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tfwlawyers · 3 years

Note

Not me singlehandedly going through your entire parent trap au I’m so invested even though like half of the posts are from 2015 💀

THESE THINGS HAPPEN I get such a kick out of knowing this au is still making its rounds though 😭😭

and yk what just because I know I’m never going to do anything else with this, have a 3.5k attempted scramble of fic for this au I tried writing back also in 2015. i was even less of a writer back then than I am now so it’s absolutely terrible but have at thee

“Oh, wait...” Trucy winced and tapped her earring. Apollo’s eyes widened in realization. “Looks like we have one more thing to do tonight - it’ll be super quick, I promise.”

“Oh no,” Apollo said, visibly paling, “there’s no way you’re doing that to me-”

“Then cutting my hair was a total waste,” Trucy huffed, tugging at a newly shorn lock, “because there’s no way I can go to camp with pierced ears and come home without. Come on, Polly, where’s your sense of adventure? It’s just one little pinch!”

“Just one?” he asked hesitantly, eyes now trained on the sharp needle laying on the table.

Trucy paused. “Well... I guess it’s technically two. I really only wear the one earring, but both my ears are pierced.”

Apollo sighed. “Great.”

“Nah, I got this,” Trucy said, grinning toothily. “I went with Aunt Maya when she wanted to get hers pierced, even though she chickened out at the last second.” She picked up the needle and a book of matches from the table, eyes glinting. “I had to get mine repierced because of infection the first time too. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

“Put that apple slice back,” Apollo said, narrowing his eyes at the piece of fruit in Trucy’s hands. “They’re acidic, I don’t need that anywhere near me and oh God you’re really going to shove a piece of metal into my ear, aren’t you-”

“You sure I look okay?” he asked, patting down the skirt. He squinted down at the stark white boots he’d thankfully fit into. “I’m terrified to walk in these, they look like death traps -”

“Which is why we’re practicing,” Trucy said primly, wiping her hands on a gel-stained rag. She still didn’t quite have a grasp on the correct ratio of product to actual hair, but she was much better than when they had started five weeks ago. “Now, walk towards me.”

“One last thing, I guess,” Apollo said, removing his bracelet and handing it to Trucy, watching as she carefully slid it on. He rubbed his now bare wrist absentmindedly, feeling strangely naked without it.

“So... this is really it. We’re really doing this.”

“We’re really doing this,” Trucy confirmed, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. For all her apparent enthusiasm, she looked as nervous as he felt. The studs in her ears reflected the morning light.

“Give papa a hug for me,” he said, smiling weakly.

“Give daddy one for me too,” she said.

They hesitated a moment more before Trucy threw her arms around her brother’s shoulders. Apollo’s arms immediately snaked around her waist, drawing her in tight. They clung to each other, silently willing and praying this was somehow going to all work out - that they wouldn’t just to get to meet their other parent, that they wouldn’t only get a few short weeks with the other father they hadn’t even known had existed, but that they could find some way to reconcile the two, that they wouldn’t have to lose anyone across the wide expanse of the Atlantic ever again.

“You’ve had your ears pierced,” he said almost absently, cradling her head between his hands and gently turning her neck back and forth to better view the studs. He clicked his tongue. Trucy felt her heart sink.

“Do you... hate them?” she asked tentatively.

Edgeworth’s eyes snapped to hers. They were the same soft gray color as the paint Daddy always kept too much of around the house. “On the contrary - I find they suit you incredibly well. Please tell me you didn’t get an infection.”

Her face split into a wide smile.

Apollo thumbed through a stack of canvases that had been shoved into a corner. There was a thin layer of dust of them; if he had to guess, he’d say they hadn’t been disturbed for at least three months - not a particularly long stretch of time, all things considered. They were clearly less polished works, lacking the technical skill and attention to detail that made Phoenix Wright a name to be reckoned with in the art community, but they were still beautiful in their own way. Paintings of vineyards and what looked like London, towering skyscrapers and calm seas and -

His father.

Apollo blinked.

The portrait of Miles Edgeworth drawn in rich oils did not blink back. Nor did the three that followed.

“There were a lot of paintings of the same person in daddy’s works. Some guy with grey hair,” Apollo said, struggling for nonchalance.

Maya’s grip on the mixing bowl faltered. “Is that so,” she said carefully.

“Was he one of daddy’s favorite models or something he just never told me about?”

Maya pursed her lips and continued stirring with a newfound vigor. “You could say that.”

“You’re not Apollo?” he asked, voice thick. “You’re Trucy?”

She smiled weakly. “That would be correct.” One strand of hair fell lank across her forehead - how did I not notice, Apollo hasn’t used nearly that much gel in years - and he absentmindedly tucked it behind her ear. He felt her press into the warmth of his hand, as if she were afraid he might suddenly vanish across the Atlantic again.

“I hope you don’t - I hope you don’t hate me,” she said, voice beginning to waver, “it’s just that Polly and I met at the camp and the whole thing sort of just spilled out. I’ve wanted to see you for so long, and Polly felt exactly the same way about Daddy, so we sort of just - just switched lives and hoped it wouldn’t take you so soon to notice. I really hope you don’t hate me, because I’ve wanted to meet you basically my whole life and I hope that maybe one day you can love me for me and not Polly and -” (this is ALL from movie tho so mix this up)

Edgeworth’s left hand came to cradle the rest of Trucy’s face, cutting her off mid-sentence. “Oh, my dear,” he said, cautiously tugging her forward. She came willingly, all but sprawling across his chest, tucking her head underneath his chin and wrapping her arms around his middle. “I’ve loved you since the day you came to me,” he whispered into her hair, blinking away the beginnings of tears he felt gathering at the corner of his eyes. He felt her tighten her hold and he did the same.

He poured himself a thumbnail of scotch, perfectly content to pretend he didn’t have tickets to a plane back to a state he had vowed never to set foot in again departing in less than four hours. “He was rather handsome,” he found himself admitting, absentmindedly swirling the glass and taking a sip. He paused, staring at nothing and mumbling to himself, “...had the most crooked smile. Always made me weak at the knees.”

“What was that, sir?”

Edgeworth snapped his attention back to the other man; he’d nearly forgotten Gumshoe was even in the room. “Nothing, nothing, never mind, have you seen the tickets?”

Gumshoe shrugged. That was Trucy’s cue.

“Almost ready, papa?” she asked, stepping smoothly into the room from her hiding place behind the thick wooden door. Edgeworth looked just as wild-eyed as she’d been hoping.

“Yes, of course, I’m almost finished packing -”

She didn’t even have to look at his still mostly bare suitcase to know he was lying.

“ -and you did tell your father we were coming, didn’t you?” he finished, placing his drink on a nearby dresser and running his fingers shakily through his hair.

“Absolutely,” Trucy promised.

“Ah,” Edgeworth said, fiddling with his waistcoat buttons. They looked like they’d been polished recently.

“Liar,” Gumshoe leaned down to whisper. She shushed him.

“Might I suggest we continue this little gathering inside,” Maya said, already beginning to shepherd the twins - the twins, she was going to need another vacation just to process the fact that they were together again - into the room. She twisted back around to look at Edgeworth, still shoving Apollo (that was Apollo, right?) forward. “Hi,” she began again, offering a free hand, “you probably don’t remember me -”

“Maya!” he interrupted, smiling warmly and bending to kiss her chastely on the cheek. His breath was sour with vodka and his glasses clunked awkwardly against her face. As he turned and stepped fully into the room, Maya’s cheeks(rp) began to hurt from smiling so fiercely.

“I knew I always liked him,” she said to no one as she closed the door.

This was ridiculous. This resort was full of entirely too many people who favored the same sort of eccentric clothing that man had even fourteen years ago, a disproportionate amount of them with the same slate grey hair. He almost would have written that (awkward*) expression seen from across Dahlia’s shoulder/a hotel lobby as a figment of his overtaxed imagination had it not been so much realer than the stacks of canvases in his studio. Which meant Miles was here, but he’d swept the first level of the hotel twice already after begging Dahlia to take to her room for a bit, the pool area was as depressingly empty as the inside was, and -

There he was.

Across the pool, descending the steps carefully from the inside lounge area and walking on the balls of his feet like he always did when he’d had a bit too much to drink (and why did he still remember that) was, without a doubt, Miles Edgeworth.

Phoenix suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

Edgeworth was halfway down the opposite path before Phoenix realized he should probably do something.

“Excuse me,” he said, shouldering his way through the crowd. It would be rude and more than a little intrusive to just call out his ex-husband’s name in the middle of a resort, right? Perhaps not as rude as nearly shoving the poor bellboy into the shrubbery, but, well, desperate times called for desperate measures.

He didn’t immediately notice the odd assortment of friends and family and a lumbering man in striped green swimming trunks perched on pool chairs as he stepped past, but they certainly noticed him.

“Daddy, are you okay?” Trucy asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said vaguely, refusing to take his eyes off Edgeworth. He was abruptly terrified he might vanish again if he did.

“Nick, watch out -”

“Hey, pal -”

“Daddy -”

With that, Phoenix collided into a passing service boy, arms pinwheeling wildly as he fell directly into the pool behind him.

“Hello Miles,” he said, smiling sheepishly and wringing out his tie. He fought the urge to rub the back of his neck and settled for clenching his hands into tight fists instead. “Or do you people call you Edgeworth now?”

“Miles is - Miles is fine,” Edgeworth said weakly, trying to look anywhere but Phoenix, as if this was a perfectly normal conversation they should be having for the first time after fifteen years. “My father still calls me Miles.”

Something warm coiled in his chest. It felt infinitely more dangerous than it had fifteen years ago.

“You always had a smart mouth,” he murmured, rubbing a swathe of cleaning ointment along the cut on Phoenix’s forehead. Phoenix hissed.

“So glad you remembered,” he bit through gritted teeth.

“Hush.”

Phoenix hmmed but stayed silent for a few more seconds, staring at Edgeworth as he dug back into the first aid kit. Edgeworth tried not to flush under the scrutiny.

Phoenix held his wrist in a loose grip. He should have felt clammy from the pool and the rapidly descending night, but he blazed oddly hot against Edgeworth’s skin.

“Miles, I-”

“Feenie? Who is this?”

“Dollie!” Phoenix said, shooting upright and wincing at the sudden dizziness.

Edgeworth’s burgundy coat was hung carefully over his arm, too thick for the warm California night. The buttons on his waistcoat glinted from a nearby streetlamp’s glow.

Phoenix swallowed.

“Do you have any idea where they’re taking us?” Edgeworth asked, leaning in slightly. Phoenix’s (nose twitched? something about scent memory?) and he refused to let himself acknowledge that Miles’s choice of aftershave hadn’t changed since the day they’d met. He abruptly remembered the taste of cheap wine and overly sweet cake on his tongue, felt the ghost weight of a ring fifteen years gone.

He hastily turned away.

“No idea.”

“Grandfather chipped in a bit -”

“Apollo,” Edgeworth warned.

“Alright, so Grandfather chipped in a lot, whatever, we’re poor teenagers, the point is,” he said, emphasizing the final word by pulling the ship’s impressive doors open with a firm tug, “it’s ours for the night.”

Phoenix whistled shrilly in appreciation, instinctively reaching out to ruffle Apollo’s hair. It was a testament to how important the night was that Apollo merely batted Phoenix’s hand away. “Seriously, dad,” he mumbled. His scowl was clearly forced, however; he felt oddly warm that he was able to finally use that word at all.

“Subtle,” Phoenix remarked.

“Mm,” Edgeworth agreed. “I don’t suppose we should let their efforts, however misguided they may be, go to waste, should we?”

“You just want to know who else they roped into this ridiculous scheme of theirs.”

“Oh, because you don’t.”

“I,” Phoenix said, moving to the chilled champagne propped by the windowsill and popping its cork, “have a perfectly healthy level of curiosity. It does not involve wondering what’s going on in my kid’s head. Trucy is a teenager. That’s terrifying.” He carefully poured the sparkling drink into two glasses and offered one to Edgeworth.

“I find that somewhat difficult to believe,” Edgeworth said, striding forward and taking the proffered glass. He made certain their fingers did not brush. “Thank you.”

They waited until she had hastily bowed out of the room before turning their focus back to each other. “Miles, that’s why we came up with this arrangement in the first place,” Phoenix continued, nonplussed.

“Really?” Edgeworth carefully picked up his glass flute, trying to ignore the tremor he felt running through his hands. “I thought it was because we’d agreed to never see each other again.”

Phoenix’s heart clenched. “Not ‘we’, Miles,” he said slowly, spreading his hands on the tablecloth and feeling like if he missed a step here, he would risk something he couldn’t afford to lose again.

Edgeworth took a shaky draw of wine. “You know,” he said slowly, seemingly forcing himself to meet Phoenix’s eyes, “that part is unclear to me as well.”

“Oh, you don’t remember the day you packed?” Phoenix asked.

“No, I remember that day perfectly. Did I hurt you when I threw that - oh God, what was it -”

“It was Kamisar’s Modern Criminal Procedure. It left a dent in the wall from where it rebounded off my head.”

“Oh,” Edgeworth said, at least having the grace to look properly abashed. “Right. Sorry.”

Phoenix shrugged. “It’s not like I was making it that easy on you.

And....” Edgeworth trailed off, twisting a napkin between his fingers. “You didn’t chase after me.”

Phoenix felt (something) shift. “I didn’t know that you wanted me to.”

“A toast to -”

“Our children,” Edgeworth cut in. He ignored the tightening in his chest at the our.

“Our children,” Phoenix repeated slowly, as if the words didn’t quite match with what his mouth had wanted to say.

“We both got where we actually wanted to go.”

Phoenix’s eyes never wavered from his. “We did,” he said, voice strange.

They toasted again and finished their meal in silence.

“Apollo, what are you doing in those clothes? We’ve got a plane to catch.”

“We’re getting totally ripped off,” maybe-Trucy said. “Daddy said we’d get our camping trip and we want to go.”

“Wait, hang on,” Phoenix interrupted, “what camping trip?”

“The one Aunt Maya and I make you take us on every year before school starts,” almost-definitely-Trucy said. Phoenix began to lift his finger in triumph, sure he’d found his kid -

“ -the one behind the house that runs all the way up to Gourd Lake, remember when you fell in that one year,” I’m-not-too-sure-if-this-one-is-still-in-fact-Apollo finished.

Phoenix’s arm fell listlessly to his side. Edgeworth snorted.

Phoenix shot Edgeworth a look. Thanks for helping, one of these is yours. “This is entirely unfunny, you’re going to make your father miss his flight,” he said, shifting his attention back to the twins. Honestly, he was an Ivy University graduate and Miles was a world renowned defense attorney, how were they being duped by their own kids -

“Apollo -” Edgeworth began.

“Yes?” they both said in unison.

Edgeworth groaned. “They get this from you, I’m sure,” he said.

“It’s not my fault you’ve apparently been raising a devilishly deceptive teenager,” Phoenix quipped back, never taking his eyes off the twins. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine pound at the base of his neck. “He’s probably rubbed off on Trucy.”

The twins grinned.

Phoenix rubbed a hand over his eyes before stooping to their height once again. He stared hard at each of them, looking back and forth between their faces. “This one’s Trucy,” he said slowly, pointing a finger to the sibling in orange. “I’m positive.”

“You know, I hope you’re right, Daddy. You wouldn’t want to send the wrong kid all the way back to Germany - ”

“ - would you?”

How was any of this fair?

“Here’s our proposition. We go back to Daddy’s house, pack our stuff, and the four of us leave on the camping trip.”

“The four of us?” Edgeworth interjected. They ignored him.

“And when you bring us back,” maybe-Trucy-maybe-Apollo continued, “we’ll tell you who’s Trucy and who’s Apollo.”

“Or,” Edgeworth said, carefully stepping around and in front of Phoenix and crossing his arms firmly across his chest, tapping his finger rhythmically against his arm, “new plan. I take one of you back to Germany with me whether you like it or not.”

Two identical sets of eyes twinkled back at him.

(He felt a migraine beginning to pound in his left temple.)

“You can cook now?” Edgeworth asked.

“Oh yeah,” Phoenix said. “I can make pasta. And pasta. Probably more pasta, if you ask really nicely.”

“Hm,” Edgeworth said, eyebrows scrunched in mock thought, “pasta sounds good.”

Phoenix grinned, bumping Edgeworth’s shoulder. He was warm through the cotton. “Pasta it is.”

Edgeworth looked across the seat at Apollo. His glassy eyes reflected the flickering street lamps as the taxi sped down the empty street.

“Apollo, I -” he began, deflating as Apollo turned further away. It’s entirely justified, he thought despondently. I’d hate myself as well.

“Grandfather?” Apollo called, shrugging out of his heavy jacket and hanging it on the coat rack. The house was silent.

“I’ll check the study,” Edgeworth said, tugging his jabot loose. Apollo nodded and headed towards the direction of the kitchen, toeing off his shoes on the way. Pushing open the wide doors that led to the study, Edgeworth saw someone reading a paper at the desk. He cocked his hip against the door and crossed his arms. “Hello, father. We’re back.”

The newspaper lowered. It wasn’t Gregory.

“Hiya, papa,” Trucy said. The corners of her mouth were quirked despite her obvious attempts to reign in her expression. “Did you know the Concord gets you here in half the time?”

Edgeworth slipped against the doorframe. He felt the knob dig into his hip. “I - yes, I’ve heard that.”

(Edgeworth was acutely aware of the doorknob digging into his hip from when he pressed against it. “I - yes, I’ve heard that.”)

Apollo walked into the room, drawn to the sound of voices. When he saw Trucy his face split into a blinding grin. “What are you doing here?”

Trucy neatly folded the newspaper on the desk and clasped her hands in front of her. “It took us about thirty seconds after you left that we decided we didn’t want to lose you two again,” she said, eyes crinkling.

Edgeworth swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. “We?” he said, voice cracking.

“We,” a new voice agreed.

From the corner of his eye, Edgeworth noted Trucy moving to stand by the far wall of the study, giving the vaguest attempt of privacy. It didn’t matter. His eyes were trained on Phoenix, tracking his movement as he crossed the room.

Phoenix peppered his face in light kisses, smiling into the curve of his throat and pressing his lips to the thrumming heartbeat beneath his skin.

They eventually pulled back, desperate for air. Phoenix’s eyes crinkled - crow’s feet, Edgeworth thought wildly through his haze, he’s got crow’s feet now, I haven’t seen him this close up since - and he rested his forehead against Edgeworth’s.

“God, I’m never letting you go again,” he whispered, hands snaking around the other man’s back to pull him even closer.

“You want to toast with this? I’d have thought you might want to upgrade to something with a little more class.”

Phoenix smiled sloppily, pressing a chaste kiss to his temple. “You’re the only one I said I’d drink it with, remember?”

Edgeworth smiled back. He took the proffered bottle warmed by the weather and tugged his husband into a proper kiss, matching rings glinting in the dying sunlight.

#bluefaewren #replies #parent trap au #attempting to write tag

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ibijau · 3 years

Text

How to Woo a Lan pt 5 / on AO3

Jin Ling meets with Sizhui again

It would have been a lie to say Jin Ling wasn’t surprised when his letter to Lan Sizhui quickly received an answer. He still didn’t know what he’d said that was so bad last time they’d seen each other, but he understood that he had, in fact, deeply offended the other boy. So deeply that Jin Ling had been prepared to start writing to Lan Jingyi too if that first letter didn’t do its job, in an effort to get him to convince Lan Sizhui to forgive him.

Instead, Lan Sizhui just wrote back.

It had been an unpleasant enough morning for Jin Ling up until that point, full of annoying elders, and requests for help, and so. Many. Stupid. Bills. Jin Ling had thought he would die of boredom sitting at his desk, when he’d spotted that one letter bearing the Lan seal, dropped among many others he had received that day. Even as he started opening it with trembling hands, Jin Ling made a mental note to ask that letters from Gusu Lan not be mixed with other more common correspondence. He then started reading, and…

And Lan Sizhui wasn’t angry at him.

Lan Sizhui wrote that he accepted Jin Ling’s apology about their last encounter, and would be delighted to go on another Night Hunt sometime soon, without Wei Wuxian present. A less creepy one if at all possible, Lan Sizhui added, and Jin Ling could just hear his soft laugh. Something normal like a giant beast, or a demon, or just anything other than a ghost, really. It would be good fun, Lan Sizhui said, and he’d be happy for the chance to chat a bit.

Jin Ling’s mood rose for the rest of the day and nothing, not even bills could bring him back down again.

Night Hunts, however, weren’t that simple to organise. Jin Ling had responsibilities, as did Lan Sizhui now that he had returned from his mysterious journey. They had to find a moment that would fit both their schedules, and to decide on a place to go Night Hunting. So for the entire month that followed Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui wrote to each other to decide on details, making sure to exchange at least one letter each week, more if they managed.

When they finally managed to decide on a place and date for their Night Hunt, Jin Ling also wrote to Nie Huaisang to inform him of that development, and to thank him for his help. Nie Huaisang promptly responded that he didn’t care in the least about anyone’s romantic life, reminded Jin Ling to be honest, to speak openly about his own failings, and to not dress too ostentatiously since the Lan valued simplicity.

Then, at last, the day of the Night Hunt came. Jin Ling picked his clothes to be elegant but as simple as possible, packed his best bow, and flew to the meeting point that had been agreed on. He was practically vibrating with excitement as he hopped down from his sword at the entrance of the village in question, as he walked toward the inn where Lan Sizhui would be waiting for him. He entered the small building, scanned its dim-lit main room, and felt his heart skip a beat when he spotted a silhouette in white by a table.

His joy was short-lived when he noticed a second silhouette wearing that colour, right next to the first, and a third wearing a darker robe.

Ouyang Zizhen was the first one to notice Jin Ling had arrived, and though he looked quite apologetic, he jumped to his feet to greet his friend, even giving Jin Ling a tight hug as if they hadn’t seen one another in years.

“Sihzui told Jingyi about the hunt and he invited himself,” Ouyang Zizhen whispered under the cover of that hug. “And I was in Gusu anyway, so I thought I should come too. I’ll try to distract Jingyi so you two can have a moment alone.”

Jin Ling quickly nodded, grateful beyond words, then pushed Ouyang Zizhen and complained about him being too sentimental while they went to join the Lan at their table. He silently promised himself that next time Ouyang Zizhen had one of his dramatic falling out with his father he’d be welcome to stay in Jinlin Tai as long as he pleased, no questions asked. It was really the least Jin Ling could do.

Now that the four of them were together, they chatted for a bit. Lan Sizhui, ever the perfect host, ordered some fresh tea for everyone, and poured some for Jin Ling. He poured some for everyone, really, but he did so for Jin Ling first, which surely had to count for something. When they were done with their tea, they headed out toward the forest where some great beast was supposed to live which sometimes took children.

“I’m still saying it might just be wolves, or a tiger,” Lan Jingyi said as they walked past the last house.

“But an animal wouldn’t target only little boys,” Lan Sizhui gently countered.

“It wouldn’t go for humans at all unless it had nothing else to eat,” Jin Ling added, to which Lan Sizhui nodded approvingly. “And since there’s plenty of game in the woods according to locals, it’s really too odd. Even if it is an animal, it’s not an ordinary one. Maybe a demon with a taste for human flesh…”

“Or a creature on its way to becoming a demon,” Lan Sizhui mused. “I’m really with Jin Ling on this, it’s really unlikely to be a normal animal. We’ll have to be careful.”

Jin Ling beamed upon hearing that Lan Sizhui was on his side, though his good humour was rather spoiled when Lan Jingyi took one look at his face and snorted. He didn’t say anything, didn’t openly mock Jin Ling or comment on how happy he looked just because Lan Sizhui agreed with him. Lan Jingyi just snorted, gave him a disdainful look, and said nothing.

Jin Ling hated him, and didn’t know why they were even friends.

For a few hours, the four boys wandered into the forest, following a trail toward the spot of the last known attack. Two days earlier, a toddler of barely two had been following his father on the way to another village where relatives lived. The little boy had trailed a little behind, which hadn’t much worried his father until he’d heard a shriek. When he’d turned around his son was gone, no trace of him left behind save for a little wooden toy he’d been holding.

“No blood?” Jin Ling asked.

“None at all,” Lan Sizhui replied, who’d had a chance to speak with the man before Jin Ling arrived. “The father says he might have seen a dark shape running away, but it was very far, going very fast, there were trees blocking his view and… well, he admitted himself he isn’t sure he actually saw anything. He was quite distressed. That was his only child, and he’s a widower.”

Ouyang Zizhen gasped in horror, and lamented the bad luck of that poor man until they arrived where the attack had happened.

There was nothing to mark the place, no sign had been left, and indeed not a drop of blood visible. Yet as soon as they reached a certain part of the path, they all shivered and looked at each other. That part of the path felt nearly freezing when the rest of the forest was merely pleasantly fresh. Seeing it confirmed that there was something unnatural at play, the four boys investigated for a little while, and determined it might be a wolf-life creature. Although they couldn’t find blood, Lan Sizhui had managed to spot some coarse hair near the site of the attack.

It was Ouyang Zizhen who suggested that they split up in teams of two, only to immediately demand that he go with Lan Jingyi. This displeased Lan Jingyi, who tried to argue first against the idea of forming teams, then against the fact that he didn’t get to be in Lan Sizhui’s. Ouyang Zizhen had to whine that he’d already been alone on a Night Hunt with Jin Ling long ago, so he’d had his turn and someone else should deal with him. If Jin Ling hadn’t been so grateful, he would have been rather annoyed by that turn of phrase.

In fact, grateful or not, he was starting to get angry when Lan Sizhui interrupted the argument between their two friends.

“I don’t mind at all going with Jin Ling,” he said. “Which I would have said earlier if I’d been given a chance to speak. Don’t be hasty, Jingyi. Does everyone have signals in case of trouble? Good. Let’s all meet here again at sunset if we don't find the creature, and see what progress we have made.”

The plan, barely tolerated when suggested by Ouyang Zizhen, was immediately accepted by Lan Jingyi now that Lan Sizhui was on board. This, combined with the nasty look Lan Jingyi threw at Jin Ling before they split up, almost worried the younger boy. If Lan Jingyi too was in love… but he'd never done anything to indicate that was the case except by getting in Jin Ling’s way, and he seemed to like girls better.

Not that it would have mattered even if Lan Jingyi had loved Lan Sizhui. Jin Ling wasn’t going to let anyone else seduce the great love of his life.

“Don’t mind Jingyi, he’s just protective,” Lan Sizhui said as they walked away from the path. “I told him you’ve apologised for last time, and that you didn’t mean anything bad, but he won’t listen.”

Jin Ling kicked a piece of dead wood.

“I don’t know why I’m even friends with him. He’s annoying.”

“Maybe you’re friends with him because he helped you corner your cousin and punch him in the face so hard his nose broke?” Lan Sizhui suggested.

Jin Ling stopped in his tracks and stared at the older boy, horrified that this misbehaviour of his had been revealed. Almost nobody knew about that, because Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi weren’t stupid enough to boast about it, and Jin Chan wasn’t going to let anyone know he’d been beaten by his cousin.

Lan Sizhui tried to put on a stern expression for a moment, but that quickly dissolved into a grin.

“Jingyi told me about it, and he also said it was deserved, even if he wouldn’t say why.”

It certainly was deserved. Jin Chan deserved to have his nose broken just on the principle that he existed, and that he was very annoying. Of course in that particular case he’d also said some very rude things about Lan Xichen, which had upset Lan Jingyi a great deal, and Jin Ling hadn’t liked that because the only person allowed to be mean to Lan Jingyi was himself.

“Well? Can I get the story from you?” Lan Sizhui asked.

“What happened to ‘gossip is forbidden’?” Jin Ling retorted, which made Lan Sizhui chuckle.

“It’s very cruel of you to turn my sect’s rules against me,” Lan Sizhui complained with a bright smile. “But anyway, I don’t think that would count as gossip. You were there, and you were directly involved, so it’s just… sharing information.”

Jin Ling snorted at the weak justification.

“Admit it, you just hate Jin Chan too. It’s fine. Very understandable. He’s the second most annoying person in all of Jinlin Tai, if you ask some people.”

“I can believe that. But who’s the first, then?”

“By popular judgement, that would be me,” Jin Ling grumbled.

Lan Sizhui said nothing for a moment, watching him with a strange intensity before poking him between the ribs with a soft laugh.

“I think you’re just fine, actually. Much better than him, certainly. Your cousin was horrible that time in the Burial Mounds and did his best to annoy others, while you kept your temper admirably. Everyone else was scared, but not you.”

Jin Ling blushed, half from pleasure at hearing Lan Sizhui speak so well of him, half from embarrassment. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been scared back then, and just that he’d been utterly convinced his uncles would get him out of trouble, as they’d always done before.

To avoid saying something stupid, Jin Ling pretended to closely inspect a young tree that had been snapped in half, as if something heavy had stepped on it. He didn’t think the tree was in any way relevant to their investigation since the break appeared very recent, but it made him look busy. To his mild horror and joy, Lan Sizhui stepped closer to have a look as well. Their elbows brushed together a few times before Jin Ling resumed walking without a word, certain his face had to be horribly red.

If it was Lan Sizhui made no comment on it, but the older boy seemed to be biting back a small smile. Jin Ling wanted to curse himself for already making a fool of himself.

“So, will you tell me why you attacked your cousin?” Lan Sihzui insisted. “It was already odd that Jingyi wouldn’t say, but if you’re acting secretive too, I’m getting really curious.”

“A story for a story,” Jin Ling offered. “I tell you why I punched Jin Chan, and you tell me where you went all that time. Deal?”

In all of the letters they had exchanged, Lan Sizhui hadn’t once mentioned what had taken him away from the cultivation world for several months. Jin Ling had tried to hint interest in that by saying a few times how nice it would be to catch up on everything that had happened, but Lan Sizhui hadn’t said anything. Of course certain things couldn’t be written about, so Jin Ling had figured they would just talk about it when they’d meet in person.

They were friends. Wasn’t it normal to talk about it if one of them went missing for weeks and weeks?

Jin Ling thought it would be normal.

Lan Sizhui, apparently, was of a different opinion. The instant Jin Ling mentioned his long disappearance, the sweet expression on his face vanished, replaced by a hardness that felt out of place.

“I was busy,” Lan Sizhui stated. “There’s nothing more to say about it.”

“Busy with something even Lan Jingyi didn’t know about? That’s weird. I thought you told him everything. Isn’t he your best friend?”

Lan Sizhui stopped walking, so Jin Ling promptly did the same. It really was odd to see Lan Sizhui so serious, and about something like that. It was weird that he’d been gone so long, but not exceedingly odd either. Sometimes people went on long missions for their sects, because their expertise was needed in a remote part of the country. Or else, they went on long seclusion to improve their cultivation, something the Lan sect was famous for. Everyone knew that their previous sect leader, Lan Xichen’s father, had spent more time doing secluded meditation than out of it. Lan Wangji too had famously spent several years doing that, a dozen years earlier.

There were many legitimate reasons for someone to vanish for a while, so it really was weird that Lan Sizhui seemed so upset to be asked about that.

And he was upset, there was no doubt about that. His lips were pinched, his face a little pale, and there was a slight crease between his eyebrows. And then, the way he was staring at Jin Ling was… In a weird way, it reminded Jin Ling of Nie Huaisang, watching him to decide whether or not he should bother with him.

“Some things can’t be shared,” Lan Sizhui announced, tearing his eyes away. “Not even with Jingyi. Not even with you. I’m sorry, Jin Ling. Please don’t ask again.”

“Fine. It’s not like I care,” Jin Ling retorted. He instantly realised how stupid that was to say, and wince. “No, I do care. I really do care. Friends shouldn’t have secrets!”

Lan Sizhui sighed, crossing his arms on his chest. “Jin Ling…”

“Yeah, I won’t force you to speak, I’m not stupid enough to think I can,” Jin Ling grumbled. “But it’s dumb to be keeping secrets. I wouldn’t do that.”

“What secrets would you even have?” Lan Sizhui asked with a thin smile. “You’re too honest for secrets.”

Too dumb and too much of a loudmouth to keep anything to himself, was what that meant. Jin Ling almost wanted to retort that he'd done pretty well of hiding from nearly everyone that he’d gone to Qinghe and gotten Nie Huaisang to help him with his great plan to someday marry Lan Sizhui, but… but that wasn’t exactly something he could say. Maybe when they were already married it would be fine, but until then…

Though of course, that meant Jin Ling was, in fact, keeping secrets from Lan Sizhui. He didn’t like that. It wasn’t a very big secret, so it was probably fine, but the idea still didn’t sit quite right with him. Maybe for Nie Huaisang too, it had started with small secrets, and then it had ended up… not so small anymore.

“Please, let’s drop this,” Lan Sizhui all but begged. “Can’t we talk about something else?”

Something in his tone startled Jin Ling. He’d seen Lan Sizhui scared before, in Yi City and in the Burial Mounds, but never before had he heard such a hint of terror in the older boy’s voice.

He liked that even less than he liked secrets.

Lan Sizhui wasn’t supposed to be scared around him.

“Ok, let’s talk about something else,” Jin Ling agreed. To his relief, Lan Sizhui instantly relaxed, his expression regaining some warmth. “So, hm… how are things in Gusu, then?” he asked, before being struck by a different sort of curiosity. “How is your uncle doing? We missed him at that last conference, he’s a lot nicer to listen to than Lan Qiren.”

Surprisingly, Lan Sizhui expression turned dark again.

“Uncle is… he was doing better,” he explained with an irritated sigh, kicking some dead leaves. “Hanguang-Jun says Zewu-Jun was starting to make preparations to leave his seclusion by Qingming. It would have been much earlier than we all anticipated, we were all so relieved. But then, a letter came for him from the Unclean Realm and ruined everything.”

Jin Ling tensed and looked away, barely daring to breathe.

“A… a letter?” he remarked, feigning innocence and surprise. “From… from Nie Huaisang? How odd.”

“Odd indeed, and very unwelcome,” Lan Sizhui commented, too angry to notice Jin Ling’s inferior acting skills. “Nobody knows what it said, Zewu-Jun wouldn’t share it with anyone. But it upset him greatly, so it can’t have been anything good. Now we’re not sure when he will leave his seclusion. Why did Nie zongzhu have to write? Surely he’s had revenge enough now, so why can’t he leave Zewu-Jun alone?”

A cold ball of guilt and dread dropped inside Jin Ling’s gut, nearly freezing him on the spot. He hadn’t expected that Nie Huaisang would actually take his advice, not when he was so obviously quite content to wallow in misery over his lost secret love. He also hadn’t expected that should such a letter be written, it might make things so much worse between the two men. What had Nie Huaisang even said to have such an effect on Lan Xichen?

Grown-ups were so stupid, Jin Ling thought.

But before he could again try to find a better conversation topic, a giant wolf the size of a horse leaped out of some shadows, fangs aimed at Lan Sizhui’s throat, and Jin Ling had more urgent things than romance to worry about.

#zhuiling #lingzhui #xisang #lan sizhui #jin ling #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #operation woo a lan

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i-like-plan-m · 3 years

Note

Could you do a modern au with famous parents Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji and baby a-yuan being adorable and being loved by their fans?

this was fun, thank you! [Posted to Ao3]

The video was short and packed with Wei Ying’s rapid-fire chatter, a response to his recent fan-selected award after a landslide of votes had catapulted him to the top of a long list of very accomplished actors. He’d spent the last hour trading off between screaming into a pillow and wandering around in dazed disbelief until Wen Qing, acting in her capacity as his agent, had bullied him into making a quick thank you video.

Wei Ying kept it quick and crammed as much of his gratitude and excitement into it as he could, though he was careful to keep the screen confined to the office space Lan Zhan had designed for him. It was a live video, since that seemed to be what fans preferred these days, so he angled the camera carefully away from anything incriminating.

And by incriminating he meant “any sign that Wei Ying had a life outside of acting.”

The door was closed, and the room held no identifying pictures or objects. Wei Ying had come to treasure his privacy, and was fierce about protecting the details of his personal life out of the hands of his thousands of fans. Enough that no one outside of their families even knew they were friends, much less married with a son.

Lan Zhan, of course, hated the riot of noise and flashing lights that accompanied Wei Ying anywhere in public. As one of the foremost violinists in this hemisphere, he had his own level of fame, but his fans were less likely to screech like a banshee upon seeing him. And they had A-Yuan to protect now, and keeping him out of the spotlight was the safest way to do so.

His oversight was not locking the door. A rookie parenting mistake.

A-Yuan burst through the door like the Kool-Aid Man about ten seconds into Wei Ying’s final thank you speech, his damp hair sticking up in downy tufts and his little body swamped by one of Wei Ying’s softest threadbare t-shirts.

“Baba!” He shouted at the top of his tiny but incredibly powerful lungs. “There’s a bird in the house!”

Wei Ying watched the dismay cross his face in real time on the phone screen, followed by alarm when his son’s words finally registered. “There’s a what in the house?” He asked as he whipped his head around, the live stream momentarily forgotten.

“A bird!” A-Yuan said excitedly, hopping over to him when the shirt got tangled around his feet. Wei Ying scooped him up before he tumbled face-first to the floor. His son gripped his shirt and leaned in until their noses were nearly touching, eyes wide and bright over the commotion. “Can we keep it?”

There was an angry shriek from the kitchen that suggested the bird would not appreciate such an invitation.

“Where is your dad?” Wei Ying asked instead of answering, phone shoved hastily into his pocket when a crash sounded in the house.

“He’s hiding Popcorn and Jelly Bean,” A-Yuan reported. Wei Ying’s smile was fond; of course Lan Zhan would stash the bunnies safely away. “He told me to wait for him, but I didn’t want you to be scared! It’s okay to be scared, though,” he said earnestly, his little face solemn and so reminiscent of Lan Zhan that Wei Ying had to stop and shower kisses all over his face.

“When’d you get to be so smart, huh?” Wei Ying asked when A-Yuan was breathless with laughter and squirming so much he nearly dropped him.

“Baba,” he complained, flopping over his shoulder with a huff. “That’s what you said.”

“Ha! Of course you’re smart, then, if you’re learning from me!”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan’s low voice had him turning and tightening his grip on A-Yuan when he wriggled happily at the sight of his other father.

“I hear we have an intruder,” Wei Ying said, grinning widely at his husband.

Exasperation crossed Lan Zhan’s face. “It flew in by mistake,” he said, but then he glanced at A-Yuan with a wry smile.

“By mistake, huh?” Wei Ying bounced his son in his arms, grinning when A-Yuan giggled and fisted his hands in his shirt to cling to for balance. “And what, pray tell, were you doing when this bird wandered into our home?”

A-Yuan blinked big, dark eyes at him with utter innocence. “Playing!”

“Mhm. And what were you playing?” Wei Ying leaned cautiously around the corner to peer into the kitchen, wincing when the unfortunately large bird spotted him and screeched furiously.

“Um.” A-Yuan thought for a moment. “The bunnies wanted to see outside.”

“Did they?” Wei Ying asked, trading a glance with Lan Zhan, who then scowled at the bird now stabbing its beak angrily at the plants on top of the cabinets.

A-Yuan nodded seriously. “Yes, they told me.”

“So you took the bunnies onto the balcony?” Wei Ying prompted.

“They aren’t allowed outside unless someone is with them,” A-Yuan repeated, which, okay, at least he remembered some of the rules. They’d have to work on ensuring he understood the rules were for him, not their fuzzy little pets. “I carried Jellybean outside so she could see the clouds! One looked like a dinosaur, baba. She wanted to see.”

“Oh, well, in that case.” He had a good idea of what had happened here. The ‘not going outside without someone to watch you’ rule had somehow been transferred into ‘you can go outside alone as long as you’re watching the bunnies,’ because that was the logic of a four year old.

“And then the bird?” Lan Zhan asked, clearly also aware of the chain of events that had led to them cowering in the hallway as a baffled and irate bird rushed around their kitchen in a destructive-sounding temper tantrum.

A-Yuan cuddled closer to Wei Ying as though sensing an impending punishment. Wei Ying rolled his eyes; Lan Zhan would fold in a heartbeat under that big-eyed stare, and it would be left to Wei Ying to remind them both why humans under three feet tall weren’t allowed on the balcony alone.

“The bird wanted to play with Jellybean,” A-Yuan said. Wei Ying’s jaw dropped.

“The bird wanted to play with Jellybean,” Lan Zhan repeated slowly.

“Yes! It flew down super fast! And it landed right beside me! Then we went inside, because Popcorn was all alone, and the bird came inside to see him too!”

“Okay,” Wei Ying said in a strangled voice, and it took a heroic effort to keep the laughter at bay. “A-Yuan, why don’t you go check on the bunnies, okay? We’re going to go help the bird get back home.”

A-Yuan craned his neck around to peer into the kitchen. “It sounds pretty mad,” he said doubtfully.

“We will talk to it,” Lan Zhan assured him, and they waited until A-Yuan had scampered out of sight to stare at each other with wide eyes.

“Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Lan Zhan pinched the bridge of his nose. “The bunnies were almost eaten.”

“Our son was almost traumatized for life,” Wei Ying said, choking on a laugh. “Lan Zhan, he almost witnessed a double homicide on our own balcony.” He wheezed with laughter, clutching his ribs.

“We will install higher locks,” Lan Zhan said grimly.

“Either that or buy a baby backpack leash,” Wei Ying agreed, and grinned widely at Lan Zhan’s sigh. “I’m just saying, the kid is going to keep on growing. He’s too smart for his own good, too.”

“What do we do about the bird?” Lan Zhan asked, absently stroking a hand along Wei Ying’s spine when he leaned against his side.

“Hell if I know. Maybe Wen Ning will know what to do. He knows things like this, right?”

“He is a vet,” Lan Zhan said dryly. “I should hope so.”

“I’ll call him,” Wei Ying decided. “We should probably feed him while he’s over here. As payment, you know. Not many friends would come wrestle with a wild bird on a Friday night for us.”

“I think the bird would object if I tried to cook,” Lan Zhan said, surly. He made a sound of distress. “Wei Ying, it’s in the pantry.”

“It’s deciding what it wants for dinner, Lan Zhan. Better pay attention or it’ll go for the bunnies again!” Lan Zhan looked at him, appalled, and he couldn’t bite back the tide of laughter.

“Ridiculous,” Lan Zhan muttered.

“You married me,” Wei Ying pointed out. “No take backs.”

Lan Zhan softened like he did every time Wei Ying brought up their marriage. Pressed a kiss to his forehead and agreed, “No take backs.”

And then a moment later— “But leave the bunnies out of this.”

His Lan Zhan was so soft hearted, Wei Ying thought, so full of love he could burst.

“Yeah, yeah, I know where I rank,” Wei Ying said, entirely teasing. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, still grinning up at Lan Zhan as his husband gave an exasperated sigh.

The grin fell right off his face at the sight of his phone screen, which was open. And recording. And so full with rapid-fire comments that the actual video screen was barely visible.

“Oh no,” he said. “Oh no. Lan Zhan.”

“What’s wrong?” Lan Zhan asked, glancing worriedly at him and then down to the screen when Wei Ying couldn’t tear his eyes away from it.

Wei Ying looked up slowly, so guilty he felt sick with it. “It’s been recording this whole time,” he whispered.

He must have looked really bad, because Lan Zhan ignored the phone entirely and pulled him close, holding one of Wei Ying’s palms flat against his chest and breathing slowly and deliberately until he matched his own breathing to Lan Zhan’s. The familiar routine soothed the edges of anxiety that were rapidly blooming into a panic attack, and he swallowed hard and dropped his forehead against Lan Zhan’s shoulder until he could think straight.

“I’m—“

“No apologies,” Lan Zhan reminded him in a murmur so low against his ear that the phone couldn’t have picked it up. “It was an accident. We knew this wouldn’t last forever, and I’m not ashamed of you or A-Yuan. It’s okay Wei Ying.”

“But I fucked up,” Wei Ying mumbled into his neck, clinging like A-Yuan after a bad dream.

“You had an intruder to welcome,” Lan Zhan said, amused. Wei Ying risked a glance up and found that Lan Zhan was smiling, not even a hint of worry on his face.

“Might as well run with it, I guess,” he said with a hesitant smile.

Lan Zhan pressed a kiss to his hair. “Might as well.”

Wei Ying smiled for real now, bright and unrestrained as he lifted the camera away from the floor. “Uh. Hi, everyone! Wow, there are a lot of you. Lan Zhan, this is like, triple the people who were watching it at the beginning. I think I’m offended.”

“Wei Ying.”

“Right, right. So… surprise!” He laughed at a few of the comments, and then they winced in tandem at the loud bang and squawk from the kitchen. “There’s another surprise for all of us tonight, it seems. Look who showed up and just let herself right in!” He flipped the camera around just in time to catch the bird’s beady eyes glaring at them from atop the fridge.

“Can you believe this?” Wei Ying slipped into his usual stream-of-consciousness chatter, free hand tucked into Lan Zhan’s as the pitter patter of little feet trotted down the hall towards them, announcing A-Yuan’s return.

He segued into talking about his husband and son, hesitant at first from years of absolute silence on the topic. Half an hour, a miraculously unscathed Wen Ning and a freed bird later, Wei Ying ended the video and set his phone aside, feeling a little wrung out from the evening’s events.

His phone buzzed. “Jiang Cheng wants to know why we’re trending on twitter. Ha! Get a bird stuck in your house and maybe you’ll become a twitter sensation, A-Cheng!”

He glanced over at A-Yuan, who had his face pressed to the glass door to the balcony in a futile search for the bird. “Time for that talk?” He asked, nudging Lan Zhan with a pointed nod.

Lan Zhan looked shifty. “The bunnies weren’t actually hurt.”

“So… a lecture about the dangers of balconies, but not about the bunny jailbreak and near-execution?”

“That seems fair.”

Fair. Yeah, right. Lan Zhan just couldn’t handle a few distraught tears from their child who absolutely realized this weakness and happily exploited it. “You realize we’re a couple of suckers, right?”

Lan Zhan shrugged. “I’m okay with it.”

Yeah, Wei Ying thought, giving in with a sigh. So was he.

#prompts #asks #the untamed #mdzs #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #a yuan #wen yuan #lan sizhui #parents lan wangji and wei wuxian #wen ning #celebrity au #modern au #modern universe #2020cumdump

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sadsilktrader · 3 years

Text

Secret Admirer

I apologize for my extreme tardiness for posting to the Geraskier Holiday Exchange. This was written for @gotfanfiction

A modern Geraskier AU in which Jaskier is receiving gifts from an admirer.

...

"I'm telling you Yen, the man doesn't even know I exist. It can't be him," Jaskier paced the living room of his small apartment, small watering can in hand, completely forgotten. His plants looked on forlornly.

"Hm," she replied, he could hear the scritch-scratch of the emery board while she only half-listened to his prattling. "All I'm saying is that he was there at the pub the night you played and he lives in your building and he can hear you when you practice and those have all been the nights you've got gifts from your secret admirer."

"Half the building goes to that pub, it could be anyone! Plus, he doesn't even know I exist. " He flopped dramatically onto the couch, spilling water on himself. "Anyway, I'll let you go do whatever important business you have to do. You'll be here before my show on Saturday with Triss, right?"

"We'll be there. We just have to drop Ciri off at her dad's first. Now promise me you'll at least talk to him next time you see him."

"Maybe." He grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Fine, fine! I promise!"

"You better. I'm tired of listening to you wistfully sigh every time we speak."

"You're the worst."

"I love you too Jaskier, bye."

The phone clicked.

He'd met Yen online, a friend of a friend of a friend. They played DnD together, starting off as catty enemies and somehow developing into the deep friendship they had now. She was a good person, just a little rough around the edges. Well, very rough around the edges.

She'd settled down a lot over the last few years when motherhood had fallen into her lap though. He wasn’t certain about all the details, they were close but she was a private person. She shared custody of her adopted daughter, Ciri, with her ex. He'd never had the pleasure of meeting the man but he'd heard enough about him to form his own opinions. Heart in the right place but not exactly open about his feelings.

Sounded a lot like his own mysterious love. He sighed again, there was no way it was his gorgeous and stoic upstairs neighbor. The man was gorgeous and kind and lovely. He was tall and pale with silky white hair. Not to mention outrageously muscular. Jaskier had seen him in their apartment's gym working out on more than one occasion. It had taken every ounce of his self-control to keep himself from openly ogling him. He'd seen him feeding the feral cat that lived in the parking lot. Helping their elderly neighbors with their groceries. Playing with his daughter on the weekends. The man was too good to be true. Which was why he was absolutely positive he couldn't be the one leaving the gifts at his door.

The mystery man was perfect but he, Julian Alfred Pancratz, college drop out, jobless, barely squeezing by with the money he made by doing odd jobs in the apartment complex and occasionally performing at the neighborhood pub, was an absolute mess. There was no way someone like the man would give him more than a passing glance.

He sat up quickly leaving the forgotten, spilled watering can to the side to search for his notebook and pen. At least all the angst and longing seemed to also be a fantastic inspiration.

...

He chewed his lip, the leather-bound notebook balanced on his knee. He strummed a few chords on his guitar before setting it back carefully down to scribble something down.

The sun was fully set now and his balcony light had flicked on giving the small area an ethereal glow. He loved the process of writing and creating outside where he could feel the world around him. There was something about feeling the gentle breeze against him, the sun and moon shining down on him, and the fluttering hummingbirds that visited his feeder that just felt right.

He stretched and yawned and was contemplating packing up for the night when he heard it. A barely-there, soft knock at his door. Eyes gone wide he all but threw his things down and ran to the door to open it. No one. As always. There was however a small box tied in a ribbon and a note attached.

A voice so sweet deserves something sweet in return. -love, your admirer

He undid the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was an assortment of homemade chocolates. He popped one in his mouth and let it slowly melt over his tongue. Dark chocolate, caramel, sea salt. He couldn't help the sappy smile that plastered itself on his face and would stay there the rest of the night.

It had been a little over a month since the gifts started arriving. Most of the time they were baked goods or sweets of some kind but occasionally it was something different. A clutch of flowers, a silver bracelet with music notes engraved, once there was even a picture of a particularly beautiful sunrise left for him. He treasured them all.

He was a hopeless romantic down to the core of his being. He had never met his admirer but he was sure it would be love at first sight.

…

He was bone tired. He'd spent the day hauling furniture away to the thrift store and painting the walls of one of his elderly neighbors who was soon moving to a rest home. For all the work he was paid thirty dollars and a batch of very good snickerdoodle cookies. He knew it was all the woman could afford to give him and he was grateful for that. Not exactly enough to pay the rent but enough to buy a few groceries at least.

He stood in the deli section, weighing out the pros and cons of value pack meats when he saw him. The man, his white hair hanging loose around his shoulders, dark jeans, and a leather jacket. His breath hitched and his mouth went dry.

Gods how can anyone look that attractive just going to the grocery store.

The man looked up, catching him staring. His eyes the color of amber and honey. He felt like a deer in the headlights caught in his gaze. A few faint scars visible on his face and neck. He couldn't help but wonder if there were more on the rest of the man's body and felt a blush rise to his cheeks.

"It's leaking." The man said.

"What?"

"The honey ham your holding, it's leaking."

He stared at the gorgeous being before him for a moment longer before it clicked.

"Oh fuck," he dropped the squishy package on the ground, ham juices splashing on the both of them.

"Oh, gods I'm so sorry," he wasn't sure his face could get any redder.

"It's okay, really. I've had much worse things spilled on me before. You looked pretty lost in thought."

An employee glared at him with a mop and trash can. He smiled awkwardly, wishing he could just disappear.

"You're the musician, right? I live in the apartment above yours. I can hear you playing from my living room." The way the man said it had him wondering if that was a good thing or not.

"I'm Julian, well Jaskier to my friends and fans." He mustered up the courage he usually reserved for the stage and gave the man his best smile.

"Geralt. I'd shake your hand but," He nodded to his arms full of groceries. "You know when you go into the store thinking you only need one thing?"

"Well, you're in luck," he gestured to his cart, "I just so happen to have the best cart in the store. Not a squeaky wheel in sight."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! The life of a musician leads to a very sparse diet. More than enough room for both of us. Plus we're headed to the same place."

Geralt had an amused smirk on his face that made Jaskier's heart skip a beat. Conversation between them came easy. Geralt was the quieter of the two but his dry wit and cheesy jokes had him laughing harder than he had in ages. Handsome and funny.

They made their way back to the apartment complex walking slower than was necessary, he noticed.

"So you have a daughter? I'm not stalking you or anything, I just noticed her around the complex sometimes."

"Ciri," he replied. "My ex and I share custody, its-" he sighed, running his hand through his hair, "it's a bit of a complicated situation actually. But they’re moving closer soon and that should help.”

The elevator stopped at his floor and he stepped off.

“So, I’ll be seeing you.” he mentally berated himself for not being able to come up with something more clever. The door was closing between them and he suddenly shot his hound out, stopping the door.

“Actually, and please forgive me if this is too forward, maybe I could give you my number and we could grab a coffee sometime? Or do our grocery shopping together again?”

Geralt chuckled before reaching into his pocket, tapping at the screen a few times, and passed it over. He added his number with the name Jaskier followed by a heart and music note emoji. The moment the elevator door closed he was dancing, groceries in hand, for his forwardness paying off for once.

…

It was colder tonight but he still played outside until his fingers were near numbing. His cheeks were flushed red from the cold. After his run-in with the man, he felt like he was walking on clouds. The world was at peace and he was the luckiest man in the world. He’d almost forgotten about his secret admirer completely until the same soft knock came from outside the door. Today was different though. Today he was brave and he had left a note for his admirer to find.

I beg of you to reveal yourself to me. I will be performing at the Royal Oak this Saturday. Please, wear this token so I may recognize you amongst the other patrons. Love, Jaskier

He strained his ears and purposely walked slowly to the door, giving his admirer time to leave the gift and find his note. He swore he heard mumbling of words. He closed his eyes and counted to ten before opening the door.

His note was gone and in place of it a container he opened to reveal a miniature-sized three-layered cake elaborately decorated with chocolate-covered strawberries. It was, as always, delicious to the point of sin.

He felt a twinge of guilt. He didn’t want to string along his admirer, especially if things with Geralt turned out well. But he was getting ahead of himself. They had spoken once and here he was already planning their life together.

…

The next few days passed quickly. His wish of getting more work around the complex had come true but he was, unfortunately, unable to do any more practice for his upcoming performance. Every day he came back to his apartment with every intention of playing only to wake up from an unintentional five-hour nap on his couch.

To make matters worse, he hadn’t received a single text from Geralt, and since his sleep schedule was completely messed up he hadn’t caught a single glimpse of him since their last accidental meeting. He thought of swinging by his place to invite him to his show but decided against it. Maybe he needed some space? Maybe he had come off as too clingy? The doubts and second-guesses were mounting.

He arrived at the pub early to set up and get some practicing in before going on stage. Geralt wouldn’t be there but at least, he hoped, his soon-not-to-be secret admirer would be. Inside the note, he’d left a silver brooch of a songbird in flight. It was small but something he would instantly recognize. The glimmer of it from the stage lights would catch his attention. At least that’s what he was hoping. He felt more nervous about this performance than he had in a long while.

“You okay there Jaskier?” The voice came from behind him and he turned to see Triss, her curls down, beautifully framing her face.

“Oh thank the Gods,” he hugged her tight.

“Where’s your better half?” he asked looking around the growing pub’s crowd.

“Outside on the phone. It’s her ex, they don’t argue often but when they do,” she made a face. “Something about him needing her to watch their daughter.”

“Doesn’t he only see her on weekends? What an asshole.”

“Right?”

He felt more at ease with a friendly face by his side and felt even better when Yennifer joined them. He was smarter than to ask her about the phone call and instead chatted about everything and anything to get his mind off his nerves. Time went by more quickly now and soon it was time for him to play.

The second he stepped on stage his demeanor changed. Gone was any trace of nerves and doubt. The stage was his solace, the place he could bare his soul to the masses, or in this case to the forty-odd people crammed into the pub.

It was halfway through his third song when he remembered to keep an eye out for his admirer. He scanned the crowd hoping for the familiar glint to catch his eye but there was nothing. He chewed his lip.

The third song blended into his fourth and fifth. Still nothing. He took a break to grab a drink. He made small talk with Yennifer who raised a delicate brow at him.

"Alright, spill it. What's got you so distracted?"

He finished his drink and let his smile fall into a grimace.

"I left a note. For my admirer. I asked them to come tonight. I left them something to wear so I would recognize them and-"

"And they did show?" She finished for him.

"Nope. Wait how did you know?"

"First off you're terrible at hiding your emotions, and second I was fucking right and you owe me.”

“What?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “I guess I’m partially to blame, I should have realized it earlier.”

“I- what?” he asked again.

“Jaskier. Darling. Sweetheart. I was right.” she said the words slowly as one would do to a small dog.

“Right about what?”

“Your admirer. It’s your neighbor. You never told me but let me guess. Pale, white hair, roguishly handsome, looks like he could snap you in half like a twig?”

“How do you?” He was feeling a little faint now like he was at the edge of realizing something terrible.

“Your neighbor, your admirer, and my ex are all the same person.”

His eyes went wide. It all made sense. All the clues were there but he had just been too dense to put them all together. He’d seen pictures of Yenifer’s daughter but he’d never spent more than a passing glance at Geralt's visiting daughter.

“Oh fuck.” he sat down, suddenly unsure of his legs beneath him.

“He called me right before I came in going on about needing to go out for a few hours and if it was alright with me if he left Ciri alone.” she chuckled. “I told him to not be an asshole and spend time with his daughter.”

Jaskier’s head perked up. Geralt had wanted to come. He hadn’t blown him off.

“I have to go. Fuck, I can’t leave in the middle of a set though.”

Yennifer waved him off, “I’ll sort things off here, you go to him.”

He kissed the top of her head and gave her a quick, tight hug. “You would tell me if this bothered you right? I mean, he’s your ex and all.”

“I think you two would do a very good job at evening each other out, now go!” She smacked him on the shoulder and off he went.

…

He ran home, or at least halfway home before running out of breath and proceeded to briskly walk the rest of the way. He was still trying to decide what to say when he found himself outside the door, sweating profusely and looking an absolute mess. He knocked on the door before he talked himself out of it.

“One minute!” A voice from beyond the door answered followed by the sound of an oven door closing and the chain sliding from the door’s lock.

The door opened. He looked beautiful, even like this, wearing an apron covered in flour cocoa powder. Especially like this maybe.

“I’m friends with Yennifer and she said it was you but I didn’t believe her and I didn’t realize that your daughter Ciri was also her daughter Cirilla which in retrospect should have clued me in but-” he took a deep breath in. Geralt looked nervous and his rambling wasn’t happening. He started over.

“You’re my secret admirer?”

The man blushed. “I am. Is that okay?”

“Very, very okay.” He smiled.

“Would you like to come in? I was just baking. For you.” his blush deepened and Jaskier heart felt like it would burst with affection.

“I’d like that very much.”

#geraskier holiday exchange #geraskier #geraskier fic #geraskier fanfic #geraskier fanfiction #this is so laaaate #modern au geraskier #secret admirer fic #sometimes I write

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angelsswirl · 3 years

Text

Petrichor

ONE

Summary: You've found yourself in a horrible situation. And there's only one way to get out of it. Choose: Park Chaeyoung or Kim Jisoo.

Notes: i just wanted to get a story out for the other half of the group since what's posted currently is mostly jenlisa centric. Also, the original story took place in new york and i think it's beneficial for it to stay that way.

Requested: sort of

Type: Chaptered

Warnings: jisoo and rosé are both alphas so 😉

...

"Everything, has changed."

New York City is five hundred percent a horrible place to be. There's no question about it. It stinks, it's hot, and there's just so many damn people.

It's one of the reasons you skipped out on going to the gym often. That, and residual laziness really.

The only reason why you were here in the first place was because the gym in your apartment building was being "remodeled". In reality, you think someone finally died in there and they're cleaning up the evidence.

It was, of course, packed. It was toward the middle of the city, but it was the only one you didn't need a one hundred dollar plus membership to workout in.

Your graduate student wallet couldn't take that, but it could take planet fitness' free trial. You weren't going to be in there long anyway.

You were only doing enough exercise to burn off about 500 calories, so you could put them back on at your bestfriend's gathering later that night.

The way you work out this should only take about three miles on the elliptical and 4 reps of the 40 pound bar. You'll be out in like an hour. Which is great, because you didn't know how much more you could take of alphas staring at your ass, and the stench of this place. Oh God, the stench.

The ass ogling may very well be your own fault. These new floral fabletics leggings just fit you too damn perfectly and you definitely should have saved them for when you could afford the expensive gym that could afford scent filters. No seriously, it stunk so bad your eyes were watering.

You aimed to get started on the elliptical, only to be hindered when the damn thing won't turn on. You pressed every single button around and nothing happened.

You must be very obviously struggling because someone walked over and took pity on you. There's a bang of machinery and then suddenly your feet are spiraling.

"Sometimes these things need a good kickstart." A soft, alpha voice says conversationally.

"Uhh, thank you. Do you work here?"

"Me? Oh, no. Just come here often enough to know that it's shit."

The soft voiced alpha woman, is absolutely gorgeous, like so gorgeous you wonder why she would even dare step foot in a place like this.

"I'm Chaeyoung, but you can call me Rosé if you want." She held out her hand.

"Y/N." The handshake is firm. Like Rosé has been doing it frequently for a while now.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N." Rosé decided to get onto the machine right next to you. Something, you're sure, was not going to happen originally. You're flattered to say the least.

"Sorry if this seems too forward, but you're really pretty, and I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime. I don't normally do this type of thing and I feel very weird right now, so please say yes so I can stop talking and embarrassing myself-" Chaeyoung held out a sleek blue business card (someone used vistaprint). You placed it back into her hand with your number scrawled onto the back. Apparently, Chaeyoung is the type that carries business cards and pens in her gym shorts.

"I would like that, Rosé." You smiled, amused at Chaeyoung's sudden change of confidence. She walked over with so much, and then suddenly it was gone. You found that endearing.

"Oh! That's nice. Um, I didn't think this far ahead, okay. Shit." You just lazily stepped/pedaled on the elliptical as you watched Rosé flounder with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll call you later with details?" She got it!

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Great. I'm going to walk away now because my break was up like 15 minutes ago."

You chuckled to yourself as the woman slowly walked away.

~•~

The party was in full swing by the time you got there. You did that purposefully.

Lisa is nowhere to be found so you take that as your opportunity to start stuffing your face with hor d'oeuvres.

Unlike yourself, Lisa had graduated with her bachelor's in education and decided that was enough. Soon after she met her alpha, Jennie, and they settled down in suburbia rather quickly.

You hadn't wanted just a bachelor's in education. You wanted your master's because you're a perfectionist. Always have been. You're in your second year of grad school through NYU.

Lisa had told you it wasn't necessary. It was a waste of time. You exactly wouldn't get paid more or enter in a higher position than she would have with just her bachelor's. And she was right. You were omegas, it would always be diffcult to get your dream job. You knew that. But you didn't listen.

It was hard to keep up your friendship as Lisa got deeper into it with Jennie, and you got deeper into your studies. You haven't talked nearly as much as you would like lately.

That's what you came here tonight to fix. Jennie and Lisa had gathered many of their closest friends for some sort of get together. You weren't asking questions, you were just there for Lisa and the food.

A tap to your shoulder startled you almost enough to drop your crab puff. You turned around to face the perpetrator.

"Having fun there?" Lisa said with a concerned look. In her defense, you're mouth is visibly full and you looked downright capable of murder with the prospect of dropping your snack.

"Lali!" It's a bit muddled, with the full mouth and all, but the point is delivered. You hastily chew and swallow. Somehow without choking to death.

"Hello, beautiful! How have you been?" Lisa looked a bit miffed at the fact that she even had to ask that, but she's still curious.

"I'm good. School is fine. You know me." You just shrug. There was no need to tell her that you sort of felt like your life was coming to a complete standstill. You smiled politely as Jennie approached behind Lisa's shoulder.

"Hello, Jennie."

"Hi, Y/N. Do you mind if I steal this one away for a sec?" Yes. Yes you does. You do mind a whole lot, but it doesn't seem you have much of a choice as Jennie leads her omega away.

"So much for getting your best friend back." You mumbled to yourself. You headed toward one of the beverage collections, grabbing a spring water. You opened it and took a sip.

A few seconds later, there's a tapping of metal against glass and everyone's attention is drawn toward the center of the livingroom.

"Okay, first we would like to thank everyone for coming. You're probably wondering why you're all here." Jennie inquired, and the room nodded along.

"Well, we have an announcement...we're pregnant!"

You're not quite sure why it seems like the room is suddenly closing in on you. Maybe you ate too much too quickly, or maybe that feeling that everyone is moving so quickly without you is finally starting to really penetrate your psyche.

It's not until then that you realize both of the happy couple's parents are here and everyone is congratulating them and you should be too, but you can't. Not right now.

You need some air.

You settled for the kitchen, it would be too hot outside, and someone would surely see you leave. There isn't anyone in there as far as you can see, so you dart into it.

"Some party, isn't it?"

You jumped so harshly, your off the shoulder blouse switched to being off the other shoulder.

The woman, an alpha if the way she's standing is anything to go by, sipped lazily on a beer. She's barely taller than you yourself, and yet vaguely familiar.

"Uh, it's okay." You cower a bit under the woman's gaze. You fumbled with the cap of your water and deftly take another sip.

"Yeah. There's going to be another Jennie running around here. Get right with your God while you can." A smirk slipped out from behind the beer bottle.

You laughed a bit, "Do I know you? You seem familiar."

The woman seemed to hesitate a bit before holding out her hand, "Jisoo. I don't think you do know me." You shook her hand happily.

"Y/N."

Jisoo nodded, "So how do you know Thing 1 and Thing 2 in there?"

"Lisa and I went to college together. I was with her the day she met Jennie actually."

"Was it love at first sight?" Jisoo took another sip of her beer. She grimaced slightly. You get the sense that dhe doesn't like what she's drinking but is torturing herself anyway for some reason.

"Not at all. We both hated her. She said something stupid. For the life of me, I can't remember what it was, but it was very stupid. But, she kept coming back and somehow she got Lali to fall in love with her somewhere in there." You smiled a bit bittersweetly.

"And you?"

"And I what?"

"How do you feel about Jennie?" Jisoo smiled conspiratorially.

"I-it doesn't matter how I feel about Jennie. She treats Lisa right so that's enough for me. Anyway, how do you know them? Are you family?"

Jisoo shrugged one shoulder lazily, "Depends on who you ask."

"Oh."

There's a lull in the conversation, before you spoke up again.

"Do you know what time it is? I have class in the morning."

Jisoo pulled out her phone, she turned the screen on revealing the time (9:48) and her phone wallpaper.

"Who's that?" You asked with a nod toward Jisoo's phone.

Jisoo hesitated again, this time it seems like she's really battling with herself.

"...My daughter. Lia." And there it is. A flash of disappointment fluttered across your face momentarily.

"Oh. You're mated?" It was odd. Normally, you could simply tell by smell if someone was mated. You didn't know how to explain it, but biology was weird. Basically, Jisoo didn't smell mated. You took a step away. If she was mated, you were probably standing a bit too close to be considered kosher.

"No." Jisoo took a step or two closer. Leaving you a bit closer than you were before. It's simple and leaves you with more questions than answers but you doesn't ask any of them.

Eventually, Jisoo took pity on you.

"The result of a one night stand. I thought the hangover I had to deal with the next day was the last thing I had to attribute to her, then 9 months later there's a knock on my door and baby on my doorstep. All pretty dramatic if you ask me."

You listened attentively as Jisoo spoke. You had a feeling she didn't talk about this much to anyone.

"I wouldn't give the kid up for anything, though. She's kind of the reason why we have a roof over our head." Jisoo frowned for a second before taking another sip of her beer.

You studied the alpha for a long moment. Then gasped. "That's where I recognize you from! You have a YouTube channel about parenting. They've shown a couple of your videos in my classes before." You mumbled the last part a bit shyly, realizing you may have been a bit too excited just then.

Jisoo sighed, "Damn. I was hoping I could get away without that coming up."

"Why?"

Jisoo scrunched her nose up and winced. "It's embarrassing."

"I don't think it is. From what I've seen, you're a good mother. And you're helping others. That's nothing to be embarrassed about." You smiled softly and touched a hand to Jisoo's shoulder.

It's then that their isolation is finally broken. Jennie stepped into the kitchen with an odd look on her face. Jisoo shrugged off your hand with a roll of her eyes.

"There you are, Y/N. Lisa was looking for you. What are you doing in here?" Jennie narrowed her eyes at Jisoo slightly, who only shrugged and chugged the rest of her beer.

"I was just cooling down from the rager you're throwing in there." It's slightly sarcastic, and you're not sure where the confidence is coming from, but it's much appreciated. You can practically feel Jisoo's body loosen from its tense state Jennie had caused.

"Ohhkay. Well, don't be a stranger." Jennie walked back into the main room with a confused shake of the head.

"That was weird."

Jisoo only nods slowly, staring down into the empty beer bottle.

"Well, um, I better head out. It was nice meeting you, Jisoo. And thanks for keeping me company."

"Uh, yeah. No problem."

You head for the exit, but stop suddenly, "Oh, and Jisoo?"

Jisoo looked up from the bottle, "Yeah?"

"Lia is beautiful. She looks exactly like you." You turned back around without another glance. You slipped out of the front door and towards your car.

#Petrichor #blackpink fanfic #jesssica's fanfic #blackpink #rose x reader #jisoo x reader #rose fanfic #jisoo fanfic #jenlisa #seulrene #alpha female #alpha/beta/omega dynamics #abo #alpha beta omega #alpha x omega

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purplehairedwonder · 3 years

Text

A Rope That Wears Thin

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG Pairings: Gen Words: 2395 Characters: Bepo, Trafalgar Law, Shachi, Penguin, Jean Bart, Ikkaku, Heart Pirates Note: The title comes from the Ayn Rand quote, “Guilt is a rope that wears thin.”

This is set between episodes 955 and 956. Law gets out of the prison six days before the raid, but we don’t know what he’s up to during that time, so I wrote this.

Summary: As the Heart Pirates plan to rescue their captain from prison, Law returns on his own. Bepo, while happy to have his captain back, feels guilty for causing Law to give himself up in the first place. He probably should have realized Law would notice.

Read also at A03 / FF.N

“From the different parts of the prison that Shachi, Penguin, and I saw, this is the best map we can come up with,” Bepo said, pointing to the rough drawing he’d tacked to the wall of the hut the Heart Pirates had gathered in, packing themselves into the small space. “We didn’t see a lot, so it’s far from a complete layout.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

The apology was more habit than anything, but Bepo was frustrated that he couldn’t provide any more detail that would help the Heart Pirates bring their captain back. He knew Shachi and Penguin felt the same. It was their fault for being careless and getting caught, and now Law… Bepo swallowed. The look in Law’s eye as he’d told them not to tell the Straw Hats about his capture had haunted Bepo since they’d come back to Ebisu Town alone.

Law had sacrificed himself for them, but Bepo refused that sacrifice. Law was far too willing to sacrifice himself for those he loved; he’d accepted the likelihood of his death in Dressrosa to avenge the man who’d saved him as a child, and Bepo never wanted to feel the choking terror and panicked helplessness he’d felt watching Law’s vivre card nearly burn out while he and the other Hearts were halfway across the New World, safe and sound on Zou.

Law’s vivre card had been smoldering since his capture at the prison, and Bepo tried not to think too hard about what was happening to him while he was in the enemy’s hands — hands that Bepo knew firsthand were twisted and cruel. But the burning hadn’t escalated, much to the crew’s relief. They would bring Law back before that could happen. Bepo and the Hearts wouldn’t be helpless on the sidelines this time, the Scabbards’ plans be damned.

“They won’t be holding Captain in any of the low-security cells,” Bepo added, using an ink-dipped claw to cross out the boxes at the entrance on the map.

“There are… interrogation rooms toward the back of the building,” Shachi added, hesitating only slightly to push through the raw wounds he, Penguin, and Bepo were all feeling from their time in the prison. Though all three would rather have shut those memories down and locked them away to be dealt with later—or never—they’d willingly torn them open for any small detail that might help their rescue operation.

“We think there are Seastone-lined cells in that area,” Penguin added, pointing toward the top of the map. “That is where they would most likely be holding Law.”

“We’ll need to find the keys to the cells and to any Seastone restraints,” Bepo said, eyeing the rough schematic as he considered. “Unfortunately, we don’t know where the guard station is.”

“What kind of security are we looking at?” Jean Bart asked.

“Basil Hawkins,” Shachi muttered, absently rubbing his bandaged arm.

“And X Drake,” Penguin said. “Though he was there less regularly than Hawkins.”

Normally on a mission like this, they would case their target for several days, if not weeks, to get a sense of the building’s layout and security protocols as well as the guard rotations so they could take advantage of shift changes. The Heart Pirates typically preferred to act with precision — their captain was a surgeon, after all — rather than causing mass chaos like some other pirate crews.

They didn’t have that kind of time to spare with Law’s life in the balance.

“Guards?” Uni prompted.

Bepo shrugged, frustration rising in his throat once more as he just didn’t know. He suppressed a growl. “At least a dozen on shift at a time, though we never got a full count.”

Jean Bart frowned at the map, considering. “We’ll need to get in and out fast. With a Headliner and one of the Tobiroppo on hand, we can’t afford to get caught up in a fight. That will just draw attention and provide more targets for capture.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “A small group to distract the guards while another finds the captain and gets him out, perhaps. We should assume he won’t be able to move quickly.”

Bepo grimaced but nodded alongside the rest of the Hearts. Jean Bart’s experience and reputation as a captain gave him a gravitas the rest of the crew respected, and, without Law, his leadership was something they could lean on.

The brainstorming continued, and slowly a plan started taking shape. Bepo could feel hope threatening to take root in his chest. They were the Heart Pirates, dammit. And nothing would stop them from getting their captain back.

“That’s quite the plan you’ve come up with.”

The room fell silent in an instant as heads whipped toward the familiar voice from the doorway. Law leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed against his chest and Kikoku at his side. He had an eyebrow raised and a small, tired smirk on his lips.

“C-captain!” Bepo yelped, eyes widening.

As the rest of the crew erupted around him, Bepo bounded toward his friend to garchu, but Jean Bart grabbed his shoulder, pulling him up short. Bepo frowned but then really took in Law’s state. His stomach dropped.

The first thing he noticed was the blood. Law was covered in dried blood, and Bepo’s nose twitched at the metallic odor now that he was closer. There were cuts and bruises on his visible skin, including around his wrists, and Kikoku shook ever-so-slightly; Law’s arm was trembling with the effort of holding her.

Oh.

“Captain, how did you—?”

“Law!”

“Captain, what—?”

Law raised his free hand, as if to fend off the onslaught of questions. Bepo, realizing Law was having a hard time standing, ducked from under Jean Bart’s hand and hurried to Law’s side. Bepo took Law’s arm over his shoulder and wrapped a paw around his waist as gently as he could. It was a testament to his state that Law winced but didn’t otherwise protest. Penguin appeared and took Law’s other side, and together they maneuvered the captain to sit on the rickety bench outside the building they’d gathered in. They sat down next to him, just in case. The rest of the Hearts flowed out of the building to surround their returned captain.

“What happened, Captain?” Shachi asked once the entire crew was present. “How did you get out?”

“Drake-ya,” Law replied, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. “I don’t know what he’s up to, but it doesn’t seem he’s loyal to Kaido.” The gears in his mind were almost visible as they turned over whatever had happened between them at the prison.

Bepo exchanged surprised looks with Shachi and Penguin. While they hadn’t seen Drake as often as Hawkins at the prison, he’d given no indication he hadn’t been dedicated to the role of prying information from the captured Heart Pirates. But, Bepo supposed bitterly, as he studied Law’s tired profile, they’d never been the true target; they’d simply been bait. Who cared about torturing some underlings?

“The Straw Hats?” Law asked, glancing over at Bepo.

Bepo shook his head. “We didn’t tell them. They’re still at Amigasa Village.”

Law nodded. “Good.”

Bepo gave his friend an unimpressed look but didn’t say anything. Law’s lips twitched, and Bepo felt Law’s hand squeeze his knee briefly before letting go. Bastard, Bepo thought without any heat.

He was just glad Law was back.

-----

As the reunion wore down and the Hearts started to disperse, Bepo bumped shoulders with Law. “We should look at your wounds, Captain.”

Law shrugged. “I’m all right, Bepo.”

Penguin snorted. “You can barely sit upright.” Law glared at him, but the expression lacked any malice. “Besides, you’re covered in blood.” That it was his own blood hung unsaid on the air.

Law grimaced, gently touching his face and rubbing his fingers together when they came back sticky.

Bepo glanced at Shachi and Penguin, who nodded. They each rose and moved in separate directions. Law would deny making that startled yelp when Bepo reached over to pick him up to his dying day, but Bepo just smirked as he carried his weakly protesting captain to the building they’d claimed for sleeping quarters.

As Bepo deposited Law on one of the sleeping pallets, Penguin entered with a bucket of water and clean cloths. Shachi followed a few moments later with Law’s medical kit. Law eyed them flatly, lips pressed into a thin line, but the trio simply returned the look levelly; they’d known Law the longest of anyone on the crew, and they were the least likely to take any shit from him—even if it meant some light insubordination to make sure Law took care of himself.

Law finally sighed, fight going out of his spine. “Fine,” he muttered, pulling his hat off.

Bepo exchanged victorious looks with Shachi and Penguin. They knew better than to push Law too far, though—he tended to shut down entirely in that case—so Shachi headed out with the promise of finding Law something to eat while Penguin went to find him a clean change of clothes. None of them voiced the guilt they were trying to make up for now that Law was back.

Once they were gone, Bepo turned back to Law expectantly. Law grumbled but slipped out of the sleeves of his kimono, leaving his tattooed chest bare and even more bruises and wounds visible. Bepo picked up one of the clean cloths and dipped it into the water before bringing it to Law’s face. He’d helped clean Law up after more fights than he could ever count in the last thirteen years, but Bepo wasn’t used to being the reason Law was hurt. All this blood, these wounds… they were Bepo’s fault.

Bepo stewed in his thoughts as he wiped blood from Law’s face until slender fingers wrapped gently but firmly around Bepo’s wrist. Bepo started and looked at Law. Golden eyes were studying him.

“I’m not mad, Bepo.”

Damn him. For all that Bepo prided himself on being able to read his best friend, Law knew him just as well. Of course he’d know how Bepo was feeling.

“Law—”

“It’s not your fault,” Law interrupted, “so stop blaming yourself. I made my choice, and I’d do it again.”

Law released his fingers, and Bepo dropped the blood-stained cloth in the water. “But you shouldn’t have had to. We were careless, and you got hurt because of us.”

Law shook his head. “I was Hawkins-ya’s target because I got made back in Bakura Town. That’s on me. He took you three to get to me.”

“You were just trying to stop Straw Hat and Roronoa from getting spotted,” Bepo muttered, looking at his hands.

Law snorted. “Feel free to blame Straw Hat-ya then,” he allowed, though Bepo could hear the fondness in his voice. Somehow, the Straw Hats, especially Luffy, had wormed their way under his captain’s skin, and Bepo wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to figure that out.

“My point,” Law said, tone demanding Bepo look at him, “is that it was not your fault. So, no more guilt.”

Law’s gaze was weary but sure, brooking no argument. Bepo nodded. He didn’t think he’d be able to let the guilt go that easily, but he was willing to try. “I’m sorry.”

Law huffed at the habitual apology but nodded. “Tell Shachi and Penguin the same thing. I mean it.”

“Aye, Captain.”

-----

Once Law’s wounds had been cleaned and dressed, Bepo had convinced him to take some painkillers. Law had been reluctant but knew he was barely staying upright as it was. The pills had knocked him out within minutes, and once Law was asleep, Bepo had ducked out of the hovel to get some fresh air. He leaned back against the building and slid to the ground, rubbing his face through his paws.

“How is he?” Ikkaku asked, coming up to Bepo and glancing toward the doorway.

“Asleep,” Bepo replied, giving her a wan smile. “He’ll be okay. He just needs rest.”

She nodded, relief evident on her face. “How about you?”

Bepo blinked. “Huh?” he said intelligently.

Ikkaku nudged his leg with her sandaled foot. “Captain’s going to need his first mate to have his head in the game to face an Emperor.”

“I…”

“You know none of us blame you three, right?” Ikkaku pressed on. “It’s not your fault this happened. You didn’t deserve to be tortured, but you didn’t break. Captain got you out because he trusted you to do what needed to be done for the mission. And now he’s back.”

Bepo felt tears prickling his eyes. “That’s what Captain said.”

Ikkaku’s lips twitched. “And you know better than anyone that Captain might be a bit of a jerk sometimes,” Bepo huffed a teary laugh at that, “but he’s usually right.”

Bepo sniffed. “Yeah.”

Ikkaku’s hand ran over Bepo’s head and gave him a couple of affectionate scritches before turning away. He had a feeling she’d already had this conversation with Shachi and Penguin.

Bepo swallowed, watching his crewmates flitting around the village, taking care of various tasks to prepare for the upcoming raid. He thought about the immediacy with which they’d started planning to bring Law back and the steadfast determination to do whatever it took, despite the danger. Bepo was proud of his crew—his family. And Law and Ikkaku were right; family didn’t blame one another. They supported and took care of one another.

Law had an ambitious plan to take on an Emperor, but he’d risked the entire thing for his family. And he’d trusted Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi to take over for him. Bepo’s chest warmed as it dawned on him just how much trust Law had put in him when he’d given himself up.

Bepo longed for that trust—had ever since that thirteen-year-old boy with white patches on his skin had rescued him on a winter island in the North Blue—and he’d be damned if he was going to do anything to screw that up now, on the verge of the Heart Pirates doing something… incredible.

Bepo felt himself baring his teeth in a grin. Law was going to be fine, the Heart Pirates were all together again, and they were going to take down an Emperor.

They were going to change the world.

fin

#Caitlin's fic #Trafalgar Law #Bepo #Heart Pirates #One Piece #One Piece Fanfiction

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jmnjmnjmn · 3 years

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Eternal beings | Chapter 8

Pairing: Vampire!Jungkook x Human!Reader

Key words: supernatural, vampire.

Word count: around 3,500

Warnings: swearing, sadness, jealousy, mentions of murder

Inspo board

Masterlist

I’m also working ona a Taehyung thing right now so please bear with my posting schedule...

You opened your eyes at the abrasive sound of your alarm. Feeling as if you haven’t slept a minute last night you sat up on the bed and looked out the window. The morning was foggy, the light drizzle visible in the rising sun. You looked down onto the street looking for Jungkook, but no one was there. It was half past five, still too early for him to be waiting for you outside. Nonetheless the prospect of him being out there - somewhere, anywhere, coming your way - made you feel uneasy. You picked yourself up from the bed lazily and headed for the bathroom to brush your teeth and wash your face before applying some makeup. As you approached your bedroom’s door you stumbled over something on the floor. Looking down you noticed the pile of clothes you angrily threw and kicked to the ground last night. The memory of it made you feel even more shitty. Because of your frustration with Jungkook you blew up on Taehyung who wasn’t at fault here at all. You made a mental note to yourself to make it up to him today and went on with your morning routine more quietly than ever not to wake him or his dog.

As you applied your makeup, did your hair and packed your bag you looked out the window onto the street every now and then to make sure Jungkook’s not standing there, waiting for you. His absence made you anxious. It was nearing six when you finally walked downstairs to eat a quick breakfast before heading out. You decided on one of the “1 minute oatmeal” mixes Taehyung had in his kitchen cabinet. You poured hot water over the dusty mixture and scrunched your nose at the strange smell, hoping it looked and smelled worse than it tasted. With the steaming bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other you once again walked to one of the windows on the front of the house. There wasn’t even a stray cat on the street. You stood by that window eating the oatmeal and slowly realising that this is not your kind of breakfast.

“Maybe the reason Taehyung has so many of these is that he doesn’t want to eat them, because they suck so bad…” You said to yourself as you were quickly washing up the dishes after yourself. You dried your hands and rushed to the door, not wanting to be late for work.

As you were tying your sneakers you felt your stomach tighten. You were nervous about what, or rather who, you would see waiting for you outside. You took one more deep breath before opening the door. To your surprise no one was there. The emptiness of Taehyung’s driveway didn’t make you feel any less nervous. You turned your back to the street to lock the door behind yourself and as you pulled the key out of the lock you heard the heavy iron handle on Taehyung’s home’s gate squeak.

“Here we go…” You muttered under your breath and turned around. Jungkook was walking through the gate with his eyes focused on the handle he was gripping. He looked up at you and gave you a half smile.

“Hey.” He mouthed quietly, as though he could wake up the neighbourhood if he spoke with his full voice. You caught yourself starting to become warm inside and quietly told yourself in your mind not to fall for his tricks and do that.

The two of you walked silently all the way to the station. You kept your hands in your pockets clenched in fists not only to protect them from the strange cold of today's morning, but also because of your once again raising frustration. You didn’t know how you should or shouldn’t feel about this whole ordeal with Jungkook. Both him and Yoongi told you yesterday that they were vampires and you couldn’t wrap your head around it. The only way to make it make sense was to believe they’re both insane or ask them for a more detailed explanation. The first option appealed to you the most.

As you stood on the station awaiting your train Jungkook paced around next to you humming something quietly. You glanced at him and almost smiled, but stopped yourself quickly before anyone could see. You avrted your eyes back to the tracks, furrowing your brows.

Usually there were a couple of empty seats on the train at this time, but today it was more crowded so you stopped a couple of steps from the door and grabbed onto a bar for stability. As you pulled out your phone to check the time you felt a weight come onto your shoulder. You looked towards it and saw Jungkook holding onto the sleeve of your jacket. This time you didn’t hold back the smile remembering how you and your friends always grabbed onto each other’s bags, shoulders and jackets to keep balance on a moving bus or train.

You felt silly. He seemed so innocent yet… You couldn’t just forget about what he said he did to (Victim’s name). He was a murderer. He admitted it. The fact that you didn’t call the police immediately after meeting him for the first time after that faithfull night on Third made you no better than him. There was no excuse you could come up with for withholding such important information in an official FBI investigation. You were a criminal. Just like Jungkook. You might have not murdered anyone, but you lied and covered for him. You looked down at your phone with tremendous guilt in your heart. There were so many times you could have called the police, so many opportunities, that you didn’t take, to come clean and make this mess go away.

“Central station.” A robotic female voice announced from the train speakers. You picked up your gaze realising it’s your stop and made your way to the opening door with Jungkook following closely behind.

You walked together, side by side, still in total silence. As you were not more than ten meters from the shop’s doog Jungkook slowed down his pace and stopped. You automatically did the same which made you feel really dumb. He was the one following you to work. You should’ve kept walking and left him behind to get rid of him at least for a moment, but you didn’t and answering the question of “why?” seemed like too hard of a task for the moment.

“What time do you finish your shift?” He asked, stepping in front of you.

“E- Wait, no.” You barely managed to refrain yourself from telling him what he wanted to know. “ Why do you want to know?” You answered his question with your own already knowing what he’ll say.

“I want to pick you up and walk you home.” You exhaled loudly, looking away and giving your head a small shake.

“Don’t.” You replied after a moment, your gaze still resting somewhere far off in the street.

“Come on, (Y/N).” Jungkook said in a teasing manner, putting his hands in his jeans pockets.

“I don’t need a shadow.” You finally managed to look at him again. Your eyes travelled from his chin to his lips and up to his eyes which were a dark shade of brown right now. “Especially from a guy like you.” You added and his smile widened.

“Like me?” He chuckled referring to your altercation from last night.

“Don’t start.” You muttered, feeling your stomach turning at the thought of hearing about vampires again.

“Alright, alright. But just so you know I was asking to be polite.” He said, taking a step back. “I already know your schedule. I’ll be here ten to eleven.” Your eyebrows travelled up involuntarily at his statement. “Have a good day at work, (Y/N).” He added taking another step back still facing you. With his next step he turned around, shooting you a smirk.

Confused about how he knew your work hours you walked into the shop and headed straight for the door marked with a “staff only” sign. Your wonderment was cut short as you set your eyes on the only other person in the break room.

“Jimin.” You said your coworker's name, greeting him as you closed the door behind yourself. He smiled up at you from his phone and went back to typing something up on the screen rapidly. “Did you by any chance talk to Jungkook recently?” You asked him, setting your bag down on the old couch. He glanced up at you from his phone again with his eyebrows raised. Your question must have caught his attention, because he quickly locked his phone and put it in his jeans backpocket.

“Yeah. We talked.” He answered with a cheeky smile you didn’t appreciate. “If he only knew!” You called out in your head.

“And did you talk about me?” You proceeded with the questions.

“We did.” Jimin put his arms across his chest and his grin grew wider.

“Perhaps about my work schedule?” Jimin only smiled at you without a word, but it was enough of an answer. “Jimin, why?” You sighed, not knowing how to knock it out of his head that you were interested in Jungkook.

“I did you a favour. Without me you would never end up seeing him.” You put your palm on your forehead feeling a headache forming under there and rubbed it slowly. “Oh, don’t pretend you don’t like it.” He snickered.

“Did it ever cross your mind that I might not want to see him?” You tried to explain it to him slowly so that you didn’t slip and say something you didn’t mean to say to him. Like for example: Your crazy boyfriend claims he and his friend are vampires.

“(Y/N), you quit being so pessimistic.” He said walking up to you and hugged you from the side. “Jungkook is nothing like your previous crushes and boyfriends you told me about.” Jimin rubbed your shoulder trying to comfort you, but all you could feel right now was helpless and misunderstood. “He’s a good guy.” You exhaled a soft chuckle at his statement. “There’s nothing weird about him, no obsessions or questionable past. Yoongi can vouch for him.” You couldn’t stop a grin forming on your face and looked up at Jimin.

“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.” He frowned and thought for a moment before speaking again.

“Well, I know you had a fight last night-” You didn’t let him finish and pulled out from under his arm. How is it that everyone knows everything about you and yet you are clueless about everything that is going on?

“Wha- Who told you- Taehyung? That-” You struggled to for a proper sentence and before you could succeed Jimin cut you off.

“Don’t be angry with him.” He defended Taehyung. “He just wants the best for you. Like me.” He added with a smile. You couldn’t get angry with him. Yes he meddled and gossiped, but he didn’t know half of what you knew and he didn’t mean to do any wrong.

“I know Jimin, but I think I know best what’s best for me.” You said, rubbing your forehead again to make the impending headache go away. “Trust me and let me make my own decisions, okay?” Jimin put his arms across his chest again, looking at you with sympathy in his eyes. “I’ll handle this whole Jungkook deal myself without you, Taehyung or Yoongi getting involved.” You said, hoping that you just put an end to this discussion.

“About Yoongi.” Jimin perked up and you felt your shoulders drop a little. “He tells me you went to him asking all sorts of questions about your admirer-”

“Come on!” You cut him off, hearing more than enough. “I just told you not to meddle in this!” Now you had your arms in a knot across your chest as well. “Please, Jimin. Just- Just let me do this at my own pace, okay?” You asked him sincerely.

“Okay, okay.” He sighed. “But remember everything you tell Jungkook he will tell Yoongi and Yoongi will tell me.” As he listed this chain of communication a cheeky smile formed on his face once again.

“God damnit, Jimin.” You laughed and pushed his shoulder.

“I’m kidding.” He chuckled and the two of you, still bickering, went out of the break room to go on with today's workload.

Towards the end of your shift you were on checkout duty, googling out all the information about the murder case from last weekend when a ridiculous thought came to your mind. You opened a new tab in the internet app on your phone and let your thumb hover over the letter “v”, still hesitant whether you should go down this rabbit whole. You were deep in thought when Jimin called your name simultaneously bringing you back to reality. “One that doesn’t include vampires.” You thought hopefully.

“(Y/N).” Before he could say anything more you realised you were covered in goosebumps. You looked at the thermometer on the window to check the room's temperature, but as you turned your gaze towards it you noticed the real reason behind your body’s odd behaviour. “Your boyfriend’s here.” Jimin said, looking through the glass door with a box of blue Fanta in his arms.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” You muttered. Jungkook was in fact out there like he promised, walking towards the shop in long strides. He noticed you eying him through the window and waved in your direction with a smile.

“Ten to eleven, (Y/N).” He greeted you as he walked through the shop’s door, ringing the small bell hanging over it. “Hey, Jimin.” He greeted your coworker who still stood by the door with the box of beverages he was supposed to set up on a shelf in the front. “Are you ready?” He asked you.

“It’s ten to eleven. I still have ten more minutes of work to do.” You said emphasizing the word “ten” each time, reluctant to go anywhere with him. Jungkook opened his mouth, but before he could say a word Jimin cut in.

“You can go. I’ll finish up here, (Y/N).” He smiled sweetly at you and Jungkook, but you knew what was really hiding under that expression. “Go on, get your things.” He urged you, but you didn’t move an inch from behind the register. The two of you stood in your places, Jimin with the box of Fanta in his arms and you with your palms resting on the counter, looking each other in the eyes trying to communicate with them and without speaking up.

“I’ll wait. It’s just ten minutes.” Jungkook finally said, glancing between the two of you and breaking the silence. He leaned on the counter and pulled his phone out to occupy himself with.

You sighed and hoped for a customer to come in or something so that those ten minutes really seemed like work and not just you trying to stick it to Jimin and Jungkook. Unfortunately for you no one came in. As the ten minutes were quickly coming to an end you decided to collect your things and get going. You reached under the counter to unplug your phone’s charger when the volume on the worn-out TV above your head increased. When you got up from under the counter you saw Jimin with the remote in his hand, the Fanta box empty under his arm.

“Look, (Y/N). It’s your case.” He said pointing to the screen and turning the volume up even higher. You looked at the screen terrified.

“Your case?” Jungkook asked from behind you without even a bit of curiosity in his voice. You didn’t have to face him to see the expression he had on his face, you knew he had that smug cocky smile all over it.

“She’s a witness.” Jimin explained to him, clueless of the fact he just outed you as a rat to the killer you were testifying against to the police.You felt your cheeks turn red, but decided to try to play it cool.

“Old news.” You shot Jimin down, trying to talk over the news anchor who was now describing in detail how (Victim’s name) was found that faithfull night you saw Jungkook for the first time. “Nothing really came out of my statement.” You said turning to face the two guys. “I didn’t see or hear much to be honest.” You babbled with your voice being a little higher pitched than usual from the nerves as rolled up your charger.

“Well, you did see the guy.” Jimin said, putting the remote down on the counter. Jungkook raised his brow at you and slowly put his arms across his chest, getting ready to enjoy the show of Jimin and you spitting arguments back and forth.

“It was dark.” You said.

“You gave a description to a sketch artist.” He answered.

“I didn’t have my glasses on.” You kept explaining.

“You told me you would definitely recognize him if you saw him on the street.”

“After giving it more thought I don't really think I could.”

“You said he was kinda hot.”

“Didn’t!” You yelled and felt yourself burning up.

“Alright, that I made up.” Jimin laughed.

“I’m going home.” You said grabbing the remote and turning the TV off which earned you a resigned moan from Jimin. “I’ve got online classes to attend.” You added slipping out from behind the counter and walking towards the back room.

“You two go. I’ll wait for our switch. Who is late. Again.” You heard Jimin complain in a playful tone behind your back.

You rested your back on the closed door of the back room and sighed deeply. As you relaxed your shoulders you began feeling how tense they were for the past ten minutes or so since Jungkook walked into the shop. You took off your name tag slowly and put it on the pin board on the wall feeling the soreness in each muscle in your arms. You stuffed your jacket into your bag and threw it over your shoulder. As you rested your sweaty palm on the cold door handle you stopped for a second to make the impossible wish of not seeing Jungkook when you step out onto the shop. You exhaled slowly to prepare yourself to be let down and pushed the door open.

“Ready?” He asked sweetly as you approached the front door and also him. You noticed Jimin trying to hide a cheeky smile as he stood behind the checkout.

“Bye, Jimin.” You said, knowing already he must have told Jungkook something you asked him not to. Deciding not to answer him and just kept walking all the way to the door. Jungkook bid his farewell to your coworker as well and swiftly turned as you passed him by.

Together you walked down the street. Shoulder to shoulder. You were about to take the turn right to the train station when Jungkook spoke up.

“Here.” You heard a beeping sound and you averted your eyes to where it came from. Jungkook walked towards a black car parked on the sidewalk leaving you a couple of steps behind as you stood in place unsure of what to do. He reached for the door handle on the passenger's side and opened it for you.

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javierpenaspinkshirt · 4 years

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House Keys & Cocktail Umbrellas

Horacio Carrillo x F!Reader

One shot - 18+

Warnings: smut with an attempt at story line, oral sex, daddy kink, dom!Carrillo, orgasm denial, edging, swearing, Horacio Carrillo is his own warning, the willful disregard of canon, and some nasty formatting.

Words: 3.7k

Summary: set in the early/mid 80s before he became everyone's favourite Colonel, Horacio Carrillo comes home from a week away to find his girlfriend waiting to greet him.

A/N: it was about time I stopped thirsting in the tags and actually wrote something, right? So here's a totally self indulgent attempt at a pre-canon Carrillo smut-fest.

House Keys & Cocktail Umbrellas

Your heart skipped as you slid your new key into his lock. He’d given it to you a week ago when he’d left and you hadn’t used it yet. You liked to think there was a romantic symbolism to being given a key to his apartment, a signal as to the direction in which your life together was headed. But you also suspected he’d had the same thought as you had and was secretly hoping you’d be here to greet him when he got home.

You would be.

Horacio had been away for a week. Occasionally his job demanded that he and his fellow officers do a week’s residential training somewhere. Last time had been in a safe house in Bogotá doing urban assault drills, this time it was at a repurposed coke lab somewhere in the jungle that had been seized by the Colombian military and then used as a training facility for narco policing.

Horacio was an officer in the Colombian National Police. He was currently a Captain but he was fast approaching the rank of Major. You were sure he’d be a General in no time. But for now he was Captain Carrillo, fiercely proud of his country, sworn to protect his people, and hopelessly in love with you.

It was probably your favourite thing about him; the juxtaposition of the tall, strapping Captain, feared by many a drug lord across your country and the next, and the soft, kind, dimple-cheeked man you knew him as. You loved that he commanded respect wherever he went but at home he was like warm wax in your hands, soft to your touch and endlessly pliable under your fingers.

You entered his apartment cautiously like it was the first time you had ever been there. It wasn’t, you had been countless times over the year or so you’d been together. Though you remembered the first time well. It was your eighth date, you’d made him wait and prove he wasn’t just some squaddie looking for a hook up. He’d brought you back to his after a meal out followed by several many drinks at your favourite bar in the city. You had spent the night and had ruined his bedsheets. Not through any amorous activity, nothing of the sort. In fact you had thrown up your strawberry daiquiris in a horrifying projectile all over his bed. How he hadn’t kicked you out then and there you didn’t know.

Instead he had looked after you… and then subsequently taken the piss every time you’d walked passed that bar since.

You’d bought him new bedsheets the next day. You’d taken the gaudy blue sheets with little red and yellow cocktail umbrella detail you’d found at the market to his front door in an apology and he’d laughed hard and pulled you into his arms, telling you you were a fool but you were his fool.

His sense of humour was such that he’d actually put the gross blue umbrella sheets on his bed the next time you came to visit. You’d laughed so hard together and ended up making love all night under them. Now they sat in his linen cupboard. He hated the garish bright colours and the badly stitched pattern, but they made him smile every time he went into find some bedsheets that weren’t ugly blue.

You considered putting the umbrella sheets on his bed as you closed the front door behind you and dropped your new key into the bowl next to the door where he usually kept his. You decided against it. As much as you loved the way he laughed when you brought them up you wanted his attention to be solely on you tonight. You’d worn that dress he liked so much, a white sun dress with delicate yellow flowers dotted across the skirt. It was garishly girly and not wholly appropriate for the time of year as the weather began to change and the cold seeped into the city, but he liked it and that was good enough for you.

You’d been shopping in the week after work and bought new lingerie that would horrify your mother and give your grandmother a heart attack. The friend you’d gone with had waggled her eyebrows at you when you’d picked it out causing the both of you to burst into fits of giggles in the shop. She’d laughed knowing what you were planning for the weekend.

You were wearing said lingerie now. You’d had to wear a jacket over your dress to stop the red lace being so obviously visible as you sat on the bus to get to Horacio’s. The only person you wanted looking at your new red lace was him, not the bus pervs.

You slipped your jacket off and kicked off your shoes and made your way to his kitchen. His apartment was small and open plan all save for the bedroom and bathroom. It was light and airy and surprisingly tidy for a man who lived his life in organised chaos. You had seen his desk at work.

He would be home soon and you knew he’d have nothing substantial to eat at his place. Food shopping was his least favourite chore. You dumped your bag onto the kitchen counter and began stacking his fridge with meals you’d cooked for him. Just enough to last him the weekend, you weren’t about to start cooking every meal for a man you didn’t even live with yet. But he’d need the weekend to catch up on rest after his week away, so you’d allowed yourself this one domestic nicety… just this once.

You packed the last Tupperware tub away in his fridge when you heard the key in the lock. You spun round and leapt onto the couch, attempting to look as causal as you could, pretending to read the old TV guide left on the coffee table.

Horacio closed the door behind him and caught sight of you, sat nonchalantly on his sofa, flicking through his discarded newspapers and magazines. You turned to look up at him and batted your eyelashes at him, unable to keep the smile from spreading across your face.

It was a rare day that he wore his uniform home, but today was just such a rarity. He was dressed in his khaki greens, Captain’s rank slides displayed on his shoulders, and his name emblazoned across his chest. His broad shoulders were barely contained by the short sleeved shirt and his tanned arms were very much on display, muscles rippling as he reached out to take your hands and pull you up to stand in front of him.

You expected him to make a comment about the dress, or about the red bra strap he could see peaking out from beneath the neckline but instead he surprised you,

‘I missed you’, he smiled as he said it, showing the dimples you loved so much and that sparkle in his eyes reignited as he looked you over.

He pulled you into a hug and you buried your face in the crook of his neck. He was warm and strong and you could smell the remnants of cigarette smoke and cologne on his shirt.

He slowly dragged a hand up your body, reminding himself how soft and good you felt beneath his large palm, and stopped as he reached your chin, gently nudging you to look up at him and kiss him.

You obliged and sunk into him as his lips chastely brushed yours before pulling you in for a bruising kiss. You had missed him so much. It had only been a week and you knew you sounded like some love sick teenager but as he splayed his palm against your back, pulling you hard against him, at least you knew the feeling was mutual.

He broke the kiss and grinned down at you, your height difference never more apparent than when you were stood up close to each other.

‘How was your week, mi amor? How much did you miss me?’ He winked at you as he squeezed your ass, pulling your dress up so he could feel your hot skin against his palm.

‘Oh you know how it is’ you ran your hands up his chest, working your way up over his shoulders and up to his jawline, cleanly shaven and smooth. You threaded your fingers into the short hair at the nape of his neck and stood up on your tip toes so you were eye level with him, ‘I guess I thought about you maybe once or twice’.

Your words elicited a growl from your captain who grabbed at your thighs and pulled you up, your legs wrapped around his waist and your back against the wall. He easily supported your weight with one arm and palmed at your now exposed thighs with his other, pushing your dress up as high as he could, catching a glimpse of your new red panties, your arousal beginning show itself.

‘Don’t be like that, niñita, tell daddy how much you missed him’.

You dug your nails gently into the back of his neck, letting him know his words were having an effect.

A shit-eating grin was plastered to his face as he pressed his forehead to yours. You hated how easily he could make you come undone. He loved it.

You shifted to try and steal a kiss but he was wise to you and pulled away.

‘You haven’t earned that yet, baby, you have to earn that’.

He pulled a whine from you as he dragged his fingers slowly over your folds, your underwear giving away your slickness.

Horacio laid wet, lazy kisses up your neck, pausing only to suck on your pulse point, leaving a blushed purple mark you’d be wearing for the next few days. He kissed along your jawline tentatively and stopped to bite gently on your ear lobe.

‘Are you going to be a good girl for me?’ He whispered before pulling back to look you in the eyes.

You couldn’t help yourself as you responded, ‘yes, Captain’.

His commanding stare wavered and he let out a laugh, knowing full well you were taking the piss, before kissing you quickly then dropping you down back on to your feet and taking your hand.

He lead you into the bedroom and set about pulling your dress off you.

‘I’m so fucking glad you didn’t put the umbrella sheets on the bed’ he chuckled, recognising with relief the white sheets he’d left on the bed a week ago.

You laughed with him as your dress was yanked over your head, leaving you standing in only your underwear.

He paused for a moment to take in the sight of you.

‘You are just… god I love you so much’ he looked at you with what you could only describe as adoration.

He was domineering in bed, in control at all times and loved to hear you call him daddy. He would edge you until you were begging him to let you cum, loving the way you writhed underneath him, clawing at his back and up his arms and all but crying his name as he worked you the way he wanted.

But other times he would look at you like you were the only person on Earth that mattered to him. Sometimes he would look at you in a way that could break your heart clean in two. You hoped that would never change.

You sidled up to him and began unbuttoning his shirt slowly. You peeled off the khaki layer, letting his shirt fall to the floor as he stood perfectly still for you. He would take control in a minute, but for now it was your turn.

You untucked his white undershirt, tugging at it to get him to take it off, you couldn’t reach up high enough to take it off him yourself. He did as you wanted and pulled his T-shirt off as you dragged your nails over his bare chest. He sighed and lolled his head back at your touch. Just like putty in your hands.

You inspected his torso, running your fingers over every new bruise and laid gentle kisses over each one. You didn’t know what exactly they did on these training weeks, but it was rough. He always came back battered and bruised. He couldn’t say much, wouldn’t even if he was allowed to, but what he did tell you made you worry about him. He was a dedicated officer, he believed in his country and believed that he was serving it to the best of his ability. But everyone knew the narcos were beginning to tighten their grip around Colombia’s throat, choking their own home land to make a point to the rest of the world.

And who was meant to stop them? Your Horacio. The man almost whimpering before you as you kissed down his ribs. You knew he could be fierce, you feared he could cruel, but you couldn’t believe it right now, not as he threaded his hands into your hair as you dropped to your knees before him.

You wrestled with his belt for a moment and finally managed to pull it through the loops of his slacks, letting it fall to the floor as you looked up at him, eyes locked on his, as you unbuttoned his trousers and went for his zip.

His hands grasped yours and before you could do anything more and suddenly he was squatted down on his haunches in front of you, eyes level with yours with a smirk on his face.

‘No baby’ he crooned so smoothly, ‘you haven’t earned that’.

He scooped you up in one movement and dragged your legs around his waist again, his cock pressing firmly against your inner thigh. He sucked another purple bruise to your skin just above your collar bone then knelt to drop you down on the bed.

He stood above you, tall, shirtless, a sheen of sweat beginning to form across his body. You looked up at him, lying on your back on the bed, your hands above your head and legs bent at the knees hanging off the edge. His eyes raked over you, taking in the soft flesh of your hips, the way your chest was rising and falling in anticipation, the bruises he’d left on you blooming nicely, the purple of them complimenting the way your skin blushed under his gaze.

He leant down over you, kissing up your belly and pulled at bra down until he freed both of your breasts and rolled a nipple between his finger and thumb. He took the other into his mouth and you let out a low moan, making him pinch hard with his fingers and lick up your chest, up your neck until his lips crashed against yours.

There was less composure this time, a mash of teeth and tongue as you pulled on his hair and held him close to you. He pulled away as he felt your grip on his hair tighten and slipped down off the bed and sat to remove his combat boots and trousers, leaving him in just his boxers.

He knelt on his knees and positioned himself between your legs.

‘Were these expensive’ he asked, a sly grin on his lips as he ran his finger under the waistband of your panties.

‘Very’ you crooned as you leant up on an elbow and unhooked your bra with your free hand, pulling it off you and leaving your chest exposed. Your grin matched his.

‘Good’ was all the response he gave before he ripped your panties off you, tearing the lacy fabric easily with one hand.

He dragged his hands down your thighs and grabbed your ankles, hooking each knee over his shoulders and dragged his tongue hard over your clit. You gasped at the sudden sensation and let your head drop back as you collapsed down on the bed.

Horacio dove in, licking and sucking at you like it was the last time he would ever get to do it. He set a relentless pace before he slid a finger into you, making easy work of finding that spot that made you moan. Your thighs tensed as he added another finger, all the while bearing down on your clit, feeding off every moan and whimper that left your mouth.

You felt the heat rising in your lower belly, knowing you were just moments away from release, his name dripping from your lips when he stopped. He knelt up and looked at you from between your thighs, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and arched an eyebrow at you.

‘What’s the matter, baby?’ He teased.

You knew he wanted you to beg but you weren’t going to give into him yet, you wouldn’t let that smug satisfaction bloom across his face so soon. You leant up on your elbows again, meeting his gaze.

He saw your refusal to play a long and leant down to lick slowly up your folds and swipe lightly across your clit. You bit your bottom lip hard and let your head fall back to your shoulder blades.

He kept his eyes on you, fascinated by the way he could pull you apart with just a flick of his tongue. Instead he ran his hand up your thigh a pressed his index finger to your clit, his cock jumped as your body jolted against his touch. He rubbed hard circles on your bundle of nerves until your breathing hitched and he felt you right on the edge of orgasm and pulled away again.

You stared at him again, pupils blown black but refused to beg. You wanted more and you were going to get it.

‘Not going to be a good girl for me hmm? I’ll show you what happens when you’re not good for me’ he stood quickly, unhooking your ankles and pushed your further up the bed. He pulled off his boxers and let his cock spring free. You ached for him.

He positioned himself above you and leant down to kiss up your neck. He pressed the tip of his cock to your entrance as he felt you clench around him, desperate for him.

He grabbed your arms, pulling them above your head and grasped them both with one hand, using the other to lean himself above you.

‘You don’t get to cum until I say so, you understand? Don’t you dare cum until I tell you you can’ he demanded in your ear. You could hear from the strain in his voice that he was almost as desperate as you were, he was just better at controlling it.

Your response was low and breathy, ‘yes, daddy’.

He groaned as he pushed into you, deep and throaty, a string of curses whispered into your ear as he gave you both a moment to adjust.

The heat had coiled up in your belly again and god did it feel good just to have him inside you. He was so cocky and demanding but you could feel him fighting back his own release already. He slowly began moving his hips, building up a rhythm that didn’t have you both coming undone too soon.

You were hot and tight around him, your legs wrapped around his hips as he picked up his pace, chasing his high but denying you yours. He knew just how to hit that spot inside you, knew just how to make you moan low and utter his name like it was the dirtiest of curse words. But he denied you until he was snapping his hips against yours, the filthiest of sounds filling his small bedroom.

He released your hands from above your head and you instantly raked them up his back, nails digging in to his soft skin, feeling every movement of every muscle. He dragged his thumb across your clit, causing you to clench down on him. His eyes snapped closed and his head hung as his pace faltered slightly. He slowed, catching his breath and denying himself release until he had you right where he wanted you.

Your eyes were lidded and your breath quick and shallow as he pressed his thumb to your clit again, his forehead against yours, his gaze meeting yours.

‘Tell me, princessa, tell me what you want’ he slowed his thrusts even more and you moaned, your orgasm so close, held back only by your stubbornness.

You gave in.

‘Fuck me, Horacio, please, let me cum’ you pulled his hair and barely managed to form a sentence before he leant down and bit your bottom lip, pulling and sucking on it as he thrust into you, rubbing his thumb over your bundle of nerves.

His touch had you seeing white, you gripped his biceps, sure you were going to leave little indentations with your nails.

‘I’m gonna-’ he cut you off before you could say it.

‘Cum for me, mi amor’ the last word came out as a moan as he felt your body tense under him.

You moaned his name and clawed at his shoulders as you were finally allowed your release. It washed over you as you felt his hips stutter and his head dropped down to your shoulder. He bit at your neck as he filled you, unapologetically pulling at your hair and sliding the hand that had been tending to your clit up to grab at your tit, squeezing hard sure to leave bruises.

You felt him slump against you as he came down. You pulled his body against yours, letting the mattress take the weight of both you, spent and sweaty as your skin stuck to his.

He kept his head buried against your neck as he caught his breath and willed his heart rate to slow enough to let some blood flow back to his brain.

You traced circles on his back, feeling marks and indentations from your nails raking over his tan skin, the aftershocks of your high waning. You knew he liked the marks you left on him, knowing under his shirt he was marked and owned was a secret just between you two.

His breathing slowed and he leant up on his forearms to brush the hair from your forehead and smile down at you.

He placed a gentle kiss to your lips, soft and loving and you felt him smile against you.

‘Glad to be home, Captain?’ You bit his lower lip and smiled back.

He groaned as he pulled out of you, keen for the next round but spent for the moment, and flopped down on his back next to you.

‘I’m really fucking glad I gave you that key’.

You laughed and agreed, you were pretty fucking pleased too.

He turned to look at you and brushed your cheek gently with his hand, ‘and I’m really really glad you didn’t put the umbrella sheets on the bed’.

#i forgot that i queued this and it posted randomly yesterday so have it now instead #horacio carrillo x reader #horacio carrillo #horacio carrillo x you #colonel carrillo #colonel carrillo x reader #colonel carrillo x you #carrillo x reader #carrillo x you #narcos #narcos fanfiction #narcos fanfic #maurice compte #horacio carrillo x f!reader

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brownstonearmy · 3 years

Text

2021-08-01: Out In The Styx (Part 1)

Tuesday September 15 (evening)

In the days since our last adventure, the poopy tornadoes have subsided. Unfortunately, another threat has begun to take its toll on the citizens of Brownstone. There's something in the water that seems to be making the residents (for lack of a better word) stupid. Rooney thinks that Brynnan is probably behind (or at least involved with) whatever is going on with the water. The party has been tasked by new mayor Zaribeth Quickfingers to find and fix the problem, but the usual culprits for water problems aren't involved this time.

Lucky suggests flipping a coin to determine where the party should investigate next, and the options are these: several holes that have opened up in the ground in recent adventures, the shadow spire, some other plane, and (just for funsies) trying to gain access to the Nine Hells. Lucky doesn't want to flip the coin herself because the coin tends to land sideways far too often. Spleenifer performs the coin flips and it is determined that the hole where Yula got incinerated at the Harvest Festival is where the party will start today's investigation.

Aside from a few safety cones and a sign warning about the dangers of falling into the hole, not much repair work has been done on the massive hole. The sewer's magical rubbish incinerator is still visible at the bottom of the hole, along with a few stray pieces of outhouse lumber that didn't hit the incinerator 10 feet below. A viscous orange goo is seeping onto the floor of the incineration chamber.

Lucky eyes the goo and says "Someone should probably taste it and see if it's the Dumb Liquid."

Dear reader, this is the exact moment where the adventure train starts to go off the rails in the most wonderful way possible. No one in the party wants to taste it, so naturally the role of test subject falls upon Zaribeth Quickfingers. Who, it should be noted, isn't present at all for this discussion. The party will secretly give it to the mayor in the guise of a pie to test the liquid.

Lucky dumps out four jars' worth of jam from her pack and uses Mage Hand to get the liquid in the jar. She also prestidigitates the words "DO NOT EAT" onto the jar. You know, for safety. Once the samples have been captured, some additional details about the goo emerges. It's about the consistency of honey, just barely translucent, and smells a bit musty. Now all that's left is to enlist the help of a talented baker with questionable morals.

That's where Granny Agatha comes in. "What brings you to my doorstep?" she asks.

"Mischief," says the party.

This resonates with Granny Agatha, who has been nursing a grudge against government and politicians for a while after her court appearance. She agrees to make a pie for the party's use, but only on the condition that she gets to bake and keep a similar pie for her own purposes. Pie-based political revolution is agreeable for both parties, and two mystery liquid pies come out of the oven a short time later.

Once everyone gets close to the Mayoral Manor, Spleenifer and Q (who is going as Disco today) split up to provide reconnaissance and distractions as Lucky polymorphs into regular halfing who works for the just-now-made-up Halfling Food Delivery Service. Lucky knocks on the door and a guard signs for the delivery. As the guard turns around, Lucky becomes invisible and sneaks through the door before it closes.

Guards in the Mayor Manor are a new addition under the Quickfingers administration, and Disco notices that there are also four plainclothes guards making regular patrols of the area. Disco slinks into the shadows of the evening's twilight and becomes effectively invisible. Meanwhile, Spleenifer does not attempt to hide her great height in the slightest and starts wandering the outside perimeter of the building.

Spleenifer finds a suitable spot of wall and gives it a mighty kick. It makes a terrible racket as Spleenifer kicks a hole clean through the wall. It appears that Shepherd Dunwall, the previous mayor, had renovated some of the building's exterior after the town flooded with some of his ample manure collection.

Back inside the manor, the invisible Lucky is dealing with a different situation. The guard with the pie is waffling on whether or not to sneak a taste. Lucky does her best mimicry of the guard's voice to convince him that it's probably not a good idea.

Disco's employing a similar tactic on the plainclothes guards from their hiding spot in the shadows. Their first attempt convinces a guard that Disco's whispering is actually a ghost, and that guard refuses to listen to sassy ghosts as a matter of principle. But Disco's second attempt on the next guard... that gets some traction.

"Does your father know where you work?" Disco asks the guard. The guard, whom we'll call Randy, comes to realize that he's working for a criminal and that Disco's voice is actually the voice of his conscience. "Randy's conscience" tells him to cause trouble for his employer. How much trouble should he cause? Pooping on the mayor's desk without getting caught would be a good start. Randy's convinced and leaves his post to go inside.

On a different side of the building, two uniformed guards have confronted Spleenifer. She places her Handy Haversack on her head and screams "I AM THE WRONG DISHONORABLE SPLEENIE MEANIE!" The guards are taken aback for a moment before realizing that she's likely a victim of the so-called "stupid juice" in the water.

The guards march back inside to give Zaribeth an update on the situation. Lucky is still invisible and has managed to sneak her way through several doors to reach Zaribeth's office. The pie guard (I'm just gonna call him Gordy) has placed the pie on Zaribeth's desk, but she's in the middle of doing a pile of mayoral paperwork. Zaribeth tells Spleenifer's guards (Jerome and Albert) to just handle the situation however they see fit. Even if it involves a little bit of light murder.

Randy almost comes into Zaribeth's office but sees Zaribeth sitting there and sneaks back a bit. "WHAT SHOULD I DO, CONSCIENCE?" Randy whispers. And Lucky, who is unaware of Disco's previous conversation with Randy, is able to reply in such a way that only Randy can hear: "Do it right outside."

And thus, Randy drops his trousers and poops right outside the boss's office door.

Zaribeth knows Randy is afflicted with a condition where he sometimes hears voices, but curtly asks him to do it somewhere else because she's trying to get all this paperwork done.

Jerome and Albert confront Spleenifer again and try to convince her to leave without having to resort to violence. But when Spleenifer corrects their grammar while using the phrase "second person pronouns," the guards know that she's not actually on the stupid juice. But this doesn't immediately trigger violence in the guards. Instead, it causes a moral debate between the Albert and Jerome about the merits of killing. Spleenifer goes off on a series of tangents and eventually convinces the guards that if they let her be a guard for the next five to fifteen minutes, she'll leave on her own.

Albert and Jerome fold like cheap lawnchairs, leaving their posts to go get a drink instead. Randy has the misfortune of emerging from the main door after his act of bowel rebellion, and Spleenifer berates him for using the door instead of this new "entrance" that Speenifer's sizable boot just added to the wall.

Inside the mayor's office, Zaribeth gets distracted enough to eat the delicious-smelling pie on her desk. But the problem now is that she doesn't have a fork handy. But Lucky's got that covered! She uses sleight of hand to shove a fork into Zaribeth's desk drawer.

Zaribeth checks the drawer for the fork that she "forgot" she put in there and tucks into the pie. "THIS PIE GOOD," she says. With the party's suspicions confirmed, Lucky begins the process of vacating the premises with Disco and Spleenifer.

Now that the party's identified part of the problem, they go to collect more samples of the goo. Lucky once again uses Mage Hand to secure the samples, which causes a wild magic surge that results in her hair to try to escape Lucky's head and also makes the hair repeat back random words it overhears. With four more jam jars full of treacherous ooze, the party searches out a familiar (and technically dead) person: Jangles.

Jangles' house looks condemned and covered in caution tape, but Disco understands that this is probably some sort of illusion to keep up the appearances of Jangles' death. "Yoohoo!" Disco shouts from the parlor of Jangles' house once they've let themselves in.

"Yoohoo!" Lucky's hair repeats.

After a bit of searching, the party is able to coax Jangles out of hiding. Jangles is wearing disheveled clothes and presenting as masculine today. When Jangles hears about Lucky's pie-related treachery, they want to see it firsthand via memory viewing. They offer Lucky an ugly hat that is part of a pair that allows memories to flow between the hats. Lucky declines the offer for now until her hair calms down.

It turns out that Jangles may have created an item during their lockdown that might be helpful to the party. Jangles retrieves an airtight box that contains an object called the Towel of McClane. It basically works like a reverse-version of the Decanter of Endless Water and endlessly absorbs liquids instead of producing them. Jangles gives the party a brief safety lesson on this partially-tested object, and the party prepares to depart for the evening.

As the party is going out the door, Jangles learns that Spleenifer is "practicing law" and asks if she would be willing to help "settle the Jangles estate." You know, as much as you can settle an estate while the person in question is actually alive. Oh, and there's one last little tidbit before we conclude for the adventure for the evening:

Lucky makes it home to Hilaria to show off her new talking hair. Hilaria loves it and tries to teach it how to swear like a parrot. She also tries to feed the hair crackers. Those two are just so cute together!

Stay tuned next time for more!

#Dungeons and Dragons #adventure log #stupid juice #dumb #granny agatha #hair #shits and giggles #towel #pie

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deliriousgeek · 4 years

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She’s the Alpha (Owen Grady x Reader) .8

Masterlist

Sorry if there are typos! Enjoy <3

The meeting had ended and Y/n was full of questions as well as clear opinions on the park. The meeting had consisted of mostly appealing to endorsers rather than the actual functions of the park. A business representative of InGen and the Hammond Foundation stood up on the stage talking about things such as what funding would do for the park and how globally impactful their contributions would be. The speakers had essentially summed up their colorful talk with the conclusion that investors would not be giving money to the park, but to their own future, because the park would supposedly triple their investments. Y/n didn't care to hear about such details, if anything they would only be put down as negative comments in her review. Mr. Masrani had stood from his seat and walked to the stage where he announced that the tour would begin shortly.

"We now have a personal tour available for VIP park goers. A tour that is led, by yours truly. To fully see what you will be investing in I would like to demonstrate this personal tour."

A group of Jurassic World workers came out from the back and began passing headsets to the people in the meeting room.

He then was handed a headset and battery pack from a Jurassic World employee before putting it on and tapping the headset mic.

"Can you hear me?" He smiled.

Y/n and the rest of the meeting attendees were then escorted through tall double doors that had been unveiled by a curtain, Mr. Masrani in the lead.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Masrani said, "our first stop will be the John Hammond Creation lab. Here visitors can see our very own dinosaurs being made. Each specimen is unique and different, all special in their own unique ways."

The group proceeded down a long hallway. Mr. Masrani had said these were like backstage doors that employees use to move around the park quicker. It was easier than having to travel through hordes of excited travelers. It also kept the group out of the heat, an attribute Y/n was thankful for.

Upon entering the creation lab Y/n was splendidly surprised to see that no visitors were in the corridors.

"The creation is temporarily closed for now, as we are in here for the tour, but when we move on to our next stop it will be open again."

Y/n observed through the glass as she watched the scientists take notes and press buttons on computers. Others held syringes and injected them into tubes. Somewhere operating machines. There were white machines mixing chemicals together, but what intrigued Y/n the most, were the white tables full of nests. They had eggs in them. Dinosaur eggs. Real, dinosaur eggs. Nearly forgetting her professionalism Y/n had to refrain from pushing herself up against the glass to take a closer look at them.

"My lead scientist Dr. Henry Wu will be joining us for this part of the tour."

Upon his name being called a man stepped out from behind the glass walls, a smile on his face. "Hello everyone, as Mr. Masrani said I am Dr. Henry Wu. Lead scientist of Jurassic World."

He then went into a spiel about dinosaur genetics and the creation of dinosaur DNA that nearly sounded rehearsed. Y/n did not need to listen to his dumbed down version of dinosaur genetic history, she heard enough of it from her father and college professors. Dr. Wu's eyes were scanning the crowd as he spoke, making sure to have direct eye contact with each individual. When his eyes did not meet with Y/n's, as she was staring through the glass at the eggs, he lingered for a bit more on her face before pausing his rehearsed lines.

"Dr. Grant."

Hearing her name called she looked towards the front to see Dr. Wu staring directly at her.

Henry addressed her again. "I didn't know we would be visited by such a renowned guest. You seem to be taking an interest in the eggs.” He gave her a modest grin.

Taken aback to being singled out of the crowd Y/n cleared her throat and replied. "Yes Dr. Wu, they intrigue me very much. It's astounding to see how far in technology we have come."

"Indeed Dr. Grant we have." Henry turned to Simon. "Mr. Masrani, you all came just in time for the hatching of one of our new triceratops. If it's all the same to you I would like Dr. Grant to join me in the lab for this special occasion."

With a nod of his head Mr. Masrani replied, "If she is willing, I don’t see any harm in doing so."

Of course the two men only had one thing in mind and it wasn't for Y/n to enrich her knowledge as a paleontologist, but rather to increase her good review on the park as an author. Out of all the people attending the park her review would be the one of the most highly respected and anticipated accounts yet. They had no choice but to ensure the park would get high ratings from her.

"Dr. Grant?" Dr. Wu turned back to her for approval.

Stunned by the conversation she just witnessed and the grand opportunity offered, she almost stuttered a reply. “I’m truly honored. I would be delighted.”

Dr. Wu nodded his head. “Right this way.” He gestured to the door he came from.

Y/n stepped forward into the lab with Dr. Wu trailing behind her. The lab was a marvel, that was obvious. Its stark white with blue accents suited the mood. There were shelves of plants, amphibians, and reptiles lining the far walls. Flat screens hung on the walls with x-rays of what looked to be a scanning of something on the cellular level. It was a busy room to say the least. Assistants carrying test tubes and doctors on computers conversing with their peers. It was a sight to behold, but nothing compared to the incubator Y/n was guided to.

Y/n’s mind began to spiral as she tried to memorize every detail of the sight in front of her. The incubator had 19 rounded out slots with a heating lamp directly above the eggs. They were off-white and rather awkwardly round in shape, but beautiful nonetheless. Some eggs were lightly dusted with spots; some were bigger than the rest. Compared to the other incubators in the room, these eggs were small. If Y/n didn’t know better she would think they were chicken eggs. A wave of something Y/n could only describe as pure pride washed over her, drenching her in emotion so vivid that it was hard to hide. For nearly all of her adult life she had worked and studied to finally live up to this moment, a moment that she earned. There were no other words that Y/n could think to convey what she was feeling other than astounded. Her heart began to beat fast with anticipation as questions and hypotheses flooded her head. What temperature do the eggs need to properly develop? How are the eggs conceived? Do Jurassic World scientists gather the eggs themselves? How long are the eggs incubated? When will they hatch? Who imprints on them when they are hatched?

Just as she thought her would beat out of her chest, it stopped. It was just barely there, but it was visible. A tiny crack, followed by a bigger one, then another, and another, until a little foot poked out. After that came the beak. Y/n was in awe as the hatchling began to claw its way out the egg.

“It’s beautiful,” was all she could say.

Tag List:

@littlegangrel @thebadassbitchqueen

#jurassic park #jurassic world reader insert #jurassic world #jurassic park reader #Owen Grady #owen grady x reader #owen x reader #claire dearing #owen grady x writer reader #owen grady x grant reader #jurassic world imagines #jurassic world x reader #dr henry wu #ingen #owen grady x doctor reader #owen grady x paleontologist

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zrtranscripts · 3 years

Text

Season 9, Mission 5: Sandstorm

Summer Holiday

[ship horn honks, waves crash on shore]

PETER LYNNE: Listen, all I'm saying is he could have dropped us off a little bit nearer.

JANINE DE LUCA: Our captain was clear from the outset, Peter. Our information on Tunisia is limited. He did not wish to deliver us to a port which might present unknown dangers. Or docking fees. Hence the empty stretch of coast we've landed on.

SAM YAO: Oh, it's nice though, isn't it? The sandy cliffs, the crystal blue sea, the rocky beach. Way better than that tiny ship's hold. Not that I didn't enjoy helping Janine tick “win 1,000 consecutive games of chess” off her bucket list. Oh, oh hey, careful how you carry the briefcase, Five. Remember, it's got Veronica inside. [shouts] You okay in there, Veronica?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Sam, for the last time, this case contains hardware running a full copy of my personality connected to a full suite of sensor systems, including auditory. You do not need to shout. Janine, Amelia gave me a message to play upon our arrival in Tunisia. Stand by.

AMELIA SPENS: Hello, Tunisia team. Let's make this super clear: you are not over there sightseeing. You're infiltrating a secret base codenamed Red Scorpion at the behest of General Bakari. He's directed you to a city near Red Scorpion called New Agadir. Until you reach New Agadir, where you must impersonate the mercenary group Death's Hand, you should pretend to be independent UK traders.

This is a covert mission, so if things go badly, I can't help you. Remember, the red fungus endangers the whole world. If it's in Red Scorpion, we need to know. Don't mess this up. Amelia out.

PETER LYNNE: Right, right, right. So just-just to make sure I've got this right, we're in another country with no support and we left our only doctor on the boat. Fantastic!

VERONICA MCSHELL: It's fortunate Maxine was present to identify the measles outbreak on the ship. If we hadn't left her to take care of it, it might have become a pandemic, Maintaining herd immunity via vaccination has proven almost impossible since the apocalypse.

JANINE DE LUCA: I see a road atop the hill heading west. Miss Spens’ preliminary scouting identified settlements on the Tunisian coast. That road leads to an outpost called Kalaat El-Amal. From there, we can arrange transport south towards New Agadir. Miss Spens also provided me details of a contact she's established in New Agadir who can assist us, a man by the name of Mohammed Boujettif. We must find him there.

Aside from anything else, we may need him to take Dr. Myers’s place in Death's Hand, although if he has no medical experience, that could prove difficult. The alias of the team member Dr. Myers was to impersonate is Doctor Death.

International subterfuge... it has been some time. Remember people, we do not know how the apocalypse landed here or what dangers await. Watch out for each other and keep your wits. Up the hill to the road, run!

SAM YAO: Oh, I thought the going would get easier once we reached the top of the hill, but now the road's covered in sand!

PETER LYNNE: Well, there's not much to stop it blowing in from the desert. As far as local scenery goes, you've got potholed roads and sand dunes and that's basically all you're going to get.

SAM YAO: So I get that we're pretending to be traders for now, then when we reach New Agadir we'll be impersonating Death's Hand, but what do we do if the actual Death’s Hand show up? I mean, my briefing said my cover is someone called Sven “Psycho” Mountback, who I don't exactly want to meet.

PETER LYNNE: Well, Amelia is recruiting the mercenaries now for a job in the UK. That's a trap that'll keep them out of our way. And they mostly work in the shadows, so their faces aren't well-known. So in theory at least, we should be able to pass for them. And Bakari swears he can get them - by which I mean us - onto the base.

JANINE DE LUCA: Gamma 1 insertion protocols, as Tom would have said.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: (in the distance) Guys, it's me!

SAM YAO: Does anyone hear that? Look, behind us. There's someone coming up the road dressed like a deckhand from the ship, waving.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Guys, it's Frances!

PETER LYNNE: Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Dempsey, what are you doing here?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I, uh, stowed away on the ship. Hid in a storage crate, swam to shore when I'd heard you'd landed. Bribed a sailor to tell me when you did. A bit wet from the swim. I know you didn't want me to come, but I swear I'll be useful.

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Dempsey, this is unacceptable! You were expressly forbidden...

SAM YAO: Uh, Janine? Usually you don't drift off when you're berating people.

JANINE DE LUCA: The sky, it's turned white. Winds are rising. If my memories of Algeria hold true, this indicates an incoming dust storm. We must get to cover quickly.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Does that mean I can come?

JANINE DE LUCA: It means, Miss Dempsey, that since there is no way to get you back to the UK, you are unfortunately in danger with the rest of us. There, gleaming structures on the horizon. Kalaat El-Amal. All of you, in that direction. Run!

[wind blows]

SAM YAO: The outpost is ahead. Yeah, I think I see an outer wall. It's hard to make out in this sand. [spits] It really gets in your teeth, doesn't it, Five?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Changing global weather patterns, likely brought on by a large increase in methane emissions from decaying flesh, have left this region more prone to dust storms. My sensors should have alerted us to the stormfront. And I failed to predict Frances's arrival.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Um, quick question. Why is the suitcase talking?

PETER LYNNE: That's our... computer expert, Veronica. She's our expert... who is also a computer.

SAM YAO: Guys, look behind you. There's-there's like a solid wall of sand looping towards us.

JANINE DE LUCA: We're on the storm's periphery, but the eye is approaching fast and the dust already feels cutting in these winds. Everybody switch to comms, cover your mouths. You should have desert goggles and masks in your packs. Miss Dempsey, take mine. I will use my shirt.

PETER LYNNE: Wait, wait, wait. Janine, that's ridiculous. She can have my mask.

JANINE DE LUCA: It is done, Peter, there is no time to argue. I see no rocks large enough for shelter. Our only hope is reaching Kalaat El-Amal before we're subsumed. Run!

[wind whistles]

FRANCES DEMSPEY: God, it's like being in a blender full of dust! Getting hard to balance in the wind. Five, grab my arm so we don't get separated.

JANINE DE LUCA: I do not see the road! Does anyone have a visual?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Janine, I have run estimates on the wind speed and density of the storm. There is less than a 3% chance of our surviving.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, fantastic! Thank you, Veronica. Helpful as always.

VERONICA MCSHELL: If I'd warned you of the storm sooner, you might have been able to shelter near the cliffs. I'm sorry.

PETER LYNNE: Janine, not to seem overprotective, but obviously you should take my mask. I'm literally indestructible!

JANINE DE LUCA: You have an anti-P-type bomb in your body, Peter. Inhaling sand might damage it. We cannot risk that. I appreciate you're afraid of losing me after the Hebrides. I let you join this mission because I trust you, but I'm as worried for you as you are for me. Do not disobey my orders!

[zombie shrieks]

SAM YAO: What was that?

PETER LYNNE: Look, those are human shapes being whirled about in the wall of sand behind us. Some are missing limbs or torn in half. They're all thrashing about. Yep, they're zombies.

JANINE DE LUCA: We cannot let them catch us. We have no idea if the zombie virus has variants here. Even if we survive the storm with our cure stocks intact, they might not be effective. Likewise Mr. Yao's immunity. We can't let them catch us. Go!

[wind whistles]

SAM YAO: Five! Five, is that you? If you can see me, I'm waving.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: Sam, we see you! Five and I are to your left. Keep moving through the dust.

SAM YAO: Oh, thank God. I can barely make out your outlines. I was worried you were zoms. Have you seen the others? We were trying to keep hold of each other, but the winds kept knocking us down. Storm's interfering with comms beyond point blank range.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: Everyone's been scattered, visibility's practically zero.

VERONICA MCSHELL: I'm trying to calculate everyone's probable vectors, but there are too many variables. At home, I would have more processing power, but this portable me can only handle so much.

During our voyage, I heard Peter talk about Frances's desire to join the mission, but my limited resources did not allow me to model her probable behavior. I was also unable to perceive the worsening weather because my capacity was devoted to reviewing mission files. My limitations have undermined my usefulness.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Not as much as this sand will if any of it gets in your circuits. We've got to get you inside, Veronica. Janine shouldn't have given me her mask. What if she chokes? She's the most important person to the mission.

SAM YAO: Don't think like that, Frances. We just got here. We're not losing people already, not like the Hebrides. I promised Sara we'd come home safe, that we'd bring her fun travel stories.

JANINE DE LUCA: [static] Repeat. [garbled audio] Repeat.

SAM YAO: Janine!

VERONICA MCSHELL: I am detecting faint electromagnetic activity. It may be the outpost.

[zombie growls]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Sam, behind you!

SAM YAO: Oh God, that whirling wall of zoms is almost on us. Five, speed up! They're just gristle and bone, the flesh is torn right off them. The wind’s tossing zoms straight at us. Run, everyone! Head south... gah! That way, I think. Just run!

[wind whistles]

SAM YAO: That's it, Five, keep holding my hand. I've got Frances, we're in a chain.

[zombies growl]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Everybody duck! Oh God, did you see that? A flayed zombie torso, ripped to shreds by the sand. It flew right over our heads in the wind. I'm sorry, Sam, I shouldn't have come.

SAM YAO: Frances, it's okay.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Peter warned me it was dangerous. I just, I really thought I could help. But I know you're all scared of losing people after the Hebrides, but you're all at risk here and I'm making it worse.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao, Runner Five, this is Colonel De Luca. Mr. Lynne and I have made it into Kalaat El-Amal. Can you hear? They have equipment monitoring your approach. They're boosting our comms. They're sealing the entrance against the weather and activating a signal beacon on the outer wall.

SAM YAO: There! Hard to tell in this suit, but those look like... yes, flashing yellow lights ahead.

JANINE DE LUCA: The gate is in front of you, but it is closing fast. If you don't hurry, you'll be trapped outside. Sensors indicate torn zombie flesh has made that swirling storm wall infectious. You cannot risk being engulfed. You must get inside. Run!

[alarm blares, gate creaks and slams shut]

SAM YAO: That's it, Five, we're in. Made it through that gate by inches. Don't see anyone around, just a big metal room with big metal doors. Gate must be automatic. First bit of wider world we've seen since Z-Day, Five, give or take Finland. I wonder how people here are doing.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Guess we're about to find out. We're okay, everyone's okay. We all made it.

VERONICA MCSHELL: And my estimations of Kalaat El-Amal's location were accurate. It will take me time to get used to operating at this capacity, but I will persevere. I am confident I can keep the team safe. After analyzing the Hebrides files, I know how much difficulty you all have without me.

[door rattles open]

SAM YAO: Janine, Peter!

JANINE DE LUCA: It's good to see you all intact, including you, Miss Dempsey. It seems you've left me no choice now but to consider you one of the team. The locals were rather shocked to see us approaching through the storm.

SAM YAO: But they let you in, so they're friendly, right?

PETER LYNNE: Oh, they are very friendly, and very worried. You see, apparently the last few foreign traders to visit Kalaat El-Amal carried serious diseases. Measles, flu, multiple poxes. So they're putting us under quarantine until we're vetted, for a period of no less than three months. That means if we can't find another way out of here, the whole mission is over.

#zombies run #zrs9 #s9m5 #zr transcript #zrs9 spoilers

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connordavidscamera · 4 years

Text

First Date | Connor Brashier

A/n: this is a repost from my Shawn account!! This is my piece and is not stolen.

Summary: neither of you are ready for this night to end. So what if it didn’t?

Warnings: switches POVs

Word count: 2.3k

***

“The night’s still young,” Connor says, looking at the clock on the dashboard.

I rest my head in the palm of my hand and look up at him, “What should we do?”

“We could just drive around. I’ve still got a full tank of gas if you’re down.”

I check the charge on my phone, it’s still at eighty percent, so I shrug. “Okay. Let’s do it. Where to?”

“Nowhere. Everywhere. You pick. Don’t even think about it. Just say the first thing that pops into your head.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“One… two… three.”

“The beach.” We say at the same time.

He smiles, “Then I guess we’re going to the beach.”

I shake my head, “Connor, the closest one is like two hours away.”

“Then I guess you should tell your roommate that something came up and you’re not going home tonight.”

I gape at him.

“What?” He asks with a chuckle and I notice just how beautiful he is when he laughs.

“What are we even doing?” I ask in disbelief.

He turns on his signal light and merges into the empty lane next to us. “We’re having fun. Come on, it’s one night. Just do something crazy with me. Let’s go out to the water and watch the sun come up.”

“You’re insane, you know that?”

“I do.”

“This could get us in trouble.”

“With who?” He laughs and takes the hand that is currently holding my head in place. “Y/n, it’s no big deal. But… if it’s really bothering you, I don’t mind taking you back to your apartment. We can call it a night and I’ll take you out to the beach for our second date.” The sincerity in his voice makes me melt. But all I could focus on was that he wants to go on a second date with me.

I don’t say anything for a while, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

“Well, what’s the verdict? I can get off at the next exit if you want.”

I don’t realize it, but I shake my head. “Keep going.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I place our laced hands in my lap. “I want to.”

“Okay,” Connor beams and focuses back on the road in front of us. “I guess you better get comfortable, we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”

I’m good just like this, I think but can’t bring myself to say as I smile stupidly at our joined hands. I feel him glance over at me again and I involuntarily shrink under his gaze.

By midnight we’re cuddled up on the hood of his truck with coffee and snacks, talking about everything under the stars.

“So wait, you were how old?” He asks, dumbfounded.

“I was six when I first started playing piano and was classically trained by eight. I can also play guitar, harp, cello, and the drums.”

He stares at me in amazement. “You're… wow. You’re fucking phenomenal.”

I shrug off the compliment, “I wouldn’t say all that.”

“You don’t have to. I just did.” He nudges my shoulder with his and smiles down at me. “What other hidden talents do you have?”

I hum and look up at the dark, never ending sky, lit by the moon and stars. “I did ballet for six years. From age nine to fifteen. I hated it.”

“What else?” His chin rests on his arms which rest on his knees. He’s so eager to get to know me and I don’t know what to do about that. I wasn’t used to the attention.

My face burns, “I, uh, have a tattoo. My parents know nothing about it. They’re really strict about that kind of stuff."

"What is it? Where is it?”

I tuck my hair behind my ear. “Let’s go for a swim.”

“What?”

I slide off the hood of his truck and shrug off my cardigan. “Let’s go swimming.” I kick out of my sandals and place them over my discarded cardigan.

“The water has to be at least negative three degrees.”

My jeans are next to go. He’s not at all fazed that I’m stripping right in front of him. “There’s only one way to find out.” I lift my shirt from my chest, revealing my rib tattoo, just peeking from under my red lace bra. “You coming or what?” I wink at him before turning around, skipping toward the ocean.

The sound of his feet hitting the ground makes me smile. I’m thigh deep in the cold water before he catches up with me. “This is crazy, you know that?”

“Well how do you expect to drive all the way to the beach to not even get in the water?”

Connor chuckles and takes my hands. I stare up at him, smiling wide. “You have the most adorable smile.”

I bite my lip and look down at the water crashing against us. “Yeah? Well yours isn’t so bad, either.”

He boops my nose and I scrunch up my face. “You’re so cute.”

“Shut up.”

“No,” he shakes his head, “I mean it. You are downright adorable and I think… I could probably spend every waking moment with you if you let me.”

“Really now? You think you could handle that?”

“I do.”

“Well you are lucky, because I might want that too.”

“So,” he looks at my side where my inked skin is on display. “What’s the tattoo mean?”

“A little bit messy. A little bit ruined. A beautiful disaster. ” I swallow, “It’s a quote from my favorite book. I uh, I got it during one of my dark periods a few years ago.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Very much,” I nod.

“Can I feel it?”

“Sure,” I take his hand and place it just under the wire of my bra.

—

Her fingers are cold against mine, but I revel in the feeling. What we’re doing is far from what I expected to happen. I was just hoping to get a kiss by the time I dropped her off. But now I’m here, in just my boxers, freezing in the ocean with her. And she stands before me, eyes closed, breathing uneven, in nothing but her bra and panties.

I run my fingers gently over the soft skin of her stomach and that’s when she shudders against me, making me melt. It’s intimate being this close to her, and something in me wants this to last forever. She looks so pretty standing in front of me, not a care in the world, just looking like the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. Her hair falls carelessly in her face, covering her burning cheeks. The moonlight basks her in this angelic light and I’m afraid that if I close my eyes, she’ll be gone.

I don’t realize I’ve been staring for so long until a cold gush of water hits me and I stumble back. Y/n’s laughing, no doubt at my shocked face, clutching her stomach. “Sorry,” she clears her throat. “This was just getting too serious for me.”

I wipe at my face, shaking my head. “Oh you’ve started a war.”

“No!” She says already starting to back away from me.

“Yes,” I lunge for her and catch her before she gets too far. She squeals, her back flush against my chest. I spin her around a couple times before I throw her in.

“Connor!” She screams, and stupid me very curiously wants to know how my name would sound when she screams it in different circumstances.

We play around in the water for a while. Splashing and throwing and ducking and diving. It’s the most fun I’ve had on a date ever. This girl has me totally whipped and she doesn’t even know it yet.

After we’ve become all shriveled and the water has become too cold to be bearable, we make our way back to my car. I pull out a couple towels from my trunk and she narrows her eyes at me. “You just have random towels with you at all times?” She asks when I wrap one loosely around her shoulders.

I take mine and run it roughly over my damp hair. “My mom was always overly packed when my brother and I were kids. I guess I just took after her in that aspect. I always have extra clothes and blankets and everything.

She hums, gripping the towel tighter around her, her teeth chattering. "That’s cute.”

“You’re cute,” I muse. “Come on, let’s warm you up,” I walk around her and open the passenger door for her. She smiles gratefully and slips in. I take our clothes from the hood and walk back around to the driver’s side. I blast the heater and see her visibly relax. The dash reads twenty past three. “We still have a couple hours before sunrise. What should we do?”

She shifts in her seat to face me better. “Tell me about film. Like what made you want to do it?”

I sigh, “It’s dumb.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” her hand rests on my bare bicep. “Come on. I really want to know. I want to know you. I’ve told you probably everything you could possibly know about me. Now it’s your turn.”

I hum, “Okay. I guess - I started when I was pretty young. I always liked photos. I still do. But there’s just something about videos. When you can hear and see and feel the energy radiating from the crowd. Pictures are great, don’t get me wrong. Videos are just that little something extra. You get to fully relive a moment instead of just thinking back to it, when you can forget minor details.”

She smiles. “You’re amazing. You know that?”

My face flushes red and I rub the back of my neck sheepishly. “I’m okay, I guess.”

Another hour passes of us just talking about anything, we make our way back out to shore about an hour before the sun comes up. We’re walking hand in hand, neither of us particularly dressed - my jeans hang low on my hips, exposing the waistband on my boxers, and she’s in my sweat top. The sleeves are so long, they bunch up at her wrist so she can comfortably hold my hand.

“What do you think about travel?” I ask her, looking down at her while she looks over the water beside us.

“Travel… hmm. I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to, it’s just hard with classes and stuff. Hard to find the time to get away, I guess.”

I nod, “Yeah, I get that.”

“What about you? You travel a lot with Shawn. Do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah. No, it’s amazing. Exhausting, but amazing.”

“What’s your favorite place you’ve been to?”

“Italy was nice, I really liked Spain too.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Paris. It’s basic, I know. I just always thought it looked pretty.”

Well maybe I can take you one day, I think to myself. “You’ll go someday. I’m sure of it.”

We sit down a short while later and I lean back on my hands as I watch her pull her messy hair into a bun. I want to kiss her, run my thumb over her cheekbones, feel the crushing weight of her lips against mine. She catches me staring and covers my eyes playfully, “Connor, stop!”

“What?” I take her hands and tangle our fingers again.

“You’re staring again,” she says, leaning into me, her head resting in the crook of my neck.

—

For a second my eyes flutter shut, but I will the sleepiness away. “What time does the sun come up?”

“Not for another twenty minutes. You got time to take a nap."

I snuggle closer to him, loving the sea salt smell that coats his body - the scent in itself like a sweet lullaby. But I shake my head, "No, I’m okay. Let’s just,” I yawn. “Let’s just stay like this for a little bit.”

“We can do that,” he wraps one arm around my waist and we stay like this until the sky starts to become lighter and bluer, a comfortable silence still falling over us.

“It’s so pretty,” he says quietly, as if speaking any louder would ruin the moment.

“Yeah, it is.” I yawn again and bury myself into him again.

He chuckles. “You okay there?”

“You’re comfy,” I mumble. “Could fall asleep right here.”

“And I would love nothing more. But I unfortunately have to get us back home.”

“No,” I whine. “Don’t wanna go. Wanna stay here with you.”

“Well I guess we could stay a little longer. How about I take you to breakfast?”

“Like a second date?” I look up at him through hooded eyes.

“Well I haven’t taken you home yet. This is technically still date one.”

I smile, “Okay.”

He pats my thigh and I remove myself from him so he can stand. When he’s done dusting himself off, he holds a hand out to me. We’re dangerously close to each other as the sun basks us in the six o'clock light. His hands detangle from mine and find their way to my jaw. I’m extremely aware of everywhere my body touches his, and before I have the nerve to pull away, his lips are covering mine. I hum and wrap my arms around his neck, playing with the tufts of hair that would touch his collar if I wasn’t wearing his shirt. His tongue slides into my mouth and he bunches up the shirt, pulling me closer to him.

When we pull apart, he rests his forehead against mine, trying to catch his breath. “Let’s go get you something to eat so I can get you home.”

I mock hurt. “Dang. Okay.”

“No,” he laughs. “Because if I take you home, that means I can take you on a second date. Maybe tomorrow?”

“You’d think after 15 hours you’d be tired of me.”

He shakes his head, “I don’t think I ever could.”

***

I hope you enjoyed (again)! Please, like, reblog, and leave feedback!!

#connor brashier #connor brashier x reader #connor brashier x y/n #connor brashier imagines #connor brashier imagine #connor brashier fanfiction #connor brashier blurb #repost from old blog

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bltngames · 4 years

Text

Review: Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine is a weird game for a lot of different reasons. It was among some of the first game reviews I ever wrote for the internet, for one, all the way back in 2005. I was proud enough of that review that when it came time to relaunch TSSZ News in 2008, it was one of five archived reviews I transplanted on to the site. It was also a strange case where I became convinced it was a game I’d never play, originally. I was 23 years old, with no job, no money, and no prospects. I was desperate to play the game that was being sold as the sequel to Super Mario 64, but I could not envision a future where that would ever be possible.

Eventually, I reached my breaking point. Earlier that same year, somebody had linked me to something called “Quake Done Quick.” It was attached to a relatively new site, called the “Speed Demos Archive”, a hub for videos of people finishing games as fast as possible. The site was small, updated manually, and featured a list of roughly 100 games -- maybe less. This was before Youtube, so these were downloadable video files, usually in AVI or MPG format. And it was here that they had a Super Mario Sunshine speedrun. Even on my fledgling broadband internet, it took a considerable amount of time to download. But, with nothing more than two hours of raw, unedited, uncommentated gameplay footage, I watched a user named “Dragorn” play through the entire game (his old run is still viewable on the Internet Archive). Watching a speedrunner flip, spin, and trick his way across levels, I became convinced that Sunshine was incredible.

A few months later, I was surprised by my brother with $200 for Christmas, stuffed inside a greeting card. He said it was for “all the Christmases he missed” since moving out, years ago. Combined with other money I’d received in gifts, I headed to a Gamestop and purchased a Gamecube with my own (used) copy of Super Mario Sunshine. In my mind, it did not matter that I had spoiled the entire game for myself only three months earlier with the speedrun video. Watching someone else play is no substitute for a controller in your own hands. I needed to play it for myself.

In the modern context, Super Mario Sunshine is one of the games attached to the recently released Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. Full disclosure: I will not be buying this collection, and I have not played the version of Super Mario Sunshine it includes. It’s not that these games are bad, but even from the outside looking in, the collection looks underwhelming. It’s full of basic, bare-bones ports of games that deserve more. But it does mean that these games have been on my mind, particularly Super Mario Sunshine, which I finished replaying, separately, a little more than one year ago. It was the first time I’d finished the game since that fateful Christmas of 2004, and it provided a refresh in perspective.

The truth of the matter is, brushing aside everything else about it, Super Mario Sunshine is an easy game to hate. Nintendo was trying a lot of new things with the Gamecube, struggling to figure out what could be done with the leap in horsepower over the Nintendo 64. Their pitch was a Mario that was subtly more serious and realistic. Sunshine is a game with a surprisingly large number of cinematics, and a considerable amount of narrative setup. It sounds like a joke, but it’s true: the game opens with Mario taking a long-deserved vacation on a tropical island, only to be arrested and wrongfully accused of crimes he did not commit. He is sentenced to community service, forced to clean the island of a paint-like substance its residents claim he has used to vandalize their resort town. This is accomplished with the F.L.U.D.D., a backpack-mounted squirt gun perfect for washing down walls and floors. It was the first manual labor he’d been shown doing since the NES version of Wrecking Crew in 1985.

It’s odd territory for Mario, but it leads to the game’s first real problem: Plot. Sunshine is not a game that’s packed with story -- there aren’t a lot of named characters, and there aren’t a lot of genuine story arcs to get hooked in to, but it’s way more than you got in most Mario games. Regardless, the influence of a narrative structure is definitely felt within its levels. One of the benefits of Super Mario 64 is that there was no set order to anything; you might drop in to a level with a specific goal in mind, only to accidentally stumble on to something else. You were encouraged to follow your curiosity, collecting stars more through natural exploration. Even though it’s not always obvious on the surface, the objectives in Super Mario Sunshine are following a specific plotline, which means flat, rigid linearity.

So you might reach an amusement park area, but you can’t go inside until you finish the mission where you open the front gates. Even once you re-enter the level for the next mission inside the amusement park, exploring its various rides will be a moot point, as the game will want you to focus on a specific goal instead. Want to ride the rollercoaster? Too bad, the story dictates it’s not available yet. Though you still have that go-anywhere, do-anything world design from Super Mario 64, the current mission is the only thing that’s ever active. Another example: at the beginning of the game, you open up the first stage -- Bianco Hills. Even though you have a whole village and a sizable lake area to explore, there’s little to do out there, because your mission is about reaching the bottom of the windmill. The second mission, again, doesn’t involve the village or the lake, but now asks you to reach the top of the same windmill in order to fight the game’s first boss, Petey Piranha. And so it goes: big zones to explore, but most of it useless as Sunshine slowly trickles out objectives one at a time, following a barely-visible narrative that drags everything down.

Nintendo had other intentions for the game, too. The company was known for taking its time with game releases -- Super Mario World released in 1990, and it took six years for Super Mario 64 to follow it up. Even once a game was announced, there were often months or even years of delays as the game got pushed back, and back, and back, as with Ocarina of Time. Similarly long waits happened for many of Nintendo’s other flagship franchises (Super Mario Kart, Super Metroid, etc.), and the peanut gallery was getting restless. With the release of the Gamecube, Nintendo made a vow to explore other avenues to release more games, more quickly.

The problem was, all of those delays are exactly what lead to Nintendo’s extremely high bar of quality. Rushing these games out the door meant cutting corners and finding easy ways to tack on extra play time, skipping necessary fine tuning. In The Wind Waker, this notoriously led to the last fourth of the game, wherein you must find and decode maps to dredge up half a dozen pieces of the magical Triforce. For most, this meant hours of sailing out to random, completely featureless areas in the middle of the open ocean hoping to find a single golden tortilla chip. “Tedious” is putting it kindly, but it saved Nintendo from having to delay the game too many times in order to add more in-depth content.

In Super Mario Sunshine, this manifested in a degree of repetition that is difficult to ignore. In both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, most mission objectives are unique. There are occasional repeated missions, like finding 8 red coins, but by and large it's things like rescuing a baby penguin, opening a pyramid, assaulting an airship, or finding your way through a gravity-bending maze. There's enough variety that you don't notice as much when you're asked to do yet another one of Galaxy's purple coin comets.

Sunshine still has unique goals like that, but they are much fewer and farther between. Instead, the bulk of the game is filled with doing the same four or five missions over, and over, and over again. Finding fruit to hatch Yoshi or hunting red coins can be fun occasionally, but Sunshine often makes you do this stuff multiple times per level. Most bosses also must be faced at least twice, sometimes up to three times, and very little changes from fight to fight. And then there are the races -- a man named Piantissimo is waiting for you in most stages, looking to race you to an arbitrary landmark, and every single level has one penultimate mission where you must chase down the hero's evil doppelganger, Shadow Mario. It’s padding, basically, and thanks to a tenuous grip on narrative, there’s few ways to skip the things you don’t want to do.

This isn't even touching on the game's blue coins. They're one of Sunshine's rarer collectibles, and ten blue coins can be traded at the shop for a single Shine Sprite (the main item central to the story). The majority of blue coins can be found by hosing down graffiti found around the island. Spray a circle-shaped pattern on one wall, and a blue coin pops out of another circle-shaped pattern on the opposite side of the level, which you must run to and collect before it disappears. Then, the opposite: spray down the second pattern, and another blue coin will appear back where the first graffiti used to be. In a game full of rerun objectives, this is the worst offender. Rarely are these blue coin graffiti spots interesting or challenging; they primarily exist to fill space and fluff up the Shine counter.

The level concepts themselves also suffer from this repetition. In any other Mario game, “tropical island” would be one theme among many other level types, like deserts, volcanoes and frozen lakes. Sunshine tries to stretch its one theme out to last an entire game, and in practical terms, this means that even after 18 years and two complete playthroughs (three, if you count the speedrun video), I still can’t remember most areas in any kind of specific detail. I remember a couple stage names, maybe a few environmental traits (like the hotel at sunset or the amusement park), but anything beyond that and it all starts blurring into homogeneous beaches, docks, and villages. Even the music -- beyond the iconic acoustic guitar of the Delfino Plaza hub world song, absolutely nothing about Super Mario Sunshine’s soundtrack stands out as memorable in the slightest. Every part of this game plays, looks and sounds like every other part in the worst way possible.

And yet, through some miracle, Super Mario Sunshine does not come out the other end being a bad game. It’s not necessarily good, either, mind you. But when I finally managed to get my hands on this game back in 2004, it made me angry. Super Mario 64 was a tough act to follow, and rather than build on those concepts, Sunshine felt like a massive regression. Nowadays, it’s easier to see the bigger picture. Super Mario Sunshine was a stop-gap as Nintendo slowly pushed Mario back to a more linear, level-based structure. Super Mario Galaxy was another step in this direction, doing away with the open worlds in favor of traditional, straight-forward level design, something that would later be perfected in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World.

That makes Sunshine more of a curious black sheep than anything else. It’s definitely not a game worth hating -- its biggest offense is simply being dull, and there are worse fates. For my replay, it became the sort of game I chipped away at, bit by bit, over the course of nearly three years. As it turns out, the best cure for repetition is to forget everything you were doing the last time you played. It’s even fitting on some level that a game about Mario taking a vacation is best served in lazy, slow, indifferent chunks. Make no mistake -- there are better, more polished, and more engaging platformers out there for you to play. It is in no way a stretch to call Super Mario Sunshine the worst 3D Mario game, but it speaks to the franchise’s high bar of quality that even the worst 3D Mario game really isn’t so bad.

#review #writing #nintendo #gamecube #switch #3d all-stars #mario #sunshine #super mario sunshine #re-review

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fortheloveoffanfic · 4 years

Text

Lullaby

Keanu Reeves x reader Chapter Summary- Y/n makes complicated weekend plans, Daniel tells her how he feels and an intimate moment between Y/n and Keanu ensues.

Warnings- SMUT/NSFW

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Chapter 12

Y/n sat on the bright white, velvet upholstered sectional in her new living room, laptop perched on her crossed legs, papers scattered around her. Y/n had only moved in about a month prior and against the walls, labelled cardboard boxes were still packed with things she’d brought over. Thankfully, the house had been furnished and somewhat decorated before her arrival. It was a nice place, though while Y/n had previously been excited to leave her childhood home, eager for the ounce of freedom that living alone would offer, she had found that it was also incomparably lonely. There wasn’t a full staff like she’d been used to at home, instead, there were two housekeepers, one that worked during the week and another for weekends, preparing meals and maintaining the interior and all in all keeping dust off the shelves. Besides the two women, both twice her age and one who barely even spoke English, Y/n was generally alone at her new house in Brentwood. Keanu had tried to spend time with her, but lately, he’d been caught up in re shoots and Daniel had been travelling between the states and Beijing for work. The thrill of dating two men, at least in Y/n’s experience, was vastly overrated.

So, there she was, on a Tuesday night, working alone, in her halfway unpacked living room. The television was switched off and the lights were on their dimmest setting while the hum of the air conditioner was barely audible. On the reflective coffee table, Y/n’s tea grew cold and that night, same as most since she’d moved, it had been easy to get lost in her work. Her fingers glided along the keyboard, the clicking of the keys interrupting the near silence. Y/n held her lower lip between her teeth, working without even considering the time, her burning eyes only ripping away from the screen when the automatic doorbell sounded.

Strange, she wasn’t expecting anyone, especially not that late.

Before she even considered getting the door, Y/n snatched her phone off of some scattered papers beside her, opening the app connected to the security system. Seeing who it was, she smiled despite herself, setting the computer down and heading to the front door.

“Daniel,” Y/n giggled quietly, falling into his arms, “You’re back early.”

Daniel took Y/n into his arms, gently lifting her off the floor, kissing her slowly before setting her beneath the threshold again, “Surprise,” he chuckled, his hands in hers.

Laughing, Y/n shook her head, “Well don’t just stand out there,” slightly, she tugged on his hands, stepping back to urge him inside, but he resisted, much to her surprise.

“I can’t stay,” and Y/n frowned when he did, “I have an early meeting tomorrow and my parents want to see me before I head home,” stepping closer to her, Daniel untangled his fingers from Y/n’s, letting his hands land on her hips, his thumbs rubbing the exposed sliver between her soft grey shorts and white vest, “And you know if I come in, I’m not gonna leave until morning.”

Groaning playfully, Y/n looped her hands around his neck, “Fine,” she grumbled, “Well did you just come here to tempt me, or…..”

“I actually came with an invitation,” he smiled down at her, “Can you get away early on Friday?”

“I don’t know, I’d have to ask,” furrowing her brows, Y/n regarded the man in her arms curiously, “What’d you have in mind?”

“Dinner,” he offered, with a grin that suggested that it was much more than that, “In Hawaii.”

Pretending to be annoyed, Y/n rolled her eyes, huffing, “How modest.”

“I know,” he chortled. When their laughs cooled, Daniel’s hands slid around to Y/n’s back, and she looked up at him, awaiting an explanation for the unnecessary splurge, “I told you that I’d take you out on the plane sometime, and I thought it would be nice for us to get away, considering we’ve both been so busy these days. Come on, I promise it’ll be fun.”

“I…..” Y/n chewed on the offer for a minute. She didn’t have anything planned that weekend; she certainly wasn’t going to spend it with her parents and Keanu was tied up in New York. Besides, it could be fun, “Let's do it,” she agreed, standing on her toes to kiss him again.

Their lips moved in tandem with each other and they forgot that they were standing outside until a ringing phone had them pulling apart, “Shit,” Daniel grumbled, fishing his cell out of his pocket, “It’s my mom,” he huffed, “Think she’ll be mad if I told her that I came to see my girlfriend before I went to see her?”

His girlfriend. The word made her breath hitch. Y/n didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad one.

“I don’t know,” she managed to push the thought away, “But I don’t want her to start hating me, so you should see what she wants.”

“Yeah,” his smile faltered, “I should go, but I’ll see you Friday.” With one final peck, he was off, heading to his car parked in Y/n’s tiled driveway. Backing out of the spot, he waved quickly before speeding up the street.

With a prep in her step and tingle in her veins, Y/n exuded exuberance as she made her way back to the living room, ready to pack up her stuff and head to bed while she was in a good mood instead of souring it with paperwork. Though, when she checked her phone, there were two missed calls from Keanu. They had last talked earlier that morning, before he got started at work, and suddenly missing him more than she’d realized, Y/n called him right away.

“Hey you,” she could almost hear his smile, “I was starting to think that you were already asleep.”

“Oh,” Y/n sank down, embraced by the cushions, folding on leg under herself and shoving her things away carelessly, “I was just…..in the shower,” Y/n didn’t know why she lied; Keanu knew that she was still seeing Daniel, but something about hiding the truth felt like the right thing to do. Well, the questionably right thing.

Keanu didn’t speak for a minute, and that was how Y/n knew he was going to ask; “Are you….still in a towel?”

Snorting, Y/n rolled her eyes, “Well, aren’t you a gentleman?” She teased, knowing he’d be okay with or without a few dirty pictures. Despite her sarcasm, Keanu really was a gentleman, never pushing her to do something she didn’t want to, unless it was coercing her onto his motorcycle of course.

“I am,” he defended in mock disdain, “In fact, I’m just reminding my gorgeous girlfriend how attracted I am to her.”

Girlfriend. There was that word again, from a different man.

“Yeah, okay,” Y/n scoffed, “For the record I’m not.”

“Bummer,” Keanu sucked his teeth, “Hey, uh,” he began again after a moment, as if just remembering why he’d wanted to talk in the first place, “I’m supposed to wrap up filming this Thursday and the wrap party is on Saturday. I was thinking, you could fly out to New York; we could spend the weekend together and come back together first thing Monday.”

Y/n’s mouth hung agape. She’d, no less than half an hour ago, made weekend plans with Daniel. But she didn’t want to say no to Keanu either. Dinner would just be for one night anyway, right? “If you have plans-”

“I don’t,” there she went, lying again, “But I’d have to fly in on Saturday afternoon, if that’s okay.”

“That’s great,” she could almost hear Keanu’s grin, “Just send me your flight details and I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“Awesome,” Y/n huffed. Slumping further into the chair, after that, she tried to pay attention to making plans with Keanu but her mind was on autopilot. Maybe she was wrong, maybe the thrill of dating two men wasn’t as vastly overrated as she’d initially thought.

Four Days Later Somehow, just dinner had turned into spending the night at a luxurious presidential suite at a five star hotel on a beach in Hawaii. It had been a lovely affair; Daniel had rented out a gazebo on a hillside, peppered with lush foliage and away from the tourists. Their secluded table had overlooked the ocean from afar and the worn wooden floor had been littered beautifully with red and pink flower petals while a decorative tiki torches had the place aglow.

The plane ride had been delightful too; Daniel was no doubt a versed pilot and Y/n had spent most of the five hour flight with her gaze shifting between the marvel that was him easily controlling the aircraft and the widow next to her. There was something about sitting up front that made the experience feel totally new, and Y/n, who'd been travelling since before she could remember it, felt like it was her first time in a plane; ‘oh-ing’ and ‘ah-ing’ at every landmark visible from their distance.

They hadn’t meant to stay the night, but things had gone exceptionally well and flying back to Los Angeles at two am was far from their minds, so instead, Y/n had led them to one of her family’s hotel’s booking them the finest suite by just dropping her name.

When she awoke at mid morning on Saturday, groggy and squinting against the sunlight, Y/n had lazily felt around the nightstand for her cell, tumbling out of bed when she’d realized that her flight to New York was leaving from LAX in just a few hours. If she didn’t move quickly and get her two-timing ass there by two pm, she’d miss it completely, which was in no way good considering she’d spent most of the week anticipating the time spent with Keanu.

After a hurried shower and half drying her hair, Y/n slipped into the outfit she’d brought with her, in anticipation of accidentally staying over. She hadn’t really intended to, but just in case, she’d stuffed a flimsy white sundress into her large handbag, along with a pair of cute underwear and a couple other emergency essentials. When she spilled out into the living room, Daniel was standing near the window, phone held to his ear as he spoke in Mandarin. Instead of speaking up, Y/n stopped in her tracks, watching him as he continued, his muscled back turned to her. He was only dressed in his jeans from the night before, his shirt still laid discarded on the nearby sofa. One hand was stuffed in his pocket, and Y/n spent a hot minute trying to figure out what he was saying, but she had never been good with languages and all she’d ever learnt in Mandarin was basic conversational phrases in passing when her parents took her to Singapore on business before she left for college.

When she eventually gave up, Y/n went over to the serving cart, pouring some coffee into a delicate mug before adding some creamer. After swiping up an acai bowl she headed to the little dining area on the patio. The view was, as expected, serene and undoubtedly stunning. In the near distance, Y/n could see the lush green of the gently swaying palm and coconut trees and the hotel was near enough so that she could hear the crash of waves against the populated white sand. Past the horizon, were the mountains, covered in healthy greenery, looking perfectly picturesque. Y/n’s eyes were trained on the sight past the glass framed balcony, and when a hand gently touched her shoulder, she jumped. “Sorry,” Daniel chuckled, pulling a chair close to hers before pecking Y/n’s lips. Stealing a piece of mango from her bowl, he reached across her shoulder, rubbing circles into her shoulder, “I was just on a call with my boss, they need me in Beijing again.”

“How soon?” Y/n furrowed her brows, swallowing the urge to ask him when they could head back to Los Angeles. She really didn’t want to miss her flight or disappoint Keanu, but she didn’t want to seem too hurried either, lest her parents find out that she ruined another date with Daniel.“Monday,” he sighed heavily, “There were some problems with a new model and he wants me to look at it,” dismissing it, he quickly moved on, “I didn’t know you brought this,” Daniel rubbed the capped sleeve of Y/n’s dress between his index and thumb, “It looks cute on you.”

“Thanks,” Y/n bent her head, blushing lightly, “I like to be prepared, so I brought this along just in case.”

Chuckling, he kissed her cheek, “So I was thinking we could leave after lunch, go down to the beach first, if that’s cool with you.”

Y/n hesitated, worrying on her lower as she tried to find the most pleasant way to vocalize her objection, “I actually need to get back before two, I have to be in New York this afternoon, on business,” she lied smoothly. Though, technically, it wasn’t really a lie; she did have business in New York, personal business.

“Oh,” Daniel stood abruptly, doing a shoddy job of ‘playing it cool’. He could definitely tell that Y/n wasn’t being honest with him, but neither had the courage to confront the elephant in the room, or rather, on the balcony. “Okay, well I guess we should get ready,” he smiled tightly, and Y/n watched him reenter the suite through the screen doors, wishing that there was a better way to do what she had just done.

They touched down at a private terminal at LAX, just minutes before one. Thankfully, Y/n had gotten her assistant to pick up her bags from her house and bring them to the airport. After collecting her stuff and changing quickly in the bathroom, going from her light sundress to a pair of black ripped jeans and a simple blouse with a stylish, grey, long coat over it and a pair of sleek black heels. Surprisingly, Daniel had stayed to walk her to check-in, though, when they neared the line, he stopped her, “I had a lot of fun last night,” he offered, though it seemed to come with hesitation; as if it were supposed to followed up with a cliched ‘but’.

Y/n nodded, glancing at her round-faced, designer, diamond encrusted watch, seeing that it was almost time for boarding, “I did too,” she smiled halfheartedly, trying to quell her impatience.

“Good, good. I’m glad,” Daniel stuffed his hands into his pockets, moistening his lips, “I know you’re going to see him,” he finally admitted, “And I know that you can do whatever you want, because really, it's your life and-”

“Daniel, can we-”

“Just, let me say this? Please,” his eyes pleaded with hers, asking if she’d spare him five more minutes, “I really, really like you, Y/n and I think that we could be good together. But I don’t think I can prove that to you when I’m still trying to win you over. I’m not asking you to never see him again, and I don’t need to know who he is, all I’m asking is that you think about, please?”

Taking a steadying breath, Y/n nodded slowly, tucking some hair behind her ear, “Yeah,” already, there was turmoil in her mind, especially when the realization suddenly hit her; there was no way for all three of them to leave that situation unscathed. Someone was going to get hurt, and it was all her fault, “Okay.” nothing but their lips touched as she bid him goodbye, the click of her heels drowned out by the excitement around them, though none of it was enough to overpower her troubling thoughts.

Even when Y/n was walking through JFK, Daniel’s words swam in her busy mind, though, it only took seeing Keanu waiting near the foot of the escalator for them to be pushed away. Nearly dropping her luggage, Y/n ran straight into his arms, giggling when he lifted her off the floor, “I’ve missed you,” she breathed into his neck, quickly comforted by his scent of cologne and cigarettes.

“I’ve missed you too,” Keanu’s grin was wide and even when he set her down, his hands lingered at Y/n’s waist, though, after a quick look around, he pulled away, “I’d kiss you, but I don’t think that would be our best idea.”

Y/n laughed quietly; she knew he was right. Hugging was bad enough, but if someone caught a picture of them making out, she’d never hear the end of it. Careful not to look too intimate, Y/n let Keanu take her bag, walking alongside him as they made their way to the underground parking lot.

The lighting in the garage was dim and blue-washed. They could have kissed or really, whatever they wanted, right there, but it was only after they were secured safely in the back of a heavily tinted SUV did Keanu pull Y/n to him, his lips crashing to hers. Y/n shifted, folding one leg on her seat, letting the other hang limp as she tossed her arms around Keanu’s neck. “It’s been weeks,” she sighed against her lips.

“Tell me about it,” one of Keanu’s hands tangled in Y/n’s hair, the other secured at her waist, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“So am I,” Y/n giggled, kissing Keanu again. They spent the rest of the ride cuddled close, and by the time they got to Keanu’s New York floor-through apartment, it was just in time to get ready for the party. It was a nice building, in a cushy, comfortable part of the city that was spared from loud, unnecessary noise at night, standing tall among a row of other residential buildings on one side and a hotel and a couple high-end restaurants on the other.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Mere hours after landing in New York, Y/n was showered and changed into a iridescent, shimmery, two piece dress with a strappy ‘x’ at the back and a fitted skirt that sported a dangerous slit on the left side. She’d even squeezed in time impeccably do her make-up and hair. Her question had come when Keanu was helping her out of the car, his hand firmly gripping hers.

“Yeah,” Keanu shrugged, reeling Y/n in as they walked through the doors of the rented out venue; a local club in the city. Just as they did, security double checked the list, ensuring that it was actually Keanu and that he’d indicated that he was bringing a guest. “There’s enough security, no paps are allowed in and we don’t have to take pictures if we don’t want to. It’s gonna be fine babe,” Keanu pressed a chaste, reassuring kiss to the top of Y/n’s head.

Y/n looked up at Keanu through her lashes, in awe that he could ease her worries with just a few simple words and a quick peck. It was one of the many things that had her affections for him growing deeper. Keanu wasn’t a lot of things, he wasn’t the safe choice, he wasn’t the logical one either. But he was the man that thrilled her by just holding her hand, the one who’d recently started calling her every night, like clock work before she went to bed and the one that was almost always on her mind

Keanu wasn’t a lot of things, but he was the man that Y/n-

“Beer or a cocktail?” Keanu disturbed her thoughts, just as they found themselves a couple seats.

“Whatever you’re having is fine,” Y/n smiled, pecking him on the lips just before he left. When Keanu later returned with a couple mixed drinks, he handed one over and they began their night; he introduced Y/n to his friends and co workers, they drank and she heard some stories from set all while losing track of time.

When Y/n and Keanu stumbled back into his apartment, it was past two am. Y/n was still giggling at a joke that Keanu had told and after he locked the front door, they trudged to his large bedroom, the pale yellow light adding a warm glow to the rustic decor as he flipped the switch. “I’m tired,” Y/n stretched dramatically, only letting her hands fall to her sides again when Keanu came over to do the back fastenings of her outfit.

Chuckling at her behavior, Keanu kissed her cheek just before he pulled away, getting undressed himself, “Well why don’t we just get ready for bed and call it a night?”

“That sounds amazing,” Y/n slurred plopping onto the bed to get out of her heels, tossing them aside before getting up and heading to the bathroom, to take off her make-up before her shower.

Getting ready for bed had felt like a trying process, but finally, Y/n was clad scantily in one of Keanu’s t-shirts and a pair of panties. The water had seemed to rinse all her tire away and crawling in next to him, she started peppering kisses along Keanu’s neck, her fingers tangling in his hair.

Rolling them over so he was on top, Keanu’s hand snuck beneath the over-sized jersey, a palm splayed on her stomach gently pressing her to the mattress. Giggling at his sudden movements, Y/n crooked her legs, her flat of her heels pressing into his calves. “I thought you were tired?” Keanu smiled down at her, dark strands curtaining his face.

When her laughter died down, Y/n’s hands slid up his back, moving to brush Keanu’s hair out of his face. Sliding one arm around the back of his neck, her fingers pressing into his skin, she tried to pull him down to her, “Well now I’m not. Are you?”

“Not particularly,” underneath the navy t-shirt, Keanu’s hand found one of Y/n’s breasts, while the other held up his weight, pressed into the mattress, “What did you have in mind?” His fingers toyed with her nipple, and her back arched involuntarily, her dampening center barely brushing his crotch.

“I think you know,” Y/n’s words were a shuddering breath and Keanu bent, sucking spots into the area just below her jaw. Her hands found the elastic waist of Keanu’s sweats, pushing them down, the tips of her toes aiding in shoving them completely off. As his lips traveled down her jaw, his trimmed beard scratching her skin, Y/n circled his crotch, rubbing him to life- which didn’t take very long. “Ke,” Y/n moaned, just as he’d gotten her out of the t-shirt, returning to his ministrations.

Keanu just hummed in response, his hand travelling to rub Y/n’s cilt through her panties just as he took one of her breasts in his mouth. She ground on his fingers and eventually, he helped her out of them, his fingers slipping into her soaked folds, his hazy vision focused on how her mouth hung open, her already cloudy mind fumbling for words.

“Keanu,” Y/n mewled, her hips bucking towards his, “I don’t wanna wait tonight,” her pleas were low and needy, “Please.”

Steadying her at the hip, Keanu entered her slowly, admiring the way she threw her head back, exposing her love-bite riddled neck, jaw slack. One of her hands stayed at his back and the pads of her fingers clung to his skin, while at her side, Y/n held a fistful of the beige duvet, squeezing tightly. As he rolled his hips at a leisurely pace, Keanu lowered his lips to hers, their noses and foreheads pressed together as he swallowed up her moans, his grunts contained in his throat.

Things felt different that night, deeper. Past the tangible, Y/n felt like there was more between them, something that gave her the best tingle in her toes and sent pleasurable shocks up her spine. There was nothing hot and heavy about the experience and while sex with Keanu was always phenomenal, what they were doing that night wasn’t just sex. There with him, feeling the friction that his throbbing cock created as it pumped in and out of her slick folds was almost secondary to the feeling of just being connected to him. It was euphoric.

“I’ve missed you,” Y/n mumbled, his lips still a hair apart from hers, “God, Ke, I’ve missed you all week.”

Smiling softly, Keanu breathed against her lips; he’d missed her to, more than he figured he was. His waking thoughts of her had gone from being lustful to simply just wondering if she’d had a good day, and hoping that she was thinking of him too. That night, Keanu wanted to show Y/n; not how much he worshiped her body, but how much he cared for it, how something as simple as her existence made him feel. “You’re…..” his breath was ragged as he felt the first makings of Y/n’s orgasm; her moans getting louder and her body tensing up beneath his, “You’re so perfect baby.”

Pressing the sides of their faces together, Keanu breathed the scent of her coconut shampoo as she whimpered quietly, her body quaking with pleasure, her free hand flying to his back. Y/n clenched around him, her walls contracting and her breathing ragged as sticky heat spilled out of her core. Like that, he could feel the hassled thumping of Y/n’s heart and her hot breath on his neck. It was enough to throw Keanu over the edge, moaning Y/n’s name, along with a string of obscenities into her ear, as he shot his seed into her. Keanu’s thrusts went rigid as he rode out both their highs, kissing Y/n passionately. Even after they were done, they stayed like that, still tangled as their breaths slowed and it was a short while before he eventually pulled out, rolling on to his back.

By the time they were cleaned up, Y/n was half asleep, her eyes slipping shut as she curled up against Keanu, cheek over his heart, her hair fanned out on his chest and one leg hooked over his thigh. Keanu held her close, pulling the sheets over their bare bodies, his tired eyes fixed on the beauty in his arms. “Goodnight baby,” he hummed.

It took a minute, and Y/n seemed to be mostly asleep as she shifted against him, humming contented, “Keanu….” she mumbled drowsily, her eyes still shut. Keanu emitted a sound of question before Y/n continued, though he didn’t think she heard it, “I love you.”

At first, Keanu got to thinking that his ears and tired mind had betrayed him, but it couldn’t have been anything else. Three little words that he hadn’t thought of until then. They made his heart flutter and drew a sleepy smile from his lips. Craning his head, Keanu kissed the top of Y/n’s head, he was almost sure that she hadn’t registered what she’d just said, but it was a moment he would treasure forever, and even though Y/n seemed to be sound asleep, Keanu returned, “I love you too Y/n.”

******

Tagging- @harrisongslimited @paanchu786 @baphomentwolf666 @a-really-bi-girl @sdaff2

#Keanu Reeves #Keanu Reeves x reader #Keanu Reeves x you #Keanu Reeves fanfic #fanfic #john wick #john wick x reader #john wick fanfic #lullaby #Keanu Reeves fanfiction #fanfiction #ff #john wick x you #fluff #fic #lullaby chapter 1 #series

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cowandcalf · 4 years

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10.12 – Review and Spoilers

and some I-got-carried-away thoughts on Steve's character – meta-ish and super long

I wasn't sure what to expect from this episode and I got rewarded with so many magnificent details, especially with a lot of wonderful glimpses into Steve's personality when he's competing with someone. And this said someone is not only a former team guy but this someone also drives a Ferrari and has an impressive reputation and is a hidden fan of a so-called Steve McGarrett. Magnum is such a big fan that even his own team he's working with nowadays has heard all about the legendary McGarrett moves and ops and stories. And that speaks of such a high respect Magnum has for Steve McGarrett that everything else just fades away. Magnum's respect and the honor he feels for being with Steve is real. There's this deep understanding that Steve's ready to accept at the end of the day. But only after Magnum has proved himself being worthy.

But I'm not there yet. Whoa, getting derailed so fast right from the start. So that's what I'm gonna write about most in this review: Steve and his attitude, the SEAL spirit and a bit about Magnum because he's the reason Steve acts the way he does. And I'll write about Danny, about the omnipresent, strong, gorgeous, leaving-visible-dents-in Steve's-emotional-armor presence of Danny energy. God, those references about Danny during the entire episode…I loved those! The way Steve's partner came up and was mentioned every now and then was just a blessing for my McDanno heart.

And Steve's response to Magnum's actions also speaks volumes about the relationship he has with Danny. I hope I can get it out the way I feel it. I hope, in the end, everything makes sense.

This episode is fun to watch, Steve and Magnum are all about Alpha moves, flexing muscles and showing off, trying to make an impression on the other man – in a very silent, kind of cautious, intelligent way, of course. Like the archaic animals, these men are deep inside, well-hidden. They must mark their territory. They need to check the other out before they even think about being appreciative of each other. At least, Steve acts this way. Magnum tries to wrap his mind around the fact that he's actually working a case with the human legend he's fanboying over for years, apparently.

I grew up with Tom Selleck as Magnum and his trademark, the mustache, the red Ferrari and his stupid tight blue jeans with the belt. Anyway, Magnum, in my inner world is a tree of a man, tall and super hairy and intimidating. Higgins is a whiny, rich, wobbly guy with two wonderful Doberman pinscher. And I just needed some time to get used to a smaller Magnum, with no hairy arms and legs and a female Higgins with an impressive, wonderful British accent. And even though the Magnum Pi guys did a great job, they didn't grow on me. I appreciate Magnum (the new one) for completely other reasons that have entirely to do with Steve and Danny.

Okay, we have the first encounter of the two teams. I have to emphasize another important observation and it's an ongoing feeling throughout the episode. The H50 team, the ohana bond and everything they talk about are so rich in colors, so vivid and alive and so full of honest feelings. That's how I get the vibes. Higgins and Magnum are nice…they are okay…but they didn't manage to leave an impression…and I'm sorry but I can't really make it work. Their banter seems stages, not really coming from inside and from a place of true fondness. It's…just not flowing. At least, not for me. No offense, but I can't make it work with Higgins and Magnum.

That said, seeing both teams meet just highlights the significant difference in the spirit everyone emanates. And all the H50 ohana breathes a huge amount of charisma and freaking great vibes. And I love that!

When the H50 team digests the information of Higgins who has been an ex-spy, Steve eyes her with a silent jolt in his behavior. He takes her in with that measured look and it just occurred to me that once again he's confronted with a special female species. Tough woman, working for an agency, has been a spy once and it reminds him instantly, alarmingly intense of two women who have played a significant role in his life: Steve's mother Doris and Catherine Rollins.

Steve mentions that he likes "this one", pointing to Higgins and he lets her talk but the moment that it's out she's an ex-spy Steve takes a step back inwardly and he gives her a quick all-over. That's a fascinating moment.

Magnum: "McGarrett, I know that name, you're a team guy, right? I was a team guy, too."

And Steve's answer to that, completely flabbergasted: "Is that right?" (Because what the hell?)

Steve deals with the second, silent emotional blow within a few seconds. He's not prepared to meet a former SEAL. And because Steve's bound to every SEAL with a code of honor it's literally visible how his mind works overtime to get things right in his head. This Hawaiian-shirt-wearing-bare-legged-sun-tanned guy is a former SEAL?? And Steve's anyway a bit pissed because he got an anonymous tip from a male voice leading him in the right direction. And now, he's been told that it's this guy. Steve's not fond of such moments. And he stays skeptical although his inner conviction doesn't allow him to be distant. SEALs are brothers, no matter what.

There's more!

Steve warms up to Magnum. He addresses him as, "and you Mr. Private investigator you come with me."

Steve's forceful Alpha move number one is to convince Magnum somehow to let him drive the Ferrari. Okay, here's what I think about that.

It's about ranks and pack order. it's about the high respect Magnum has for Steve and because he's a brother, one of the reasons why legends get written. It's because of guys like McGarrett that legends live on. Because McGarrett is a freaking hero! And Magnum has no problem with all of this. He doesn't need to inflate his ego by fighting Steve. In fact, he understands Steve, he feels his brother and he lets him drive, bowing to the force of nature that is Steve McGarrett. Magnum pays respect to this man and honors his service just by this move. I might exaggerate a bit but seriously, that's how I see it.

And just for the record, Steve…oh well, Steve needs a boost for his ego. He needs to show that he's the Alpha and that's he has a say in this. He needs to know he wrestled Magnum into submission and is kind of blockhead, too busy to enjoy the moment and that he made it behind the steering wheel. He's so smug and confident and almost combusts with all the joy and the arousal to have his hands on the steering wheel of this freaking, awesome Ferrari-stud! Jesus! I know he's hard while he stomps the gas! Come on, Steve, admit it!

And Magnum has the freaking nerve to mention Danny (your partner) and tells Steve right to his face that Danny doesn't do well with riding always in the passenger's seat. But Steve's glowing and the hidden smile shines through when he confirms in this classical, smug way that Danny's okay with him driving Danny's car. That's almost the cutest thing ever.

Steve, dude!

And then, Christ! The 'white knight' conversation happens. I try to summarize this. Steve reads. He reads books written by former SEALs, or about the experiences of former SEALs.

Steve: "Entertaining but unrealistic though. There's no way a character that cocky would ever, ever make it through BUD/s."

He's seriously impressed that Magnum knows the author of that said book. In fact, Robin the author is Magnum's boss. And it gets better. The 'wight knight' has left an impression on Steve. Steve admires this guy!! This cocky guy couldn't have made it through BUD/s, nu-huh, no freaking way!

Steve: "So, you're sayin' you're the white knight?"

Magnum: "Well, that's classified. But I will say that the lead character is based on a heroic, charismatic individual who will do anything to get the job done."

Guess, what? Robin has been embedded with Magnum's team for the research on this book. So, Magnum answers with Steve's favorite line - that's classified! Come on!!! That's totally Steve's mojo! And Steve's face! I can't even. He looks at Magnum and all of Steve screams what the fuck, man?

And it dawns on Steve that this cocky bastard he thinks would never, ever make it through BUD/s is in fact – Magnum! The realization…hilarious! Steve's brain shifts into gear and he can hardly believe what he's just discovered.

Steve, with a soft smile: "…I might be in the presence of greatness right now."

Then, that scene where Magnum picks the lock with his tools and Steve watches. Steve plays the correct cop who seems to follow the rules. He lets Magnum open the door though, causing a crime but the important detail is the fact that Steve points to the badge to emphasize he can't break the rules.

I remember a scene where Steve and Danny stand in front of a closed door and Danny thinks about how to get in while Steve just kicks down the door. Danny yells at him and calls him 'a Neanderthal animal' but follows him regardless of what Steve just did. Steve loves to get Danny's attention no matter how this happens. Ranting always means caring and Steve bathes in Danny's way of caring.

Magnum finds the documents hidden under the fridge. Steve makes it up to him with his compliment. "Nice found!" only to pull the next Alpha move of hastily reading the documents written in Chinese, completely ignoring Magnum.

And that scene where Magnum disarms Steve, dislodging the clip of his gun because the perp told him so. That's also a great moment, revealing what Danny has known for a long time. Steve has feelings for his gun. Magnum does as he's been told and pulls the gun from the holster. Steve's senses are on high alert and he sells out Magnum to the perp. Steve searches for a way out, but his real concerns are on his weapon. The way the sheer disbelief shows on his face when Magnum carelessly throws his gun into the bushes almost hurts and makes me laugh at the same time. Steve can't believe how disrespectful Magnum treats his gun! That's such a great moment.

Steve's excitement about driving a Ferrari is infectious. I'm sensing Alex' and Chi's personality seeping through their characters of Steve and Lou when they whisper conspiratorially about how it feels to drive a Ferrari. There's so much passion, breathlessness, and this male want and I love that short, intense moment so much.

The other, sweet glimpse of how Steve feels about Danny comes next. The team watches Magnum and Higgins bicker (I'm not fond of that bickering, too staged, too little heart and honesty in it, doesn't catch my attention) but anyway, the team exchanges funny looks, and Lou asks if they are reminded of anyone by watching the argument of the other two. Steve doesn't even bat an eye, and no one can draw a breath and his reply follows like a shot.

Steve: "Danny and I aren't like that."

Steve instantly catches on who his ohana talks about. He denies everything about what they are teasing about. Steve utters his comment on the topic with a finale tone, like anything about him and Danny bickering is non-negotiable. His arms are crossed over his chest and his stance is wide and solid, unmovable. No one touches Danny! Forbidden territory. Period. And I love that moment, it doesn't even last three seconds but it talks volumes how Steve feels about Danny.

Now, let's talk also about this epic scene in the car when Steve gets a ride by Magnum's team.

Steve: "I would've called my people, but Magnum insisted on calling you guys."

Magnum wanted his team to meet this legend, Steve McGarrett because he knows how much this would mean to his guys! That's so cute and sweet and lovely and really, really kind and deep. I have feelings about this, Magnum genuinely admires Steve, being a SEAL with every fiber of his body and soul. Heaven help!

And before Magnum's team can catch up Magnum has a little chit-chat on his own with Steve and about being a SEAL and about…so much for "no man left behind". Again, some arm-wrestling to prove who's stronger but there's no heat behind that argument more like old buddies catching up.

And then…ohmygod!! TC is my hero! TC says one of the most epic sentences ever in this episode! I'm still reeling from those words. They are super great, sweet Jesus!

TC: "I'm sorry, but I got to ask. There's this SEAL named McGarrett that we always used to hear about. Fought in Operation Avalanche and the Battle of Garmsir. He also led the team that rescued those hostages in Karachi."

THAT'S PURE ADMIRATION RIGHT THERE!! Not only does this mean that Magnum has been gushing about McGarrett all the time because he's so fond of this guy and full of admiration, no, it also shows us what kind of hero Steve is. But SEALs don't talk about their work. They just get the job done and move on. They work in the shadows.

But Steve answers that kind of question…like:

Steve: "Yeah, yeah, that was me."

I mean…*LE GASP*!! WHAT?? How can he just give such a flat-out super direct answer and admitting every-fucking-thing?? I was like…BACKPADDLE! I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH WHAT JUST HAPPENED!

I mean. Whoa! From all the moments Danny has been asking Steve questions about his work in the Navy and as a SEAL there was always the same answer is given by Steve: "I neither can confirm nor deny it." Or my favorite one: "This is classified." And those answers always drove Danny up the wall and into more ranting.

Do you remember the time where the H50 team was allowed to join the operation room from an active SEAL operation? They helped to solve a case where a drug lord (I guess) was involved and they could watch the last op where a SEAL team took out the targets and killed all the tangos. So, and there was Danny asking Steve inappropriate questions about "Operation Strawberry field"…he was making fun of Steve in an odd Danny way. Joe White was quite fed up with Danny's attitude and he glared at him to get him to shut up. Steve seemed really a bit ashamed of Danny's disrespectful behavior.

Anyway, when Danny saw the live feed on how the SEAL team breached the house and how they were killing with precision and a tough skill set every target on place he suddenly went all quiet. He whispered to Steve: "You did that too?" with a tight voice. But Steve only said that he could neither confirm nor deny this question.

The realization of Steve's assigned task as a SEAL hits Danny like being clocked with a brick. But anyway, Danny has never admired Steve's SEAL career in an open way because he knew already then, that Steve's ego is about as big as Texas anyway. But that moment had an impact on Danny and he started to get the big picture.

Okay, let's go back to Steve's answer: Yeah, yeah, that was me. Maybe he said that because he still feels a bit intimidated and surprised by sitting next to the 'white knight'.

The way Steve's answered TC kind of caught me off guard. He's admitting so openly that he was the one leading those operations and he kind of enjoys the admiration (he soaks it up like a dry sponge…to be honest). He really loves being the center of the attention and that's a new one. It's touching how much TC and Rick are really into Steve and his way of being a real hero.

And then TC goes for the kill: "Man, do you realize this is the same cat that took out Anton and Victor, Hess?"

Hello?? TC addresses Steve as 'the same cat'…God! This is highly seductive and hot…as in stealthy, lethal, super primal jungle cat…I mean, what the hell, TC?

The guys are not finished yet.

TC: "This dude is a legit legend."

And here comes Rick: "You know, and I'm glad you brought it up because I-I just want to say, sir, it's an honor." (and he turns to look at Steve.)

Steve: "Thanks, bud."

TC: "We are in the presence of greatness."

(I'm so dead! This is so emotional and I love TC and Rick and Magnum, too because they are pure bliss for Steve's soul and heart.)

And it's not finished yet! There's this last scene where Steve thanks Magnum for working with him on the case. Steve had fun.

Magnum sees Joe White's picture on the wall and they talk about Joe. Steve is moved and there's a short flare of pain but the bonding happens over the fact that Magnum also knew Joe as one of the best instructors ever. And not only is Steve a legend but also in Magnum's eyes, he's also been close to Joe White. Magnum is a decent guy. There's no jealousy coming off of Magnum, only camaraderie and the joy to have gotten to know another brother. And I really love that about him.

I really appreciate the fact that Magnum offers Steve in a nice way to sit down and to talk. Let's grab a beer some time, referring to them as 'us team guys got to stick together' and Steve says 'yes' and not only that.

Steve: "Maybe you can bring those boys along. They're good for the ego."

And Steve shows Magnum the long-overdue respect by calling him the White Knight and telling him his secret is safe with him. Seriously, what a pile of emotions.

And that's such a sweet, honest thing to say and it's Steve who admits it. I just love this scene. And all these moments are also soaked with Danny's energy. First, Magnum wants to meet Steve's partner. Danny's kind of legend too, I guess. Who could keep up with the legit legend Steve McGarrett? This must be one of a kind. And Danny knew Joe White. Danny has been there when Steve just quit the SEALs to start Five-O. He has been with Steve all the time. Danny has helped him to adjust, to find his footing after being in the Navy for years.

And Danny has never been openly impressed by Steve's crazy. He always calls him out on his recklessness. He gives Steve a hard time and rants at him and tries to talk some sense into him. Danny has an unmatched backbone like no other and Steve admires that with all he's got.

And, of course, Steve wants to drag Danny along when they'll have that beer because he doesn't want to miss out on any of Danny's reactions when TC and Rick are all over Steve and fanboying like there's no tomorrow. What a show!

Okay, let's sum it up – it was a great episode with tons of hidden treasure I tried to dig up a bit. The last scenes are great, too. I love that Tani gives Junior a call and asks him out on a date. June sweet eye-widening speaks a silent, strong language and then…THAT CLIFFHANGER!! Oh god!!

Guys, that's it. I have nothing more to add only to emphasize how much secrets I've gotten to discover due to Magnum's attitude to treat Steve the way he did. And through Magnum Steve reveals a lot about how he feels about Danny and much more.

10.12 – another great episode.

Fin

#steve mcgarrett #h50 #h50edit #danny williams #mcdanno #meta #review #10.12 #review on 10.12 #my edit #episode meta #steve meta #cowandcalf muses #it's so freaking long #i can't help it #it makes sense to me #i hope it makes sense to you

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