#but mostly because it's good to have someone nipping at her heels to keep her moving and because Cass's pov of herself is so warped at this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

doyumacy · 3 years

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RIDE OUT - 5

ʏᴜᴛᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ x ᴍᴀʀᴋ ʟᴇᴇ

ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: ꜱᴍᴜᴛ, ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ, ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ᴜꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴅʀᴜɢꜱ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴅᴏꜱᴇ, ꜱᴜɢɢᴇꜱᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴛᴀʟᴋ, ᴛᴀᴇʏᴏɴɢ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ, ᴊᴀᴇʜʏᴜɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ, ᴊᴀᴇᴍɪɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 2,4k

ᴛᴀɢʟɪꜱᴛ: @coffee-prince-kyungsoo @xcharlottemikaelsonx

6, 7

you groan and get off your car, slamming the door. it’s been two weeks since you started racing against the famous ‘jwi’ and you still haven’t won. you are frustrated and doyoung is upset and desperate.

how come no one hasn’t beat the guy? maybe he’s too good. and maybe you’re not that good.

the streets are saying who the famous ‘jwi’ might be and they are betting on some people you know they’re not capable of doing what he does.

as the finish line begins to empty, you see doyoung staring at you. you know what he’s thinking: ways of murdering you and chopping your body so he can feed his dogs. he takes his middle finger to his thumb, snapping them. you sigh and approach him. “what?”

“i still haven't seen results,” he cocks an eyebrow. “it seems you’re not as good as they say.”

“then fire me.” you spit back.

“i could,” he nods. “but i’m way too invested in this, so you’re gonna finish what you have to do.”

“okay, then give me more t-”

“no more time, y/n. next race, if you don’t win tell your brother to dig a hole next your beloved yuta,” he mocks.

you clench your fists. “fuck you.”

“gladly.”

when doyoung is gone, you return to your car and sit there for a couple of minutes. you don’t want to go home. johnny will bomb you with questions and the last thing you need is him giving you a lecture. you turn on the car and start driving to mark’s place in glendale. you excuse it by saying is the closest place to your location.

when you arrive at his building, you park your car behind mark’s and get off it. you see a girl leaving the building and you hurry so the door won’t lock. you get into the elevator and press the 3 button. as the door opens, you make your way through the hallway until you’re in front of mark’s door. you slightly knock twice.

you hear footsteps approaching the door and you quickly fix your hair. the door opens, showing a red haired wearing a big shirt. mark’s shirt. it’s the same red haired he was flirting with weeks ago.

“can i help you?” the red haired aks.

“sorry. i got the wrong door,” you murmur and turn on your heels.

“so you were not looking for mark?” the red haired leans against the doorframe.

you frown as you turn to face her. “you know me?”

“how will i not know the whore my boyfriend is banging?” she cocks an eyebrow.

boyfriend?

you giggle, nervously. “i got the wrong door.”

and you leave. as you leave the building, you feel your eyes tearing up. why are you crying? men do that all the time. they get you and play with you until they’re done and ready to get someone else.

fucking stupid mark.

you feel so fooled and you can’t believe mark played with you all this time. you want to cry, and you don’t know if it’s because your heart aches or you’re just angry at him.

mark gets out of the bathroom, drying his new dyed hair. “who was it?” he asks.

“they got the wrong door,” yves shrugs.

mark nods. “thanks for dying my hair, yves. and sorry for ruining your clothes.”

she smirks. “it’s okay. i look sexier like this anyway.”

mark frowns. “when did you take off your jeans?”

“a minute ago,” she walks to mark and wrap her arms around his waist. “i was thinking of having fun tonight.”

mark yanks himself free and shakes his head. “not today. at least with me, not anymore.”

yves knits her eyebrows together. “why not?”

“because… i just don’t want to.” mark puts a hoodie on.

“is it because of that whore, right?”

mark’s eyes darts to her. “don’t call her like that, yves.”

“why not?” she rests her hands on her waist. “she’s a whore.”

mark clenches his jaw. “get the fuck out of my apartment.”

“what?” yves stares at him. “you’re gonna put her over me? are you fucking insane?”

“yes, yves.” mark throws her her jeans. “leave.”

“you’re gonna regret this.” she groans as she puts her jeans on. “i’m way much better than her and you know it.”

“whatever you say.” mark opens the door for her.

yves grabs her purse and walks to the door. she stands in front of mark. “you’re wasting your time if you think she’s gonna like you back. she’s too busy thinking of his dead boyfriend.”

(...)

when you arrive home you groan. johnny is throwing a party. again. but maybe some buzz will help you tonight. you enter your house and make your way through the crowded living room. you need a drink. a strong one. or maybe something else.

you spot taeyong walking to the bathroom and hurry walking to him. when you finally approach him, you take his hand and he looks at you. he knows what you want and he can give it to you. but instead of getting into the bathroom, you take him to your bedroom upstairs.

“what are you trying to do to me?,” taeyong jokes, the whiskey in his system.

once you’re inside your bedroom, his hand reches playfully snatching the bags out of his pocket and examining them a bit. you look up and smile. “sharing is caring.”

taeyong smirks. “what will i get in exchange?”

you shrug. “i’ll think about it.”

taeyong sees how you sniffle, and then your shoulders twitch forward in a stifled giggle. “oh man. that shit’s strong.”

“just the best.” taeyong smiles and he’s the nex to sniffle a line.

you realise you’re starting to feel hot. so you start to strip your clothes and are standing in your underwear and when you realise taeyong’s eyes are on you. coke has never made you hard before, but tonight it is. maybe is because you want to get revenge.

“should i leave?” taeyong asks, his eyes still on your body.

“no.”

“okay.”

you get close to him and take his neck from the back and kiss him. taeyong’s hand rest on your waist, pulling you closer to him. one warm hand finds your jaw and holds you steady as taeyong and sticks his tongue inside your mouth. his fingers urging you to open your mouth. you do so and now your tongues are swirling together.

taeyong breaks the kiss and you bite his tongue when he drags it out your mouth. “this is wrong.” he mutters.

“i don’t care.”

you kiss him again, slipping your tongue into his mouth. taeyong groans and pulls away. "yuta was my best friend."

"yuta is dead!" you growl, clenching your jaw.

taeyong is looking at you and you shake your head. "just... leave."

"y/n..." taeyong tries to approach you but you wave him off.

"we'll talk tomorrow," you say.

taeyong leaves your bedroom and you groan when he shuts the door. why are you so mad? clearly not with taeyong but with mark. and yourself.

yourself mostly. why do you even care if mark is fooling around with some other chicks? it’s not like he’s your boyfriend or anything, and you haven’t discussed being exclusive. then why do you feel betrayed?

“fuck it. fuck you, mark lee,” you mumble.

you put your clothes back on and join the people in the party. you’d find someone to fuck eventually. and you do.

jaehyun spots you sexily dancing alone, holding a red cup with your right hand. he knows you're high, because you wouldn't be dancing alone in front of other people. and he's high too.

he approaches you and takes you by your hips. "where have you been?"

"everywhere," you reply.

jaehyun smirks and grips at your hips. "i like your skirt, you look hot."

jaehyun and you constantly flirt, everyone knows it. but never in a million years you think the thought of him fucking you would cross your mind. and to be honest, it doesn't sound bad at all.

you turn and wrap your arms around his neck. "would you like it to take it off?" you stare at his lips. "I'm not wearing any panties."

jaehyun grins and nips at your lip. "i will take it off with one condition."

"what?"

"let's make a threesome."

the cocaine is making the men's talk even more grating. you don't care about anything they're saying. you only care that they’re good looking enough for a casual threesome, and you are already planning out the sexual acts that will keep their mouths occupied and make them shut the fuck up.

jaehyun invites his good friend jaemin. you don't remember much but arriving to jaehyun's place, drinking and doing more coke before the action began.

and you can tell it was nice fuck since you could barely move the next morning. and then the flashbacks: jaehyun taking you from the back and you sucking jaemin's dick.

oh my god.

you try to be as much silent as you can be when you get home, hoping johnny is stil sleeping and jisung didn’t even see you leave the party with two men. as you’re taking the stairs, a loud noise makes you turn. it’s johnny holding a cup of coffee. you curse yourself internally.

“brother!” you smile at him. “good morning. did you do something to your hair? it looks really good today.”

johnny doesn’t even blink and you know he’s mad. you sigh. “are you upset at me?”

johnny presses his lips together. “are you an addict?”

“what?!” you laugh. “no! what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“then why in the fucking hell you keep sniffling that shit, y/n?” he starts climbing the stairs. “you wanna die? you wanna od like your mother did?”

you stare at him. “you don’t have to bring her up. i like having fun, what’s wrong with that?”

“what’s wrong with that?” he mimics your tone. “everything! are you stupid? you left the party with two men!”

“if you are going to slut sham-”

“i don’t care who you fuck, i’ve told you that,” johnny clenches his jaw. “you can fuck as many guys and many girls you want, but you don’t leave a party with two men, especually with men you don’t know. what if they killed you or something?!”

you rub your forehead. “i did know them… sort of, just one guy.”

johnny groans. “if i hear you do coke again, i swear to god y/n that i will take you to a rehab center by myself, do you hear me?”

you squint your eyes. “i am not an addict.”

“then fucking prove it,” johnny glances at you.

the next night, you run into mark when you’re leaving your house to meet with doyoung. he has a different hair color and you want to slap yourself for wanting to throw yourself at him. he looks so good.

“hey,” hey smiles at you. “where have you been? i’ve called you all day.”

“i was… busy,” you shrug, without making eye contact.

mark nods and wraps an arm around your waist, you push him away. mark frowns. “what’s wrong?”

“i don’t want your girlfriend to get upset.”

“my girlfriend?” he looks at you. “i don’t have a girlfriend. i told you.”

“that's not what it looks like,” your murmur, staring at your nails. “she seemed very comfortable wearing that white shirt you like.”

mark keeps frowning and then he gets it. he giggles and that makes you groan. “i’m sorry, i just… you knocked on my door yesterday, didnt you?”

you nod and he sighs. he holds you hands, tugging you towards him making you wrap your arms around his waist. “yves is not my girlfriend and i wasn’t doing anything with her.”

“i don’t believe you.” you say as you try to pull away. he doesn't let you.

with his one hand free, he cups your cheek. “he dyed my hair and her shirt got stained so i gave her the first one i saw.”

“she was in her panties,” you mumble.

mark nods. “yes, she was. but still, i didn’t fuck with her that night. i haven’t since i started fucking you.”

you squint your eyes. “really?”

“okay, maybe the night after we fucked for the first time, but nothing since then,” he gives you a peck.

you hum and when mark’s lips reaches to your neck, he pulls away when he sports a hickey. “i didn’t do that.”

“i know.”

“who did it?”

you shrug. “not sure.”

mark frowns, looking at you. “what do you mean?”

“two guys were with me last night, i wouldn’t know who di-” mark shuts you by kissing you, crashing his lips violently against yours.

he cups your face with his hands and starts walking backwards where your car is parked. he pushes you against the door without breaking the kiss. he grinds himself on your and you moan. “i will have to fuck the shit out of you now,” he bites your lip pulling it. “until you can’t take it anymore and cry.”

“do it,” you dare him. “let’s see if i have a good time with you as well.”

mark groans and presses his hips against yours. “you’re mine, y/n.”

“i don’t belong to anyone.”

“yes, you do.” mark kisses you. “you’re mine.”

johnny’s whistle interrupt you two and mark sighs. “tonight. my place.”

“i might go.”

“you better be there.” mark warns you.

you smile sideways and see mark and johnny getting inside your house. you get into your car and start driving to doyoung’s secret location. just when you’re about to take the freeway, you realise you’ve forgotten your phone. you sigh and make a u turn to go back and get it.

you park on the sidewalk and get off your car. you take your keys out and unlock the door entering your house and go to your bedroom when your phone is charging. you unplug it and as you’re about to leave your house, a known voice calls you.

“y/n?”

you turn and freeze when you see who’s standing in front of you.

#mark lee x reader #mark lee smut #mark lee imagine #yuta x reader #yuta smut #nakamoto yuta #yuta imagine #mark lee #yuta nct #nct smut #nct 127 smut

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sstar-nerd · 3 years

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I really like talks about how the Ghost crew treat Kallus once he’s fully in the Rebellion and after they trust him but on an individual level and less groupy. Here are my thoughts sorta within my own fanon:

Zeb

Zeb, of coarse, loves him to bits. He asks if Kallus can come along for missions just to spend time with him, checks up on him during his own breaks, and LOVES sparing with him mostly because he doesn’t have to hold back as much.

When he hears distrustful whispers on the base he nips them in the bud in a vain hope that they havn’t reached Kallus’s ears yet. He uses the fact that he’s the one expected to hate Kallus most to his advantage during these arguments to shut them up.

He and Kallus help each other through nightmares and find ways to help with the other’s PTSD.

Chopper

Chopper enjoys Kallus’s company which is a rarity.

He starts doing welfare scans on Kallus just like he does with Hera to make sure they’re both healthy.

Chopper likes that Kallus treats him like the indispensable part of the Rebellion he is instead of like an annoying roadblock. He also takes any disrespect towards Kallus as disrespect towards him (how dare they insult a person he likes he wouldn’t like them if they were as that person described thank you very much) and goes on a shocking spree whenever he catches wind of any disrespectful chatter.

He lets Kallus vent about his frustrations or insecurities to him as he knows that Kallus feels more comfortable around droids and therefore more open than he is with organics.

Chopper and Kallus prank the rest of the crew to a hilarious degree. The best part is that they do it so subtly that no one can possibly know it’s coming. Not even the Jedi.

Hera

Her Mom™️ mode activated as soon as she grabbed that escape pod.

The new base didn’t have enough quarters for people to sleep which was causing chaos and it was giving high command a good excuse to put Kallus in a cell ‘just until we have everything sorted and we can keep an eye on him’ was their lame excuse. Hera said absolutly NOT and dragged him onto the Ghost. All the rooms were taken so he slept in the living quarters until he got an actual room on base but it was much better than a cell.

She keeps tabs on him half so command isn’t nagging him all the time and half because she likes to know how her crew is doing.

She made him a Spectre and requests him for missions whenever she thinks he needs a break from base.

She caught him in the middle of some pretty bad PTSD once. Something that was easily fixable triggered it so she got it fixed and now keeps tabs on all his triggers like she does for the rest of the crew.

Sabine

She surprised him with how warm her welcome was. She is ex-imperial as well and knows how hard it is starting out.

When Hera made him a Spectre Sabine included him in their family portrait in her room (right next to Zeb of coarse).

She and him combine talents to make new weapons. With Kallus’s droid and machine know how and her bomb expertise they are able to make droids who can blow up an area and make way for infiltration. Kallus ensures that the droid has the bare minimum functions (walking, timing mechanism, simple commands) because otherwise he feels like he’s sending in an actual person like how he views Chopper or AP.

Whenever the crew is about to do some family bonding she is the one who goes to get him. Not because the others don’t want to but because she knows the secret spots he hides in when he’s feeling overwhelmed and needs to be away. She knows this is a luxury the Empire didn’t give him and she refuses to snitch on the spots for that exact reason.

She and him share the pain of not being able to go home because of the Empire. Sabine with Mandalore and Kallus with Coruscant both for obvious reasons.

Kanan

Kallus has a very turbulent and stressed aura around him at the beginning. Kanan just takes him aside one day and teaches him how to meditate and it actually helps a ton.

Kanan senses when Kallus is having a not too great time whether that be with work, with people looking down on him, or with high command on his heels. He comes to Kallus’s rescue more often than not what with having the ‘I need him for force related business’ card under his belt.

He recruits Kallus into being another training buddy for Ezra. At first Kallus is reluctant (“Kanan he’s just going to THROW me!”) but decides that Ezra needs training against someone with different battle techniques.

Ezra

He and Kallus have a mutual understanding of ‘If you don’t prank me I won’t prank you’ that developed after several prank wars got out of hand.

Speaking of which, Ezra recruits Kallus into his pranks when he needs a super sneaky element. Like when people would expect Ezra to set up a part of the prank he gets Kallus to do it instead.

Ezra enjoys Kallus as his new training buddy and will ask for him if it’s melee combat. He likes Zeb just fine for melee training but Kallus actively comments during battle about how to improve and Ezra just learns better that way.

Kallus sneaks Ezra any intel that comes up about Lothal. Ezra is grateful for it as Intel had banned him from that side of the base after too much snooping.

Rex

Rex acts as a pillar for Kallus when he first gets to the Rebellion. Rex reasons that if Ahsoka could trust him then he could as well and takes Kallus under his wing.

Rex and Kallus compare stories of their military careers. They find ways to mourn the men they lost along the way together and set up a day where they can just talk about them.

Kallus seeks Rex out when he’s feeling overwhelmed during work and Rex will distract command/Draven for awhile so he can recharge.

Rex sees Kallus, after awhile of getting to know him, as either a really good friend or a younger brother. After Gregor’s death Rex badgers Kallus to wear armor and gets him fitted for some as soon as they report back to Yavin.

#alexsandr kallus #kalluzeb #kallus #agent kallus #hera syndulla #sabine wren #ezra bridger #kanan jarrus #garazeb orrelios #rex star wars #chopper

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there-must-be-a-lock · 3 years

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Three (Bad Ideas) - Part 3 of 3

Jared x Jensen ( x Reader, but mostly J2)

Word Count: ~6720

Warnings: The most explicit guy-on-guy scene I’ve written so far in this series, I think. Rom-com-style miscommunication shenanigans, excessive fluff, bossy!Jensen and his dirty dirty mouth, Jared’s exhibitionist tendencies, polyamory negotiations, anxiety and the way it can fuck with relationships, no seriously so much fluff, boys being idiots, boys in a non-figurative closet, boys in love, boys in bed, and more fucking fluff.

A/N: I cannot believe I finally finished this, holy shit. Credit to @fangirlxwritesx67! Most of this series wouldn’t exist without her neverending J2 gif spams.

Catch up here: Part 1 / Part 2

This is the prequel to the original Everything story, which you can only read on Amazon these days; it actually overlaps a bit, and retells a few scenes from Jared’s POV, but this fic stands on its own. The original is thoroughly plotless, tbh. It’s like 18k of pure smut. Read it over here if you’re interested. More standalones/headcanons/ficlets in this ‘verse can be found here.

“Come on,” Jared pants, “Hurry up already.”

“Somebody’s fuckin demanding,” Jensen growls.

“Please, just — fuck, so close, come on.” He tries to buck forward but Jensen’s got him pinned, shoving him against the wall of the dark, cramped little closet while his hand moves in a maddeningly even rhythm, working him with long rough perfect strokes.

“Door’s not locked. If you don’t keep your voice down somebody’s gonna walk right in.”

He twists his wrist just right, and Jared groans, slumping back against the wall, trying not to let his knees buckle.

“Please,” he says again.

“Is that what you want? You want someone to walk in?”

“Shit, come on, stop teasing.”

“What would you do if she walked in?” Jensen says, practically purring, his voice deep and suggestive in the dark, close air. “God, I bet you’d love that.”

Jared wants to protest, but the image of it, the thought of her opening that door, thrills him like a thousand fucking volts. He whimpers, and Jensen just laughs. The guilt hits a split-second later.

“I wouldn’t stop, either,” Jensen continues. “I’d let her hear you begging, let her watch while I make you come...”

Jared’s so close he can barely breathe. He can feel it, building everywhere, from his toes and his fingers, up through his spine, coiling tight and hot and —

“So fuckin’ dirty, admit it, you want her to see you come all over yourself. Think she’d lick it off my fingers when you’re done?”

“Asshole,” Jared gasps, and his cheeks are burning but he can’t help it, he’s imagining her face and then his hips are jerking forward as he comes, so bright and sharp in his gut that he’s doubling over, clutching at the back of Jensen’s shirt and trying to stifle a shout.

Jared’s been waiting for the other shoe to drop, if he’s being honest with himself. Everything has gone so smoothly with them. It’s been over a year, and he’s still convinced he’s going to fuck this up; it can’t possibly be this easy.

Jared’s pretty sure the shoe hit the ground today, when Jensen mentioned someone else and Jared just — well. That.

Jensen has a territorial streak a mile wide. He’s quick to move in when he feels like someone’s too close to Jared, asserting himself with a hand on the back of Jared’s neck, fingers in his hair, something quietly possessive. Dirty talk is one thing; the way Jared reacted to it must have been more than enough to set off a red alert in that jealous corner of Jensen’s brain.

He’s already steeling himself as Jensen slides into the bed, turns the light off, and spoons up behind him to kiss the curve of his neck.

“We gonna talk about that?” Jensen murmurs. Jensen doesn’t sound mad, but he’s a good fucking actor.

“I don’t know what you’re—”

“Don’t.” His huff of a laugh tickles Jared’s neck.

Jared’s not sure what the fuck is wrong with him, because he finally has what he’s wanted for so many years, finally, and he’s so ridiculously, breathtakingly, head-over-heels in love with Jensen that he can barely see straight sometimes. It’s hard to take his eyes off Jensen, and it definitely gets in the way of things like eating or sleeping or remembering his lines, and so it’s kind of amazing to him that his brain even has space to notice another person, but… he notices her. He can’t help it.

Jensen slides a palm over his hip, tracing the shape of bone and muscle with the tips of his fingers and then dipping down to cup his cock.

Fuck.

Jared tries to ignore the feeling that he’s walking into a trap, somehow.

“It was hot,” he admits softly.

“Fuckin’ right it was,” Jensen says, low and suggestive against his ear. “Ever thought about that? Somebody watching?”

He’s getting hard embarrassingly fast and he knows Jensen can feel it. Jared squirms back against him. For a second it’s easy to forget what they were talking about, and by the time he remembers, he doesn’t particularly care any more.

“Can you—” he breathes, and Jensen nips the round of his shoulder before rolling away for a second. When he comes back, there’s the click of a bottle opening and closing, and then Jensen’s teasing with one slick finger, grazing sensitive skin in little circles until Jared’s gritting his teeth against the urge to beg.

“You never answered my question,” Jensen whispers. One finger sinks in slow, and Jared shudders.

Right. That.

“It’s not a thing or whatever. I was close, and your voice — you could recite a grocery list in that fucking voice and I’d get hard.”

“Oh yeah?”

Jared can hear the smirk.

“It was just… in the moment,” he insists. “I’d never — hearing you talk about it was hot, but... I’ve never — not seriously.” He’s glad Jensen can’t see the way he blushes.

The second finger feels like a stretch, a burn that streaks up his spine and dissolves quickly into sparks, discomfort easing into a wash of pleasure.

“But you like talking about it,” Jensen rasps, and for a second Jared has no fucking idea what they were just saying. Jensen curls his fingers just right and white fireworks dance behind Jared’s eyelids.

“Maybe,” he gasps. He tries to brace himself against the mattress, pushing back, arching shamelessly. Jensen kisses the nape of his neck, dragging an open-mouthed kiss down the knobs of Jared’s spine.

“So let’s talk about it,” Jensen says, lips still touching, smearing the words across his skin. He kisses the curve of his neck, bites it, a bright grounding point of sensation as he pulls his hand away.

“More?” Jared whispers, just as Jensen’s fingers slide in again, three this time, slow, overwhelming.

There’s a prickle of heat all over his skin. Jared focuses on breathing. Jensen matches him so that they’re inhaling and exhaling in sync, and it’s deafening in the dark, silent, still room.

Jensen’s fingers fuck him open slowly, twisting, brushing up against the spot that makes Jared whimper, again and again and —

“Was it because you imagined somebody walking it? Or because you imagined her walking in?” Jensen asks.

Jared goes cold all over for a second, cold and then fever-hot again as pure panic zings up his spine. He can’t answer, but it doesn’t matter; if Jensen’s asking that question, it’s because he already knows the answer.

He bites back a whimper, torn between shame and arousal. He’s frozen.

“Whoa, no,” Jensen says, obviously alarmed. “That’s not — Jesus, I’m sorry, I would never — I don’t care.” He pulls his fingers away and curls himself around Jared, kissing the hollow behind Jared’s ear, making soft shushing sounds, crooning reassurances until Jared starts to relax. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Okay? Why would you even think that?”

Jared knows him, knows how he sounds when he’s angry, knows that this isn’t that, and he’s not really sure why he panicked, now; Jensen wouldn’t set him up like that. He just wouldn’t.

It’s Jared’s own fault, anxiety and guilt and relentless fucking insecurities. He should know better.

“Sorry,” is all he can manage, in a rough strangled voice. He doesn’t know what to do with the leftover adrenaline fizzing in his veins.

“Hey, listen to me,” Jensen whispers, with just enough steel in his tone that Jared can’t help but pay attention. “I just —I don’t care who you’re attracted to, because… you love me, right?”

“Of course. Why would you even—”

“So it doesn’t matter who you’re thinking about, because you’re still mine. Right?”

“Right,” Jared mumbles. He’s still not entirely sure why Jensen brought her up in the first place, if not out of jealousy, but Jensen’s fingers are sliding in again, thick knuckles opening him up. It’s distracting.

“If I was there too — if it was something we could do together — ” Jensen says, hesitant. “I wouldn’t mind sharing you.”

“Oh,” Jared breathes.

This is so not how he expected this conversation to go.

“If I was telling you what to do…” Jared groans, ragged and drawn-out, and Jensen lets out a shaky exhale before he continues: “You’re so good for me. So good at doing what you’re told.”

“Holy shit.”

Before Jensen, Jared would’ve considered himself thoroughly fucking vanilla, but Jensen has this way of pushing buttons that Jared never knew existed. Inventing new buttons, maybe. They’re, like, Jensen-specific buttons, and fuck, Jared’s not making sense even to himself, and he’s about to lose his goddamn mind here.

“On your stomach,” Jensen orders. He urges Jared forward and moves with him, sliding on top of him, hot soft skin and sinewy strength blanketing him and grounding him and holding him in place.

“Come on, just—.”

The words turn into a sigh as Jensen sinks into him. He grabs Jared’s wrists, squeezing almost too tight, pinning him down. He rocks his hips, pushing in deeper, inch by inch, until Jared’s shaking and full and so tense he feels like he’s vibrating.

“So good,” Jensen croons again. “I should show you off, let everybody see how well trained you are… is that what you want?”

Jared twitches under him, hips jerking, fingers flexing, uncoordinated and involuntary.

“Yeah. Yes. Fuck.”

He’s never imagined anything like that in his life, but the image sears itself into his brain, and he knows he’ll be thinking about that for a long goddamn time. His cock is uncomfortably hard, trapped between his stomach and the mattress, and every thrust has him rubbing against the sheets, too rough and nowhere near enough.

Jensen grinds in with this long undulating snaky movement that drags like a match being struck, and the friction ignites inside him, sparkling hot. He tries to muffle the raw ugly cry in the back of his throat by pressing his face down into the mattress. A few more of those rolling sinuous thrusts and Jared’s burning up, not really sure if those are words coming out of his mouth or just nonsense, but he thinks he’s begging, stuttering out curses and pleas.

“I’ve imagined the two of you together,” Jensen says, gravelly and shredded. “What you’d look like… what I’d tell you to do to her.”

“Fuck,” Jared slurs, and tries to bite down on the sheet. He’s so close, too close, just needs something —

Then Jensen slides a hand from Jared’s wrist to his hair, and he grabs, twists, forces Jared’s head to one side so that the next wild sound rings out loud.

“Mine,” he growls, close and hot and everywhere. He fucks in deep, pulls Jared’s hair hard, and that sting is exactly the catalyst Jared needed; he lets go, goes under, with Jensen repeating it like an echo: “Mine.”

“We can protect you,” Sam declares.

“It’s not your job to take care of me,” she says defiantly.

“I want to help. I can—”

“Because you don’t have enough to deal with?” she scoffs, but she’s blinking back tears. “What about you?”

Sam shrugs. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I can’t. I’d rather have you safe than—”

She practically throws herself at him, hugging him so hard it knocks the air out of his lungs, and Sam closes his eyes, holding her tight.

“Cut!” Rich yells.

For a moment, Jared’s frozen, caught in the scene, and he has to forcefully wrench himself back out. Her arms are still wrapped around him, her face buried in his chest, and he can feel the way she inhales, shaky, before pulling away.

“You okay?” he asks. His voice cracks. She gives him a watery smile.

“That was… wow,” Rich says, grinning from ear to ear. “Nailed it. That’s a wrap for today. Get some rest, you deserve it.”

Jared’s stuck in Sam’s skin, and it sucks. He’s never been good at keeping his own emotions neat and tidy; add Sam’s weight-of-the-world mess on top of that, and he’s a wreck.

Jared looks around automatically for Jensen, but Jensen’s been in production meetings all day, doing important director things. He texts instead:

Done soon? Duckin weird heavy day

Meant fuckin obv, no ducks involved

Ugh miss you

He heads back to his chair and starts gathering up his stuff, and she comes up next to him without a word, slipping an arm around his waist and giving him a sideways squeeze. He sighs and turns into it, bundling her up in his arms, softer and sweeter than the hug their characters just shared. She doesn’t let go, and after a moment he can feel the tension starting to drain away. He still doesn’t feel like him, not quite re-settled in his own skin, but… it’s getting better.

He kisses the top of her head, getting a whiff of the unmistakable scent of her shampoo, or whatever that fruity shit is that Jared has come to know as her smell.

“Walk over to wardrobe with me?” he asks.

“I need a minute,” she says, the words muffled in flannel. He hates the tremor in her voice. “Before I have to walk through all the chaos. Y’know?”

“Yeah. Want to just… sit with me, for a sec?”

She scoots her chair over to face his, close enough that their knees are touching. For a second she just looks at him, like she’s about to ask if he’s okay and does he want to talk about it, but the answer is a resounding no and she must read that on his face.

Jared’s always had that problem; everything he feels shows on his face. The only reason he managed to hide his feelings for Jensen for so long is that he never even acknowledged them to himself. He fidgets uncomfortably, self-conscious, and makes himself stop messing with his hair. He doesn’t really want to know what she’s seeing as she looks at him.

She grabs his hands and holds them, palm to palm, and it takes Jared a minute to catch on; she’s playing that stupid game where she’s trying to slap the tops of his hands before he can pull them away.

“I haven’t done this since middle school,” he says, flustered, trying to focus. “Dork.”

“Gotcha!”

He tries and fails an embarrassing number of times to get her back.

“No fair. My hands are like five times the size of yours, they make a bigger target,” he protests.

She giggles. “It’s true, you’ve got the bigass moose hands.”

She takes one of his hands in both of hers, laying it palm-up and leaning in closely to inspect it. Jared smells that fruity sweet scent again, and he has to fight the urge to run his fingers through her hair.

“Can you read palms?” he asks.

“Mmmhmm.” She frowns down at his hand.

“What?”

“See this super faint line right here?” She traces one with the very tip of her finger; it tickles.

Jared shivers. He’s paying attention to the feel of her soft hands more than her words, but he nods and says, “Yeah.”

“That’s your grace line. The way it’s all fragmented and faint means you’re clumsy as fuck.”

“Huh.”

“This one around your middle finger is the ring of the bird. Means you’re really bad at staying angry. This one is the line of the doofus, means—”

“Wait a second,” Jared says, laughing as the words sink in. “You’re so full of shit. I’ll give you a ring of the bird.”

He shoves his middle finger right up in her face and uses it to poke her forehead, and she giggles, swatting his hand away. It devolves rapidly into a sort of childish slap fight.

“Wow,” comes a low, teasing drawl, and Jared starts in his seat, turning to Jensen weirdly fast. He’s not sure why he feels like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar. They weren’t doing anything wrong.

“Hey,” Jared says, breathless, and pushes his chair back awkwardly so that he’s not quite so close to her.

He expects jealousy, but Jensen’s not doing his usual steely jaw-clench-y thing. He looks uncertain, like he’s not even sure how he feels, but his smile is genuine and warm and crinkle-eyed.

“Feeling better?” he asks.

“Oh! Right. I’m… yeah, actually. I’m fine.” He’s stunned by how true it is.

“Thanks for that,” Jensen tells her quietly.

Jared frowns. “I don’t need someone to—”

“It was mutual,” she interrupts.

The sweet little half-smile on her face makes Jared forget his ruffled feathers. He looks between the two of them.

“Um… to wardrobe?” he asks Jensen.

Jensen nods and asks her, “You coming?”

She shrugs and gives Jensen another tentative smile, and they all fall into step. Jared can’t really accept how easy it feels, but he doesn’t want to question it, at least not now.

Jared’s used to the way Jensen shuts down sometimes, the way he curls into his shell when he’s anxious or stressed, but it feels different now that they’re together. They’ve been together for a fucking year. He feels like he should know how to deal with this.

For someone who’s remarkably direct in almost every part of his life, Jensen is a champion at stonewalling people when he really wants to; the more Jared pokes and prods, the higher the walls get. Jensen’s been edgy all day, and it’s bad enough that everyone has noticed. Jared’s pretty sure this is about him, so he’s determined to fix it; Jensen said he wasn’t threatened, but… yeah. It’s the only explanation, and it’s making Jared second-guess everything he says and does and fucking thinks, and he’s just pissing Jensen off more.

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?” Jared asks.

“You can stop bouncing your knee like that, for starters,” Jensen grumbles. “And then you can stop asking me that fucking question.”

“Sorry.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Jensen insists stubbornly. “Okay? I just need some space.”

Jared sighs and knuckles at his eyes. This is fucking exhausting.

“Fine.”

Just as he’s about to stand up, there’s a loud knock on the trailer door.

“It’s open,” Jensen shouts reluctantly, already trying to control his own scowl. The door slams open.

“Hey,” she says cheerfully, juggling a large paper bag and a tray of coffee cups as she tries to shut the door behind herself.

“I got it,” Jared says, jumping up to help. She gives him a grateful smile and shoves the coffee tray at him. One of them has his name scrawled on the side. “Wait, really? For me?”

“Your favorite.”

“You’re my favorite,” he says, and immediately wants to smack himself in the forehead. “I mean—”

“S’okay, she’s my favorite right now too,” Jensen admits dryly.

“You mentioned wanting to try that new place, right?” She plops the bag down on the table and makes herself at home next to Jensen on the couch. Jared’s still standing awkwardly, hovering, not sure what to do with himself.

“The bakery?” Jensen asks. She caught him off-guard before he could fully put on his polite mask with the camera-ready smile. He doesn’t seem to know how to feel about that.

“Yeah! I got a little of everything, figured we should taste test.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jensen protests. She just waves a macaron at him until he caves, biting it right out of her hand and making a deliriously happy noise.

“Don’t get me wrong, this was not a purely altruistic gesture,” she laughs, taking a bite of her own. “Plenty to go around.”

She offers one to Jared, but he shakes his head ruefully. “I was just about to go.”

Jensen glances up again, and something softens in his expression. His smile looks like an apology.

“Stay,” he says quietly. He holds up a mini lemon tart as a peace offering. Jared takes a bite, letting out an obscene moan that’s only kinda exaggerated, before taking a seat on Jensen’s other side.

“Okay, let’s get down to business,” she says, straight-faced as she gestures to the spread. “We have our work cut out for us.”

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Jensen deadpans. They dig in.

Jared’s still not entirely sure what just happened, but he doesn’t care as long as Jensen’s smiling.

By the time they’re down to the last few cookies, Jared’s sugar-high and over-caffeinated and happier than he’s been all week. He’s also starting to suspect that maybe he’s not the cause of Jensen’s mood after all.

Jared sucks a smudge of icing off his own thumb, and there’s a flicker of heat in Jensen’s eyes as he tracks the movement. Then he shakes his head like he’s laughing at himself.

“Be right back,” he tells them, and heads for the bathroom.

As soon as the door closes behind him, Jared turns to look at her, wide-eyed. Her smile falters.

“Is this okay? I know he’s been… off.”

“That’s a nice way of saying it,” Jared laughs.

“I wanted to see if I could cheer him up.” She looks self-conscious now, which was really not the point.

“You did. This is awesome, but — I’m just surprised he let you,” Jared admits. “I’ve known him for a long fucking time and there are still days… I don’t know.”

“Figured if I asked, he’d just say no, so… didn’t bother asking.” She shrugs like it’s nothing. “Sometimes it’s easier to get out of your head when you’re with someone you don’t know as well, right?”

There are about a million things Jared wants to say, but he hears the toilet flush, so he just whispers, “Thanks,” and hopes she knows how much he means it.

“Jesus, I’m stuffed,” Jensen says, flopping back down between them. He reaches for the last raspberry puff-thing anyway and eats it in one bite, making a goofy face that’s 100% Dean, and they both laugh. He swallows and wipes his mouth, somehow managing to leave a streak of confectioner’s sugar from the corner of his lips down to his jaw.

“You’ve got a—” Jared says, but he just leans in and licks it off.

Jensen angles his head for a real kiss. He’s smiling, and he tastes like raspberries, and Jared really doesn’t want to stop kissing him.

When they break apart, she looks away quickly enough to make it obvious that she was staring. Her cheeks go pink as she bites her lip.

“I’m gonna go,” she says, fumbling for her bag.

“Don’t,” Jared says. “Sorry, didn’t mean to go all PDA on you, just—”

She’s already heading for the door.

“Stay?” Jensen asks softly. He clearly means it, and that makes her pause.

“It’s almost time for me to be back on set anyway,” she says, still blushing. “I should—”

“If you’re sure, but… thank you,” Jensen says sincerely.

“Any time!”

She grins over her shoulder and then she’s gone before either of them can get up to hug her goodbye. Jared watches the door close behind her, disappointed, and he’s almost embarrassed to be caught staring until he realizes Jensen’s doing the same thing.

“She’s… yeah,” Jensen muses. “Of all the people you could be crushing on? I like her.”

Jared’s kinda mystified, because if that’s not what Jensen was upset about, he has no idea what the issue was, but he also feels a thousand pounds lighter.

“Love you,” he blurts out.

“Love you too,” Jensen says, pulling him in for another sugary kiss.

There are a few moments in the next couple days when Jared can see that black cloud hovering over Jensen’s head again, but they’re shooting his episode, so Jared writes it off as director-stress. Instead of worrying, Jared just tries to distract him, and he’s amazed by how well it works.

Of course, as soon as he’s stopped fixating on it, Jensen brings it up. All these years and it never occurred to Jared that avoiding the issue entirely would be the best way to get Jensen to talk about something he doesn’t want to fucking talk about.

“I’m sorry for being a dick this week,” he says bluntly, sitting down on the couch next to Jared and passing him a beer.

Jared laughs, still channel-surfing. “It’s fine. Honestly. At first I thought — I don’t know. Whatever. It’s fine.”

Jensen grabs the remote out of his hand and mutes the TV, and Jared shifts, curling a little closer so he can take in the abruptly serious expression on Jensen’s face.

“I got a call… there’s this developer who wants to buy my property,” Jensen says. “And they’re offering a lot of money, but —”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Jared asks. “You were gonna sell it eventually anyway, right?”

The tips of Jensen’s ears are pink.

“I wanted to look at my options, and… you know. Talk to you about it.”

Jared shrugs. “Okay. Will all your shit even fit in my house? Maybe we should get a storage unit.”

Jensen stares at him blankly for a second. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he asks, “Seriously? That’s it?”

“You’re talking about moving in, right?” Jared asks. “You’re always at my house anyway, it’s not — wait. Is that what you were stressing about?”

Jensen actually glares as Jared starts to laugh. Jared gestures vaguely around at the Vancouver apartment they’ve shared for fucking years, and eventually Jensen starts laughing too, burying his face in his palms. The back of his neck is flushed, and Jared can’t fucking believe him, or this, or… the whole situation, really.

Of all the absurd shit.

“It just felt like a big deal,” Jensen says sheepishly. “I thought… I didn’t want to assume, and I didn’t know how long I had to decide, and I wanted to go through all my options and have it all laid out for you, because I didn’t want you to think — I don’t fucking know. Jesus. Asking someone to move in with you is generally a big deal! I was just freaking out a little.”

“You pulled a me, in other words?” Jared asks, laughing again. Jensen jokingly tries to push him away and Jared scoots closer.

Jensen always seems so sure about things. Jared forgets, sometimes, that he worries too.

“It was a busy week, and I didn’t want to just jump into it, because if you said no and it turned into a whole big thing I worried it would get in the way when I was directing, and — fucking hell. You hate it when I say ‘we need to have a conversation about something but not right now.’”

“Well, yeah,” Jared huffs. “That’s the worst. But you could’ve at least told me it wasn’t my fault!”

Jensen makes a dismissive sound. “Why the fuck would it be your fault?”

“Seriously?”

“I mean… yeah, nothing happened, why would you —”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” Jared half-shouts, torn between exasperation and laughter. “I thought you were jealous! I told you I was attracted to somebody else, and — for fuck’s sake.”

“Did something happen with her, since we talked about that?” Jensen asks. Jared has a momentary urge to smack him.

“No. Obviously not. I just thought…”

They both just stare at each other, and then Jensen starts shaking his head slowly as realization dawns. Jared laughs, giddy and almost hysterical, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.

“Did you think I was just going to sulk about it for a few days without telling you, and then… what, end it?” Jensen asks, as if it’s insane.

Jared shrugs helplessly. “I mean… yeah, I guess.”

Jensen sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he chooses his words. For a moment Jared thinks he’s angry, but when Jensen looks at him again, there’s nothing but this raw tenderness all over his face.

“Look,” he says, slow and deliberate. “I know I go all caveman when other people try to flirt with you, but it’s not because I don’t trust you. Okay?”

“That’s not —”

“Hang on. Hear me out here. You can’t beat yourself up for looking at someone, Jared. Or for pheromones, or what-fucking-ever. You can’t. I don’t care who else you look at, as long as you still want me, at the end of the day. Relax, okay?”

Jensen’s hands curl around his upper arms, holding him firmly, until Jared rests his forehead against Jensen’s and takes a deep breath.

“You really don’t mind?”

“I don’t. I’m fucking seriously in love with you, and I need you to know that you can tell me anything. It’s not going to change the way I feel about you. Just fucking tell me, and then we can deal with it together. As long as you’re honest.”

Jared can’t help but ask, “Do I need to point out how hypocritical —”

“Don’t even start,” Jensen laughs. “That’s different. Asking someone to make a huge fucking life change with you is different from… feeling guilty for thinking a girl is cute, or whatever. She’s fucking cute. You’re not blind.”

“You don’t think I’m an asshole?” His voice cracks.

“What? Why would I?”

“I feel like… I feel like the luckiest person in the fucking world, Jay, you’ve gotta know that.” Jared’s tearing up, because of course he is, and the intensity in Jensen’s expression isn’t helping, but the words start to spill out faster: “I never thought I could have this. This — us — it’s better than anything I ever fucking imagined, and it’s not like you’re not enough for me. You’re… this is everything to me. So how the fuck do I still want more? I don’t deserve this, let alone —”

He bites his lip to cut himself off. He didn’t realize he was going to say that out loud. It’s a little too true.

“Look at me,” Jensen growls, fierce and almost angry.

“Sorry,” Jared half-laughs, wiping away tears.

“First of all, you deserve the fucking universe,” Jensen says flatly, like it’s a very simple fact. “And even if you didn’t, I don’t give a shit, I’d still do anything to make you happy.” He brings his hands to Jared’s face, holding him so that he can’t look away. “But also? You feel more than anyone else I’ve ever met. If anybody’s got enough love for two people, it’d be you.”

Jared snorts. “It’s not like it could actually happen, it’s just —”

“Why not? As much as you like to think you’re a goddamn trailblazer, this isn’t revolutionary,” Jensen retorts, all snark. “Polyamory is a thing that people do. You can date her while you’re with me. Everybody can get what they want here.”

“Even if it was that simple—” Jared knows it’s not that simple. “—she’s not interested in me, so—”

Jensen cuts him off: “You’re an idiot. She’s fucking crazy about you.”

He looks fond and exasperated and very sure of himself, and for a moment, Jared wonders if maybe he’s right. Then he shakes his head, trying to articulate how he feels.

“I think… I’d feel weird if it wasn’t something I could share with you,” he says honestly. “I like sharing things with you. I want to share everything with you.”

Jensen’s expression goes soft and painfully sweet. “Sap.”

Jared shrugs. He can’t really deny that one. He leans in and kisses Jensen instead.

Jensen grabs him and physically hauls him closer, until they’re all tangled together, and kisses him again, hard enough to bruise.

“Is there anything else we need to get out in the open?” Jared asks wryly, when they finally break for air. “Now that we’ve established we’re both fucking morons who need to talk to each other?”

“Fuck it, while we’re on the subject of sharing.” Jensen looks at him intently. His lips are all red and swollen. “The whole threesome thing? Just for the record, I was dead fuckin’ serious about being into that idea.”

“Oh,” Jared says blankly. “But what if —”

Jensen curls a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, smirking. “Stop thinking. Not right fucking now. Not when we’re filming with her for a week solid,” he says, because he can read Jared’s mind. “Someday.”

“Someday,” Jared agrees.

“You ate those cookies,” Jensen says.

Oh.

Fuck.

Jared’s stomach swoops. He recognizes it now, the way she’s holding herself rigid, the panic that shows around her dark dilated pupils; he can feel it like it was yesterday, overwhelming and out of control and fucking humiliating.

“Fuck,” he says, shaking his head. What the fuck else can he say?

She stammers, squeezing her eyes shut like she’s refusing to think about it: “Drugs? Were the cookies drugged? Why do I feel…”

“Like if you don’t get some dick you’re gonna die?” he says bluntly. Her eyes go wide. “Been there.”

“What did you — um.”

It’s so fucking strange, thinking back to that night, just like it’s strange thinking about anything that happened before they were together. He remembers the electricity between them, the intensity of it, the way it felt to touch Jensen for the first time… he looks sideways at Jensen and knows he’s remembering it too.

“I’ll go back to my room,” she says, her voice strained and scared.

“Needs to be another person,” Jared says. His throat feels clogged, and the words come out thick and clumsy. “Believe me, I tried. But if you’re okay with it…”

His voice falters as he realizes what he’s actually offering. For a split-second, Jared feels guilty, like he brought this on somehow by sheer force of wishful thinking. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, though. Jared looks at Jensen helplessly, but Jensen’s watching her, brow furrowed with concern, and Jared is reminded (forcefully) that this isn’t about him.

“We’ve got you,” Jensen finishes, warm and sure.

She shakes her head. “I can’t ask —”

“You’re not asking.”

She looks so scared. Jared remembers that part, too: he didn’t want to look Jensen in the eyes, because he was so fucking certain he’d see disgust there, or pity, or something fucking awful like that.

Jared empathizes so intensely that he feels sick for a second. He flounders, wondering what he can say to put her at ease, make her feel wanted, and then he chuckles to himself, realizing that the truth is probably his best option here.

“It’s not like it’s a fucking hardship, y’know? Have you seen you?”

It shocks a laugh out of her, at least. Jared counts it as a win.

Then she squeezes her eyes closed again, face screwed-up and anguished, and all Jared can think about is getting rid of that pained expression. He settles on the bed next to her, takes the cool washcloth off her forehead and strokes her hair carefully, hating the way she’s frowning. She turns to look at him, and he feels like he’s about to burst with the urge to just bundle her up in a bear hug and protect her.

“Yeah, okay,” she says abruptly, soft but sure. “Yes.”

“C’mere then.”

Jared slides closer, resting a hand ever-so-gently on the curve of her waist, and she rolls onto her side to face him, eyes huge and desperate. Jensen is settling at her back. She fits so neatly between the two of them. She’s trembling, but it’s okay; Jared’s pretty sure he is too. He glances over her shoulder at Jensen.

Jensen just smiles, saying without words it’s okay and I’ve got you and together, and the last of Jared’s worries evaporate.

“You’re gonna have to stop thinking so hard,” he tells her gently, because he knows that expression a little too well. Jensen lets out a quiet snort of laughter, which is fair, because Jared saying that to someone else is like the pot telling the kettle to stop being black.

Then he’s cupping her cheek, tilting her chin, kissing her, and the noise in his head goes silent, for once; everything goes silent, just evaporates the fuck away, and all Jared can feel is the sweet soft shape of her lips as they part, the slick slide of her tongue, the way she sighs… he can feel her just melting into it, and there’s something about it that takes his breath away. She goes pliant in his arms, relaxing completely, like every muscle in her body is showing him: I trust you. The enormity of that trust is what has him spinning with need, rocketing from zero to sixty in five seconds flat.

There’s a warmth blossoming in Jared’s chest that is so far beyond a crush it’s not even funny. He’s pretty sure he’s fucked, but he can’t think about that, not now, not with the way she’s responding, surging up to meet him and draw him in deeper. The only thing that matters right now is taking care of her. He just wants to make her feel good; the rest can wait. He’ll deal with his own cracked-open heart tomorrow.

For a moment Jared’s convinced it was all a dream, but when he opens his eyes, she’s the first thing he sees. She’s curled up with her hands tucked under her chin, oddly childlike, and her face is totally serene.

She’s beautiful in a way that still takes him by surprise every time he looks at her.

Jesus pogo-jumping Christ. Jared is fucked.

Before he can really spiral out about it, though, Jensen is stirring at his back. Jared rolls over, muscles complaining about last night’s exertion, and he sprawls out half on top of Jensen, trying to keep his breathing even. Jensen runs a hand through Jared’s tangled hair, finger-combing gently.

“So that was… pretty amazing,” Jensen whispers, so quiet Jared barely catches the words.

“Yeah.”

There’s a question on the tip of his tongue and he’s burning to hear the answer, but he’s pretty sure it’s a bad idea to just spit it out like this.

Because he’s apparently a mind reader now, Jensen answers the question anyway: “I would really love to do that again.”

Jared exhales slowly. “Same.”

“But… I think it’s going to be complicated. Emotionally.”

Apparently they’re just diving the fuck into this.

Jared closes his eyes, trying to ignore the ache in his chest. He shifts, sliding on top of Jensen, propped up on his elbows. He pauses like that for a moment, taking in the pillow creases on Jensen’s cheek and the concern in his eyes.

Jensen hesitates, lips twitching down into a nervous frown before he continues: “I knew how you felt about her, but — well, I guess you’re not the only one.”

Jared blinks down at him. “What are you saying?”

Jensen reaches up and traces the line of Jared’s jaw, then his lower lip, and Jared brushes a clumsy kiss to the side of his knuckle. Jensen smiles, looking a little more sure of himself.

“Watching the two of you — I think it could be more. The three of us could be… something. It felt right.” He frowns. “Tell me that wasn’t just me?”

There’s this crazy swell of emotion happening in Jared’s chest, and he’s afraid he might choke on it for a moment. He kisses Jensen, smiling into it, and Jensen’s hands slide up his back, making his skin tingle in their wake.

Jared hesitates. “What if she — I don’t think she feels —”

“I think she’s been almost as deep in denial about this as you have,” Jensen says gently. “I don’t think she’s allowed herself to consider it, because of me, and if she knew…”

“What if —” Jared sneaks a glance at her; she’s still sleeping peacefully. He doesn’t know how to finish that sentence.

“If this is gonna work, we need to lay it all out for her,” Jensen says, so quiet that Jared feels the vibration of the words more than he hears them. “Even if it’s just sex for her, or… if this was a one-time deal. We gotta be honest with her.”

“That sounds like a terrible fucking idea,” Jared says honestly. “How does that not scare the shit out of you?”

Jensen just shrugs. “It does, a little bit. But… you’re the only thing that matters, when it comes down to it. As long as we’re in this together, the rest doesn’t seem too scary.”

It sounds so fucking simple when he puts it like that.

“Yeah, okay,” Jared whispers, leaning down to kiss him again. “Together.”

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#j2 #j2 fic #jensen ackles x jared padalecki #j2 smut #jared padalecki x reader x jensen ackles

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falsegoodnight · 3 years

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part one of my december fic rec! this list encompasses the fics i’ve read from the 1st to the 15th so half of this month! (mostly just the first week and a half though because FINALS!)

there’s still twenty fics/ficlets on here though which is insane so that’s why i’m splitting my monthly recs into two lists again!

you can find part two here

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✰ (have yourself a) Merry little Christmas by @defencelesst | G | 1k (so so so soft and sweet and perfect!! lottie’s stories always warm my heart!)

There's a saying in Korean culture about how watching the first snow of the year with someone means you're destined to stay together for a long time.

✰ Still by @allwaswell16 | NR | 2k (a timestamp for this series) (so sweet and heartwarming! the PERFECT end to the series!)

Louis has settled into his life in Colorado with Harry, their horses, and of course, Lacey the goat. And now the day has arrived to finally marry the man who makes this place feel like home.

✰ sugary sweet by @soldouthaz | E | 4k (drabble from this series) (hot, hot, hot! did i mention, hot?)

From the corner of his eye he can see every movement. The fire makes Louis’ skin even more golden than usual, the peaks of his nipples dark pink in pale contrast. His chest is already beginning to rise and fall quicker where a blush has bloomed up near his throat from his excitement. His arm is raised, shaking lightly as he holds up the icing can, his mouth parted as he pants softly.

Louis looks ethereal, and Harry’s having a more difficult time than he thought not being able to touch him.

✰ Thank you, five by @nouies | E | 6k (technically a reread) (so so cute and lovely and hot!!!)

“Harry?” He says as soon as he recognises the other man.

“Louis? Wh-what are you doing here?” Harry asks with a frown.

“Well, I’m here for rehearsal,” Louis announces with a proud smile.

There’s a flash of confusion on Harry’s face. “What do you mean rehearsal? I got the part, you didn’t.”

✰ can you keep me close, can you love me most? by @soldouthaz | G | 6k (a drabble from this series) (made me CRY!! love this world and these characters so so much!!!)

“I’m so sorry, Harry. This was supposed to be our night and we were going to eat and then walk around the city and-”

“Lou, it’s alright,” Harry says, “seriously. We can always make another reservation. Don’t worry about it, love.”

“I know, just -” Louis cuts himself off with a sigh.

He knows they can reschedule. It’s not so much that he cares about the reservation, really, or any of the food. His students are so important to him and he’d always drop anything to help them, except that he sort of - well, Louis sort of thought Harry would propose tonight.

✰ singing your praises by @loubellies | E | 6k (really hot and sexy but also cute!)

Prompt 86: Louis rides Harry while wearing his packer’s jersey/sweater and gets his ass ate.

✰ You’ll wait for me only by @tired-eyes-lou | T | 9k (love accidental bonding fics! cute!)

Harry nips at the bondmark on Louis’ neck, Louis’ hands go to his hips, grounding him. He allows himself this, knowing that his Omega needs it too. Harry pulls back, “Go on a date with me.” He rushes out, looking at Louis’ eyes.

Louis laughs and shakes his head. “No, Louis, I’m serious. We’ve bonded for life anyway, might as well try.” Louis looks at him, “You’ve been thinking about this a lot.” Louis points out, Harry nods. “Okay.” Louis says and walks out leaving Harry. “Okay what?!”

✰ Pretty and Pink by @larryinpantiess | E | 13k (cute and lovely! love trucker harry!)

Harry never lets anyone come on the road with him.

Then, a cute hitchhiker, Louis comes around.

✰ show you the stars in the daylight by @yvesaintlourent | E | 13k (AMAZING INCREDIBLE PERFECT! i love childhood best friends and also !! miscommunication !! idiots in love !!)

Louis has a type and at sixteen and scrawny, it's definitely not his best friend's little brother Harry...ten years later, he changes his mind.

✰ silver linings by @millsxwriting | T | 14k (so cute and sweet :’) as a big fan of emails, this made my heart happy)

As Louis starts his freshman year of college out of state, Harry finishes his last year of high school back home. The distance between California and Arizona has both of them gripping onto everything they can to make their relationship work.

✰ Won’t Keep You My (Dirty Little) Secret by @lovelykits | M | 16k (wow wow wow i adored this!!! louis and harry were both so lovely!)

Louis and Harry have been together since the end of last year and somehow no one knows about it.

✰ The Boy with the Tin Chest and the Glass Heart by @louloubabys1992 | M | 18k (amazing concept and so cute!! love the inclusion of fairy tales in this one too!)

Alpha Harry Styles, world-renowned author of fairy-tales, is being persuaded by the Beta, Liam Payne, to hire a new illustrator. Since Harry’s own illustrations are too graphic for what is supposed to be children’s stories, Liam feels the need is dire. Omega Louis does not agree with Liam since he believes that Harry’s stories are fine just the way they are. Of course this has nothing to do with Louis being totally biased or totally head over heels for Harry. It certainly has nothing to do with being jealous of the mysterious omega illustrator Liam has in mind to team Harry up with.

Seriously, it has nothing to do with that at all. Nothing, absolutely nothing, zilch, nada.

Yeah...

✰ Across the Grey, Salty Sea by @the-cheshire-pussy-cat | E | 20k (incredible!!! the ending made me so emotional ahh)

Prompt 212: Alex from Dunkirk and French escort/prostitute Louis who ends up in Alex’s quarters more nights than not. Alex gives him his dog tag to wear maybe just a lot of smut and dirty talk with Louis being a pretty princess.

✰ blue songs are like tattoos by @loubellies | E | 31k (berkeley chant!! but so so cute and amazing! loved the playlist that went with it too!)

“Good morning, University of California, you’re listening to KALX 90.7 FM Berkeley, this is DJ Harry Styles. If the owner of the tapes I’ve been finding around the studio doesn’t come forward and introduce himself, I’m going to continue tossing them straight in the trash!”

✰ Freeway of Love (In a Pink Cadillac) by @mizzhydes | E | 33k (the plot twist took me off guard but wow!)

Louis was on his way to Miami to visit an old friend. Harry was going there for a little R&R and take in the sights and sounds. A sudden upgrade in seating brought these polar opposites together. The universe works in mysterious ways and they are unknowingly about to embark on an adventure they will surely remember for a lifetime.

✰ Cold As Ice And Everything Nice by @harriblou | M | 41k (this was so sweet and amazing and tender <333 loved it!)

Louis is a professional ice-skater and he meets Harry, who offers to clean the ice for him.

✰ When Our Worlds They Fall Apart by @holdingthornsandroses | E | 42k (louis as leia??? harry as han solo??? amazing perfect incredible! made my heart happy!)

Harry put his hand over his heart as if Louis had wounded him. “You’re so harsh, my liege! Perhaps you need to relieve some tension…” He let his voice trail off suggestively.

“The day I ask YOU to relieve tension is the day I lose all my wits and join the Imperials,” Louis said. “It will never happen.”

✰ A Place With Skeletons by @crazyupsetter | E | 51k (yet another masterpiece from this author. continues to blow me away <3 that one line (you know if you know) still sticks with me today)

“I would choose anyone other than you,” Louis says, picking up his train of thought again. He feels a lot more cornered and defensive when they’re in Harry’s house, for some reason. It doesn’t really make sense, considering that this time, Louis was the one who couldn’t hack it any longer. He broke first. There’s something about being in Harry’s space, though, the green and earthy feeling of it. It should feel like open space with all the plants, but Louis has never felt more claustrophobic than he does when he’s here.

Harry’s chest moves against his back, a sharp intake of air. Before he can open his mouth to defend himself, Louis keeps going, “If I had a choice in any of this, I would have been saved by that elderly security guard over you. I wouldn’t mind having to have the occasional cuddle with her.”

✰ through the wheatfields and the coastlines by @thepolourryexpress | E | 53k (ni was right. i definitely fell in love with cowboy harry but i’m not complaining! this fic had it all and i’ll definitely be rereading this in the future - so so amazing!)

Louis needs inspiration, and a certain cowboy and his lamb are the perfect distraction.

✰ Know I Think You’re Awesome, Right? by @princesshalo | E | 60k (amazing amazing amazing! loved the conflict between louis and harry and their dynamic!)

A college AU where Louis is a hippie, very good vibes activist and Harry is a punk, anarchist that always gets involved in violent protests.

If you read any of these lovely fics, remember to leave kudos and comment to show your appreciation!

*if i made any errors, please let me know :)

enjoy!

#my fic recs #fic recs #2020 recs #december 2020 recs #december recs

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lewis-winters · 3 years

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Hi! i really enjoy your daemon au and i-ve gone and watched the new his dark materials series because of it. i love your take on daemons and was wondering if you have nymore headcanons for the other boys? what's luz's daemon? liptons? how do you pick their names? are there any daemons who Re the same sex as their humans? you dont have to rwply if you dont want to i just wanted to tell you i enjoy your world very much!!

Oh, hi! I’m glad you’re watching the new His Dark Materials adaptation! It’s pretty good, huh?

I do have headcanons for not just most of the boys but for the world itself. Though I also call it His Dark Materials!AU alongside daemon!AU it’s actually more the latter than the former. The only things I carried over into this AU from the original world of His Dark Materials are the existence of daemons, the fact that daemons are made of Dust particles, and the existence of witches. The magisterium or any kind of theocracy doesn’t exist. The authority and the angels also do not carry over. Instead, our own religions exist, but there’s just as much emphasis on spiritualism and mysticism as there is on moralism, which I believe would be the natural development of religion in this world where your soul/daemon, the spiritual aspect of you, is literally there for everybody else to see.

All of the boys have small or medium sized daemons, the biggest probably belonging to that of Ron and Tab, who have an Ocelot daemon and a sheepdog daemon respectively. The reason for this being that small or medium sized daemons are easily carried and they, alongside bird or other kinds of flying daemons, are preferred by the airborne. You still gotta jump out of a perfectly good airplane largely undetected. Can’t do that with an elephant daemon.

Ok. This got real long so I’m putting the rest under the cut. tw: mentions of death, trauma, and mutilation.

Some of the younger boys’ daemons haven’t settled. Miller, Hashey, Garcia, and Jackson. Hashey and Garcia’s settle in Hageneu. Miller and Jackson never get the chance.

Shifty’s daemon, Myrtle, is a Capybara. But he doesn’t know that. Every time somebody asked him what his daemon was, he’d shrug, say ‘Don’t rightly know,’ then leave it at that. What can he do? Capybara’s aren’t native to Virginia and he’s never been out of Virginia. Webster was the one to tell him that Myrtle was a Capybara because he’d read about them in a book somewhere that one time. Myrtle was startled by this and said; “I thought I was some kind of dog!” that was one of the few times she ever spoke out-loud during the whole war.

As I’ve said before in this post, Lew’s daemon is a chameleon named Amalthea. For all of the events of episode 9, Lew kept her in his pocket and that scared almost everybody shitless, because it made it seem like he was walking around without a daemon. The replacements assigned to them around that time, like O’Keefe, thought he didn’t have a soul. He never bothered to correct them because that meant letting Amalthea out, and the idea of her being in the open and vulnerable made him especially ill. He’d rather people thought he was soulless than allow himself and Amalthea to get hurt again. Which is so Lewis.

Skip has a hummingbird daemon named Ilaria, which is a name that means happiness and joy. This daemon-human duo wasn’t hard for me to figure out. It just fits.

Malarkey’s daemon is an artic hare with a summer coat named Felis. She’s settled, but after Foy and after losing Skip and Alex and Buck, she changes again. Subtlely, of course, and not wholely. She stays an artic hare, but instead of a summer coat, she permanently has a winter coat.

It’s not uncommon in this world for your daemon to change after severe trauma. I bet as the field of psychology expands, so does the understanding of trauma’s effects on the soul expand. There’s many studies on the changing of once settled daemons in relation to soldiers’ PTSD.

Buck’s daemon, a male bald eagle named Romulus, changes entirely. Still a bird, but instead of an eagle, he turns into a snowy owl. Before the war, he was a chatty daemon. After, he barely speaks and only does so to Buck and, very rarely, to those close to them.

Eugene Sledge’s male daemon, Daecon goes from a blood hound and gets turned into a Luzon bleeding heart-- which, I know is on the nose but it’s just. It’s such a cool bird, ya’ll. I’ve seen one up-close and ever since that day, I have not known any peace. The shift would be painful and would happen very slowly. It was actually horrific and was a trauma in and of itself. That was the last time they ever changed, though.

I also headcanon that the longer you’ve been settled, the harder and more painful the shift.

Merriell Shelton’s daemon settles in Gloucester. Into what, I’m not sure yet, but a part of me thinks she’s settled into some kind of big cat from the rain forests. Either a cloud leopard or a jaguar. Her name’s Charlotte but he calls her Lottie. Don’t ask me why. It just fits.

That being said, I have some Thoughts about people with big cat daemons. They’re usually aloof. Like, they make a very impactful first impression but they’re mostly solitary individuals who are weird af and difficult to get to know. It takes a really special person to tame a human with a big cat daemon. Once you earn their trust, that’s for life. They’re also really self-assured and are very secure in their sense of self. There is almost little to no tension between big cat daemons and their humans, and if there is, it gets explosive.

Ron Speirs has a big cat daemon, a female Ocelot named Aurele. She never talks, not even to Ron. They have this silent gaze/telepathy going on. Ron also takes on a couple of animalistic traits because of it. They could also... stretch their bond really far? Which is scary as fuck. People think he’s the son of a witch who, in her desperation to make him immortal, made him go through the ritual that allows a witch and her daemon to part for long periods of time and great distances. This is not true. Ron and Aurele just have really high pain tolerance.

Eugene Roe, on the other hand, is the son of a witch. His maman, however, did not make him go through the ritual because he’s not her first son. She knows the pain of outliving her sons well. She loves him all the same but understands that he will die well before her. Eugene’s daemon is a male kinkajou named Louis. Which is both a surprise and also not. For much of the war there’s a lot of tension there. Louis craves connection with others, Roe needs isolation to keep their sanity. It kind of turns into this thing where, if you wanted to comfort Roe or be close to him, you’d have to go through his daemon instead.

Babe’s daemon is a squirrel. A very chatty female russian squirrel named Abigail. They talk to each other a lot, and Abby talks to other people a lot too. Sometimes, she even answers in lieu of Babe. They’re both very blunt and very out there, no hiding with Babe and Abby. It used to get them into a lot of trouble with the nuns at school, who believed that daemons are only meant to be seen and not heard. A+ Catholic repression.

George’s daemon was a little tricky to me. I know his daemon is female and that her name is Thalia. I also know that she can fly. My first thought was: Parrot, either a hyacinth macaw or a white cockatoo. But, I also really like the idea of George having a Butterfly daemon. Particularly one that looks like a leaf when her wings are folded up but is brilliantly jewel toned when she opens them. In the end, I opted for George entering the army, having not settled just yet, and he and Thalia are this kind of double-act, where she shifts into whatever form is necessary for the punchline of the joke. She only settles into a parrot (idk still what kind) after their first jump and all the excitement in Carentan. A gradual thing. They don’t even notice until just before the jump in Holland. When they miss someone, Thalia will mimic that person’s voice. First, it was George’s mama and the voice of her daemon, both speaking in rapid fire portugese. Later on, in Austria, Thalia starts imitating all the friends they’ve lost. Sometimes she’ll sound like Skip. Other times, she’ll sound like Bill. It takes a very long time for her to break this habit. To the point wherein she and George don’t even remember what her real voice sounds like.

Lip’s daemon settled really early and is a female Bonobo named Jane. Has been since he was ten and made man of the house. This, like Skip and Ilaria, was very easy for me to figure out.

Dick’s daemon is a Caracara raptor bird. I’m still figuring out the specifics so she doesn’t have a name yet. Sorry.

As mentioned, Tab has a sheepdog daemon named Marisa who enjoys keeping him and everybody else in check. Have you met a sheepdog? They will literally herd you. It doesn’t matter if you are not a lamb or a sheep. They will nip at your heels until you go where they want to go. That’s Marisa. She’ll nip at Tab’s heels, she’ll nip at everybody else’s heels. If you are going somewhere she does not want you to go she will make sure you know her displeasure.

It is also super funny when she looks Tab in the eye and goes “Down, boy.” It never fails to make Tab go red and make everybody else laugh.

Harry’s daemon-- and don’t get mad at me-- but Harry’s daemon is a Scottish Terrier named Saoirse. He carries her around strapped to his chest during jumps. It’s fucking cute. Don’t say that to their faces though because they will lose all respect for you. It’s a daemon suited more to a teacher than it is to a soldier, that’s for sure.

Bill’s daemon is a pit-bull named Darla. Scary looking one, too, with a very bawdy sense of humor. She will growl at you and pretend to bite and you will be very scared but she only does it as a joke. She’s honestly really cool. When Bill and Babe are walking around together, Abby likes to perch on top of Darla’s head. It’s adorable. Sometimes, when Abby gets too much, Darla carries her around in her mouth. It’s still cute. But only to them, everybody else finds it vaguely horrifying.

I know there’s this taboo of humans not touching other humans’ daemons but it’s kinda difficult in such close-quarters like theirs. It is also heavily implied in the original text of Philip Pullman, that the no-touching thing is a cultural thing. Like, I think in religions that deal a lot in repression like Catholicism or Protestantism, the touching of another’s daemon is a no-no and is only reserved for the most intimate of relations (i.e. marriage). But I feel like religions such as Judaism, Wiccan, Paganism, or even some branches of Folk-Catholicism encourage touch/celebrate that connection between two humans. Neither of these two beliefs are wrong, of course. It’s just a cultural thing and they carry with them both pros and cons.

I bet Lieb grew up very used to his daemon being touched by his mother and father or older siblings. It’s not taboo to him, though he recognizes that it’s taboo to others. He doesn’t get it though, and is constantly rolling his eyes every time somebody gasps when they accidentally touch someone’s daemon.

A lot of the boys just kinda ignore the touching daemons thing until they get used to it.

I’m not sure what Lieb’s daemon is or what her name is, too. I know she’s a social kind of daemon-- not solitary like a big cat or a reptile (like snakes). I thought maybe a wolf, but a wolf daemon is too... large and there are a lot of connotations attached to it. I think Lieb’s daemon is something medium-sized and unassuming. Not a dog. Not a domestic cat either. A part of me thinks flightless bird, but no. Not that either. Give me time. I’ll figure her out. As of now, I’m thinking either a marsupial or a canidae/fox but not quite. She’s a mammal, that much I know. Just don’t know what kind.

Grant’s daemon is a male domestic cat named Saladin. He’s either an Abyssinian or a Bengal. Either way, he’s really cool. Like super cool. They’re both super duper cool.

And... that’s kinda it. That’s all I have for now. I’m really sorry it got so long, anon. I get really excited when talking about daemons. It’s character study but with animals! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to ramble. This is where I leave you.

#band of brothers #dæmon au #bob aus #tp aus #the pacific #but only eugene and snaf #ask #bob hcs #tp hcs

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mimthehero · 3 years

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Of Books and Strangers

NOTE: Here's a less dark story this time- this is one of my first attempts at a romance story (Help I didn't know what I was doing with this one) but it turned out ok. I do have a multi-chapter story that I'll start uploading next week or later depends but anyway enough from me- I hope you enjoy the story!

WARNINGS: NONE

The cool air nipped at his skin. Cheeks flushed, adrenaline pumping, he raced down the street, continuously checking his watch as he went.

Five minutes left.

He could make it if he hustled.

The streets were mostly silent, only the occasional car or passerby but not much else. He checked his watch again. Two minutes. Almost there, keep going. The shops all blurred together, he was only focused on a particular sign ahead of him anyway.

Finally, he skidded to a stop in front of a wooden door, pushing it open. The musky smell of old parchment filled his nostrils as the bell rang, alerting the staff of the newcomer. It was calming, familiar. He quickly collected himself and scanned around for the nearest staff member. Bingo! Target in sight, he hurried over.

‘Excuse me!’ he all but yelled, ‘Where’s the dystopia section? I’m looking for a copy of ‘Monsters of Men’ by Patrick Ness!’ The staff member directed him to the shelves, notifying him that there was only one left in stock, the last of the signed copy editions. Thanking her, he dashed into the aisle.

‘Come on, come on!’ He whispered, eyes darting from spine to spine, brows furrowed, forehead dripping with sweat. Not this shelf. Whipping around, he scanned the next row. ‘Ah!’ he exclaimed. There it was, in all its glory. Pristine spine, copper decals, mint copy - and most of all, it was signed! Every book lover’s dream!

Just as he reached for the chunky book, a soft hand accidentally brushed against his, also reaching for the same thing. Instinctively, he flinched back, hand retracting, allowing the stranger to make their move and swoop in on the prize. They gently pulled it out of the shelf, proceeding with caution so as to avoid damaging it. Finally, someone who treats books right.

‘Ah, sorry. Did you want this?’ The stranger held out the book.

Their voice was soft yet strong, brimming with confidence. Examining their features, he came to the conclusion that this was a woman standing in front of him. She looked to be around his age, he noted. She was a head shorter than him, reaching just under his chin. He sighed, he had run here for nothing. His cheeks were still flushed, and his lungs hadn’t quite recovered yet. He felt oddly at ease, this woman respected her books, and he knew it would be in good hands.

‘You keep it, you deserve it.’ He cringed. You deserve it? Nice going, voicing out your thoughts. Well that was awkward. He could already predict her reaction, smiling awkwardly and slowly moving away - like everyone else that he encountered. The image of going back to his lonely apartment popped into his head - he already knew he’d be reliving this moment at ungodly times in the night, he just did. Shivering, he shoved his hands deeper into his pocket - at which point they felt somewhat clammy.

She smiled, clearly amused. At least she didn’t turn tail and run. He would, if he was on the receiving end.

‘Hmm, are you sure? This is the last copy after all - it’s sold out everywhere else. You seem like you made quite the effort to get to it-’ gesturing to his haphazard attire, she articulated her point- ‘and also seemed to forget how to wear a scarf.’ Her hazel eyes flickered to said scarf, squinting. She tucked the novel under her arm, then reached over and fixed his attire, straightening his coat collar and re-wrapping the scarf. Meanwhile he stood there, frozen stiff. What just happened?

‘Oh- sorry! I had younger siblings you see, so I had a habit of making them look presentable. They couldn’t dress themselves properly for the life of them.’ She smiled, fondly recalling a memory, most likely envisioning her family in their lively home - a stark contrast to his empty apartment. The only person he had over was the delivery man. But really, was he dressed that bad? He must’ve looked like a hoodlum, running around like that. Great, another thing to add to his ever-increasing list of embarrassing moments. Oh right, she asked him a question.

‘Please, keep the book. Think of it as an act of generosity from your local book-lover,’ he winked - might as well max out the weirdness. Well, he actually did want to be nice. After all, she had just spared him another 10 minutes of looking like an idiot. Luckily she was very socially adept and responded with tucking her hand under her chin in mock thought.

‘You know, mother always said to not accept gifts from strangers.’ Well, he hadn’t even paid for it so it wasn’t much of a gift, per say. This was awkward. What should he say? Should he say anything? She spared him another moment of internal panic, though, for she opened her mouth to speak once more. ‘But you won’t be a stranger if you tell me your name!’ She held out her hand for him to shake. Smooth.

‘Gerald, nice to meet you, uh-’

‘Meredith,’ she grinned, ‘Well then, Mr Gerald, thank you for the book. Say, do you visit here often?’ She opened her tote bag (It had ‘The Case-back Book of Sherlock Holmes’ on it. Cute) and pulled out her purse, making her way to the counter. As she was about to hand the cashier the change, he stopped her, paying for her instead. She smiled at him as thanks. He then proceeded to answer.

‘Yes, actually. This is my local bookstore, which I frequent every Saturday. There’s just something about bookstores - and libraries - that’s just so…’ He trailed off, waving his hands around, trying to emphasise his point. She laughed, agreeing with him, mirroring his gestures. That wasn’t so bad.

They exited together, instantly having to face the chilly, bitter air. Meredith’s nose became red, breath coming out in visible puffs as she stuck her hands deeper into her pockets. The book was carefully tucked away in her bag, safe for journey to its new home.

‘Well, it was nice meeting you, Gerald. It’s not everyday you meet someone who shares a passion with you. Thank you.’ She paused, the corners of her lips upturned.

‘You’re welcome, Meredith.’ He tested out her name on his tongue. It was strange and difficult to pronounce, him not being quite used to it yet. She waved goodbye and spun on her heels, walking away towards the bus stop. ‘See you soon,’ he whispered, though his words were lost in the icy wind. She looked lonely and cold, her figure slightly hunched to conserve what little warmth she had. The sudden urge to console that figure kicked in. She probably got on well with her siblings, with the way she talked so fondly. She probably wanted to get home quickly, feeling a little lonely without them. He grabbed the receipt from his pocket, along with a pen and hurriedly scribbled something down, hands quickly losing feeling in them.

‘Ah! Wait!’ He yelled, trying to catch up with her. His boots crunched against the snow, damn she walked fast. He held his scarf in his hand, face now exposed to the true extent of the harsh weather. Finally, he caught up, hunching over and catching his breath. She looked at him quizzically, watching him recover. He stood, firmly wrapping his scarf around her neck. ‘What’ll your siblings say if you catch a cold?’ He finished, admiring his handiwork. Nodding to himself, he spoke over his shoulder, ‘Take care of yourself, ok?’ With that, he left, humming to himself - he felt good, like a weight had been lifted. He had helped someone.

What he didn’t witness was her tugging the scarf down slightly, picking up the note which fell out. Tears slipped down her face as she read it, he was kind, so, so kind. She didn’t deserve that kindness. His note reminded her to take care of herself, so she could take care of her siblings too, with his number hastily scrawled at the bottom.

‘Thank you...' She whispered to the wind as her cheeks reddened, and this time, not because of the cold.

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blackcatkita · 4 years

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The Consequence of Secrets- Chapter 28

The Queen and the Babysitter

Word Count- 4578. Special thanks to @darley1101 for describing what morphine feels like since I’ve never had to take any pain meds myself. I hope you like Jennifer and Drake’s time in the hospital and if you do, please like, comment, or reblog! I appreciate every single note!

The last thing Jennifer remembers is the morphine slipping through her veins like warm honey when she wakes to the smell of something… delicious. Something that reminds her of cook-outs in the summer and roadside diners and taking the first salty bite of a piping hot French fry. She opens one eye.

“Yo,” Drake greets her from where he sits on the couch, legs all spread out like he owns the place as he pops a fry into his mouth.

“Creep. I hope you realize it’s weird to stare at people while they sleep.”

“I wasn’t. Don’t flatter yourself. Until you started moaning and smacking your lips anyway,” Drake replies. “Thought you were about to puke or something but no, you just want my food.” Eyebrow raised, he taunts her by eating another fry.

She narrows her eyes. “If you brought Seraphim’s in here again without bringing me some, I’m busting out the guillotine. You’ve seen the storage areas in the palace. They never get rid of anything. Bet I can find one.”

“Are you going to be dramatic the whole time I’m here?”

“Are you going to give me food?”

A deep chuckle rumbles from his chest as he shakes his head and stands with the bag from the diner.

“Yay!” There’s a slightly uncomfortable pull as she rolls from her side to her back too quickly, but no pain, and she feels way less loopy than she had with the full doses of morphine she was on before. This, she really can handle. “What did you bring me?” she asks with a little bounce as she raises the bed to a sitting position.

Drake wheels the tray over her lap and digs into the bag, naming off the items as he places them down in front of her. “Fries, a fruit salad so I can at least argue I brought something healthy, and a cheeseburger just the way you like it; ketchup, mustard, and pickles.”

She squeals in delight as she snatches up the burger and quickly peels away half of the paper wrapper before taking a big bite. “Oh my god…” she moans, chewing slowly to savor the greasy deliciousness. It’s better than chocolate. It’s better than sex. Ok, perhaps it’s not better than sex, but at this moment it’s everything she’s ever wanted and oh so satisfying. As she swallows, she looks at the table in front of the couch, then up at Drake. “No chocolate milkshake?”

“Two days ago you couldn’t keep anything down. I think we’re pushing it enough with the burger and fries, don’t you?”

She shrugs and takes another bite.

Drake places a handful of ketchup packets and some napkins on the tray, then checks her cup of water. It’s still full, and he sets it back down. “Need anything else?”

Ripping off part of the fry bag to squirt some ketchup onto it, she shakes her head. “This is perfect. Thank you, Drake.”

“No problem.” He strides back to the couch and sits, taking another burger out of the bag for himself. “I should have brought you a Sprite. Or a ginger ale! Doesn’t that help settle the stomach?” Leaving his food behind, he stands abruptly and starts heading to the door. “I’ll go find the kitchenette thing Liam mentioned. They probably have stuff in there. Or I can ask the nurse for…”

“Drake,” Jennifer laughs. “Sit. Relax. Eat your food. I’m fine, I promise.”

“Right,” he nods. “That’s good. That’s really good.” Scrubbing a hand across his beard, he lets out a breath and returns to his spot on the couch again.

Several minutes of silence pass as they eat, during which Jennifer catches Drake stealing glances out of the corner of her eye. Liam had been the same the first day or so after her surgery. If he wasn’t actively doing things to help her feel better or make her more comfortable, he was asking questions about how he could help her feel better or make her more comfortable. And if he wasn’t asking questions, he was constantly looking at her to make sure she didn’t suddenly need anything since the last time he asked. It was sweet, but if he was still acting like that, she would have lost her damn mind. Drake won’t go to the extreme Liam did, but it’s still best to nip this in the bud before the marshmallow comes out in full force.

Finishing her burger, she wipes the corners of her mouth with a napkin, crumples it up, then places it in the center of the used burger wrapper, right next to the extra bits of the bun she tore off. Next, she calmly gathers the items, squishes them into a tight ball, cocks her arm back, and lets her projectile fly. Her aim is true, and it bounces off the middle of Drake’s forehead to land in his puddle of ketchup with a splat.

“Ow!” Mouth hanging open in shock, he clamps his palm over the point of impact. “What the hell was that for?!”

“Stop being weird.”

“How am I being weird?” he asks, hand still pressed to his forehead. “You’re the one throwing shit.”

“Because you’re being weird. You keep looking at me like you think I’m going to keel over or something. Stop.”

“You’re paranoid!”

“You’re transparent!” she bites back.

They glare at each other for a beat, then burst into laughter.

“Ok, fine,” Drake laughs. “I’ll try to leave you alone. Lord knows you’re getting enough over-protectiveness from Liam. But you have to promise to tell me if you don’t feel right, if you need anything, whatever. Anything happens to you on my watch and he might actually kill me this time.”

Jennifer rolls her eyes. “Nothing’s going to happen but fine, I promise.” Her phone pings, and she picks it up off the tray to read a text from Liam. “Liam will be on in twenty minutes,” she tells Drake as she types out a response to her husband; assuring him she’s fine and will watch every second. She sets the phone down as she turns to Drake. “Plenty of time to talk about feelings and stuff.” She gives him a cheesy smile and wiggles her eyebrows.

“Hard pass.”

“Come on, Drake, I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“You saw me yesterday.”

“That doesn’t count and you know it,” she grumbles. “When’s the last time we got to talk, just the two of us?”

“Like a week ago, in the stables in Lythikos.” He pops the last of his burger in his mouth, chews, and swallows before adding, “Where I’ll remind you we did talk about ‘feelings and stuff’.”

“Um, excuse me, so much has happened since then and apparently it worked because here you are. Go ahead, tell me how much of a genius I am. Say it. Say I was right, I’ll wait.”

“You’re going to be waiting for a long time.”

Jennifer laughs and picks up her Styrofoam cup of water. “You’re lucky I’m thirsty or I’d throw this at you next.” She takes a few long pulls from the straw and sets it back down. “What’s it like being back?” She hesitates, torn between being scared to bring it up and dying to find out if Liam was sugar-coating things for her peace of mind. “Is it weird? You and Liam after… the incident that must not be discussed?”

His brow furrows, and he avoids her gaze by gathering up his trash and placing it in the paper diner bag. “Not really?” he shrugs. “I mean, it was awkward at first but it’s a hell of a lot better than I thought it’d be.” He glances up with a soft smile on his face. “Mostly he’s just been worried about you and the baby, so we haven’t really had a chance to talk yet. We will though, don’t worry.”

“Good. Our baby will need their Uncle Drake in their life.” she grins, watching as his face falls. He looks away and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Wringing his hands together, he stares blankly at the table in front of him and nervousness prickles across her skin. After everything she went through the last several days; the pain, the fear, the uncertainty, she had the thought that as horrible as it was, at least it brought them back together. But it still isn’t enough. “You don’t want to talk to him.” It isn’t a question, it’s an observation. To be smacked in the face with the realization your life can change in an instant, that you never know when you might lose someone important to you and you’ll never get the chance to tell them how you really feel… How can it not be enough for them to at least try to fix things?

“No, no, I do.” He waves her off. “Of course I do.” Groaning, he presses the heels of his palms into his eyes before raking both hands through his long hair. He leans back with a sigh and rests his head on the back of the couch, taking a moment before he speaks again. “Olivia’s pregnant.”

Oh. That. She had almost forgotten about that. “…whaaat? That’s crazy.” Her feigned shock sounds pitiful even to her own ears and his eyes snap open as he sits up, rigid like his body has turned to stone. Real smooth, Jennifer. Way to convince him this is the first you’re hearing about it.

Drake looks positively scandalized. “You knew!”

She grimaces. “Yeah… I gave her a pregnancy test during the picnic.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she shouts back. “I was a little preoccupied with trying not to die!”

He cringes at her words, and when their eyes meet again, he has the decency to look apologetic. “I still wish you would have told me. I could have prepared myself a little, at least.”

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads up. Liam was leaving for Switzerland the next day and that night we were… um… a little busy and…”

Drake shakes his head, “Yeah, I don’t need to hear about it.”

“Right. Anyway, we were busy. Then the next day I had a bunch of Queenly stuff to do, and that night I got sick. Next thing I knew I was here, so… I never got the chance. Besides, it wasn’t my place to tell you, Drake. It was Olivia’s right to tell you when she was ready.”

He slumps against the couch again, knowing she’s right even if he will never admit it. “I suppose Liam knows?”

“Actually, he doesn’t. I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Yeah, right,” Drake scoffs, raising his eyebrow in disbelief. “You tell him everything.”

“I do not.” Not wanting to miss Liam’s statement, she turns on the tv and flips through the local channels. All of them have ‘Breaking News’ framing the screen while the newsmen and women speculate on her condition; the worst of which being she lost the baby. Her throat tightens, and she places a protective hand on her stomach, gently rubbing to remind herself their little bean is still there. A kick bumps against her palm, and she gives them a little pat in response. “I totally did mean to tell him though.” Shrugging, she lowers the volume until she can barely hear what’s being said. She doesn’t need that kind of negativity in her life. “Slipped my mind, I guess.”

“It slipped your mind,” he speaks in a dry tone. “Me and Olivia having a kid slipped your mind. Wow.”

Jennifer rolls her eyes, “I didn’t forget you were having a baby, I just forgot to tell Liam. Because as I said,” With a sweep of her arms, she gestures at herself in the hospital bed. “I’ve been a little busy.” Rather than commenting on the pout on Drake’s face, she picks up her cup and enjoys the satisfaction of winning this round as she drinks the rest of her water. “So… what are you going to do? Do you think you guys will get married or…?”

“All I know is I’m going to be a dad and part of my kid’s life,” he shrugs. “Other than that I have no fucking clue.” His cheeks puff as he forces a breath through his lips. “Can we talk about something else? How are you doing?”

“Great,” she answers. “Bored as hell, though.”

“When are you getting out of here?”

“I’m not sure. My labs look awesome but they’re still worried about sepsis so they’re pumping antibiotics into my I.V. three times a day. Tomorrow it drops to twice a day for a few days, then oral antibiotics for a few weeks, but I won’t need to be here for that. And they said I had to poop before I could be discharged but I did that this morning so… don’t know.”

“Why…?” Raising his hand to stop her, he shakes his head and closes his eyes like the image is too much. “I don’t want to hear about your bowel movements.”

“You’re the one who asked! Everybody poops, Drake. You need to get over it.” Pushing her tray out of the way, she sits up and sweeps the blanket off her legs.

Drake is on his feet in a flash and shouts, “What the hell are you doing?” One second he was sprawled out on the couch and the next he’s at the side of her bed wearing a manic expression. He might have jumped over the coffee table. She can’t be sure.

Startled and ready to fight to the death, Jennifer raises her fists to her fluttering chest and leans away from the large mountain-man towering over her. “Back off, weirdo! I’m just going to refill my water. Relax.”

“I’ll do it.” He snatches the cup off the tray. “Liam said you’re not supposed to be getting up all the time.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.” She rolls her eyes. All the time. Like shuffling to the bathroom every few hours is ‘all the time’. Blood flow is important, she’ll have her dear husband know. Though the last time she used that argument, it didn’t work. Instead, he massaged her legs, which was nice, but she still wants to move around a bit. She’ll try again later, and maybe Liam will even let her walk into the hall like a big girl. You never know, miracles happen every day. “Where are you going?” she asks Drake as he heads toward the door. “Just use the faucet in the bathroom.”

He whirls around, looking highly affronted. “I’m not giving you tap water. Are you insane?” His lip curls as he shoots her a dirty look and turns on his heel.

“Excuse me,” she shouts at his retreating back. “Our water is immaculate, thank you very much!”

In the hall, Drake frantically shouts for water like the room is on fire. It isn’t hard to picture the sight of him, eyes wild while he chases down any poor soul who crosses his path. Jennifer shakes her head, looking up toward the heavens for strength. All the men in her life have lost their minds. Every. Last. One of them.

Several guards taking position between the crowd and the podium draws her attention to the tv, and she turns up the volume as Drake comes back in with a cup in each hand.

He hands her one without meeting her eyes and rubs the back of his neck. “I uh… I might have scared some nurses.”

“You think?” She takes a drink and tips her chin at the tv. “You’re just in time. Looks like Liam is about to go on.” As Drake settles into the chair beside her bed, Jennifer watches her husband exit the glass doors of the hospital with Bastien following behind. Liam wears his usual calm and stoic expression when in the public eye, but his lips show the barest hint of a smile to put the people at ease. “Aww, man. He shaved. I liked that beard.”

“I’m sure he’ll grow it again if you ask him to.”

She flaps her hand and hisses, “Shh!”

Drake shifts in the chair, making the cheap vinyl and worn out springs creak as he twists to set his cup on the cabinet behind him.

“Dude.” She looks at him, lifting her brows in exasperation. “Seriously.”

“Sorry.” He raises his palms and speaks his next word under his breath. “Geez.”

Stepping up to the microphone, Liam rests his palms on the podium and begins to speak. “Thank you all for coming. I would like to take this opportunity to provide you, our people, with facts, and dispel any rumors surrounding the health of Queen Jennifer and our child. Early Wednesday morning, The Queen underwent an emergency appendectomy. The surgery was successful and did not adversely affect the pregnancy.” His eyes flash and even though she can’t see it on the small tv screen, Jennifer knows him well enough to know his jaw is clenched for a split second before he speaks again. “There was no miscarriage.” He says the words deliberately, forcefully, in a firm tone to ensure there is no confusion. “Her recovery is going well and she is eager to get back to work for the Cordonian people but for the time being, she is resting comfortably at the insistence of her doctors.” He pauses and huffs out a laugh, looking out at the crowd in front of him with an easy grin. “I am sure you can all imagine how that went.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jennifer crosses her arms and wrinkles her nose at the tv as the crowd laughs softly, nodding their heads like they know exactly what he’s talking about.

“That you’re stubborn, have no regard for your own safety, hate the idea of being stuck in bed while there’s work to do, refuse to listen to people who only have your health in mind and want what’s best for you…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jennifer cuts Drake off with a wave of her hand. “And I am not stubborn.”

“I beg your pardon?” Drake looks at her like it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “You’re the queen of stubborn.”

“I’m the Queen of Cordonia and don’t you forget it.” She shoots him a smug smirk. “Also, I prefer determined, not stubborn, and you act like that’s a bad thing. It’s not. Now hush, you’re making me miss what my man is saying with your nonsense.” She can practically hear Drake’s eyes rolling in his head as she turns her attention back to the rest of Liam’s statement.

“…Jennifer and I wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the impeccable staff here at Apple Grove General Hospital. Every person we have encountered from aides, to nurses, to doctors, we have been met with professionalism and a level of care that is second to none; reminding us how important quality health care is to both our family and our people. Also, to those who have sent well-wishes, thoughts, and prayers, we cannot thank you enough. It warms our hearts to know we have the support of the Cordonian people and we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure your support is not misplaced. I’m afraid that is all the time I have for today, but I assure you; The Queen is safe. Our child is safe. The Monarchy is safe.” Liam pauses, looking out at the crowd with a resolute expression to allow his words to sink in. “Good day to you all and thank you again for coming.”

“He’s good,” Drake admits as the camera pans out to show the reporter Donnie Brine with his microphone in his hand. In the background, Madeleine can be seen meeting Liam halfway to the doors, and he turns his head the slightest bit to listen to what she’s saying as they walk, followed by Bastien and a handful of other guards back into the hospital.

“Isn’t he though?” Jennifer clasps her hands to her chest and sighs dramatically. “I love him.”

“Huh. Never would have guessed.” Drake stands and stretches his arms over his head. “God, how does Liam sit here all day and night?”

“You know him, he doesn’t want to leave me here alone.” Jennifer shrugs. “He reads, we play games, watch tv, blah blah blah. And he’s still working, he just does what he can from here.” She listens to the reporters analyze Liam’s statement, talking about how relieved they are she’s doing well and impressed King Liam came out to speak to them personally. Because if he’s outside speaking with them, then her hospital stay must not be as serious as they’d first feared. If only they knew. “At least you guys can leave whenever you want. I can’t even walk around. I’m about to tie a bunch of sheets together and repel out the window.” A doctor she’s never seen or been examined by in her life comes on the screen and starts discussing the statistics of appendicitis in pregnant women and how dangerous it can be. She turns off the tv. “I don’t need a babysitter, you know. You don’t have to stay.”

“Says the woman who’s about to jump out of the window,” Drake grumbles, moving to examine the whiteboard on the wall. There’s nothing listed. She only has two nurses: Ashley during the day and Lucy at night.

“Still threatening that, are we?” Liam asks as he enters the room. Grinning, he nods at Drake as he walks over to the bed. Jennifer lifts her head for a kiss and Liam places one on her cheek. “How are you doing, love? Everything okay?”

“The tv’s in this joint are way too small,” she complains. “That thing’s so tiny you can barely even see what’s going on. Would it kill them to have something you don’t need binoculars to look at? Seems like a good investment for patient morale.”

Liam checks his watch, then swipes the hospital’s food menu off the counter and hands it to her without a word.

“I’m not hungry. My babysitter already fed me,” she tells him. Liam doesn’t respond, just stands there blinking at her until she takes the menu with a roll of her eyes.

“Everything went well?” Liam asks Drake.

“He tried to give me tap water,” Jennifer answers as she reads over the menu. Everything looks good. Fantastic, even. Ok, fine, she might be a little hungry.

“What? I did not!” Drake exclaims. “She’s the one who told me to use tap water. I used bottled water I got from the nurse.”

Laughing, Jennifer flips the menu while Liam waits with his phone in his hand to text security her order. “I’ll have a garden salad with ranch, grilled chicken sandwich, mashed potatoes and gravy, a side of broccoli, chocolate ice cream and some pickles. Like, a bowl of pickles. Oh! And some fries to dip into the ice cream. Strawberries sound good too… No, a slice of apple pie. Or cherry, but apples my first choice. That should do it, I think.”

“Got it,” Liam answers as he types. “Drake, you want anything?”

Drake watches them with wide eyes. He looks scared and a little nauseous. “No, man. I’m good. I’m gonna take off, actually.” He walks over, extending his hand to shake Liam’s. “Maxwell said he needed my help with ‘the best idea ever’ and I want to be there to stop him from blowing something up.”

“I appreciate it,” Liam laughs, pulling Drake into what Jennifer assumes is supposed to be a bro-hug. It’s a little awkward, but a definite improvement.

Spirits lifted by the promise of food and Liam’s friendly gesture, Jennifer waves at Drake with a bright smile on her face. “Bye, Drake. Thanks for watching me!”

Drake huffs out a silent laugh and shakes his head as he leaves the room.

Liam slips his phone into his pocket and sits on the edge of the bed, gently taking her hand. “Bastien and I met with your doctors earlier today.”

“Okay… is something wrong?”

Liam’s lips curl into a soft smile and he shakes his head while gently running his thumb across the back of her hand. “No, nothing is wrong. We were discussing the possibility of you recovering at home in the palace, instead of here.”

“No,” she gasps, gripping his hand tightly.

“Yes,” Liam chuckles. “I would have included you in the meeting but I didn’t want you to get your hopes up should they have been opposed to the idea. We came up with a plan, and Ashley and Lucy have agreed to stay at the palace for the week you would have spent here. They will continue to monitor your progress and administer your medication, and Dr’s Colle and Patel will be on call should anything happen. At the end of the week, your doctors will re-evaluate, but barring any complications, they believe the need for at-home care will have passed by that time.”

Jennifer draws in a shuddering breath, unsuccessfully trying to stop herself from crying. “But… how can they do that? Won’t they be needed here?”

“As Queen, you’re the only patient assigned to them, Jennifer, whether they care for you here or at the palace. Your medical team wasn’t immediately sold on the idea, but once I started speaking in my ‘King voice’ as you call it and explained my concerns with security, they were much more amenable to my request.” Liam shrugs and huffs out a laugh. “I also made a sizable donation to the hospital, though I intended to do so, regardless.”

“When…” Her breath hitches as her tears spill over and she swipes them away. “When do I get to go home?”

“Tomorrow,” Liam answers, wiping away the moisture she missed with the pad of his thumb. “But Jennifer, you are still under the care of an infectious disease specialist and you have to follow the rules your nurses give you. There will be no running around the palace, no work aside from what you can do remotely from our quarters, no jumping on the bed, no scrubbing out the tub, no rolling around the floor with Chance and Tori. You will listen to what they say and take your medicine without complaint.” As she opens her mouth to argue, Liam holds up his hand. “I’m not referring to the morphine. I understand you don’t want to take it and they’ve already begun to wean you off. With everything else I’ve said, do you promise to behave yourself?”

“Yes,” she nods vehemently. “Absolutely.”

“I am not joking, Jennifer. I will not hesitate to tie you to our bed myself if you’re being stubborn or pushing yourself more than you should be.”

“I’m not joking either, Liam. I promise to be the best patient they’ve ever seen. I just want to go home.” She gazes out the window. It’s all out there. Fresh air and flowers and birds singing and the smell of the sea. Freedom is out there. And hallelujah tomorrow she’ll be free too, relatively speaking. “Although…” She turns to him with a mischievous grin. “We should totally revisit the tying up thing. Once I’ve recovered, obviously.”

#liam x mc #trr/trh fanfic #choices trr #choices trh #Jennifer and drake #drake walker #liam x jennifer #the consequence of secrets #the royal romance #the royal heir

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bangcrizpychan · 4 years

Text

Tainted Daisies | iii. Click!

Chapters: | prologue | i | ii | iii | iv | v | vi | vii | viii | ix | x | xi | epilogue |

Genre: psychological thriller, angst, mystery, crime, rich kid!stray kids au, college!au, slow burn

Word count: 2.5k

Ratings: 16+

⚠WARNINGS: graphic gore, violence, blood, character death, mentions of drug usage, swear words

Note: Flashbacks are in italics. Also thank you @mikoto-ica-fics for letting me add you in this story as a character, wuv u <3

Tainted Daisies Masterlist

Tag list: @nightshade-minho @mikoto-ica-fics @momochiiiiiiii@nowimyourdaisies @ravenlilshots @channiesmixtape @skzmnho @yutacchin @minnieflowers @xxbluestrifexx @mxxndreams @hshhj0620 @kpopwritist (If you want to be added to or removed from the tag list, please let me know).

You woke up in cold sweat, thirst burned your throat as you hurried towards the refrigerator, knees feeling like jelly. You gulped down the entire glass pitcher as you slowly slid down with your back against the fridge.

Everything seemed like a blur to you, confusion filled your mind as you finally realized that you were back home. You looked at the clock and it read '15:05'.

'Was that all just a dream last night?' You thought.

Your eyes traveled down to your wrists and they widened in horror, red marks that were clearly caused by friction were etched on them. You clutched your head as small pieces of memory started to form in your brain.

----

The feeling of nausea flooded you as you slowly opened your eyes, you wanted to hold your head but your hands seemed to be restricted. You waited for your visions to clear up and you saw that you were at an unfamiliar place, there was a raggedy old bed in the corner, a table next to it, a small television, and a pile of clothes by the door that was ajar. The place was small and the only source of light was the lamp hanging above you.

"You're awake," a raspy voice came from the door and you blinked many times to focus your visions.

A man emerged from the shadows and you felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over you. The clothes he was wearing was the same as the one you glimpsed at yesterday on the busy street, you felt tears trickle down your face as he walked closer, taunting you with every step.

He stepped into the light and you finally saw his face, it had a huge burn mark on the right side, he was smiling at you but he had a missing tooth on the front, although it was his eyes that sent shivers down your spine. It was empty, cold, but most of all, it had a deranged look in it.

"Why are you crying? You knew that I will be coming for you," he said as he reached out his slender hand and touched your face.

"Please, why are you doing this?" You choked, tears streamed down your face as fear finally took control of your body.

"Oh, you are getting good at this," he said and released a maniacally laugh that echoed all throughout the room.

"Y/n!" your train of thoughts abruptly stopped when you heard your name, you looked at the distance and saw Seungmin, with Jeongin by his side walking towards your way. You quickly turned on your heel and scurried away from them, you thanked the crowd of students that drowned you. It was Saturday but you were required to come back to school for the freshmen orientation and introduction of different clubs and orientation, which made you wonder why they were even here in the first place.

You did not pay any attention to the orientation at all because you mostly found these kind of things tedious, when the president of the university finished giving off his closing remarks, you were instructed to go to the lobby and were encouraged to join clubs and organizations. You have decided to stay for a little while and tried to avoid your friends as much as possible.

As you were strolling around the lobby, taking a look behind you once in awhile, you suddenly bumped into someone and a sound books hitting the floor rang in your ears, you rubbed your head and looked at who you just hit.

"Oh, you're Rei, right?" you said at the girl, as you remmbered her as the one Seungmin mentioned yesterday.

"Um, yeah, and you're the new girl," Rei said, biting her lip and tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ear.

"You're classmates with Sengmin, right? So that means you're not a freshman," you said as you helped her pick up her books.

"Yeah, we're in charge of the photography club so," she said, looking down, and you noticed that her shy demeanor was the sign that she no longer wanted to have a conversation with you.

You decided to not pry anymore and let her go as you handed her the rest of her books, she trotted away and you thought about checking out some of the other clubs. You felt an arm grab yours which caused you to release a yelp and follow your instincts by pushing the person away.

"Woah, it's just me," Chan raised his hands up in surrender and gave you a toothy grin that showed his dimple. You muttered an apology and took a deep breath to steady yourself.

"Are you avoiding someone?" Chan asked out of the blue which caught you off guard.

"No, why would you say that?"

"You have that look of paranoia written all over your face," he said and you couldn't help but release a laugh because you felt that you really were bad at pretending.

"Chocolate?" Chan offered you a piece and you gladly took it, you looked at Chan and the world seemed to stop around you, the shuffling of people were blurred and your focus was only on Chan.

You realized that you did not really take a good look at him during your conversation with him at Felix's party yesterday, but with him standing only a meter away from you, it was his eyes that caught yours. It was dark, cold, and mysterious, but it only made you crave to know him even more. You caught yourself thinking about how his eyes would ravish you and your cheeks turned crimson red.

"Your face is red, do you have a fever?" Chan asked as he raised his right hand to touch your forehead. You backed away and played with the hem of your shirt while biting your lower lip, you opened your mouth to say something but Jeongin's voice cut you off.

"Hey, Y/n," you looked behind you and immediately looked down, ashamed of what he would probably think because you avoided him and Seungmin the whole afternoon.

"I know you're avoiding us, if we ever did something wrong, I'm sorry for that," Jeongin said and guilt pervaded you.

"No, you didn't--"

"If you're ready to talk, just call us," he continued and showed you that cute smile you like so much. Jeongin was like a baby brother that you never had and hurting him in any way pains you as well.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll explain it," you said and rubbed his arm as a sign of comfort, he nodded in response. You looked through the glass walls of the university and you noticed that it was already dark.

"Are you heading home?" You asked Jeongin just before he was about to turn his back from you.

"No, Seungmin and I are going with Rei to meet a reporter, she have to describe what she saw that night."

"Oh, I bumped into her earlier, I guess I'll see you on Monday," you said and the both of you bid each other goodbye.

"If only I know where to find her though," Jeongin whispered to himself as he continued his search for his friend.

"Why are you avoiding them?" Chan's question surprised you, you have forgotten he was there with you.

"I am going to kill you, Y/n, but not now. I still need you to restore everything that I have lost," your captor said.

"I-I don't know w-what you're t-talking about," you cried, struggling to get out of the ropes that were tied around your wrists.

"Don't even fucking try, you bitch! It's all your fault! It's all your fault!" He bellowed and threw a bottle against the wall which earned a shriek from you.

Your captor grabbed a knife from the nearby table and brought it over your face, the cold metal touching your cheek, he slid it down, and stopping at the crook of your neck.

"I am going to kill you in the most horrendous way possible," he taunted, pushing the knife a little deeper in your skin, nipping it. A thick red fluid flowed out from the new formed wound, making you hiss.

"And I will start by destroying those you hold dear," your captor finished before releasing a baleful laugh.

"Oh, it's nothing," you said, shaking off the memory and taking the last piece of chocolate from Chan. The both of you decided to call it a night and went on your separate ways.

---------

A cold breeze made Tanaka Rei shiver as she pulled her sweater closer in hopes of it keeping her body warm. Wisps of of silver grey smoke curled their way through the hazy air as it escaped the mouth of the young woman. Rei released a chuckle, imagining what everyone would think if they found out that the quiet girl in class smokes the hell out of her lungs.

She watched the city lights blare like fireflies, being on the rooftop at the extension building offered her some sort of comfort that she never found in anyone else. Rei dropped the remains of her cigarette and crushed it beneath her foot, smiling to herself before deciding to meet with Seungmin and Jeongin.

She turned away from the railings and was met with a pair of eyes, before she could react, Rei felt her body being thrown to the side. Blood spurted out her elbow as the skin scraped off as she hit the ground; she hissed as she held her elbow to her chest, checking her wound.

"Why the fuck would you do that?!" She screamed at the figure in front of her, the moon was the only source of light and no matter how hard she squinted, she could not figure out who her attacker was.

The attacker slipped their glove-covered hands to their bag, pulled out a razor-sharp knife, and walked towards Rei's defeated state with a cackle.

"No!! Please... I don't want to die," Rei pleaded as her attacker mounted themselves on top of her.

The knife plunged into her chest, causing her to scream out in pain as she tried to pry the attacker off of her. The sharp instrument met Rei's soft and pudgy flesh, again and again, making a satisfying squish as the knife went deeper into her skin. Thick blood flowed freely from her gaping holes, her whole body trembled, blood coming out of her mouth as tears streamed down her pale face. She saw what the secretary had seen that night; the same bloodlust filled eyes before her chest became as still as a monument and met her own demise.

"Hey! you have reached Rei, I'm busy at the moment so please leave a message after the tone," a beep followed the recorded message, causing Seungmin to grunt.

"Where are you? The reporter is waiting for us at the cafe, call me back." Seungmin slipped the phone back into his pocket and started playing with his camera.

Seungmin sent Jeongin first to the cafe so he can entertain the reporter. The presidents of each club were almost finished packing their stuff which made Seungmin realize that it was already late. An empty can rolled to his feet and he quickly picked it up, he held it and went to give it to the janitor when a thought popped into his head.

"The extension building!" Seungmin said, dropping the can into the trolley, before sprinting his way towards the said building.

When he reached the door to the rooftop, his chest was heaving up and down from being out of breath. He swung the door open and was about to call out his friend's name when he saw something moving in a distance. Darkness filled the place and the moonlight did not really help his sense of vision, he walked closely towards it and the sounds of squishing filled his ears. As he got nearer to the object, the sound became louder and he could finally make out that the thing were two persons. His shaking hands reached to the camera that was hung around his neck, he pulled it up and snapped a picture.

*Click*

A flash filled the empty rooftop and the lifeless body of his friend was on the cold floor, her own blood making a puddle around her.

*Click*

His eyes shifted the person who had their back against him, who had stopped with their bloody activity and slowly stood up to face Seungmin.

A series of clicks and flashes emitted from his camera as he backed away when he saw the attacker's face. Seungmin turned his heel and prepared himself to sprint for his life when a sharp metal jerked all the way into his back, he dropped to the ground, face first, and screamed in pain as the attacker pulled out the knife. He took this chance to kick the murderer which caused them to stumble backwards.

Seungmin fumbled with his camera and before he could stand up, the assailant grabbed his leg and he fell again, hitting his nose against the floor, the tang of his own blood filled his nostrils. He turned around and the attacker immediately straddled him, with knife raised to the air, ready to strike.

"Please, stop..." Seungmin pleaded as his eyes became blurry from his own tears.

He let out a guttural chokes mixed with an agonized cry as the razor teared his skin, he could see the shiny metal disappeared inside him and the black handle pushed against his broken skin. He felt the attacker's gloved hands grab his head and banged it against the ground while they released an animalistic roar that became muffled sounds to Seungmin as his head was being repeatedly thudded on the cold stone.

The banging stopped and all he heard was the sound of his camera hitting the ground,and its pieces scattering all over the place. Seungmin felt his consciousness slip in and out, the last thing he heard were the sound of sirens before darkness took over him.

-------

"Two people were stabbed at the rooftop of Yellow Wood University! And one of them was our key witness!" The chief of police yelled, sat down, and rubbed his temple.

"This damn serial killer is on the loose and we still don't have a single lead!" He continued as the young cadet, Changbin, stirred the cup of coffee and laid it down on the chief's desk.

"I'm sure we'll get something soon, Chief," Changbin said, fixing his uniform.

"One of the victims had a camera with him, I already had it sent to the forensics team," a woman's voice drew the attention of the officers.

She had her dark brown hair on a tight bun that showed off her physical features well, most importantly; her striking blue eyes.

"There you are, Mica!" Changbin said, giving the woman’s huge smile.

"That's Detective Lee to you, Cadet Seo," she said while rolling her eyes at the young man.

"Well, at least there's good news, thank you, Detective," the chief said and took a sip from his coffee.

"Just doing my job, Chief Wang,"

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Changbin offered to which the detective politely declined. The YWPD became busier as the night progressed, trying to figure out who is behind of all of these manslaughter.

A person took off their bloody garments and gloves, leaving them naked and covered with blood that had become brown and dry. They put it inside a bag to which they intend to burn later, and stared at the mirror with a menacing grin etched on their face.

"It has begun."

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mybeautifulbeautifuleternal · 4 years

Text

i couldn’t utter it, i couldn’t whisper it (my love for you was silent); ii

Chapter Two - Run Back Home

rating: its a gen fic for The Umbrella Academy

words:7.4k

chapter:2/10

Previous Chapter

warnings: physical assault mention - its a blink and you’ll miss it moment

AO3

a/n: I blame @sam-writes for pretty much all of this!

Summary: In one world, the young teenager hid when she abruptly found herself pregnant and she gave birth in secret, left the baby on a random doorstep, and never looked back. Unfortunately, this isn’t that world. In this world, Reginald Hargreeves finds her and takes her baby. It doesn’t end well.

After Charlie finished everything she needed too downstairs, she turned off the lights and headed to the apartment upstairs. Knickknack was nipping at her heels so she guessed that it meant they were hungry. Greedy little thing didn’t like the generic cat food she had downstairs for the actual stray cats that came through her doors, not for Knickknack. No, they wanted the good stuff she starting keeping upstairs for them.

When she got up to her kitchen, she refilled the small water and food bowls she had taken to keeping out for this exact reason. After she was sure Knickknack was content, she started on her own dinner.

When everything was finished cooking, she platted everything, poured herself a generous sized glass of wine, and moved to her bathroom. One full bathtub later, and she was satisfied. This was she needed after today - which she actually classified as successful. No one else had died, there was very little maiming, and only a little asshole like behavior. Her siblings were really on their best behavior today.

As she finished her dinner, she leaned back into the tub and just floated. She liked to float because it allowed her the illusion that her hearing was only muffled from the water and not just completely gone. It was one of the few things she could do to make herself feel better about it.

Charlie’s ears rang. Everything else hurt, though. She had never been in the middle of a fight between Luther and Diego before and she wasn’t planning on doing it again. One dodged punch left her flying across the room.

Pogo had helped her up and out of the room. Left sitting on the main stairs, Pogo went to find Grace to patch up her cuts. She waited for him to turn the corner to the kitchen before she got up and walked out the doors. She had moved out of the Academy years ago, and while Dad wasn’t currently home, she didn’t want to risk it - staying in the Academy longer than she already had.

She was only back because Luther had called a Family Meeting to talk about what they should do about Vanya’s book. It had spilled a lot of personal and security details about the Academy and Luther wanted to have a discussion on their options for getting it taken off the shelves or discredited.

Charlie knew she only really came to see that her brothers were still alive - Luther was easy to watch what with the missions he was still running for Dad. He was still in the news if you knew what to watch for. Diego was also semi-easy to find. His vigilante activities were not the best-kept secret and Charlie had enough people from the streets come through the store that were willing to admit they saw the ‘Off-brand Batman’ slinking about most nights. It was mostly Klaus that she had trouble keeping track of - and he was the one she was most worried about. Although she helped feed a lot of the people who called the streets home, she wasn’t one of them so they hesitated in telling her anything about one of their own. Charlie had only barely managed to track him down after she opened The Flower Shop. She figured that Ben was still haunting him - in the literal sense - and she hoped that Ben was still there even if Klaus was high. She wanted Klaus to have a set of keys to her building - both the apartment on the top floor and the main shop floors that she had stocked with homeless supply bags and had access to the Tree. The Tree was her greatest Growth. A massive 2 story tree ripe with all the fruits, veggies, and nuts that she could get seeds for, the Tree helped feed the people who came through her store. She allowed most people to take a piece or two for free but allowed the homeless and hard-hit people to come in before or after her official hours to take as much as they wanted. And while she did like helping those who needed it, she mostly had the idea so she might be able to make sure Klaus was doing ok. After she had been open for a while without seeing him, Charlie had made copies of her keys, spent 2 weeks tracking him through various dealers, johns, and the homeless, and slipped them on a chain around his neck while telling Ben, hopefully, what the keys were for and where the shop was located.

But now Luther had called a Family Meeting for the siblings still in town.

So Charlie had put on her big girl panties and made the trip home.

She had known before that Allison wasn’t going to be coming - the latest gossip magazines put her in New Zealand for her newest movie - and she guessed that Vanya wouldn’t be welcomed or even invited to the meeting that was for talking about her fuck up. Luther would obviously be there - he called the meeting - but she wasn’t sure about her other 2 living brothers. Diego might not come just because it was Luther who called the meeting. He might also come cause he wanted the Book gone. Klaus was iffy. If Luther even got a hold of him, if he was sober enough to come, if he remembered it was today…Charlie believed he’d come if only to gather stuff to steal and sell.

She didn’t know if she really wanted to be the only voice of reason amongst her brothers. Klaus would be angry but he wouldn’t really voice it to anyone except flippantly - jokingly. Diego would be furious at Vanya but he’d also want to disagree with everything that Luther would say. And Luther would be angry that nobody was agreeing with him straight up, he’d be annoyed by Klaus’ thrifty fingers and Diego’s attitude.

Apparently she had been right to be cautious about returning home. No one wanted to hear her theories about why Vanya would write the book. Nor did they even want to talk about her. And Charlie’s insistence on talking about her got on Luther and Diego’s nerves - on top of each other. It had erupted into a fistfight fairly quickly. She was the only one in the house who could step in and stop them. It was to her detriment, however. One of them threw a punch, the other one dodged it, and she caught it in the head. It had sent her flying into the wall near the doors. She felt Pogo help her to her feet and let him lead her out of the library and sat down against the stairs.

She sighed.

While this was the first time most of them were together, she knew that they no longer wanted her there.

Apparently, supporting your sister in an obvious cry for help was enough for them to cut the ties between her and them. She really shouldn’t be as surprised as she was. Throughout their childhood, the higher numbers were a close-knit group with Diego occasionally dropping them to cling to Mom, Klaus and Ben were attached at the hip, and Five and Vanya orbited each other more often than not. She just floated between all of them as needed or wanted. They were not as close as she wanted them to be so the fact that they felt comfortable enough to do that? to shut her out like they did - it hurt but she shouldn’t be so surprised.

But then Five disappeared, Vanya shut everyone out, Ben died, Klaus dove headfirst into the drugs he had only been flirting with before, and that was it for her. She waited it out till she was 17, storing up cash and items to sell, then was third to actually leave. Klaus bolted just after they all turned 16. Allison left the night before they turned 17. She left the morning after their birthday. She knew that Vanya left soon after her and that Diego held out longer than she thought he would. She knew that Luther would never actually leave. And she was right. They were full adults and here Luther was, still sprouting dad’s words as his own.

Once she was sure that Pogo was gone, she left the house slowly. She now really understood how little she was wanted there and between the missions, the meal-time tapes, and the first-aid lessons she had been taking lately, she felt confident enough to say that she could treat herself at home.

But her ears wouldn’t stop ringing. And it was getting worse.

She had decided to walk home, to help her clear her head - she didn’t want to believe any of the things that her siblings had said.

Her ears hurt.

The farther she got from the Academy, the worse the surroundings got. But her store and apartment were cheap because of the reputation of the area.

As she was passing through the last alley before she got to her street, she failed to notice the figures standing in the shadows.

Her ears were ringing, there was a hand covering her mouth, and an arm across her waist.

It was as she was getting out of the tub that she felt the disturbance.

She was always connected to the Green in her apartment when she was close enough, she could use it as a safety blanket because it allowed her to get a better sense of who was around her when she couldn’t hear them. And her sense was telling her that there was someone now in the living room.

She finished drying off and slipped on her robe, then went to see who was bothering her this late at night. She had a pretty good guess on who it was already because she hadn’t felt any of the windows or the door open.

As she stepped into her living room, she took a glance around and saw him going through her kitchen. Her best guess? He was still looking for coffee. She went to grab it for him.

As she was reaching for it; Five stepped up next to her, covered her eyes, and stopped her. A few seconds later, he dropped his hand and she saw he was frowning at her. Then he started to sign at her.

What happened? Why can’t you hear? How bad is the loss?

She frowned at him, debating on whether or not she actually wanted to talk about this with him. But she guessed that his time in the future only made him more stubborn, not less.

Bad. The hearing is a complete loss. So is the voice.

At that, he switched his focus to her throat. She grabbed his hand and ran it along the scar that took her voice years ago. It was very well hidden underneath her butterfly tattoo and most people couldn’t even see it when they knew to look. Five tilted her head back and crowded her so he could get a closer look and then his eyes finally seemed to catch the extreme color that lined both her arms, her collarbone, and her throat. He shook his head and that seemed to drag him back into focus.

But what happened?

It was an accident that led to an attack years ago.

They proved they were siblings when the next part of their conversation happened entirely with their eyebrows. His was telling her to give him the complete story and hers was telling him to forget about it.

So complete hearing loss and mute, huh? And the others don’t know do they? You kept them in your sights all day.

You don’t have to keep signing. I can read lips extremely well. As long as you’re facing me.

“And the others? Do they know?”

No. It happened after Vanya’s book. They weren’t very appreciative that I supported Vanya writing that thing and they almost completely shut me out afterward. I do believe today is the first day that they’ve seen me since.

“They’ve seen you? So you’ve seen them?”

Occasionally, yes. I try to go to Vanya’s concerts when I can. I've gotten called to help Klaus at rehab and the hospital a few times, sometimes I’ll post Diego’s bail, I've seen all of Allison’s movies. But no - I don’t think they realize that it's been me helping them.

“Idiots.”

What did you want Five? Not that I’m not happy to have you here - you’re always welcome here and to everything I have - but you seemed like you were in a hurry earlier.

Here he paused. Charlie could see the conflict in his eyes. She only raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn’t letting him leave without some kind of answer.

He sighed, sat down on her couch, and started his story about the results of his time travel and the end of the world he ended up in.

As she focused on his words, she really wished she had more to drink than her single glass of wine.

When it seemed like he was done, she asked him,

What can I do to help?

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t even know what I’m looking for really,” he heaved a giant sigh and pulled something from his pocket. “This was in Luther’s hand, in the end. It’s been my only clue all these years. My plan right now is to head to this company and find who owns it now.”

He opened his hand to show her a false eye.

An eye? Well, I don’t believe I’ll be much help getting your information but you know where to find me when you need some manpower. And you can sit right back down. I don’t care how old you actually are or how old you look. You’ve been on the move all day and probably even longer than that. I guarantee you that the company isn’t going to be open right now. It's midnight. So, I'm going to make you some dinner, you're going to take a shower, and then you’re going to get some sleep. When you inevitably wake up before me, you’re going to take some food for breakfast - not just coffee. Do you understand me you little shit?

He frowned at her but Charlie could see that she was making sense to him. He, reluctantly, nodded his head and stood up. She pointed to her bathroom and made her way back to her kitchen. He needed protein and energy, plus she was going to make him some easy breakfast or she knew that he would only make some coffee before he split.

She knew she had been correct by the look on his face when she showed him the breakfast sandwiches on the top shelf of her fridge. She just flicked his ear, trapped him in a quick hug, and planted the most obnoxious kiss she could on his temple. She laughed when he put up a minimal struggle but allowed him to push her away.

Those sandwiches better be gone when I get up tomorrow. And if you take my blue mug, you won’t have to worry about the apocalypse cause I’ll kill you myself. Let me know when I can be of any help. Goodnight Five… I’m really glad you’re back.

“Goodnight,” he told his dinner more than her but she’d take it.

She threw a couple of blankets and pillows on the couch, then she finally left for her bedroom.

As she completed her evening routine, she heaved a sigh and resigned herself to a busy week filled with her siblings. And she thought she could get away with just a day of them.

She was first to the dinner table, coming as she had from the kitchen. She had helped Mom with dinner tonight, growing the vegetables fresh for tonight’s roast. As she took her spot between Ben and Vanya, Charlie took a second to listen to what survival tape they would be listening to tonight. Climbing? Interesting and a step sideways from the underwater fighting from yesterday.

Her siblings finally finished their parade into the lower dining room and they all waited for Father to allow them to sit and start dinner. When he finally told them to sit, all that could be heard was the scrape of the silverware against the dishes and chewing.

But there was a tense feeling to the meal and it seemed to be coming from across the table from Five. She subtly watched her siblings. Luther and Allison seemed to be wrapped up with each other. Diego had a knife in his hand and was carving something into the arm of his chair. Klaus was focused on his joint, a recent addition that seemed to help him calm the ghosts that haunted him. Ben was reading the new book that she had got him. Vanya seemed to be going over her newest violin piece, something fast based on her faint humming. But Five was staring, intently, torn between his meal and Father.

And she saw the moment that it finally boiled over.

He stabbed his knife down into the table and glared at Father.

“Number Five?”

“I have a question.”

“Knowledge is an admirable goal, but you know the rules. No talking during mealtimes. You are interrupting Herr Carlson.”

“I want to time travel.”

“No.”

“But I’m ready. I’ve been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said. See?”

While his first outburst had garnered the attention of everyone at the table when Father told him no, most everyone went back to their previous activities. Most didn’t even look up when Five Jumped to Father’s side.

She kept her focus on him. He was extremely serious this time. She could see it in the lines of his body. He was going to Jump today - regardless of what Father told him. Vanya tensed up beside her and she knew Vanya sensed the seriousness of the moment as well.

“A spatial jump is trivial when compared with the unknowns of time travel. One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn.”

“Well, I don’t get it.”

“Hence the reason you’re not ready.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Fear isn’t the issue. The effects it might have on your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable. Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore. Number Five! You haven’t been excused!”

While he did glance at the rest of us, most of his attention was on Vanya but even she wasn’t enough to stop him. He had chosen his path.

Charlie heard the front door open and that was the last they saw of Five.

Diego dropped Klaus off at a 24-hour diner and made his way to Griddy’s. This was just what he needed - some normal crime to get his head away from his family. He’d rather have to deal with humanity’s messed up behavior than try to wrap his head around his family and their crap.

God. Diego just shook his head. He just wanted to get back into his normal routine where he could get scumbags off the street and not have to see or talk to any of his siblings. Including Klaus for right now - although he was his closest sibling, Diego could only take small doses of him at a time.

Unfortunately, he had the feeling that he wasn’t done with them yet.

However, for the time being, he was going to focus on this murder scene and the faint hope he’d seen Eudora again.

He slid his way around the cops already on the scene to get inside. He wanted to talk to the worker that was in the building during the attack and hear what she had to say.

“Ma’am? I have a couple of early questions for you about the attack. Do you think you could answer a few of them?”

She only gave a faint nod, but that was enough for him. He started off with his usual questions, trying to get the shape of what had happened.

It was after he got most of his questions answered that he saw Eudora arrive on the scene. He thanked Agnes for her help and slid out the back door. He didn’t want her to see him too soon. She might actually shoot him if he was the first thing in her sight.

Ben was reading his book and sitting on a chair in the downstairs library, so he knew when Klaus was coming around. It was always hard to tell when Klaus was finally sober enough to believe that Ben was real. But when Klaus jerked up Ben figured he was good.

“You know you talk in your sleep?”

“Oh...Oh…”

“There’s no point, you’re out of drugs.”

He got more comfortable in his seat. He knew that Klaus couldn’t take no for an answer so he would be searching for something else to take. Either some kind of drug or something from the house he could pawn off.

“Shut your piehole, Ben. Said with love.”

Ben only rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted better for Klaus, Ben knew it wasn’t going to happen today. He could still try though.

“I’ve got a crazy idea. Why not try starting your day with...a glass or orange juice or some eggs?”

That had always been his favorite meal growing up, other than their Birthday Breakfast.

“Can’t smoke eggs. One of these has gotta be gold-plated right?”

As Klaus jumped from Pogo appearing in the doorway, Ben smiled to himself. It would serve him right. Then Pogo told Ben, inadvertently, that Klaus had already stolen from dad. Ben only heaved a sigh. Of course he had. Ben was only curious that Pogo was so worried about just a single box.

“Sorry.”

“Liar.”

“Drop Dead.”

“Low blow.”

“Would you shut up!”

“Excuse me?”

Ben laughed to himself. He loved getting Klaus in trouble like that. Obviously people couldn’t see him, and so when he could get Klaus to utter things like drop dead or shut up, the people surrounding Klaus believed that he was speaking to them.

When he heard Pogo tell Klaus that he wouldn’t worry about the actual box if he got the contents of said box, Ben could suddenly foresee his future. It involved following Klaus’ steps from yesterday and probably a lot of dumpster diving.

Fun.

Ben started to ignore whatever antics Klaus was getting up too and thought back to yesterday. He was extremely glad that Klaus had made the decision to attend the funeral. Ben knew that it was going to be hard and that there was a very high chance that Klaus would be hitting some of the extreme drugs again soon but Ben was still happy he got to see his siblings. It had been too long. He wasn’t very surprised by Luther or Diego - not much had changed with them aside from Luther’s inexplicable growth spurt but they were at their cores still Numbers One and Two. But it was his sisters he was excited to see. Ben was glad to see that motherhood had mellowed Allison out somewhat. He was really happy that she now had someone who she could give her unconditional love to. She was always better when she could love someone like that.

It had been over a decade since Ben had seen Vanya - he left with Klaus when they were 17 and the only other time that either of them had seen any of their siblings were at the Family Meeting about Vanya’s book or the one time Charlie had tracked them down with keys for Klaus. But despite the time separating their meeting, Vanya was just the same as she had ever been. Small, hunched into herself so the attention wouldn’t be on her, quiet so no one would hear her. Ben had hoped it would have gotten better through the years but as it was, Vanya looked the same. Charlie though - she had gone through quite a transformation. She had shot up from their teenage years - she could almost be mistaken for Klaus except for her hair, she was so much quieter than she had ever been, and was sporting quite a collage of colorful tattoos spanning across her arms and collarbone. He wished he could have talked to her about them - he knew she didn’t mind it so much when they got their umbrella tattoo when they were young but he never would have thought she’d go for the full sleeves let alone a throat tattoo. And Five! Ben was ecstatic to see that their missing brother was in fact just missing and not dead like they had feared for so many years. He was still the short sarcastic rude little shit that had ran out the door to time travel, now he just had apparently close to 50 years of trauma.

Ben wished for a lot of things following yesterday but most of all he wished that he could have held and helped his sibling through the years. Everyone in this entire family could use a goddamn hug and Ben wanted to be the one to give them one.

As Vanya woke up, she wondered about what Five talked about last night. She didn’t know whether or not she believed him. She didn’t think she did. If he was gone for so long, who knew what had happened to him in that time. She got up out of bed, composing questions for Five as she went, and left her bedroom for the living room. She wanted to believe Five but she had a lot of questions for him before she could.

“Hey, Five.”

She wished she could say she was shocked that Five didn’t stay but she wasn’t. Why would anyone stay for her?

He didn’t even sit on the couch.

Five finished the last of his breakfast and stood to take care of his dishes. He didn’t want to leave a pile of dishes that Charlie had to take care of when she finally woke. She had given him a bed for the night, food to eat, and allowed him to use her shower. Plus she was a good listener - not that she could hear anymore.

Five had to shallow down a rush of anger. He had only spent an hour with her yesterday and he knew almost right away that she was deaf. And according to Charlie she had been deaf for years and not one of their other siblings knew. If he had more time, he would knock some of their hard heads together and hope that it might knock of sense into them. He decided to add that to the list right after ending the apocalypse.

When all the dishes were put away, he grabbed the eye and the directions Charlie had written out for him, then left for MerriTech. As much as he wanted to stay here and continue their conversation from last night, he had a mission and he wasn’t going to pause it any longer.

The white walls and large glass windows were annoying. They allowed a lot of light in but they also posed a very big security risk. He could think of half a dozen different ways he could use the floor plan for his own advantage right off the top of his head and he wasn’t even putting much thought into it. He was only out here in the reception area because he was waiting for a doctor to approach him.

“Uh, can I help you?”

“I need to know who this belongs too.”

“Where did you get that?”

“Why do you care?”

Five was annoyed yet again that he got the calculations wrong. Almost everything that he’d done in the last 24 hours would be so much easier if was even just 5 years older. But he had to be stuck in his young teenage body.

Ugh.

But this time he decided to try to use it to his advantage. Most people would like to help some young man help return an eye that was lost. He could really play up that angle and try to get some sympathy help that way.

“I want to return it to its rightful owner.”

“Aww. What a thoughtful young man,” the sectary just proved his point.

Five should have known that it wouldn’t be that easy. Of course, the doctor would use patient confidentiality to try and take the eye away from him.

And then he might have let his building irritation out and he might have been a little rough with the moronic doctor who was standing in his way for the information that could help save the end of the world.

He needed a goddamn drink.

When they started calling for security, he just shoved the doctor away and left.

Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.

He needed a new plan.

When Charlie woke up that morning, she laid in bed for a while, thinking about everything that had happened just in the last 24 hours. Dad’s death, family reunions, the looming apocalypse. She didn’t know what she was going to do about any of it but she knew she was going to help Five in any way that she thought she could. He seemed to have an idea of what needed to actually happened. That was better than Charlie who had no clue what was happening.

She reached out for the Green when she was finally ready to get up for the day. There was nobody other than her in the apartment but she could sense that Zara was opening the shop downstairs. She had to remember to talk to him this morning. With everything that she could sense was about to happen she had to let Zara know so he could take on more responsibilities within the store. She didn’t think she would have enough time to play a mediator between her siblings, help Five with whatever he had in mind, and manage her store at the same time.

Zara was a good friend, however, and he was used to her leaving most of the actual running of the store to him. She just had to let him know that he was dealing with everything for the next week or so.

Plans already running through her head, she got up out of her bed and made her way to her bathroom. Shower, food, and then she’d start adulting for the day.

She was happy to see that the breakfast she had made for Five was gone though. He might have been so much older then she was but she was glad that she could give him even a little bit of help.

After her conversation with Zara, she left for the Academy again. If she knew Five, he would be using it as a home base for his operation this week. And though she didn’t really want to spend more time in that cursed place, she did want to show Five that she meant it when she said she’d help him. Thus - her plan to camp out at the Academy for the next week.

When she finally saw the Academy doors, she slowed. Vanya was entering the main doors and after their last conversation - even if it was years ago - she didn’t want to crowd her. Vanya had made her opinion of Charlie very clear and even as much as she loved her siblings, she wasn’t going put herself through unnecessary pain.

Charlie knew if she gave Vanya a couple of minutes head-start, they wouldn’t run into each other. And she was right, having reached for the Green to track the people within the house. Vanya had made her way up through the hallways, brushing against the various vines lining the doorways, windows, and railings throughout the Academy. She could sense that Five was in his room, Allison was moving about near the kitchen with Mom, and Pogo was just leaving his room.

Father had made her Grow them for her training, having her use them to track her siblings - she first started with them all in one group but by the end Charlie could track all 5 (living) siblings, Mom, Father, and Pogo through the house without much thought or issue.

She still used that ability still - so she might be able to have a somewhat thankful thought to dear old Reggie. Maybe.

Charlie entered the house through the front doors and made her way to the bedrooms. She was ready to duck into any of the open rooms if any of her siblings but Five came along - she might have resigned herself to dealing with them for the week but she wasn’t going to hang around them longer than she had to.

Five had made his way back to his room at the Academy. After his failure at MerriTech, he needed to regroup and to come up with a new plan of attack. And then he had an idea.

It was a horrible one but it might just actually work.

He’d use Klaus.

…he was already regretting this decision.

He found Klaus wandering around the upper floors and dragged him back to the bedrooms. He wanted to remove all possible distractions from Klaus’ eyesight so they could get through the conversation in relatively short order.

“You’re going to help me with something this morning.”

“I am?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“And what will I be helping you with?”

“Go put on something professional!”

Five left Klaus alone in his room so he could change into something more professional and less…Klaus.

He was pacing the hallway when he heard Vanya calling for him from the front room. He Moved back into his room and shoved Klaus into his closet when he heard Vanya come up the staircase closest to their bedrooms. He didn’t want to worry her. She was ordinary and he didn’t want to burden her more than he had already - he knew she didn’t believe him. Not like Charlie had.

He would have brought her with him but she both wasn’t here and he would need someone who could hear and speak.

“Oh thank god. I was worried sick about you.”

“Sorry about leaving without saying goodbye.”

He kept the conversation going as he worked on the plan for the next part of his day. He needed that information about the eye. He needed to know who was going to cause the apocalypse. He needed to stop them to save his family.

…she wanted him to see a therapist?

He went to close the door after Vanya left - he didn’t want her to be able to hear the end of the conversation with Klaus.

“That’s so…touching, all that stuff about family and Dad and time! Wow!”

He was regretting his choice of siblings again - even more than before.

“Would you shut up? She’ll hear you!”

“I’m moist.”

“I told you to put on something professional.”

“What? This is my nicest outfit.”

That was his nicest outfit? It looked like a clown puked onto a shirt and called it fashion. He only sighed and rolled his eyes.

“We’ll raid the old man’s closet.”

“As long as I get paid.”

“When the job is done.”

When Klaus continued to talk, his regret just grew and grew. He wished that he had a better choice - he was almost tempted to track down Charlie and make do with her.

Which of course meant she came from her bedroom right as he was leaving Klaus in the hallway.

Charlie was very tempted to laugh. The look on Five’s face when she popped out of her room…

She almost started signing at him when she spotted Klaus coming up from behind him. She knew that he was in the house and was even in Five’s room earlier but she hadn’t put it together - that they would be working together.

She dropped her hands and raised an eyebrow at Five. His response was only a sigh and a shrug.

“Schwester!”

She accepted Klaus’ hug but continued to watch Five over his shoulder. He had something planned.

“Klaus is helping me with something, Charlie. I’ll stop by your apartment later. A smaller group is going to be better for this.”

She released Klaus and nodded at Five. Running a hair through her hair, she placed a kiss on both her brothers’ cheeks and went to leave the Academy. She knew that Five had a better idea about what needed to be done at Merritech so if he thought that Klaus was going to be able to help him more than she could she’d believe him.

She’d grill him all about it later but she’d believe him for now.

As she turned to go down the staircase she came up - she paused. She felt Allison and Vanya were on the landing beneath her. That was where the phone was - she made a guess and thought Allison might be calling her family back in California. Charlie had seen her pregnant in some magazines a couple of years ago but really didn’t know much more than that.

Charlie was weighing her options - hide out in her room until Allison was away from the phone (Charlie didn’t think she’d like an audience for her phone call) or just power her way through it - when Allison came up the stairs in her direction, making her choice for her.

Charlie frowned - Allison looked upset. She chose to lean against the wall out of Allison’s way - that way she could stop and they could talk or Allison could ignore her and go on her way.

Allison made her way back to her bedroom to unpack. Patrick and the courts made it clear that she couldn’t see her daughter yet so what was the point of going home? And she needed something to do to calm herself down after her talk with Vanya. How could she say that Allison was better off here in New York away from her daughter? And to still be blaming everything on Dad? After all these years? She needed to grow up.

Allison was halfway down the hallway to her room when she noticed her other sister staring at her.

She flinched back, “How long have you been there?”

Charlie just pointed to Five and Klaus leaving in the opposite direction. Allison frowned at their backs - she wasn’t sure leaving those 2 to their own devices was the best plan but she supposed there wasn’t much she could do beyond Rumoring them. She turned back to Charlie and shook her head.

“Whatever they get up to isn’t my fault. And I’ll see you later - I decided to stay longer to help get things in order with Dad’s affairs.”

Allison turned away from Charlie before she could start her response. As much as she did want to see her family again - she wanted a cooler head (and probably a cigarette) before she attempted to talk to any of them again.

As the Taxi drove him away from Klaus, Five had to admit it wasn’t the worst decision he’d ever made inviting Klaus to MerriTech. He had an excellent poker face and was good at improv - if only it wasn’t just because he wanted drug money. But that was about the only good thing to happen today.

What was he going to do now? The only clue he had - the one thing that he kept on him to keep going through the years was completely useless still. A week until the apocalypse and he was no closer to stopping it then he was when he first Jumped.

He knew that he said he’d visit Charlie to explain to her his plans and what he did today but there was something else that he had to do - Charlie would understand.

But he needed to find Delores and he thought it would take a while to track down where she was living before the end. He knew vaguely where they found each other but with all the living people still walking about plus everything still in one piece…he thought that it might take all day to narrow his search.

He’d visit Charlie when he was done.

Allison took a deep breath as Pogo left the room. This was weird as hell - watching old security camera footage of her and her sibling growing up but it was exactly what she needed.

She watched a couple of different screens, trying to match the video with her memories - here she and Luther made lunch and ate it together after she spent the morning Rumoring him. Here Ben and Charlie were reading in the library. Here Diego was trying to hit moving targets. Here Klaus was painting her fingernails. There Vanya was playing her violin alone in the study.

They were all so young - and small! She couldn’t remember ever being that small.

She wished she had more than security videos to remind her of their childhood but she’d make due.

When she got up to find another video to insert, one on top of the TV bank caught her attention.

When she finally started it up, she had to gasp.

This changed everything.

Five just looked around. He could hear nobody around him. There was only death and destruction and falling ash as far as he could see. There was no more Academy. But maybe there was still a chance that his siblings were still alive…

As he looked around what was left of his home, he spotted a hand holding a false eye with the body buried under a pile of rubble. When he walked over to grab the eye, he leaned over to see if he could recognize the man holding it. It almost looked like…but it couldn’t be. He wouldn’t…

Five leaned back and stood up to continue to look around. He was determined to find other bodies or even some living people. When he spotted another body through some ruined rebar, Five blinked harshly - the ash was getting into his eyes pretty bad.

When he was close to his bro- to the body, he tried to shake him awake. That scar almost reminded him of- but then he spotted another body buried in the rubble. She looked like she was around the same age as the other two…she looked like Allison.

His sighed almost sounded like a sob. Because if this was Allison - it couldn’t be it wasn’t not his family not them not them not them - then Diego and Luther were also dead.

Five pulled himself together. He didn’t have to panic or worry because of course they weren’t his siblings. It couldn’t be.

He stood up and moved to try to find where his actual siblings were resting. Obviously, they had worn themselves out trying to stop whatever this was and now they were just resting and regrouping to figure out what to do after. Obviously these dead bodies weren’t his siblings.

He froze when he rounded a broken corner of the building. There was another body lying face down in the rubble but this one was the worst. He could no longer dismiss the resemblance he was spotting.

This body was sporting the distinct umbrella tattoo that only 7 people had. This was one of his brothers. This was Klaus. The other three were Allison, Luther, and Diego. He only turned his head a little but then he spotted the giant garden overtaken the back of the house. It was really the only spot of color that he could see. And right in the middle was a wave of vibrant red hair. Charlie…

He spent the next couple of hours trying to find his missing brother and sister to no luck. They weren’t anywhere he could see.

He continued to stifle his sobs as he buried his siblings. He couldn’t just leave them in the open like they were. He needed to care for them now.

One, Two, Three, Four, and Eight…when he was done with burying them he just sat down next to them.

He looked up at the sky. He didn’t think that it could rain like it was currently.

#the umbrella academy imagine #tua imagine #the umbrella academy #tua #m's fics #my stuff #hargreeves children #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #charlie hargreeves #i couldn’t utter it #tw assualt #tw rape mention

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mrsbhandari · 4 years

Text

Artsy As Fuck - Screwdriver

Author’s note: HIIIII I def didn’t expect this to happen but here we are

Word count: 1527

Warnings: language, HEAVY SMUT, name calling, hate sex, the usual

Summary: Colt and Roze overcome some of their differences...kind of.

Tag list (which im very excited about as I’ve never had one!! Let me know if you’d like to be added or removed :))

@omgjasminesimone, @edgiestwinter, @bucketofsoup, @donutsgirl36, @desireepow-1986, @lovehugsandcandy, @troublemakerinspace, @client-327

Masterlist

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Colt’s next call from the professor came a few days after his ‘date’ with Roze. They had barely texted in the time they’d been apart, which was fine by him. He thought she was pretty, but annoying in how headstrong she was. He was trying to help her and what does he get? Albeit, he was mostly doing it for selfish reasons.

Everyone in the world is selfish. I’m not a bad guy. He shook his head. No use thinking about it now. He was fiddling with his bike, trying anything to make it go impossibly faster, when he heard his coworker Logan speaking with someone near the entrance to the garage. Just the sound of his voice set Colt’s nerves alight, but after seeing Roze talking to him with a flirty smile tugging at her lips, he swore his sight went red for a second.

“‘Scuse me, pretty boy,” Colt interrupted, throwing his screwdriver aside and wiping his hands off on a clear spot on his overalls that were folded over on his body, revealing his sweaty tank top and a little bit of his boxers. Roze’s eyes raked over him, but she didn’t seem impressed.

“Buzz off, Colt, I’m with a very important customer,” Logan shot back, sending a cheesy wink in Roze’s direction.

“Don’t worry about censoring yourself around her; Roze swears like a sailor.” If Logan was upset about Colt already knowing about Roze, he didn’t show it. “What are you doing here?” Colt turned his attention to her.

“Going to class. You’re modeling, remember? We’re doing dynamic positions with clothing today.” He hated to admit it, but the way her eyes lit up when she spoke of art made his heart flutter.

“You’re cute and an artist? Wow,” Logan piped up, prompting a scoff from Colt as Roze smiled at his coworker again.

“Roze, come with me. I need to make sure Mr. Smooth here keeps his greasy mitts off you.” He didn’t wait for a response before turning on his heel and walking down the hallway to his room, expecting Roze to follow. She reluctantly did, but complained when they got to the room together and shut the door.

“What’s wrong with Logan?”

“He fucks anything with a pulse.”

“Your point?” Roze gave him a playful glare when he stammered and snapped his head to look at her laying casually on his bed.

“I--I have to take a shower. Think you can keep it in your pants that long, or should I get Logan in here?” She laughed, sending another shock to his heart when he stepped into his small bathroom connected to his room. He kept the door cracked. “Weren’t you the one who was the most blushy when you saw me naked?”

“It wasn’t because you were naked, it was because you were hot.” Roze could feel the snark about to exit his mouth, so she quickly shut him down. “Then I heard you speak and changed my mind.”

“Oh, please, admit it: you think I’m sexy.” Colt’s voice carried over the steady stream of water from the shower. She didn’t respond, electing to take in her surroundings instead. His room was dark and macho, sparsely decorated besides the few posters tacked to the wall behind her. She recognized her own drawing of him from when he fixed her car and she stupidly ruined her chances with him when she was so nervous and everything that came out of her mouth was unintentionally hostile. She looked closer and realized that he had also pinned the gum wrapper she gave him and the receipt from the diner on the white space around her original picture.

Is he just sentimental? She thought, confused as to why he would keep so much in their limited time together. This isn’t going to last forever. Is he just trying to be convincing? Just in case?

The water turned off and Colt entered the room a few seconds later, naked except for the towel slung low on his hips, revealing a deep v-line and rippling muscles. Her eyes traced the dark path of hair under his navel until it disappeared under the fabric. “Why did you come so early? Class isn’t for another hour.”

“This was our first time doing the whole ‘arrive together’ thing, so I wanted to give us enough time.”

“You scoff when I call you uptight, and then you do something that proves my point.”

“Shut up.” She said it with no malice, looking instead at his exposed body that was sending heat directly to her core. He was annoying as hell but God, was he hot. He noticed her staring, the hard gaze making his dick twitch under the towel.

“See something you like?” he teased, feet pattering over to her on the bed before he could convince himself not to. She stiffened on his blanket, waiting for him to do something. When he made it clear that the ball was in her court, she sighed, eye level with where his towel was hiding his hard-on.

“Not really.” She tried to feign apathy, but couldn’t stop her breath from catching when Colt dropped his towel, exposing himself completely to her. He took a handful of her long hair and pulled her head back so that she was looking at his face with her neck exposed. He grew impossibly harder at the low moan she let out from the rough treatment.

“Wanna try again?”

Her breathing and heart rate quickened as she looked back down at his dick in front of her with half-open eyes, taking it in her hand and wrapping her lips around his shaft without a second thought, prompting a loud groan from Colt, whose hand was still tangled in her hair. He set a brutal pace, gasping when his tip hit the back of her throat and brought tears to her eyes.

“You don’t like what you see? Well, how about what you taste, slut?” he said, pulling her off him and leaning down to give her a bruising kiss. He originally aimed for her swollen pink lips, but tilted his head at the last second to press it to her neck, suckling at the skin. “I’m not allowed to kiss you, remember?” Her hands clawed at his back, sure to leave marks that the art students would probably include in their drawings. Roze pulled away from him and stood from the bed to undress, berating him as her pants and shirt fell to the ground.

‘You’re such a fucking asshole and I can’t believe I actually let you talk me into this whole fake dating plot, you cocky bast--!” He cut her off with a hard bite to her bare shoulder as soon as she was naked, his cock pressing into her stomach as he walked her backward to the wall before picking her up by her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her head back to the wall, overcome by the perfect feeling of his lips on her earlobe. Without warning, he pushed into her and let out a groan. “My pussy too good for you, Kaneko?” He answered with a rough thrust that left her gasping and incoherent.

“I should ask you the same thing about my cock, whore.” He punctuated his degrading nickname with a thrust and nipped his teeth into the sensitive skin behind her ear, causing her to moan loud from the combination of the feeling and the names. She screamed as he hit the perfect angle inside her, shocks of pleasure shooting up her spine. He grunted and let out a shaky breath as she clenched around him, feeling his release building and coiling in his stomach. Dropping her, he briefly pulled out of her and brought her to his empty desk, ignoring her whimpers when he bent her over so her breasts were pressed into the wood. The angle Colt thrusted at somehow made her louder, obsessed with finding her pleasure. She matched him thrust for thrust, screaming again when he landed a heavy hand on her ass.

“That’s right, scream for my cock, baby,” he called and the stark contrast between the sweet term of endearment and her quickly reddening ass sent her over the edge.

“Colt, fuck!” Her nails dug into the wood beneath her as she climaxed, spasming around his dick. Feeling his own orgasm approaching, Colt pulled out and flipped her over so her back was on the desk and he was standing between her open legs. Running a hand down his shaft, he sent thick ribbons of his cum over her body, painting the tan skin of her stomach and breasts white. The sight of her body covered in him as she panted almost made him come again, but he managed to control himself. He found it harder to handle when she ran an index finger into the sticky liquid, coating a digit and sucking it clean.

“Salty,” she mused, still breathing hard.

“Jesus--”

“Agreed.” Colt’s fingers were gripping her hip, sure to leave bruises to accompany the ones on her neck.

“Wanna shower? We’ve still got half an hour.”

“Fuck yes, asshole.”

#colt kaneko #colt x mc #colt choices #colt rod #playchoices #choices #choices rod #rod #ride or die #a bad boy romance #fanfic #fiction #fanfiction #fic #n*sfw #artsy as fuck

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welcometophu · 3 years

Text

Not Your Guardian Angel: Chapter 24

Marked Book 3: Not Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 24

[ Previous | First | Next ]

Pels is still on the phone when the door opens, and Jess and Shane come in. She says a quick goodbye and locks her phone before she stands up to drop it on Jess’s desk. Dad makes a face, and Pels sighs. “There are no texts for you to read anyway,” she points out.

“Hey, Dad,” Jess says. “I can’t see you, but I’m figuring you’re who Pels is talking to.” She slides Pels’s phone to the back of the desk and starts pulling containers from the plastic bag she carries. Shane leaves another bag on the floor near her before digging into the closet and emerging with three plates and three bowls.

Pels sits slowly on the edge of the bed again, reaching out when Jess hands her something. The extremely large paper cup is piping hot, despite the cardboard collar around it, and she inhales the rich, dark, caffeinated scent.

“I just assumed you’re one of those people who can drink caffeine at all hours,” Jess says with a small grin.

She starts unloading the second bag, and Pels is amazed at the amount of food on the desk. “I can,” she says, taking a too-hot sip because it just smells too good to resist. It burns, but it tastes wonderful. “Did you buy an entire restaurant?”

“We were indecisive, and we went to the Asian fusion place that just opened a block past Teas Please,” Shane says. He leaves the plates and bowls on the bed and returns to the closet to find a handful of large spoons. “Plum Pagoda. They have a little of everything, and we might have gone overboard. On the other hand, you’re healing, and you seem to be hungry every time we ask, so we figured storing the leftovers for midnight snacks wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“So, what kind of a mood are you in?” Jess asks. Dad’s leaning over the table, reaching out to nudge the lid for one low, flat container. “Pad Thai? Szechuan chicken? Sushi? Dumplings?”

Dad wiggles his fingers, like someone is actually going to see him and pass him a plate.

Fine.

Pels puts a bowl on top of a plate and hands them both to Dad. “Apparently someone either thinks he knows what I want, or he wants to live vicariously through my taste buds. Please don’t destroy those taste buds, Dad.”

“It’s nice not having to worry about who sees me,” he says mildly, ladling rice into the bowl. “Or rather, who doesn’t see me, but sees what I’m doing.”

Jess quickly opens all the paper and plastic containers, while Shane puts a spoon in each. They stand back while Dad adds the spicy chicken over the rice, along with something that smells vaguely sour and sweet and that Pels thinks might be Thai. He avoids the Pad Thai for now, but places several different kinds of dumplings and a spring roll on the plate, along with a selection of maki. Shane holds out both a fork and disposable chopsticks, and Pels grabs the fork.

“Okay, you’re right, I’m starving, and this is probably going to be round one of, well, more than one,” she mumbles as she takes the plate and bowl from Dad. She grabs one of the salmon rolls and shoves it into her mouth, sighing happily. “Yep. Hungry. Thank you for feeding me.”

Jess ends up on the floor, her shoulder bumped up against Shane’s legs where he sits on the edge of the bed. Pels is cross-legged, not touching either of them, but it still makes her feel vaguely warm inside seeing how comfortable they are with each other.

Okay then. That’s a thing.

“This is good,” Shane says with his mouth full, jabbing his chopsticks at the pile of noodles on his plate. “They have a buffet on weekdays. Which I think is supposed to be for the businesses, but it’s really cheap and it’d be great for students, too. Can’t you just see any of the sports teams there?”

Pels snorts, and has to grab her coffee because burning her mouth is the right idea after snorting spicy chicken.

She starts coughing, because really, it’s not.

Dad pats her back, hard, and she pushes him away. “I’m fine, not choking,” she assures everyone. “Just. My sinuses are burning. Is there water?”

Shane grabs a pitcher from Jess’s very large dorm fridge and pours a glass. Pels wishes it helped more than it does, but at least she no longer feels like she’s choking. Maybe she just needs to slow down a little.

“I am definitely going back,” Jess says around a mouthful of spring roll. “Will Nate be jealous? Are we going to single-handedly destroy the Teas Please economy if we switch allegiance to this new place?”

“We can split our time, I’m sure.” Shane pokes at noodles with his chopsticks. “Not to abruptly change the subject or anything, but—”

“That would be abruptly changing the subject,” Jess points out. She slides away from him, turning so she can see them both. When Pels moves to slide off the bed, onto the floor, Jess scoots backwards. They form a loose triangle with no one quite touching, while Dad stands near the desk, still looking at the food.

“I’ve just been thinking about the marks,” Shane says. “And what they mean for all of us. I’ve been figuring that everything started because Pels is our,” he gestures between himself and Jess, “soulmate. That this is a V relationship.”

“I’ve touched you both,” Pels says slowly. “The marks aren’t… done. Or whatever they’re supposed to do.”

“Which means this equation isn’t stable,” Jess says firmly. “I’m attached to you. Shane’s attached to you.”

“But you aren’t attached to each other.”

They look at each other when Pels points out the obvious.

“It’s not like we haven’t tried—”

“Shane told you about the kisses,” Jess interrupts him. “I’m just—gay.”

Pels isn’t sure she should put her opinions out there, all things considered. “If you’d asked me when I got to PHU if I was into guys or girls, I honestly would’ve answered that I didn’t know,” she says quietly. “Can sexuality evolve? And is this about sex, or is it about something else?”

When they both just look at her, it feels like they’re waiting for her to expand on her thoughts. She feels heat in her face, and she pulls her knees up, arms around her legs. “So. When I just look at Jess it’s like she’s a volcano,” she whispers. “You’re not a mountain. You’re on fire. You’re stable, yes, but you’re also waiting to rumble to life, and when you kiss me, I feel the lava under my skin. And Shane… You’re like bees and honey. There’s this sweetness in my belly, but also a buzzing like my entire body’s come to life. I can feel you both and you’re amazing, but different. And it wasn’t like this before. I didn’t feel like that the first time I saw you. It’s only now, after I’ve gotten to know you, and mostly after we’ve become well, a we. An us.”

Jess glances sideways at Shane. “So you think that even though we’ve been together since forever, maybe our relationship’s changed now because we have you?”

“Maybe?” Pels isn’t sure if that’s what she was saying, or if it’s something else entirely. Magical metaphysics is never going to be her strong suit. “I don’t really know anything about Ritual, or how it could change things.”

“It can’t make us do anything we don’t want,” Shane says firmly.

“But what if we do want, but don’t really think about it?” Pels says quickly, before he can lean too far back. She gestures between them. “What if you—can anything change? Just because it’s all of us here?”

“Fine,” Jess says, setting her plate aside. She crooks one finger at Shane. “Come on. Kiss me.” When he approaches, crawling rather than getting up off the floor, she adds, “Like you mean it. Not like we’re testing it out, but kiss me like you’d kiss me if I was, well—” Her gaze flicks sideways. “Kiss me like I’m her.”

He stops right in front of her, sitting back on his heels as his eyes go wide. “Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with—”

“Just kiss me already,” Jess says. She surges forward, framing Shane’s face in her hands, leaning in to press her lips to his. Pels leans forward as Shane’s breath hitches, his hands coming up to cradle Jess’s head, mouth moving over hers. Jess nips at Shane’s lip, and warmth spreads through Pels as she watches. She curls her fingers together over her heart, trying to keep it from escaping.

Jess sits back with a rough exhale, her pale skin flushed beneath her freckles. “That was not bad,” she admits.

“It was different,” Shane says. “And I don’t mean that in a bad way. Jess—you’re you. You’re already a part of my life, and even if Pels were my only soulmate, you’d be part of that. Right?”

Jess’s brow furrows, and when she pulls her knees up, it’s almost as if she’s mirroring the way Pels sits. “True,” she says. “You and I are always going to be you and I, no matter what. That hasn’t changed.”

Pels can’t stand the suspense. “But did anything else change?” She holds up her wrist, because she didn’t feel a thing and her mark is exactly the same as it was before they kissed.

Shane’s gaze drops to his own wrist and he shakes his head. “I held Jess’s hand when we were walking to get food,” he says, voice low. “I don’t think kissing is actually that big a difference.”

“So that’s not what the equation needs in order to balance,” Jess mutters to herself. She rubs her thumb against the mark on her skin as if she can somehow push it into being more visible than the scattered ink that it is. “We’re still not stable.”

Pels wants to ask if Jess is attracted to Shane, but she feels like that must be a complicated thing. She’s not sure she understands it herself, and they’ve already kissed, so… she’s not sure what to do next. She hunches over, pulling her knees closer to her chest.

“Hey.” Shane tilts towards her, one hand on her shoulder; the bees spread under her skin and through her chest. “You okay?”

She nods quickly. “I’m not good at this.”

She feels a touch to the top of her head, fingers in her curls oh so briefly as Dad murmurs, “You’re doing better than you think, Pels. You’re right where you need to be.” A moment’s pause, his voice even lower as he says, “You’ve got this.”

When she looks up to find him, he’s gone.

She blinks. “…we’re alone.”

“What?” Shane looks at her, confused.

“Dad has actually left the three of us alone,” Pels clarifies. “He’s not in the room. He’s not watching over me. I’m alone. With the two of you.”

“C’mere.” Shane motions to her, and she meets him halfway, kissing him lightly before she sits back.

When Jess gestures, Pels goes to her instead. This time the kiss is stronger. Firmer. Like Jess is more sure of herself and wants to slip inside of her skin with her. Pels pulls back, an exhalation on her lips and her heart hammering.

Jess smirks.

“We should—” Pels gestures at the food, then gestures between them. “Or we could—?”

“Let’s finish eating.” Jess picks up the spring roll she set down, grinning around another bite. “We have plenty of time, right? There’s no point in rushing anything.”

“I don’t want to push either of you into anything you’re not ready for,” Shane says firmly.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you two kiss again.” When they both look at her, Pels can feel the heat staining her skin. “I just like—I like both of you. And together, I just… I like that, too.”

“I can’t deny I like watching the two of you make out. It’s hot,” Shane admits.

“Because we’re girls?” Jess throws the remains of her spring roll at him.

Shane catches it and pops it in his mouth. “Nope. Because I like you, and you both look happy. Jess looks like she’s found a treasure, and Pels looks about ready to combust. So. I like watching the two of you make out.”

“When we’re done eating, that could be a thing,” Pels says shyly. She focuses on not burning her sinuses again with her spicy food, while also trying to eat it as quickly as she can. “Just practicing the kissing parts. Getting used to it. Since I’m getting the idea that as long as everybody’s got a chance to be kissed, we all kind of enjoy seeing it happen, too.”

It’s a physical thing, sure. She can feel it shivering through her body in ways she doesn’t completely understand. But as Shane leans over for a quick kiss to Jess’s forehead, it makes Pels’s heart bloom, hot and fast and hungry to see more of it.

She eats quickly, more awake and energized than she’s felt in a while. She watches Shane and Jess as she eats, taking in the casual affection. The moments when Jess reaches for Shane—simple things like stealing a bite from his plate, or offering a bite from her own—those affect Pels as much as the physicality of kissing.

She wants to see them like this. Together.

Maybe it’s not sexuality that affects her; maybe it’s emotions.

She sets her plate aside, closes her eyes. That might take some time to process.

“Hey.” Fingers ghost over her knee and she opens her eyes to find Shane sitting close. Jess is cleaning up their plates, packing up what remains of the food they brought home. There is a lot of food left; Pels is pretty sure it could be a midnight snack, and several meals tomorrow as well.

Shane coughs, and Pels realizes he must have said something. “Um. What?”

“You seem lost in thought.” He turns his hand palm up on her knee, and she slides her hand over his. Her is so much smaller than his, but their hands curve together and it feels nice the way the bees buzz under her skin. “Want to talk about it?”

“Still processing,” she admits. “But every time—every step—I’m doing better with this. With all of us. I may not be prepared to go further than we have, but everything we’ve done so far is on the table pretty much any time you want. We can hold hands. Kiss. All of that. Just… I’m good with it. And I really like seeing how comfortable you guys are together.” She flushes because like might not be the right word for it. She’s warm all over when she thinks about how they touch so easily, like emotions flow between them as if Jess really is made of lava. “It’s like you’re already one person. One soul in two bodies. It makes sense. I couldn’t have matched with Jess without you, could I have? Because you’re a package deal. We… we already talked about this.”

In the background, Jess stands in front of the fridge, the door open, a container in her left hand, her right hand lifted as she makes invisible notes in the air.

“Sometimes looking at the exact same thing from a different angle helps,” Shane says. He shifts so he’s sitting against the side of the bed with her, their hands still tangled and their bodies pressed together from shoulder to ankle. “Movie night, or sleep?”

Pels is not expecting the change in topic, and she doesn’t have an immediate answer.

Jess turns around, her brow furrowed and the fridge still open behind her. “What if…? No, that’s not it.”

“Put the container in and close the fridge,” Shane directs.

Jess seems surprised to realize she’s still holding food, and finishes cleaning up. She joins them on the floor, leaving space between where they sit and herself. Pels appreciates it—she’s not sure she could manage cuddling both of them at the same time. She’s not there yet.

Although.

“I am wide awake,” she admits. “And I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment. Would it be okay if I put on pajamas and crawled into bed? We could watch a movie, but then if I fall asleep no one has to move me.”

Jess looks over her head at Shane, and Pels is positive they are having a silent conversation that she can’t hear. They really are one soul in two bodies.

“I’ll be back in a minute; you guys get changed.” Shane pushes to his feet and grabs a pair of pants out of his bag before leaving.

Pels changes into shorts and a t-shirt quickly, her back to Jess, and is under the covers of Jess’s bed before Shane returns. Shane shakes out a sleeping bag on the floor, creating a makeshift bed, while Jess climbs over Pels to lie against the wall. Jess wraps an arm around Pels, holding her safely so she won’t fall off the narrow twin.

It’s almost too warm, and it makes focus on the movie Shane picks difficult. But it’s safe, and every once in a while Jess kisses her shoulder, and that’s just so nice that Pels floats along in soft bliss.

The Healers said she needed rest to heal, and she can’t think of anything more restful than this. She’s going to be fine for class in the morning.

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katsukikitten · 5 years

Text

A Pink Rose 2

Me: Update the fucking master list, you're getting so far behind

Me to me: Nah bitch drop parts one and two of a new series that you just wrote NOW

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

"This is the people you owe money to?" Katsuki hisses as he glares at a certain red headed man beside him as they both stand in a sketchy part of town. Only the building across from them shows no sign of dilapidation while the ones around it show of an apocalyptic view.

He's starting to wish he hadn't vouched so hard for him when they were teenagers.

"Yea..." Ruby red eyes rove over the front of the well known bar in the mafia. One where you can spend the night with women, for a price of course.

And if any man ever pushed past a woman's set boundary the boss of these women would kill you on the spot. Leave your body some where very public as an example.

The display showcasing what should happen to anyone who dare disrespect a Tiger Lily Rose.

Kirishima swallows as his boss' stare turns deadly.

"When did you open a tab here? You've been married to your wife for how long?" He grinds out, "I didn't peg you as a fucking douche."

"Ah this was a long time ago before it was 'The Tiger Lily Rose Bar'. Like years Katsu, maybe before I met you." He holds his disappointed boss' gaze before a soft *tch* expels from his lips.

He stalks on, pushing through the double doors to be greeted by several beautiful women, even if they were entertaining guests, their shining faces swiveled to them.

"Welcome!" All smiles and cheery tones as he growled in their direction. Crimson eyes searching over the bodies for any inkling of Kirshima's wife.

Ruby red eyes silently aided his boss, looking over the tops of heads for familiar soft hair only to come up short.

A woman with long black hair with an amazing figure sashays to greet the new guests formally as a short chestnut haired woman slips into the back with a smile plastered on ear to ear.

"Welcome gentlemen. I believe you two are new to The Tiger Lilly's Rose Bar." She smiles and her silky hair slips over her shoulders, pulling two sets of eyes to large, mostly exposed breasts. Both sets return to her face in a quick manner, "May I get a booth ready for you two? What type of women interest you? Or are you all wanting to drink at the bar?"

Katsuki sucks his teeth loudly, looking away for a moment as if this woman was nothing more than an inconvenience.

"I *want* a seat with the main man of this shit hole. You know the owner." He is met with a narrowing gaze.

"This is no shit hole, sir." She bites out the sir, "But I'll be sure to see if *he* is available."

She all but spits he as she approaches the office door, Katsuki and Kirishima in tow, leading them past the plush couches lit under intimate lights.

Some of the men shy away from Katsuki and Kiri, as they are lower ranks of rivals, Tiger Lilly's is supposed to be neutral ground.

But that does not stop them from texting a boss just a few ranks above them of a family head's whereabouts.

"Right this way." The raven haired woman sing songs to keep the venom from her voice as she gently pushes the door to the "office" open. The two men find themselves in a darkened hall way that seems to be ongoing forever as nether can see the end.

"Is this bitch for real?" Katsuki growls, pops coming off of his hands as he goes to turn to give this woman a piece of his mind.

"Momo is far from a bitch." A man's voice echos in the hall, Katsuki turns on his heel to be met face to face with someone he wished he has killed long ago. Shining emerald eyes narrow at the blondes hostility.

"Fucking Deku." He growls leaning forward itching for a fight, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Scarlet eyes don't miss a the three thick bands on the top of his right forearm.

"This is neutral ground remember Midorya?" Kiri offers a sharp toothed smile, although he is still on edge. Heart pounding as his imagination goes wild over his wife's location.

"Unless this little pleb is running this shit. Look at his arm shitty hair." Katsuki snarls, fully getting into a fighting stance. Deku motions behind him with his right arm, revealing long puffy red marks that slash upwards and through the bands, breaking them. Scarlet eyes widen at the sight as the black emerald haired man gives them his back.

"Boss doesn't like fights in the bar. Let's go." He begins to walk as Kirishima swallows his fear nipping at his heels like a herding dog as he follows.

Katsuki sucks his teeth following his friend closely but keeping his eyes on what is seemingly now a *former* head. Katsuki racks his brain, suddenly hyper aware of the hints leading to this.

When was the last time he had run into the scrawny dope or his goons on his territory. In fact he wasn't even sure of the last time he had even heard word of Deku dealing any sort of arms in the past few months.

He bites his lip as they make yet another turn down this labryth before they are met with a thick and dark oak wooden door. Beside the door stand a woman with short chestnut hair, she is petite but voluptuous all the same.

She bows with a smile to Deku who returns it, her sleeves long as if to hide her rank should she even have one.

She was a beautiful woman she most likely was just a favorite servant of the boss for her pretty face.

That's what he had done in the past, that is until she...

Well he wasn't going to think of that right now especially not with the door opening to reveal a large office with a door behind the desk that almost went unnoticed by both men considering it was being swallowed up by papers.

Every where but maybe a foot of the front revealing the dark wood with a golden inlay around the edge.

"Have a seat boys." The voice startles both men, Kirishima more than Katsuki as they enter into the room.

Kiri sits right away keeping his head bowed as Katsuki lingers by the door, removing his jacket tossing it over the leather chair. He begins rolling up the sleeves of his black dress shirt taking in the room and all the possible exits while he brandishes his three bands. He leaves the woman behind the desk for last. She is gorgeous is the way of average, a flower waiting to bloom and only bloom for the right sun. Her face rests naturally in the tone of bitch even as she writes in looping letters in cold hearted black ink.

"Listen as much as we would *loooove* to sit and wait, we have urgent business with the *head* of the family." Scarlet eyes meet yours, the mesmerizing orbs hold an intensity so great it puts giant stars to shame. You place the pen you were writing with down, eyeing Kirishima who still will not meet your eye and you smirk to yourself.

Thinking about if the shoe were on the other foot. If you were left to be the bigger fool of the two when one knew exactly who you were.

"Ah you're waiting for the head of the family?" You say softly, offering a smile.

"Yes, you're a lovely secretary I'm sure but we arent on the books, we do not *have* an appointment but we will be seen." Katsuki bites darkly edging closer to the desk to meet your gaze.

It does not waver as the tension between the two of you becomes palpable, before you lean back with a cat smirk playing on your plump lips.

"Well you've been seen." You gesture to the only open leather chair beside Kirishima as you lean back in your own blood red chair.

"This aint fucking funny. Do you know who I am?" He growls darkly, "Or is your face making up for what you lack princess?"

"Kirishima, I believe now would be a good time to speak up before your boss further embarrasses himself what with all that vast space between his own ears." You lean forward keeping those scarlet eyes hostage while speaking to the submissive hard headed idiot you once called friend.

"Ah, boss..." He gulps audibly, "She *is* the head of the family."

Bakugou breaks eye contact only to slowly turn his deadly gaze onto what is supposed to be HIS partner, not some lap dog of a bitch who thinks she's tough shit because she runs a whore house. He watches your slender arm move upwards as you make a gesture as you speak but Bakugou can barely hear them over the rushing blood in his ears as he spies the three thick bands wrapped tightly in ink around your forearm, your sleeve just barely previewing your family's inky body suit.

"Now boys who would like some tea?"

Katuski let's out a slow, agitated breath through his nose before he sits.

But not in defeat.

You still ran a whore house in his mind and that wouldn't change until he saw your family's spirit animal. Whether it be a dragon, demon, crane or otherwise dancing in the background of violent ink it did not matter. All Katsuki knew was that it was not going to be a tiger, his father had wiped their one true rival's family from the face of the Earth.

So he would comply for now, you were a new family he was sure as a woman was rarely, if ever, a head even if her husband had passed leaving the power to her.

There was always another man running the show on her behalf, she was just a pretty face so to say. Katsuki smirked to himself easing in his chair as he read your body language getting to work at dissecting it, you were much too relaxed to his liking. His scarlet eyes glided over your curves, you were a thicker woman than most though you wore it well. Muscles toned from hard work although still soft in the right places, at least that's what your low cut black dress told him. Your family markings barely edging beneath the dark fabric, he could tell that yours did not go all the way down your breast and around your nipples like his own. No yours seemed to, what he could only assume, flank down the sides, the color block sure to give the illusion that your already sizable tits were larger than they actually were. The ink seemed to sit snuggly on your collar bone but still all he would need is just a few inches and your family's guide would be revealed.

As if following his eyes you readjust your dress, sure to make your best seller jiggle before bringing your long hair sweeping over your exposed skin.

"Tea should be out shortly, now you said you had to be seen. That much is apparent considering you think my bar is a shit hole." You return to your paper work, no longer needing to give them the respect of your full attention, "Although I'm sure my bar brings in more annually than your net worth Bakugou."

He let's out a sharp laugh.

"You fucking wish." There is no humor in his voice as he stares at you through narrowed slits, you smirk in response.

"The numbers don't lie..." You begin before the door behind you is opened you know without looking, "Ah tea has arrived."

Suddenly the room is filled the echoes of thick chair legs scrapping against wood, Katsuki catches the chair from falling as Kirishima gasps out, ruby eyes glued to bubblegum pink skin.

"Mina!" He breathes as she walks towards the men, seemingly unphased by his presence, setting the cups in front of each male.

"Oh baby has she hurt you?" She does not answer, pouring Katsuki's tea before moving to her husband's cup, "Is she...is she influencing you?"

He reaches for the bare skin of her arm before fingers wrap over his inked bands like a vice.

"Please spare me, her anger is her own," Fingernails bite into skin as a warning before it hardens beneath your touch, "I would be angry too had I found out I was being used as collateral and was never told about it."

"What? You used her for fucking collateral on a loan? Why didn't you fucking come to me?" Katuski grips the arms of the chair as he stands, explosions skittering over his exposed skin.

"I made this deal when I was like 12 I didnt even think I was ever going to *actually* get married!" Kiri shouts back, "I had forgotten about it!"

"And I had been so kind as to give you opportunities to start repaying me but you never took them." You let your fingers slide over Mina's soft skin, "But then you started taking advantage of what was mine. How many birthdays did you let her spend alone while *you* worked?"

Kirishima's mouth stays agape while his own boss watches with disappointed eyes. Before the ash blonde can speak you continue.

"Its not as if Bakugou didn't give you the day off. Hell he gave you a week. So why do these extra jobs behind your bosses back? Could you have been skimming off the top? Or worse were these deals *off* the books?"

You smile as you plant your seed of doubt.

"I..Katuski you've got to know I would never.."

"Shut the fuck up." Katsuki shoves him into his chair, pressing strong fingers into an old idental scar to his own on the red head's opposite forearm , "I know you would never do that to me."

You frown when the roots do not take before Katsuki turns to face you.

"What does he owe?" He asks darkly, encouraging your amusement in Kirishima's torment, elated that his wife is here to hear the figure.

"40 billion." Mina gasps behind you but you continue, "That's with out interest. But we can do the math shall we?"

You pull the original contract from your desk side drawer placing it atop other sprawled out files and open notebooks. The file is inches thick with every additional item that had been added along with the interest.

"I gave him a great rate of 10% and it's been ten years...so 63,330,662,125.39. But again this isn't including late fees. I don't believe he ever made a payment." You sip your tea.

"Madame, may I be excused?" Mina asks, sneering in the direction of what may become her ex husband.

"You may." You take another sip of your tea as you watch Kirishima shrink three sizes smaller in his chair.

"So you took his wife?!" Katsuki yells, "What is she going to have to work for you until she dies?!"

You cross your hands and rest your chin over your laced fingers as you look into those ever burning eyes.

"What would you do if someone owed you money Suki? You'd hurt him by killing his wife first right? But why should a woman pay for the short comings of her husband. Unfair really." You grow bored, readjusting, "Besides she is not tethered to *his* debt. I merely saved her. She is free to make her own rules, free to make her own money and free to leave my care should she wish."

Katsuki slams his hands against the rich wood of the desk, letting unsolicited explosions go, burning fissures threaten to ignite fire to any number of the documents thrown about.

"That's fucking mahogany" You growl darkly before turning to the ruby red head with a genually sweet smile "I'll add that to your tab."

You write it in the cliffs note swiftly adjusting the note.

"Please...." Kirishima begs as he holds onto the muscled arm of his friend, "Boss please...stop."

"You think this little brothel is worth a disagreement with me?" He stares you down, face inches from yours.

"Why dont you ask Deku about that? I believe he had a hot head for a right hand man that convinced him it was. Now look at him." You smile with malice, his mind's eye flashes to the scared flesh on his skin before the asses the woman before him.

"This isn't fucking over." Katsuki is pulled closer to you with some unspoken magnetism whether it is the hate he feels for you or the inability to intimidate you at brings his lips inches from yours.

You do not move away like any other would. You stay perfectly still, like a cat in the tall grass eyes fixated on prey.

"Far from I'm sure." A cat smile ghosting your lips while venom soaks your throat.

#bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki x reader #bnha bakugou #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #mha bakugou #bnha au #katsuki au #bnha mafia au #kirishima #deku #bnha kacchan #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo

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peterpanouat · 4 years

Text

| Jerome x Reader | Heart of Darkness | Part 5 - Jealousy Can Be Deadly |

I do not own the characters of DC or of Gotham this is strictly for recreational purposes. Do not reblog unless you leave my credit. my work is protected under the creative commons license.

I know it took a while to post this but work has been rather busy. I know this chapter is longer than the last so hopefully this will last you all a while. There has been a lot of shit happening in my personal life so I haven’t been able to write as much.

Also if you want to be tagged in the updates I post shoot me a message and I can add you to a tag list.

Tag List: @sophiyaaaaay

Harleen never missed a day when she wrote letters to Jerome when the guards wouldn’t let her go and visit him. Some days, Harley would slip the guards a few dollars so that she and Jerome could have some time alone together which mostly ended with him fucking her against either a wall or vending machine that was in the facility.

She found a way to forge paperwork saying that she was a therapist assigned to work with Jerome of course with help from Edward which was why it was so easy for her to get through without having to bribe the guards after a few months. All the inmates knew that Harleen was off limits and that they didn’t want to risk messing with Jerome. They had learned through observation that if they so much as looked at Harleen, they would be put through pain that most of the inmates tended to want to avoid if possible.

She was on her way for a surprise visit to see Jerome when she walked in on him flirting with another girl. Harley watched as the other girl got closer to Jerome and saw her kiss him. She was secretly hoping that he was going to push her away and tell her that he was taken but that wasn't the case.

She watched as his hands brought the other girl closer to him and Harley could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces. Seeing the other girl finally noticing that Harleen was there, she had pulled Jerome closer to her. “What are you looking at? Keep walking doctor.” She snarled with a smug look on her face.

“Absolutely nothing carry on with whatever you were doing. I was just heading out.” She replied as Jerome had perked up when the girl in front of him mentioned ‘doctor’ and heard Harleen’s voice.

He pushed the girl away from him and turned to see Harleen turning around to walk away. “Wait Harleen this isn’t what it looks like. She doesn’t mean anything to me. She came onto me.” He tries to explain to her as he runs to catch up with her and takes her arm.

“Oh stop the bullshit Jerome. I saw her kiss you, I saw you pull her closer to you. Don’t lie to me. We are done, so carry on with the slut. I wanted to surprise you. I was here to tell you we were going to break you out tonight but it seems you are more than happy to stay here with her so forget it. Forget everything.” Harleen hissed before ripping her arm away from him and turning on her heels and walking away from him.

Jerome grabbed her harshly and pushed her against the wall. “You aren’t going anywhere. I am telling you that she means nothing. I want to be with you.” “That’s funny. You told me the same thing last night when we slept together Jer. Now why don’t you stop wasting your time with her and you and me have some fun together.” The girl smirked as she came over and nipped at Jerome’s earlobe.

There was such a fire burning in Harleen’s heart upon seeing this girl talking of Jerome like that. With her free hand she reached into her pocket without hesitation and pulled out her pocket knife before stabbing the girl in the neck before anyone could stop her.

“You stupid fucking bitch.” Harley snarled as Jerome let go of her arm and she started to stab the girl over and over staining her perfectly white coat with spots of red.

When she finished, she composed herself before getting up. She wiped some of the blood from the corner of her lips before making eye contact with Jerome as she licked it from her fingers.

“You are bad.” Jerome purrs before taking a step closer to her as he picked up the knife.

“Harleen, the guards are on the way are you almost fini-“ Edward had been walking down the hall when he saw the mess. “We are leaving without him.” She smirked as she saw the knife in Jerome’s hand.

The guards came around the corner and tackled Jerome and disarmed the knife from him. “I tried to save her but when I got here it was too late. She had already bled out.” Harleen says to the guards as they cuffed Jerome before Edward walked over.

“Hey wait wait, Harleen we need to talk about what happened. That girl was lying. I would never lie to you Harleen. You and me, we had a plan.” Jerome growled as he was yanked from being pinned to the wall by the guards.

“We did have a plan. You decided to throw that away. Put him back in his cell.” She nods to the guards before they push him along despite his protesting.

“Have everyone clear the scene. I work forensics at the GCPD. I will take care of the crime scene and run some tests.” Edward states as he flashed his badge to the guards.

All the guards clear the scene as Edward notices that the knife belonged to Harley. “This is yours…” He says before making sure no one was looking and picked it up and slid it into his pocket.

“We should clean this up. Once they take the body to the GCPD then we can figure out an analysis that will satisfy the cops although I think that we already have one.” He says before calling for some guards to help clean up the scene and pack the body away to take to the headquarters.

Once they got into the car, Edward looked at the time. “I have to meet up with Tom looks like you are coming with, it shouldn’t take too long. Just stay hidden and you will be fine.” He says as they both buckled up.

They pulled up under the elevated track and parked the car. Seeing Tom walking down the street, Edward got out of the car and called out to Tom. Harleen found it odd that Tom called him the ‘riddle man’ but she also found that nickname rather cute as well, it was very fitting for Ed since he did always have his riddles and Harleen loved them because she found them to be quite challenging.

The more they talked the more Harleen couldn’t help but overhear and listen to their conversation. When she saw Tom punch Edward, she was worried about what else Tom might do. She was about to show herself when she saw Edward slip his hand into his pocket and pull out the knife. She watched as Edward stabbed Tom and she could feel a rush going through her.

When she watched Tom drop to the ground she instantly looked to make sure that no one else was around. Getting out of the car, she can notice that Edward is a little shaken up as he let out a hysterical laugh. “Come on, let me help you dispose of the mess.” She says before having Edward help her move Tom’s dead body to the trunk of Edward’s car.

Harleen texted Jim and told him that she was going to be late coming home because she and Edward were going to be working on the Arkham case so that he wouldn’t come by and be worried about her.

She helped him take the body upstairs before helping lay down some tarps in his bathroom. “You have saws right? Or something we can use to dismember the body? We are going to have to dissolve it tomorrow at the GCPD while we close the Arkham case as well.” She says with a smile.

“So then…how did it feel? You know ...to kill him knowing that you are protecting Kristen from him. You did the right thing you know...that is one less scumbag out there abusing women.” Harleen tells him.

It took Edward a few moments seeming as this was his first kill and there was a darker part of him that enjoyed doing that. A darker part of him that enjoyed killing Tom, seeing the blood on the knife, knowing he could possibly get caught for this.

Edward still seemed to be in shock and Harleen didn’t blame him. Your first kill can be absolutely blissful. She could remember how good it felt to give someone a taste of their own medicine. “I will drive back, you seem a bit out of it.” She responds before getting into the driver's seat and waiting for Edward to get into the car.

She then pulled the car away and drove to his apartment where she helped him bring the body back in. Harleen promised Edward that she would take care of the mess and then burn the clothes when she was finished. With that Edward changed his clothes and Harleen set to work on moving the body into the bathtub.

She let her fingers run over all the different tools that were at her disposal that she could use to break down and disassemble the body of Tom. They were sharp enough to draw blood and one of them nicked her.

She licked the blood from the wound as she started to pick up the hacksaw and with a smile on her face set to work on dismembering the body. A few minutes later, Edward had collected himself and joined her in the bathroom with a few suitcases.

“You are going to use that to transport the body?” She asked, “You should at least bag the parts so blood doesn’t leak everywhere.” Harleen points out. Edward rubbed his temples before going and getting some plastic so that they could wrap the body in something to help keep it from leaking.

After a few hours, they finished wrapping and packing up the body. Harleen stayed up to clean up the mess while Edward got some sleep. Once she finished, she showered and went to bed as well.

#jerome valeska #jerome valeska imagine #jerome valeska x reader #edward nygma #edward nygma x reader #gotham imagine #gotham

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choupichoups · 5 years

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Press F (Instagram/College AU) Ch.14

Eliott may be all that; rich, handsome, instagram famous— but the basic plebe inside comes out to play when his crush follows him from out of nowhere.

Or: Press F but Eliott’s POV

Parting is such sweet sorrow has gained a whole new meaning as Eliott stands in front of Lucas, bouncing back and forth on his heels in a bid to stall some more before he truly has to go.

“You really don’t want me to stay with you until Yann comes back?” He finally pushes out the question, brows furrowing in concern despite the reassuring smile Lucas gives him.

“I’ll be fine, Eliott.” Lucas picks Champ up from the ground when she starts spinning around in place, looking about ready to lay down and have a nap right at their feet. “Go see your mom.”

"I mean... she’ll probably survive one day without eating my dad’s cooking.” he reasons, pouting when Lucas gives him an exasperated look.

“Bring your mom her rightful lunch, just like you told your dad you would. I don’t want there to be any reason for them to hate me.”

“That’s impossible, they already love you.”

Lucas pauses, bottom lip caught behind his teeth as he looks up at Eliott uncertainly. “Really?”

Eliott softens, sighing out a quiet, “Really.” His hands move on their own accord, brushing against the line of Lucas’ jaw. He can’t imagine how a single person in this universe could ever be capable of hating Lucas.

“Really, really?”

“Really, really.”

“Cool. You really, really have to go now, though.” Lucas laughs, nuzzling into Eliott’s hands like that would help his case.

“Okay, but if you need me for anything at all, you’ve gotta promise to tell me.” The grip he has on Lucas tightens just a little, firm enough to have his boyfriend tipping his head back to see the resolve in Eliott’s eyes. “I mean it. Anything.”

Lucas can honestly ask him to do his grocery shopping right here right now and Eliott would undoubtedly agree. Hell, if Lucas tells him that the windows rattling from the wind bothers him, he’d drop everything and run back to him. Eliott has no qualms about the lengths he’d go to protect Lucas, to keep him feeling safe.

Champ yips, gazing happily up at Eliott as a comfortable silence embraces them otherwise, the sight of Lucas’ precious smile warming the crystallizing fear creeping up on him. The mere prospect of leaving his boyfriend alone for hours until Yann gets back is frankly a no go in Eliott’s books but he understands that Lucas might need some space, and Eliott has his own responsibilities to uphold.

Fuck if it doesn’t scare him, though. The atrocious start to their weekend has really done a number on him.

“I promise,” Lucas whispers eventually, leaning up to kiss the beginnings of a frown off of Eliott’s lips.

Eliott watches him carefully, running a thumb over the shadowed smudge under Lucas’ eyes. He’d waited until Lucas fell asleep first before slipping into dream land himself, but Lucas had already been awake by the time Eliott next opens his eyes— and Eliott is an early riser. He forces himself not to dwell on it, he had been privy to an offhanded comment about Lucas’ complicated relationship with sleep before so maybe this morning is nothing out of the ordinary.

“Alright, I’ll see you later.” Stooping down for another kiss, Eliott lets this one linger a little longer, breathing in once they pull away and brushing a final kiss to Lucas’ forehead. He peels his hands off of him, squishing Champ’s tiny head in between his palms to make up for how his mind is screaming for him to hold on. “You’ll take care of him for me, right tough girl?” She licks his hands in enthusiastic answer.

Lucas snorts out a laugh. “You take care, don’t miss your stop or you’ll get back too late.”

“Yes, sir.” Eliott playfully salutes as he walks backwards, stopping just out of reach before he gestures towards Lucas’ still closed door. “Well? I’m not leaving until you’re inside.”

He’s expecting the eye roll that comes— it’s sweet and fond, familiar. The exact kind Eliott craves to soothe his fraying edges.

Lucas turns around once he’s inside, grinning at Eliott and blowing an exaggerated kiss in his direction. It’s so ridiculous that Eliott’s laugh is ripped right out of him, loud and startled, echoing in the empty hallways, nipping at the sound of Lucas’ door shutting with a heavy bang.

All alone, he finds himself despondent, kicking imaginary dirt off the floor as he trudges on with a pathetic pout. There’s no proper way to explain this feeling— they’ve literally almost managed to hole themselves up in Eliott’s apartment the entire weekend. It’s not like Eliott can help it, though, he did just get Lucas back and his needy little melodramatic heart misses his boyfriend for every minute they aren’t together.

He drags himself out of Lucas’ apartment building with visible difficulty, feet shuffling against the rough gravel below his feet all the way through his journey to the bus stop.

It’s going to take him quite a while to get to his mother’s office without a car. Usually, his father has no problem dropping by himself, but he’d answered a favour for an old coworker out in Lyon and will probably be stuck there until the next morning.

In a not so shocking turn of events, his mother forgets to take her ready packed lunch to work without his father being present to remind her of it. And obviously that’s an abomination, she can’t go without a homemade lunch Eliott, she’d get so hungry and her brain won’t be as sharp as usual, her work ethic would suffer because of it. Eliott had cut off his papa’s rambling with a groan and a reluctant agreement to bring the goddamn sandwich to its rightful owner just so the guy would stop worrying already. Hopeless romantic runs thick in the blood of the Demauries apparently.

adam.fk plans today??

idrisomd sleep

abebkhellal oof yeah

emir.yous buncha boring old men

omarions says you?? didn’t you spend fall break last year learning how to play chess lmao

emir. yous we don’t talk about that

idrisomd shut up emir not everyone is a free bird like you I was editing some stuff and I realized I need that dumb triangle still lol eliott can I borrow yours pls

emir.yous maybe if you don’t procrastinate you’d have more free time I thought you were keeping that triangle??

idrisomd maybe if you shut up you’d get more dates I had to sacrifice it for the greater good

Eliott laughs under his breath, contemplating whether he should add his two cents into the conversation. In the end, he keeps to himself for now, reading through the childish banter that inevitably starts up.

The triangle, huh. He’s glad the bus is mostly empty at present, else the giggling he can’t quite suppress would’ve probably worried some people. Fucking unbelievable, really. It’s ridiculous how it all started, now that he thinks about it. It feels like a lifetime has gone by since then.

Eliott still remembers it, vividly. That moment he set his eyes on Lucas. It’s the week before their new semester officially starts— a Thursday to be specific. He and his friends are scrambling around frantically attempting to maximize their remaining days of freedom to get ahead on his and Idris’ new film project.

“Props.”

“Props?”

“Yeah, we’re missing some props.”

Eliott struggles with the cardboard boxes he’s dragging behind him— they’re saving all the money they can by building the set for filming themselves. The rest of the guys get pulled into the fray, as always, so it’s a bit of a disaster when they’re all going around picking up stray cardboard and styrofoam just in case they need it for later.

“What’s the thing you were talking about earlier?” Abe snaps his fingers, trying to recall everything they need before leaving campus.

Idris jumps. “The triangle!”

“What do we need a triangle for?” Adam asks, fumbling with the styrofoam cups he’s balancing in one hand.

“For that one scene in the forest.”

“There’s a scene in the forest?” Omar pipes up from behind their circle, returning from the storage room where he’d gone to dig out some black garbage bags they can borrow.

“Well, it’s Emir’s backyard but whatever.” Eliott mutters, scratching things off of their checklist. “Can’t we just fake the triangle sounds?”

“Too much effort for a little scene. Don’t you have one at yours?”

“Yeah, but my place is out of the way, it’ll take too much time going there and then to Emir’s.” He shrugs, tapping the pen against his chin. “We can take the one from the theatre.”

Emir gives him a look. “We are not stealing the orchestra’s triangle.”

“Nobody will miss it,” Abe dismisses, already walking off to load their things in his car.

“What if someone tells the director it’s missing?”

“Emir, who would notice a missing triangle?” Idris raises his hands as he talks, incredulous at the question. “When you watch your classic live shows, do you hear anyone go oh, yes, the triangle was on point today? No you don’t, cause nobody gives a fuck about the goddamn triangle, man. Eliott, can you please grab us the triangle so we can get outta here?”

“If we get in trouble, I get plausible deniability,” Emir mumbles defiantly. Eliott snorts, patting Emir on the shoulder on his way out.

The theatre is only a short jog away from the parking lot so Eliott slips through the doors in no time, rooting around backstage for the instrument. He finds the little thing buried underneath a broken flute and a... tambourine?

Single piano notes echo along the walls without warning, and Eliott jumps from his crouch, heart beating fast from shock. He doesn’t run, though, because whoever is out there is obviously not going to spot him if they’re preoccupied with playing the piano.

He’s just about to leave again, grab his stolen goods and sneak his way back out, when the aimless piano notes begin to blend together with effortless flow, a sudden transition tickling his ears so pleasantly that Eliott can’t bring his feet to move along more than two steps at a time. Transfixed, he walks closer to the curtain, curious as to who would play such a beautiful melody so delicately.

Eliott has always wished life would be as easy as the films he's grown up watching— with twists and turns that cause crushing moments, yes, but with the comfort of a happy ending to cushion against the pain through it all. He’s always dreamt of something cliche to happen to him once in his life. Maybe he could win the lottery and live the rest of his life as a billionaire. Maybe he could meet someone so inspiring he’d gain the courage to pack up and explore the world with nothing but a boat and backpack. Maybe he could fall in love at first sight

The boy on the piano is turned sideways but Eliott can clearly see him from where he’s hidden behind the curtain. The smile on his face is plain adorable and the way he’s swinging his feet under the piano (he’s not even using the piano pedals and it still sounds so good) goes straight to Eliott’s heart.

His feet carry him forward, as if entranced, so helplessly drawn into the boy’s gravity—

“Stop,” the boy says, laughing. Eliott stops, startled. “You’re gonna ruin it, Yann,” his angel continues, head swinging to the side where another person who Eliott has apparently not seen is sitting.

The other guy, Yann, laughs too, picking up a violin. “No I swear, I can do it. I took classes once, remember?”

“Yeah, like ten years ago and you quit after two days.”

The two boys giggle at each other and the angel stops playing, attention fully on Yann. There’s a profound affection in the way they interact together, which makes glum little stones fall heavy against the bottom of Eliott’s stomach.

Jesus, he needs to calm down. He doesn’t even know the boy’s name yet.

His phone vibrates in his pocket and Eliott’s glad he’s forgotten to put the ringer back on. He doesn’t know how he’d explain it if the two boys catch him skulking around backstage.

Eliott runs out of the theatre soon after, remembering how pressed for time he and the guys already are. He tries to put the thought of the boy behind him, making vague hand gestures in lieu of explaining what delayed his return when the guys question him.

He fails miserably.

The bus lurches and Eliott almost drops his phone, fingers grappling for a firm hold on the screen as it slips and slides from the abrupt movement. He still has the group chat with the guys open so the scrabble has him accidentally scrolling up, up, up around a month back.

When he looks down at the screen, he's taken right back to that delightful moment Lucas had unknowingly caused back then.

The doors open and close, one person exiting but a whole crowd entering right after. Eliott presses himself more comfortably into his back seat corner and settles a hand over his mouth, covering the widening grin stretching his lips as he reads through his own moronic words.

Good god, looking back on it now is hilarious, but Eliott will never forget the all consuming panic he’d felt at the time.

Eliott exits out of the chat, frantically scrolling down his barrage of notifications to stare reverently at the one that matters most.

lucallemant started following you

It’s almost two hours past midnight, with him having just finished up the sketch for the side project he’s working on by himself. He’s been looking forward to falling into bed ages ago but now he’s wide awake, brain swirling with jumbled thoughts and with no hope of falling asleep within the next second.

srodulv when should I? should I wait til later?

adam.fk maybe wait til its not 2 in the morning lmfao

srodulv what if I wait too long and he unfollows

abebkhellal god almighty 😂😂😂 sorry bro no one can help u now

srodulv help me

emir.yous why does it matter? just follow him now

idrisomd he’s probably sleeping so he won’t know you’re a nocturnal beast

srodulv he won’t think that’s lame?

omarions he’ll eventually figure out how lame you are so might as well run with it

srodulv fuck off

idrisomd yeah man you can’t hide lame

emir.yous sorry we can’t help with that

abebkhellal rip

srodulv has left the chat

A bunch of useless hooligans, those guys are. He needs better friends.

His phone pings with more notifications— Idris has added him back in the group chat but Eliott ignores the messages for now, knowing full well that there’d be nothing but more of them poking fun at his current dilemma.

He opens up Lucas’ profile, heart palpitating as his thumb hovers over the follow button. Looking at the boy’s feed brings him the same mix of apprehension and fondness, as always. The latter because he’s an idiot who apparently falls head over heels for snippy little piano players and the former because, well—

I’m sorry, bro. I saw something, I think they’re maybe together? I’m still not a hundred percent on it, though.

Eliott sighs, clicking on Lucas’ latest post, of that guy playing the guitar for him. He scoffs, he can play the guitar too. He can even do the Star Wars theme song. On the guitar and the piano. Lucas needs to see that he’s the better choice over here.

He lets his screen go dark, closing his eyes as he urges himself to relax. It is quite an ungodly hour to be awake so he drops his phone on the bed, turns over, and hopes that morning comes with a newfound game plan to get the love of his life to love him back.

The good news is that morning does come, but the bad news is that all the plans he comes up with throughout the day are steaming piles of shit.

“I think I’m in love,” he blurts out, sitting in the basement of Emir’s house. Idris is standing on the couch, trying to cover the ceiling spotlights with printer paper so as to ‘dull’ its luminosity. Adam and Omar are struggling to hold up some desk lamps while Abe holds coloured file folders over the bulb, changing the colour of the lights for the correct ‘ambiance’. Emir is elbow deep in crushed styrofoam pieces.

They all exchange looks of confusion before Abe goes for a hesitant, “Uh... just now?”

Eliott scowls, waving a hand as if they’re so stupid to be unable to read his mind. He gestures to his phone, still open to Lucas’ Instagram page.

"Oh yeah! Any progress on that front?” Idris hops down, eyes glued to the ceiling as he backs up, slowly as if one wrong move could shake the house so much that his pieces of paper would dislodge themselves.

“No.” Eliott pouts, flailing his legs in unashamed frustration.

“Okay, well, have you followed back?” Adam asks, twining some rope around the lamp once they’ve figured out the best angle to go with.

“No. Shit,” Eliott hisses, sitting upright and immediately hitting the follow button. He’s been so focused on figuring out how to start a conversation with his angel that he’s neglected to think of much else.

One of them sighs, but Eliott doesn’t bother to look up at the sound of it.

“So what are you gonna do next?” Emir abandons his crumbly work of art, now sitting cross legged across from Eliott.

“He’s vague posting.” Idris grins, scrolling through his phone. “Ooh, Polaris. When did you even sneak off to take this? That caption though. Much mystery, so cool.”

“Shut up, it’s an old picture.” Eliott throws a couch cushion at him, then proceeds to slide onto the floor, diving flat on his stomach closer to the guys, as he comes up with the most brilliant idea. “What if I’m not?”

“Huh?” Abe goes to sit on the floor as well.

“What if I’m not cool or mysterious? Would that get him to talk to me?” Eliott’s thumbs are working on overdrive before the words are fully out of his mouth, scrolling down each and every one of Lucas’ photos and hitting like on as many of them as he can manage.

He looks up just it time to see the dawning realization on Abe’s face. “No!” he screams in horror, reaching out to snatch the phone from Eliott’s hands. “No, you— oh man, you guys, he did a weird thing.”

“It’s not weird,” Eliott dismisses, trying to retrieve his phone back but every attempt is slapped away by the annoying people he unfortunately calls friends. “It’s called reaching out.”

Idris is cackling, bent over in half as Abe shakes his head in wonder. “That’s kinda genius, though? How very Eliott of you,” Idris gasps out once he’s done wheezing up a lung.

“He’s getting the Eliott experience way too early in the relationship.” Omar mumbles, curiously going through the rest of Lucas’ older posts. “Aw, cute.”

Eliott scrambles towards them, wanting to see which post Omar’s referring to despite the fact that he’s seen every single photo twice over.

His hand slowly creeps up above the phone and double taps on the post.

“Oh my god, someone restrain him.” Adam says, dragging a hand down his face. He sounds like he’s trying his hardest not to laugh which is more than what he can say for the rest of them so Eliott appreciates his effort.

“Come on, Eli monkey, time to break off from Insta for a bit, hm?” Idris walks forward, still chuckling as he tries to pull Eliott off the ground and away from his stolen phone.

Eliott wraps his arms around Idris’ ankles, almost making the latter fall on his face in the process. “But he’s so beautiful.”

“Yes, yes.”

“His eyelashes are the 8th wonder of the world.”

There’s a collective groan from everyone in the room and then Eliott feels a placating hand patting the top of his bowed head. “Yes, we get it. But you gotta get up now, lover boy. We‘ve got shit to film.”

By the time his stop comes up, Eliott has to squeeze himself past a godawful amount of passengers. He gets it’s break week for a lot of the students but considering it’s a Monday afternoon, Eliott is of the opinion that there really shouldn’t be this many people out and about.

His mother’s office is a towering structure of reflective glass and one way windows. Eliott pushes at the revolving doors, nods a smile towards the reception desk, and settles into one of the many armchairs in the lounge area. He shoots a message for his mama to come meet him downstairs and doesn’t wait for a response before switching tabs to pull up the film he’s been wanting to see all day. Initially, he’s planned on seeing it with Lucas, knowing that it’s just the right amount of lengthy and boring (for his boyfriend’s taste) to have Lucas cuddling for a nap on his shoulder instead.

But alas, his plans are impeded by none other than his loving parents. Again. He still hasn’t quite forgiven them for poking fun at him being grumpy at brunch after that first night he’d spent with Lucas.

About ten minutes in, someone walks towards him and sits directly across from Eliott’s armchair, never mind that the entire lounge area is devoid of any other person than the two of them.

Eliott doesn’t pay it much mind, unmuting his phone speakers just loud enough for him to hear the background music coming from the film— he wants to record the sound and see if that kind of music score would work well for the mini project he’s planning to put up in the future.

The stranger lets out a faint chuckle but Eliott ignores him, watching the minutes rise on the recording to make sure that he doesn’t miss a single note. Never let it be said that Eliott doesn’t take his films seriously.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Violence is never at the forefront of Eliott’s mind. In fact, he thinks it doesn’t solve much, and should be considered as the last resort. But as life would have it, there are always a few exceptions to the rule and unfortunately for his good mood, the sole exception he’s found in his twenty one years of existence has decided that today is the day that Eliott will commit murder.

Eliott’s eyes flick to where Raphael relaxes back in his seat, legs crossed and fingers delicately twined in his lap— to any outside viewer, he truly looks the perfect representation of an educated, well-bred gentleman. Eliott sees why people are drawn him.

“Fancy isn’t the right word,” he says, just as casual. He pauses the film, music cutting off just in time for him to hear another one of Raphael’s grating chuckles. “Why are you here?” The answer is obvious; pressed slacks and dark suit a dead give away. He remembers Lucas mentioning that Raphael works in a law firm but Eliott needs to hear it, to make sure that fate has really handed this opportunity over on a silver platter.

Raphael spreads his arms. “I work here,” he answers, smug. “What about you? Someone trying to pin murder on you?”

Funny how he’s asking that, but Eliott doesn’t answer his question. “New York too much for you, huh.”

Eliott watches the minute narrowing of Raphael’s eyes, taking pleasure in the fact that the guy hasn’t expected Lucas to divulge their story in such detail.

“New York was great, actually, they offered me a spot there as well but eh, I need to think about it.” Raphael leans forward, elbows on knees as he brings one hand up to rub across his lips, faux thoughtful. “I left a little something behind here.” He looks at Eliott, then, and the latter sees the fabricated warmth in his eyes freeze over, ice cold in barely restrained anger. “I want it back.”

Don’t mess this up, Eliott reminds himself, fists clenching and unclenching as he reigns in his temper. How he’d love to feel the crunch of Raphael’s nose under his fists right now, but it’s not that kind of battle. Eliott only has one shot to play his cards right.

“Cut the bullshit,” he responds, surprisingly calm. “Lucas isn’t yours to take back.”

Raphael laughs. “Why, he’s yours now?”

Yes. “Neither. I’d appreciate it if you stop talking like he’s something to pass around.”

“How chivalrous of you.”

“I’m surprised you know what that means.” Eliott wants to say more, but he grits them back. There are more important things for him to needle out. “What with all the shit you put him through.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Raphael falls back into the cushions once more, infuriatingly unaffected.

“Do you want an essay or a list?”

“So quick to believe everything you’re told, are you? Did he cry and look at you with those big blue eyes? He does that all the time to get what he wants.” There’s a strain at the corners of Raphael’s eyes, nonchalant facade slipping down the longer Eliott stares on without a word. “You know there’s no evidence for any of these, right?”

The quick dismissal of Lucas’ personal recounting almost does it for Eliott. But if Raphael is a master of manipulation then Eliott is of restraint— he won’t let Raphael win. “Yeah? You gonna tell that to the marks on his wrists?”

Raphael scoffs, “That was an accident. Friday was a big misunderstanding, trust me. It’s called tough love, he likes it.” He smiles, obviously waiting for a reaction from Eliott but the latter maintains an impassive exterior.

“It’s called assault.” He barely refrains from tagging on a spiteful fuckface at the end of that.

“Whoa there, that’s some heavy accusation you’re dropping!” Raphael laughs, running a hand through his hair. “Do you know who I am?”

“A sad excuse of a man who takes advantage of vulnerable minors?”

Raphael clicks his tongue. “You think you’re so perfect, huh?”

“Far from it.” Eliott shrugs. “But I don’t hurt the people I’m supposed to love.”

“Well aren’t you just the sweetest.” Sarcasm drips from Raphael’s words. “You think if we both stand here, right in front of Lucas, and make him choose.” He leans forward, a desperate glint in his eyes. “You’re positive he’d choose you? Cause let me tell you, Eliott, that boy is wired for my touch, for my voice, for my own to do as I please, and he will choose me no matter how much I hurt him. He will always come back to me and you can’t do shit about it.”

Victory feels good when taken by a landslide. Eliott grins, and he sees confusion, frustration, and wariness warp Raphael’s carefully constructed expression into that of something… human. Human, unlike the impenetrable monster Lucas has painted inside his head. Human, who, despite the cunning and intelligence, very much fucks up like everyone else. And oh, has Raphael fucked up big time.

“My turn,” Eliott says cheerfully, just to mess with the bastard even more. “Do you know who I am?” Slowly, so as to make sure that Raphael catches the movement, Eliott stops the recording on his phone.

Raphael shoots up from his seat, panic dousing his face red all over before seething rage takes prominence. He hisses out a quiet, “Get rid of that, right fucking now. You don’t want to mess with me.”

Eliott stands, huffing out a small laugh as he notices that they’re of equal height. None of Raphael’s tactics has worked, or will ever work on him. “Nah, it’s the other way around.”

“Eliott?”

Georgine Eloise Demaury, part time managing partner of the law firm, part time vicious criminal prosecutor, and full time doting mother, makes a tall, intimidating figure in her navy suit and sky high heels. Her eyes are steel blue as they land on Eliott and Raphael alternatively. The red on her lips is a sharp scowl, striking against the paleness of her skin.

Eliott presses his lips together, amused at the sight of what he fondly refers to as her working bitch face. She’s forbidden Eliott from visiting her at work too often just because he’s the only one capable of cracking her diabolical attorney persona. He keeps quiet, shrugging innocently when she raises a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Hi, mama.”

He hears Raphael’s sharp intake of breath and fuck, that feels good.

Her lips twitch the slightest bit. “You two know each other?”

“Just having a friendly chat,” Eliott says, looking over at Raphael with a tight smile. He relishes the startled loss he sees there.

“I’m waiting on a call from Mr. Schutt,” Raphael says, rearranging his face, posture straightening under Georgine’s gaze.

“And you?” She addresses Eliott this time.

“I brought lunch?” Eliott gestures at his bag on the chair. “Papa got worried you’d starve when you told him you forgot it.”

She rolls her eyes at her husband’s dramatics. “You didn’t have to come here.”

“Yeah, well, tell that to papa. You’re gonna have to eat it now, I ditched my boyfriend for this.”

“Ah, how’s Lucas? Come up to my office, you didn’t finish telling me how he’s doing last night,” she says, rigid frown compensating for the soft tone in her voice. Across from Eliott, Raphael flinches at the mention of Lucas’ name. “I need to grab something from IT and then I’ll be right there.”

“Will do.” Eliott smiles, throwing his backpack over one shoulder when his mother walks away. He waits until the click clacking of her heels fade off completely before he turns to face Raphael. “So anyway, I suggest you think very hard about that offer in New York.”

“You’re insane,” Raphael mutters behind clenched jaws.

Years ago, that might have stung. Coming from someone else, it might still hurt. But as it is, Eliott revels in it. “You have no idea,” he says, raising his hand for the most condescending pat on the back he’s ever delivered before heading off to the elevators.

Eliott ends up taking a long nap on his mother’s office couch, tired from interacting with Raphael and his stupid mind games. Sure, he’d come out on top of that one but lengthy confrontations are most definitely not Eliott’s cup of tea. He thinks if Raphael still has the audacity to show his face after that, Eliott will let loose of inhibitions and just start a proper fist fight.

Recording their conversation had been a gut reaction— he’s not even sure it would help much if push comes to shove. But his mother has quite the terrifying track record and judging from Raphael’s reaction, he knows that too. He almost wishes for Raphael to do something stupid, to trip up the wire on Eliott’s half baked, convoluted plan to take him down permanently. The idea of delving into it scares him a little. He knows shit all about the justice system and Raphael is literally part of the goddamn system.

Lucas wants to leave it to karma, and maybe he’s right.

But then Eliott remembers the tears streaming nonstop down Lucas’ face, the blank disconnect in his eyes throughout that night. His worn voice begging for Eliott not to let go. The hours spent in bed coaxing for an unresponsive Lucas to sleep just a little, I’m right here. The events of that night have taken permanent residence in his mind, painfully unwanted, but there to stay.

lucallemant Eliott, I know I said I’d give you all the time you need And I mean it, you can have more right after this But please, can you pick me up at work? I need you please Please

Call him dramatic all you want, but Eliott’s world comes apart when he reads Lucas’ pleading messages. His vision narrows, the path a blurred vignette, and time slows as if he’s thrown into the fucking matrix. Except there’s nothing exciting or amusing with this development, and his limbs work through honey as he turns and grabs a jacket, shoves his feet into mismatched shoes, and makes a run for it.

It’s not the messages itself that cost him his breath— though those do have him worried out of his mind, unable to even begin guessing as to what would scare Lucas enough to send them. It’s the timestamps that have his heart rattling with unease. The faint chanting of too late too late too late a mournful echo in his head.

He pays no mind to it when he begins panting, head pounding as the freezing wind bites at him with heavy force, unbothered that he hasn’t eaten much for the past however long. He’s not going to stop until he reaches his destination.

However, when he gets there, the cafe is dark and empty. You’re too late, the voice is screaming now. Eliott tells it to shut up, paces the area for a bit, and then checks inside the darkened alleyways. It’s empty. He walks the opposite direction, headed towards the parking lot— and there, that’s when he hears the hushed voice speaking.

Eliott swivels around, rushes towards the sound, and doesn’t allow himself to hesitate on the idea that it’s not Lucas trapped in between the wall and that man’s body.

“Get the fuck off of him.” When he’s close enough, he shoves them apart, fighting against the urge to take Lucas in his arms right away. He has to get rid of the man first. The visceral clutch of anger simmers inside of him, a heat of gargantuan proportions boiling his blood. Eliott imagines this is what one would feel like just before committing a heinous crime.

His interaction with the stranger barely sticks to Eliott’s mind, more focused on the way Lucas presses close to his back. His hands shake with barely constrained fury but he doesn’t move, afraid Lucas will fall if Eliott isn’t there to hold him up. “You can fuck right off or I swear to god.”

The man raises his hands, chuckles ringing malicious as he shakes his head. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

Eliott doesn’t care for his cryptic bullshit. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

His smile is visible in the dark and Eliott’s been around enough of those with questionable morals to pinpoint the lack of kindness in it. “Fine.” He tilts his head as if to catch a final glimpse of Lucas but Eliott tucks Lucas in tight behind him— this guy doesn’t deserve to even look at him.

When the sound of a car engine fades out, Eliott turns around, engulfing Lucas as best as he can, hoping that his embrace would provide a temporary shelter from it all. He knows it’s impossible, knows he can’t do much on his end other than watch with powerless clarity as painful sobs wrack the small body in his arms. He repeats a litany of apologies into Lucas’ hair. “I have you, I have you.”

Their walk home is silence in its strangest form. Eliott realizes there’s something wrong, he can feel it at the tips of his fingers but he puts it down to Lucas gathering his thoughts and lets him be.

“Lucas,” he says as the apartment comes into view. “I know we haven’t… I don’t… listen, can I stay with you for the night? I’ll sleep on the couch, anything, I just want to be there.”

Silence.

Eliott bites his cheek, fidgeting nervously when Lucas continues to not say anything. He chances a glance at the boy beside him and sees him looking straight ahead, expression blank as if nothing’s been said.

“Thanks,” is all Lucas says once they reach the steps to the building, failing to acknowledge Eliott’s request.

“Lucas, wait!”

Unheard, just like the last time.

There’s something really, really wrong.

Eliott picks at his head, staring up at what he knows to be the window to Lucas’ apartment. He tells himself he’ll only wait until the lights flicker on, but seconds turn to minutes and the window remains dark. Chest tightening, Eliott changes his mind. He’ll wait until someone goes in or exits the building, will plant himself outside of Lucas’ door— he doesn’t care if Lucas or Yann don’t want to see his face right now, all he wants is to make sure that Lucas stays safe for the rest of the night.

Except the next person to exit the doors is Lucas himself, Champ cradled in his arms.

“Why are you not inside?” Eliott is familiar with the feeling of helplessness but it always pertains to his own mind, his own body. He’s rarely ever so taken off guard that he doesn’t know how to make it better for someone else. And yet here he stands, frozen with panic, speechless in the face of the one he loves most.

Yann isn’t home, Lucas is hard-pressed on buying extra locks for their door, and there’s no way Eliott is letting him back inside the apartment all alone.

“Lucas,” Eliott reaches out, wants nothing more than to cradle Lucas’ face in between his hands, but he’s afraid of what touching him would do. “Come back to me.” It sounds unsteady even to his own ears and maybe Eliott’s having a little trouble breathing, but he’s more desperate for Lucas to meet his eyes than worry about his next inhale.

Lucas doesn’t. Come back to Eliott, that is.

The entire walk up to his apartment, and then the walk back to Eliott’s are both filled with a strained distance that has nothing to do with physical proximity. Eliott’s no longer surprised when Lucas doesn’t answer any of his questions but he keeps firing off either way, hoping against all odds that something would click. But it doesn’t work that way, he knows. He, of all people, should know better.

He tries again once they’re inside the safety of Eliott’s home. “Lucas, are you with me?” Eliott asks and he’s not. He’s not.

Running out of options, Eliott’s hand hovers over his mom’s contact info, his dad’s, Idris’, Lucille’s— he just wants someone to tell him what to do.

In the end he doesn’t get to call anyone, as a loud thud comes from the bathroom where he’d left Lucas and Eliott trips over himself in his rush, crashing into the kitchen counter, banging his arms against the potted plant hanging in the living room.

But the pain from those clumsy little accidents is nothing compared to the sight of Lucas crying on the floor, blue eyes running red from the force of his tears. “Lucas?”

“Eliott.” His voice is so quiet, so broken that it takes Eliott down to his knees, colliding harshly against the tiled floors as he brings Lucas into the circle of his arms. Tears gather in the corners of Eliott’s eyes but he knows for certain that they’re not from the sting of his fall.

“Don’t let me go back,” Lucas pleads, breath caught between one word and the other.

“You’re never going back,” Eliott swears on his life.

Lucas quiets down after what feels like hours upon hours of tears and stuttering breaths. Eliott knows he isn’t asleep, though— his wet lashes brush softly against the skin of Eliott’s neck for every blink. Left without much option, Eliott detangles their legs and carefully lifts Lucas into his arms, a mustard seed of hope swelling in his chest when Lucas twitches at the movement. There’s a pause as Eliott waits for the boy to protest, grumble for Eliott to put him down, he can walk on his own.

It doesn’t come, so Eliott goes to tuck him into bed, receives no protest when he quietly dresses Lucas in the clothes he’s brought out. Lucas’ eyes remain downcast the entire time, immovable no matter how many times Eliott brushes a hand through his hair, wipes at the tear tracks smeared on his cheeks.

Lucas doesn’t sleep until well past two in the morning. Eliott doesn’t sleep at all.

“You okay, honey?”

His mama looks like a whole different person in private, Eliott’s always marvelled at her ability to switch off just like that. Her eyes are all clear skies and motherly affection, no trace of the savage G.E Demaury to be found as her hands card gently through his hair.

He wants to tell her so badly, but this is Lucas’ story to share. Involving his parents to ask for help with anything is a foreign concept to Lucas and would make this a bit more complicated, yes, so Eliott will just have to wear patience like it’s going out of style.

“Yeah,” he croaks out, still groggy from his nap.

“Do you wanna wait for me to finish up here and I can drive you back?”

“Uh…” Eliott rubs his eyes, forcing his brain to catch up with his mama’s words. He checks his phone before answering, blinking while his eyes adjust to the brightness of his screen.

lucallemant Do you wanna come over for tonight? I know we were just together but It’s fine if you’re gonna be back too late though

He thinks he’s actually physically melting just from reading those. “It’s okay, I have to get going now.”

srodulv If I didn’t fall asleep I’d be begging you to come over anyway

lucallemant You were asleep at your mom’s work??

srodulv 😂 See you soon ♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ ☹️ ♥️

lucallemant ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️ ♥️

srodulv 😊 ♥️

He stops to get some take out on the way, knowing Yann will be there and would most likely not be so chummy with Eliott after the whole thing from the past few weeks. He figures he can extend a truce through food— the way to a man’s heart and all.

When he knocks on Lucas’ door, he hears a couple of thuds, some rapid, illegible whispering, and then the door finally opens only for Lucas to catapult himself into Eliott’s arms. The door slams shut behind him and Eliott might just be seeing things but he’s pretty sure that’s a glimpse of Yann’s unimpressed form standing on the other side of the door.

“Hi,” Lucas breathes out, one arm slung around Eliott’s neck while the other is bent awkwardly behind him, holding onto the wriggling doorknob as if to keep a ravenous beast from escaping.

Uh oh.

“Hi,” Eliott greets back. “On a scale of Champ to Jurassic Park, how scared should I be of Yann right now?”

Lucas bites his lip and Eliott can’t help it— he kisses him before Lucas can respond. He means for it to be a chaste touch, but Lucas lets go of the knob (thankfully no longer rattling) and throws both arms around Eliott, pressing closer and opening his lips to deepen the kiss. Eliott lets himself indulge in it but is quickly brought back to reality when he tries to wrap both arms around Lucas only for the take out bag to hit Lucas’ ass with a dull thunk.

“Ow, what the fuck.” Lucas pulls away, spinning on the spot as he looks for the offender.

“Sorry,” Eliott laughs, lifting the bag. “I bought food. Peace offering.”

“Oh my god, you’re so smart,” Lucas says, sounding genuinely pleased. “I apologize in advance though, he thinks he’s my dad sometimes.”

“Damn right!” Yann shouts from behind the door.

“Jesus.” Lucas mutters under his breath. “You ready?”

Eliott nods, rehearsing the quick speech he’d made up in his head during the ride back to Lucas’ place. All that preparation’s for nothing, however, when all Yann does is look at him when the door finally opens. He looks at Eliott like he’d done weeks ago, when Eliott had taken Lucas home after the encounter with his father, unspoken understanding passing between the two of them as easy as that.

I technically have no right to be mad but I am, Yann’s usually kind eyes are hardened earth. There’ll be hell to pay if you pull that shit again, the look in them all but screams mistrust.

Eliott nods, hoping Yann also understands his most sincere but wordless response— never again.

The stare off probably only lasts a few seconds but to Eliott, it feels like an eternity before Yann’s eyes start to squint, one hand reaching for the take out bag that Eliott has stuck in the space between the two of them. Slowly, Yann takes a hold of it, snatches the bag from Eliott’s grip, and sniffs into it. He’s still squinting at Eliott as he walks backwards to take the food inside the kitchen.

“Okay, weird but blessedly silent. I’ll take it,” Lucas huffs, taking Eliott’s hand and dragging him past the living room and into the little hallway. Belatedly, Eliott realizes that they’re headed straight for the bedroom, Lucas marching them towards the door like a man on a mission.

“Don’t you wanna eat?” Eliott asks, pulling back to slow Lucas down. “I bought that for you too.”

“Later, I just,” Lucas pauses, his door already wide open once they reach it. “I have to ask you something.”

Well that doesn’t sound foreboding at all. Eliott clears his throat. “Okay.”

They arrange themselves on the foot of the bed, legs crossed and facing each other. When Lucas starts fidgeting, Eliott reaches over to intertwine their fingers together.

“I know we joked about it before… or more like just yesterday actually… but uh,” Lucas starts, looking around the room to avoid meeting Eliott’s eyes head on. “So Marie’s home now and I’m taking Champ back to her on Thursday.”

“Okay,” Eliott says, smiling when Lucas discreetly looks at him from the corner of his eyes.

“Okay, um.” Lucas takes a deep breath and spills the rest out on a long exhale. “My mom will be there too and I was wondering if you’d like to come?” He’s wincing by the time the question ends and Eliott, endeared, can only stare. “Maybe? You don’t have to. I understand if it’s too early or whatever—”

Eliott brings their tangled hands up to his lips and rains down kisses to the back of Lucas’ palms until he shuts up.

“I’ll come,” he says, and then after a short silence continues with, “I’d love to.”

Lucas’ relief is palpable.

“Okay. That’s… that’s good.”

“You’re cute when you’re all nervous like this,” Eliott teases, wanting to see Lucas’ smile. Sure, it’s only been a couple of minutes since he’s last seen it but Eliott’s one greedy motherfucker when comes to Lucas.

“What?” The corner of Lucas’ lips tilts up, but it’s not quite the smile Eliott’s looking for.

“You’re all nice and cute when you’re nervous. No room for snarking or swearing at me.”

“Shut up.”

“Ah, it was good while it lasted.”

“Shut up!” Lucas laughs, kicking at Eliott’s knee.

“Oh you’re kicking me now too, my god, such violence from a tiny human.”

“You’re so dumb.” Lucas pushes at his shoulder and Eliott goes down easily, but not before winding an arm around Lucas so that his boyfriend falls on top of him in their descent. “Such an idiot.”

“Your idiot,” Eliott retorts as cheesily as can be, grinning when Lucas laughs again, eyes scrunched and mouth open.

“God, do you ever shut up?”

“Yeah, there’s one way to shut me up.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re really good at it.”

Lucas leans down and Eliott feels the smile on his lips. The kisses start off as innocent pecks, short and dry, until Lucas brushes their noses together and teases the tip of his tongue in between Eliott’s slightly parted lips.

Eliott surges up then, locking their lips together as he moves, sitting upright with his arms still secured around Lucas. His boyfriend goes along with it, easily shuffling around so that he’s sat comfortably on Eliott’s lap, hands slightly cold against the back of Eliott’s neck, but the latter doesn’t mind— Lucas’ mouth is scorching enough to make up for it.

His jacket gets tossed to the floor at some point and his hands wander inside Lucas’ hoodie, searching for the warmth of his skin under, encouraged by the way Lucas tightens his arms around Eliott’s shoulders when he runs a hand from the nape of Lucas’ neck down to the dip low on his back. The intensity reminds him of their first time— only slightly, because Eliott doesn’t think anything could come close to that night. But he recalls the warm weight of Lucas on his lap, against the wall, over him, under him. Recalls the way he’d jokingly asked Lucas how many fingers he’s holding up. How Lucas had very non jokingly slipped the two fingers in his mouth and licked around them until Eliott lost his mind.

The memory of it has heat rushing up and down Eliott’s body in frantic jolts, melting away his higher functions until he finally flips them over, gently laying Lucas down below him just like he’s always done. His fingers lightly dance along the line of Lucas' jeans and the latter lets him, Lucas’ hands exploring the wide expanse of Eliott’s back under his shirt.

And that’s something new— not Lucas touching him no, but rather the confidence he exudes in bed. Eliott doesn’t think he’d ever forget the shakiness of Lucas’ breath, the furious drumming of his pulse, the flinches he’s tried so hard to cover up. Eliott’s noticed every single one of them, often pausing to suggest for them to stop only for Lucas to hold him by the sides of his face and mutter a determined, keep going.

Back then he couldn’t figure out if there’s a story behind it, or if Lucas is only nervous about being intimate with someone else. Now that he knows, can extrapolate the details from what Lucas has told him so far, Eliott’s heart is close to bursting with the realization of how much trust Lucas has placed in his hands that very first time. Of how much trust he continues to have in Eliott despite all that’s happened.

I love you, his touch speaks, lingering and light over the smooth skin of Lucas’ waist.

I love you, his eyes repeat, insistent, hopeless, as they meet Lucas’ wide, adoring gaze.

I love you, his mouth whispers, soundless against the brush of Lucas’ lips, plush softness falling open under the gentle touch of Eliott’s tongue.

I love you, he wants to say, out loud, with all his anxious, fragile heart but what comes out instead is a nearly inaudible, “You’re so beautiful.”

Maybe someday, he’ll be able to speak as it is. Someday, he’ll work up the courage to stop hiding behind soft touches and pretty words. But as Eliott opens his eyes on a slow blink, he looks down at Lucas and catches the most tender of smiles directed up at him. Maybe words aren’t needed right now. For Lucas, in this moment, maybe Eliott is enough.

“No, you,” Lucas retorts childishly, arching up to press a giggle into Eliott’s amused smile.

“This is a losing battle, baby.” Eliott nuzzles his cheeks, nose instinctively wrinkling when Lucas kisses the tip of it. The sweltering heat has cooled between them, replaced by a softer kind of warmth.

“Yeah, your losing battle,” Lucas says, trying to shift from under Eliott’s weight. “Baby,” he adds in a whisper, smile cheeky when Eliott’s head snaps up to look at him. He sputters, unfairly flustered at hearing Lucas use that pet name, any pet name in fact, for the first time—

“Are you being a brat?” Eliott tries to keep his voice stern, but he’s pretty sure his eyes give it away as Lucas dissolves into helpless giggles. “Are you being a brat?” he repeats a little louder, hands splayed widely over Lucas’ sides, curling up where his boyfriend is most ticklish.

“No!” But it’s too late, Eliott’s already found his weakest spots and proceeds with the attack, relentless despite Lucas’ half formed begging in between his laughter. “Eliott, no! Wait!” he squeaks, turning red when one of Eliott’s hands slide up to tickle at his neck.

Eliott only stops when Lucas, breathless and teary-eyed, pouts pitifully up at him. Honestly, what human being with a heart could resist that? So he leans down and brings the jut of Lucas’ bottom lip in between his teeth, waiting until his boyfriend opens his mouth on a groan before diving in for a kiss. Lucas’ hands immediately tangle themselves into Eliott’s hair, legs pulling up to wrap around him as if Eliott has any batshit plans of leaving the bed any time soon. Eliott’s shirt is halfway off his back when Lucas’ door creaks open.

They barely let up, both expecting to see Yann coming to interrupt them for whatever reason but the entry way is empty.

“What—”

Soft, fast-paced panting is their answer and Eliott’s completely unprepared for when Lucas shoves him off the bed with all his might— Eliott hangs onto the sheets to keep from cracking his head open.

“Oh shit, sorry!” Lucas shouts, dragging Eliott back up to the center of the bed. “I just— Champ’s just a baby, she can’t see that!”

Eliott doesn’t know whether to agree or laugh. He figures responding with a deadpan she’s just a dog won’t go over too well with Lucas so he keeps that thought to himself. With a sigh, Eliott smooths down his shirt and walks over to where Champ is still panting happily up at them.

“Are you happy now?” He asks the dog, crouching closer to her level and tapping her tiny nose with a finger. He carries her in his arms on his way out to the living room, turning back to see Lucas attempting to fix his hair as if Yann doesn’t already know what they’ve been up to, alone in the room for at least half an hour. “Come on, baby, let’s keep Yann company before he decides to take back my rights.”

#skam france #elu fic #elu insta au #fictag #there are about 20 variations of this chapter #lays down #chapter warning: ch11 flashback #the eliott pov i've been hiding

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ladyreapermc · 4 years

Text

Fic: This isn’t a rom-com 8/17

Author’s note: Here we go people. I finally have a total of chapters for this and we’re just a little over half of this fic. I hope you’re all enjoying it and as always, feedback is greatly appreciated.

Wordcount: 3015

Warnings: some cursing; mentions and depiction of alcohol, drugs and inebriation.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

As Thursday approached, Keanu felt a mix of excitement and anxiety. It felt like this thing with Lilah had reached a breaking point where they would finally get some kind of definition. And maybe that was for the best because Keanu couldn’t deal with not knowing where he stood anymore. Every time he thought he knew what was going on between them, something would happen to throw him in a loop.

He had been so sure at first that Lilah didn’t see him as more than a friend, but all their conversations for the last couple of weeks had turned too flirty for Keanu to ignore. He knew he was partially responsible because he couldn’t help himself, but Lilah had started to respond to it more and more. And that kiss goodbye the other day? Dangerously close to his own lips. And after she had just paraded in front of him in only a towel? There wasn’t something you did when you were ‘just friends’ with someone.

Sure, Keanu knew she didn’t walk in front of him in a towel on purpose. The way she deliberately kept her gaze away from him as she pretty much dashed from the bathroom to her room told him as much, but it had been hard to ignore.

Keanu tried his best not to look, respect her privacy, but he was only human, and she took him by surprise. So he did get a very good look at all that gorgeous skin, still flushed from the shower and the way the towel barely covered her ass, before he could force himself to look away, his jeans suddenly a little tighter than before.

If only his problem was the physical attraction he felt towards him, Keanu would have been a happy man. Because he could deal with that and push it aside. Being actually in love with her was a lot harder to ignore. And if he was being completely honest with himself, Keanu wasn’t so sure if he wanted to. Even if ignoring it was probably the wise thing to do.

For a while now Keanu had played safe when it came to his personal life. A stark contrast to the man he had been in his twenties and early thirties. Back then, he had been a very impulsive guy. He saw something or someone he liked, and he would go after it and damn all the consequences.

Keanu still did that for his professional life. Picked projects that his agent advised against for being weird or outside the genre he was better known for and that didn’t really help his career. But Keanu would still do it just because he could. He hadn’t really done the same for his personal life in a while though and he had been mostly alright with that.

Sure, every once in awhile, it felt like something was missing, but Keanu had become quite good at turning a blind eye to it because he knew the moment he opened his heart to someone disaster would follow.

And maybe he was being irrational, but after everything he went through, Keanu really believed that it was wiser to tread carefully in the romantic aspect of his life. Keep his relationships short and light so no one could get hurt.

This really was the first time in a long time that he didn’t want to that. He didn’t want to ignore the ever-growing feeling in his chest; to push it aside and forget about i. Because Keanu was happy. Really happy. He was working on a project he loved, and he was spending time with someone that he really… And maybe it was a bad idea, but he wanted this so much that he was willing to be impulsive and reckless again. Just this once.

“You should tell her,” Kim declared after Keanu told her everything.

He had managed to avoid this conversation for a few days, but Kim had a way of catching him off guard and he ended up spilling his guts. There was a reason why she was his best friend after all.

“Kim…” Keanu trailed off with a sigh, because what excuse did he actually have not to do it at this point? “What if she’s not interested?”

“Then you’ll know and can move on. Either way, you have to know.”

Keanu rubbed his face, leaning his head back against the couch. He was still on his costume, even if they had wrapped up shooting for the day. He should be taking the suit back to Luca and heading out to meet Lilah, but he was hesitating, a little terrified of how this was going to go. But Kim was right. He needed to know.

“I gotta go.”

“Call me tomorrow. I want to know how it went.”

Keanu agreed before hanging up and finally going through the motions of showering and changing into his own clothes before heading out, running into Chad and Dave in the parking lot.

“Hey, we’re off to get a drink and discuss a few scenes. You’re up for it?” Dave invited.

“I can’t,” Keanu admitted with an embarrassed wince. “I-uh have a thing.”

Chad narrowed his eyes at him, lips drawing into a smirk.

“Does this ‘thing’ involve Lilah?” he asked, and Keanu could feel his nape getting warm. So were the tip of his ears. Chad snorted. “I fucking knew it! Where are you taking her?”

“I’m lost. Who’s Lilah?” Dave asked, looking from Chad to Keanu.

“This girl he’s being seeing,” Chad said before Keanu could even think about speaking. “Never wondered why he keeps grinning like an idiot every time his phone rings?”

“I don’t…” Keanu trailed off with a headshake because it was pointless to argue with Chad sometimes. Dave flashed a wide, knowing smile.

“Then have fun,” he said, walking backward toward their car. “Just don’t tire yourself out, ok? We need you in one-piece tomorrow morning bright and early.”

“Fuck you!” Keanu called out with a smile that was half-embarrassed, half-amused as he put on his helmet and took off for Brooklyn.

Keanu had never seen Novelsy this packed with some many people dressed in so many outrageous costumes, but from what Lilah had shared about the financial troubles the bookstore had been experiencing, this was probably a good sign.

It still made him uncomfortable because he really didn’t want to be recognized so he pushed his sunglasses up his nose, keeping his head down as he moved through the familiar aisles, searching for a glimpse of Lilah, but he hand no idea what she looked like since she didn’t really tell what her costume was.

He spotted Jean first, dressed in a regal medieval dress, her dark hair falling in elegant curls around her shoulders, her green eyes sparkled when she saw him, lips twisting into a smirk.

“What? No costume?”

“I’m dressed as a tired actor,” he joked, and she snorted. “Is Lilah here?”

“Yes.” There was a long pause and Keanu realized Jean wasn’t about to tell him where. “You’ll understand.” It was all she said before she took off to help a customer.

Keanu pulled out his phone and called Lilah, but the call was ignored and a second later he got a text with a photo, the cover of Romeo and Juliet. Grinning, Keanu headed down to classics, where he knew he would find the book. As soon as he reached the right aisle, his phone beeped again with a second picture. This time it was Scanner Darkly.

As he headed for the sci-fi and fantasy aisle he realized he was heading deeper into the bookstore and away from the rest of the public. Once again, as soon as he arrived at the right place, a new message arrived. This time it was a picture of The Shining.

He wasn’t sure if there was a horror section in Novelsy so that one took him a while longer to figure out, but he finally found it all the way in the back and there was where Lilah stood in a red overcoat, a yellow scarf around her neck and a red fedora hat.

“Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” he asked with a grin, moving closer to her and Lilah looked up with a wide smile and a faint color on her cheeks.

“Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

“Don’t worry,” he said still towering over her despite her heels and Lilah had to tilt her face up to look at him. “I don’t mind chasing you.”

There was so much meaning behind those words and Keanu could see the way her eyes widened in surprise before Lilah drew in a deep breath and stepped even closer, her hand resting on his chest.

“But you caught me,” she whispered, her eyes bright and open and maybe a little hesitant but Keanu had no doubt what he was seeing on them. “So now what?”

Keanu caught her lips in a kiss. It was soft and slow and tentative. Just lips pressed together, but damn if it didn’t feel good. Her hand moved to his hair, fingers scratching his scalp gently and he sighed against her lips. He felt her smile before she tilted her head a little for a better angle, her fedora falling off, but neither of them cared.

Lilah pressed her tongue against his lips and Keanu parted them for her, letting her explore his mouth, enjoying how she tasted sweet and minty, before pushing forward too and she sighed contently against his mouth. His hands found their way to her back, pulling Lilah to him until their bodies were flushed together as the kiss turned a little more heated. As Keanu nipped teasingly on her bottom lip Lilah groaned softly, her grip on his hair tightening a little and he grunted, feeling arousal burning on the pit of his stomach.

They were so lost in themselves that the sound of someone clearing their throat made them jump apart like naughty children caught doing something wrong. Keanu glanced at the man standing there watching them both with a raised eyebrow and a barely contained smirk. Panic overtook Keanu for a second before he recognized Isaac under the heavy makeup, wig, and tight black corset.

“Unless you two want to be on the front page of every tabloid and gossip site in this city, maybe move this upstairs?” he asked, his gaze shifting from Lilah to Keanu.

Keanu glanced at her, noticing her swollen lips and the flush in her cheeks and he could only imagine how he must look like. They were lucky it was Isaac that caught him and not someone else.

Before they could reply, Isaac took off again leaving them behind to share a guilty look before laughter erupted from them. Lilah covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes glowing with mirth and affection and Keanu didn’t think he had felt this happy in a long time.

“Maybe we should follow his advice,” Keanu said grinning and pulling her into his arms. Lilah wrapped hers around his neck but let out a small resigned sigh.

“I’d love to but I promised Jean I’d help out today.” She looked up at him through her lashes and it was the kind of gaze that promised so many unspeakable things and made Keanu want to have her against the nearest surface. “To be continued later?”

“Yes,” he agreed, stealing another hungry kiss before he stepped away from her keeping his back turned because he couldn’t be trusted to keep his hands to himself if he was looking at her.

To his frustration, later seemed didn’t seem to be coming anytime soon. At first, Lilah was busy helping customers and managing the costume contest with Jean. When that was finally over and Keanu thought they could head back to her apartment, Lilah reminded him of the Rocky Horror Picture Show singalong he agreed to go with her.

So instead of being alone with her like he really wanted Keanu was stuck in a bar in Brooklyn with bad lighting, peeling wallpaper, too-loud pop music and a crowd that was dangerously close to indecent exposure with their costumes.

He retreated to a table in the back as soon as they arrived, but he still had a good view of the stage and the main area of the bar as he nursed his beer and watched as people gathered in the dance floor, grinding against each other to music with too much autotune. For a moment he felt so damn old and wondered what the hell he was doing there. Then Lilah slid on the booth next to him, out of breath, cheeks flushed from alcohol and dancing and a bright, wide smile that he couldn’t help but return.

“They’re setting everything up,” she announced, voice a little slurred as she stole his beer and took a sip. “It’s gonna be terrible.”

“And that’s good?” he asked with a frown and Lilah giggled and nodded.

“For this terrible is the best.”

She settled a little more comfortably, pulling his arm around her shoulders, her back pressed against his side and Keanu smiled, kissing the top of her head. It was almost as if their kiss had lifted that unspoken barrier that existed between them until then and now Lilah felt comfortable with touching and hugging him all she wanted. Keanu had to admit he liked that very much.

When the singalong finally started, Keanu began to understand why terrible was great. He could tell everyone was wasted or high or both. They stumbled over the words and dance steps but just didn’t care. He found himself laughing and cringing along with Lilah as she sang to herself very offkey.

When the first notes of Time Warp started, she jumped to her feet and joined the group, dancing as uncoordinated as everyone else, but for some reason, it looked completely adorable to him the way Lilah moved completely off-beat regardless of Jean’s attempts of getting her into the right rhythm.

She stayed through I Can Make You a Man and Hot Patootie, but seemed ready to return to the table when Touch-a Touch-a, Touch Me started, but Jean caught her by the hand, pulling Lilah back and closer.

They sang and danced together, Lilah’s back pressed against Jean’s chest, as the pair ground together, Jean’s hands sliding down Lilah’s waist and hips, guiding her movement. It was intimate and sensuous, and Keanu felt suddenly out of breath, the room way too hot for his comfort.

He headed to the back exit, needing a moment to collect himself. Leaning against the wall of the alley he lit a cigarette, closed his eyes and breathed out shakily, trying will his arousal away, but the sight of Lilah was still seared into his brain. A moment later he heard the door creaking and when he turned his head to look, there was Lilah.

“You’re ok?” she asked. Even in the dim light of the alley, he could see her flushed cheeks and sweaty skin making her hair stick to her neck

“Yeah, just…” he showed her his cigarette and Lilah nodded, moving closer with unsteady steps. “How about you?”

“Just a little too hot,” she replied, gathering her hair up and exposing her nape to the cool night air.

Keanu pulled her closer to him so he could bend his head and blow on her heated skin, making Lilah shudder and giggle. She looked up at him, eyes hooded, bottom lip caught between her teeth as she gave him a heated look. Before his reasonable side could talk him out of it, Keanu kissed her.

He could feel Lilah grinning as he pressed into her mouth, tasting alcohol and lime in her tongue. Her hands came up his back, under his shirt, raking her nails up his spine and making him groan. All Keanu wanted was get lost in this, but his publicist would kill him if he was caught making out on a dark alley like he was back in his twenties.

Besides, Keanu wanted Lilah completely sober when they had sex so she could enjoy every second of it. He pulled back, chuckling when she tried to chase his lips.

“Let’s get you home,” he said and Lilah grinned wide.

“Good idea.”

“To sleep, Lilah,” he said, grinning at her pout. “You’re too drunk for this, sweetheart.”

She was still pouting when Keanu led the way back into the bar so he could gather their things and pay the tab, before leading her out again, through the main doors this time and hailed a cab. Her apartment was just a ten-minute walk, but between the heels and her inebriation, Keanu didn’t think it was wise to let Lilah walk.

As soon as she was on the backseat of the car, Lilah cuddled against his side, face buried on his chest as she mumbled something in Portuguese that he didn’t understand. Keanu chuckled affectionately at how clingy she was while drunk, hugging her close until the taxi pulled up in front of Novelsy.

Keanu carried her up the stairs and into the apartment and bedroom, not wanting to wake her up when she looked so peaceful. She didn’t even stir when he dropped her on the bed very ungracefully or when he took off her shoes and helped her out of the overcoat and scarf. He had no idea what had happened to her hat.

Lilah only showed signs of consciousness when he pressed a kiss on her forehead as he was getting ready to leave. She caught his hand, making Keanu pause and look at her.

“Stay,” she mumbled, her eyes barely open.

Keanu only hesitated for a second before he kicked off his boots, took off his wallet, phone and keys putting them on the bedside table and climbed in bed with Lilah. She shifted towards him, once again cuddling his side and mumbling those same words she said on the cab, making Keanu wonder that they might mean.

tbc

Go to part 9

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