved chairs, the pillars, the rows of books and video games lined up along the shelves. The big oak tables. Bean bags in the corner. Rugs here and there. The whole place had the energy of some sort of bizarre combination between a kid’s playroom and a university library. But Harley wanted a space to think, and this was the easiest one.

Their intuition had been right and wrong in equal amounts tonight. They’d known they would be called to Christopher’s lounge tonight. And they were. And they knew that they would be fine after. And they are. But… if they were so fine why do they feel so God fucking awful?

“Harley can go, right? It’s not like we need them.”

Every time they try to push the memory from their head, it bobs to the surface again like an apple in water.

“I have to say, Harley… I really am so disappointed in you.”

They stare out the large bay window, at the leafless trees silhouetted in the mix of light from the garden and from the moon. The whole thing looks ghostly. Gothic. The dark through the glass makes the whole window reflective; a giant mirror just waiting to show them their face. But it’s dark in here too. It’s a dark room reflected on a dark night. That’s why it’s so obvious when there’s a shuffling flash of light behind them, making their heart skip.

The door opens, someone steps through, and then it closes. Dark again. Harley stiffens, freezes, trying to catch another glimpse of who it is in the reflection of the window but it's back to shadows on shadows on shadows.

They listen as the person shuffles to one of the cushioned seats. Shuffles. Like it hurts to move. They sit so carefully that Harley can barely hear them. Then there's quiet. Stillness. An exhale.

Harley doesn’t move. They know stillness. They know silence. Have known it for longer than they’ve been here.

But then there’s another exhale.

And another.

Any hitch of breath that might be happening in between is more or less silent. Which means, usually… crying.

Harley feels themself cringe. The Bergen Boys don't cry. Those are the rules. Not Christopher's rules but the deeper, unspoken ones between the lot of them. You don’t complain, you don’t ask for help, you don’t cry. Or if you did, it got beaten out of you quicksmart. Everything else was a free for all as far as Harley has ever been able to tell.

So the shadow person has come to the common room in the middle of the night. Assuming, like Harley had, that it would be empty. That it would be safe.

Guilt washes over them all at once, guttural and nauseating and they realise all of a sudden that intentionally or not just by sitting here, listening, they're imposing. Intruding. Doing the wrong thing. And then the fear beneath that, on top of that, around that, that if they wait too long and the shadow person notices them, they may well end up on the wrong side of thrown fists. Again.

Harley shifts on the couch where they sit, exaggerating the whisper scrape of fabric on fabric, and leans back on the left side where they know the leg creaks.

The shadow person's breathing stops immediately and Harley hears them stand.

"Who's there?"

Harley freezes again, regretting making their presence known. Cassius.

"I can see you. On the couch. Get over here." His voice is sharp and violent. Deeper than usual. There's a childish part of Harley, not as far beneath the surface as they’d like, that wishes desperately they’d just stay silent and hidden. Safe.

But, like they were told, they uncurl their legs. Stand. Turn. Start to walk.

Harley can see the moment that the light from the window must catch their face. Cassius' face softens, eyes fluttering closed and body sagging with what was maybe relief.

“Harls,” he says, running a hand over his face as he sits back down. Harley doesn’t miss the wince. “Jesus Christ, man, you scared me.”

“Sorry.” The apology flies out of them like a verbal flinch. “I’ll leave.”

“No, ple-” Cassius stops himself, eyes shuttering closed. Harley watches him take a deep breath, brow furrowing briefly. You don’t cry. You don’t complain. You don’t ask for help. “You can stay. If you want. I don't mind.”

Harley hesitates for a moment, glancing around half-uselessly, before choosing a seat across from the other charge and folding into it.

“What are you doing up so late?” Cassius asks, as though they’ve bumped into each other at a truck stop. At a bar. Fancy seeing you here.

Harley shrugs. “I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep. I kept…” thinking about what you were doing. They bite down on their tongue to keep themselves from saying more. It’s stupid.

They trail off as Cassius looks up at them and the dull light from the window catches the shape of his brow. At the blood smeared along his temple. The bruising already flaring up along his cheek. “Did… did Beauche do that to you?”

Cassius huffs out a half laugh, running his tongue between his teeth and the obviously bruised tissue of his cheek. He drags his hand up, knuckle brushing softly against his brow. “Yep. What a gentleman, huh?”

“But Christopher said he wouldn’t be violent.”

Cassius scoffs, “Yeah and Christopher’s such a shining beacon of truth, huh?”

Cassius sits back in his chair, eyes hard, and Harley holds their breath. With the shadows of the trees outside dancing across his face, the shading of the bruises and the swelling there, Cassius looks half monster.

Then his expression softens, his body relaxes. “Nah, it was my fault." He lets out a sigh, hand running back through his hair. "The guy wanted me to cry.”

“And did you?” Cassius’ glare is immediate. Has Harley slamming their jaw shut so quickly their teeth click together. “Sorry.”

Cassius shrugs a shoulder in acceptance of the apology and leans back in the chair. He closes his eyes and all at once it’s like some mask comes down. He looks exhausted and hurt and… young, actually. Harley always forgets that. He’s younger than them. About a three year gap between them.

“Why are you up?” Harley says, after the silence gets unbearably fragile. “Here, I mean. I thought you’d be…” They struggle for a tactful way to put it. “In the other wing.”

“Nah, he didn’t want me to stay, thank fuck. And Christopher doesn’t like me coming in af-... Um. He doesn’t like me coming in too late,” Cassius says, picking non-existent dirt out from under his finger nails. He clears his throat a little as his face flinches in and out of a frown. “Plus, the sooner I see him, the sooner I have to… you know…”

He gestures loosely at his face and Harley frowns. The sooner he’d have to do what? Get rid of the bruises? Get rid of the pain that keeps making him flinch and close his eyes? None of them talked about it but they’d all seen it. Bruises fading on Cassius just to bloom on his brother in minutes. Always after a visit to Christopher. Always without a word spoken.

Harley can’t help their own contempt, “Isn’t that a good thing for you?”

Cassius looks at them with an expression Harley can’t place, dark eyes flicking between both of Harley’s, as though searching for something. He looks angry. Murderous. Violent. Then he snorts and it’s gone. “Yeah. Sure.”

He drops his head, hands fidgeting between his knees. With the angle and the shadows, Harley can only just make out the shape of his nose, his eyes half hidden behind his hair. It sticks out at awkward angles around his head like a terrible crown. Frizzy waves in some parts, kinked curls in others.

It'll suit him more when he leaves and he grows it longer.

The thought comes unprompted, unbidden and with the utmost certainty. Like the predictions always do. Just a slice of truth falling into the head with the right prompt. An understanding that that's just… how things will be.

It's not the first time Harley's thought something like it. That Cassius will do much better once he leaves. The notion of it is almost horrifying. Cassius has been here longer than they have. It’s hard to imagine Bergen Estate without its golden boy.

Harley chews on their cheek and “If I ask you something, will you answer truthfully?”

Cassius shrugs. Smirks. “Probably not.”

Harley rolls their eyes and looks away, annoyance settling in their gut. They don’t even know why they bother with Cassius. He’s always the exact same. They're about to stand up to leave when Cassius clears his throat and-

“I’ll trade you for it,” he says softly, dark eyes shining with something unnameable in the dim light. “You ask me something, I ask you something. No lies.”

“Promise?”

Cassius just shrugs. Which is probably as good a promise as Harley’s going to get, really. They sigh and trace the patterning of the rug with their eyes before pursing their lips together and looking back up at Cassius with a focussed sincerity.

They swallow. Inhale. Hands grip the arms of the chair. "You hate it here.”

Cass’ eyes skitter to the side and back. "That's… not a question."

"Why don't you leave?"

“Same as you, dumbass. Legally binding contract.”

“No, I mean-” Harley bites down on their cheek and tries to figure out the right words to say what they mean. “You can make him do whatever you want, right? You can make anyone do what you want. So why don’t you just… make him get rid of you."

Cassius exhales in a way that could almost be a laugh. But probably isn’t. “It’s… complicated.”

“Because of Henri?”

He shrugs, looking bored as he meets their gaze. “Sure.”

“No lies.”

Cassius sighs, leaning back slouched in the chair. He shrugs. “Just because I can make someone want to do something, it doesn’t mean they’ll do it.”

“Like… he’d resist you?”

“No.” Cassius pulls a face. “I mean yes, maybe. But no… It’s like…” He makes a sound hallway between a sigh and a groan. He rolls his neck, eyes roaming around the room like he’s trying to figure something out. He leans his chin on his hand, fingers skirting over his lips before looking back to Harley. “Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ, sᴏʟᴠᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʜᴜɴɢᴇʀ.”

Harley stands instantly. They turn on their foot and move to the door and for the first time in their life everything is certain. Everything is clear. Everything makes so much sense and all they have to do is… Is to…

“Um…”

Cass half smiles. There's something vicious and cruel behind his eyes. “Dᴏ ɪᴛ, Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ. Sᴏʟᴠᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʜᴜɴɢᴇʀ.”

They step forward, compulsively, and for some bizarre reason they start raising their arms in front of them, as though their body can’t figure out a way to solve the issue even though they want to and as soon as that thought hits them the frantic desire starts to dissipate, filling instead with deep dread and panic.

They turn their head towards him, eyes wide. Frozen. "I…"

Cassius’ gaze is dark and heavy. Hungry and calculating. His jaw sets. “Hᴀʀʟᴇʏ, ɢᴏ ᴋɪʟʟ Cʜʀɪsᴛᴏᴘʜᴇʀ.”

The feeling that floods them is white hot and immediate. Desire and rage running through them like lava. They’re not sure they’ve ever moved so fast, wheeling on a foot, making it to the door, but no sooner are they reaching for the handle then-

“Nah, ꜰᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ɪᴛ. Cᴏᴍᴇ sɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴡɴ.”

All at once the desire dissipates, and the panic sets in like shame. Like failure. They come back over. They sit back down. Then their thoughts catch up and they look at Cassius with fury. How dare he do that? How dare he go into their head and make them feel that?

Cassius just smiles. Shrugs. “Sorry. Figured I’d show not tell.”

‘’I could’ve killed him.”

Cassius shrugs, unshaded and unconvinced. “Nah. You would’ve got halfway down the hall and changed your mind.”

“But what if I didn’t?”

“Then you would’ve gotten to his room and realised you didn’t know how. You wouldn’t have killed him.”

“I might’ve,” they protest, still indignant.

Cass shrugs, smile lazy and tired, “But you didn’t.”

They try, for a few moments, to hold on to the anger. The indignation. It’s so, so easy to hate him when he’s far away. When they can’t see him or only see him at a distance. It’s much much harder three feet away from him, where the moonlight show the bags under his eyes as dark as the bruise blossoming above his temple.

“He takes you away from here sometimes,” they say eventually. “You could… when you were away from here. You could leave. Make him let you leave. That’s not that hard.”

Cassius just looks at them, chin resting on his hand, fingers covering his mouth. He raises his eyebrows at them expectantly, foot bouncing like a motor. He’s probably trying to look annoyed. Sarcastic. But he just looks like a sad little boy.

Understanding clicks in.

“But Henri…” Harley voices for him.

Cassius shrugs a shoulder. A tear manages to make it all the way to his cheekbone before he swipes it away with the side of his fist. The Bergen Boys don’t cry. “Told you. Complicated.”

This isn’t how things are meant to be. Cassius is meant to stay in the other wing, up on his damn pedestal and away in Christopher’s bedroom. He’s not meant to cry in the common room. He’s meant to be the golden boy in his golden room. It’s meant to be easy to hate him. He’s meant to be arrogant and selfish and mean and rude and-

“Your French isn’t better than mine,” they say suddenly. They can’t quite say where the compulsion to say it comes from.

Cassius blinks, “What?”

“In the office before, you said your French was better than mine. It’s not.”

He looks at them for a moment, frowning and annoyed and then suddenly he’s laughing, eyebrows shooting up in exhausted amusement, “You’re weird as fuck, you know that?”

“What? No I’m not,” Harley spits, suddenly self-conscious and antsy.

“Yes you are,” Cassius says. “I did you a fucking favour and a half tonight-“

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“And you know what, you’re welcome by the way.”

“I never asked you to-”

“Oh, save it. Yes you fucking did. You know what I can do. You know what I can feel. You were basically fucking screaming at me.”

And that, they do remember. Closing their eyes. Drowning Christopher’s voice out in their head. The huge loud static of I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t want this.

The air stills. The atmosphere between them settles like dust in the shadows and darkens again. Guilt creeps over Harley's shoulders and rests with heavy claws. They shouldn’t have said anything.

“My French is more usable than yours,” Cass mutters.

They’re truly unsure if he’s being genuine or just trying to break the ice that’s frosted over. They try for the latter, “Your grammar sucks.”

“Yeah, well we didn’t get much further than ‘voulez-vous coucher avec moi’, so I don’t think I did fine,” he gives them a dead-eyed smile that they assume is meant to cast the comment in humour. They don’t really find it very funny.

After a few awkward beats, Cassius gives up the ghost. He clears his throat, “Alright. My turn,”

Harley readjusts in their seat, straightening their spine, tucking their hair behind their ears to listen for the question. They wait one moment. And then two. The whole time the golden boy seems to scrutinise them, looking into their eyes as he sizes them up, makes some sort of assessment.

Cassius’ voice is low and jarringly sad as he finally lands on a question, “Why do you hate me so much?”

If it was possible for Harley to feel every cell in their body crystallise… that was what this feeling was. “I don’t hate you.”

Cassius smiles. Tilts his head. The blood along his temple catches in the light. “No lies.”

Harley frowns and looks away, turning their head to look out the window across the other side of the room. They wonder if he remembers the day they met as well as they do. It was in this room. Just a few feet from where they were sitting now. He’d been sitting on the arm of the couch making some smart mouth comment to someone and they’d thought he looked friendly. And then his eyes had met theirs and prediction hit like an epiphany:

You’re going to kill me one day.

Unprompted, unbidden and with the utmost certainty. A slice of truth falling into their head.

You’re going to kill me one day to save yourself.

They knit their fingers together in their lap, pressing knuckle to knuckle. They press their lips into a thin line. Something with wings — a bird or a bat, they can’t tell — takes flight from one of the trees outside the window. Darkness reflects darkness back.

After it becomes clear they’re not going to answer, Cassius prompts again, “Was it something I did?”

They shrug one shoulder. Like he does. Look down at their hands. The shadows across the room dance and shimmer.

“Is it because of…” out of the corner of their eye, Harley sees him wave a hand at himself. “You know. What I do.” A pause. They see his Adam’s apple bob. “The way I do it.”

Harley frowns, ducks their head lower so they don’t have to look at him, even in periphery. They manage to shake their head this time.

“Is it…” Cassius stops and starts. Stalls. Clears his throat. “Is it something I’m going to do?”

Harley finds themself looking up, despite themself.

They meet his eyes. Time stops for a second.

Cass looks so full of grief for a moment that Harley’s certain the rest of the world must’ve been robbed of it. All shoved into one person to hold for a second. His voice sounds wrecked, “I’m sorry.”

They almost believe him, too. And they hate him all the more for it.

Did he have to be so perfect at this, too? Did he have to be forgivable for this, too? Can’t they just hate him? Can’t they just hate his guts and let him get whadt he’s owed for the things that he’s done, does, is going to do? They want to ask him. They want to tell him. All of it. They want to see his face as he tries to figure out how to respond. They want to know how he feels when he finds out he’s gonna be a murderer.

“It’s okay,” is what tumbles out of their mouth instead.

“Yeah,” Cass laughs and another tear makes it out of him. They hate him for it. He swipes at it with the side of a closed fist. “No it isn’t.”

They hate him as he stands up.

They hate him as he cuts the conversation short.

They hate him as he passes and gives the back of their chair a pat.

“See you around, Harls.”

They watch the window for the flash of light as the door opens, a yellow glow spilling into the room for a moment like blood from a cut. And then the door shuts with a click. And the room is back to its inky darkness. And the golden boy is gone. And Harley isn’t.

And their hatred is an unspooled ball of yarn in the middle of the floor.

#harley #cassius #bergen estate #implied or referenced noncon #victim blaming cw #death mention cw #violent cw #wip to wob #this is your reminder that you can go back and finish an old piece and post it #for free #may your abandoned wips be more of a prodigal son to you #im mixing metaphors like cake batter babeyyy #we are the daughters of the wips you forgot to burn

37 notes · View notes

linkysmommy · 4 months

Text

WIP Wednesday

heyyy @aces-and-angels thanks for the WIP Wednesday tag 😘 as you said time doesn't matter so posting wip wednesday at 2 AM on a saturday morning because why not. I have a few lil snippets so I'll be putting them under the read more

WIP 1 - RETIREMENT HOME

AU where instead of aging to death, Matthias just ages a lot and loses his ability to function and Lincoln has to take care of him.

Matthias sits in a rocking chair in front of the TV. He doesn’t look up as Lincoln enters. The little hair he has is thin and wispy, and his skin is wrinkled and fragile. He wears a thin bathrobe that Lincoln’s sure won’t do enough to ward off the cold. He’ll have to make sure he changes into something warmer.

“Hey, Dad,” Lincoln says, shutting the door quietly behind him. Matthias’s gaze wanders away from the small TV in his room and lands on Lincoln. His eyes are empty and uncomprehending. He looks at Lincoln for a long moment before returning to look at the TV.

Lincoln crosses the room and takes the chair beside Matthias.

“How are you feeling today?” he asks, his voice gentle and careful.

Matthias doesn’t respond. He usually doesn’t. Lincoln is used to it, though usually he has Angel here with him to support him when it gets too difficult.

Lincoln holds out a bag of fresh peaches. “I brought these for you. They’re from the fruit stand you love.”

Matthias’s eyes drift to the peaches. Lincoln expects he’ll just look away, but then—

“My wife used to bring these for me,” Matthias says. His voice is weak and soft from so little use, and his words slur together without his teeth, but Lincoln understands every word.

“You—you remember her?” Lincoln attempts to hide his surprise, but he can’t help but gape.

Matthias slowly turns to look at him, and his lips turn upward in a vague smile.

“Of course I remember her,” he says in that soft, airy voice. “Silvia. She gave me everything I could ever want. Love, home, family, my son.”

Lincoln blinks at him. “Your… your son?”

“Yes. Lincoln… oh, he was a good boy.” Matthias’s eyes seem to clear as he looks at Lincoln. “You remind me of him, you know.”

WIP 2 - NOAH X MC

sorry sorry I just unearthed this from the depths of my google docs and i love it... i wrote this in 2020, before ilw was ever even conceived!

Cold.

I’m so, so cold.

Like ice… like fear… like death.

“Jaz. Jaz! Can you hear me?” The voice is distant, but familiar. Like something out of a dream that I know I recognize but can’t quite place. “Please, say something. Please…”

My eyes open, filling with blinding light. I flinch them shut again, and then something jostles my body.

“Jaz!” It’s the same voice from before. So familiar. How do I know that voice? “You opened your eyes—are you all right?”

I force my eyes open once more, and though it’s bright, I keep them open. A hazy figure leans over me. I stare at it as my vision comes into focus—and then I recognize him. The messy brown hair peeking out from beneath a beanie, the angular chin, the straight nose.

Noah.

I want to move my hand to touch him, but my body won’t respond. So I try to say his name instead.

“Nnnh…”

Noah leans closer, his eyes wide with concern. “What was that?”

“N…” My mouth feels foreign, like it belongs to someone else. “No… ah…”

His face melts with relief and he grips my hand tighter. “Yes. I’m here, Jaz. I’m always right here.”

I blink up at him. I don’t remember what happened, don’t remember why I’m here. All I can recall is the darkness, the loneliness, the cold… and him. Noah Marshall. I can’t remember what he did or what he said, but I somehow know that he was always there beside me.

A shiver runs through me and my teeth start to chatter. Noah seems to notice, because he pulls off his jacket and places it over me.

“I’ve got you,” he says. “You’ll be okay.”

“Wh… where…?” My teeth are still chattering uncontrollably.

“We’re in the woods, Jaz,” he says softly. “I found a way to bring you back.”

Back? Where was I before? But I’m just too confused and cold and exhausted to ask.

Noah scoops me up in his arm, his touch gentle as a feather. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”

There are so many things I want to say, so many questions I want to ask. But protected in Noah’s arms, comforted by the soft swaying as he carries me, my eyes droop shut and I fall asleep.

WIP 3 - ALERAK PROPAGANDA

I co-write with my sister and she calls the shots in this particular book. I started shipping two characters and wrote this propaganda for her to see my vision... who knows if she listened 🙄 For context, Alerin is a prince and Jezrak is the ambassador from a hostile foreign nation teehee.

“So…” Jezrak said, casting a glance in Alerin’s direction. “Just you and me again, huh? Just like the good old days.”

Alerin’s eyes flicked to Jezrak, his expression clearly saying “drop it”—but the moment he saw Jezrak’s appreciative gaze raking over his body, Alerin’s resolve faltered. Jezrak bit his lower lip, eyes glinting with desire, and Alerin’s heart started to pound.

He glanced up at the camera in the corner of the elevator. He wondered if the camera was actually recording anything. He wondered how often people checked its footage. He considered the worst that could really happen if someone actually saw compromising footage.

Then a pair of hands grabbed Alerin by the collar and pushed him into the corner beneath the camera. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Jezrak’s mouth was on his, insistent and hungry and full of desire. All thoughts of cameras and being discovered dissolved as Alerin held Jezrak, kissing him back. He tangled his hands in Jezrak’s hair—his long, silky hair that drove Alerin crazy—and pressed their bodies more tightly together. Jezrak’s hands were everywhere, running up and down Alerin’s entire body, tickling the inside of his thigh. Alerin groaned as Jezrak’s mouth slipped from his mouth to his jaw, then to his neck, then—

The elevator stopped and there was a pleasant ding. Jezrak jumped away from Alerin, smoothing out his pants and running a hand through his mussed hair. Alerin barely had time to try to regain himself before the elevator doors opened to reveal the last person he wanted to see: Darvus.

The king was flanked on either side by bodyguards as he swept into the elevator. Alerin’s heart was pounding so loudly in his ears he almost worried his father would be able to hear it and piece together what had just happened.

“Ah, Alerin. Just who I wanted to see,” Darvus said with a curt nod. It was as if Jezrak wasn't even there. “I hear the date with Ms. Werthins went well. That’s good to hear.”

Alerin didn’t know if he could trust himself to speak. His mouth felt dry, and his mind was spinning with adrenaline. “Uh, yes,” he managed to say.

Darvus peered up at Alerin, and seemed to take in his appearance for the first time. He grunted in disgust. “Fix your hair. You look like a homeless boy who just woke up from sleeping in a ditch.”

Alerin ran a distracted hand through his hair as his eyes flicked over Darvus’s shoulder to Jezrak. The memory of Jezrak’s tongue against his skin was so fresh he could practically feel it still, and his body craved for more. But at the moment, Jezrak’s expression was stoic, impassive. As if his tongue hadn’t just been locked in Alerin’s mouth. When the elevator dinged again, Darvus placed a hand on Alerin’s shoulder. “Come with me, I want to discuss the announcement with you,” he said.

Alerin barely resisted as he followed his father out of the elevator. But as he left, he glanced over his shoulder, caught Jezrak’s eye, and gave his earlobe a discreet tug. Then, before Jezrak could do anything else, Alerin turned forward again and darted after his father, his face hot. Though he couldn’t see it, he could practically feel Jezrak’s smirk watching him as he disappeared down the hall.

Alerin knew he shouldn’t be doing this. He had a plan, and maintaining a secret romantic entanglement with the ambassador from a hostile foreign nation was the kind of scandal that could destroy his plan before it even began. But the truth of the matter was, Alerin wasn’t strong enough to resist.

And after today, he was fairly certain Jezrak wasn’t, either.

tagging @aallotarenunelma, @laylaisthename, @immemorialmarketeer, to share WIPs if you want! also i apologize if you were already tagged 😭 (i tried to not tag ppl i knew were already tagged)

#ilw #it lives within #lincoln aquino #my writing #noah x mc #playchoices #ilitw #y'all got lucky #i found this noah x mc fic and decided to post THAT instead of my emo lincrion fic i started in a state of #relationship-problem-induced angst #wrote 3 pages of that fic in 20 min and never opened the doc again #also i don't apologize for my alerak propaganda even though most of you have no idea who those people are #a wip is a wip

8 notes · View notes

gwenbrightly · 5 months

Text

The Sea Calls Me Home (pt 7)

A chapter that has been hiding in my google docs for far too long... Enjoy?!

Nya drifts awake to the distant sound of voices.

"Ten bucks says Lloyd just dreamt it all," one says. Nya lays there, eyes still shut.

"You're on," another replies. The voices sound familiar. Shifting positions, Nya finds herself oddly dry. Almost as though she isn't at the bottom of the ocean. Is she dreaming?

"I'm telling you. She's really here!" A third voice insists, closer than before. More awake now, Nya opens her eyes. "I'm.. home?" she whispers to herself, sitting up. Yesterday's events come flooding back to her. The intensity of breaking free from the water. The ride to the monastery with Nyad. Finally seeing her family again, safely tucked into bed.

Her room looks exactly how she left it. Nya soaks in the familiarity, finding it energizing. The sunlight streaming through the window feels so good on her skin.

"It seems someone has finally noticed your arrival," Nyad comments as Lloyd comes flying into the bedroom like a child on Christmas morning.

"Lloyd!" cries Nya, sweeping him into a hug. She's pretty sure they're both crying within seconds, but she's certainly not going to be the one to point it out. It's been so long. Too long.

"I've missed you so much," Lloyd mumbles. He returns the hug so fiercely, Nya wonders if she'll need a crowbar to remove him. In the background, she's pretty sure she hears Cole curse. Looking over at him, Nya sees him pass something to her brother, who looks just a bit too self satisfied.

"It's not what it looks like," Kai blurts, seeing her expression.

"As if I'd ever believe that," Nya laughs, "now get over here."

She drags both Kai and Cole into the hug, marveling at how good it feels to be near them again.

Pixal and Zane join them a short while later.

"I saw you on the Samurai X security footage this morning," Pixal explains.

"It's a very good thing we never changed any of your passwords," Zane adds.

"I don't know if you meant to do that or not, but I'm glad you didn't." Nya gives them both a hug.

"We had made the choice to honor the legacy of the original Samurai X in your absence," Pixal explains with a smile.

"Well, thank you," Nya says, returning the smile gratefully, "Oh! It's so good to see all of you again!"

"And I am very glad to finally meet the master of water's friends. She speaks quite highly of you all," Nyad cuts in. The others stare, as if only just noticing her presence.

"Nyad, I presume?" Zane inquires. Nyad nods, giving a little bow.

"Indeed I am,"

"I would never have made it out of the ocean without her-" Nya starts. There's so much to tell everyone. And so much to catch up on.

Just then, another figure appears in the doorway. For a moment, all is quiet.

"Jay!" Nya exclaims, moving to greet him. But he looks less than enthusiastic about her presence.

"Oh, no. I'm not doing this right now," he says coldly. And just like that, he's gone. Nya stares after him in shock.

"Are you sure this Jay is worth all the praise I have had to listen to when you speak of him?" Nyad asks, looking equally shocked and a little unimpressed.

"I-I," Nya's not sure what to say. It hadn't crossed her mind that her boyfriend might not be happy to see her. She blinks, her eyes suddenly wet.

"So, um, you guys look pretty busy with… whatever this is," a voice interjects, rescuing Nya from having to say anything coherent, "but since all we had to eat for dinner last night was wedding cake samples, I was thinking I'd make some pancakes, if anyone else wants some?"

"Skye," Kai greets awkwardly. At the same time, Skylor continues, "Wait - Nya - you're back?"

"Um… yes?" Nya replies, still reeling from Jay's unexpected outburst.

"Welcome home! I had a feeling you'd turn up sooner or later," Skylor says with a wink. She gives Nya a quick hug. "You've definitely been missed, here."

"Just a little bit, though. It's not like we were worried you were never coming back or anything," Lloyd snorts. Nya flinches.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"And on that note, I think I'm gonna go punch Jay for you, Nya. See you at breakfast?" Cole comments, heading for the door. Skylor frowns at this.

"I take it Jay's being emo again?"

Again? Nya wonders.

"You could say that," Lloyd answers for her.

"Pancakes would be great," Kai tells Skylor, kissing her cheek. "Why don't you guys go ahead and get started, and Nya and I will be down in a few to help."

"Sure thing," Lloyd says, "but you'd better not keep her too long. The rest of us wanna catch up too."

As the others, including Nyad (who mentioned wondering what a modern kitchen looked like), trail out of her room, Nya sinks back into her bed.

"Give it to me straight, Kai. How bad is it?" she asks.

"Well, in the history of bad things, you being gone for six months isn't the worst thing that could've happened," Kai comments, seating himself beside her.

Nya puts her head in her hands. "Six months?" she mumbles. "No wonder Jay hates me…"

Kai puts a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think he hates you. He's just… he's gonna need some time to forgive you. Even if you didn't mean to disappear like that."

"I guess I can't really blame him for being mad at me…" Nya sighs and glances at her brother. "I mean, I remember what it was like when we lost Zane - how much that hurt. And I'm Jay's girlfriend. At least I was. I'm sure that made it even worse for him."

"I won't lie, we were all upset and worried. And maybe a little bit angry at times. But Jay? I don't think I've ever seen him act like he did… And that's saying something, because we've both seen him react poorly to stuff." Kai states. Nya nods. Unlike the rest of her family, she hasn't forgotten the time Jay tried to use a djinn to win her back. It didn't go well.

"But this was something else. For the first few weeks after you disappeared, he would spend hours down on the beach just staring. Then, when we started worrying about him being down there all by himself all the time, he started bringing the sea back with him instead. He had jars of seawater in his room and he talked to them like you could somehow hear him."

“Oh.” Nya has no idea what to say.

“Yeah… it was pretty weird. But then one day he lost it. He dumped all the water down the toilet and threw the jars off the monastery roof. After that he was just… Quiet. Quiet and angry. None of us could figure out what had changed.”

Poor Jay. He must have given up on her completely. And Nya kinda deserves it. She got to drift through the past 6 months without thinking or remembering enough to feel anything. Jay had to live through it all with every human emotion, every memory. Every bit of hurt and doubt.

“Ugh… What a mess,” she moans, half wondering if she should have just stayed in the ocean.

“You can say that again,” Kai agrees unhelpfully. Seeing the look of misery on her face, he adds, “Listen, Nya. Jay will get over himself eventually, and you saw how excited everyone else was to see you. Don't let a little awkwardness get to you. I'm sure once we've all had a chance to readjust, things will be back to normal in no time.”

“I guess you're right,” Nya says reluctantly. Hopefully with time and lots of apologies, she could make things up to everyone.

“Of course I am,” Kai tells her, “Now let's go get some breakfast before Lloyd pours syrup in my bed for holding you hostage.”

“Yeah… that's probably a good idea.” Nya pushes herself up from the bed. Kai joins her, and together, they head down the hallway. They've almost arrived at the kitchen when something occurs to Nya. “Hey Kai?”

“Yeah?”

“Skylor mentioned wedding cake samples… Anything you wanna tell me?” Nya asks. Kai freezes.

“Oh. Uh. About that…” he begins awkwardly.

“Congratulations, Kai,” she tells him, finally smiling again.

#ninjago #myfics #ninjago fanfiction #the sea calls me home #ninjago seabound #ninjago Nya #I know it's been over a year but #I should probably finish this dang thing

12 notes · View notes

berryitalive · 6 months

Text

As The Year Goes By

Cross posted to AO3.

A/N: Slight TW in author note for mentions of OD. I started writing this fic on August 14th 2023. It brought me a lot of joy to get back into writing. I stopped touching it on September 13th 2023 when my little brother unexpectedly overdosed and passed away. I feel like the quality of my writing since then has not been the best as my mind has been elsewhere. But I wanted to at least post it instead of keeping it as a Google doc. I'm sorry if the pacing is weird or the formatting is rough. I used to be a Wattpad girlie. Also Oliver I love you thank you for inspiring me to get back into writing and being my bestie.

Chapter 1: Summer

Summer 5, Year 2

“Mrrow.” An orange cat stands on Bridgit’s chest, awakening her from her slumber. It hops off of the previously sleeping young adult and meows at the door. The sweet sound of birds chirping outside filled the room as her eyes fluttered open and her vision began to clear.

“Good morning, Cheddar.” The farmer yawns and sits up from her bed before getting up to let the cat outside. She puts her boots on and heads outside to the shed for a cup of tea fresh from the keg before she starts her day.

It is harvest day for the peppers, wheat and honey. It is also Friday. Today would be the day Bridgit works herself up to talk to someone other than the shopkeepers, Mayor Lewis, and Caroline (and that was mainly from just bumping into her each time the farmer went to sell her crops). It has already been over a full year in Pelican Town and Bridgit was still pretty unfamiliar with most of the townspeople her age. It was not for any reason in particular though. Just a strong case of social anxiety.

When she first arrived at Pelican Town she was greeted by Robin and Mayor Lewis. They had encouraged her to at least meet the townspeople which she did! But she never went out of her way to hold another conversation with anyone. Why should she? She had her lovely cat Cheddar and her farm animals to keep her company. But now that it was already summer of her second year here, she figured she should at least get to know somebody. The woman had only attended the fall festivals and the winter night market last year. This year she was determined to at least stay for a little while at all of them.

She places the crops in her harvest basket and heads into town. Her honey-colored eyes stare at the ground as she mumbles to herself. “Hi. I’m Bridgit but you guys can call me Bee…Well duh they know your name you already greeted them once…a year ago. This is so stupid they’re all going to think I’m a weirdo.”

As the farmer continued down the sidewalk she suddenly bumps into another person immediately causing her to lose her balance and tumble to the ground. The basket is dropped, allowing its contents to spill onto the concrete. Bridgit groaned as she landed right on her ass against the pavement. As she looks up she realizes there is a grown man staring at her and the vegetables that are scattered in front of Pierre’s shop.

“I am so sorry! I should have watched where I was going! Did I get anything on you?” Bridgit gathers the fallen vegetables and containers of honey as quickly as she can and tosses them back into the basket. Hopefully Pierre wouldn’t fully reject some of the bruised peppers.

“It’s whatever.” The man sighs and turns to walk away, not offering his help.

“I’m Bridgit by the way! But you can call me Bee if you want.” She stands up

“I remember your name. But I’m not gonna call you anything so I hope you leave me alone.” He responds and turns back around to look at the intimidated farmer. His eyes scan over the crops in the basket before he reaches in and takes a pepper. “Consider this compensation for trying to run me over. I’ve got to go before I’m late for work.”

“Sorry again.” Bridgit let out a sigh of defeat before brushing the dirt off of her pink overalls and heading into Pierre’s store. The store owner chuckled as the embarrassed woman walked up to the counter. Pierre looks over the crops then at Bridgit.

“I would assume after a fall like that your peppers would have bruised more. You ran into Shane like it was nothing.” He laughs and begins processing the fresh crops as inventory.

“Oh yeah. That’s Marnie’s nephew.” Bridgit says. Pierre nods and hands her gold for the crops. “I never realized he was kinda cute.”

Pierre stared at Bridgit then sighed. “Do you need any seeds today?”

Bridgit stares at the door of the Stardrop Saloon, the evening breeze kisses her nervous face. She takes a deep breath and steps inside. The building is full of laughter and conversation. It seemed like nearly everyone in the town was enjoying their Friday night here. Including Shane, who was enjoying a beer near the fireplace. Her eyes focused on the older man as she was taking in his appearance. He was shorter than most of the bachelors in Pelican Town, his hair was a dark brown (nearly black) color and he took long, satisfying sips of his beer all alone in his corner. His gaze rose from his cup to the woman watching him.

“Shit.” The farmer immediately turns to leave.

“Bee!” Gus exclaims. Her fingers barely made it to the door handle. “Here to enjoy the night instead of just buying recipes off me?” He chuckles as the timid woman makes her way over to the bar and takes a seat on a stool.

“Actually, I was just heading out. I totally forgot to refill Cheddar’s water bowl.” She avoided eye contact as she tried to find a polite way out of the saloon.

“Pierre told me what happened in front of his store today. Shane doesn’t bite, just give him some time.”

“Great, so now that’s three people who know I busted my ass today.”

“Who cares? Everyone has fallen or ran into someone before. I’m simply pleased you decided to stop by.”

Bridgit sighs. “Thanks for lifting my spirits Gus but I really should go there's a lot of people in here. Send Shane a beer, on me, will you?” He is handed the gold coins before the farmer leaves the saloon, not even bothering to have a beer herself.

Summer 10, Year 2

Music plays from Joja-Mart’s sound system as Bridgit looks around the hair care aisles. She smiles as she finds the product she’s looking for and begins to head to the cashier.

“Cheating on Pierre?”

Bridgit turns around and is met with Shane’s unamused face. He glances at the hair care product in her hand then at the shoulder-length, lavender braids that framed the brown woman’s face.

“I wouldn’t have to if the man carried any kind of hair care for my hair type. At least I can just walk to Joja though. If I had to special order this every time I ran out I think I would lose it.” She smiled. “And I also don’t want Pierre to have to go out of his way for something I don’t replace often.”

Shane gave a small nod. “Makes sense. Thanks for the beer last week, Gus told me it was from you. Sorry I’ve been rude, it takes me a while to warm up to strangers.”

Bridgit smiles. “No problem! See you around, Shane.”

Shane waves. “See you, Bee.”

As the cashier scans the farmer's items, Bridgit’s face is bright with joy. Shane called her Bee. Did that mean they were friends now? The woman wasn’t completely sure but it was better than just being known as the farmer who ran into him. And it definitely felt better than being told to leave him alone whenever she tried to say ‘Hi’ the past few days.

The sun began to set as Bee made her way home. She wondered why recently she had tried so hard to talk to him. Even when she was met with several 'go away.'s or 'can’t you see I’m busy?'s. In hindsight it was probably annoying and a bit creepy to continue to pester the poor man. Though he did seem grateful for the fresh hot peppers she brought him.

The woman made it to her home and put away the hair gel before grabbing her fishing rod. There were still fish needed to complete the community center bundle. Bee headed to Cindersap Forest, figuring she would stop by the lake to fish for an hour or so before she went to bed. As she approached the dock she noticed Shane standing at the end of it sipping a beer.

“Up late, huh?” Shane asked after he noticed her walking over, fishing rod still in her hand.

“Usually am. Sorry for pestering you all week, I just. I needed a friend I guess.” Bee sighed and sat on the edge of the dock. Shane sat down as well. Crickets chirped as fireflies floated carelessly through the cool night air.

“Here, have a cold one.” Shane offered, holding out a can of ale.

Bee set the fishing rod down before she took the beer and looked it over. It was some foreign ale that she had seen marked down at Joja.

“Buh…life.” He sighed. Bee sat quietly and looked at their reflections in the water.

“You ever feel like… no matter what you do, you’re gonna fail?” Bee looked up from the water and at Shane instead. His eyes were fixated on the can in his hand as he mindlessly bent the tab back and forth. As he continued, he looked up from the can and over at the concerned farmer.

“...Like you’re stuck in some miserable abyss and you’re so deep you can’t even see the light of day…I just feel no matter how hard I try I’m not strong enough to climb out of that hole.”

“Shit, Shane.” Bee muttered. The night’s breeze greeted their skin as she searched for something to say in response. Nothing came to mind so she decided on just shot-gunning the beer. The dark haired retail worker looked at her in surprise before chuckling.

“Fast drinker, huh? A farmer after my own heart. Just don’t make it a habit. You’ve got a future ahead of you still.” Shane looked down once more at the can in his hand. “Welp…My liver’s beggin’ me to stop. Better call it a night.” He stood up and turned to leave.

“You do too.” Bee managed to finally speak up as she attached bait to her fishing hook.

“Huh? Don’t tell me you’re already drunk off that one beer?” He asked, a hint of amusement coloring his voice.

“You have a future ahead of you too, Shane.” Bee clarified as she looked up at him. His dark brown eyes softened as he looked at the young farmer.

“Goodnight, Bee.”

She stared at the water as he wandered back home. “What a sad lil dude.”

Summer 12, Year 2

The hot summer sun shined bright on the townspeople at the beach. Mayor Lewis greeted everyone as they arrived just as he did each year. He was extra cheery as he greeted Bee, happy to see she attended the festival. Bee sniffed the air and sighed. The potluck soup smelled amazing. Last year she didn’t add anything to it because she failed to attend the luau entirely.

She approached the giant pot and added fresh goat cheese before walking around, trying to work up the courage to talk to someone. Her eyes scanned the area and as she realized just how many people were around, a knot formed in her stomach, her hands became sweaty, and her heart began to pound. Before the woman decided to abort the festival and go home, she noticed Shane and Gus standing over at a table. Gus swatted sand-flies away from the food as she made her way over to them.

“Bee! Is this your first time at the luau? I didn’t see you last year.” Gus asked while she ate a piece of grilled pineapple.

“Yeah it is. I didn’t come last year. I was a bit nervous.” She admitted.

“Well it’s good to see you this time!”

“Wow..You don’t get hot pepper chutney like this in the big city.” Shane spoke as he walked up to the two of them. Gus laughed and thanked him for the compliment.

Bee watched Robin and Demetrius dance to the soft music coming from the two large speakers. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the festival and felt the breeze from the sea. As she opened her eyes, she noticed Shane’s gaze was on her while he talked to Gus.

A familiar song came on the stereo. The melody began with the sweet strums of a ukulele.

“I saw you in my dreams… We were walking hand in hand..”

Bee quickly and quietly excused herself from the table and walked over to the docks. The music was fainter once she made it to the edge and sat down. She sighed. It was still audible.

“Sound of the ocean, soothes my restless soul.. Sound of the ocean rocks me all night long.. Those hot long summer days, lying there in the sun… On a white, sandy beach of Ginger Island…”

Bee stared off into the sparkling ocean. The memories of being a child and playing at the beach with her late grandfather suddenly overwhelmed her mind. It was all she could think about while hearing the bittersweet melody in the background with a soft dejected smile on her face. She remembered his wrinkled smile, and how large his hands were compared to hers, and how comforting it felt to hold his when they walked from the farmhouse to the beach. Or anywhere for that matter. Cheering came from behind her though she did not bother to turn around and see why. She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

“I brought you some soup.”

Bee’s soul nearly left her body as she turned to look up at Shane. He sat down next to her on the dock just as he did a few nights ago before handing her a bowl of soup. She felt the warmth through the paper bowl against her hands.

“Thanks.” She said carefully.

“The governor really liked the soup.” Shane said after a sip of the broth. “It’s way better than last year’s.”

Bee nodded and took sips of the soup as well. It was strange eating soup on the beach but it was so good it did not matter. She turned her head away from the man to sniffle and wipe her nose. Hopefully he would just assume it was the spiciness of the food.

“Grieving fuckin sucks, man. I don’t know who’s sad ass added that song to the playlist but...” Shane chuckled dryly. Bee looked over at him dispiritedly now aware he saw through her. “I mean it’s a good song too though.”

“It is a good song,” Her voice cracked as she agreed. She cleared her throat and closed her eyes for a moment. “My grandparents loved it…It’s been years since my grandfather’s passing and even longer since my grandmother’s. But…it’s still strange to own the farm instead of just visiting them here, ya know?”

“Yeah. Sometimes I get mad at the world for continuing to move forward when it feels like I’ve lost the people that made moving forward worth it.” He looked at Jas who was running around with Vincent on the beach. Bee followed his line of sight then looked back at her soup.

“So is Jas, like, your little niece?”

“She’s my goddaughter actually.”

“Oh. My condolences.”

“Thanks.”

There was silence between them. They watched fish swim around in the clear water as they ate their soup. The sound of seagulls and music filled the air as time passed on. The sun began to lower and most of the townspeople began to leave the warm beach.

“Do you want to dance with me?” Bee asked, setting their soup bowls aside.

Shane looked at the farmer curiously. “Huh?”

“The music is still playing and it’s not as sad now. A lot of people have gone home too so not a lot of eyes on us.” The shorter woman stood up and picked the paper bowls up to bring to a trash bin near the tables. Shane followed behind her as she went to the makeshift dance floor.

Upbeat, energetic music blared from the stereo as Bee took Shane’s hands. He looked a little nervous but it melted away as she began to dance very poorly. Her twists and gyrations were offbeat and for lack of a better term, goofy. Shane laughed and began to do the same. Right now, Bee did not care who saw them making a fool of themselves. Smiles were stuck to their faces as the two danced to the music.

Shane improvised by doing very outdated, dad-at-a-barbeque-esque dance moves, making the funky twisting Bee was doing look like professional work. They took turns trying to “out dance” the other. During a very bad twirl, the woman lost her balance. Bee stumbled, and almost instantly, Shane wrapped his arms around her, catching her before she fell. His grip was firm yet gentle as she was cradled in his arms. The world seemed to stop as her brown eyes became lost in his.

“Careful now. When you break dance you don’t actually have to break something.” Shane chuckled. Bee laughed awkwardly and regained her balance as Shane let go of her.

“I think it’s getting late! I’m going to head home. Thanks for having fun with me today buddy!” Bee turned to leave, her face red with embarrassment as she left the beach. His touch lingered on her skin and part of her wished the moment would have lasted longer. The woman shook her head, her face burning brighter as more thoughts filled her mind. She decided she would go to bed early.

Summer 25, Year 2

Cheddar’s meows rang throughout the farmhouse. His owner laid in bed feeling a heavy pressure in her chest. Slowly she sat up and tried to take a deep breath before she was met with a hacking cough, sending her back into her bed. Her orange cat pawed at her face, determined that this human would feed him immediately. With a groan, the woman got up and slowly made her way into the kitchen. She gasped as she looked at the clock.

“9 am?! I haven’t slept in since last winter…” Bee sniffled and coughed as she began her day. Cheddar was finally fed and the crops were harvested. Her eyes examined her farmland before she sighed. Most of the work was easy enough to complete. All that was left to do was collect the eggs from the coop and milk the animals in the barn.

The sun continued to shine down on the farm, much to Bee’s discomfort. It was too hot for this bullshit. Each time she reached down to grab an egg she felt ready to pass out. With the last egg in her basket, she made her way back to the farmhouse and filled an empty carton that she would sell to Pierre later.

Tea. She just needs hot tea. Bee shakily reached up to her cabinet and cursed as she realized there were no more tea leaves. The woman sighed and grabbed a mask to put on before she made her way out of her house and headed to JojaMart. What was normally a 20 minute walk became much harder. Every part of her body was coated in sweat. The sun continued to beat down on her until finally she just collapsed. Her arms barely held her up as she struggled to keep consciousness though she could swear her name was being called.

The woman lay silently in her bed, her eyes slowly fluttering open as her light purple locs splayed out around her head. Bee tried to take a deep breath but felt a sharp pain in her chest. Her body felt heavy and lethargic while her eyes focused on her surroundings. She was back in her bed with soup sitting on her nightstand. She winced and sat up to try and relieve the pain, but was met with her head spinning causing her to slump back down in the bed. How the hell was she able to get her chores done earlier?

Bee touched the soup next to her and exhaled. It was cold. The farmer stood up, took the soup and struggled out of her room only to be met by a 28 year old sitting on her couch casually watching her television. He looked up from the show he was watching and at the very confused, sick woman.

“You know, I knew you were reckless when word got around that you were actually exploring the mines but to run around in this heat with a fever is a new kind of stupid.” Shane stated. “Now go lay back down. I’ll warm the soup back up.”

Bee’s voice was hoarse as she responded. “How did I get back home?”

Shane stood and guided her back to her bed, taking the bowl of soup from her shaky hands. “I brought you to the clinic, which Harvey left you the bill to be taken care of once you’re able to bring it to him, and then I carried you back after he determined you just had a nasty fever from the flu. I got you into bed and I made you that soup because I thought you would have woken up sooner.”

Bee looked at her clock then back at Shane. “Shane, it's 12 am why are you still here?”

He looked at her confused. “You lucked out that I got off work early. How long would you have laid on that bridge if I hadn’t seen you faint? I wasn’t going to let you wake up confused and afraid that someone you didn’t know had just dragged you back home. I know I’m a dick but damn I’m not like…the worst.”

Bee sat down on her bed and got under the covers. Unanswered questions buzzed around her head like angry wasps. Who all saw her being carried by Shane? Just how much was that medical bill going to be? Why did she feel even more embarrassed knowing Shane was the one that found her?

Bee shook her head before she looked up at her neighbor, her face still hot with fever. "Thank you, Shane. There's some fresh hot peppers in the fridge if you want them. Also I still have a frozen pizza if you’re hungry.."

His expression softened before he nodded and went to reheat the soup. Despite her nausea and headaches, she found herself drawn to Shane and his compassion. Screw the soup! She wanted him to stay next to her longer. Bee wanted to just be in his company.

The sick farmer felt a sudden surge of heat sweep through her body, her face suffused with a deep rosy tone as she realized she liked Shane. ‘Fuck.’ She thought. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.’ This was not how she wanted to make that personal discovery. Looking like a hot mess while Shane made soup in her kitchen. How attractive.

“Here is some reheated parsnip soup,” Shane announced as he set the bowl on the nightstand alongside a glass of water. “I found some frozen parsnips in your freezer and used those. And also I borrowed some tea bags from my aunt while you were asleep earlier so…I can make that for you later if you want.”

Bee nodded her head as she gingerly took the bowl from the nightstand before she took a sip from the spoon. She was pleasantly surprised at its taste, not taking Shane for the cooking type.

“It tastes good!” She spoke before taking another sip.

“You sound surprised.” Shane responded as he took a seat on a nearby chair.

“Maybe a little. I was expecting some Joja brand chicken noodle goop from the can.”

Shane chuckled. “Parsnip soup has 3 ingredients and it's not difficult to make. Jas could make that as easily as I did,” The brunette pulled out a small package from his pocket. “I also picked up some severe cold and flu medicine.”

Bee smiled after she finished the soup. “Thanks, Shane. You’re a literal life saver.”

A faint pink hue crept its way into his cheeks and he focused his gaze towards the window. “Don’t mention it. I just needed to make sure you were okay.”

She felt her face grow hot once more and focused on taking the flu medicine and drinking the glass of water Shane had provided. Her eyes glanced at the clock again and then at the retail employee. It was already 1:30 am.

“Is the couch comfortable? I don’t want you to have to walk home this late.” Bee asked. “I have extra pillows and blankets in the hallway closet.”

The older man nodded. “Your couch was fine, I took a nap on it earlier. But it’s probably best for me to go home since I’ve got an early shift tomorrow. I’ll make you a cup of hot tea first then I’ll head out.”

Shane left the room once more, leaving Bee alone with her thoughts and her runny nose.

#stardew valley #sdv fanfic #stardew valley fanfic #shane x farmer #shane x oc #;-; even if it's poorly written it felt good to write #Ill have the next chapter out soon.#itll be 4 chapters in total #eventual smut

15 notes · View notes

mylifeisactuallyamess · 10 months

Text

Chapter 2: Who Are You?

A/N: I am emptying my Google docs of stuff and I absolutely forgot about this!

Warnings: Mention of medication, food, alcohol, the usual. OC (minus physical description) written from reader pov.

Word Count: 5.1k+

The day passed lazily, the autumn sunshine lighting up your cabin as you stared at the blank word document on your laptop, letting out an irritated sigh when you got up to make a fresh coffee. You made an extra cup and heated up some soup for your guest. Laying it all on a tray, you quietly entered the room to find that he was awake. His piercing green eyes watched you with a fierce intensity that made you nervous.

“I made you soup. And coffee.” He didn’t say anything from his perch on the edge of the bed. He was so upright and rigid you wondered if he had a plank of wood shoved down his back. “How’s your wound?” You asked, going to touch it but he jerked away from you, his eyes dulling for a moment when he winced. “You’re in pain,” you observed. The tablets still sat on the bedside table. You reached for them and the cup of water. “These will help.” His nose wrinkled up in annoyance and you couldn’t help but think it was the cutest face you’d seen him make yet.

“What is it?” He finally asked

“It’s medicine.”

“Doesn’t look like medicine,” he retorted and you could feel your back teeth clenching together already. Cute and annoying, apparently.

“Look, it’s not the tasty kind of medicine that children take. It’s not in liquid form for smooth swallowing. It’s a pill, it’s bitter. My advice, don’t chew it. Knock it back with a shot of water and your pain will melt away.” He looked at you, the muscle in his jaw flexing as he eyed the offending white pills in your outstretched hand.

“And you’re sure this medicine is safe?” You bit back another snarky response, not sure if he’d understand, and settled for a quick nod, just hoping he’d take it. You tried not to move when he reached for the pills, his long fingers gently brushing your palm, causing goosebumps to ripple along your forearm. He quickly put them in his mouth and sipped the water with a rough swallow, his face twisting at the taste. “That’s disgusting,” he muttered.

“Here,” you nudged to tray towards him. “The soup will take away the taste of the meds. I’ll leave you to eat. If you feel up to it, I have a fire going in the living room. You could sit in there instead.” Leaving the bedroom door open slightly you headed upstairs.

You started clearing out the spare room, where you kept things like extra clothes and furniture you just hadn’t got round to getting rid of yet. Pulling some bedding from the cupboard, you began to make the bed. Your battered ribs couldn’t take another night on the sofa. As you struggled to get the duvet cover on, the pain in your side and back flared to life, pulling a loud groan from your chest. Lifting up your top you turned so you could see the black and yellow bruises that littered your sides and back. Gingerly you reached out to brush your fingers over them, wincing at the hint of pain when a noise caught your attention. Looking up you saw him in the doorway, his green eyes roaming over your bruised skin with a blank look on his face and you dropped your top.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people,” you snapped, embarrassed that he had seen the marks on you.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.” He stood awkwardly in the doorway, clearly unsure on what to do next so you turned your back on him and continued with the bed. “Are you feeling better?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Well that’s good,” you replied, trying to soften your tone. No one came here except your best friend Sage, so to have a man stand awkwardly behind you in your sanctuary made you feel weary.

Especially as the last man you were alone with put you in hospital.

Still straightening the covers on the bed you watched him, his gaze taking in everything around him. He was looking up at the wood that made the doorframe, his hand carefully reaching out for the door handle as though he wasn’t sure what it was. “Are you going to tell me more about you?” His hand snapped back to his body at the sound of your voice and you saw a muscle tic in his jaw.

“I have given you all the necessary information.” Straightening up from pulling the covers, you hid a wince, not wanting to show him the bruises hurt you all the time.

“That you’re a General in some order. Ok, I get it if it’s classified, but you’re under my roof and I’m proposing a possible trade of information.” He seemed to weigh your words before giving a curt nod of agreement. “After I’ve had a look at your wound.”

“I’m more than capable…” he started but you cut him off.

“Do you ever let anyone look after you?” He closed his mouth, his shoulders tensing slightly as his gaze slid away from you.

“No.” You heard a sort of heaviness in his tone that he tried to conceal and you let out a little sigh.

“The first aid kit is on the kitchen table, I just need to put some more cream on it and maybe another dressing and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know in exchange for some answers.” He turned smartly, the great black coat flaring with his movement, his boots clicking harshly on each step. You followed at a more leisurely pace knowing you were going to need some painkillers and just hoped he didn’t ask anymore questions regarding your bruises.

He hovered by the table watching every move you made with that calculating look that probably made other people nervous. You just ignored him, finally coaxing him to sit down and concentrating on changing his dressing, trying not to flinch every time you twisted. You poured him a coffee before sitting down with a soft sigh and a grimace you couldn’t contain.

“Have you had treatment?” He sounded hesitant, like he was crossing a personal boundary by asking about your injuries.

“I have.”

“Who?” Your gaze lifted to finally look at him. He quickly grabbed his coffee making a face at the smell but drinking it anyway. He had bright stubble starting to creep along his jawline, his hair was covering his brow, which you were pretty sure he hated as he constantly tried to sweep it back. You thought it made him look particularly dashing.

“I don’t know you well enough to have that conversation,” you told him firmly. “Anyway, what’s your name? I can’t imagine someone would call their kid General.” He fiddled with the cup for a moment, as though weighing up his options. Eventually he answered.

“Armitage Hux. Son of Brendol Hux.”

“Armitage,” you sounded out his name, rolling it over your tongue, only for him to jerk slightly at the sound of it. “You don’t like it?”

“I haven’t heard someone else say it for a while,” he confessed quietly.

“And you’re in charge of this First Order? Where are you based?” He smirked, shaking his head a little at your questions.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a Resistance spy.”

“What makes you think I’m not?” You boldly asked with a quirked eyebrow, sounding so much more confident than you actually felt.

“Because I’d at least be bound. Or dead.”

“Oh.” You rolled your lips desperately trying to think of something to say when you frowned. “They just kill people?” Hux eyed you for a moment as though trying to figure out if you were genuine, but he did finally rest back in his chair and seemed to relax a little. “We don’t do that here. Tying people up, hurting people. It’s not allowed.”

“At all?” He asked with a furrowed brow, as though he didn’t believe you.

“No. It’s inhumane. Only people sick in the head would stoop to that level.” Hux quickly took a deep gulp of the coffee, the tops of his ears redding slightly.

“So tell me about you, Princess.”

“We can forgo the title,” you told him, wincing slightly.

“Lia.” Now it was your turn to shrug and settle back in your chair.

“There’s nothing to tell. I have no parents, I live alone, aside from my cat.”

“Cat?” You didn’t miss the slight infliction of his tone, his eyes darting to the floor as though Millicent was about to pounce on him right now.

“Oh yeah, she’s fierce,” you joked. “Might wanna watch yourself.”

“H-how big?” You narrowed your gaze but he avoided looking directly at you. The colour was creeping up the side of his neck and you guessed he was nervous.

“Don’t you like cats?”

“Like a tooka?”

“A what now?” You blinked at the odd word. This man really had lost the plot. You watched his hands, still gloved, as he gestured above his head to give you the idea of ears.

“Big mouth, teeth,” he breathed. You couldn’t help the snort of laughter and instantly he dropped his hands. His entire demeanour closed up and he stood, pulling his coat around him.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m tired,” was all he said, leaving you alone to your thoughts.

You were fairly sure neither of you had discussed anything of significance. You’d try again later. You busied yourself cooking some pasta with pesto sauce, frying strips of chicken in a separate pan. Music played from your laptop, the constant empty document glaring at you, judging you for your lack of words. Shaking the chicken in the hot garlic butter mix, you didn't hear Hux leave your room and come to stand in the kitchen. Turning, you let loose a half scream before you choked it down. He’d taken his greatcoat off but he was still dressed in the uniform he’d landed in. His hands were tucked behind his back and he cocked a red eyebrow at your reaction to his presence.

“Shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. Gave me a fright.” You downed the last of your wine and went to pour some more. “You hungry?”

“What is it?”

“Pasta, pesto, garlicky chicken,” you turned to see he looked like he was floundering a little for a response as he eyed your pans on the cooker. “Trust me, it will be nice. What do you usually eat?”

“Roasted Kajaka Root is something that has a bit of flavour and is quick to eat. I’m on the move a lot. Otherwise it’s just protein supplements.”

“What’s…?” You looked at him over your shoulder but you didn’t have it in you to ask what Kajaka Root was. “You don’t sit down and have dinner?”

“Not unless I really have to,” he murmured with a slight sniff of displeasure.

“Well in my house we sit and eat at the table.” You dished up the food, refraining from asking if he knew how to use cutlery and just giving him a fork. “Do you drink?” For the first time you saw something like relief flicker in his features at the unspoken mention of alcohol.

“Yes.”

“What’s your poison?”

“My….? I thought we were talking about alcohol?” He asked almost angrily and you smirked, opening the cupboard to the left of you.

“Things really get lost in translation don’t they? I have gin, tequila, whiskey, wine, oh and some baileys.”

“And you live alone?” He muttered.

“Yeah ok, you don’t get to judge me right now,” you told him waving a hand as though to dismiss his words. “You look like a whiskey kind of guy.”

“How arrogantly presumptuous.” You lifted your eyes for a moment, smiling to yourself as you shifted the bottles around, confident in your assessment of him.

“My friend is a waitress and I have been a barmaid myself. I know just by looking at a person what they drink,” you reached down for the closed bottle. The cap snapped as you twisted it, the deep honey coloured liquid splashed into the tumbler, you placed both the bottle and the glass next to him. You poured yourself some white wine, trying not to gawk as he wrapped his long pale fingers around the glass. He sniffed it before tasting, his lips thinning as he rolled it around his mouth and then swallowed. You felt a little bubble of pride start to warm you when he took another sip, he gave a small nod of appreciation when he put the glass down.

“So,” you picked up your own glass, swilling it as you regarded him over the top. “Where are you from? Don’t you have any friends or family I can contact for you? You literally fell out of the sky.” He chewed thoughtfully and you could almost see his thought process in his eyes as he stared at the table.

“The people you could contact, I think, are out of range. Do you really have no long range scanners? Comlinks? Am I really to believe you don’t even have a ship?”

“I live in the middle of nowhere in a forest. Do you see any ships? It’s not like I'm hiding a longboat in the loft,” you muttered.

“Not even a starfighter?” He pushed quietly.

“A…I’m sorry a starfighter?” You gazed at him in wonder, your words coming back to haunt you already. You literally fell out of the sky… He couldn’t? Could he? “Are you an alien?” You whispered. His mouth opened for a second, his face reddening as his fork slammed onto his plate.

“I am not!” But you barely heard him as your mind raced, your heart was pounding and adrenaline flooded you. This was too crazy, but you had seen him land with your own eyes!

“But you are…you came…you fell!” You stood up, the chair flinging away from you and he followed suit, clearly not trusting you. “Oh god you’re not human. Is this the beginning? Are you invading?”

“What a ridiculous notion! I do not have the time nor the inclination to invade.” You were staring at him as thunder beat in your ears. He looked human. Unusual, handsome, but human.

“Explain to me where you’re from because I’m freaking out a little and I don’t really know what to do!” Your phone was in your hand and you could see Sage’s name just under your thumb. Hux clenched his hands together at his sides, the redness receding slightly as he regarded you for a moment with those bright but pale ocean green eyes.

“I am General Armitage Hux, I come from a planet called Arkanis, where it rains constantly.” Ok that sounded sort of normal. Except it was a planet you’d never even heard of.

“How did you get here? On Earth?” You breathed, still clutching your phone in your hand which he noticed.

“This ship I was in encountered upon a herd of purrgil, they tore through the hull within moments. I managed to get into an escape pod but we were in a hyperlane,” his gaze unfocused slightly as he remembered. “We must be somewhere out in an Uncharted sector. Maybe Wildspace because I’ve never heard of your planet before and we have mapped some of the Unknown Regions in our time of hiding.” You were no astrologist but you recognised none of these words. “What do you know this system as?”

“Oh…uh…we’re in the Milkyway.” His brow furrowed.

“Do you have a star chart?” He asked softly. With shaking hands you pulled the internet up on your phone and typed in ‘solar system’. Clicking on a picture that had all the planets labelled you put it down on the table and he looked up as though expecting the picture to come alive. He made a quick face of exasperation before leaning on the table to look at the small picture.

“This is us,” you whispered, pointing to the green and blue planet.

“Are any of these inhabited?” He asked curiously.

“N-no.” He hummed slightly, almost in disappointment.

“Most intriguing.”

“Here,” you walked in a slight daze not really sure what you were hoping to achieve. Picking up the remote for the tv you carried on talking. “This channel will have all the information you could ever want about….ah look.” You pointed at the screen as he stalked towards you, he looked like a cat with all his attention focused on the screen. “A programme on NASA.”

“NASA?”

“You’re gonna need whiskey. Sit down and absorb. I need…” you faulted. You needed space to breathe, you needed to wake up from this crazy dream. “I am going to sleep and hopefully when I wake up tomorrow this will all make sense." You let loose a little hysterical giggle when you met his gaze. “Goodnight,” you said abruptly and started making your way upstairs. You went through your routine before bed, washing your face, brushing your teeth, putting pyjamas on, cracking the door open for Millicent. All normal, grounding things and by the time you slipped into bed you felt calm and relaxed. You fully expected to wake up and this all would have been a dream.

The sun streamed in, warming your pillow, and you sighed in irritation. With a groan you managed to swing your legs over the edge of the bed, an arm hugging your middle as the pain flared with your movement. The pain had lessened since you left the hospital a few weeks ago, or maybe you had just gotten used to it. At least the nightmares had eased for now. You padded to the bathroom, but the cupboard here was empty of what you needed. Wincing, you opened the bedroom door and suddenly everything crashed back to you. Two plates still sat on the table, but the bottle of whiskey and his glass were gone. As you made your way down the stairs you contemplated downing the rest of your wine, but you needed to drive to town today for food. You made coffee, occasionally glancing over at the closed bedroom door until Millicent came in meowing loudly for her breakfast.

You talked to her like normal, asking what she’d seen outside and if she’d frightened off any bears recently, but she just looked up at you with her lion-like face and those rich golden eyes. Grabbing her face you pressed your forehead against hers, letting the rippling of her purrs fill the space between you. Eventually she meowed as a reminder that she only came for her breakfast.

You made some toast, watching her trough her food as though you’d been been starving her for days on end before she sauntered back outside with a flick of her bushy tail. The coffee steamed when you poured it into your cup, adding just a dash of cream and tucking your laptop under your arm. Next you remade the fire and soon had it crackling to your liking, sitting down next to your coffee table you booted up the laptop and wrapped your hands around your coffee mug.

The bedroom door opened and you turned to see Hux emerging with his coat draped over his arm. His hair was wet. He’d obviously had a shower and now his uniform was beginning to look wrinkled in places no matter how many times he smoothed it with his hands.

“Sleep ok?” You asked, getting up and he followed you into the kitchen, ignoring the way your heart rate accelerated at his closeness.

“Yes.”

“How was the NASA programme?”

“Enlightening.”

“I love how you give answers and I have no idea if they’re good or bad." He shook his head when you pointed to the cream and you handed him the black coffee. You watched him for a moment, debating whether to tell him you were going to town today. Part of you wanted to leave him here in the cabin, but you were struck with the irrational thought he’d just disappear. If you took him along at least you’d know where he was.

“I’m going to head to town. We need food and to pick up some other bits. I think you should come with me.”

“Whatever you think is best,” was his non-committal answer to his coffee mug and you rolled your eyes.

“I’m going to get changed and then we’ll head out. Bread is on the side!” You called over your shoulder skipping your way up the stairs.

When you came back down he was standing by the window next to the coat stand. He sipped his coffee as he watched the world outside and you wished you knew what he was thinking about the little bit of Earth he could see.

“Are you ready to go?” You asked, reaching your coat.

“I can’t really say no can I?”

“Great. I will start up the Conqueror.”

“You have a ship? You lied to me?” His voice rose as his temper immediately flared and you recoiled slightly.

“Wait, what? No, it's my truck.”

“A tr…uck?” He asked stumbling over the word

“T-r-u-c-k. How can you not know what a truck is?” You retaliated.

“How do you not have a long range comlink?” He shot back, his pale skin flushing.

“How come you don’t know what planet you’re on?” You retorted with a shrug.

“How do you not know what bacta is? We could play this infuriating game all day!” He snapped abruptly.

“Whatever, we need to get you some clothes and we need to get some food.”

“I’ve got clothes,” he said with an air of indignation, his gloved hands adjusting his cuffs as he glared at you.

“Right, that uniform is not going to go down well in my town, also we have no idea how long you’re, ah, 'staying' so I am prepared to buy you some clothes so you fit in.”

“I shouldn’t have to fit in.” You pulled the keys off the hook, grinding your teeth slightly.

“I can tell you’re a man who is used to things going his way but let me tell you, Earth doesn’t work like that. The sooner you learn that the better, for both of us.” Opening the door, you motioned for him to precede you. He swept past you with a glare, his coat flaring with each step, and you followed him almost colliding with his rigid back. Mumbling under your breath you locked the door and squeezed round him. “What’s up?” You asked not seeing what he was looking at.

“What is that?” He asked, pointing and a smile alighted your face.

“That is the Conqueror,” you answered proudly, moving past him to stand next to the light blue bronco. “This is my truck.”

“How does it fly?” He asked, his tone full of shock and horror at the sight before him.

“No, no she doesn’t fly. You see these?” You asked, pointing at the chunky tyres. “These are wheels…”

“I know what wheels are, I am not an imbecile.” You thought about taking that comment and turning it into a scathing reply but you decided against it.

“Come on, get in!” You opened your door and leapt into the truck, putting the key in the ignition and making the engine roar to life. You looked back to see Hux eyeing the truck with heavy mistrust in his eyes.

“You’re an experienced pilot?” He asked over the noise of the engine and you felt like rolling your eyes.

“I am a good driver, yes. Look, please get in or the shops will be closed by the time we get there.” You shut your door and leaned across the seat to shove his door open. You watched him wearily eye up everything like it was going to fall apart before smoothly lifting himself in, his greatcoat settling neatly either side of him and he placed his hands over his legs. “You need to….oh god.” To his abhorrence you leaned over him, yanking the door shut and pulling the seatbelt across his rigid body. He pushed himself as deep into the seat as he could to stop any contact between you, which you thought was weird but you were technically strangers after all. Once he was all clipped in, much to his chagrin, you pulled away.

“What’s wrong with your hydraulics??”

“What?” You asked over the roar of the engine as you revved it, bouncing you both down the track away from your cabin.

“Your hydraulics! It’s so…bouncy!” He was squeezed into the corner by the door, his hands holding on for dear life and his face was an expression of pure horror as you rolled the truck down the hill.

“Oh! The suspension. Nothing, bouncy means it’s working right?!” You exclaimed loudly, making your truck fly up the other side.

“You’re insane.” He muttered at the heaving sensation in his stomach as your truck crested the hill at speed.

“Lighten up, General,” you smirked. “It gets smoother when we hit the road.”

“Maker, don’t hit anything!”

The rest of the journey went smoothly and in the taut silence, you noticed his gloved hand never left the handle on the door, gripping on for dear life every time you took a bend. Once you approached town he started looking around, taking everything in as best he could. Was it really that different where he was from? You imagined tall buildings made of glass with LED lights down the sides, all futuristic and out of this world. Maybe flying vehicles? He seemed surprised your truck didn’t leave the ground after all. You parked up in the street, suddenly feeling nervous at the amount of people out and about this early.

“Maybe you should stay here,” you suggested.

“What? In the death trap?” You raised an eyebrow at his haughty tone.

“This is my pride and joy,” you paused, letting him have a moment to make a face and tut in disbelief. “Trust me I don’t want to leave you in here but the people in this town won’t appreciate….all this,” you finished making a gesture that empompassed his entire outfit.

“This is the finest gaberwool…” he started indignantly but you cut across him.

“Oh stop. Stop!” You groaned and he clamped his mouth shut, a blush creeping over his pale skin. “Listen, this is my world. I’m not going to be long. Can you show some discipline and sit here while I get you some clothes and some food?” He didn’t say anything, just sat in the seat staring straight ahead. “Fine, be angry at me. You’ll thank me in the long run,” you mumbled. Stepping out of the truck, you slammed the door shut and headed into the pharmacy first. Grabbing some painkillers and fresh bandages to restock your first aid kit, you could see him sitting in your truck, his head in his hands as he took a moment for himself.

You felt like you were spying on him, seeing the resignation in his posture now that he was alone. You felt yourself softening slightly, if he was an…an alien, he must be feeling so lost and alone. Not able to contact his people, his family. You knew what that felt like, having no one around, losing everything so suddenly.

Turning away from the window, you quickly headed into the clothes store and grabbed a few t-shirts, a pair of jeans (though you were pretty sure he wouldn’t wear them), some socks and underwear. You paused with full arms, staring at a plain white shirt and you bit your lip as you toyed with the idea of getting him something slightly smarter as well. He seemed to be the type that would prefer a shirt and trousers rather than jeans. You picked up a white shirt and a plain black shirt, plus a couple of pairs of trousers and some shoes. His boots were well made. You weren’t sure if he’d give them up and you highly doubted he’d be a sneakers kind of guy.

He flinched, his head snapping up quickly when you opened the trunk and put the bag of clothes in.

“Not much longer! I just need to get us some food and then we can head back ok?” He gave a barely perceptible nod before you were crossing the road and heading into the last store. You raced around, having no idea what he ate, but you felt like you were against the clock and almost working up a sweat as you moved through the store. You picked up extras like a razor and some aftershave, a new toothbrush and a comb. You heaved the heavy bags into the boot and dusted your hands off.

“Ok we can go home….now.” He wasn’t in the front seat and you felt your heart leap into your throat. “Oh shit!” You turned frantically on the spot, not seeing a big black coat or a flash of ginger anywhere. “Oh Jesus, fuck!” You leaned heavily on the side of your truck as you tried to organise your thoughts. You felt ashamed that the first thought was to drive away and leave him here, let the crazy fend for himself but you were too nice of a person and if you were honest, you felt slightly protective of him already. He clearly wasn’t in his right mind, but he hadn’t made any attempts to harm you and you’d never live with yourself if you drove away now.

Desperately you ducked into each shop, finally coming to the diner at the end of the street and seeing him through the window. He was perched on a stool holding a cup of coffee, you could see his gloves had been removed and were poking out of the pocket in his greatcoat. His hair fanned over his brow as he nursed the drink, clearly ignoring all the looks people were shooting at him. You stepped inside, quietly coming up beside him and taking the empty space next to him. You nodded when the man behind the counter silently offered you some coffee, letting him pour it before you added a dash of milk.

“You shouldn’t take it black here,” you commented softly. “It will melt the lining of your stomach.”

“Actually this is very similar to caf, I prefer it,” he replied, picking his cup up and taking a sip. You noted the people behind him were eyeing up his coat and boots and you felt the need to move him along.

“We should be leaving, I don’t want the food to spoil in the truck.” To your relief he nodded and knocked back the coffee, he watched you pay then followed closely behind you back to the truck.

#what’s this?#general hux posting #general hux x f!reader #general hux x reader #general hux x you #armitage hux x f!reader #armitage hux x reader #armitage hux x you #metanoia

14 notes · View notes