#and worried something had happened to sterling

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

Faerie and Vampr

Chapter Five

Half the patrons of Marco’s Bar and Grill thought Erik had a hand in the markings on the women’s bodies. The other 50 percent thought that some of the vampire’s from bigger towns or cities had bitten Maudette and Dawn when they were out bar hopping, and they deserved what they got if they wanted to go to bed with vampires. Some thought the girls had been strangled by a vampire, some thought they had just continued their promiscuous ways into disaster. 

But most importantly, everyone who came into Marco’s was worried that some other woman would be killed next. Tamara couldn’t count the times she was told to be careful, to watch her vampire friend who popped up in town recently, told to lock her doors and take the day shift instead. Lloyd came in for both commiseration and suspicion as a man who’d “dated” both women. 

He had come by the house one day and stayed around for about an hour while Nana Sylvia and Tamara tried to encourage him to keep going with his work and doing what Lloyd normally does. But for the first time in Tamara’s memory, her handsome brother was really worried. She hated that he got himself mixed up with those women. It’s unfortunate what happened to them, but now her brother could be in trouble with the law for something he didn’t do. 

Tamara didn’t try to dwell on the deaths of the two women. Although everyone else was suspicious of her brother and Erik, all she could think about was that kiss two nights ago. His lips, so soft and skillful, had her dreaming of what it would be like to roll around in the sheets kissing him all night long. The dream didn’t go further than kissing, which was enough to have her pink and white panties wet waking up that morning, but the possibility of sex with Vampyr Erik did cross Tamara’s mind. 

It was the evening for Crimson Mist. Tamara finally pulled a simple dress from her closet after going through half of her dress collection and littering her bed. She felt it was perfect for the occasion. It was a nice date dress, if you wanted the personal interest of whoever was your escort. It was a body con dress. Tight and black. The fabric was clinging to every dip, curve, and valley. Her brown skin glowed and her cleavage showed. She completed the look with metallic silver high-heeled sexy sandals, a delicate sterling silver chain necklace that draped between her breasts, and silver hoops. She put on light glam makeup and wore her hair in a fresh wash-and-go.

Nana Sylvia’s eyes widened when she came out of her room. 

“Sugar, you look beautiful,” she said. “Aren’t ya’ gonna be a little cold in that dress?”

Tamara giggled, “No, ma’am, I don’t think so. It’s pretty warm tonight.” 

“Ya’ sure?” Nana Sylvia pressed. “a nice white sweater, the one I got ya’ for Christmas—”

“Okay, how about I grab my moto jacket just in case it cools down?” 

Tamara looked and felt sexy. Something she rarely gets a chance to feel. She was pretty excited about going on a date with Erik, though she kind of asked him herself and it was more of a fact-finding mission. Plus, it’s his bar. Would it count as a date at his own business?

“See,” Tamara showed Nana Sylvia her moto jacket, “This goes well with it, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. I’m not tryna tell ya’ what to do.”

Tamara kisses her Nana on the cheek. A knock on the door had Nana Sylvia moving faster than Tamara to be the first to open the door. She fixed her silver hair that was styled in a low bun and adjusted her house dress with different tribal patterns on it. She gasped with excitement and opened her arms in true grandma fashion, pulling Erik’s cold body into a warm embrace. 

“Erik! It’s so good to see ya’ again! How are ya’, handsome?” 

“Takin’ it easy, Miss Sylvia. Ya’ lookin’ beautiful. I hope all is well wit’ ya’.” 

“Oh,” Nana Sylvia blushed. “It's well. All is well. Come in! Come in! Darn moths…”

Erik chuckled, swatting a few away before shutting the door behind him. His eyes scanned the foyer with immense joy before they fell on Tamara standing awkwardly to his right. 

Erik wore a white beater that left little to the imagination— an eight pack and pecs to match. Black jeans that fit tighter at the ankles and loose in the waist were on his lower half. He had on a moto jacket himself but it was black and white. Tungsten steel pendants hung from his neck and various rings in tungsten accessorized his thick fingers. Onyx earrings bejeweled both ears and high top black and white vans were on his feet. 

When he saw her, Tamara wasn’t sure if she’d overdone it because he seemed really annoyed. His face went quite still. His eyes flared. His fingers curved as if he were scooping something up with them. Tamara had to remind herself that she couldn’t hear his thoughts. The one person who she’d give anything to listen in on. 

“Is this okay?” Tamara asked anxiously. She felt the butterflies in her belly. 

“…Yes,” He finally spoke. But his pause had been long enough to get Nana Sylvia’s attention.

“Look, sugar, ya’ got this man speechless!!” Nana Sylvia laughed, “My Tammy is the prettiest girl around!”

“Oh, yes,” Erik agreed, but there was a curious lack of inflection in his deep voice. 

Tamara didn’t know what to think. She wanted to call the entire date off then. What was his fucking problem? Screw him. This isn’t a damn date anyway. Tamara stiffened her back and walked up to him, linking her arm in his.

“Ready?” She said with her own annoyance.

“Yes,” Erik turned to Nana Sylvia with a pleasant half smirk, “Good-bye, Miss Sylvia. It was a pleasure seeing ya’ again.”

“You as well, Erik, you two have a good ol’ time. Take care of my sugar foot!” she said, waving them out of the house. 

“Nanaaa,” Tamara fussed with a whiny voice.

“Girl, hush.” Nana Sylvia said.

“Always,” Erik chuckled before he looked down at Tamara,  guiding her down the porch steps. 

Nana Sylvia waited in the door until they were both safe in his flashy sports car. It’s so black Tamara couldn’t see it until they were standing right in front of it. Erik took her jacket and held her door open as she slipped inside. He shut the door softly and like lighting he was on the drivers side and entering. His car had that new car smell and it was so pristine. The leather seat was warm and molded into her body comfortably. He kindly turned on the AC and she buckled herself in. 

Erik took off and Tamara loved how smooth the car drove. Like the tires were gliding on water. Smokestack Lightning played from the Bluetooth in his car and Tamara glanced over at the way he drove one-handed with his left hand while his other hand rested in his lap. She gripped her clutch tightly in her lap, trying to find a way to break the ice.

“I’m sorry I’m not dressed to your liking,” Tamara said sarcastically, staring straight ahead of her.

Erik came to a slow halt in the woods just a mile from the road.

“Who said all that?” Erik asked, his voice very gentle.

“You looked at me like I did something wrong by wearin’ this dress, Erik,” Tamara snapped.

“I’m just doubting my ability to get ya’ in and out without having to kill someone who wants ya’.” 

Tamara slowly turned to look at Erik. 

“You’re being sarcastic.” She turned her gaze back in front of her again but her heart was racing.

Suddenly, Erik’s hand gripped her chin, forcing her to turn and look at him.

“Do I look like I am?”  Erik asked.

His dark eyes were wide and unblinking. 

“No…” Tamara admitted.

“Then accept what I say.” 

He let go of her chin and Tamara sat back in her seat while he resumed driving.

“So…ya’ like it then?” Tamara asked with a small voice.

Erik licked his lips and then stole a look at her dress before turning his attention back onto the road.

“I love the dress. A lot.” 

His eyes went to her again and he scanned her body from head to toe. He took a deep breath in and released it slowly. Tamara glanced over at his lap and she noticed that he was clenching his right fist. 

“Thank you.” 

“Ya’ welcome,” Erik shifted his hips. “What are ya’ wearing on ya’ skin?”

“Huh?” Tamara touched the side of her neck with her fingertips, “Oh, oh uh…Tom Ford. Lost Cherry.” 

“That scent was made for ya’. It enhances your natural pheromones…”

Tamara jumped slightly when Erik pressed his face into her neck and inhaled. Her eyes flashed to the road and he was driving in a straight line to her surprise. He reselfaced and his eyes were low like he was on a super high. Tamara pulled down the mirror above her to apply more gloss to her lips. The choice of music went from blues to R&B and Tamara admired his taste in music. He’d been around long enough to experience it all. 

“Can we roll the windows down? I’d like fresh air if that’s okay…please?”

“I gotcha,” Erik switched off the AC and brought the front two windows all the way down, “good?”

“Perfect,” Tamara’s long spirals blew in the wind and in her face. She smiled to herself, a surge of confidence overcoming her. 

“What are ya’ smilin’ ‘bout?” Erik asked with a smile of his own.

“Nothingggg,” Tamara smoothed hair from her eyes.

“Do I have to get it out of ya, little one?”

“How will you do that?” She turned to look at him.

Erik simply placed his hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently. Tamara’s back stiffened and she looked down at his hand. She knew he could grip her harder than that, and the thought turned her on. He started stroking her inner thigh and she gasped. He caught that.

“Are ya’ gon’ tell me, baby girl?” His black eyes fell on her and he arched a single thick brow.

“…Okay,” She rolled her eyes, “I like that you like what I’m wearing…I like that I made ya’ happy.” 

“Why was that so hard to say, Tammy?”

“I don’t know,” She blushed.

“I make ya’ nervous, Sugar?” 

It wasn’t a question. 

And why did Sugar sound so good Rolling off his tongue?

Tamara didn’t respond. 

“It’s okay. You make me nervous too.”

Tamara didn’t believe that for a second. She looked at him with an accusatory stare. Erik caught her looking and cracked a dimpled smile. 

“Seriously. It’s hard for me to act normal around ya’. I’ve never had this close of a relationship with a human in over eighty years. I’m constantly in my head, trying to impress ya’, tryna’ fight ma’ urges…”

Tamara let his words sink in. She didn’t know vampires could get nervous. She smiled again knowing that she made Erik nervous. This vampire sitting next to her. 

“We’re not so different,” Erik smirked.

Tamara suddenly had the courage to kiss him. She leaned over in her seat and pecked Erik’s cheek. He blinked twice rapidly as if brought out of hypnosis and looked at her. She giggled and shook her head before turning her body fully in her seat. Tamara slipped her feet out of her sandals and brought her feet up to rest on his dashboard but paused when she realized what she was about to do.

“I’m sorry—”

“It’s alright—”

“I’m so used to doin’ it in Lloyd’s truck—”

“Put ya’ pretty feet up there, I don’t care.” Erik said.

“Ya’ sure?” 

“Yes.” 

Tamara stretched her legs. She noticed Erik admiring her toes with nails painted white and a gold anklet with the letter E on it. 

“Thank ya’ for the kiss. But it wasn’t exactly the kiss that I wanted.” Erik said.

“You’re driving right now and I didn’t want to distract ya’ too much,” Tamara replied. 

Erik pulled over on the side of the road and put the car in park. Without a word or a warning, he was out of the car and on Tamara’s side within one breath. She watched as he opened her door and held his hand out for her to take. After slipping on her heels, Tamara grasped his hand with a curious look on her face. Erik shut the door and walked her around to the trunk of the car. In a black night that hugged the skin, that brought full comfort to the soul, the headlights became like lighthouse beams.

“What are we doin’ out here, Erik?” Tamara questioned with an ethereal voice.

Her back is towards the car and he’s standing in front of her. He’s so close now that her ass bumped the trunk and she realized that he’d trapped her. She looked him in the eyes, waiting with bated breath. Erik’s hands molded into her waist and then he lifted her to sit on the trunk. 

“I want a proper kiss.” Erik said.

“We’re wasting time.”

“Not when I own that motherfucka’…”

Tamara tilted her head in thought. What was there to think about?

“I’m trying to decide if you deserve it—”

Erik had his hand in her hair and his lips on hers. Tamara gripped his biceps and squeezed, her body leaning forward to press against his chest. Erik’s hands moved to cup her face and their heads swiveled from left to right. His tongue swiped her bottom lip to grant him access into her sweet mouth and she parted her lips for him to divulge.

 The pouty softness of her bottom lip against the plumpness of his upper lip sent shock waves through her. The evening breeze blew her curls into Erik’s eyes and his locs fell over his forehead from the movement. Tamara broke the kiss and Erik’s eyes noticed how swollen her lips were. He could taste her gloss on his lips and tongue and their eyes met with emotions so strong words couldn’t describe. 

“Maybe we should…get goin’,” Tamara said with a feathery voice. 

Erik could hear her heart pumping through her chest. With his enhanced night vision, he could see the perspiration clinging to her exposed skin and the stiffness of her nipples. If only he had X-ray vision. Her hair is shiny; like black silk and she smelled like sweet almond milk and cherries. 

“Why are ya’  in such a rush, Tammy?” Erik asked.

“I–I’m not.” 

Erik gave her a disbelieving look with a smirk, “it’s just kissin’, baby girl. I promise I’ll excuse my hands and…other things…until ya’ give me the green light.”

He heard the tremble in her breath. 

“Ya’ seem to enjoy our kissing a lot so,” Erik took one of her curls and wrapped it around his finger, “Ya’ want more?” His lips were so close to hers, “‘Cause I do.”

Tammy closes the space between them and with her arms around his shoulders she takes the lead. Erik’s right arm came around Tamara’s waist and her back arched, pressing her soft chest against his vigorous chest. As she nibbled on his bottom lip, Erik’s right hand smoothed down her back until he picked her up to straddle him. The split in her body con dress made it easier for her legs to come around his tapered waist. Both of his hands palmed her ass and his rigid dick would have caressed her sex if it wasn’t for him sitting her back down on the car. She would have been so ready to take him with how wet she is. He could smell her arousal and it was just as sweet. 

“Ya’ right, let’s go.” Erik said between breaths.

His fangs had materialized during their kissing session and Tamara hadn’t noticed. She was having a hard time catching her own breath.

“Okay,” She smoothed her hair from her face.

She couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“Patience, baby,” Erik said, stroking her chin.

His fangs popped back in and Erik picked Tamara up and spun her around before dropping her to her feet quickly. She gasped, staring up at him flustered until a bright smile graced her face.

“I can’t stay mad at you for long,” She admitted.

“I wouldn’t want you to. It breaks my undead heart,” Erik replied jokingly.

They got back in the car and resumed their drive to Crimson Mist with his hand on her thigh and her feet on his dash.

Crimson Mist, the vampire bar and nightclub, was located on Bourbon Street. It was situated within an alleyway and secluded. The name of the place was spelled out in jazzy red neon above the door, and the facade was painted black, with a red door providing color contrast. 

Erik walked around to open Tamara’s door, and he helped her out with one hand while shutting the door with the other. With an arm around her waist, Erik guided Tamara towards the entrance where two bouncers were carding people before entering. When they noticed Erik approaching, one of them opened the door for him to enter. She could sense that those men were both vampires and Erik detected her nervousness.

They were standing in a little boxy entrance hall with red lights. 

“Breathe, Tammy,” Erik whispered into her hair, “Stick to my side at all times.” 

Past a black velvet drape, Tamara got her first comprehensive look at Crimson Mist’s interior. Everything was black and red. The walls were covered with upholstered paneling that reminded Tamara of sound proof foam. There are two bars on each side of the club, a stage for entertainment and another stage with a throne chair situated on it. Random stripper poles with beautiful women twirling from them. The music was deafening, the people were dressed in leather, chains and whips. The lighting was dim, of course, nothing unusual about that. 

Vampire groupies and tourists were among the majority of patrons and it made it easier to distinguish the undead from the living. Some of the living looked ridiculous with their capes, fake fangs, and painted blood. They were extraordinary, and extraordinarily pathetic. The undead were like real jewels in a bin of rhinestones. They mostly favored dark clothes too, but were more interesting. 

With Erik still clinging to her, Tamara continued to look around with interest and amazement and some distaste. All eyes were on them, probably because of Erik. He leaned down to whisper to her.

“You look like a white candle in a coal mine.”

Tamara giggled, and then they strolled through the scattered crowd of people to the bar. There was a never ending supply of alcohol on fancy glass shelves behind the bar and Tamara could also see bottled blood either refrigerated or warm in cases for the vampires. The laminated menu attached to the sticky bar top in black marble had signature drinks like a bloodthirsty martini or a blood orange margarita. Tamara ordered a Fangria and accepted the drink from a smiling bartender that showed his fangs. Tamara returned a nervous smile. 

“How’s it going, boss?” The bartender asked. “This pretty thing is your meal for tonight?” He nodded towards Tamara as he put her drink on the bar for her. 

“This is Tamara,” Erik pulled her closer to him, “She has some questions to ask tonight. I figured I’d bring her along to see if she can get the answers she desires.”

Tamara looked up at Erik with a slight frown. 

“Anything, beautiful,” the Indian bartender with long coal black hair looked at her with hungry eyes. 

“Do you know anything about these two women,” Tamara retrieved her phone from her clutch, presenting the photos to the bartender, “Or this man here,” She pulled up a photo of Lloyd. 

“Yes, to the women, no to the man, though he looks delicious,” said the bartender, smiling at her again, “Is that your husband?”

“No. That’s my brother. I just wanted to know if he’d been around here with any of these women. Have ya’ noticed any men around these women?”

“…that’s something I wouldn’t know,” he replied quickly, his face closing down, “that’s something we don’t notice here. You won’t either. Ain’t that right, boss?”

Tamara looked up at Erik again and he had an expression with practiced control. 

“Thank you,” Tamara said politely, realizing she’d broken a rule. It was dangerous to ask who left with whom, evidently, “I appreciate it. Thanks for the drink.”

The bartender looked at Tamara considerably.

“Let me see the girls again,” he pointed at the photo of Dawn’s picture, “that one, she wanted to die.”

Tamara leaned in to speak closer. Erik stood behind her now, both hands on her waist.

“How do ya’ know?”

“Everyone who comes here does, to one extent or another,” he said matter-of-factly. Tamara could tell he took that for granted. “That's what we are. Death.”

He chuckled and Erik joined in on the laugh. Tamara shuddered. Erik’s arm found its way on her arm, drawing her away to a vacated booth. Tamara pulled her arm away from him, clearly irritated, and just then she was blocked by a statuesque woman covered in tattoos and wearing a black lace shawl with bell sleeves, a black corskirt that hugged her curves, and a patent leather black clincher. Her hair was styled similar to those pinup girls from the 40s and her bold red lipstick made her lips look sultry. 

“Finally brought your play thing to the establishment. How sweet.”

Tamara arched a brow at Lana and she was ready to say something just as unpleasant but Erik cut her off. 

“Lana, this is Tamara. Didn’t get the chance to speak last time with everything that happened.” Erik said.

“I don’t recall wanting to speak to her last time,” Lana cocked her head to the side, challenging Tamara to say anything with her deadly stare. 

“Lana,” Erik’s eyes narrowed and his voice went deep, “Do I have to remind you of our discussion earlier?”

Lana’s demeanor changed with one look from Erik and a bright smile replaced her face. She gave Tamara a flirty wave that Tamara didn’t return because she could see that Lana was only playing nice because Erik told her so. 

“Can’t return the gesture? Let me find out this sweet little fragile thang ain’t so sweet.” Lana teased.

“I don’t do well with fakes,” Tamara replied. 

Lana’s brows rose with humor and her beautiful smile with sharp white fangs didn’t seem to affect Tamara. Erik was losing patients with her disrespect and from the way Erik looked, Tamara didn’t want to stick around to see what he had planned for his progeny. 

“Trust, the feeling is mutual.” Lana replied.

Lana strutted away from them to the throne chair that Tamara gathered belonged to Erik. She left Erik standing there and slid into the booth. He joined her and sat across from her, his pitch black eyes scanning the room before they came to a stop on her. 

“This is reality, Tammy.” Erik said.

“Do you think I came here with you to die? Because I didn’t,” Tamara argued.

Erik laughed, and if it wasn’t for her anger towards him, she would have folded. The smile and the dimples get her every time. 

“What’s so funny? You knew I wasn’t going to get any answers coming here, didn’t you?”

“…And ya’ knew that yourself. Love the determination by the way, nice touch,” Erik smirked.

“You really get on my nerves,” Tamara glared at Erik.

Erik laughed harder, “Not so fast, baby girl. We just had a moment not too long ago. You want me to give ya’ a reminder?”

Tamara kissed her teeth and Erik puckered his lips to mimic their kissing followed by a deep chuckle. Tamara rolled her eyes at his childishness.

“C’mon, fuck those dead women. You know ya’ brother ain’t do that shit. Let’s just enjoy the night.”

“And you, right?” Tamara said.

“And me. We had this discussion two nights ago, baby girl. Finish your drink off so I can get ya’ a new one.”

“So, what is this then? A date? You didn’t even properly ask me on a date to even consider this a date—”

“It’s a way for you to see my world a lot closer. And for the record, princess, I would never bring ya’ here for a date.” Erik quipped.

“I don’t even think you know how to date,” Tamara fired back. 

Erik slipped in beside her now, boxing her in. Tamara refused to look at him as best as she could.

“This isn’t the place to take a woman like you on a date. You deserve more than this. Just because I own it, doesn’t mean I like it.” 

Tamara stared at Erik confused, “What?”

Erik exhaled frustratingly, “The only reason that I own this bar is because I have to. The vampire government forced me to. They wanted me to come up with a way to welcome humans for entertainment and fun. I’m bored with all of this…”

“Then sell it,” Tamara said, “Have ya’ thought about that?”

“Yes. But I would prefer that the vampire hierarchy not track my every move. This gives them a way to be distracted. Everything that goes on here stays here. That’s the rule. As long as I follow that rule, I’m all good.”

“What constitutes fun for you then?” 

Erik’s eyes scanned Tamara’s body. She finished off the rest of her drink, the blossoming warmth of the alcohol spreading through her. 

“Going for a long drive, flying, visiting a museum, cooking, reading, dancing…just to name a few…”

Tamara’s icy demeanor melted away. She was interested in knowing more about him besides the fact that he’s an attractive vampire.

Flying?” Tamara asked.

“Yeah,” Erik smirked, “It’s a rush.” 

“I–I didn’t know vampires could fly.”

“We can do a lot of things,” Erik said with a half smirk.

“Then why drive?” 

“When I’m with a human, I’d prefer to drive. Flying with you looking all pretty would be a disaster.”

Tamara giggled, “How considerate of you. Flying sounds peaceful.”

“I can show ya’ one night. Take you up into the clouds so you can see Louisiana from above.”

Tamara’s hazel eyes went wide with excitement. Erik couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on his face. She’s so adorable.

“I’m scared!” Tamara giggles, “I’ve never even been on a plane.” 

“You’ll love it.” Erik took one of Tamara’s hands, staring at her nails.

“You said cook…”

Erik licked his lips, “Yes.”

“Were you a chef?”

“I was a food artisan. My parents had their own shop where we would sell our own items.” 

“…so that means you could cook for me?”

“I will cook for you. I can tell ya’ when something is undercooked or overcooked. I could tell ya’ when something is toxic for ya’ to consume. I know what flavors work well together, how to make wine…better than most of these people who call themselves chefs.”

 The music was loud and aggressive and it had everyone crowding the dance floor. The pole dancers worked over time to entertain everyone. Bottle girls went around to supply more drinks, and Tamara had a few more herself. She was too shy to ask Erik for a dance. But she could see that he wanted to. Three Six Mafia had the whole club banging. 

A fang-banger with a banging body and a perfect weave approached their booth. Tamara was half-hidden by Erik finishing her drink, but still, they’d all seen him enter with her. She was gorgeous, like those models in music videos. She bent across the table with her titties almost popping out to get her mouth about two inches from Erik.

“Hi, dangerous,” She said with a sultry voice. She tapped Erik’s bottled blood with a long acrylic fingernail painted scarlet, “I have the real stuff.” She stroked her neck to make sure he got the point, “Why don’t you come with me so you can have a taste?”

Tamara took a deep breath to control her temper. Erik was her date. She waited to see what he would say and if it was anything other than turning down her advances, Tamara was leaving. She wanted to mush her in the face but she held absolutely still so she wouldn’t give Erik any cues on what she wanted. 

“Ya’ don’t see that I’m with someone? Just actin’ all bold coming over here?” Erik said with narrow eyes.

“She doesn't have any puncture marks on her neck,” the girl observed, acknowledging Tamara’s presence finally with an amused look as if Tamara being next to a vampire was a joke. As if she didn’t belong at Crimson Mist.

“Like I said, I’m with her.” Erik said, his voice not so gentle this time. He grabbed Tamara’s hand and rubbed it with his thumb, “I’m sure you’ll find what ya’ want somewhere else.” 

“They say you have a big dick to match those big fangs,” She licked her lips.

Tamara gawked at the girl. Erik wasn’t her man but the nerve of this bitch to boldly say that in front of her. Erik chuckled and it irritated Tamara. What the fuck is so funny?

“Don’t matter what you heard. You ain’t gettin’ nothing from me.” Erik said. 

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” She sat up, rolling her eyes at Tamara.

“Yes I do,” Erik said.

The girl kissed her teeth and stumbled away. 

“You okay?” Erik turned to check on Tamara.

“Yeah.” Tamara looked down at her empty glass.

“Want another drink?” Erik asked.

“Sure.”

Erik didn’t have to get up from his seat. He just raised his arm and a server; a human from what it looked like with bite marks on her neck as well, rushed over. She was hypnotized by Erik’s presence and Erik had to repeat the order to her. She hurried away and Tamara noticed more women looking towards the direction of their booth, even men. 

“You haven’t said anything since that chick came over to the table,” Erik said. 

“There’s nothing to say,” Tamara replied, with great self-control.

“Why’s that?” 

Tamara exhaled, “I shouldn’t have to say anything. You handled it respectfully and that’s all there is to it.” 

Erik smirked, “You could have sent her on her way.”

“I’m not the one to get into petty fights with a woman no matter how disrespectful she was. And I wanted to see how you would handle it. I would have been gone if it was the other way around, Erik. You should be happy about that.”

“I am happy. And you’re the only girl I want, Tammy.”

Tamara’s stomach did somersaults.

“Do you want me wit’ you?” Erik asked her in a hushed tone that was similar to a ghostly whisper. 

The hard planes of his body pressed into Tamara’s much smaller one, blocking her against the wall of the booth. The dim light above them made his skin glow and his perfect face was close to hers.

“What do you think?” Tamara looked from his lips to his eyes.

“Ma, I’m asking you,” Erik arched a brow, “That vampire over there scanned you twice.”

“You’re teasing me,” Tamara looked towards the direction Erik was focused on. 

The vampire he indicated was handsome, in fact, radiant; a faded cut with green eyes, tall and broad shouldered, sepia skin without fault and iridescent. He was wearing boots, jeans, and a vest. He had this vicious look in his eyes and when Tamara looked up at Erik he had the same look but it scared Tamara more. 

“His name is Dean,” Erik said. 

“How old is he?”

“I’ve known him since the 20s. I’m the oldest vampire in this bar.”

“He looks mean. Why is he glaring at me?”

Erik chuckled, “We’re all mean, Tamara. Very strong and very violent. And he’s glaring because he’s trying to control himself from coming over here and taking you away from me. He knows that won’t happen.”

Dean gave Erik a mischievous smirk and started towards them as if gliding across the floor. Tamara’s breath hitched and Erik didn’t move. Dean took a seat across from Erik and Tamara with a bottle of True Blood in his hand. 

“Erik. I expected to see you sitting on your throne.”

“Not tonight. I’m here with this beautiful girl.”

“Hmm, I can see that,” Dean smirked handsomely at Tamara, “What’s your name, gorgeous?”

“Tamara.” 

“Ooo, I like that. And you smell,” Dean’s green eyes sparkled with intensity, “Delicious.” 

“She’s mine.” Erik snapped. 

Dean stared at him with annoyance. 

“I didn’t come over here to take her from you, Erik. I know she’s yours. Every vampire in here knows. That’s why none of us came over here to take her ourselves. But I can’t deny a sexy woman when I see one.”

Tamara blushes. She tucked her chin bashfully at Dean’s compliment. He’s definitely a smooth talker. Erik was smoldering. Tamara’s hand on his arm kept him under control.

“I want to ask Dean a question if that’s okay?”

Erik’s jaw clenched, “Go ‘head.” 

“Have you seen either of these women in this bar?”

Dean studied the pictures with his thumb grazing his bottom lip. Erik wasn’t going to take his eyes off of Dean. He knew exactly what he was capable of. 

“I have been with this one,” Dean said coolly, tapping Dawn’s picture. “She liked pain.”

Dean shot a glance at Erik and there was an unspoken bond there that Tamara was curious about. 

“This one here,” he flicked his finger at Maudette’s picture, “was a pathetic creature.” 

“Thanks,” Tamara put her phone away.

“Erik, why haven’t you brought your friend around before?” Dean asked. 

“Me and Erik are new friends,” Tamara responded with a bright smile to him, seeing that Erik was too irritated to speak.

“Aren’t you so sweet,” Dean observed.

“Not especially,” Tamara said.

Dean stared at her with surprise. 

“Well, then maybe you should bring your new friend around more often. If she can handle Crimson Mist, she can handle anything.” 

Dean reached for Tamara’s hand and Erik’s hand zipped past her to grab a hold of Dean’s throat. Dean laughed and Erik’s fangs popped out making him look like a true monster. Tamara had a hand pressed to her chest and she was frozen in fear. The speed at which they move will never get old to her. Erik squeezed down on Dean’s neck and slammed him against the table, standing above him. Dean hisses at Erik with his sharp fangs. 

“She’s…mine. If ya’ don’t want to lose your head, I suggest you keep your fuckin’ hands to ya’ self.” Erik warned Dean with an animalistic growl.

“Erik…it’s okay, calm down,” Tamara said with a soothing voice. 

Erik let go and Dean stood up with a smirk. Tamara was given a full on view of his perfect six pack and the v-cut of his waistline. The table had a crack in it and Dean’s bottle of True Blood was knocked over.  Dean dipped his head in farewell at Tamara and glided into the crowd, disappearing from sight. He didn't want to stick around. It seemed as if everyone was immune to violence in Crimson Mist. 

“You seem to be telling everyone that I’m yours,” Tamara muttered. 

“It’s vampire tradition,” Erik explained again with annoyance, “If I pronounce you mine, no one else can try to feed on you.” 

“Feed on me, that’s a delightful phrase,” Tamara said sharply. 

“I’m protecting you,” Erik said, his voice not quite as neutral as usual.

“I don’t need—”

She was stopped short. Erik took her by the chin and he turned her head to him. He looked so hard into her eyes that she thought she had tunnels burned into her brain. 

“You don’t need protection? Is that what you were gonna say?”

“…I was, but then I thought about how you saved my life. And how this killer is murdering women who associate with vampires in any way.”

“…And you shouldn’t have to worry because I’m going to protect you. No one is going to hurt you, Tammy. I promise that. Do ya’ hear me?”

Tamara exhaled a shaky breath and then nodded her head in response. That wasn’t enough for Erik.

“Words?” Erik said.

“Yes.”

“Good girl.”

Tamara glanced at the people at the bar dancing and drinking and on the verge of hooking up. 

“Is that really the only thing on their minds?” Tamara said with a roll of her eyes.

“What are they thinking?” Erik questioned.

“Sex, sex, sex.” 

Every single person in that bar had sex on the brain. 

“What are you thinking about, Tamara?” 

“Not sex.” 

“Ya lyin’ to me?” Erik asked with a playful look.

“I was thinking about dancing but I don’t know if I should.”

Erik stood up from the booth and took off his moto jacket. He held out his hand for Tamara to take and she did. He led her out of the booth and to the dance floor. The sea of people parted for them and they found a spot in the middle of the dance floor under red lights. 

Rihanna- Work  had everyone moving their hips and when Tamara heard her new favorite song it was like liquid adrenaline being injected right into her bloodstream — just enough to make her tingle and start to move her own hips. She wound her hips in a circle, her arms came up and she felt loose and sexy. Erik stood there watching her with commanding eyes and a half smirk that showcased a deep dimple. His skin beneath the lights looked warm to the touch and the contours of his muscular arms had Tamara wishing he would wrap them around her.

While some danced, others stood around watching her move like a temptress with her hands in her hair and her slim-thick body moving with explosive sensuality. Tamara got so lost in the song that she felt as if she were the only one there. She threw her head back and did a little two step, eyes closed and a bite of her bottom lip. When Drake’s verse came up, Tamara placed her hands on her thighs and dipped her hips down to the floor where she did a little slow whine. 

Erik came up behind Tamara and held his hand out so he could guide her back up. She threw her head back to get the hair out of her eyes and giggled when she locked eyes with Erik’s intense expression. The song switched to PARTYNEXTDOOR- Wus Good/Curious

Good, lovin, feel so, numb

Ride me, 'til I'm, 'bout to, cum

I see, you are, 'bout to, clim-

-Ax so, oh, girl, don't be, shy

Is you ready?

Is you ready, baby?

You seem ready

You seem ready, baby

Girl tonight I won't be selfish

It is all for you (yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)

Girl, my bad, I just can't help it (just can't help it)

Girl, you taste so…

Tamara faced Erik and he took her by the hand, twirling her so that her back was against his torso. Tamara could feel the powerfulness of his body against her feeble frame. She went still, allowing him to guide her movements. One of his cool hands came around to rest on her lower belly and he brought her left arm up to drape over his shoulder. He started doing a slow yet rhythmic two step and with the hand on her stomach he guided her to follow his movements. 

He pressed his face into her neck and Tamara’s heart pounded with nervous excitement. He exhaled through his mouth and then inhaled deeply through his nose and her eyes fluttered shut. The pressure from his hand forced her bubble butt to press into his crotch. The two step transitioned into Erik grinding on her, forcing Tamara to follow the motion of his hips. His free hand wrapped delicately around her neck, using his finger tips to stroke over her pulse. She felt the crotch of her black lace thong grow wetter. 

Hey, shawty, this what I'm here for, I'm ready (I'm ready)

Are you downtown when I'm round town, I'm ready (I'm ready)

Girl, just let me know what's good

Girl, just let me know what's good

Girl, you're beautiful

They won't know, they won't know what we do

Girl, you're beautiful

No, no, they won't know what we do…

The DJ did a dope mix and PARTYNEXTDOOR- Break From Toronto changed the slow motion movements to more of a bend over and pop that ass. Tamara turned to face Erik and she had her arms around his neck and they started grinding their hips against each other. Vibing to the song with smiles on their faces and their foreheads pressed together. 

That smile on your face

Makes it easy to trust you

Those in- (yeah), those in- (yeah, oh), those in- (yeah, oh)

This what 'Sauga feel like in the night time (ooh)

Watch what she do when the light shine (ooh)

Drunk niggas tryna talk in the strip club

Shawty silhouette looks like a dollar sign (ooh)

Caught-caught up (caught up)

That's just how a nigga brought up (brought up)

Blow ones for you loonie ass niggas (ass niggas)

Straight bills for you toonie ass niggas (ass niggas)

M-M-My niggas bigger than the bouncer

Roll up in the bitch still smell like an ounce (like a ounce)

Right quick, right quick

Tight jeans on, so she feels my shit, ayy (feel my shit)

Tell me somethin' good, baby

Tell me somethin', tell me somethin' good, shawty (yeah)

Come bring it to the hood, baby

Bring it-bring it back to hood, shawty (ooh, ooh, ooh)

Tamara suddenly becomes bashful and hides her face against Erik’s chest. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. 

“Why are you acting so shy right now, baby girl?” 

“I’ve never done this–dancing on a guy before!”

“C’mere…”

The song changed to something Tamara wasn’t familiar with but it was definitely bounce music. Erik knew the song and he grabbed Tamara by her hips, turning her again and he arched her back. She gasped in shock, one hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder keeping her in that position. It was more of an ass shaking song. Jealous, envious women watched Tamara twerk on Erik, wishing it were them being bent over. 

Tamara looked back at him and his lips parted and she could see his fangs. His tongue dragged over the pointy tips, lips looking moist, eyes unblinking and scanning her body dangerously. She flipped her hair over and brought one hand above her head, ass bouncing on his stiffness poking her in the booty. She swayed her hips with each bounce, feeling tipsy and getting lost in the music, mistaking his iron hard dick for a nonexistent belt. Erik held her hand up and let her do her thing, tilting his head to watch the way her ass moved in that cinching dress. 

“Damn,” Erik spoke gruffly against her ear,“you got some ass on you, girl…best fuckin’ dancer I’d ever seen.” 

Tamara blushes, “Thank you!” 

“I ain’t know you could make it move like that, ma!”

“Now you know!” Tamara shouted over the music. 

When the song was over, Tamara couldn’t look Erik in the eye. He was all over her. He pulled her into his embrace with a hand on her ass and his other hand smoothing her hair out of her face. He brought his lips to her ear, the hand on her ass now rubbing up and down her back.

“You wanna get outta here?” He whispered in her ear.

She looked up at him with a bat of her lashes. He had a hungry look in his eyes.

“Yeah…” she spoke with a feathery voice. 

They had driven back to Tamara’s home already, but Erik had Tamara straddling him in his back seat. They had been kissing for a while now, Erik’s white beater off and the straps to Tamara’s dress hanging from her shoulders. He had her hair in his right fist and his left hand rubbing all over her ass. Tamara combed her fingers through his locs, amazed at how soft his hair is. Heads swiveling from left to right and they couldn’t get enough of each other. 

“Erik,” Tamara looked down at him, “I want you too.” 

Erik’s onyx eyes blazed with desire. He pulled her in and his lips found hers again. Harder, wetter, and maybe this could lead to even more. Tamara wanted it badly and Erik wanted it more than her. He’d been waiting to have her. Waiting for his moment to make her his. He was so close. She still needed to open up, and Tamara wasn’t an easy girl. He loved that about her. 

Tamara broke the kiss again which frustrated Erik.

“I have to go. I didn’t expect to be out this late.”

“Work?” 

Tamara nodded her head solemnly. 

“Call out,” Erik tilted his head at her with a bite of his lower lip, “For me?” 

“I can’t. I picked this shift up.” Tamara whined.

“What shift is it, Tammy?”

“…night.”

Erik kisses his teeth, “Aight, ma. How ‘bout I come see ya’ tomorrow? We can go for a drive…I’m staying here for the weekend to check on my new place…”

Tamara looked at him with confusion, “New place?”

“A smaller home away from home basically. St. Tammany is where I wanna have a private place for myself. I purchased a home right across the cemetery and it’s being fixed up as we speak.”

“Do you have other homes all over the world?” Tamara asked.

“I do…one in Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Nigeria, LA, New York, Miami, St. Thomas…”

“Wow.” Tamara was amazed. 

“Hm,” Erik chuckled, “I’d like to show you them one day…”

“Tamara climbed off of Erik’s lap and sat next to him. He refused to let her open her own door. He left the car and jogged around to open the door for her, holding his hand out for her to take. Erik picked her up and twirled her around again before placing her on her feet. 

“Goodnight, Tammy,” Erik whispered before giving her one last kiss.

Tamara stood on her tip toes and rested her cheek against his for a moment. 

“Thanks for taking me.”

Erik grabbed her hand, swinging it as they walked up to the house. Within the porch, Tamara opened her door while Erik waited for her to make it inside. She looked back at him over her shoulder and waved, Erik returning the gesture. Tamara closed her door and pressed her back against it.

Meanwhile, Erik was driving to his nearly finished home. It was an Acadian style home which is a true representation of the Louisiana style homes. Influenced by French and Canadian styles, these houses feature steeply pitched roofs with dormer windows, and large covered porches or galleries, often wrapping around the house. Acadian homes often have raised foundations to help protect from flooding, and the exteriors have shutters and decorative brackets. Interiors often have high ceilings with exposed wood beams, and are designed for open, airy living in the hot and humid Louisiana climate.

The interior is old world gothic and Victorian while his other home is more minimalist with steel. He had a new coffin for Lana and himself installed in the basement while the rooms had beds with automatic windows that were timed to open during nightfall. Truthfully, Erik purchased this home secretly to be away from the other vampires and Tia. He wanted to spend time with Tamara as much as he could without everyone knowing where he was. Lana much preferred the other home, so Erik would only spend time there if work was needed to be done. 

He walked around the luxury double-staircase foyer with optimism, the polished maple hardwood beneath his feet causing his footsteps to sound more pronounced. Deep purple, black, and gray decorated the first level. Each of the five bed rooms has its own complimentary color such as maroon, and navy blue but black will always be the main scheme. He had a feeling Tamara didn’t like his home back in New Orleans because it  held a memory she didn’t want to recall. They could make new memories here.

Erik took a seat on a black sofa throne chair in solid mahogany wood, Crystal tufting, and a gloss black finish. His black fireplace was handcrafted to look like skulls giving it a more haunting look. He reminisced about the evening, unable to stop himself from smiling. Tamara looked stunning. He loved when she dressed up. He couldn’t get over how beautiful her hair is. She looked amazing. Dancing with her made him feel alive again. Kissing her made him fall in love with the act all over again. As much as he wanted to make love to her, he will be patient. 

Erik wanted the time to be right for her. She’s a virgin and that made it harder for Erik to give into his urges. He’ll have plenty of time to fuck her, but first he needed to take things slow and ease her into what sex with him will be like. Erik stood up to head up the stairs to the master bedroom. When he entered the room decorated in black and gold, Erik activated the automatic windows all over the home and undressed. Naked, he climbed in bed beneath the silk black sheets and stared up at the high ceiling. 

Erik shut his eyes and a sensation overcame him. Eyes remaining closed, Erik could sense Tamara dreaming. It was like a deep psychological bond and he could feel it growing stronger. Since Tamara drank his blood the night he saved her life, it created an eternal bond/spirit union between them. He can feel the strong sexual and romantic energy, and it was difficult for him not to go to her and fulfill what she truly desires. 

He couldn’t see exactly what she was dreaming about, and he desperately wished he could. She was in distress, tossing and turning, unable to peacefully sleep because of the nature of her sex dreams. 

Mmmmmahhhhunh…

Erik’s eyes shot open. 

Was this really a dream or…

Erik…Erik…Erik…

He sat up, silk sheets pooling around his toned hips.

Erik rolled his neck. Every muscle in his body flexed.

Yes…right there…don’t stop…please…

He couldn’t take it. 

Erik was out of his bed and with only his jeans on, he sped out of the house and across the cemetery to Tamara’s.

Back at Tamara’s, within her bedroom, evening air trickling in, Tamara is dressed in a white babydoll lingerie nightgown, her curls resting on top of her head with a satin scrunchie. The cotton sheets are kicked to the foot of the bed, her legs spread open and one hand between her legs, rubbing her clit. Hard nipples pointed to the ceiling, Tamara has her eyes closed, envisioning her vampire between her legs devouring her. The way he moved his tongue over hers when they kissed let her know that he knew how to use it well.

“Fuck,” Tamara moaned softly. 

She brought two fingers down to her entrance and sank them deeply inside. She couldn’t believe how wet she was. Tamara sat up on one elbow, knees to her chest, toes curled, and bottom lip between her teeth. 

Visions of his black eyes staring up at her from between her legs has her walls quivering. 

“Eat me…taste me…” 

She felt her body begin to tense up. Tamara’s mouth dropped open and she came all over her fingers unexpectedly. She needed more. That was her second orgasm and she knew she could give more. 

“I can’t stop…” she moaned.

This is the most she’d ever masturbated.

“I’m so wet for you…”

Just when she was about to attack her clit with her fingers again, she could hear a sound at her window. Sitting up, Tamara fixed her nightgown and climbed down from her bed. Opening her curtains, she jumped back in shock at Erik looking up at her. He’d been throwing broken branches at her window. 

“Erik?” 

“Can I come up?” He asked.

Tamara looked from left to right before her eyes fell on him again.

“Yes. I’ll get the door—”

Erik had scaled the wall and crawled into the room. 

Tamara was stunned. 

“How did you?—”

Erik put a finger to her lips. He looked down at her through the curtain of locs against his forehead. Tamara noticed that he wasn’t wearing any shoes and he was shirtless. Erik inhaled and he followed the scent to Tamara’s fingers.

“Erik?—”

He grabbed her hand and sucked on her fingers. Tamara’s breath hitched. He sucked hard, Tamara growing weak in the knees. 

“You taste…so good…”

He opened his eyes and Tamara could see a red ring around his pitch black irises. 

Tamara looked up at Erik confused. 

“I could hear you…playing with yourself.”

She opened her mouth but no words came out. Tamara looked away from him, embarrassed to even meet his piercing gaze.

“How? Were you standing outside my window the entire time?” She asked with a timid voice. 

“Nah,” Erik touched her cheek, “Remember the night I saved your life?”

“Yes,” Tamara leaned into his touch.

“You drank my blood. When you do that, it creates a bond between the vampire and the human. It’s similar to the bond of a maker and progeny but the only difference is I can’t call on you.”

“Really?” Tamara was shocked, “So that means…”

“Yes,” Erik smirked, “I know you’ve been dreaming about me. At least up until now…”

Tamara sat down on her bed and Erik sat next to her. 

“You were pleasuring yourself.” Erik said.

Tamara toyed with the lace trimming on her nightgown. 

“I was,” She shot him a quick glance before looking back down, “This is so embarrassing.”

Erik scooted closer, lifting her chin.

“Tell me about your fantasy. Please?”

Tamara looked him in the eyes and exhaled.

“I was…fantasizing about you…between my legs…”

Her natural pheromones smelled so good it triggered his fangs to pop out. Tamara flinched slightly but soon she reached out to touch one of his fangs. 

“Tamara,” Erik grabbed her hand, “Can I watch you?” 

“W—watch me?” She felt her face heat up.

“I’ll sit right here and watch you touch yourself.”

After an internal struggle, she slowly  laid back and nervously looked up at Erik.

“I can’t sleep when you keep moaning in my ear.” Erik said.

Tamara fixed the straps to her nightgown and one shaky hand came down to lift her nightgown. He couldn’t see her pussy when she dropped her legs open, but he could see the wetness she created in her white panties. She turned her head away from Erik, eyes closed while her fingers rubbed slow circles around her clit.

Erik sat there with his fists clenched, eyes low and his mouth watering to taste her. He’d never wanted a pussy in his mouth this bad since his wife. She smelled out of this word. A pleasant floral scent wafted from her skin and she smelled like honey in between. She whimpered, refusing to moan, and it frustrated Erik. He could see her hand moving rapidly. And Erik could hear how gushy and wet she was. 

“Fuck, Tamara, you sound so sexy…it’s okay to moan…it’s just me and you in here…you look so beautiful…”

She turned her head towards him finally. The tops of her breasts were teasing his eyes. She was pleasantly horny and being such a naughty girl. She licked her lips at him and that pretty mouth fell open. 

“That pussy is so wet…how do you want me to eat that pussy, baby?”

“I…”

Her legs shook and Erik grunted.

“That was my third orgasm.” Tamara giggled into her pillow.

“Take your panties off.”

Tamara sat up and slipped her panties off. 

“Give them to me.”

She slid them over to Erik and he snatched them up, smelling the soaked crotch of her panties. She watched him, aroused at how much he loved her smell. He placed them within the pocket of his jeans and looked over at her. Tamara gained enough confidence to place her fingers against his lips. Erik licked them while his eyes were locked on hers. 

“Tamara…”

She tilted her head at him. Erik’s cold hand reached out to stroke the gold anklet on her left ankle.

“What does the E stand for?”

“It’s for my middle name. Elicia.” 

“That’s pretty,” His fingers dragged up the back of her calf, “pretty just like you…”

“Erik?” 

“Just say the word, Tamara, and I’ll taste you. I’ll eat you and make you cum…”

She stared at him with desperation. Erik waited, his eyes searching hers. 

“Yes,” She whispered. 

Say less. Erik had her on her back in top speed. He climbed on top of her and kissed her deeply, passionately, hungrily. Tamara raked her fingers through his locs, pulling on them whenever Erik would tongue her down. He used his fingers to gently pull the straps of her nightgown down one by one, revealing her c cup breasts with perfectly round areolas and small nipples. He studied them closely — every blemish, freckle, and mole. 

“Beautiful,” Erik looked at her, “You’re beautiful, Tammy.”

He let her hair down and continued to trail his kisses down her neck. Tamara moaned softly, thrusting her chest up. Erik kisses down the side of her neck, over her jawline, between her breasts and then each nipple. Tamara cupped the back of his head when he finally wrapped his lips around a nipple. Her head went back and she whimpered repeatedly.

The pounding of her heart was deafening. Erik couldn’t stop it if he could. The veins in her breasts aided in the hardening of her nipples against his tongue. He imagined the taste of her blood on her breasts. The constant cries and whimpers had his dick so hard. Erik popped a nipple out of his mouth and Tamara looked down at him.

“Why did you stop?” She fussed between breaths.

“I want you to take this dress off…please?”

Erik wasn’t used to saying please.

“Okay,” Tamara sat up, breasts mouthwatering.

She lifted the nightgown over her head and sat it on the bed next to her. Erik’s eyes dragged down her body. She had the softest most delicate skin. The most beautiful brown skin. Erik could see the top of her pussy and it was completely hairless. Smooth like satin. 

“Lay back for me, baby girl.”

Tamara made herself comfortable on her elbows. Erik was kneeling above her with her legs pressed together. 

“I’m nervous,” Tamara admitted.

Erik kisses both of her knees to relax her.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. Open up for me, Tammy.”

She chewed on her bottom lip before spreading her thighs slowly. He could see her legs trembling. The more she opened her legs, the stronger the smell of her sex. It took all of his supernatural strength to hold back from forcing her legs open and pinning them back at the ankles with brunt force. He had to remind himself that she is inexperienced with this. He had to ease her into the pleasures. 

When her legs finally fell open, Erik let out a deep groan. It was possible to have the most perfect pussy. Fat, juicy, and a work of art that needed to be a canvas painting in his room. The wishbone shape of her inner folds were engorged with her arousal and he could literally see the remnants of cum leaking from her tight opening. He could kiss this pussy all night long. He needed all that pink in his mouth right now.

“Mmm…mmm…mmm.” 

Erik dipped his head between her legs and started kissing her outer lips. She watched him with curiosity, sweet moans filling the room. He resurfaced, looking up at her with deep desire. 

“Thank you for giving me the honor to eat this beautiful pussy.” Erik said.

He used his entire mouth and began sucking. She’d never felt this before. It was intense. He sucked everywhere. She sat there on her elbows watching him with timid eyes and parted lips. Whenever he would suck on her clit, Tamara would whimper with a tremble of her inner thighs. His tongue flicked and dragged all over her pussy, loving the way it tasted. 

“Please don’t stop,” Tamara whispered.

She placed one hand on the back of his head when he was back on her clit again. Tamara was startled by Erik tapping her wet entrance with his finger. She sounded like a puddle down there. 

“Erik,” Tamara thrust her hips, tilting her pussy into his mouth further. He stopped sucking her clit to look at her.

“Whatchu want?” Erik asked. 

Tamara looked anywhere but at him, “I want you to finger me…”

He really wanted to stuff her with some big dick.

“You gotta look at me and ask, Tammy.”

She looked at him, “I want you to finger me.”

“I’ll give you whatever you want.”

With his middle finger, he took his time sinking in. She instantly clamped down on his finger. When Erik went to pull his finger back before pushing it back in, her walls were acting like a suction. He could only imagine how that would feel on his dick. Mmm.

“You’re so tight, baby…”

He couldn’t believe how wet and tight she was. He tried adding his ring finger and Tamara hissed. 

“Did I hurt you?” 

“Your fingers are thicker than mine.”

“I’ll go slower.”

She relaxed as best as she could. Erik needed to add another finger. The more she opened up, the easier it would be to fit his dick in. He’s girthy with length and a fat tip to match. Too much for Tamara to handle right now. 

“Tammy…you gotta keep your legs open and out of the way.”

Or I’ll do it for you

“I can’t help it–oh my goddess—”

He had two fingers knuckle deep. Erik wasted no time pumping. He kissed along her inner thighs and watched her face. She had her eyes closed and her head thrown back. Her breasts were bouncing and her hair was frizzy and wild. She was mesmerizing.

“You are making a big fuckin’ mess on my fingers, baby…look at this pretty pussy.”

Tamara watched Erik finger her. In and out, in and out, she moaned his name and all over his hand she came. Erik savagely licked his hand and the cum from her pussy. Sitting up, Erik with his speed pinned her legs back. He smirked down at her before going in to eat her again. 

“Erik,” Tamara moaned. 

She didn’t want him to stop. He had her clit between his lips again and she could feel herself getting close again. His primal eyes were locked on her hazel eyes and it was the most erotic experience. He even did it when he flicked his tongue over her clit at top speed. It felt like a vibrator. She stared at him with tears of pleasure rolling down her cheeks and a strangled moan escaping her mouth. Her toes flexed towards the ceiling and she began to convulse. Her struggling moans were music to his ears.

He stuck his tongue so far up her pussy, he sucked her up everywhere, he licked and licked until he covered every inch of that pussy. His fingers went deep and he sucked them dry just to do it again. His princess was famished. Erik looked at her with his lips dripping with her cum and what would make this even better is if he could only bite into her.

Sleep overcame her within seconds and Erik watched her sleep for an hour before he covered her with her blanket and kissed her cheek. She had enough for one night and needed her rest. He fixed his erection and patted his back pocket to make sure her panties were still there. He didn’t want to leave her, but he needed to get some sleep himself. The day was approaching and he began to feel weak. 

Erik climbed out of the window and jumped down, landing on his feet. With one final look up at her window, he sped off into the night and back to his new home. 

Nana Sylvia was sitting in the living room the following afternoon, her stories on the TV and a fresh glass of homemade lavender lemonade in her hand. She had one elbow propped up on the back of the couch, watching Tamara pounce around the house like she was on cloud 9. Now, she’s dressed for her shift, same heavenly smile on her face. 

“You’ve been in a really great mood, Sugar. The date was lovely?”

Tamara took a seat next to her grandmother for a second so she could enjoy a glass of lavender lemonade herself. 

“It was great, Nana. I had a lovely time.”

Tamara smiled into her glass.

“I hope he’ll still talk to The Descendants next Friday evening about The Revolt.” 

Tamara forgot to confirm that with him last night. She was so distracted with the kissing and the head…

“He’s stopping by Marco’s tonight. I’ll ask him then, okay?” 

“Thank you, baby,” Nana Sylvia shut the TV off and stood up, “Let me gon’ on and get myself together. A friend of mine is taking me to the farmer’s market in about an hour.”

“I should get going too.” 

Tamara grabbed both glasses and washed them while Nana Sylvia went to freshen up. She twirled the sponge inside one of the glasses, staring into space. She kept replaying last night’s events. She kept repeating the way Erik ate her pussy and fingered her. Despite the blush on her face, her legs are weak and her pussy is sore. She took a soothing bath and it helped a little. If this is what it felt like after fingering, she couldn’t imagine the discomfort when they finally have sex. 

She quickly rinsed the glasses out and sat them upside down in the dish rack, drying her hands off on her shorts before grabbing her work bag and leaving the house. It was almost 3 in the afternoon and she had to hurry so she wouldn’t be late. In her beat up car, she started it up and drove off. Her eyes combed the trees across the cemetery to see if she could make out his new home but the trees were so overgrown it acted like a wall blocking it from view. 

For an afternoon, Marco’s Bar and Grill was surprisingly busy. Tamara parked in her usual spot near the back door and slipped inside after Terry came out to empty trash. The country music filled her ears as Tamara combed through a pile of clean aprons, folding one in half before tying it around her slender waist. She moved carefully to the front of the house and clocked in, looking up to find Tara at the beer tap filling a glass for Detective Bellefleur. 

“This is your third beer, Andy. Aren’t you on duty?” 

Andy mumbled something before walking away back to his seat. 

“Fuckin’ drunk red neck—Tammy!”

Tara squeezed Tamara tight.

“Bitch, I thought you were off today?”

Tamar grabbed a note pad and pin from a basket. 

“I was. But since everything with Dawn and the new girl’s availability, Marco asked if I could work tonight.”

“How ya grandmama and dem’?”

“All is good with Nana. Lloyd I hadn’t seen in almost two days. The police won’t leave him alone.”

“I’m guessin’ that’s why Andy is sticking ‘round. They've been questioning a lot of men in this area. I just think Andy has it out for Lloyd.”

“How ya’ figure?” Tamara questioned.

“He’s envious. Lloyd is handsome, in shape, and a pussy magnet. Andy is the opposite of that.”

“Well, if that’s the reason then Andy can go fuck himself. Can’t control being ugly and unwanted.”

Tara laughed boisterously. 

“What side does Arlene have?”

“She’s taking care of this area.”

Tamara walked over to her side around near the pool table and locked eyes with Marco chatting it up with a regular. Marco’s chocolate brown eyes locked with hers and he winked at her. He’s wearing a flannel with the sleeves rolled up and a white T-shirt underneath, faded light blue jeans, and his lucky pair of cowboy boots. His usually low cut with waves had grown out some and it’s sprinkled with gray hair to match his stubble.

Tamara walked up to an older woman she recognized but didn’t remember her name. She’s one of Nana's friends. Tamara took her order and walked around to the other tables to see if anyone needed anything. Back at the bar, Tamara went to the server’s window and called off orders to the cooks. She blew a kiss to Lafayette and took her place next to Tara with her drink tray ready. 

“This is gonna be a long night,” Tamara fussed. 

Tara noticed how she kept checking her phone and fidgeting like she was growing impatient. It was bothering Tara so much that she had to stop what she was doing to call Tamara out on it.

“Girl, what the hell is wrong wit’ you?!”

“I’m sorry,” Tamara smiled, “I just can’t wait to see him.”

“That vampire?” Tara asked with disgust.

“Don’t do that, Tara. I really like him…”

Tamara never felt so giddy. 

“What do you like about him?”

Tamara couldn’t contain her blushing.

“He protects me, he’s an amazing kisser, he can dance and I love to dance. He’s smart, charming, strong…among other things.”

Tamara giggled at Tara’s expression.

“Bitch…you let him hit?”

“No–no. Not yet at least,” Tamara looked around before getting closer to Tara, “he went down on me.”

“What?!” Tara shouted. 

Eyes fell on them and Tamara had to shush her. 

“What? Tamara Elicia Bordelon!”

She couldn’t stop laughing. 

“I can’t believe…” Tara raised her brows, “You nasty girl…”

“I’m still not over it. Tara…it was amazing.”

Tamara leaned against the counter and closed her eyes with contentment. 

“I can’t wait to see him,” Tamara said with an angelic voice.

“Why don’t you snap out of it and take these drinks. You don’t want Marco thinkin’ something is wrong. This conversation ain’t over, Tammy!”

Tamara took her drink tray and went back to work. After clearing her tray, she slipped past Detective Bellefleur’s table. 

“Tammy! I need a word with ya!”

Tamara stopped and looked at him with annoyance.

“Whatever you want to discuss can wait until I’m finished working.” Tamara sassed.

“Where has that brother of yours been? Out getting himself into trouble?”

Tamara sat her tray on the table and leaned in to Andy.

“Did you just interrogate me while I’m at work and you’re off duty?” 

Andy’s pudgy face went red with anger.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Andy. My brother didn’t do this—”

“And that vampire?” He argued.

“AND Erik. Did you go to other people’s jobs and question them or did they come down to the station?”

“I offered for ya’ to come to the station—”

“And I’ve been busy. Still doesn’t give ya’ the right to ask me questions for everyone to hear.”

“When I’m detective it does!” Andy fired back. 

(This freak and her vampire know something I can feel it)

(She’s so defensive. I bet she knows her brother is guilty and she’s covering for him)

(Ever since that vampire came to St. Tammany there’s been nothing but murders)

(Wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up dead next)

Tamara stormed off and bumped past Marco accidentally to get to his office. She slammed the door shut and the bar seemed to go still after that. 

“Nothin’ to see here!” Marco yelled.

Tara rushed from behind the bar and she was making a beeline for Andy.

“You son of a bitch! How dare you—”

“Tara….calm down, go back to the bar. I’ll handle this.”

Tara’s chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. She looked at Marco and then back at Andy before going to comfort Tamara. 

“Andy. What the hell did you do to my waitress?”

Andy gave a nonchalant shrug in response.

“You’re cut off. No more beer. It’s time for you to go.”

“You can’t throw me out! I’m the law!”

Andy slammed his beefy fist down on the table. The kitchen doors swung open and Lafayette and Andy’s cousin, Terry, came over to the table. 

“Andy, c’mon cuz. You gotta go. I already called Auntie. She knows you’re coming.” 

“This is some bullshit,” Andy stood up and pulled out his wallet, slapping down two crumpled up bills, “Fuck all of you!”

Marco, Lafayette, and Terry watched Andy storm out of the bar. 

“Let me go see how Tamara’s doing.”

Marco walked to the back and when he approached his office door, he knocked twice and waited. He could hear shuffling and then Tara opened the door with a hand on her hip.

“Is his drunk ass gone?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Marco slipped past Tara, “Tammy?”

Tamara was lying on his leather brown sofa with her knees to her chest. Tara left them alone and shut the door. Marco sat next to her and started stroking her arm with his hand. 

“It’s gonna be alright. He’s gone now.”

“I could hear everyone else’s thoughts…”

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. He could tell she’d been crying.

“Andy pissed me off so bad that I let my guard down. People really think Lloyd is responsible. They’re calling him a murderer. They think Erik put a curse on the town.”

“Tammy, you can’t let these people get to you. All they do is talk, talk, talk. Nothin’ else better to do.”

Marco took his thumb to wipe away her tears. He studied her beautiful face with longing and his eyes fell to her lips. He desperately wanted to kiss her. 

“I am worried about ya’. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to ya’”

Tamara gave Marco a gentle smile before hugging him. Marco slowly wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his nose into her mane and inhaled. Hibiscus and coconut. It was lovely.

“Thanks for always checking in on me—”

Marco pressed his lips against Tamara’s soft lips. The sound of their lips smacking when he broke the kiss to look at her had his stomach fluttering. Tamara stared at him with shock, unsure of what to say at that moment.

“Say something, Tammy.”

She turned away from Marco and stood up. Marco followed her and waited for her to speak. 

“Why—why did you kiss me?” She questioned.

“Because I love you, Tammy—”

“I’m Erik’s.” 

Marco closed his eyes. 

“This never happened, okay?”

Tamara rushed out of the office and Marco kicked the side of his desk angrily. 

Tamara paced back and forth outside of his office door. She couldn’t believe her boss just kissed her. And he loves her? She took a deep breath in and held it for three seconds before walking back out to the front. When she got there, Tara was at the bar mixing drinks and there stood Luke with his tall, brawny frame. He was wearing a distressed muscle tee and denim cut offs with his work boots on his feet. His tawny skin was covered in sweat and he had his cap on backwards, the Bordelon fishing logo printed on it. 

“Hey, Tammy,” He smiled at her, “How’s everything?”

Tamara returned the smile and nodded her head that everything is good. 

“Marco had to get Andy out of here. He was being real disrespectful questioning Tammy about Lloyd. Where is Lloyd anyway?”

“He’s laid up with some chick. I covered for him today at the dock. I’m ‘bout to go cook up some crawfish for my mama and dem.”

Tamara was too distracted to even pay attention. Marco walked out and he glanced over at her with sad eyes before entering the kitchen. 

“Tammy?” Luke called out to her.

“Yeah—sorry–I gotta get back to work. Good seeing ya’ Luke.”

“Hey,” Luke grabbed her hand gently, “Don’t forget about lookin’ into a new car. I spotted your car out back and we really should get ya’ a new one.” 

“Shit, I forgot all about that—I’ll let you know.”

She squeezed Luke’s hand affectionately and walked off.

“You got it bad Luke,” Tara teased.

“And what about you and Lloyd?” Luke asked.

“We ain’t talkin’ ‘bout me and Lloyd!”

“Mhm,” Luke took a seat at the bar. He grabbed the neck of his bottle of Bayou Peche IPA and took a swig while his eyes never left Tamara, “I’d like to take her out sometime. Wine and dine her. Spoil her.”

“Not if your mama can help it,” Tara laughed.

“Ain’t my mama business.”

Tara shakes her head and walks away to the other end of the bar to make drinks.

As the day turned into night, the bar became overwhelmingly busy. Lloyd showed up with Luke and a couple of their friends. Tamara noticed a pretty girl clinging to Lloyd’s arm and Tamara had never seen this girl around before. She’s 5’5, brown skin, sandy brown hair styled in a sleek bun, and a tight lime green dress hugging her curves. She was covered in tattoos and piercings and had this commanding energy about her. Tara spotted Lloyd and when her eyes fell on the girl she rolled her eyes and went back to yelling at some drunk man.

“I’ll be out with your hamburger and fries,” Tamara rushed over to the servers window, “Hamburger with Cajun fries!”

“Coming!” Lafayette shouted. 

The doors opened up and Tamara turned around just in time to see Erik strolling in. He wore a black muscle tee with a graphic of Billie Holiday on it. He had on gray denim joggers and on his feet gray and black Jordan’s. He accessorized with his favorite tungsten jewelry and added multilayered leather bracelets to his wrists. He stood there, staring Tamara up and down before curling a finger for her to come to him. She walked up to him and Erik tilted her chin up before leaning down to kiss her. 

Everyone in that bar watched him tongue her down. Tara had to remake a beer because she had overflowed it. Lloyd and Luke watched with disapproval. Marco was furious. And the other patrons whispered. Tamara refused to let her shields down. 

“That was unexpected,” she whispered.

Erik smirked, “I missed you.” 

“I missed you too,” Tamara tucked her chin and batted her lashes bashfully. 

Erik grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss. Tamara’s lips parted and she felt her eyes glaze over with desire. 

“I’ll be waiting for you.” 

Tamara slipped her hand out of Erik’s and he tapped her on the booty with a bite of his lip for good measure. As he walked with his sinful gait, his onyx eyes scanned the bar. People seemed to cower beneath his gaze, some were in a trance, others were angry with his presence. Erik didn’t give a fuck about any of it. He flopped down in a vacant booth seat with his legs swinging and his arms draped over the back of the  seat. Tamara brought him out a chilled bottle of O negative and placed it in front of him.

“Figured you might be thirsty,” She smiled at him.

Erik sat up and with his hand he snaked it up the back of her leg and over her ass. Tamara rocked back and forth with a big smile. 

“Thank you, princess.”

“You’re welcome. Hey, I meant to ask. Would you still be able to talk to The Descendants at the church next Friday evening? Nana wanted me to ask.” 

“Of course.” Erik opened his True Blood.

“Okay,” Tamara lingered, “I’ll be back to check on you.” 

Erik chuckled.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, baby. Go ahead.”

Tamara turned to leave with a pout. She made it back to the bar and locked eyes with Tara who was giving her a ‘we need to talk’ look. The doors opened with a hard shove and in walked the three vampires Tamara dreaded ever seeing again.

Diane, Bruce, and Woo.

They walked in like they owned the place. Tamara glanced over at Erik nervously and he was already looking at her. All three vampires made their way over to Erik and made themselves comfortable. Tamara gathered courage and strolled over to the table. Erik’s eyes shot up at her and he didn’t look happy about her coming up to the table. 

“If it isn’t the pretty little human!” Diane laughed, “So, this is where you work? How adorable.”

Bruce and Woo laughed.

“Can I get ya’ anything?” Tamara asked, clicking her pen.

“Already got our meals covered, darling. But thanks for being so sweet.” Bruce said.

“Erik,” Diane reached out to stroke his hand, “We’ve been looking for you. Wanna get out of here and have some fun like the old days?”

“Got a real treat for you back at Tia’s,” Woo said.

“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t a request?” Erik said.

Tamara could sense something was off.

“Nothing suspicious going on! We just miss you,” Diane drapes her long leg over Erik and licks the side of his face, “Why don’t you come and play with us?”

Tamara squeezed her notepad hard. She glared at Diane for the audacity. 

“Get your leg off of him.” Tamara spoke with rage.

Woo and Bruce exchanged looks. 

“Excuse me?” Diane turned and looked at Tamara as if she lost her mind, “What the fuck did you say to me?”

“Back off, Diane,” Erik warned.

Diane looked from Tamara to Erik and laughed.

“Aww. You two are together?! How cute!”

Tamara’s eyes twitched. She looked at Erik who was just sitting there allowing Diane to throw herself all over him. What was he doing?

“Erik?” Tamara folded her arms.

“Why don’t you get back to waiting tables, honey.” 

“There’s a stain on that one there,” Bruce pointed to the table behind her.

Tamara didn’t hide the hurt in her eyes. Erik clenched his jaw and held her gaze. 

“Why don’t we go pay Tia a little visit.” Diane whispered to Erik, “She’d be happy to know you’re doing just fine with your little obsession.” 

Tamara stood confused. The name Tia stood out to her. She locked eyes with Erik again to see if he would speak but to her disappointment, he remained silent. What was he so afraid of? He’s older and stronger than all three of them. He could take them all out with a snap of his fingers. 

“Erik, what’s going on?” Tamara asked.

“Go back to work, Tammy.” Erik replied with a stern voice.

Diane, Bruce, and Woo slid out of the booth, looking down on Tamara. Erik stood up and Diane wrapped an arm around his waist. Tamara glared at him and Diane cocked her head to the side, studying Tamara’s face with amusement. 

“It’s okay, little human chick, he’ll only be gone a little while.”

Diane’s hand strokes Tamara’s cheek and she slapped her hand away causing Diane to grip her wrist. Erik grabbed Diane by the back of her neck and flung her across the room where she landed on her back hard. Lloyd, Luke, and Marco had pool sticks in their hands, making their way over to them. Bruce and Woo turned on Erik, crouching down in an attack stance with their fangs. Diane moved with accelerated speed and snatched Tamara up by her hair. 

She screamed, gaining Erik’s attention who tried rushing to her aid but Bruce body slammed him on the table, breaking it in the process. Erik expertly reversed so that he was on top of Bruce and he lifted Bruce up by his neck with a sharp piece of broken wood to his chest, ready to strike. Woo tried to lunge at Erik but Erik was too swift, knocking Woo back so hard he slid to the other side of the bar. Erik stabbed Bruce in the chest which was enough to wound him and back hand slapped Diane so hard blood splattered. 

“Hey! Back off my sister, fanger!” Lloyd shouted with rage.

“I think it’s time for y’all to leave!” Marco yelled.

The vampire trio looked at the sticks in their hands and laughed.

“You can’t be serious? You pathetic humans! What the fuck is a pool stick gonna do—”

“Wanna find out?” Luke said.

All at once, everyone got up and scurried to the front. Lloyd pulled out his gun and pointed it at Woo’s head.

“I’ll put a bullet in your fucking head!” Lloyd shouted.

“Just leave, we don’t want no trouble, Tammy,” Marco motioned for her to come to him, “C’mere.” 

She took one step and Erik gripped her wrist. Tamara tried to pull her arm back. Lloyd turned his gun on Erik.

“Let go of me!” Tamara screamed.

Erik looked at her with a mixture of confusion and anger.

“Tammy!” He yelled.

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!” 

Lloyd pulled the trigger and Erik was swift on his feet in a blink of an eye, snatching up Lloyd’s gun. His fangs popped out and he was chest to chest with Lloyd, eyes wild and menacing.

“Stop it, Erik!” Tamara shouted with tears in her eyes.

“You stay the fuck away from her or it’s war,” Lloyd growled.

Erik smirked dangerously at him. 

“She’s mine.” 

“This is fun,” Diane said with a vicious smirk.

“She don’t belong to you,” Luke grabbed Tamara’s hand.

“Get the fuck out! All of ya’!!!!”

Erik held his hand out for Tamara to take and she refused to go with him. 

“I don’t want anything to do with you,” Tamara spoke with a tremble in her voice.

“This is getting boring. You coming or not, Stevens?” Woo said while inspecting his nails. Bruce wasn’t too happy about Erik still tagging along after being stabbed. 

“I was hoping for more blood to shed! I could use some fresh blood,” Diane spoke excitedly. 

“Just go,” Tamara wiped her tears away. “Fucking go!”

Erik backed away towards the door and Diane, Bruce, and Woo were right behind him. They dashed at lightning speed out of the bar and Tamara broke down. 

“Tammy,” Lloyd wrapped his arms around his sister, “It’s okay…you’re safe.”

“That was some scary shit,” Luke had a hand to his chest.

“He showed his true colors. How could he put her in danger like that?” Marco said.

“Because he’s a vampire. They don’t have feelings. All they know is to kill. It was only a matter of time before he tried to attack Tammy.”

Tamara shoved away from Lloyd and ran to the back of the bar. She grabbed her things in a rush, so ready to get out of there and away from everyone. She couldn’t understand why Erik would disrespect her like that? Embarrass her in front of everyone? 

“Hey, Tammy,” Tara and Lafayette wrapped their arms around her, “Shhh, it’s okay, girl. I’m so sorry.”

“I just need to get out of here.”

“I’ll take her home.”

Lloyd and Luke walked up with Marco trailing behind.

“I can drive.” Tamara argued.

“Not that piece of shit. I’m takin ya’ back to Nana’s. Let’s go.”

Luke grabbed her things and walked out behind Lloyd. Marco rubbed her back before watching her walk out of the bar. Luke helped her in the back seat and she laid down with tears streaming down her face. Just when everything was going so well. Maybe it was for the best. 

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#vampireerik #faerie #killmonger imagine #killmonger fanfiction #killmonger smut #nahimjustfeelingit-writes

[ryxiez]

༺ Sunset City ༻

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Genera ➛ fluffy fluff + established relationship

Pairing ➛ Taehyun x gn!reader, (idol or not isn’t specified)

Word Count ➛ 1k

Warnings ➛ nicknames (baby, babe), mention of eating and feeling full, feeling really tired

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Today was arguably the best day you've ever had, in at least a while.

Taehyun and you went out to the downtown city really early in the morning. There was nothing you hated more than people rushing around in traffic.

This outgoing just happened to be your your second date, your first one being a romantic dinner. Don't get it wrong, that dinner was amazing too, but it was classic. He set it up all by himself at his own home a little more than a two weeks ago and it went perfectly.

Today, however, was something different compared to the norm.

You two spent the day traveling around to different food venders in the city trying various kinds of snacks, meals, and drinks from various different countries and cultures.

Taehyun insisted he pay for everything, but you managed to convince him to at least let you pay for dessert. You couldn't let him spend his whole salary on you in one day.

Now the sun was setting behind the horizon, a nice pinkish color decorated the fluffy white clouds. Your hand held Taehyun's as you finally made your way to your apartment, both of your stomachs full.

Your own fingers playing with the few rings that decorated his own, one of them you bought for him yesterday. It was simple sterling silver, but on the inside was your names engraved together. You would be lying if you said you didn't see the tears in his eyes.

He looked up at the sky for a moment to breathe in the fresh air and admire the beautiful sight in front of him, other than you of course. But in contrast to his, your own eyes started to feel heavy and you could barely hold them open.

You yawned while you slowly blinked a few times, trying to keep yourself from crashing down. The drowsiness seemed to hit you like a bus as your steps became slightly staggered and slow.

Of course Taehyun took notice of the sudden pace change, "y/n? What's wrong?" He asked, taking his worried eyes off the sky and focused them on you once again.

It took you a moment to process what he actually said you were too busy focusing on your tired feet as well, "Hmm?... Oh it's nothing. But how many more minutes do you think we have?"

Taehyun stoped walking all together. You were confused at first until he started to tease you,

"Awww, is my baby getting tired?" He cooed in a sarcastic voice.

You broke your hand away from his, but you were too lazy to fight his words with your own. "Yeah, I guess I am... Plus these shoes are lacking any support, it's starting to hurt a lot."

After your tiny tangent, you crossed your arms for a little warmth, the evening breeze also suddenly getting to you.

Taehyun however, stood there with his big eyes wide eyes. He didn't think you were actually tired, he was just messing around still feeling like he could stay up for the rest of the night. He expected you to feel the same because of the amount of coffee and caffeinated tea the both of you tried throughout the day, but that wasn't actually the case.

He took a step closer to you, "I'm sorry baby, I was only teasing. I didn't actually think you were actually tried. We just drank so much caffeine I thought we would both be up all night." He apologized as he started to take his jacket off.

"It's fine babe, I know when your only joking... Wait what are you doing?"

"Giving you my jacket, duh. You look cold too. Are you not?" He said with a small smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. He knew he was right.

Throwing the jacket over your shoulders, he helped your arms into the big sleeves. Finishing the romantic gesture with a soft kiss to your forehead.

You held the jacket collar close to your face, taking in his sent that lingered on the clothing. You also liked how it was still warm from his own body heat.

"Come on, hop on." He said with a smile while he turned around and bent his knees a little.

"W- what are you doing?" You asked him, eyes looking at the pedestrians around to see if anyone noticed Terry making a fool of himself. However, none of them seem to pay attention either of you. Massive relief on your end.

"Hurry up and get on my back, I don't have all day darling." Taehyun teased yet again with a wink.

"Oh- okay, I'm hurrying. Jeez." You shoot back gently, placing your hands

Placing your hands on his shoulders, you hoisted herself up With the last of your strength for the day. He of course picked you up with ease, his arms circling under your legs, and started walking back home right away.

He doesn't basically live at the gym everyday for that strength to NOT be put to use.

You sighed contentedly with your arms lazily draped over his broad shoulders and your face buried into the crook of his neck.

"Better?" He asked quietly.

Your nose tickling his neck perfectly made him fell all soft inside. Just knowing that you felt comfortable and trusted him enough meant everything.

"Much better. Thank you Hyunnie ." You mumbled, nuzzling even further into his skin. (If that was even possible at this point)

He smiled at the adorable nickname, "Anything for you my love."

Your heart never felt more at peace as your body gave way to the demanding sleep. Finally laying your eyes to rest.

"I love you." He whispered under his breath, not caring if you actually heard him or not.

Deep down inside he just needed to get those three words off his chest and say them out loud. He couldn't be happier as his eyes caught sight of the pink sky's once again. Taehyun wished he could stay in this moment forever.

#txt taehyun #taehyun x reader #x reader #txt x reader #txt x y/n #txt x you #txt oneshots #kang taehyun #taehyun fluff #taehyun imagines #taehyung #taehyun txt #x reader comfort #ryxiez #fanfic #fluffy #x you #x y/n #txt fluff #txt fanfic #txt scenarios #txt post #txt imagines #txt taehyun x reader #txt #ryxieztxt

[lyranova]

Her Name is Alice

Hiya guys! So, I was inspired to write this little oneshot after what happened in COTF: Shadows 14! I promise I’ll try to get to everything else on my plate as soon as I can. This fic focuses mainly on Henry, Millie, and Sally, however there are brief moments of other characters and OC’s! But for now, I hope you enjoy~!

Acylla and Zoisite belong to @faewraithsworld and Josele, Sterling, Dawn, and Dusk belong to @loosesodamarble

Word Count: 2,779

Warnings: Mentions of Pregnancy, Mentions of abandonment.

————

Henry watched quietly as his friends talked with their spouses and played with their children. Captain Yami was playing with his four year old daughter Hikari, Josele, Nacht, Acylla, and Zora were sitting together watching Sterling, Dawn, Dusk, and Zoisite playing together and Grey was holding two year old Aloys as Gauche tried to convince him to eat his breakfast. On the other side of the room Finral was letting Vanessa, who they all recently found out was 2 months pregnant, rest her head on his lap as she napped on the couch.

Gordon and his spouse were currently talking about starting their own family soon as were Charmy and Rill, and Asta and Noelle had just gotten engaged which also meant they would be starting their own families soon…

And he couldn’t help but feel left out.

While his curse was more controlled now due to Charmy’s cooking and a magical device Sally made for him, he still didn’t feel comfortable being around others that weren’t members of his squad. He always worried about meeting someone, falling in love with them, and then his curse suddenly draining all of their mana from them.

He didn’t like hurting people, especially if it was someone he really cared about…

So he made the decision long ago that he would stay single, and watch happily as all his friends fell in love, got married, and had children of their own. But now that he was actually beginning to see that happen he realized:

He wanted it too.

“ Finral…” Henry began slowly as he walked up to his friend.

“ Oh hi Henry, do you need something?” Finral asked softly so as not to wake up Vanessa.

“ Will…you…take…me…to…see…Sally…please?” Henry asked, and he watched Finral blink in surprise.

“ Sally? Why? Is your magic device broken?” Finral asked in concern as he sat up a little straighter, but Henry shook his head.

“ No…I…just…want…to…ask…her…a…question.” Henry said, deciding it was better to keep the real reason to himself for now.

Finral frowned but didn’t ask anything else, he just quietly stood up, put a pillow under Vanessa’s head, and created a portal to Sally’s lab.

———

“ Do you want me to stay with you?” Finral asked as he stood outside Sally’s lab and gave the building a hesitant and nervous look, but Henry shook his head.

“ No…thank…you…I’ll…be…okay.” Henry told him with a warm smile. Finral nodded but still looked at the building unsurely.

“ Alright, just let me know with the communication device when you’re ready to leave, I’ll be at the Hideout.” Finral told him, and he watched Henry nod before walking through the Spatial portal.

Henry turned back towards the door and gave it a small knock, hoping that Sally was there and that she would agree with his idea.

However he blinked in surprise when it wasn’t Sally who opened the door, instead it was Millie Maxwell.

“ Oh, hello Henry.” She said in surprise, and Henry smiled.

“ Hello…is…Sally…here?” Henry asked, and the woman frowned but nodded.

“ She is, but she’s a bit busy right now,” Millie said as she looked over her shoulder. “ May I ask why you want to see Sally?”

“ I…want…to…ask…her…about…something,” Henry began. “ But…I’ll…come…back…later.”

“ Wait a minute!” The two jumped as they suddenly heard an excited shout emit from inside the lab, and then after a few seconds Sally showed up beside Millie.

“ You’re the Black Bull that’s cursed right?! The one I made a magic item for?” Sally asked excitedly, and Henry nodded. “ I thought I recognized your voice! Come in!”

Sally turned back into the lab, and Millie stepped aside to allow Henry to walk inside the room. The three walked over to a small table that was covered in different papers and books and sat down.

“ You said you wanted to ask me something?” Henry nodded again.

“ I…want…you…to…cure…my…curse. Is…that…possible?” Henry asked, and he watched as a look of surprise appeared on both Millie and Sally’s face.

“ You want Sally to cure your curse?” Millie asked with a frown. “ Doesn’t the device we made you essentially do that? And isn’t there a member of the Bulls who makes dishes to help keep your curse from absorbing too much mana?”

“ Yes…but…I…don’t…want…to…rely…on…them,” Henry responded. “ I…want…to…be…able…to…be…with…someone…and…not…worry…that…my…device…will…fail.”

“I…want…to…have…a…family…like…my…friends,” Henry continued. “ But…to…do…that…I…need…my…curse…to…be…cured.”

“ So…can…you…help…me…please?” Henry asked, and he watched as Millie and Sally looked at each other for a moment.

“ Well-,” Millie began but Sally cut her off.

“ It’ll be difficult, but I would love to try it!” Sally said excitedly. “ I’ve been a little bored lately with my research, so this challenge is exactly what I needed!”

“ Sally-.” Millie sighed, but the woman ignored her and instead ran over to one of the other nearby tables and grabbed a bunch of tubes and other medical equipment.

“ I’ll need a few samples from you first and then I can get started!” Sally exclaimed excitedly, and as Henry began rolling up his shirt sleeves Millie cleared her throat loudly.

“ You’ll only take what samples you need, nothing more and nothing less. Understand?” She asked, and Sally sighed but reluctantly nodded in agreement.

After Sally and Millie took the samples Henry thanked them and left with Finral to go back to the Hideout.

“ Was Sally able to answer your question?” Finral asked as he and Henry walked back through the Spatial portal.

“ Yes…She…was. I…think…it…will…work…out!” Henry said brightly, and Finral smiled.

“ That’s a relief. So, are you going to tell everyone what you asked Sally for help with?” He asked curiously, and Henry nodded.

“ Tonight…at…dinner…when…everyone’s…together!” Henry said happily.

Later that night, Henry did as he said he would and told everyone why he had gone to see Sally. At first, everyone was a bit worried, but when they saw the bright look he had on his face at the thought of having his own family…all of the Bulls worries disappeared.

They gave Henry their full support, and told him they would help him in whatever way they could!

And then days began to pass with no news. Henry would go to the Science department once a week to see how everything was going and to give Sally more samples, but whenever he asked about the cure she and Millie would shake their heads.

“ Nothing yet, so far it’s all ended in failure,” Sally said with a pout. “ I think I’ll have to change tactics.”

“ Change…tactics?” Henry asked, and Sally nodded.

“ I’m going to combine your DNA with an old subject of mine from when I was a part of The Eye of the Midnight Sun,” Sally said with a grin. “ Who knows? Maybe it’s just what we need to cure your curse!”

But instead of curing it, something else began to happen.

About 2 months after Sally combined Henry and Subject 0906’s DNA, she went to go check on the test tube that she had placed it in, she blinked.

“ That’s odd. What’s going on?” Sally muttered as she stared into the tube, and Millie frowned.

“ Did the test fail again?” She shook her head.

“ No. I think…it’s working. But not in the way it’s supposed to.” Sally muttered with narrowed eyes, and she heard her colleague sigh before walking over.

“ What do you mean?” She asked as she also began to peer into the tube, and then a shocked gasp escaped her. “ Sally, do you know what this is?”

“ Uh, not really?” Millie sighed again.

“ I’ll explain on the way to the Black Bulls Hideout, but I think you’ve accidentally created something magnificent!” She exclaimed as she dragged the other scientist out of the room.

———

“ What…did you say?” Henry asked, his normally slow voice suddenly picking up speed as he and the other Black Bulls stared at Millie and Sally in surprise.

“ I said that Sally’s experiment worked, although not like it was supposed to,” Millie said as she rubbed the back of her neck. “ Instead of curing your curse like it was supposed to, it began to create a new lifeform!”

“ I’m a god! I’m a god!” Sally cheered excitedly from beside her.

“ How did that happen?” Yami asked, and Millie shrugged.

“ We aren’t sure either,” She admitted. “ It hasn’t happened before, so I think there’s something with Subject 0906’s DNA. Maybe there was something in her magic or genes that allowed this to happen.”

“ So… instead of curing my curse…I’m going to have a child?” Henry asked softly, his voice almost sounding like he was in disbelief.

“ Yep! It seems that way!” Sally said cheerfully, more happy at the thought that she had ‘become a god’ then about Henry possibly becoming a parent.

Henry slowly stood up, his mind blank. He…was going to be a father? He had hoped his curse would be cured before he had a child…

“ Will the baby be affected by my curse?” He asked hesitantly. It was a question he really didn’t want to ask, but he needed to know.

“ Since the child will have 0906’s DNA, which seems to be immune to your curse, along with your DNA that actually has the curse…there’s a very good and high chance that they could be immune.” Millie responded, but Sally hummed from beside her.

“ But there’s also a good chance that the baby could inherit your curse too-.” Sally began but Millie quickly quieted her as she saw a sad look suddenly cross Henry’s face.

“ But we won’t know for sure until the baby is, er, ‘born’. So for now, just focus on the positive side. You’ll get what you wanted; a family.” Millie told him with a warm smile, and he slowly nodded.

She was right, he could worry about the other things when it was time, but for now he was going to have a baby. A baby!

“ I’m…going…to…be…a…dad!” He suddenly exclaimed, his voice slowing back down and his face turning bright with happiness.

The Bulls looked at each other hesitantly for a moment, but as soon as Asta happily congratulated him, the others did as well.

Henry was so excited that he immediately added another bedroom to the ever growing Hideout that very same evening!

———

After Henry found out he was going to be a father, he would go to the Science department and visit his child three times a week, sometimes more!

During the months that he waited for his child to be “born” the Black Bulls expanded even more. Finral and Vanessa’s son Ezio was born, Gordon and his spouse announced that they were expecting, and Charmy and Rill announced that they had finally decided to try to have a child as well!

Henry couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the Hideout full of so much happiness and excitement!

Then one night, Henry suddenly received a call on the communication device, and it was from Millie.

“ I think it’s time Henry,” Millie began as he could hear Sally panicking in the background. “ You might want to hurry over here.”

Henry had quickly nodded and went to wake up Finral, who was grumpy at first about being woken up in the middle of the night, but after his friend explained he gladly got up and transported him to the Science department.

He quickly rushed into Sally’s lab, and the two scientists inside looked at him.

“ You’re just in time,” Millie said with a small smile. “ The fluid in the tube is almost completely drained. Sally, go get some warm water, a blanket, and a few towels, we’ll need them.” Sally quickly nodded and rushed away, and Henry rushed forward.

“ Nervous?” Millie asked, and Henry nodded.

“ I’m…very…nervous,” He admitted softly. “ But…everything…will…be…okay…won’t…it?” Millie nodded.

“ Yes, I’m sure everything will be okay, you have nothing to worry about.” She told him honestly as she patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Henry nodded. For the past few months his friends had been telling him the same thing whenever he expressed doubts about everything, and he always believed them. So maybe he should believe her too…

Soon, Sally returned with the requested items and all the liquid in the test tube drained, and as soon as Millie opened the door a loud cry echoed through the room.

Millie quietly picked the baby up and cleaned them off, before turning to Henry with a gentle smile.

“ Congratulations! It’s a healthy baby girl!”

A girl…he, he had a daughter?

Henry watched as Millie walked over to him, and without thinking he took a quick step back, making everyone blink in surprise. Including himself.

“ Henry, we’ll be back soon, alright? Just sit here and wait for us.” His mothers voice suddenly echoed in his mind, making his heart stop dead in his chest.

“ When…will…you…be…back?” He had asked, his parents shared a hesitant look.

“ Maybe tomorrow, or in a few days, we’re not sure,” His father had told him as he cleared his throat, and Henry nodded slowly. “ Just do as your mother said and wait here for us.”

“ Okay. Can…I…have…a…hug…before…you…go?” He asked, hoping his parents would grant him this wish.

But instead, he was scolded. Just like he always was.

“ Henry, you know we can’t do that! If we get any closer than this you’ll take too much of our mana!” His father scolded harshly, and his mother nodded in agreement.

“ He’s right. If we get any closer you’ll hurt us, and you don’t want to hurt us, right?” She asked, his voice soft and delicate, as though she were trying to portray herself as innocent.

Henry nodded and smiled at them, trying to hide the hurt he was feeling.

“ You’re…right. I’m…sorry.” He apologized softly, but his parents only nodded before they turned and walked out the door.

He waited…and waited…and waited. But his parents never returned.

“ Henry, would you like to hold her?” A voice suddenly asked, pulling Henry out of his memories.

He suddenly looked up and saw Sally and Millie staring at him with looks that were full of concern. As his senses began to return to him he could hear his daughter wailing and squirming in Millie’s arm.

His daughter…

“ I…don’t…want…to…hurt…her.” He admitted softly, his yellow eyes staring at his daughter as she continued to cry.

“ You’re not going to hurt her. You’re wearing your device right? So it’ll be okay.” Millie said as she walked up to him, and Sally nodded in agreement.

“ She’s right! If your curse was activated right now we would have already felt it, even your kid would have!” Sally agreed, and he slowly nodded.

Even though he had his magical device on him, and he didn’t feel his body siphoning mana from Millie or Sally, he still felt unsure…

“ Here, you know how to hold a baby don’t you?” Millie asked before quickly putting the crying baby into his arms, making Henry panic slightly as he scrambled to hold the newborn.

Admittedly, he had only held his friends' babies a few times, so he was far from an expert. But as soon as she put his daughter into his arms, it was like he knew what to do and how to hold her.

He could feel his heart beating anxiously in his chest and his mind began searching for a solution as to how to get her to stop crying and to not be afraid.

“ Hello…there…I’m…your…papa,” He began gently. “ I’m…sorry…if…I…scared…you.”

“ I’m…sure…this…is…all…very…scary. But…I…promise…it…won’t…be…scary…forever. I’ll…do…my…best…to…make…sure…you…are…always…happy…and…that…the…world…is…always…bright…for…you.”

“ I’ll…hug…you…everyday…,…I’ll…tell…you…that…I…love…you…everyday, and I…will…never…abandon…you.” He promised softly, a warm smile appearing on his face as he used a finger to gently remove tears from her eyes.

As soon as he had begun to speak, the baby instantly stopped crying and squirming. Instead, she just stared up at him. Her yellow eyes looked at him with wonder and curiosity, all the fear she had a moment ago seemed to quickly dissipate.

When Henry went to pull his finger away his daughter quickly reached out and grasped it with one of her much smaller hands. She didn’t pull it towards her, she didn’t shake it, she just held it, and she held it tightly.

It was like she didn’t want him to go.

Henry pulled the bundle close to his chest and hugged her tightly, but not too tightly. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt her.

“ Do you have a name for her yet?” Millie asked curiously as she and Sally watched the father and daughter. Henry looked up at her and nodded firmly.

He had this name picked out for a while, it was his favorite character in a book he read after his parents had abandoned him. He so admired her for her ability to go to a new and fantastical world, and was envious of how she was able to make friends even though she was different.

By giving his daughter this name, he hoped she would be able to do the same.

“ Alice…her…name…is…Alice.”

—————

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#black clover #black clover fanfiction #henry legolant #sally black clover #millie maxwell #black clover henry #black clover sally #black clover millie #oc; alice

[pretensesoup]

Queer books, day 30/30

Okay I have owed this post for like a while now. This was supposed to be over July 1st and I didn't do it and now it's hanging over my head like some kind of sword situation.

So like I did write this, and I do feel a little bad for promoting it here, but on the other hand it's a really good book and I have to tell people about it.

Dionysus in Wisconsin follows Ulysses Lenkov and Sam Sterling around Madison in late 1969. Ulysses is a grad student in the Department of Magic Studies, with all the regrets and avoidant behavior that entails, but also a magician and a member of the magic community in Madison, and he tries to help the people he runs into. (Also ghosts. He helps ghosts.) At the beginning, he gets a warning that something big/dangerous/bad is coming, and quickly figures out that the something is tied to Sam somehow. Sam is an otherwise very innocuous archivist who works at the State Historical Society and is involved in community theater in his spare time.

Side note, I learned that there is a woman in my aikido dojo who also works for the historical society and I feel weird about having written about it, but as she said herself, "It's a weird place."

After initial suspicion, the two of them work together to fight demons and try to figure out how to deal with the something, which turns out to be Dionysus (yes, the god) who is set to take over Sam's body.

Key quote:

Oh, also it's funny. Not quite a romcom (unless com means communism), but it's funny.

Anyway, this was a book that I wrote because I really wanted to read a romance that didn't have a third-act breakup, where there was a lot of chemistry and vibes between the MCs, no homophobia to worry about really, and also there was like magic and creepy stuff going on in the plot, and the plot had like a satisfying conclusion to it, which doesn't always happen in romances. And then I populated the book with people who were people that I know--the kind of weird Madison people I run into every day. I have a lot of mixed feelings about Wisconsin in general (like, it's not bad if you don't mind sometimes it's -20 degrees F and there's a lot of liberals but also a lot of NIMBYism and I could fill a dictionary with the sins of the city, that's not the point), but I have come to a renewed appreciation of the place after writing about it. For example, the house Ulysses's family lives in is real, it looks like this, it's in a place that's really called Mansion Hill, and I just find it incredibly funny to let a large family of Bohemian Bolsheviks live in it.

Anyway, 10/10, go read it. You can buy it on Amazon, or on other platforms (the ebook is $3.99, the paperback is $13.99), or if you want a signed copy you can send me a message. I'm selling them for $15. Also, I have free postcards of the cover if you would like one.

In the Madison area, there are (or were) copies at Kismet Books in Verona (an extremely trans- and queer-friendly store and super adorable!) and A Room of One's Own might have sold their copy but they can order it if they have the ISBN.

(Oh, I painted the cover, too. You can get it on a T-shirt or a sticker if you like that kind of thing.)

#pride #queer books #thirty days of books #lgbtq books #dionysus in wisconsin #book review #queer fiction #lgbtq fiction #novel #dionysus #mythology #greek mythology #urban fantasy #fantasy writing #fantasy novel #magic

[sterlingxlevin]

[cis woman, she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [STERLING LEVIN]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [MADELYN CLINE]. You must be the [TWENTY-THREE] year old [ATTENDANT AT SEASIDE ANIMAL RESCUE]. Word is you’re [SWEET] but can also be a bit [STUBBORN] and your favorite song is [HERE COMES THE SUN BY THE BEATLES]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [AURORA BAY DRIVE]. I’m sure you’ll love it! 

Family:

Father: James Levin (NPC, owner of 5 star restaraunt, Neptune)

Mother: Agnes Levin (deceased)

Sister: Elizabeth Levin

Daughter: Sunny Elizabeth Levin

Aunt: Noelle Driscoll

Cousins: Lucy Driscoll, Nora Levin

Sunny:

Named after Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles, a song Agnes would sing to Liza and Sterling when they were little.

Age: 4 (will be 5 this month)

Birthday: April 15

Appearance: A mini Sterling. Same hair, eye color, etc.

Personality: sweet, sassy, has an attitude like her mama.

trigger warnings: car accident, pregnancy, PPD, mentions of labor

When you’re born into money, everyone thinks you have everything you could ever want or need. Sure, Sterling and her sister had the best clothes, one of the biggest houses on Aurora Bay Drive, a vacation home, and nearly everything two young girls could dream of, but there’s more of a need than what money can buy.

Sterling was really little when she lost her mother in a car accident, and while she can’t remember everything about her mother, she certainly recalls how different life was with Agnes Levin in it. And Sterling recalled how her mother’s absence changed everything. She remembered how sad her father was, she remembered how her sister took on the motherly role of taking care of everything, and Sterling remembered how angry she became. It was as though the only emotion she could possibly express about any of it was anger. She became hot-headed, rude, and she was mean to her sister because she felt as though she were trying to replace their mom. Sterling didn’t like to talk about their mom, though, especially when she got older because she couldn’t remember much about her and it only made her feel worse.

To help her with these big emotions, James tried to help by being there when he could. He tried talking to Sterling about it, tried getting her into therapy, but what really seemed to help was getting Sterling active in things she enjoyed. One summer James enrolled Sterling in a camp where she became a certified lifeguard, and that girl basically living on the beach was happier than she’d been in years. James encouraged this and was happy when Sterling started surfing and swimming more and she was in the ocean 24/7. 

When Sterling got to high school, not much changed. She still loved the ocean and that was where she found her peace, but she was still struggling with being angry and she was still upset with Liza for “replacing their mom”. It was stupid to think that way and Sterling knew it, but even as a teenager, her feelings were still so big she didn’t know how to navigate them. Because of this and the stress of school on top of it, Sterling became somewhat of a wild child. She would skip classes to go surfing, she’d sneak out and party with her friends, and it drove James crazy with worry.

However, Sterling calmed down a bit when she met the boy that she believed would be her high school sweetheart. They started dating Sophomore year and they stayed together throughout the rest of school. Sterling and all of her friends were convinced that he was the one- that he and Sterling would truly be together forever, but that didn’t happen.

The summer after Sterling had turned eighteen, all her friends were talking about which colleges they were going to and what their plans were, Sterling learned something that would change her life forever. After realizing her period was abnormally late, she felt a bit panicked and came to her older sister and told her about it. Liza went with Sterling to get a pregnancy test and it was positive. Sterling was terrified and she had no idea what to do but she trusted her older sister to help her through it. And when Sterling told her boyfriend, he broke up with her and left to continue his plans for his future without her… without them. 

Sterling was scared and made Liza promise she wouldn’t tell their father just yet. It wasn’t until Sterling went to her first doctor’s appointment and saw her ultrasound that she decided she was going to keep her baby. It was then that Sterling, with the support of her sister, told their father. To Sterling’s relief, James was willing to support her through it too. 

All of Sterling’s friends went on to fulfill their dreams by going to college or moving out to LA to pursue their careers, and while Sterling had been dreaming of a million things before she graduated high school– things that would take her far from Aurora Bay– that’s now where she stayed. 

Sterling’s pregnancy wasn’t terribly difficult. In fact, she enjoyed being pregnant. She was still so scared but she thought it was cool to see the changes in herself and to feel the baby moving around in her belly. It made her so excited, especially when she found out she was having a girl. One night, she and her sister were looking through baby names online while listening to the Beatles (their mother’s favorite band), when Here Comes the Sun began to play. The name Sunny popped into Sterling’s head and she knew that’s what was going to stick.

Sterling gave birth on April 15th, 2019, to a beautiful little girl she named Sunny Elizabeth Levin. And while Sterling’s pregnancy wasn’t that difficult, the labor and pretty much everything else was. Sterling spent over twenty-four hours in labor with Liza by her side the whole time, then after they were finally allowed to go home, Sterling found herself feeling really down. It was so difficult and Liza and James helped as much as they could, but Sterling eventually hired a nanny to help them out. Sterling didn’t know the first thing about being a mother and there were so many times she cried in Liza’s arms, telling her how badly she wished Agnes was there to help her figure out what to do. If she couldn’t have her own mother there, she figured a nanny who was a mother of her own children, could help. 

The nanny would come over every day and help out as much as possible, giving Sterling tips and allowing her time to herself. Sterling did try therapy during this time and it definitely helped her this time around. During all of this, Sterling had an incredible support system and two of those people in that support system were some of her friends from high school that either didn’t move or did and came back. One was a girl she’d been best friends with since she was little and the other was a boy she soon developed feelings for during this time but since she had a newborn, she never pursued anything with him. 

It’s been nearly five years now since Sunny was born, and while Sterling is still navigating motherhood, she has come a long way. She adores her daughter so much and would do anything for her. And since Sunny is now a bit older, Sterling has been doing a few more things for herself as of late, like getting back into the dating scene and even working on her own surfing line with one of her best friends.

Wanted connections:

Nanny that helped Sterling with Sunny

Sterling's best friend who stayed behind

Sterling's love interest after she'd had Sunny

Exes

Baby daddy

Hookups

Friends

#tw car accident mention #tw pregnancy #tw ppd mention

[catxacosta]

Character Name: Catalina Acosta (Cat)

Character Age:  35

Faceclaim: Ana de Armas

Neighborhood: Sterling Lakes

Occupation: Owner of The Wrench in Your Plans (Photo)

(TW: Military, undiagnosed ADHD)

Biography: 

Catalina Acosta is a true, blue southern woman. When her mother Diane left her dad with a less than one year old Cataline in tow, Javier made a strategic choice to stay put. Covington had been just a stop on their journey–the real goal had been Texas. That was where Diane’s mother lived, and where Javi and her had decided would be the best place to raise a child. Florida had seemed so…chaotic to Javier. All he wanted was a comfortable, safe place to raise his daughter. 

But when Diane’s real plan had been found out–forcing her family to move states because of a multitude of frauds she had been caught up in–Javier felt like the chaos of his own youth was finding them again. Caught between tearing his family apart and trying again–he choice stability for his daughter. 

Unfortunately, Diane didn’t feel as strongly about the whole concept of “family”. With little more than a goodbye, she set off for Texas–and for what Javier would later learn was a much bigger con than the one she had run from: stealing her mother’s fortune. 

Looking around, Javier realized that Covington held promise for his daughter. The schools were nice, the kids seemed polite and best of all–it was quiet. A perfect place to raise his perfect daughter. 

But Catalina wasn’t exactly…perfect. In fact, far from it. Her father, who had spent so much of his life protecting his little girl, could not do the one thing he needed to do to be successful: contain her. Cat was a determined little girl, an obstinate teen and a fierce woman.

Javier tried though, with every minute of tough love and thoughtful consequences, he desperately tried to keep her at bay. It was like his largest fear was happening in real time: Catalina was too much like her mother. 

Cat could sense that–no matter how much her father said he loved her just as she was, she knew he didn’t like her. Not the Cat she really was. And let’s be honest–as much as Cat will tell you she doesn’t care–she does. 

It’s just that she can’t help who she is–she’s impulsive, she’s passionate, she is scattered, she is emotional. It’s like she has so much of herself that it just doesn’t all fit in her body. It’s like she is wired differently than everyone else. 

So, feeling like a constant disappointment her father (and teachers, and extended family, and friends, and…like probably anyone else she actually gives a shit about), she did the most illogical logical thing she could think of: joining the military. Because the one thing Cat had going for her was her brains. “If she could apply herself” (fuck you, Mr. Johnson), she really could make incredible strides. She particularly liked tinkering–and tinkering on big things. She had picked up a few odd shifts at the mechanic in town, and found a special love of the way the feel of fixing made things better. Parts and pieces had no expectation other than what they had to do. 

So she joined the Navy as a mechanic–and for the first time in her life, she felt like she belonged. She felt like her skills were useful. That she was useful. She could follow these orders, no problem. She could handle this structure, no worries. While war had its drawbacks (understatement of the year, Cat), there was something…stimulating about the environment and she just fit. 

Returning home was harder–her father had become more distant as he had heavily disapproved of her joining the military. Her friends had seemed to move on (hard to keep up when your thousands of miles away with no technology) and civilian life was exactly how she had left it. The best thing to come out of her return home was to find the little mechanic shop she had found herself all those years ago had been left for her to run–the previous owner could have thought of no one better and held it in his will for her until she came home. Perhaps she can start over. Or start again. Or  maybe just…start. 

#[[biography; catalina]] #covingtonintro

[loosesodamarble]

A Double Enchanted Tale

Here's my contribution to the Disney crossover event from @vs-redemption.

This is Disney’s Enchanted (with some plot changes) featuring Nacht x Josele (my oc) and Finral x Mallory (@sailor-muno's oc). Cameo from the ZorAcy ship (from @faewraithsworld). And not to worry I'm using my friends' ocs with permission~!

Cast -Josele as Giselle -Nacht as Robert -Finral as Prince Edward -Mallory as Nancy -Sterling as Morgan (Robert’s daughter) -Yuno as Pip the Chipmunk (but a more character appropriate bird here) -Liliane Vaude as Queen Narissa -Alecdora as Nathaniel (the queen’s lackey) -Zora and Acylla as Phoebe and Ethan (the couple that almost gets divorced but doesn't)

Putting this under a cut because it got loooooooooooooong. Lots of little headcanon notes as well as some drabbles for scenes in narrative format (not my best prose writing but I think I would've gone insane trying to do it all in headcanon format).

..........

As with the original film, this story begins with Josele waxing poetic and singing about True Love’s Kiss. She imagines her True Love™ with pitch black hair and sparkling blue eyes.

Yuno, Josele’s little songbird friend, helps put together the statue of Josele’s True Love™.

Josele’s song attracts the attention of a troll. When it tries to take her away, she fights back.

Elsewhere in the forest, Prince Finral is returning from a diplomacy mission in another kingdom, attended by Alecdora, Queen Liliane’s henchman.

Liliane keeps sending Finral away as a foreign ambassador to keep him distracted from romance. So long as he doesn’t find a bride, she can remain on the throne.

Finral isn’t a fighter but he’s always concerned about people who might need help so he rides into the woods, following Josele’s (kinda wretched) screams.

Alecdora attempts to follow but is left behind as he’s without a horse. He can only grumble that Liliane should try to have Finral killed and not just distracted. He’s fed up with the guy too.-Finral is chasing after Josele’s voice. Josele is fighting for her life.

Josele is up in the trees, trying to smack away the troll with tree branches. Yuno is desperately pecking at the troll.

.....

Finral followed the shouts of a woman’s voice through the forest until he happened upon a troll the size of a house, reaching into the trees.

“Leave me alone already!” Finral looked up to where the voice emanated from and saw a lady with brown hair. “There’s no way I’m going anywhere with you!” She had a tree branch held in both hands and used it to smack at the troll’s fingers when it got too close to reaching her. Finral also barely made out the flittering movements of a bird flying at the troll’s hands one in a while.

“Ahem!” Finral forcibly cleared his throat then projected his voice. “Sir Troll! I know I just arrived but it’s clear to me that you’re bothering that lady. She has no interest in you so I suggest you be on your way.”

The troll didn’t look at Finral and instead just grunted and continued to reach up.

Finral groaned but went on, “If you seek the attention of a fair lady, you must do better than this. Attempt a more gentlemanly approach. Give your name and offer a small gift in greeting, like flowers or even a particularly lovely stone.”

Granted, Finral had no clue if those strategies worked. He had always wanted to attend balls and other events in search of his True Love™. But he was so busy helping his mother establish friendly relations with other lands that he never had the time for romantic socialization.

“Love isn’t something you can force. It’s something you build through mutual efforts.”

“Would you be quiet?!” the troll snapped at Finral, finally giving the prince attention.

“Ah… Well…” Finral uttered.

“Or how about you leave?!”

The lady in the trees jumped down and swung her branch down on the spot between the troll’s eyes, the weak spot of those creatures. With a pained roar, the troll held its face and ran off into the woods. Finral wished he’d been able to do more. But he couldn’t not feel glad that the monster was driven away and that the lady in the trees was safe.

Speaking of…

Finral watched the woman land on a lower branch of a tree and lean against the trunk, probably letting out a sigh of relief. He got a better look at her. Brown hair that shined like varnished wood, a fair complexion, and arms that showed more muscle than Finral had ever seen on a woman.

“Excuse me, miss! You’re alright, yes?” Finral called up to the woman.

She turned her face to Finral and his breath was taken away by the beautiful depth of her brown eyes.

“Me?” She gestured to herself. “Yes, I’m oka—”

All of a sudden, her foot slipped and she was falling to the ground. Finral spurred his horse forward. And not a moment too soon as Finral caught the woman in his arms.

For a moment, the two of them stared into each other’s eyes.

“Hello…” the lady whispered, her face now colored a rosy hue. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Prince Finral,” he managed to say despite the tenseness of his throat and the heat in his face. “And you are?”

“Josele.”

“A name that’s as lovely as you are brave.” Finral’s heart thumped in his chest. He’d never had such a reaction to a woman. Did that mean that Josele was… his True Love™? “Would you… marry me?”

“Y-yes! Yes of course!” Josele blurted out, giggles bubbling in her voice.

“Then it’s settled, we’ll be married in the morning!” Finral exclaimed with glee.

As Finral and Josele rode into the sunset, singing refrains that came to them as naturally as breathing, the little bird that had been around earlier watched them leave. The bird was Yuno, Josele’s faithful companion.

“But he doesn’t even look like the True Love™ from your dreams, Josele!” Yuno yelled while flying after them.

.....

In New York City, Nacht and his daughter Sterling are on their way home in a taxi.

Nacht brings up to Sterling that he’s going to propose to his girlfriend, Mallory Demiscura.

Sterling: Her name sounds like an evil stepmother's name. Nacht: That’s not nice to say, Sterling. Mallory is a fine woman. And what’s more, she looks like she could actually be your mother. Sterling: Is that why you’re thinking of marrying her? Nacht: … Maybe.

Sterling frowns at the lame reasoning. It’s so unromantic. She wants her dad to marry someone he loves, not someone to be her mom.

As Sterling pouts and stares out the window, she spots a lady in an elaborate wedding dress climbing up a telephone pole.

Sterling hurries out of the car to investigate and Nacht of course follows.

Sterling: Aren’t you afraid of falling from there, miss? Josele: Not to worry! I’m used to being in high places! Nacht: So she’s a drug addict… Sterling: Or she climbs stuff often. Jeez dad, no need to be judgy. Nacht: Lady, I think you should get down from there! It’s not safe! Josele: Nah, I’ll be fi— (slips and falls) WAH!

Nacht instinctively goes to catch Josele because of course. Nacht is hurt more by the collision than Josele is. Sterling’s jaw drops at how durable and muscular Josele is.

Sterling: How did you get like that, miss? Josele: Get like what? So disheveled and dirty? Heh, well I’ve been wandering around, completely lost, all day. But I’ll be fine, I just need— (wobbles and collapses on top of Nacht again) To rest. Nacht: Uh, well, uh… We can take you in for the night? Sterling: (pumps her fists in victory) We’re bringing a princess home!

.....

Nacht pinched the bridge of his nose after pushing all of the rats, pigeons, and roaches out of the apartment. First a lady climbing in a wedding dress and now a vermin-led housecleaning job. Maybe he was hallucinating. He was pulled from his thoughts by Sterling tugging on his shirt.

“Do we have to wash the dishes again? Because the rats touched them?”

“Use the disposable ones for now. Please,” Nacht groaned.

“Okay.”

After Sterling left his side, Nacht noticed a sing-song voice coming from the bathroom. It had to be Josele. Nacht approached slowly, taking in the sound of Josele’s voice. Admittedly, she had a lovely voice. There was then a pang in Nacht’s heart as he remembered how Morgen used to sing.

Morgen probably would’ve loved a weirdo like her, Nacht thought with a scoff. He couldn’t help but smile though. Nacht stopped in front of the door but before he even knocked, Josele opened the door.

“Good morning,” Josele said with a grin. Such a blithe and innocent look. Like she hadn’t nearly fallen to her death—or at least a broken bone—last night. “You’re looking well, Nacht.”

“Uh…” Nacht glanced down before hurriedly locking eyes with Josele. Holy hell, she is ripped! “Morning. So uh… you…”

“The shower is absolutely lovely,” remarked Josele, glancing back into the room. “I’m used to bathing in rivers but that was a whole new experience!”

“In rivers?” Nacht repeated. Did she grow up in the wilderness or something? “Right. So look, the thing is—”

“Nacht? Who’s that?”

Nacht’s head whipped in the direction of another woman’s voice. Mallory stood a few feet away, jaw dropped and eyes wide in a look of confusion and hurt.

Mallory was there. Seeing Nacht talk with Josele. While Josele was only in a towel.

“Oh hello there! I’m Josele!” She strode up to Mallory without a second thought and began to shake the redhead’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you! What’s your name?”

“Mallory…”

“Oh that’s a gorgeous name!”

“Thanks?” Mallory pulled back a bit. Her face twisted, looking more horrified by the millisecond. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to the castle to be married—”

Nacht hurried to the women and stepped between them.

“Mallory, please listen,” Nacht started while holding Mallory’s shoulders and moving her away from Josele. “She and I, we’re not— You have to understand.”

“Understand what, Nacht? That you’ve finally decided that I’m not good enough for you?” Mallory choked out. Tears had already formed in her eyes. “I thought we were just taking it slow because of Sterling and…” Mallory quickly rubbed her eyes. “And we have our careers to worry about too! But I guess the real reason was—!”

“That’s not it at all!”

Mallory pulled away from Nacht and stormed towards the exit. “I’ll go! If she makes you happy, I won’t get in your way!”

“Are you leaving already?” Josele asked, stepping in the way of Mallory’s exit. “But you just arrived.”

The question made Mallory pause. “You don’t want me to leave?”

Josele and Mallory stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Both seemed confused. And Nacht had to step in.

“Ladies, please, I can explain everything,” Nacht said as he got between them.

“Okay then…” Mallory nodded for a moment then looked Nacht dead in the eyes. “Explain.”

.....

Nacht explains to Mallory the situation with Josele. And she listens.

Mallory is baffled to say the least but considering Josele’s behavior, it seems to be the most believable explanation.

Nacht asks Mallory if Josele could stay with her only for Mallory to say her apartment is getting renovated and she’s already sharing a space with her three sisters.

But Mallory promises to help look for leads about how to get Josele home.

The situation still puts a strain on the relationship since Nacht will be focusing his attention on Josele until she returns to Andalasia.

Mallory is jealous of Josele’s hopeless romanticism and optimism. She was once a romantic herself but lost her spark. She ended up with Nacht because of proximity and convenience.

Nacht takes Josele to his workplace. He hands Josele over to his coworker, Secre, hoping she can help locate Josele’s home.

Meanwhile, Nacht tries to help move along the divorce proceedings for Acylla and Zora. In Nacht’s opinion, they had to split sooner rather than later.

.....

Josele approached Acylla with a wide-eyed, almost awestruck smile.

“Your eyes…” she whispered sweetly. “They’re gorgeous with that little sparkle in them. And your presence is so calm and graceful.”

“I, well…” Acylla flushed at the forward compliments being given to her. “Thank you, miss.”

“The person who holds your heart is a very lucky individual,” Josele commented as she took Acylla’s hands.

And those words made Acylla’s shy grin drop into a deep frown instantly. “He may have held it before but he dropped it like a hot potato.” The words made Josele reel back. Acylla only continued, “And believe me, I doubt he feels lucky to know me at this moment.”

“I don’t understand…” Josele whispered as she shook her head. She glanced at Zora who scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you two in love?”

“Read the room, lady,” snapped Zora. “We’re sick of each other.”

Nacht buried his face in his hands and groaned. First his personal life. And now his professional life was being torn asunder by a woman who made a dress out of his curtains before skipping away, without shame or guilt.

When he raised his head, Nacht had every intention of snapping at Josele to keep her nose out of Zora and Acylla’s business. But then he saw them, the tears in her eyes. Soft and real, truly broken up by something most people would brush off as an unfortunate but unextraordinary event. So Nacht ended up pulling Josele aside and quietly letting her know that she didn’t have to worry since the divorce was what the former couple wanted.

“But they’re losing the love of their lives, Nacht,” Josele whimpered as her tears fell. “I can’t imagine loving someone one day and then… not loving them the next…”

“That’s just how the world works,” Nacht said. He almost included an “I’m sorry.” But what did he have to be sorry for?

When Nacht glanced past Josele’s shoulder, he saw Zora staring at Acylla. Not with annoyance as he had been earlier. But rather, he looked curious, as though examining Acylla for the first time. As for Acylla, she was red-faced and avoiding Zora’s eyes.

The air between the two had changed. Nacht didn’t know how but it had…

.....

Mallory is still on her own commute to work. On the way, she spies a man in an elaborate medieval style tunic standing in front of a bus.

Finral: Be still you beast of steel! Those poor civilians in your belly don’t deserve to be eaten! Bus Driver: (honks aggressively) GET OUTTA THE STREET! Mallory: Oh no. That man’s gonna get himself run over. (runs over and grabs Finral out of the street) Finral: Hey hey! Wait wait wait! I was helping those people! Mallory: You were causing a traffic jam! (brushes Finral down because he looks like a mess) You good, man? Finral: I am a good man, yes. Or I’d like to think so. Mallory: Um… Yeah I don’t think you’re doing so hot, sir. (thinking) He does look hot though…

Mallory and Finral get to talking once they get some distance between themselves and the street.

Finral goes on and on about finding his “precious doe” and “other half.” But he doesn’t mention Josele by name.

Still, Mallory gets a weird feeling that Finral’s fairy tale dreamy attitude is familiar…

Alecdora runs up from out of nowhere and grabs Finral away, saying he knows where to find Finral’s love.

“Lead the way, Alecdora!” Finral exclaims as he and Alecdora run off.

“Alec-darrel? What kind of name is that?!” Mallory asks. She tries to chase them for a moment but she’s not fit to keep up.

And then, a little songbird (Yuno), lands on her shoulder and seems to glare at Alecdora.

“What’s your story, little guy?” Mallory asks sarcastically. “I’m actually thinking of chasing after Prince Charming there.”

Yuno chirps aggressively at Mallory and directs her to follow Finral. So she does!

At some point, Alecdora makes his first attempt to kill Josele with a poison apple provided by Liliane. Only to fail.

.....

“That’s how you know~!”

Josele’s melodious voice rang through the air.

“That’s how you know~!”

Came the harmonious echo of what felt like half of New York City, somehow knowing the song that Josele had begun.

Nacht had thought he was dreaming. Honestly, he’d thought that since he first met Josele. Yet sitting in an open carriage as everyone from street musicians to newlyweds performed in Central Park felt strangely real. Every smile on the people’s faces was wide and genuine. The clouds from the morning had parted and the afternoon sun made the colors around Nacht brighter.

And the brightest person there was Josele.

The song and dance had concluded. But people were lingering, mingling amongst themselves or approaching Josele as she stood within the carriage with Nacht.

Nacht blinked a few more times. But he couldn’t take his eyes off of Josele as she spoke with the people who complimented her song or thanked her for the experience. And she replied with a “no, thank you for joining” and such.

How did she manage to be so kind and genuine? Okay, Nacht knew why: fairy tale princess turned real. The question still lingered in his mind. He wondered if the kind of magic Josele exuded was something everyone had a little of, and that’s what made everything happen.

.....

With Mallory, she’s caught up with Finral who is separated from Alecdora thankfully. As they’re walking, she tries to get across that she knows where Finral’s “other half” is.

As she tries to explain, she gets a text from one of her sisters.

[Is he cheating?] The question is accompanied by a picture of Nacht and Josele, sitting in a carriage and surrounded by… a lot. [Check social media. They’re there.]

Mallory looks up what’s trending and finds pictures and videos of some chaotic flash mob. With Josele and Nacht seeming to lead it.

The doubt in Mallory’s heart starts to come back. She and Nacht had never done anything like dance or sing together, especially not in public. And yet with Josele…

.....

“Is something the matter, Miss Mallory?” Finral asked gently, breaking Mallory out of her gloom.

“Oh! Uh…” Mallory slid her phone into her purse, making her chest tight with guilt at hiding Josele’s location from Finral. But perhaps their reunion could wait an hour or two? “I’m… fine?” She shook her head. “It’s just that the man I love…” The words felt so heavy in her mouth that she trailed off and had to take a breath. “He’s not all that good at being loving.”

Finral blinked then stared wide-eyed at Mallory. “But how can that be? A fine woman such as yourself is surely easy to love. Why, I can already name several things that make you splendid!”

“L-like what?”

“Well for one, your hair! It’s the loveliest shade of red I’ve ever laid my eyes on!” Finral exclaimed with a wide grin. “I bet if you were to give a twirl, it’d fan out so beautifully that the crowd would stop and stare.”

“I don’t think I could do something like that!” Mallory squeaked, feeling herself warm up as people were already eyeing her and Finral because of his loud voice. “But, um, thanks for the compliment.”

“And I have more to give, still!” Finral quickly followed up. “Your smile. It shines as bright as the sun. Surely, that smile alone has made the day of your sweetheart.”

Mallory shrugged, not wanting to admit that she’d never seen Nacht smile. Not truly. Only ever the empty, cordial smile he used at work.

“There’s also your heart, so full of kindness. We only passed by each other this morning and yet you’ve returned to aid me.” Finral went on waxing poetic. It was incredible how genuine he sounded. Not a hint of irony to him. “Your lover, whoever he may be, should be ashamed for not treasuring you the way you should be!”

Mallory pursed her lips and nodded a little. She did want for a love that was… more. But she was never brave enough to ask that of Nacht.

Raising her head, Mallory locked eyes with Finral. His warm grin and the way his eyes looked at her with gentleness. The deepest parts of her heart wanted that.

Mallory wanted the bold and free love that Finral was offering.

It’s just that he wasn’t offering it to her…

.....

Finral breaks out into song. Let’s call it “With All Your Heart.”

I’m not writing the whole thing out (not a lyricist here), but the gist of the song is Finral explaining his belief that love should be expressed boldly and being proud of one’s love will make them happier. It’s why he’s so forward.

Finral’s song number gets the crowd going as much as “That’s How You Know” did. Mallory is in absolute awe of the literal magic in front of her eyes and excitedly runs alongside Finral as he encourages other couples to loudly proclaim their love for each other.

Yuno is following along the whole time and is picking up on the vibes with this pair.

When the song ends, a pair of doves fly up to Mallory. They give her a wreath of flowers and tickets to a ball happening later that week, addressed from Nacht.

And now she’s thinking of Nacht again and her heart hurts realizing that she’s already smitten with another man, a taken man.

Finral hears of the ball and excitedly thinks of taking Josele there before returning home.

Mallory agrees to help him get tickets. She wasn’t just going to give up the tickets for her and Nacht, but she’d at least help Josele and Finral’s love.

Alecdora finds Mallory and Finral and takes away the prince saying he has a lead on where Josele is. Mallory tries to argue that she knows but Alecdora ignores her.

Yuno comforts Mallory for a moment then chirps, as if to reassure her that he’ll get Finral back.

.....

Nacht blinked a few times, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Can you say that again?”

“We don’t see any reason to divorce,” Zora repeated with a smile. He looked at Acylla who grinned back. “That lady from yesterday, she was so right. Acylla’s eyes have a beautiful sparkle to them. It was the first thing I noticed. I really am lucky to have fallen for her.”

“But just the other day you two were having problems,” Nacht pointed out, to which the couple snickered.

“Everyone has problems, Mr. Faust.” Acylla’s hold on Zora’s hand tightened. “But should we really allow the bad things in life to outweigh the good ones?”

Nacht raised a brow. “You’re really going to try again after a chance encounter with—”

“Have you considered that it wasn’t merely chance?” Acylla posed. “Maybe we were meant to meet that lady and she would remind us of what really mattered.”

“Like how sweet you are when I’m not bothering you,” Zora joked. The couple laughed again before sharing a brief kiss. “Yeah, I could get used to this all over again.”

Nacht fell silent. His mouth snapped shut as he had nothing to say.

There it was again. That strange magic that Josele’s presence exuded. At work again in Nacht’s life.

Nacht guided Acylla and Zora out of the office while reassuring them that Josele would hear of their gratitude towards her. There was no doubt in his mind that Josele would be overjoyed to know that the couple’s marriage had been saved.

“What a peculiar woman,” Nacht muttered, feeling a smile come to his face just thinking of everything Josele had done in only two days. “What else could possibly happen now?”

.....

The timeline of events does get extended. There’s an extra two or three days of shenanigans.

Mallory keeps on putting off telling Nacht that she’s met Finral because 1) Alecdora keeps dragging Finral off and Mallory would rather not say “I’ve seen him but I’m currently not with him” due to the inconvenience, and 2) she just wants more time with Finral herself.

So Nacht and Josele have their misadventures while Finral and Mallory have theirs.

Josele and Nacht’s misadventures include: 1) taking Sterling to an archery range since the kid is interested and when Josele tries her hand at the bow, she cuts her fingers on the fletching, 2) Josele helping some kids find their lost pets with her little animal summoning ability, and 3) Josele decorating a statue with flower wreaths and teaching Nacht and Sterling how to weave flowers together during that time.

Mallory and Finral’s misadventures include 1) getting caught up in a dance off on the streets which Finral absolutely flops since its break dancing and not ballroom, 2) coming across a runaway teen and talking things out with them (Mallory gives more grounded advice like finding a shelter while Finral’s advice is optimistic but helpful in keeping the teen’s spirits up), and 3) meeting Mallory’s sister Athena and her boyfriend, during which Finral convinces the boyfriend to go ahead with proposing.

Meanwhile, Yuno is fighting for his life against Alecdora, trying to separate him from Finral so Finral can meet up with Mallory again. Alecdora has tried clipping his wings, selling him to a pet store, and even threw him into a bird of prey exhibit at the zoo. It’s crazy.

Nacht eventually takes Josele and Sterling out for dinner, during which Nacht reveals the story behind Sterling’s lack of mother.

Sterling is Nacht’s adopted kid, but she wasn’t meant to be. She was supposed to be adopted by Morgen, Nacht’s brother.

Years ago, Morgen’s apartment building caught fire. Something about a stove being left on.

Instead of escaping immediately, Morgen went to every room he could to help others get to safety.

He eventually found a woman with one of her legs pinned under debris and a baby in her arms. The woman insisted that Morgen take her baby and leave her to die. If her baby lived, that’s what mattered.

Morgen carried the baby girl out, using his own body to protect her from the smoke and flames.

Morgen and the baby escaped, but he sustained some bad injuries.

While in the hospital, Morgen said he wanted to adopt the baby girl, named Sterling, once he was recovered. However, he wasn’t getting better, only worse.

With his dying breath, Morgen asked Nacht to take care of Sterling. “I know you have no attachment to her, brother. But please, watch over her. Don’t let the hope that lives in that child die.”

And so Sterling became Nacht’s child.

Alecdora makes a second attempt with a poison apple and Yuno saves Josele from this one.

Alecdora and Yuno face off. It ends with Alecdora “killing” Yuno.

After they return to the Faust apartment and Josele comforts Sterling, Nacht talks to Josele about staying in New York.

.....

“It’s been nearly a week since you’ve arrived, Josele. And if he hasn’t come by now, I just don’t think your so-called prince is coming at all,” Nacht whispered, trying to be gentle with the woman’s feelings.

“But he is,” Josele insisted once more. “I believe in him.”

“And maybe that belief is misplaced. You can’t hope for the impossible.”

At Nacht’s words, Josele’s expression twisted into a frown. A look which Nacht hadn’t seen since Josele had cried over Acylla and Zora’s situation days earlier. But the current frown she wore was markedly different.

“What’s with you, Nacht? Why can’t you have a little hope?” Josele asked as she leaned forward, closer to Nacht, more aggressive than she’d ever been before. “Why is it always ‘let’s stop now’ or ‘it won’t work’ or ‘it’s a waste of time’? Why are you always so gloomy?”

“I’m not gloomy, I’m realistic.” Nacht felt his chest grow tight as Josele’s eyes narrowed and she let out a sharp exhale. “You can’t always get your hopes up. Otherwise, you’ll get disappointed a lot.”

“So I should be like you and never get my hopes up?” Josele shot to her feet as she yelled.

“That’s not what I said!” Nacht rose to his feet too. “I’m just saying that hoping for the impossible will never work out!”

All Nacht has wanted to do was to spare Josele from the heartbreak of someone giving up on her. He didn’t intend to get Josele fired up, to cause her to come to the defense of her own hopes and desires.

“Well at least I have hope! Unlike you!” Josele jabbed Nacht in the shoulder, as if to emphasize. “You’re so afraid to try new things! You’re afraid to open your heart! Sometimes you’re so kind and sometimes you’re like this!” So caught up in her emotions, Josele started to pace back and forth. “And it just—! I don’t know—! All of it makes me so—! You make me so—!”

“I make you what?” Nacht pressed, leaning in close without really thinking.

“You make me so angry!” Josele snapped. “I’m angry with you, Nacht Faust!” The fierce scowl on Josele’s face was blinked away, and then she grinned. “I’m angry! Oh my gosh, I’m angry!” Her laugh, like a chime, echoed for a moment. And then, “Wait, I’m angry.”

Josele frowned again and then punched Nacht square in the stomach. The impact sent Nacht to the floor—it still shocked him how surprisingly muscular she was. Nacht groaned and held his aching torso.

“I’m sorry! Oh I’m so sorry!” Josele yelped while kneeling on the floor beside Nacht. “I didn’t think—!”

“You’re good, Josele. It’s fi—” Nacht paused when he felt Josele pick up his head and then rest it on her lap. “Josele?”

“I’m still angry, you know,” she whispered. Her fingers stroked through Nacht’s hair. “Just because not everything is as good as I want it to be, doesn’t mean I should resign myself to the bad, right?”

Nacht held his tongue for a moment. As refreshing as it had been to see Josele upset, he wasn’t going to risk a second bruise to the stomach.

“I still don’t know if your prince is coming. But… I guess we can give it a few more days.”

“Thank you, Nacht.”

It was then that Nacht dared to look up at Josele. The look on her face was… She wasn’t beaming the way she normally did. But she wasn’t scowling either. She looked… impassive. Yet peaceful. As if she was lost in thought. Something about Josele in that moment was… beautiful.

“Josele?” Nacht reached up and touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

“Hm?” Her eyes drifted down to meet Nacht’s gaze.

“We should get to sleep now. So we’re not exhausted in the morning.”

“Y-yeah…”

The silence that followed was heavy. Not even a “goodnight” was shared, only quick and quiet nods of acknowledgement.

When Josele sat back down on the couch, she noticed how fast her heart was racing. And she knew that the thought of Nacht, of standing so close to him, was the reason. But that couldn’t be right. Her True Love™ was Finral. Right?

When Nacht sat on his bed, he buried his face in his hands, feeling how warm he’d become. Seeing Josele and the new sides of her brought on by conflict, however small, had him wanting more. But she was not his to love.

Rest wouldn’t come easy to either of them that night.

.....

The morning before the ball, Mallory finally is able to get Finral away from Alecdora for good (taking Finral to her sisters’ place ensured that the man wouldn’t come knocking).

And Mallory is finally able to explain to Finral that she knows where Josele is.

Nacht receives a call from Mallory and she explains everything to him.

Mallory brings Finral over to Nacht’s apartment for the reunion.

Finral tries to prompt Josele into song but it’s Mallory who picks up on it and tries to feed Josele the words.

Still, everyone (except Sterling) agrees that Finral and Josele should return to Andalasia together. But not before a date in New York and some time at the ball that evening.

While Josele and Finral head out for their date, Nacht and Mallory sit down and chat.

Mallory: Sorry I couldn’t bring Finral by sooner. Nacht: Mallory, it’s fine. You were probably busy with work so it makes sense that— Mallory: No no, I wasn’t putting it off. I literally couldn’t bring him because some other guy kept dragging him off! He was super weird and really rude too. Even his name is weird: Alec-darrel. Nacht: That can’t be his real name. Mallory: That’s what it sounded like to me. Also, this bird kept on finding its way to me and it acted a lot smarter than the birds I usually meet. I haven’t seen him in a couple days though. Nacht: That must be the Yuno bird Josele told me about. Mallory: The bird’s name is Yuno? Not something like “Cheep” or “Chirpy”?

When Josele comes back from the date, she’s very worried about going to the ball. Mallory and Sterling immediately volunteer to help.

.....

The time came for the ladies to pick out dresses to wear to the ball.

“If you really want to get… to get Nacht’s attention, try wearing complementary colors,” Josele remarked while eyeing the rows of dresses.

Her chest ached as she thought about how lucky Mallory was to have Nacht’s attention on her. To be the one to make him stop and stare in awe. But why? Josele had Finral so why did she want Nacht to see her, to admire her?

“S-since your hair is such a lovely shade of red, you would look good in green.”

“Yeah! Daddy says green makes my hair look extra pretty too!” Sterling piped up. “I’ll go find something for Mallory! Just you wait and see!”

“Hmm.” Mallory pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “But isn’t Finral’s tunic green? It’d look weird if he and I… matched.”

The suggestion of which actually made Mallory’s heart flutter. She knew how silly her thoughts were but she couldn’t help it. The days spent beside Finral repeated in her mind and she wanted to remain beside him, even knowing they were both promising themselves to others.

Josele gave a weak laugh and shook her head before saying, “Oh no, it’s fine if you two matched.” She shrugged. “You two already do a fine job of matching energies so matching appearances isn’t out of the question.” She blinked and caught herself. “N-not that you and Nacht don’t also get along well! You’re both intelligent and understanding of me and Finral’s… peculiarities. A-and you, uh…”

“Sele, it’s okay.” Mallory took Josele’s hands in her own then patted the back of them. “I know Nacht and I aren’t two peas in a pod, but we’ve managed.” With a reassuring smile, she stepped back. “Now, let’s think about what you’ll wear. You ought to look like a princess for… for Finral, huh?”

A sickening jealousy twisted Mallory’s stomach. There had to be something wrong with her for wanting to be with Finral despite Josele being his True Love™. So she pushed down the wish for Finral to serenade her as his love.

“Let’s think about what you’ll wear now.” Mallory approached the dress rack. “Black goes with everything. And I know you’re more for blue but I personally think purple works better with black.”

“Yes, they make quite a pair…” Josele muttered, immediately imagining Nacht in the black suit and purple dress shirt she’d seen him wear the night they met. It was a dark and elegant look. Nacht looked…

“Oh right! Nacht!” Mallory yelped. “Maybe you shouldn’t wear black or purple because then you’d kinda be wearing Nacht’s colors! Not that it’d be bad if you did. It’d actually be good. More than good! Great even!” Mallory paced the boutique floor and gesticulated wildly as she spoke. It was quite cute, how animated and lively she was.

Smiling as she watched, Josele recalled when she first met Mallory. The red-haired woman seemed like she had been trying to restrain her feelings that fateful morning. But now, her fluster was on full display. It was cute. And she seemed more like herself.

“Because you two honestly look great together in my opinion. NOT THAT YOU’RE TOGETHER! WE CLEARED UP THAT CONFUSION ALREADY!” Mallory laughed in a way that sounded painfully forced. She then turned to Josele. “What I’m trying to say is that you’ve done each other good! I mean, you’ve brought Nacht out of his shell and he’s really gotten you adapted to New York!”

Josele blinked. “Finral hasn’t gotten used to New York?”

“Not really?” Mallory replied while giving a shrug. “He’s not talking to buses anymore but… It’s just not the place for him.”

“Well I quite like it,” Josele admitted. “It’s not as pretty as the forest I grew up in, but there’s so many people and so much to do. Each new day is an adventure.”

“There sure is a lot. Though I personally would want adventures like fighting a troll,” Mallory joked and earned a giggle from Josele as well.

The laughter between Josele and Mallory died down however. Though neither said it out loud and neither recognized how the other felt, there was a sad tension shared between them. The lives that they initially saw for themselves were no longer what they wanted.

“Mallory!” Sterling piped up, finally returning from her search. “I found the perfect dress for you!” She looked between the women. “Did I come back at a bad time?”

“No no no, Sterling!” Josele quickly knelt down by the girl. “Thank you for coming back.”

“You said you had a dress for me?” Mallory asked, hoping to dissipate the earlier atmosphere.

Sterling glanced between them again. She may have only been six, but even she knew that something was wrong.

.....

The ball scene! AAAAAHHHHH!

Finral would try to profess his love for Josele but he’d fumble it, so unlike his usual eloquent self. He’s got Mal on the mind.

Josele does her best to compliment Mallory and Nacht as a couple but Mallory points out that she looks sickly when trying to speak.

Mallory and Nacht can barely look each other in the eyes because they know they love Finral and Josele. But they stubbornly think they should stick with how things are.

Finral dances with Mallory. Nacht dances with Josele. Both men hold the women as close as they can in the dance because no one wants to let goooooo!

Still, Finral guides Josele away so they can return to Anadalasia. And when he goes to get Josele’s cloak, Liliane (disguised as a hag) comes and offers Josele the poison apple.

Finral only tries True Love’s Kiss with Josele once. After one try, he knows it’s not gonna work.

When Nacht tries to deny that his kiss might save her, Mallory snaps at him, “Don’t you dare give up. Josele needs you!”

Josele’s fight against Liliane is much bloodier, actually drawing blood from the evil queen.

But it’s Yuno pecking Liliane directly in the eyes which makes her fall to her doom.

Once the dust settles, the four adults finally speak honestly.

Mallory and Nacht officially break up and wish each other the best with their new loves.

Finral and Josele bid each other goodbye and hope for one another’s happily ever afters.

Mallory takes to the fairy tale world well, evening singing her own song on her first day.

After a year of dating, Mallory and Finral have their full fairy tale wedding.

Josele gets herself established in the real world, working some odd jobs before being able to establish her own boutique.

While Nacht does propose early on, they still take a couple of years to date and plan.

.....

“And they all lived happily ever after. The End,” Sterling stated with finality. “So? What do you think?”

Sterling’s younger siblings—Dawn, Dusk, Sirius, Merel, and Vivian—stared in awe.

“It explains why Mommy’s so good with animals,” commented Dusk.

“Mommy was gonna be a princess?!” Dawn gasped.

“But she married a lame lawyer instead…” Merel grumbled.

“Daddy’s job isn’t lame!” Sirius retorted.

“Daddy’s kinda lame for being kidnapped by a dragon though,” Vivian muttered.

“Kids, it’s time for bed!” Josele said before poking her head into the living room.

Nacht leaned his head into the door frame too. “And what was that about me being lame?”

“Sorry Daddy,” Vivian whispered.

Together, Nacht and Josele tucked in the kids before going to their own bed.

“Are we living happily ever after, Josele?” Nacht whispered as he stroked her hair.

“I’d like to think so…” she whispered back, smiling.

#disneycindy #black clover #black clover au #nacht faust #finral roulacase #black clover oc #josele canty #mallory demiscura #soda's ocs #bel's oc #nacsele #finmal #WAAAAAHHHHH THE FINMAL AND NACSELE! #zoracy #it's in the background but it's there!

[vijayasena]

DOSTI..

No one's pov..

They were probably way more far away from the city, it was the starting of summer so the humidity and heat just made everything much more worse and unbearable...

Ram wiped the sweat off his back of neck from his handkerchief as he panted heavily they already walked more than 8 miles today..

It was getting on His nerves now, he hated missions like this and the cherry on top they weren't getting any closer to their objectives..

General Warren Hastings the new trading officer was elected for the capital of the prosperous hindustan to transport the Manchester made clothes and spices ..

Without having any kind of permission letter or a trial notice from the Constitutional monarchy officers..

But this wasn't something they were concerned about.. the migration of indentured labour had abolished six months ago yet he was getting constant complaints about how people from local and rural areas were forcefully taken to Europe and on the land of whites to work in their factories, and fight for their Britain...

The fact that it was unjustified. If Britain wants war then it should use his own local citizens and people..not the innocent people of their motherland..

And here he was doing something which was against all of this appointed to transport guns and weapons as well as indentured labours to the main department of East India company so that they can help in so called ..

Britain's economic growth.. and development how ironic?...

He scoffed at himself how much more this will gonna take place..

But he knew this wasn't gonna happen, the only thing that used to kill him was his own emotions and the Hatered he held for himself. The disgust he held for himself...

The pain was just for sometime but the guilt, the disgust the Hatered for himself in his conscience was still present no matter how many times he made himself realise that it was all for a bigger purpose..

That he will gonna thank himself, that it's all gonna be worth it when the 1700 sterling silver coins of bullet which crossed seven seas to reach their beloved motherland..

And how those filthy whites consider it expensive enough to not kill a innocent brown..

Because they weren't worth it .

How peaceful he will gonna feel after gracing their heart with that bullet

glancing at his brother like figure Bheem.. who was looking here and there walking carefully and occasionally talking about how much he miss Jenny . Well they were Definitely so cute together..

And he always used to mend their conversation that they fitted perfectly with each other.. Jenny was definitely a sweetheart and someone whom Bheem deserved..

He deserved every happiness of this earth, every wish he had to fullfill he deserved everything.. how happy and carefree he had been with Bheem..

He was just too sweet too observing and too adorable and his talks were soo innocent sometimes ram used to feel like he is best with a five year old.

holding Ram's hand Bheem looked at him and like he sensed his discomfort the second he held his hand .

"Everything is gonna be alright! Don't worry we got this and then you can rest forever all your sacrifices will gonna be worth it and we are always without you"..

Ram almost cried with the amount of innocence and kindness and generosity drip from Bheem's voice and he realised how hard he had been on himself..

How much he hated himself?

How much he hated himself for being like this ?..

He knew this Bheem will gonna do everything in his power to be with him.. to make sure ram is not alone ..

he smiled at him, because he was here to help him, always here to be with him to hold his back, to never let him fall ... And never let anyone else make him fall..

#bheem rrr #rrr #alluri sitarama raju #koumaram bheem #rise roar revolt #rrr fandom #ram and bheem #rrr film

[gazelessmenagerie]

caesar and joseph kissing post pillarmen fight rn i demand it.

It was finished..

. Over..

He didn't expect to survive falling god knows how many miles up high on in the sky after it was blasted up there but he did what he had to. The sky never looked clearer than in those motions, nor did the land of far off countries look greener or more vibrant as the howling wind drowned out everything in his ears. Sterling teal eyes felt heavy, the darkness falling as his final thoughts dwelled on the people he held close after saving what may be the world from Kars.

While a full bellied guffaw might've been fitting for him in the basking moments of victory over the Pillarmen; the truth lay obvious as his beaten and battered body barely holding onto the falling piece of earth. Joseph was tired.. beyond exhausted with pushing through everything with a final last ditch effort and more luck than he'd like to admit. Sending that bastard off this planet was certainly a worthy end and the Joestar had nothing more to do than apologize to dear Granny Erina for what felt like his last moments.

... And then the cold splash of reality, and life, brought him back from that brink..

Sure enough everything hurt and he was bedridden with half of his bloody arm missing but surely things could've been worse-- He could be having an ugly scar on his face and scare away all the girls!

Or even worse than that, Granny Erina might've caught wind of his current condition! Oh how will he ever explain and make it up to worry her so much!? Surely the Old Man better keep his mouth shut until he could think of a way around this. Maybe he'll just lay low for a bit until he's in tiptop shape before he comes to show Granny Erina nothing happened..! Surely she'd be less worried that way... at least that's what he hoped.

A sharp inhale struck between his teeth, wincing as his worries aggravated the injuries sustained. Moving to try and place his hand on his cheek, it came as a surprise when he didn't feel his hand where it should've been... and came to stare at the remaining stump.

Oh right...

★ " Bloody bastard.. " He'd surely need to devise a way to hide that bit from Granny but right now he wasn't exactly fit to be running around, " Guess it couldn't be helped but this isn't going to be easy to explain. "

He shuddered at the thought, staring out at the window for some time before he heard the door open. Expecting it to be a doctor, or at least a really hot nurse, he hoped whatever potential news that could be given would be for the better. The sooner he'd get outta here, the sooner he can try to figure out work-arounds and get back home. Heaving a sigh, he supposed he'd better listen to whatever rubbish might be coming out but when he glanced towards the door, his heart seized in that instant.

It couldn't be..

Was he staring at a ghost or something..? Was this a cruel trick being played on him for sick laughs..

His throat clenched tightly, water glistening at the bottoms of his eyes as he stared like a deer caught in headlights.

Petrified like stone, he could barely breath as he stared in a stunned silence.

It was almost too good to be true.. at some point he was dreaming and he'd wake up to an empty room. Something would jolt him back to the truth of what happened in that forsaken hotel. The rock that marked the final resting place..

Only a few feet away.. he was just a few feet away.

★ " ... Cae.. Caesar.. " Came a tight voice, hoping to whatever god that would listen to him this wasn't a dream he was having, " Tell me this isn't a dream. "

#|| Tag: Answered #raytm #|| Gazing over the Thorny Vines of Fate { Joseph } #( is2g you better appreciate the FOOD i am still holding after 5-7 years of writing this goddamn smartass. ) #( HE DESERVES THE KISSES. WHERE'S HIS SMOOOCHES? ) #( where ARE THEY?? -SLAPS TABLE- ) #( I WANT TO FUCKING CRY RN WITH THESE TWO ASSHOLES. TEAR MY HEART OUT BC ) #( I WILL WRITE U 10 PARAGRAPHS /AGAIN/ ) #( EACH REPLY. EVERY REPLY. EVERY DAY. okay maybe not everyday cause work IS A PAIN but ) #( u know jojo needs his stinky caesar ) #( you cannot seperate them )

[augment-techs]

Okay so Im reading this fic, and I thought you would enjoy what the premise basically is... Person A watches Person B put themselves through a near death experience, for an admittedly dumb reason, and is so god damn angry and panicky about it.  However afterwards, B is acting like it's not even a big deal, which causes A to yell at the rest of their group to leave the room before rounding on B to say how stupid that stunt was, and B is just being the epitome of "I had it under control, I wasn't in any real danger", which just sets A off to the point where A desperately needs some sort of physical confirmation that B is there and alive and real, and A just starts kissing B and getting into their space as close as they can... and B only pushes them away when they realize that A is crying, and thats when B actually starts to feel bad, and apologizes and assures A that they are here and that they're okay, and they wipe away the tears and just kinda hold each other for awhile...

Okay, here's the thing, the first thought is that A has to be Billy and B has to be Skull, because this is just their type casting speaking to the brain. But really, Billy is the one with the Power, with the habits of getting into things he's not supposed to almost every single day for two years, who works for a company with a woman willing to take on god-like beings if it means it might be the equivalent of wagging a finger in Zordon's face. If anyone is going to go into a near death situation without thinking about it, it's going to be Billy. Probably probing something equivocal to a bomb that could go off at any second, Bulk and Skull recording from a ledge in the aftermath of another fight between the Rangers and a giant monster. Probably, the two punks thought they'd get an after-action recording of the Rangers talking to each other, or performing clean up or going through the motions with Ms. Sterling and her little helpers. Billy would just so happen to almost get flattened by a large chunk of dead monster falling down from the equipment he was going over and Skull...would not be pleased. Would be so displeased in fact that he might, oh, shove the camera into Bulk's hands and climb down the ledge of ruined architecture like a particularly angry alley cat, grumbling and growling and walking right by security. The Grim Reaper would probably look less intimidating, marching directly up to Billy and picking him up to sling over his shoulder and stomping off to have a conversation. Except the "conversation" is mostly just the back and forth of Skull trying to remind Billy that he's a human being that can be injured and he might have grown into himself since they were ten, added on a little muscle and gained the ability to run really fast, "But that doesn't mean you should just shrug off almost getting smashed down into the pavement like a bug," while Billy actually looks a little amused, shrugging off the way Skull's all shaky and loud, and just generally acting like Skull is the one being ridiculous, "And anyway, why are you so worried about it?" "BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU FUCKING--!!" And crying. Actual tears from the taller boy, the punk, the hasn't been a bully since Arrival Day, the first friend Billy ever had. And Skull too embarrassed to stick around, turning and walking away and avoiding the hell out of Billy for days, not saying a word. Oh, and then the scenario turns perfectly on its head. Because watching BOTH of them cry, and hide, and worry, and kiss in desperation. Wouldn't THAT be lovely~

#no thoughts only ideas #ask fill #prompt fill #boom! comics power rangers #billy cranston x eugene skull skullovitch #mmpr #ggpr

[bluetraverser]

New Life - chapter 26 - Scandal

He went through the library, where his partner was still laid out on the couch, twitching now. Elliott watched him with worry, then glanced at the wizard. “Any changes?”

Rasmodius shrugged. “I don’t really know what’s happening right now. I think something is escalating but I don’t know what. We’ll only know when he gets out of it again… it might be a while longer.”

Elliott nodded, trying to be patient. But his insides were tout and anxious and all of this was hard…

He anxiously walked into his office, opening the envelope. He really shouldn’t look at those things now, actually. It would most likely be disturbing or threatening or-

It was photographs, clearly taken through a window.

Elliott stumbled into his chair, heart hammering as sickness suddenly rose within him while he glanced at more and more of the pictures, showing a rather intimate series of events between his husband and Sterling in various states of undress.

He opened and closed his fists, anger, disgust, hurt, hurt, HURT rushing through him with maddening intensity. He felt like his vision would give out. A vein on his forehead was pulsing…

He closed his eyes and collected the pictures without looking at them again, putting them face-down on the desk. Then he got up and opened the window, trying to get some air, breathing hard…

The sick feeling wouldn’t recede…

These…

They had to be fake…

He hadn’t felt capable of properly examining them, of course, but they had to be fake, they had to be!

There wasn’t even a time when Robert could have-

A part of his brain came to a dead halt.

There actually had been a time when this could have happened. Shortly after he had gotten back for good. They day they had gone to the bathhouse and Robert had asked to have some time alone to meet with Sterling for a bit. And a few days before that, he had gone for ‘a walk’ by himself, late in the day…

He felt himself shaking.

This can’t be true. Can’t be, can’t be, can’t be…

He was tempted to look at it again, even though he knew it would probably just make it worse but by now the images were rattling through his mind over and over, how they were kissing urgently, pressed against a wall, then naked in bed, then-

He sat down again and started rocking himself, trapped in this moment, not knowing what THE HELL he should do to calm himself down from this! His son needed him! His husband was fighting a horrible battle RIGHT NOW, for all of them!

Stay. Calm. He would never do this to you. If he had wanted to-

He took several deep breaths, fighting for composure, hurting to even think it.

If Robert had wanted to have sex with this man. He probably would have told him-

Would he have though?

I was gone for five years. He had never had sex with anyone but me to this point. Maybe he wanted to know what it was like with somebody else. People change. Maybe he felt, right now was the easiest he could get away with it. The most justified point…

He started crying quietly as the finality of his thought hit him.

He really felt this to be possible. He really felt…

Maybe he had gone there and told him how it was but also desired him carnally and made it a one-time thing…

But the night when they had made love again for the first time… he hadn’t seemed like...like he’d been touched since… He’d very much seemed starved for stimulation and closeness…

Maybe Sterling didn’t know how to satisfy him

Elliott put his head in his hands. All of this was pointless! This was so clearly a smear-attack designed to provoke infighting! And time-wise…

He thought about the first few nights they had been together again…

There was no way the man in his arms then had been longing for another, no way he had been touched by anyone else…

Or was there?

Full chapter at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37490239/chapters/125916175

#stardew valley #sdv elliott #stardew elliott #fanfic #writing #sterling #and with this title #queen immidiately plays in my head #SCANDAL #dun-du-du-duu! #IT'S HAPPENING YO

[lyranova]

Children of the Future: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 13: Something's Wrong

Hiya guys! I’m sorry this chapter is very late, I had some IRL things come up and got busy with the holidays so this got pushed back quite a bit. Not much happens in this chapter, but we do get some very sweet and wholesome moments (especially between Nozel and Kaiyo) and Sterling Faust and Josele Canty are not my OC’s, they belong to @loosesodamarble ! I hope you all enjoy~!

Word Count: 3,656

Warnings: Mentions of Blood

-------

The Next Morning

“ Asta? Is everything alright?”

Asta blinked slowly as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. His green eyes averted from the static screen of the communication device to the office door, where William stood with a worried expression on his face.

“ Huh? Oh, yeah everything's fine Capt-, I mean William. Gah! Why is it so hard for me to call you by your name!” Asta exclaimed as he ruffled his hair in aggravation. William chuckled and shook his head.

“ It’s most likely because you’ve been calling me ‘Captain Vangeance’ for the last twenty years, habits that have been around that long are very hard to break,” He said before humming in thought. “ How about, instead of calling me William, you just call me Vangeance like Yami does?”

“ Really?” Asta asked with tears in his eyes. “ Thank you, Vangeance!”

“ Not at all,” William waved away the Wizard King's thanks before turning serious. “ But may I ask why you’re not doing your paperwork and are instead staring so intently at the communication device?” He asked curiously, Asta blinked again before a sigh escaped him.

“ Just…I just have a feeling something’s wrong, so I was trying to contact Yuno to make sure everything was alright in Spade. But he isn’t answering…” Asta trailed off softly as he leaned back in his seat, his eyes going back to the static screen in front of him.

“ Could another snowstorm have swept through the area? Or perhaps Yuno is away and that’s why you can’t reach him?” William suggested, and Asta nodded.

“ Maybe…but still, if Yuno was away, he has the portable communication device. So he should still be able to answer me…” Asta muttered, and his gaze drifted from the screen to William again as the older man hummed.

“ You have a point. I’ll try to get a hold of Neva and see if it’s just that our communications are down, or if it’s something else.” William said, and Asta smiled for the first time that morning.

“ Thank you, Vangeance, that would be great!” Asta said, his tone full of relief as the other man nodded.

“ Now that that’s settled, shouldn’t you get back to your paperwork before the Captain’s meeting?” William asked with a raised brow, and he watched the smile fade from Asta’s face as dread entered his eyes.

“ Oh man, I forgot about the Captain’s meeting today!”

As William walked out of Asta’s office, which was now in chaos as he tried to quickly do his paperwork before the meeting, he hummed quietly and put a hand under his chin in thought. It was rare that Yuno ignored Asta’s calls, especially nowadays, so for him to not answer and for Asta to have a bad feeling…

William quickly walked over to his desk and began to try to call Neva, and his heart sank into the pit of his stomach as she didn’t answer.

Something was wrong, seriously wrong.

—-----

The Silva Residence

“ Dang it, I missed again!” Kaiyo exclaimed as she watched her ball of Mercury fly past the target and instead hit the stone wall that was many feet behind the target. She hung her head down low as she doubled over in exasperation, she looked up slightly as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“ It’s alright, you just need to adjust your aim slightly.” Nozel said as he stared at where her spell hit. “ If you move it to the left, you should be able to hit the target.” He added, and he glanced down at his niece as she sighed.

“ I don’t think that’s going to help Uncle Nozel…” Kaiyo said with a sigh as she shook her head. She felt him pat her shoulder again, and she turned her head to see him smiling patiently at her.

“ How do you know? The only way to be sure is by trying.” Nozel said, his tone firm but encouraging. Kaiyo let out another exasperated sigh before standing up straight and nodding her head.

“ Okay, I’ll try…but when it doesn’t work I get to say I told you so!” The young girl pouted, causing Nozel to chuckle softly before nodding his head in agreement.

As he watched his young niece ready herself to try her spell again, he couldn’t help but be reminded of Noelle. When she was Kaiyo’s age, she would practice and practice controlling her water magic, but was unable to. Nozel recalled watching her many times out the window, wanting to go out there and help her or give her advice, but refrained due to Megicula’s curse. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he lost his baby sister the same way he lost his mother…so instead he closed the curtains, shut his eyes, and pretended he didn’t notice anything.

How he regretted doing that.

So when he found out that Kaiyo was also having trouble controlling her magic like Noelle, he was determined to help her learn how to control it. Not only was it a way for him to help preserve the legacy of their mother, the Steel War Princess, but it was also another way for him to make amends for his behavior towards Noelle. 

He did not want to make the same mistake with his niece that he did with his sister.

“ Okay, here I go!” Kaiyo announced as she stuck her hands out in front of her, Nozel watched as a steel ball form in front of her hands. It grew larger and larger until it was at least the size of a small boulder. He watched as she adjusted her aim to the left, just as he instructed.

“ Now, take a deep breath, and let the ball go.” Nozel instructed, his voice calm and steady. Kaiyo inhaled deeply, shut her eyes, and then let the ball go just as he told her to.

Nozel watched as the ball flew quickly towards the target, holding his breath as he silently prayed to whatever deity was listening to let her spell hit its target.

But his prayer fell on deaf ears.

At the last minute, the ball suddenly veered right and knocked down a nearby tree.

“ See? I told you so…” Kaiyo muttered softly, her voice full of defeat. But Nozel hummed and quickly shook his head.

“ I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” He told her seriously as he suddenly began walking over to the target, Kaiyo frowned but followed him.

“ Uncle Nozel, I think you need to have your eyes checked,” Kaiyo said in confusion as she stared at the still intact target that was in front of them. “ Because the target doesn’t seem to be hit at all.” She added as she tilted her head, but her uncle once again shook his head.

“ But it is, look right there, on its side,” Nozel told her as he pointed to the side of the target, Kaiyo’s frown deepened and she squinted her eyes.

Lo and behold, the target was hit just as he said! Although it was slight, and would be clearly called a ‘small cut’ it was still hit. Which meant her aim was getting better, and that she was getting closer and closer to full control of her powers!

At least, she hoped that’s what it meant.

“ I did it…I really did it!” Kaiyo exclaimed excitedly, and Nozel couldn’t help but let a small smile appear on his face.

“ You did, it might not be a serious ‘wound’, but it’s a wound nonetheless. Which means you’re making great progress in your training,” Nozel praised as he placed a hand on top of her head and patted it gently. “ You did well.”

“ Thank you, Uncle Nozel!” Kaiyo said brightly, a much happier smile appearing on her face. “ Since I hit the target, can we take a break now? Please~?”

Nozel chuckled but agreed that she deserved to take a small break, and so the two walked over to a stone bench nearby and sat down. The servants brought them water and sandwiches for lunch, and the two ate quietly for the next few minutes.

“ Where’s Auntie? I thought she was gonna have lunch with us?” Kaiyo said as she took a bite of her sandwich and looked around.

“ Don’t talk with your mouth full, and your aunt is busy with work right now, as are your cousins, so unfortunately they won’t be able to join us today.” Nozel explained, and he watched the young girl nod slowly.

“ Uncle Solid and Auntie Nebra aren’t coming either?” She asked, and Nozel frowned.

“ No…?” He asked, and he watched Kaiyo nod slowly before she put her sandwich down onto the plate. He watched her wring her hands nervously as her eyes stared down at her plate, it was as though she were wanting to tell him something, but was too nervous to do so.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Kaiyo suddenly raised her head and looked at him.

“ Uncle Nozel, can I tell you a secret?” She asked him suddenly, the nervous look still in her eyes. Nozel nodded slowly as he set his glass of water down.

“ Of course.”

“ You gotta promise not to tell mama and papa, though!”

“ Why?”

“ Because if you tell them, they’ll get sad…so please don’t tell them! Please~!” Kaiyo pleaded, her pink eyes wide and her hands clasped together in front of her.

Nozel sighed softly, but eventually nodded.

“ Last night…I had a really bad dream, I told papa about it…but I didn’t tell him everything.” Kaiyo admitted softly as her gaze drifted back down to her plate.

“ I told him that I dreamt that he and mama died, and that I got separated from Mizuki and Brielle…but there was a lot more than that…” She suddenly bit her bottom lip and Nozel heard her begin to sniffle, but he didn’t say anything, instead he sat there patiently and waited for her to continue.

“ I dreamt that everyone died…you, aunties, uncle Solid…all of my friends and cousins…everyone. And I couldn’t…I couldn’t do anything! Everyone was protecting me, and everyone was getting hurt, but I couldn’t move, I was too scared!” Kaiyo began to cry as the terrible memory resurfaced in her mind, she had wanted to tell her dad the night before, but after she saw the worried and terrified look in his own eyes, she decided against it. She didn’t want to make him even more upset.

She suddenly felt arms wrap around her and hug her close, and she looked up to see it was her Uncle Nozel.

“ I…I don’t want you all to die!” She cried as she wrapped her arms around her Uncle, and he quickly shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated.

Nozel wanted to tell her that it was only a dream, and that there was absolutely no way that they would all die. But he couldn’t. Especially since he had been around her age when he lost his mother. If he told her that it was only a dream, and convinced her that they were all invincible, then he would be lying to her.

And he didn’t want to lie.

So instead, he held and comforted her.

“ It’s okay, Kaiyo, it’s all going to be okay.” Nozel told her softly as he gently rubbed and patted her back as she sobbed. “ You will always be safe and protected as long as your parents, aunts, and uncles are around, and we plan on being around for a long, long time.”

“ Would you like to know one of my secrets?” He asked her softly, she sniffled a bit before nodding her head. “ I have bad dreams too, for a long time I had nothing but bad dreams, and every time I would wake up scared and worried, just like you.” He whispered softly, and he watched her lean back slightly to look at him.

“ Really?”

“ Really. See? Even the strongest and bravest of people get scared after having bad dreams. So please don’t be sad or ashamed of being scared, because it happens to everyone.” He told her softly, and he heard her sobs slowly turn into sniffles as she began to calm down.

“ Even grandma Acier?” She asked softly, and Nozel nodded.

“ Even grandma Acier.”

The girl nodded slightly before going quiet, the only sounds being her sniffles. But then she pulled away and looked up at him.

“ Thank you, Uncle Nozel. You’re the best uncle in the whole world!” Kaiyo exclaimed cheerfully as her bright smile returned to her face. He chuckled a bit before smiling softly at her and wiping her remaining tears away with the pad of his thumb.

“ Lord Nozel, Lady Noelle is here for Lady Kaiyo,” One of the servants announced, and the young girl suddenly jumped up.

“ Alright, we’ll be right there.” Nozel said as he stood up, he turned to face his niece and he held out his hand towards her. She quickly jumped up and took his hand before following him inside the residence.

“ Mama!” Kaiyo shouted excitedly as she saw her mother standing in the parlor, Noelle turned slightly and smiled brightly when she saw her youngest running towards her. She scooped her up in her arms and hugged her.

“ Kaiyo! How did your training go? Did you have fun with your Uncle?” She asked as she set her daughter down and pulled away from her slightly, and Kaiyo nodded.

“ I had lots of fun with Uncle Nozel! And training went great! I actually hit the target!” She said excitedly, and her mother's eyes widened as she turned to look at her eldest brother.

“ She hit the target?” And he nodded with a small, yet proud, smile on his face.

“ She did. It was only a slight graze, but she hit the target. So her aim and control is getting much better.” He told her, and Noelle hugged her daughter again.

“ That’s really great, Kaiyo, I’m so proud of you!”

“ Thank you, mama!”

The three Silva’s spoke for a few minutes more before Noelle and Kaiyo decided to leave and head home. As they did, Nozel went back and forth with himself, trying to decide whether he needed to tell Noelle about the rest of Kaiyo’s nightmare or not.

But eventually, he decided against it.

Nozel bid his sister and niece goodbye, and watched as they disappeared through a Spatial portal. He sighed quietly before looking up towards the sky, a strange and ominous feeling washing over him.

—-----

The Black Bull's Hideout

“ Aren’t you going to have breakfast? Hana and Einar are wondering where you are.” Charlotte said as she walked out onto the balcony that was attached to their room. Yami turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder before nodding.

“ Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit, I just wanted some fresh air.” He explained softly as he looked back out at the forest in front of him.

“ You’re worried about Hikari.” Charlotte stated as she came up to stand beside him, leaning forward against the stone railing, her blue eyes not leaving his face.

“ I am. But I’m also worried about the other brats too.” He admitted as he put a piece of hard candy into his mouth. Charlotte smiled a bit, ever since he quit smoking he had developed a habit of eating hard candy when he was worried and stressed, and judging from how many empty wrappers were beside him, he was very stressed.

“ Do…you think that they’re going to run into Cerberus again?” She asked softly, and he nodded.

“ I don’t know for sure… so far there aren’t any signs that the bandits in Hage are connected to Cerberus, but there’s just something about this mission that has me on edge…” Yami muttered as he turned to look at his wife.

As Charlotte stared into his grey colored eyes, she could see the worry and unease swirling in them. Normally, he never let anyone see what he was thinking or what he was feeling. But with her, he let her see everything. What he was thinking, what he was feeling. He allowed himself to be open and vulnerable with her.

Charlotte moved closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder as she gently rubbed his back, hoping to soothe his unease a bit.

“ If you’re that worried, why don’t you go up to Hage and take over the mission? Or I could go up there and help her out?” Charlotte suggested, and Yami scratched the back of his head.

“ I can’t go up to Hage now, Nacht and I have to take those papers he found in Lumi to Asta,” Yami said with a small sigh. “ And you aren’t a Captain anymore, so you can’t take over the mission for her.”

“ You’re right, I can’t take over the mission for her. But I can go and provide assistance.” Charlotte said with a knowing look, and Yami smirked a bit.

“ And how are you going to explain your ‘assistance’ to the Wizard King if he asks?”

“ Well, I went to Hage village to visit some friends when I suddenly ran into my daughter who happened to be on a difficult mission, and when I offered my assistance she agreed.” Sh explained simply, causing Yami to laugh and shake his head.

“ It looks like we’ve rubbed off on you Prickly Princess.” He laughed, and when he used her old nickname, Charlotte could feel her cheeks burn slightly as her heart fluttered. In a way, she had missed him using her old nickname.

As Charlotte opened her mouth to respond, she suddenly heard a loud boom ring out from downstairs, and a sigh escaped both her and Yami.

“ I think we’d better get downstairs before Luck and Magna destroy the entire Hideout.” Charlotte said with a soft laugh, and Yami nodded in agreement.

As she turned to walk back into the Hideout, she suddenly felt Yami grab her arm. Confused, she turned to look at him and was taken aback when she felt his lips press against hers in a quick, but sweet, kiss.

“ W-What was that for?” She asked in surprise, her face bright red as Yami grinned at her.

“ For making me laugh when I really needed it.” He replied simply and with a slight shrug before he walked past her back into the Hideout.

‘ That man…he really likes to surprise me, doesn’t he?’ She thought with a soft smile and a shake of her head. She quickly turned and followed him inside, silently hoping that Magna and Luck hadn’t destroyed the entire common area.

After Yami calmed everyone down and scolded Luck and Magna, everyone sat at the dining table and began to eat breakfast. Compliments to Charmy and Lovely began to ring out, and light conversation between everyone floated around the room. It was a typical morning…but Yami just couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Even as Einar sat on his knee and began to explain what he had planned for that day, he just…couldn’t shake it.

“ Looks like a storm’s brewing outside, Captain Yami,” Finral said as he began to stand up from the table. “ Maybe we should head to the Headquarters before it gets here.”

“ What? Scared you’re going to melt in the rain?” He asked with a raised brow, and Finral quickly shook his head.

“ N-No, Captain Yami, sir!”

“ Nah, he’s just scared he’ll get his hair wet!” Luck said with a small laugh, causing Finral’s head to snap in his direction.

“ That’s not true!”

“ Aren’t you using your Spatial magic? Why are you worried about getting rained on?” Gauche asked as he crossed his arms, and eventually Finral sighed and hung his head down in defeat.

“ You all realize that I’m your superior, right? You could all at least pretend to show me some respect…” He muttered in disappointment, but Vanessa chuckled softly as she patted her husband's head.

Suddenly, the door to the Hideout was thrown open, and Sterling Faust stood at the entrance. Her red hair was slightly messy, and her eyes were wide as she began to look around the Hideout as though she were searching for someone or something.

“ Sterling? What is it?” Nacht asked as he and Josele stood up and stared at their eldest daughter.

“ Where…where are they?” She asked, slightly out of breath. Everyone frowned in confusion.

“ Who are you talking about?” Josele asked in concern.

“ The kids…where are they? They’re supposed to be here by now…” Sterling breathed as she continued to try and catch her breath. But Yami shook his head.

“ They’re up in Hage right now, what do you mean they’re supposed to be here by now?” Yami asked seriously, and he watched the young girl's eyes widen.

“ If they’re still in Hage, then maybe it’s not too late, maybe we can still-!” Sterling began, but stopped short as a bright pink light suddenly appeared in the ceiling of the Hideout. Everyone looked up to stare at the light, and a soft gasp escaped Vanessa and Finral.

That bright pink light wasn’t a light at all, it was actually one of Ezio’s portals!

Everyone watched in horror as one by one six bloodied bodies began to fall through the portal and onto the common area floor. After the final body fell onto the floor beside the others, the portal closed as quickly as it had appeared. But no one moved, no one breathed, they all just stood there in shock.

Then finally, one of the bloodied bodies raised their head to look at the people in front of them, a lopsided smile appearing on their injured face.

“ I…I kept my promise…I brought everyone home safely, just like I said…I…would.” Ezio Roulacase said softly, before his eyes closed, and he fell back down onto the floor. That’s when everyone in the room realized:

The injured bodies… were their children!

--------

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#black clover fanfiction #children of the future shadows of the past #black clover oc fanfiction #black clover asta #william vangeance #nozel silva #oc; kaiyo #noelle silva #yami sukehiro #charlotte roselei #oc; ezio

[tobthoughts]

happiness

sunday, november 12th, 04:24am

happiness doesn’t always mean that you’re happy all the time. it comes in bursts and waves, a feeling you can’t shake even when you try. smiling really big at strangers and laughing at your friends’ dumbest jokes.

today i felt truly, truly happy. i slept for most of the day, cocooned with someone i care deeply about, stroking their face and burying my head into the crook of their neck, sleep divided by gentle kisses and hushed words. the soft “you okay?” and the mumble of approval and butterflies that come with it. i stayed until the evening, missing the sun entirely for the comfort of their arms. it was 7:30am when i slept, and 7:30pm when i left. 12 hours of pure bliss.

i can be myself around them. they told me they need me. they told me i round them out. i think that’s true. when i met them at 5am for a fag and a chat i think they were struggling. by the evening they seemed at least a little happier - you could hear the smile in their voice when they spoke. i hope it was me. i don’t know what else it could’ve been. they told me they missed me when i wasn’t there, and perhaps i’m too caught up on it, but i’m falling for them all over again with every word that passes their lips. i wasn’t supposed to stay over, it was an impulse decision on my part, said half joking half serious. but i stayed. and i loved every second, even in sleep.

we had mentioned, just briefly the night before, a quiet pub trip with a few other friends. there is a bigger friend group that we’re a part of, but i think it’s crumbling a little, which might not be a bad thing. it was us and a couple of closer friends. i reminded them about it as i was leaving. and we followed it through! a few of us, just five, me, maddie, noah, kenny and tyler, went to wetherspoons together and it was honestly one of the best nights i’ve had in a while. we all seem to bounce off each other and we can carry a conversation with ease, even without alcohol in our blood, so it just worked in a way i don’t usually with the big group. i was drinking cider, of course (i’m a cider drinker through and through), and it hit me much quicker than i expected. 7%! two pints and i was so gone. i bought my first pack of straights since i’ve been at uni.

20 sterling dual.

i used to smoke when i was younger, i was about 14-15 when i started. i was worried about buying my own fags in case i got bad again. but tonight was so good i didn’t even worry about that. i felt comfortable. i felt safe. our friend, my best friend, taiga (who works at the spoons), met us for afters in maddie’s flat. i was sat on the floor between [person who i stayed over with the night before’s] legs, they played with my hair, i felt so cared for. perhaps they didn’t mean it - they were drunk and so was i, but god… to be wanted like that is all i’ll ever need.

me, maddie and taiga were looking for a fourth person to add to our housing next year. noah, kenny and tyler were already looking together. i don’t know what possessed me to say this, but in a passing comment i said something about us looking for a house together, a house of seven. and we looked. and we found some. and we agreed. it’s cheaper, and more fun, to live as a seven as opposed to a four. it was just a stupid idea, an off handed mention of something that i honestly didn’t expect to happen, but we’re looking at it seriously now and everything feels so RIGHT.

i couldn’t ask for a better group.

———

they kissed me goodbye before they left. in front of everyone. i don’t know if that was the alcohol or because they didn’t care what people thought or something else. but god, fuck, god i could’ve melted right there where i stood. i want to be theirs… properly, officially. i guess this is a confession, because i told you to read my blog. i miss you, stupid!!!

#blog #diaryposting #personal diary #online diary #tumblr diary #crush #them.

[agentsterling]

10 months.

That's how old Sterling was, how old Noah was, when his father abandoned his family. Jason Steele had been sleeping around on his wife as punishment for having a child he didn't want and Sterling supposed there were times he felt he was being punished for it too. Sterling had never wished to meet his father, or he pretended he didn't, until Coulson had mentioned SHIELD had his name on file. Had his address. Meeting him, however, had him wishing he hadn't. The man was an arrogant, cold, asshole with no remorse for abandoning him. Even now that Sterling had a rather steady relationship with him he found himself feeling lucky he had left him in the first place. This wasn't the type of person he wanted raising him or anyone. Still, it made him wonder.

Sterling often took the night time wakings. He was mostly already awake himself due to medication induced insomnia but the occasional nightmare had him taking the monitor off the bedside table and with him into the living room to give Chen some rest.

The room was almost painfully dark, lit only by the steady illumination of the baby monitor to his right and the glow-in-the-dark stars scattered along the one navy colored wall of Ara's nursery. As his eyes had begun adjusting to the darkness they only shined brighter, he thought, and he found himself staring at them as he rocked his baby daughter to sleep.

10 months.

That's how old Ara was turning next week. He glanced down at the baby now, only barely outlined by the light of the monitor, and he couldn't understand why anyone would abandon their child. Ara had been so wanted and was now so loved and protected by all who knew her. How could he walk away from this tiny warm little human. She had long since fallen asleep but Sterling kept rocking her. There was always the possibility that lowering her into the crib would wake her and he would be left once more with a squirming, crying, overtired baby for the cycle to begin anew. No, he kept rocking her, enjoying the stillness and the quiet of her sleeping form and the dark room.

Would Sterling someday leave Ara like his father had left him? He'd have to be taken by force. There's no way he would voluntarily leave her. Still, he worried such a flaw was hereditary and he would repeat the mistakes of his parents against his will somehow. He hid messages for Ara in her lullabies, telling her that if something was to happen to him she would be ok. He made sure she was set for life financially. He made sure Chen knew his wishes and what to do should he fall in the line of duty. Still, he worried.

10 months.

"Daddy's here." He whispered into the darkness to his tiny baby. "He's not going anywhere." It had the potential to be his first lie to Ara. Only time would tell.

#drabbles

[everyonewasabird]

Brickclub 5.1.17 “Mortuus Pater Filium Moriturum Expectat”

@fremedon‘s analysis is right: that heroic glow that’s come over the insurgents isn’t at all what was supposed to happen. It’s better than dying pointlessly, I suppose, but we were trying to move beyond picking out singular heroes and Great Men. That was what all this was for.

...And guess who has not got that memo yet.

I’m so upset that stupid Marius makes Gavroche’s death about his own stupid debts:

"Alas!" he thought. What the father had done for his father he was returning to the son; only Thenardier had brought back his father alive, while he was bringing back the child dead.

It’s so far, far beside the point. The point is that the Guard murdered a fucking child. The point is that Gavroche is dead. The point is Not that you didn’t manage to live up to Thenardier’s sterling example of heroism and therefore still owe him something, woe-is-you. Goddammit, Marius.

(And there’s something here about what are you willing to leap into bullets and risk your life for, and who is willing to do that. Combeferre was willing to do it for the cartridges, which is fascinating. Marius was willing to do it because he thinks it’s what Thenardier did for his father (only less good), and therefore the least he could do to pay Thenardier back.)

And it’s such a cruelly, ironically bad tribute to Gavroche in particular, who, we saw when he briefly interacted with Marius, was so stratospherically far above Marius’s calculation of personal debts and personal concerns that they simply talked past each other. Gavroche was here for the republic and for liberty. He was fighting because he wanted better for his city and his world and because to hell with the authority he’d been crushed by all his life.

I think it is a pretty good lambasting of the Hero concept that one of the two heroes Marius is looking to in this chapter is fucking Thenardier. Nice one, Hugo.

Even the chapter title (“The dead father awaits the son who is also to die”) is emphasizing Marius’s weird, wrong POV. Marius still thinks this is about his relationships to individuals (and how some of those individuals are Great Men). He’s only worried what his father is going to say to him, because nothing for him ever stops being about the (extremely selectively chosen; note how Eponine never counted) individuals he thinks he was “ungrateful” to, and who he needs to spend the rest of his life paying back.

He doesn’t get it, and at this point he’s very much never going to get it, at least within the action of this book. Les Mis is long, but it’s not long enough for Marius to pick up any of its basic messages.

#brickclub #lm 5.1.17