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#he also told a manager i fell off a ladder when i pushed a box of paper towels onto the ground from on top of the ladder cause IM TOO SHORT
moeblob · 3 years
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Dedicated to that one time years ago when I couldn’t see over a certain wall from inside my workplace and a coworker just picked me up to get a different view. Thanks, man. I appreciate having a year cut off my life in fear as my feet left the ground.
#stardew valley#stardew alex#farmer salmon#literally thought about this situation the other day cause i remembered a different work scenario#moe has an actual job#may as well tag that cause its absolutely based on the work place .... i miss ya coworker that did this#he also told a manager i fell off a ladder when i pushed a box of paper towels onto the ground from on top of the ladder cause IM TOO SHORT#i cannot hold a giant box in my tiny arms and climb down a ladder while on the TOP of it#not the top step the actual top of the ladder you shouldnt stand on#so when the box dropped and i made it down again the coworker just goes to the manager#and tells him i fell off the ladder so i look up to my manager hurrying over like holy crap are you okay#and the mass amount of guilt on his face because he told me he was too busy to get everything for me and then i fell#but i didnt fall and the guy who said so is just looking so smug in the background like haha that was hilarious#he also was protective of me especially when having panic attacks and one time i was crying by the back door#and he was standing nearby not interacting just cutting croutons and this other guy sees me and goes#MAN WHY ARE YOU CRYING WHAT THE HELL#and this guy with a knife in hand stops moving with the knife raised to cut the bread and glanced over his shoulder at the guy#and quietly goes you got a problem with her having a panic attack?#and the other guy left immediately like uh nope not dealing with a guy with a knife okay bye#so thank you sir for helping me and traumatizing me with the same chaotic energy
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kaimelia · 3 years
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Would you write a story about Addison, Henry and Jake visiting Amelia for a few days and Ellis or Bailey or Zola being really jealous of Henry and that he calls her Aunty Amelia because she's their aunt and not his.
Homage
a/n: hi! thank you for the prompt and I hope you enjoy this!
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"Who the hell is knocking on our door at 9 AM?" Amelia groaned, shifting her son onto her other hip. "Are your parents coming to visit again?" Link shrugged and pushed past her gently, rubbing his tired eyes as he opened the door and pulled on a mask.
"Hello-oh," Link's eyebrows rose, and Amelia paused from in the kitchen.
"Who is it?" She waited for a minute, pouring cereal into a bowl and placing it in front of Ellis at the table. "Elle, go grab the milk," she muttered, rushing towards the door.
"Amelia!" Her eyes widened at the familiar face in the doorway, and before she could think, she was rushing towards Addison for a hug.
"Addie, what the hell are you doing here? Oh, crap," Amelia pulled away and grabbed a mask from the table by the door.
"We all got tested this morning, don't worry. I came to visit you! You can't just have a baby and not expect me to visit; god, he's so adorable!" The red-headed woman held her arms out and grabbed Scout, immediately pressing her nose to his head. "I miss having a baby; their heads smell so amazing." Link laughed softly and pulled his mask off.
"Oh, Addie, you haven't met Link yet," Amelia leaned into his body, wide grins across both of their faces as he wrapped his arm around her.
"We've met over the phone, Amy."
"Amelia."
"Right, sorry. I knew if I called, you would've said no, and we all needed a vacation." Addison bounced her nephew up and down, smiling as he grabbed at her necklace.
"Is someone else here? You said we all," Amelia muttered under her breath, stepping out onto the porch. "Jake!" She ran down the steps and into the driveway, grinning as she wrapped her arms around her friend's neck.
"It's good to see you, Amelia," he opened the door to reveal Amelia's godson, much bigger than the last time she'd seen him.
"Henry! You're so big, now!" She picked him up, placing a kiss on his cheek before setting him down.
"I'll be honest; I never thought I would see the day when Amelia Shepherd was chasing four kids around all day," Jake mused, taking his son's hand. Amelia grinned.
"Neither did I, if I'm honest." They walked back up to the porch, where Link and Jake shook each other's hands firmly, their partners both rolling their eyes at the sight of their seriousness. "Okay, are you done?" Amelia grabbed her boyfriend's arm. "There are three very impatient kids in that house, and we should probably get back in there." They led Addison, Jake, and Henry into the house, introducing each of them to the children. Eventually, Link and Jake led all of the children outside, leaving Addison and Amelia alone with the baby.
"I like him," Addison brought her mug of tea up to her lips, taking a sip slowly before continuing. "Link, he seems like the perfect guy. Awfully tall, though."
"He is. Both tall and perfect," Amelia grinned. "I'm waiting for Jake to come back in here and tell me what he thinks. He was always a little overprotective of who I was dating, so if he can get past Jake, everything's fine." The neurosurgeon lifted her son from his play mat, holding him close to her as she approached her sister again.
"He looks exactly like Derek when he was a baby."
"You think?" Addison nodded.
"Mhm. I spent far too much time in your mother's house panning through dusty photo albums and staring at photos of him as a baby to not see it." She set her mug down, holding her arms out. "Have you told your Mom?"
"I did. She said she'd come and visit after the pandemic is over, but I'm pretty sure that'll never happen," Amelia handed Scout to her sister, picking up her own cup of tea. "I'm fine with it. Link's parents are both great, and his Mom honestly treats me like the daughter she's never had, so I don't need my Mom to come out here and validate all of my life decisions."
"You want her here. I said the same thing for a while, telling myself I didn't need Bizzy to approve of anything, but it feels good to have the support." Amelia sighed, easing her empty mug into the kitchen sink.
"So, you just showed up here to therapist me? I would've told you to at least bring Violet for that."
"Amelia, I'm just saying. You've built this whole life for yourself, the perfect boyfriend, your own family, your dream job, and I know you haven't always been close with your biological family."
"Haven't ever been close," Amelia muttered.
"Still. That doesn't mean that you can't build relationships with them. Think about how spoiled Scout would get on every birthday and holiday; gifts from his grandparents, aunts, cousins, friends, parents, everyone." The neurosurgeon shrugged her shoulders and remained silent. "But, whatever happens, you know I'll be here for you, right?"
"You don't have to try and parent me anymore; you know that?" Addison began to pace around the kitchen space, bouncing Scout up and down to calm his light fussing.
"I still feel protective over you, Amelia. I haven't seen you in person in years, and we both know that talking over the phone is so much different than being able to see you. I'm going to be coming up here a lot more often now; I have Scout as an excuse to come and visit." Scout cooed at the sound of his name, placing his tiny hand on Addison's face. "He's way too adorable for me to see all of his life through a screen. I'll be coming up at least three times a year."
"You've gotta bring Henry every time, too," Amelia looked outside, where her boyfriend was chasing her godson around the yard. "And Jake. I missed all of you; maybe Link and I will start coming down to L.A. a few times a year. He'd love to go surfing."
"Mm, maybe you two should just move down there." Amelia rolled her eyes.
"Well, if Meredith doesn't get better, Link and I get custody of the kids, and I doubt we'd be moving if that happens."
"For whatever it's worth, you're doing an incredible job with all of them. Having a newborn is no joke, and you're parenting three other kids during a pandemic on top of that? Charlotte keeps saying it's your payback for teasing her about the triplets." The door opened, and Link walked through with Ellis on his back, her giggles causing everyone to smile.
"Someone took a nasty fall, but we thought it would be better with a juice box," he walked towards the fridge and opened it, leaning down so Ellis could grab a juice box from the refrigerator.
"Auntie Amelia?" She looked over to see Henry standing in the doorway. "Can Scout come outside to play with us?" Amelia grinned and took Scout from her sister, walking over to where Henry was standing.
"You have to be super gentle with him," she whispered, leading Henry back outside. "Why don't I give Scout to your Dad, and he can make sure that everyone's being safe, okay?" Henry nodded enthusiastically and ran over to his father, tugging at the leg of his pants as Jake took Scout. "If he fusses, just walk around. The movement calms him down."
"Are you all gonna come back outside or just pawn off all the children on me?" Amelia laughed and crossed her arms over her chest, watching as her son snuggled into Jake's body.
"I'll go get Addison and Link," she muttered, heading back over to the door and calling for them.
"Auntie Amelia? I have a question," Ellis whispered, holding her arms up to her aunt. Amelia lifted her and sat down at the picnic table.
"What is it, Elle?"
"Why does Henry call you Auntie Amelia? You're my Auntie Amelia, not his." She shook her head in amusement, brushing back some of Ellis' blonde hair.
"Well, Addison is my sister too, just like your Mom is, so I'm Henry's Auntie, too." Ellis pouted her lip out.
"But you love me more, right?"
"I love you all, Elle; I don't love one of you more than the other." Amelia began to braid her niece's hair as she spoke, Ellis' eyes falling to where Link was playing with Henry and Bailey. "You're my niece, and Henry is my nephew. Just like I'm your aunt, and Maggie is also your aunt. That doesn't mean that you love one of us more,"
"You're my favorite Auntie." Amelia laughed softly, biting her lip to hide the satisfaction she felt.
"Well, I don't have a favorite. I love all of you, but I'm excited to see Henry right now because I never get to see him. I get to see you every day, Elle." The brunette tied a hairband around her niece's hair and hugged the girl lightly before standing up. "Let's go play with them, okay?" Ellis took her hand, and they walked over to the playscape, where Ellis quickly scampered up the ladder to the top of the structure. "How long are you staying?" She asked Jake as he paced around the lawn, bouncing Scout up and down.
"We're up here for a week. Figured we'd spend some time with you, go up to Mount Rainier, just do anything to give Henry a change of scenery." He moved to stand next to Amelia. "I like Link. He seems good, more relaxed than I expected for someone you'd be dating." Her mouth fell open before quickly turning up into a smirk.
"Hey, I haven't managed to corrupt him yet. I'm sure next time you come to visit, he’ll be a pessimist."
"Are you happy? Because last time I saw you, this was the life you didn't want to live. Every time someone brought out a baby, you'd practically gag and complain about women and babies."
"You know, I never thought I wanted this, but honestly? I wouldn't trade it for anything." She looked over at her son, his bright blue eyes staring back at her. "I'm happy, Jake. I really am."
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imaginesupply · 3 years
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Homecoming - Chapter Six
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(I know it's Henry and not Sy in the photo, but it just fit too well with this chapter.)
Summary: The day has arrived, Captain Syverson is going home. For good, this time. He is going home to a civilian life he can hardly remember and a wife he barely knows, with memories of the war still fresh on his mind. Love might not be able to heal everything on its own, but it��s a good start.
Genres: Romance, drama.
Story warnings: Smut (always fully consensual), mentions of PTSD and nightmares and mental health, angst, hurt and comfort, fluff, mentions of war (minor), mentions of cheating (minor), mentions of pregnancy (very minor), police appearance (very minor), violence (very minor).
Notes:
It’s my first time writing for one of Henry’s characters and I’m unsure I did Sy’s character any justice.
This is a Capt. Syverson x OFC (Ada) story, written in 3rd person POV but OFC’s physical description is very limited so it could also be read as Capt. Syverson x Reader, I think.
English is not my first language, so there might be some mistakes. Proofread, but not beta’ed. We die like men and all that.
Timeline is a little wacky: The movie takes place in 2003 and the U.S. forces were withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, but I never set a precise date because I don’t think it’s essential for this story. However, some elements might not be realistic because if we set this story in 2003: Phone cameras quality was not as good as it’s now, but for the purpose of the chapters, I will need you to imagine you could film great videos with your flip phone haha. Plus, it says Sy is coming back after being deployed for more than three years which makes no sense unless we set this in 2006 or later. I am asking you disregard any time inconsistencies.
Also: I am not American. I only lived in the US for six months and it was in the Midwest, not Texas so please bear with me if I write something stupid.
Finally: This will be a Christmas fic and I intend to post the last chapter (there will be seven in total) on or before Christmas. However, religion is never mentioned in this story and the Christmas-sy elements of this story are limited to family gathering, gift giving and tree decorating.
Chapter Six starts after the cut. (Chapter Five can be found here.) Let me know if you wish to be tagged in the last chapter or if you wish to be removed from the tag list.
I will post a master list soon and put the link in the comments to make it easier to navigate.
Chapter 6
Chapter warnings: Smut, Christmas themes, mentions of therapy, embarrassing moments.
Ada didn't mind being woken up with soft fluttering kisses on her neck. She definitely didn't mind starting the day with the tantalizing rub of his beard on her sensitive skin and the hard press of his torso against her back, their legs entwined and his morning erection nuzzled against her butt.
What she did mind, however, was when any of this happened at the butt crack of dawn. Ada opened her eyes just enough to read 6:50am on the alarm clock.
"Sy," she groaned, stopping his wandering hands with hers, trying to trap them beneath her breasts. "Hold that thought for later, okay?"
She heard him chuckle behind her, his chest vibrating against her body as he freed his hands from her weak grip. "Later is for putting up the Christmas tree and the decorations," he teased, his right hand now drawing circles low on her stomach.
Ada groaned again, wanting to fight his tempting touch but unwilling to move away from his body heat. "I'll get up at 7:30." Those were the last words out of her mouth before she had drifted off again.
When she woke up once more, forty minutes later with the blast of her alarm clock, her back was cold and the smell of breakfast wafted through the air, filling her nostrils. Damn Syverson and his military sleep schedule! She had taken all her days off to spend them with him only to wake up even earlier than when she was working.
With barely open eyes, Ada threw on his shirt that hung on the chair and slowly made her way downstairs, following the scent of pancakes. She found Sy in front of the stove, just finishing up the last one before setting it on the huge pile of pancakes that looked fluffier than clouds. Ada had quickly learnt that while Sy was a disaster when it came to the art of cooking, he was the master of pancakes and barbecue.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," he greeted her and then smirked when he noticed her attire.
"Morning captain," she mumbled, walking up to him before patiently waiting until he leant down so that they could share a kiss. It always made him laugh when she did that: the adorable pout on her face when he didn't bend down for a kiss fast enough was worth waiting the extra second every time.
They ate in relative silence, mostly because Ada definitely wasn't a morning person, but the fact that Sy had a habit of stuffing his mouth full of food also played a role. When she was done eating, Ada pushed her plate and glass away, and brought her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs on the chair. She eyed her husband intently, waiting for him to finish eating with a grin on her lips.
"Why are you looking at me like that, darlin'?" Sy asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously before taking the last sip of his morning coffee.
Ada blushed, suddenly looking bashful. "Well… I was hoping we could go back upstairs and continue what you started earlier," she admitted in a tiny voice.
Sy laughed, a booming sound that filled the entire room before a shit-eating grin spread on his lips. "Tough luck, darlin'." He got up from his chair, standing in front of her across the narrow table. "Should have thought about that before falling asleep on me earlier."
Ada's mouth fell open. The cheek on this man! And what made it worse, was his huge smile that made him look like a very amused bear, with his hairy, tempting chest. He was toying with her. "Are you really saying no to sex?" She asked, cocking her brow. Sy wasn't really the type to turn down-
"Yes, no sex." He stated, suddenly looking very serious. "We have to head to the store to buy decorations, then put up the tree and hang the lights outside." Ada tried her best not to laugh. He sounded as if he were explaining a major, life or death, mission to her – not Christmas preparations. "You’re dismissed but I expect you back here in fifteen minutes, dressed and ready to go." With that, he turned around and started gathering the plates and silverware to put them in the dishwasher.
"Yes, sir."
Ada knew better than to talk back. First, when he had something in mind, it was nearly impossible to talk him out of it. Second, she hoped that the sooner they were done with this, the sooner she could get laid. Third, he had used his Captain voice that somehow always managed to make an obedient little soldier out of her.
Though, rationally, she also didn't want to make it any more difficult for him. He had confessed to her a few nights ago why he'd felt so uneasy when they had gone grocery shopping: the gondolas were too tall which led to lots of blind spots and the amount of people meant he couldn't rely on his hearing sense to detect potential danger. 'It just screams ambush,' he told her.
Ada couldn't quite imagine what he must have experienced that a supermarket or a store would translate into danger, but it was not her place to question him. Instead, she had kissed his forehead in bed and offered to start doing their shopping on her own. Sy had promptly refused, suggesting they simply go early in the mornings, when there were less people and less distracting noises.
Now at Target, she was immensely glad she had gotten out of bed, the sight alone was worth it. It wasn't everyday you'd see Sy pick up a bunch of Christmas tree baubles and inspect each one of them carefully before determining which ones were worthy enough to make it to their living room. Ada sneaked a picture for safekeeping and then decided to send it to his mom as well. Family dinner was fast-approaching, and she'd seize all the cookie points she could get.
"Darlin'," Sy called, catching her attention. He was holding up an inflatable Santa who, instead of carrying gifts, dragged a bag full of liquor bottles and sported a drunk grin on his face. It was tacky beyond words. "Do 'you think we should get this, or will it just upset the neighborhood kids?"
Ada grimaced but tried to disguise it with a smile. She’d die before letting that thing on their lawn. “I think a neighborhood dog would tear it to bits within a second," she lied, trying to appear apologetic.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
°°°
The lights were up. It was a much quicker process with Sy's help. It was also the occasion for Ada to just sit back and relax because he was adamant, she shouldn’t step on a ladder to help. Instead, she had a glass of bourbon waiting for him for when he finished. It was 5pm somewhere after all.
"You said we had a tree!" Sy's deep voice reached her from the basement.
Ada threw her head back, sighing, before hurrying downstairs after him. "Yes, it's in that box over there," she pointed at a white cardboard box behind a couple of spare tires.
"Woman, it's tiny!" Sy complained, picking up the box and setting it down between them. It was about as tall as her. It was not that small.
"It's the one I've used every year since I moved in. It's pretty enough and doesn't take up too much space,” she defended.
In front of her, Sy exhaled loudly through his nostrils before rubbing his beard. She knew that move. It's what he did to remind himself she was not a soldier under his command, but his wife, and that he better measure his words unless he wanted to sleep on the sofa.
"Look, darlin'," he said calmly, enclosing her small hands in his much bigger ones. "This is my first Christmas home with my wife. I refuse to put up a minuscule, fake sapling in my home and call it a Christmas tree."
Ada was slightly taken aback. She didn’t know Christmas was this important to him. Though it was true he had been overseas on Christmas the past two years, so she could understand where he was coming from with wanting this Christmas to matter. Besides, it was endearing when he put it like that.
With a nibble on her lip, Ada gave in. "Okay. They're selling trees in that parking lot by the pharmacy."
Sy slowly shook his head, a mischievous look on his face. "No. We're going to get our own pine tree from the woods."
You gotta be kidding me, she groaned internally.  
°°°
Ada had no idea where they were. It hadn’t been that long of a ride, but there were no more houses or streets to be seen around them, just endless fields and a forest. It was only when Sy took a right turn, that she started spotting cars and what looked to be a very colorful barn which had been converted into a cozy boutique.
“Where are we?” She asked, staring out of the window as Sy looked for a place to park his truck.
“The Dallagher’s ranch,” he replied. “They do a corn maze and a pumpkin patch in the Fall, and in the Winter, you can pick up your own Christmas tree. My dad used to take Claire and I here every year.”
Oh… This was a family tradition. No wonder Sy made such a big deal about having a real tree for Christmas.
Once out of the car, they walked hand in hand through the dirt road until they reached the makeshift counter made of hay where you could get a handcart before heading out into the man-made pine forest and select a Christmas tree. Most people she saw, however, were already returning the handcarts and happily carrying their trees to their parked cars.
The old man by the cash register seemed to recognize Sy instantly, smiling warmly as he greeted him with a one-armed hug. Ada realized it was the ranch’s owner. “I haven’t seen you in years, Jack!” The old man exclaimed with a laugh before turning to Ada. “And who’s this pretty lady?”
“This is Ada, my wife,” Sy said, introducing them. He watched with amusement as Ada stumbled as the old man hugged her without a warning, taking her by surprise.
“Well, it’s great to meet you, Ada,” the man nodded once he had retreated, and then turned back to Sy. “Should I be offended I wasn’t invited to the wedding?” He teased.
Sy was already wrapping his arm around her shoulders, chuckling. “To be honest, Dallagher, there were no guests at the wedding,” he replied, amused at the way the old man frowned in a confused manner at that piece of information. “Actually, we came here to get a tree.”
“Of course!” Dallagher immediately turned and ordered the young boy in overalls to fetch them a handcart. “What size did you have in mind?”
“Something around seven feet,” Sy said, looking pensive as Ada looked up at him suspiciously, trying to figure out how much seven feet converted to in the metric system. Once she’d done the math, she pulled at Sy’s flannel sleeve to protest – that was way too big, it’d take up the whole living room – but the Dallagher’s grandson was already handing them the cart and leading them to the entrance.
“Trees that big are at the very back of the forest, you’ll have to walk a little.”
This turned out to be quite an understatement. Ada felt like they had been walking for literal years. While they had still come across other people at the beginning, mostly families, they were on their own now – that is if you didn’t count the many squirrels that kept appearing out of nowhere.
She stopped, grabbing the back of Sy’s red tartan shirt so he would be forced to pause as well. “Can’t we just take one of these?” Ads suggested, gesturing at the countless trees all around them. They were all pretty enough and considerably taller than her.
Sy huffed, biting his lip in amusement as he looked at her dispirited face. He’d told her she should probably get changed and wear more comfortable shoes before they left home, but she had insisted she wasn’t going to change clothes just to get a goddamn tree. “These are only around six feet, darlin’. And,” he paused, eyeing the trees more closely, “they’re not Nordmann firs. I want a Nordmann.”
Ada sighed defeatedly, but nodded all the same, starting to walk again when Sy took pity on her. “Do you want to sit on the handcart?”
The change on his wife’s face was instant, the frown lifting into a smile as she climbed on the cart and sat down in the middle, evening out her weight for him. “Is that better, darlin?” He asked teasingly.
She turned her head back just to make sure he saw her rolling her eyes.
By the time they reached an area with Nordmann trees that Sy considered nice and big enough, her butt was sore from the conjunction of the hard, wooden surface and the uneven ground. She wasn’t even sure she had made the better call or whether it would have been better to suffer in her new ankle boots instead.
“Which one is better?” Sy asked, pointing at two pine trees that looked virtually identical to her.
Ada shrugged, almost saying that he should choose before realizing how much time that would take. The man wasn’t picky about food, bedlinen or even the pillow he slept with, but apparently, he had to make sure he brought home the most perfect tree. She still couldn’t wrap her head around that. “The left one,” she said finally.
“Which one? Your left or my left?”
Breathing in deeply, she decided to just point at the tree she was talking about. Sy nodded thoughtfully and grabbed the saw he had brought with him and started to work on the tree. While she had been most eager to get this whole thing over with, it became an entirely different story now as she dreamily stared at her husband getting to work.
With most of his back facing her and one knee on the forest’s soft ground as he started sawing off the Nordmann fin, Sy looked absolutely delicious. The red flannel shirt unbuttoned over his white t-shirt and the jeans made him perfect sight with anyone with a lumberjack fantasy. Ada had never considered herself as having such a kink. A uniformed soldier, or even better, a captain? Hell yes. A strong, rugged husband capable of her breaking her in half? Also a big yes. A lumberjack? The thought had never crossed her mind in the past but there was no point in denying it now as she sat back on the wooden cart, watching Sy carefully saw down the giant tree.
She was wet. Horny. Aroused. You name it. It also didn’t help that they hadn’t had sex that day. Yet.
"Sy," she whined, just loud enough to get his attention, while swinging her legs in the air like a child.
"I'm almost done, darlin'," Sy responded, not bothering to turn around to look at her. "I want a nice, clean cut."
Yeah, and she want a nice, dirty fuck. Pouting, she watched him for a couple more seconds as he knelt in front of the base of the tree, deciding from which side he should bring the saw to the trunk next in order to make it even.
That was when Ada decided she was tired of waiting. Shuffling quietly, she slipped off her wet panties from under her dress and rolled them into a small ball before throwing it at her husband. It hit his left shoulder and rolled down his chest. Grinning wickedly, she leaned back on her shoulders and enjoyed the view, the muscles on his back shifting as he picked up the garment off the ground. If this didn't get her laid, nothing else would.
"Ada Metz Syverson," Sy groaned out her full name slowly, his voice even deeper than usual. He got back up on his feet and turned to face her, looking stern.
Suddenly she didn't feel so brave anymore, not when he had crossed the distance to her in two determined strides and went to tower over her small, sitting frame. His jaw was set, and his eyes were a darker shade of blue than usual. Ada moved her eyes down his body, her eyes pausing at the defined pectorals on his chest before sliding lower. He was definitely hard, the bulge on his jeans prominent.
"Just remember you asked for this."
She wanted to ask what this was supposed to be, but he didn’t give her the chance. “Legs,” he ordered, patting his shoulder as he came to stand just inches away from her. Almost unconsciously, she obeyed his order, her ankles coming to rest on the front of his shoulders, her feet framing his neck. “That’s a good girl,” he praised her with a quick kiss to her right calf before his large hands moved to the front of his jeans, just over the protruding tent and began undoing the belt and snap.
From this angle, Sy’s cock looked even bigger, the shiny glans flushed a deep pink. Ada swallowed tightly, her legs already shaking with anticipation and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Pumping his shaft with his right hand, Sy brought his left one to her core, rubbing the rough pad of his thumb over clit once or twice before sliding it between her folds. She was a dripping mess. Sy smirked when she keened eagerly at his touch, enjoying his ministrations until he pulled his hand away and brought it to his mouth, licking off her slick. “It’s good you’re so wet already because I just can’t wait to take you, darlin’.”
He wasn’t lying when he said he couldn’t wait. The next thing he did, was grabbing hold of his throbbing, hard cock and guiding himself into her. Ada moaned loudly at the intrusion, drowning out Sy’s own growl as her walls clenched around his cock, trying to get used to the abruptness and depth of the penetration.
“Fuck, Sy!” She cried out, not even sure what it was she wanted. “Don’t stop,” was all she could muster as he ploughed into her like there was no tomorrow, hitting her pleasure all at once.
He knew they were being too loud. They might be alone, but they were still out in the open air, and yet he just couldn’t find it in himself to care – not when she felt this good around his cock and her noises only heightened his fervor. If someone happened to stumble upon them, then they’d simply be in for a premium show,
It wasn’t long until her legs started shaking almost uncontrollably up in the air, prompting him to remove one hand from his steely grip on her hip and wrap his arms around her legs to keep them steady as he continued with jackhammer thrusts. “Are you going to cum for me, darlin’?” Sy panted, groaning out the question between clenched teeth even though he already knew the answer.
Ada didn’t manage to reply, the first waves of her orgasm already coursing through her when she moaned his name. Her hips canted up, her body tensed up like a bolt, and Sy knew he was done for right then. Her warm walls squeezed him impossibly tight inside of her, milking the cum right out of his cock while he fought to keep his balance as pleasure overtook him.
They came down from their heights slowly, chests heaving. Sy lazily removed her legs from his shoulders, massaging the strained muscles on her inner thighs before he set her legs down. This woman would be the end of him. “That was…” he panted, bending forward over her body to kiss her forehead, unable to find a proper adjective to describe what had just happened.
“Yeah,” Ada breathed out, nodding slowly.
Sy ended up having to carry her and the tree on the cart back to his truck because there was no way she was able to walk straight after that.
°°°
They finished decorating the giant tree. Ada had to admit it looked pretty although the red and gold decorations clashed with the color theme of their living room. She handed Sy the newly purchased baubles one by one – he was the only one capable of reaching the top.
On their way back home, she had somehow managed to convince Sy to stop at the therapist’s office – the one she had found had the highest ratings on Google. They had booked the first available appointment, which was just after the New Year and Sy had made it very clear to their secretary it was just a ‘testing appointment’ and that there was no need to set aside time slots for follow-up sessions yet because there was no guarantee he’d be back. His reluctance was palpable, but Ada was glad he was giving it a try at least. And if he didn’t like, then they’d figure out something else.
In the background, their wedding video kept playing and she wondered for how much longer she'd have to hear the sound of camera flashes as the chapel assistant took way too many photos of them in the most cliché poses you could imagine. Sy has insisted they put on their wedding video since they’d never gotten around to watch it and it fit the season, according to him. Slowly, the annoying sounds began fading away and Ada sighed with relief. Watching herself on TV sparked too much embarrassment in her.
"Hand me the big one with Rudolph, will you, darlin'," Sy asked from behind her, still meticulously decorating the tree.
Ada nodded, searching for the bauble he had in mind. It was still in the shopping bag, she remembered, lifting it off the floor to dig inside it.
Ada froze as a female chuckle was heard, unconsciously gripping the glass ornament too tightly in her hand. "Not that fast, Captain."
Behind her, Sy frowned. "What did you say?"
"Tonight, I'm in charge," she heard her own voice say - no, it was more like a purr.
"Shit!" Ada cursed loudly, letting the bauble fall back inside the bag and she hurried to the TV, her worst fear confirmed.
Sy followed her quickly, stopping just behind her, his hands on her shoulders. "Is that from our wedding night?" He asked slowly, his eyes locked on the screen as he watched his younger self being tied up to the bedposts by his wife.
"Yes," Ada cringed, her face a painful grimace. "I didn't even remember the sex tape."
"Me neither," Sy swallowed loudly, admittedly rapidly becoming aroused at the sight of his Ada doing a striptease on camera. She wore that red ensemble with the garter belt.
"I think the assistant never really ended the video after our wedding, only paused it and we later continued filming in the hotel instead of starting a new video," Ada commented, now understanding what had happened. How they’d even came up with the idea of filming a sex tape on their wedding night, she didn't know. Alcohol had probably played a part in it.
Sy was still staring in awe at the TV, enthralled by the sight of his wife deviously edging him, her hips swaying slowly, when her words slowly registered in his head. "Didn't we send copies of the video to our families?" He stammered, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and hesitant.
Silence fell between them as they both realized they had been dumb enough to send copies before watching it themselves. "Fuck!" Ada barked, seizing the remote to pause the video. "We sent that to my parents, your parents, your sister...," she listed, her face losing all color.
Suddenly, the sound of Sy's deep laughter filled her ears. She turned to him, aghast. How could he find this funny? This was peak cringe! She’d be one needing therapy after this!
"You know, darlin', watching this video was the first time my parents ever saw their daughter-in-law, before even meeting you in person." Sy explained, shaking his head with amusement.
Ada was mortified. No wonder Mr. Syverson had seemed on the verge of laughter the first time they'd met and Helen had given her the side eye. The woman had a USB stick in her home with an hour-long video of Ada fucking her son. "You know, Sy, this wedding video is also the first thing my parents saw of you." He stopped laughing abruptly, his face red, all amusement gone.
They both sat down on the couch next to each other, slowly coming to terms with the fact that pretty much their whole families had seen this, and never said anything, probably keeping it as an inside joke.
Sy broke the silence, his large hand reaching to rub her naked thigh. "You know, I don't think we should be embarrassed," he said, prompting her to stare back up at him, eyebrow raised dubiously. "The way you tied up my arms really enhanced my biceps and you looked adorably hot like a vicious kitten from hell."
°°°
@colourmeinblue​ @hail-horror-queen​ @youthought-iwasa-nicegirl​ @kmuir1​ @madbaddic7ed​ @coffeebreathy​ @purplelove75​ @summersong69​ @helenaellie​ @rn7rocks​ 
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Lovingly
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Summary; Gally reflects on the impact that you had on his life, but it’s left with him wanting more.    Pairing: Gally x Reader WordCount; 1,549 Based off of a prompt from this prompt List; Warnings; None, just sweet old fluff For @deansamore​ end of year Challenge!
Day 2         Day 4
                             »»————- 🇰 ————-««
Gally didn't know when it happened. Gally also didn't know how it happened. But it did, and Gally thanked whoever sent you to him every day. 
From the moment you came up in the box, the two of you appeared compelled to one another. No matter how busy the two of you were, you managed to locate each other. Gally sometimes wondered if you were made just for him. 
You were the only one who was able to calm him down. Gally could be in a blind rage, and a simple touch of your hand on his arm began to calm him down. Gally remembered the first time it happened so fondly.
You occupied the gardens working alongside Newt. In the distance, you could hear a recognisable sound. They were arguing again. While you remained focused on your work, your ears strained to overhear what was going on. 
While you couldn't hear all of it, you distinctively heard Gally mentioning the heavy workload of the Builders. As the two took steps closer towards the gardens, the anger in Gally's face explained it all. He was mere moments away from losing his temper.  
"Go to him before he gets himself in bloody in trouble. Shank doesn't know when to quit. You're the only person that he listens to nowadays." Dusting off your hands on your jeans, you got up from the hard ground and jogged in the direction of Alby and Gally's dispute. As Gally's back as to you, he didn't hear you coming, just as Gally was about to take a step closer into Alby's personal space when you grasped his arm. 
"What do you think- Hey." Gally's face immediately softened when he became aware it was you. His gaze softened as you kept your hand resting on his forearm. Glancing down at your hand on his arm, Gally was now distracted from his argument with Alby. 
"Are you okay?" Gally knew he was not the best at communicating, so rather than inadvertently pushing you away. On the other hand, bringing you into an unwelcomed embrace, but Gally believed he understood you adequately enough. 
Wrapping his sizeable arms around your frame, he brought you into a secure embrace. He didn't say anything as he sought comfort from you that he hadn't required before. Gally didn't believe he needed to rely on anyone until he met you. 
"We're talking about this later. When you've calmed down." Alby walked off, leaving the two of you alone. Gally laid his head into the curve of your next relishing in your scent. A mixture of sweat and the floral smell was unique to you. 
Alby's words fell on death ears as Gally focused solely on you. The rest of the Glad appeared to disappear. At that moment, Gally couldn't see anything or anyone else, except you. A smile etched its way onto Gally's lips as your grip tightened. 
The two of you were uncertain of how long you were standing there. It wasn't until Newt called you for needing help in the gardens. With a promise that you would come to find him later, the two of you parted back to your respective jobs.
Gally smiled as he remembered that day. From that moment every time Gally's temper was attempting to get the best of him, the other Glader's ran to get you. The only one who could calm him down and make him rationalise his thoughts. He was a better person because of you.
Not only were you good at calming him down when he was angry, but you could be kind, sweet and patient whenever he was injured. He knew he was not the most unchallenged person to interact with whenever he was in pain, but you managed to keep a level head.
The morning had started like no other. The two of you sat next to each other at breakfast, Gally's hand taking ahold of yours under the table. There was something unspoken going on between the two of you that's for sure. The two of you leaned on each other like no one else you two were affectionate towards each other. While you often embraced Newt, Frypan, Chuck, Minho and the rare occasions Alby. Your affections towards Gally were profound and more intimate. Except there was not a label on what the two of you had.
Reluctantly the two of you left to go your respective jobs. The day was hot as it scorched down on your back while you picked the fresh Vegetables and fruit required for tonight's dinner. You had just gone to pick up the basket to deliver it to Frypan when you heard your name called repeatedly.
"It's Gally he's hurt." Looking at Newt, he nodded permitting you to leave your work to attend to Gally.
"Go on, we've all seen him injured, and it's never pretty. I'll take the basket to Frypan."
With permission granted, you sprinted towards the Medbay running with all your might as you made your way up the stairs. Hearing Gally's grunts and disputes about anyone touching him forced you to run harder.
"Get off of me!"
"Gally, stop! They are just trying to help." The moment his eyes met yours, his struggle seemingly got worse.
"I told you not to tell her." Crossing the room, you were quick to take ahold of Gally's hand.
"I was going to eventually. Shuck! What happened?" As it turns out, Gally had fallen from his ladder, and his arm had unfortunately dislocated. The Medjacks needed to place his shoulder back into place. 
"This is going to hurt.” Gally let go of your hand as he braced himself on the bed, moving to the top of the bed you dragged the stool so you could sit down. Running your hands over his short hair attentively, you pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.
"I didn't want you to see me like this. Weak and a mess." You continued to run your hands over his hair while you tried to look at the Medjacks preparing their required utensils.
"Gal, showing weakness is not a negative characteristic to convey. Remember when I got those thorns stuck in my arm the other week, you sat with me while they removed them. So what's the difference?"
"I supposed to be secure for you. Someone you can rely on to feel safe." Sighing, you rested your head on the top of his gently.
"I always feel safe around you. I always will. I want you to feel safe with me too. You know I am more than capable of defending myself if I need to. You're always going to have me. No matter what happens."  
"I know, as you have me...Shuck! Shuck!" Gally's arm went in with a resounding plop sound. It would take a least two weeks until the shoulder healed properly until then you made it your job to guarantee Gally could recover back to full health.
Gally observed you raking up a pile of leaves as Autumn began to set in. He could make out the sweat glistening on your forehead, but overall you appeared content with the task at hand.
For the past few weeks, Gally had been contemplating what you and Gally were. While he was aware that you two were friends. Gally was mindful of how you made him feel. When he could see you, his whole world lightened up. Gally had never felt these things about anyone else before.
Gally desired to be yours and yours alone. He wanted to keep you warm during the coldest of nights. Gally didn't know how to approach you with this. He decided to play it casually, running a hand through his hair he walked over to you slowly.
As quietly as he could, Gally picked up his pace as in a split decision Gally, gathered you up on his arms before jumping into the pile of leaves you had just raked up. An all mighty squeal escaped your lips as the leaves went everywhere.
"Gally!" You playfully slapped his chest as you laid your head back in laughter, Although resting your head on Gally's chest, you were in no rush to move away from him.
"Surprise!" That broke you deeper into hysterics as you tried to calm your breathing down.
"You are helping clear up this. I don't need Newt on my case." As the two of you caught a glimpse at each other, This was his moment. The two of you were alone, no one around. Gally could potentially destroy everything, but he hoped this wouldn't.
Cupping hold of the side of your face, Gally watched you immediately reached up to touch his hand. Gally glanced down at your lips several times before deciding to take the risk and leaning in.
The moment your lips melted together, it was as if the world suddenly made sense. The two of you consumed each other as Gally deepened the kiss. With his hand resting on your back and yours pawing his chest. The two of you believed that you had finally found your soul mate.
Pulling away, both of you laid in the pile of leaves silently. Everything else ceased to exist. Something positive had finally come out of the Maze. Something WCKED couldn't destroy.
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princess-yuna · 3 years
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This Shall Pass
Chapter 2: Cold
Pairing: Din Djarin x Female Reader Words: 1,989 Warning: Spoilers of episode two of season two of Mandalorian.  Rated: E Summary: After some risky flying, Din crash landed the Razor Crest on a snowy planet. You have to help repair the ship to get off the planet, and you have to deal with an unexpected turn of events because of a certain child. 
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You woke up with a jolt at the sudden jerk of the Razor Crest, alarmed at the sudden maneuvering of the spacecraft. “What’s happening?” Your gaze went from outside the window to the helmet of the pilot as he shifted the controls to get the craft to safety. Much like the beskar covered Mandalorian, you became aware of your surroundings quickly. Adapting has always been easy for you because your life was consistently changing. That was the Way of the life you hung up, but it was what you knew. 
“Hold on!” 
So, you did without a moment’s hesitation. There was nothing else to do but to trust Din to get you out of whatever danger he decided to put you all in. Escaping whoever was chasing the ship was the top priority, and this was why he hated when he couldn’t travel through hyperspace. The ride was bumpy but he landed the Crest, which gave a moment of relief until there was a rumble beneath the metal. Before you could say something, the ship started to fall through the hole of the ice. Everyone had been banged around, and your head hit against something hard to cause your focus to blur. Ultimately, your vision went black.
A shake jolted you up in alarm and you were faced with the visor. “Are you alright?” Again, why was his tone so gentle? You pushed his hand away from your shoulder, nodding your head. He stared, the coldness of your action caught him off guard when he had been trying to help. The pain of rejection crept through him but he didn’t say a word to you. 
“Yeah,” you grunted, your hand on your head as you sat up. A heavy sigh sounded from him as he stepped away from you to give some space as he went to check on the frog lady that had also been knocked unconscious. “Cold,” you muttered, the frozen terrain was a contrast of the sand from Tatooine. Your clothes did nothing to provide you warmth, and the Mandalorian was made aware of that. 
“I’ll find your eggs, don’t worry,” he assured the other as she croaked about her eggs. “And I’ll go find some blankets to keep you two warm,” he responded before he headed below. 
This wasn’t what you signed up for, but you already knew that jobs for a Mandalorian was never easy. This was the life you wanted to get away from when you decided to pull away from tradition. All you wanted was a simple life, but here you were on the Razor Crest getting ready to freeze to death. The ship was doomed and it would take some time to fix what had been damaged. The lady beside you croaked out of despair, losing hope that the eggs wouldn’t get to her husband on time. A frown settled on your face, knowing what she felt to lose hope.
You didn’t want her to lose faith in the Mandalorian as much as you have, so you took a stand. “We’ll get out of here, I promise,” you told the lady, and she looked up at you with big hopeful eyes. Even when you knew you couldn’t make miracles happen, you knew that you could try. As a Mandalorian, you knew that you couldn’t let Din go back on his word when he had been faithful to the Creed. 
Climbing down the ladder was a task, but you made it down in time to see Din closing the lid of where the eggs were kept as he scolded the child. Paying no mind to his business, you looked through the cargo to locate whatever blankets you could. Crate after crate, you searched until you found the blankets and pulled one out and the other you threw to Din even when he wasn’t looking. “Give that to her,” you simply commanded as you draped your own blanket over your shoulders. Wrapping it around you, your search continued for the small tool box you knew that he kept for repairs. 
“What are you doing?” 
You could feel his gaze, watching you as you searched around for something unknown to him. Din had never been so quiet with you in the past, but he just didn’t know how to talk to you anymore. The way you went about your business without casting him a single glance made him feel a heap of guilt because he had known the cold shoulder was because of his mistakes. It was sinking deep down that your forgiveness was long gone. 
“Saving our asses,” you replied after a moment, obtaining the toolbox and attempting to ignore the cold. Heading to the gaping hole of the ship, you didn’t cast a look to him as you exited. The cold made you tremble, pulling the blanket closer to your body as you assessed the problem. Everything needed work. Shaking your head, you carefully walked to the other side of the ship after taking in your surroundings. This would take a few hours, but you just hoped it would be done before night fell.
You were completely focused on the soldering when you felt a weight draped over your shoulders. “You’re cold,” came his voice. “You should go inside,” he tried to encourage, but you shook your head. The determination to get the ship out of the hole was your priority. Even when you were cold to the bone, you couldn’t stop. Your fingers felt numb as you worked because you carelessly didn’t put your gloves on. “Hey,” he called, trying to get your attention. He hated when you were stubborn. That was the Mandalorian Way in your head. You couldn’t stop until you were finished. 
“Stop,” he ordered, grabbing onto your hand and your movement stopped, looking up with him with wonder. “Let me take over.” It was like he was begging you to let him fix the damages. The damages of what happened between you, as well as the current situation. 
“We can fix it together,” you finally said, looking away from him. He let go of your hand, letting you get back to what you were doing. “The faster we fix this, the faster we get out of this stupid ice planet,” you mumbled, going back to welding the metal. 
“Okay,” was all he said, picking up some tools from the box to start working on another section of the ship. He was still close, wanting to make sure that you weren’t shaking too much because of the cold. The extra blanket seemed to help though, from what he saw. Kneeling down, he worked on an open panel, glancing at you every once in a while. “You’ve always hated the cold,” he commented.
You didn’t speak as he said that fact about you, working diligently beside him to get the ship up and running. He was still the Din Djarin you knew to love, but you still felt the frustration that was deep within. An hour possibly passed as you worked on more of the repairs with Din at your side, passing small comments here and there but not making a full conversation. This was fine, settling with making little to no noise but only the sound of the welding could be heard mixed with the howl of the wind. A peculiar sound of the child came to your ears, making you turn your head to see it walk through the snow to get Din’s attention. The Mandalorian got up to his feet, passing by you to get to the creature.
“Cya-” He cut himself off before he said your name to get your attention. “I’ll be back,” he said once your eyes met his visor. “I’m taking the kid with me,” he added on, making you nod your head. He knew your distaste for the creature and he didn’t want to force you to watch him. Always one to pay attention to details. Nodding his head, he went out of view and you looked back to what you were doing. You didn’t want to ask where he was going because you knew that he would come back. 
---
You heard an explosion coming from the ice cave, making you come to a stand. The blankets slid down from around you to the ground, and you looked to the entrance to see Din coming along. “Inside! Get inside!” Without any hesitation, you gathered everything and placed it in the box before getting inside the ship. Dropping the box down, you pulled the blaster from your belt and held it in your hand. The child, the frog lady, and the eggs were all inside. 
“Get them up to the cockpit!” 
Not going against his demand, you sprung into action and brought the baby in your arms. You made sure that everyone was up the ladder before turning around, seeing him rush in. As he ran, you shot at the spider-like creatures that chased him with the kid in your arms, moving up into the cockpit and moving back enough for him to get inside. You shot at the small ones that managed to get through the door. There was hope as he got the ship online, telling everyone to buckle in. 
Being aerial lasted a few seconds until it was on the ground again, stopped by the mother of the spider creatures. You cursed under your breath, looking up at the beast. “What did you do to piss it off?” Things weren’t looking good, but you hoped that some miracle would happen. The leg of it went through the glass and you took the kid into your arm as it started to whimper. It was in your nature to protect everyone who had been around you, no matter your feelings towards them. That was how you were taught. There wasn’t an answer to the question as the kid cowered into you, holding onto your shirt like his life depended on it. You thought it was going to be the end but then a miracle truly happened. There were lasers from the outside, shooting at the creatures that had still been left. 
“Stay here,” Din told you three as if you were planning to go anywhere. 
Maneuvering out of the chair, you set the child down and then looked around at the damages. More damages. You sighed, shaking your head as you left the cockpit and headed down to grab the tools that you have dropped. Passing through the webs, you looked for the rectangular box and found it as soon Din stepped back in. Opening the box, you picked up one of the welding sticks and handed it to him. “We have to fix the cockpit,” you told him, but he already knew that.
“To answer your question, it was the kid’s fault,” he responded, taking the welder from your hand. “But don’t blame him, he’s just a kid that doesn’t know any better.” 
Shaking your head, you headed to the ladder with the tools that you needed. “Let’s get this ship fixed, you know I hate the cold,” you told him as you climbed up the ladder to head back into the cockpit where the baby and the frog lady were. 
“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, walking out into the snow to repair what he needed to on the outside. 
You looked to the kid as you walked into the cockpit and the feeling of blame still crept within you. Even when Din told you not to, you still had that inkling to blame the kid. It made you feel guilty as you thought of it some more, knowing better than to put blame on a child. You couldn’t help it though. A sigh left your lips, looking up to see the Mandalorian at the outside of the glass to repair it and you looked away when he looked in. 
Maybe one day he would see it from your eyes. 
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bellatrixobsessed1 · 3 years
Text
Protea (Part 17)
She doesn’t come home that night or the next. So Mai caves, partially under the pressure of Ursa’s rising anxiety.
“She’s probably at ‘er factory.” Mohi shrugs.
This does little to alleviate Ursa’s concert. “Her what?”
“It used to manufacture war machines.” Zenyul remarks.
“An abandoned factory!? Those are...they’re unsanitary and full of blades and broken beams.”
“She always goes there when she’s upset.” She cuts Mai a pointed glare and just like that she recalls the woman’s warning not to hurt her daughter. “Been goin’ ta that factory fer a long while now. Ain’t nothing to worry ‘bout.” Mohi assures.
“She’s been gone for…”
“Only a day.” Zuko cups his hand over Ursa’s. “Azula can take care of herself. She’ll come back when she’s ready.”
“Girl jus’ needs time ta clear ‘er head s’all.”
“I’ll go check on her.” Mai grumbles. She is certain that she will come to regret this decision. Whether Azula is withdrawn or furious she is in for a difficult and tedious time. Really she shouldn’t go at all. But, frankly, she’d do just about anything to keep Mohi from glaring at her with that much hatred.
“Boy, ya git  on up ‘n go find your sister!”
Both Kaz and Zuko rise.
“I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout ‘choo.” She jabs her finger at Zuko.
“He doesn’t have to come.” Mai grumbles.
“He’s a goin’.”
The argument is settled. It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t have to talk to him. And she doesn’t. It isn’t out of hatred nor dislike. It isn’t out of anything at all in particular. Perhaps it is just less awkward. They reach the factory and she leaves Kaz to do the calling. He tries Snapdragon first and after getting no answer he tries ‘princess’ and then ‘Azula’.
Mai finally speaks directly to him, I’ll look inside, I know where her nest is. You can check around outside.”
“Yeah, that werks.” He agrees.
The building has a certain chill to it now that Azula has left it vacant for some time. She is twice as hesitant to ascend the ladder, it seems to sway more than ever and when she reaches the top, she finds no reward. Azula isn’t in there picking through her hoard.
She climbs back down and takes the stairs to the upper levels. She is beginning to speculate that Azula isn’t here. She wouldn’t put it past her to have run off to find the Forgetful Valley a second time.
With a drawn sigh she takes the fire escape. This is where she finds Azula and her stomach has never plummeted faster. By Agni’s fire, she wishes that the princess would have just run off into the jungle again. She is so still, so nauseatingly still. And there is blood.  Too much of it.
Spirits, has she been here all night. She feels queasy beyond compare. She nearly hurls over the side of the railing when she sees Azula’s legs. She takes a deep breath, “Kaz!” Her voice strains, she isn’t used to yelling so loudly. “Kaz!”
“Ya find her?”
“Yeah, and I need your help.”
She is scared to feel for her pulse. She reaches out regardless. It is only faintly reassuring to find a subtle beating. She rubs her hands over her face. She shouldn’t have kissed Kaz. Spirits, what was she thinking.
Snapdragon’s goofy lopsided smile appears in her mind, accompanied by that delighted and loud laugh. Her face is so still, her expression so pained. It doesn’t sit will, not on Snapdragon. On Azula, sure. But not on the face of joyful Snapdragon.
.oOo.
Her head hurts. Her legs hurt, what she can feel of them anyways. Everything just hurts.
She forces her eyes open, expecting to see the sun glaring mercilessly down upon her. She doesn’t remember when she had passed out. She recalls that she had been trying to stop the bleeding and then nothing at all.
But she is not strewn out on hard metal. She is back in the infirmary and wrapped in more bandages than when she had left.
There is no one around, no one save for a healer. She swallows, the really are all angry with her. She tries to sit up and the healer is by her side in an instant, gently coaxing her back to the mattress. “Not yet.” She says gently.  “At least wait until your food gets here.” She hands her a cup of water.
Some fifteen minutes pass and then another five. And Mai enters. She sets a small bento box in her lap. “I’m not a very good cook. Kaz and Zenyul did most of the work.”
Azula nods and heaves herself into a sitting position. She feels so dizzy and tired and her fingers fumble with the box. Mai helps her pry the lid open. She picks at the rice first and then a small helping of noodles.
“You didn’t have to jump.” Mai mumbles.
For a moment she doesn’t register the weight of the remark. When she does, she shakes her head. “I was just trying to get to the top. I figured that I could do it now that I have my bending back…”
She supposes that she won’t be doing much of that anymore. Her face pales; she can’t climb, she can’t do parkour, she can’t even get to her hoard. She can’t do anything that can help take her mind off of things.
Mai looks profoundly relieved. “You really did just fall?”
She holds out her sprained wrist, “I hurt it more trying to catch myself.” She thinks that maybe if it hadn't been so bruised prior, she might not have hurt it so badly. She wonders if she’ll be able to walk again. She inquires as much and the healer comes to her with a small pin. She pricks Azula’s thigh and then her calf. She winces with each.
“You’ll be fine as long as you let your legs heal right.”
Azula lays back, it is more than a relief.
“Kaz helped you make this?” She gestures to the box.
Mai nods.
“He’s still mad?”
She nods again. “I don’t think that he will be for long.”
“Are you?”
“I want to be.” Mai sighs. “I really want to be...”
“But…”
“You just fell off of a building and you look like a kicked rabaroo. It’s kind of pathetic.” She laughs.
Azula frowns and crosses her arms. “Where is mother?”
“Which one?”
“Both of them.”
“I can get them for you. Zuko will probably tag along.”  
She starts to stand but Azula catches her by the wrist. “Stay with me.” With a sigh, Mai sits back down.
.oOo.
Azula still doesn’t let go of her hand. Likely she thinks that she is going to try to leave again. She exhales again and brushes Azula’s hair out of her face. She rests her hand on her cheek. “At least you don’t have to worry about any new scars, they’ll disappear when you get your real face back.”
“My face, not my body.” Azula replies. “I don’t think that my body changed.”
Mai shrugs, the last fragments of her anger fall away when Azula looks back at the bento box and mutters, “you forgot the marigold.”
“I wasn’t sure if you’d still eat that.”
Azula quirks a brow. “I had my memories when we opened up the new shop.”
Mai doesn’t know how her brain had managed to gloss that one over. “Are you trying to tell me that, that wasn’t part of trying to pretend like you didn’t have your memories?”
Azula clears her throat, “the taste grew on me.”
“Spirits, you’re a feral little beast beast.” Mai rolls her eyes. She really can’t hate her. Not anymore. Not when the line between Snapdragon and Azula is so blurred. Not when it becomes so outright that they are one and the same. She carefully lifts Azula’s bandaged hand and, with a moment of hesitation, offers it a little kiss before putting it back down just below her chest. Azula cradles it in her uninjured hand.
“Who do you think is going to have the better lecture; Mohi or Ursa?”
“Honestly, I can’t wait to listen to both.”
“Did Zuko cry?”
“It was more like this look of distress and concern.
“Good.”
“Good?”
“People care about me.” She clarifies. “I didn’t think people cared about me.”
“Of course we care about…”
“Everyone cares about Snapdragon. I...I didn’t think that anyone cared about me.”
Mai bites the inside of her cheek, she probably hadn’t helped any in that regard. “That’s why you became Snapdragon, isn’t it?”
Azula nods, “I was tired of being alone. A new face was my best chance.”
“You didn’t think to try to apologize?”
Azula cringes. “I’m not good with that. I don’t think that I would have felt loved if it was given to me...no memories came with no...trust issues.”
Mai rubs her lips together and tenderly strokes the back of Azula's hand. “I guess that it would have been difficult to just apologize and move on.” She can’t even promise the princess that she would have given her a chance. She has an inkling that Azula knows it too. Of course she does, she wouldn’t have run off if she hadn’t.
“Well, maybe it’s a good thing you did leave.” Zuko shrugs. Mai isn’t sure how long he had been standing there; Azula’s cringe tells her that she isn’t sure either.  
“Why’s that, Zuzu?” She mumbles. “So you could have a break from me?”
“That too. But also because…” He ponders for a moment. “Because I think that Snapdragon is a part of you. The part that you’ve been afraid to show everyone. A new face gave you the chance to do it.”
Azula’s cheeks color ever so subtly. “That’s not…I’m not some feral...”
Mai holds her pointer to Azula’s lips and quirks a brow. “You don’t have to repress yourself. Trust me, it...its tiresome.” Maybe she ought to start surfacing her own bizarre interests and odd habits. The ones that her mother would chastise her for.
“We like you better when you don’t refine and polish yourself. You’re easier to talk to.”
Azula nods. “You guys like me.”
Mai sighs. “Yes we like you, Azula, not just Snapdragon.”
She opens her mouth.
“Not just the Snapdragon parts of you. All of you.” Zuko adds.
“Even the part that is going to laugh at you for crying over me.”
Zuko cringes. “You’re pushing it.”
“But you’re still going to bring me a cup of tea?”
Zuko rolls his eyes. “Fine, I’ll get you a cup of tea.”
Azula smiles and nuzzles her head into her pillow. She closes her eyes.  
Mai wants to get up and fetch herself a scroll or knitting supplies, or something to occupy herself with while Azula rests but she told the princess that she wouldn’t leave. She supposes that it wouldn’t hurt to have a rest for herself. It had been a stressful few days.
.oOo.
Azula feels as though her life has come to a bleak standstill. She can’t climb nor scramble, she can’t firebend to her liking, and she can’t go out and reclaim her old face. Though it is rather nice to have Mai caring for her; bringing her meals and laying on the bed with her. She sits as close as she can without risking damaging Azula’s legs worse. The princess is dissatisfied to find that Mai usually keeps a foot or two between them, despite insistence that she isn’t that fragile.
Mohi and Ursa check in frequently to the point that she thinks they are hovering. Were her speech written, Mohi would be pages into a multi-part lecture on climbing safety and not doing anything bold and risk at the height of anger. It doesn’t matter how many times she insists that it would have been relaxing had she not fallen.
Ursa is softer, but equally as annoying. It is all forehead kisses, babying, and doting. But she doesn’t want to push her away again, so the woman gets away with it. She finds that Zuko is, to her shock and dismay, the most pleasant company.
He brings her things to keep her busy; lets her help him work through some of the more tedious and tricky contracts and proposals that the council presents him with. It keeps her mind sharp and makes her feel useful. Other times he will bring a Paisho board or other strategy games. Sometimes he just sits and tells her stories while she and Mai listen. One day he tells her that, by the time she heals fully, TyLee should be around to vision. Her heart flutters at this. She wonders how the woman will take her relationship with Mai.
.oOo.
It is good to see Azula getting fresh air again. She seems happier for it, far less grumpy. In general, being at the flower shop seems to soothe her. She has taken to opening all of the windows, letting in a breeze that has the petals and leaves in a constant state of rustling.
She watches her engage in conversation as she hands over a bouquet of iris, clover, and foxglove. She is certain that it is doing Azula well to speak with the general public; if there is one thing that Snapdragon and Azula share it is that they both stumble through basic conversation in some way or another. She wonders if Azula will continue working at the shop once she gets her own face back.
Mai watches the customer leave, the last rush of the day has finally come to a close. “I think that this is the most you’ve talked to anyone...ever.”
Azula swivels her wheelchair around to face Mai and shrugs. “I am tired.”
Mai sighs, “you did good.” She rubs the princess’ shoulders and gives her a soft kiss. Azula puts her hands in her lap. “How is your wrist feeling?”
“Sore.”
“And your legs?”
“Right now, they aren’t.”
Mai chuckles. “Do you want a cup of tea? I’ve been saving some leaves so you have plenty of choices.”
Azula nods and rummages through her collection and picks out several flavors. “Any of these will do.”
.oOo.
She isn’t much help with closing duties; she can’t reach the cleaning supplies from her chair and it is rather hard to hold a broom and wheel herself around at the same time. It is just as well, she really doesn’t like cleaning anyhow. The messes have always been funner to make. She can see it in Mai’s eyes that she is relieved that she doesn’t have to clean up a counter full of dirt, the sort of mess that she used to leave behind when Snapdragon would scoop up handfuls of dirt just to watch it sift out of her closed fist. Granted she still does this from time to time when she grows bored, but she keeps her space nice and tidy. There is something relaxing about watching dirt fall, something about the feeling of it shifting in her palm.
When she is through she withdraws her hand and ignites a small flame to burn away that which is still stuck to her hand. “You ready to go?” Mai asks.
“Yes.”
“I suppose that you’re going to have a bath when you get home?”
“Correct.”
She isn’t sure what kind she will have under orders to not get her casts wet. “You are going to have to help me.”
“Why don’t you have one of your serving girls--”
Azula shakes her head, “that’s...uncomfortable.” She paues. “I trust you.”
Mai smiles. She thinks that that is what implores her to roll her eyes and agree to help. Undressing is such a tedious task one that is sprinkled with questions like, “how did you even get these pants on?”  And answers like, “with effort and an hour or so.”
“I am going to have Yora get you a robe.”
“Yes. That is what I wear to bed.”
“It’s what you’re going to wear in the day too, so we don’t have to struggle like this again.” Mai carefully lifts her out of the wheelchair and sits her upon the edge of the spring and hands her a towel.
She finds that bathing is no longer a relaxing endeavor, it is a constant fight to keep her casts dry.
“A little water isn’t going to hurt it.” Mai insists as Azula brings the towel to wipe away the water that has made its way into her lap for, well she has lost count of how many times now.
“It would be helpful to have a water bender to just shift it around and create a space for my legs.”
“Well we don’t have any waterbenders on hand.” Mai replies and hands Azula a bar of soap. She scrubs herself with both haste and efficacy and dries herself just as quickly. She waits for Mai to disappear and come back with her robes. She dresses herself and Mai helps her back into the wheelchair. She smells, once again, like Snapdragon and Firelily. And for it she feels like herself again.
Mai helps her into bed. Though it is a lot cozier, she finds that she doesn’t need her nest when Mai chooses to spend the night in her bed. Mai is just as warm as her softest pillow and is much better for conversation. Sleeping isn’t exactly comfortable, consider her preference for sleeping on her side or stomach. But Mai makes it more bearable by either rubbing her arms or stroking the back of her hands.
Mostly, this coaxes her to sleep. And it is nice to wake up to a slumbering Mai still holding her hand.
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Text
Falling (Three)
TW for Character Death but like... not really cos we know where Tony is. Also Tissues because I cried outlining Rhodey’s speech, and then again rough drafting it, and then again editing it...good times. 
Also I already have so many ideas for expansions of this verse ughhhh
MASTERLIST HERE
***********
MCU-verse
“A few days ago, the world as I knew it changed forever.” 
The cathedral went quiet as Colonel James Rhodes took to the podium, serious and somber in his dress uniform, eyes red and hands shaking as he looked down at his notes. 
“I don’t mean because of the wormhole over New York, though that certainly changed my mind about a lot of things I’d never thought to consider true.” the Colonel cleared his throat once, twice, darted a glance first towards Pepper sat off to the side and then to the casket sat closed and heavy on the platform below. 
“One week ago, my entire world changed when my best friend re routed a bomb out of Manhattan and took it straight into the sky. Through the damn wormhole and into the other side without even hesitating cos he knew it would save us.” James had to stop again, let his voice crack and he heard Pepper start quietly crying. “Tony um-- Tony was Iron Man. He was a hero from the minute he put on that suit to the minute he--” 
The podium shook when James gripped at it hard, counted to ten once and then again to give himself time to breathe and to keep reading the speech he’d prepared only last night. 
“Tony was a hero from the minute he put on the suit to the minute he-- oh hell, I can’t read this.” Rhodey put the cards away and scrubbed at his eyes until they stung. “Can’t read a speech about Iron Man when it’s my best friend-- my best friend laying over there, I can’t--” 
Another deep breath, another quiet cough to clear the tears from his throat and James began again, stronger this time. 
“Tony Stark was my best friend. We met at MIT, he was basically five and a half feet of pure disaster and I knew I was in trouble the minute he showed up and tried to claim top bunk. Tony fell right the hell off the ladder and I had to carry his dramatic ass to Health Services because he was sure he broke his ankle.” 
A few chuckles broke out and Rhodey managed a small smile. “He was a disaster that day, and every after that but he was my disaster and my best friend and that’s all that ever mattered.” 
“My favorite memory--” the Colonel closed his eyes again and forced out a breath. “My favorite memory of Tony is actually from a few weeks after we met for the first time. It’s obvious these days how mechanically inclined Tony was but what no one else really knows is that Tony’s first robot was one I built.” 
He tapped at his chest and tried not to sob when his fingers hit his half of a best friends necklace Tony had bought for them one drunk spring break a long long time ago. “I built Tony’s very first robot and the brat actually stole it from me.” 
A few more laughs and Rhodey continued, “I drank all the coffee one day and Tony barged into the robotics class a few hours later screeching about how badly he needed caffeine and I needed to fix it now and then he stopped and stared at just-- just the saddest looking robot you've ever seen. It was basically a box on wheels with one arm and it never did anything I programmed in so when Tony asked what it was, I said 'it's a damn dummy is what it is, doesn't do anything right'." 
The Colonel pulled an old picture out of his pocket, one of a very young Tony next to that same robot. "Tony was so offended I'd call a robot dummy that he told me I didn't deserve to have cool toys and that it was his now, I could have it back when I was worthy. Believe me, I didn’t take kindly to having my project stolen and for the rest of college-- and honestly the next thirty years-- I tried damn hard to get that robot back. It was like a heist movie, me making plans and Tony thwarting them at every turn, me roping people into the conspiracy and Tony shrieking that I wasn't worthy and that's why my plans never worked." 
"...Dum-E is still down there in Tony's workshop." he finished softly. "He wears a dunce cap and carries a fire extinguisher and he's Tony's favorite thing in the world. See that's what no one knew about Tony. Everyone knows Tony was Iron Man and-- and a goddamn hero, but he was also sentimental and sort of embarrassingly sappy and when he decided he loved something it was forever and nothing could ever change it.” 
“Dum-E was lucky enough to be something Tony loved. I was lucky enough to be someone Tony loved and it changed my life. Tony changed my life." 
Rhodey put the picture away and looked towards the casket, tears blurring his eyes as he finished,  "I uh-- I miss you, Tpnes. Miss you, bud. And I want to keep thinking this is some sort of trick, some sort of prank but I know in my heart--” 
He held tight to his half of the best friends necklace. “--I know in my heart that it-- it’s not. And that makes me real sad.” 
Pepper dropped her face into her hands, thin shoulders shaking and James tried hard to smile, to get through these last few words. “So uh-- right now I'm gonna go get my robot back. I fully expect JARVIS to have some anti heist protocol that ends with my hair on fire but you know what? I’m gonna try anyway. Rest well, Tony. We miss you.” 
There was polite laughs, some tears dabbed from eyes, a smattering of clapping and James stepped back from the podium to sit by Pepper. "How was that?" 
"It's exactly what he would have wanted you to say." she whispered through her hankie, and he wound an arm around her shoulders to hold her tight. “I miss him so much, Rhodey.” 
"I miss him too, Pep.” 
“It’s so stupid.” Pepper blew her nose daintily. “Wishful thinking. But you know, I get the feeling that he’s okay. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel like he’s okay. Resting.” 
“Yeah, I know, I keep thinking the same thing.” Rhodey touched the necklace again. “But resting or not, when I get to heaven, I’m kicking his ass for leaving me too soon.” 
“Oh definitely.” 
****************
****************
Bucky and Steve’s Apartment
“Billionaire socialite Maria Carbonell shown here with her husband Howard Stark…” Tony mumbled to himself as he read through yet another article about his mom-- or rather, this universe’s version of his mom. “--donated millions to her husbands research to cure leukemia.”  
“Philanthropist Maria Carbonell opens a school of music for inner city kids.” He kept scrolling, smiling, as he read about Maria changing the world with her money-- and it was certainly Maria’s money this time around. Apparently this Howard Stark was an attractive scientist with a sugar mama and in each of the pictures Howard looked absolutely delighted to be accompanying Maria down red carpets, up stairs to national monuments, through the door of yet another awards ceremony for Humanitarian and conservation efforts ranging from restoring museum pieces clear through establishing brand new schools in sorely lacking communities.
“Howard Stark, husband to Italy’s sweetheart Maria Carbonell passed this morning --” Tony swallowed, pausing in his scrolling. “--at home with his wife. The cause of death is noted as a heart attack, though Mrs. Carbonell is comforted knowing he passed quickly and peacefully into the afterlife. The scientist is lauded for his contributions and research into childhood illnesses and since they had no children of their own, Howard’s personal funds will be diverted into a scholarship fund for MIT. “They are the future, not me.” he is quoted as saying often, “They will turn my first steps into a journey that will change the world.” 
“...bye Dad.” Tony whispered, though the article was dated three years past, though this Howard wasn’t his dad and had led a much different life than the Howard Stark that built Project Manhattan. “I um-- I love you.” 
“Maria Carbonell retires to Italy after husband’s passing, ‘I’m content to live out my life with my grand piano and library and wine!’” 
“Maria Carbonell breaks her silence on ex-family friend and advisor Obadiah Stane-- “he can rot in prison for all I care, and yes you can quote me on that, I said it, didn’t I?” 
Obadiah… Tony hesitated just a moment before searching for the name, his hand automatically over his heart and his breath coming faster as picture after picture of the man that had been Uncle and then had turned to nightmares filled the computer screen. 
‘Obadiah Stane accused of embezzling millions from Carbonell Foundation’
‘Obadiah Stane accused of funneling money meant for prosthetic limb research into smart bombs’
‘Former Carbonell advisor Obadiah Stane egged as he walks to the courthouse, Maria Carbonell shown handing out eggs to crowd’
‘Obadiah Stane found guilty of embezzlement and intent to fund terrorists, sentenced to thirty five years in prison’ 
‘Maria Carbonell laughs in reporters face when asked how she feels about Obadiah Stane’
“Oh.” Tony sat back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Jesus Christ.”
His mom and dad were okay, Howard passed peacefully and Maria sure seemed to be living her best life in her seaside villa in Italy. Obadiah had been caught before he could hurt anyone and was rotting away in a prison cell. 
Last night Tony had got to have dinner with his friends, with his family Pepper and Rhodey and this morning he’d woken up to forehead kisses from both his Doms before Bucky had rolled out of bed for a shower and Steve had gone to start breakfast. 
Captain America was making him breakfast and Bucky had walked past in a towel and his mom and dad were okay. 
 This was-- everything was--
“Beauty?” Steve threaded his fingers into Tony’s hair and smiled affectionately when Tony automatically tipped his head back. “What are you doing, you okay?” 
“I’m fine.” Tony pushed the laptop away and let himself sink into the feeling of security, the weight of Steve’s palm on his scalp, the way the blond always smelled like ocean body wash. There was definitely an inside joke there about his Steve being in the water for seventy years and this Steve using ocean mist soap, but Tony kept that to himself and settled a little firmer into Steve’s hold. 
The Dom’s breath caught when Tony opened his neck further, and Steve brushed carefully over Tony’s pulse point, over the curve of his neck where a collar would lay. “Tell me the truth.” he said quietly. “Are you okay?” 
“I’m fine.” Tony said again, and he meant it. “I’m fine and I’m-- I’m happy--” 
He hadn’t heard Bucky come in, but the Dom was at his side in an instant, bending low to dot a kiss at Tony’s collarbone and to spread his fingers wide over the patch of scars on his chest. “Sure do love hearing you say that, baby doll. You happy with us?” 
“Mmm…” the lure of falling tingled at the base of Tony’s neck, the urge to slide off the chair and let the Doms catch him on his knees. He was so safe right here, safe and caught in this place beyond-- beyond his own world. 
And things were different, sure. Thor was a model which was equal parts hilarious and alarmingly arousing. Clint was tall as hell and Natasha laughed so easily here. Bruce was a professional wrestler and in his free time worked with the Ph.d candidates at the university, Steve was an artist and Bucky was alive…
...and oh Pepper was so beautiful and so at peace and Rhodey was a stunt pilot in that ridiculous get up and…
“Sweetheart.” Bucky's voice was nearly a growl in response to the soft whine Tony gave. “You need us to take care of you? Bring you under real easy? It's been a few days since your drop, are you ready for more?” 
“We’d take care of you, Tony.” Steve now, whispering the words into Tony’s ear and right into his heart. “Baby I promise. If you’re gonna gift us with your trust and submission we are gonna do everything to keep it. Everything.” 
“Anything, sugar.” Bucky’s big hand closed just lightly over Tony’s throat and he gasped out loud before going loose and pliant, practically whimpering as blue fuzzed at the edges of consciousness, called him in and under. “Don’t need a collar for us to be yours, Tony. If that’s what you want.” 
Oh oh oh--- 
"Tony!" A new voice, breaking into their moment as James Rhodes pushed open the door of Steve and Bucky's apartment and called out for the sub. "Tony! You home? Where are you?" 
Tony snapped out of the near-scene whiplash fast, jolting up in the seat as everything in his body tuned to his best friend’s voice. 
“I’m sorry.” he said quickly, reached to press at both Steve and Bucky’s hands. “I’m sorry, I want--” this. you. falling. “I do, I just-- I have to talk to him.” I miss him. “Please?” 
“You don’t need our permission to talk to a friend, Tony.” Steve was quick to reassure him, but the Dom’s blue eyes softened at the request anyway. “We will pick this up after though.” 
Not a question, and not a seconds hesitation when Tony nodded in confirmation. 
“Yes sir. Thank you.” 
Bucky caught him as he left, snagged his wrist and pulled him back for a slow kiss that had Tony seeing stars by the time they parted. 
“Hurry.” 
“Yes sir.” 
James looked thoroughly unimpressed when Tony basically staggered from the bedroom and he looked somehow even less impressed when Bucky and Steve posted up in the doorway to watch. 
“Settle down, boys.” he scoffed. “I’m not gonna steal your sub or snatch him away somewhere wicked when it’s pretty damn obvious he’s halfway to down. Not gonna mess with him, I just need a minute. Quit snarling at me and go have a soda or something.” 
“Rhodey!” Tony laughed out loud and James pulled a face to complain, “You weren’t kidding about calling me Rhodey huh?” 
“Oh no. Not in the least.” 
“I guess I’ll learn to deal.” the other Dom said blandly. “Now come on, I’ve got something to show you down in the truck, I think you’ll like it.” 
"...okay?" Tony grabbed his jacket and followed Rhodey down the stairs. “What um--” 
“Are those two assholes treating you right?” Suddenly Rhodey was all Dom, straightening his shoulders and lowering his voice and part of Tony wanted to laugh out loud over Rhodey being threatening, but the other part missed having his best friend be protective to the point of moving him to tears. 
“They um--” he coughed lightly. “They’re being great to me.” 
“They’re good guys.” James continued. “Steve’s a little cheesy for my tastes and Bucky always smirks like he’s one breath away from a stupid come-on, but they’re good men and good Dominants but none of that matters if you came outta a shitty situation and can’t handle them.” 
“Well I--” 
“You’re welcome to move in with me.” The elevator doors opened and Tony gaped up at his friend in surprise. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want a sub and certainly not one that looks like as much trouble as you do, but you can stay with me and know you’re safe if you don’t want to stay with those goons.” 
“I’d like to stay with the goons.” Tony said faux seriously, and Rhodey finally cracked a grin and winked down at him. 
“I knew you’d say that, but felt like I needed to speak up anyway. Should I give them a shovel talk so you can see how your Doms look quaking in their boots?” 
“Are they scared of you?” 
“Damn straight.” James pushed Tony through the outside doors and down towards the parking lot. “So last night at dinner Steve mentioned you’re into robotics and stuff? Might even try to improve on Buck’s arm?” 
“You could say I’m into robotics.” Tony eyed the tarp covered lump in the back of the truck curiously. “Really got into it in my college days. Why?” 
“Cos I thought you’d get a kick out of this.” Rhodey undid the latch of his truck and pushed away the tarp, lifted down a clunky looking robot that was nothing more than a box on wheels with an arm attached. "I built this thing back a few years ago when I tried to impress some hot scientist who loved the Terminator movies. What do you think?" 
"I um--" Tony stared at the robot, at the paper dunce cap on it's head and the familiar treads on its wheels. "I--I--” he put a hand over his mouth and tried not to cry. “I um-- Well, why-- why is it wearing a dunce cap?" 
"Cos it's a dummy." Rhodey scowled at the contraption. "Never does anything I tell it to. It wasn’t even cool enough to get me laid. I’m a fighter pilot, a stunt pilot and I build robots and she wasn’t impressed.” 
“She was missing out.” Tony tried to laugh but it came out as a half sob. “You can’t call a robot a dummy, though. That’s just mean.” 
“The hell it is!” 
“Just for that, I’m keeping him.” Tony reached out and straightened the dunce cap tenderly, rubbed at a little bit of grease buildup at the arm hinge. “I’m keeping your robot, Rhodey. He’s mine now. He’s going to live with me.”  
“THE HELL HE IS!” The Dominant gaped down at him. “You can’t take my robot! You can look at it maybe, but you aren’t about to just walk away with--” 
"You can have it back when you're worthy of such a cool toy." the sub stuck his nose in the air and snapped his fingers. "Wake up, robot, you're coming with me." 
The robot beeped and whirred to life immediately to follow Tony up the path towards the doors and Rhodey groaned, “Of course the stupid thing listens to him. Of course it does.” 
“You’re welcome to try and take him back!” Tony called over his shoulder. “But be warned my interest in robotics extends to booby traps and anti-heist protocols!” 
"Traitor!” The Dom threw his hands up in exasperation. “Tony! I want that thing back! That is my robot and I’m getting it back!”
“The hell you are!” the sub snapped and if Rhodey wouldn’t have been laughing so hard he might have wondered why he was letting a submissive back talk him so loudly and thoroughly, shouting sass across a parking lot. 
Bucky and Steve were in for a ride with that one. 
He was a fan. 
Tony could hear the Dom laughing clear into the building and into the elevator so he waited until the doors had closed before breaking down, falling to his knees and throwing his arms around the scrappy robot. "I’m real glad to see you, bud.” 
Dum-E only beeped and waved his arm around in excitement, and Tony hugged him tighter. “This feels an awful lot like heaven, Dum-e, don’t you think? Mom and Dad are okay and Pepper’s okay and Rhodey and now-- now I even have you here and that’s pretty damn perfect.” 
A few more beeps and Tony nodded, pushed his hair out of his eyes and stood back up. “Time to find my Doms, huh?” 
The robot rolled quickly after Tony down the hall to Steve and Bucky’s door, clicking and whirring curiously as Tony led it inside the apartment and then went off to explore the new place while Tony went to find his Doms. 
“Bucky?” he called. “Steve? I’m-- I’m home again!” 
“Hey sweetheart.” Bucky looked up and smiled, took his hand off Steve’s thigh to beckon for Tony. “C’mere and see us.” 
“Come here, honey.” Steve tapped his foot a few times and pointed down at the floor and Tony didn’t even hesitate to move, didn’t hesitate to kick his shoes off and stumble towards them on unsteady feet until he could fall to his knees. 
Home and it was so easy and so beautiful, Tony gasped out a word that might have been a prayer and his Doms were right there to catch him when he teetered, Steve meeting him there on the floor to hold him, Bucky protective over them both as Tony slid towards the edge of under and falling. 
...Tony used to love falling. He used to love the exhilaration and anticipation, the way his breath stuttered in that split second of flying before gravity took over. He used to love falling into a new habit, falling into a new love, just falling when he jumped from the diving board or the airplane or the rocks he’d climbed on as a child that he thought were so big.
...Tony used to love falling and when Steve knelt down beside him and pulled him in close, when Bucky lowered his voice to a rumble and ordered his subs to submit, when gravity tugged at Tony’s soul and he let himself slip to the pull of submission and that quiet, secret need to be held...
… then falling was like coming home. 
Like finding himself. 
Like closing his eyes and letting go. 
Heaven. 
********************
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h2bakugou · 4 years
Text
the box | katsuki bakugou
Maze Runner AU
a/n: first installment in the maze runner au series i’m doing! hope you guys enjoy. i should totally be writing requests im sorry lol. 
summary: coming up in the box was new for you. when a broad-shoulder-blonde with an explosive attitude greets you as soon as you come up in ‘the box’ what will happen?
key: (y/n) - your name / (f/n) - first name / (l/n) - last name / (e/c) - eye color / (h/c) - hair color / (y/q) - your quirk
warnings: fluff, swearing, angst
wordcount: 1.3k
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The sound of metal screeching and scratching among itself was setting off alarms in your head. The bright flashing lights of whatever you were in was giving you a headache unlike any other.
“Help! Help me!” You screamed as you clung to the side of the elevator? You wanted it to all be over. You just wanted out of this cage. What the hell was happening? And why couldn’t you remember a damn thing?
The gladers all watched as the siren of the box went off. They all rushed over, Bakugou leading the group like normal. 
“Everyone get ready, you’ll be restocking your stations.” Everyone knew the drill by now, but Iida was always there to reiterate it in case anyone had forgotten.
Obliging by Iida’s words, everyone stood ready to collect their respective supplies to take back to their stations, unaware of the human that was also coming up with their week’s supply of materials.
With a loud clicking sound, the box opened up and everyone peeked over the edge, shock washing over every face on the glade.
“Rise and shine, greenie.” Bakugou spoke, jumping down into the box, staring down at the newbie who sat, afraid in the corner.
“W-Who are you!?” You yelled, terrified. Who were these people, and who was this guy? He had distinctive features, spikey blonde hair that looked like it could poke your eye out, bright red eyes that reminded you of rubies, and broad, buff, muscular arms.
“Bakugou. Now get up.” He yanked at your arm harshly, pulling you to your feet. You  yanked your arm away from him and walked toward the ladder yourself, happy to be out of the box.
But when your eyes fell upon the sight, you felt like you’d much rather crawl back into the cage you’d come up in.
Large walls that looked hundreds of feet tall stood before you, enclosing you into a green glade. Your eyes landed on an opening. Your feet had never moved faster.
Trapped with strangers? No thanks. You ran, running toward the opening, the escape to whatever nightmare this was.
“Why do they always run?” Kirishima spoke to Kaminari who was also interested in what you were doing.
“Oi, Deku! Do your fucking job.” Bakugou hissed, sending the green-haired boy after you. Deku did as he was told and caught up to you, placing his hands on your shoulders, stopping you in your tracks.
“That door may be open, but you’ll die if you step foot out there.” He warned, watching the horror was onto your face. You frowned and glanced back at the large opening, wondering if this was some sort of ruse to keep you here.
“We’re all stuck here, and we all came up just like you did.” The green-haired kid’s tone was sincere. He was telling the truth.
“Come on, we’ll show you around and show you the ropes.” He gave you a bright smile that calmed your nerves. But you couldn’t shake the blonde-Bakugou, from your memory.
“I’m Midoriya, but you can call me Deku if you’d like.” He, Deku, introduced himself. You shook his hand as he had removed one from your should for you to shake.
“I’m...” You paused. You couldn’t even remember your own name. What was this? Why couldn’t you?
“Why can’t I-”
“It’ll come to you. It’s the one thing they let us keep.” 
The way Deku had said the sentence scared you. Who was they, and why are they taking anything from you?
“Oi! Greenie!” Bakugou yelled, earning both you and Deku’s attention.
“Get your asses over here and help with the supplies.” Bakugou’s loud voice boomed across the glade, much like his quirk, or what little power he had managed to manifest again.
Quirks had been tamed significantly, only being about a third as powerful as they used to be. The gladers learned this the hard way when their cherished quirks turned out to be much weaker than they seemed to remember.
It was the League’s way of keeping them in check. Keeping them perfectly under their control.
Over the next few days, you found your place rather quickly. You’d been placed on gardening duty with Uraraka and Jiro. The girls were nice to you, and you quickly became friends with them.
But with no luck at all, you hadn’t remembered your name.
At least you weren’t alone in this whole situation. If you thought back to what Deku had said to you, each and every one of these gladers had come up in that box. How terrifying it had to have been to come up and be the only one there.
“So does Bakugou run this place?” You question, tending to some fruits, picking them carefully and setting them in a basket.
“Oh no. As much as he acts like he’s in charge, Iida is the leader of our group. And Yaoyorozu is second in command.” Jiro stated, a smile resting on her lips.
“Bakugou is just loud.” Uraraka laughed. Jiro let out a chuckle herself but quickly froze when she noticed the blonde approaching.
“Greenie!” Bakugou yelled, causing you to look over your shoulder at the blonde.
“Bakugou!” You jumped to your feet. He examined you and sighed.
“We’re going on a walk, Jiro, they’re excused until I return them.” Bakugou instructed, snagging you by the wrist, dragging you into the woods nearby.
“Why the hell haven’t you remembered your name yet?” Bakugou raised his voice.You took a step back, removing your wrist from his grasp.
“I-I don’t know! It’s not my fault!” You glared at the blonde, your heart leaping out of your chest at his closeness to you. You were backed against a tree, his face mere inches away from your own.
“How about we fight it out of you.” Bakugou smirked. You shook your head and groaned. This guy was about as much of a pain in the ass as he was attractive.
“Why can’t you just give me a bit more time? I promise it’ll come back to me!” You were telling the truth, you hadn’t remembered your name, or much else.
“What about your quirk.” Bakugou asked. You tilted your head.
“Quirk?” You questioned.
“It’s your power. Like this.” Bakugou raised a fist and at first glance you thought he was about to slap you, but you watched as small pops emitted from his palm, resembling tiny explosions.
“I’m not- I’m sure I have one but like my name, I don’t remember anything. This is all so new to m-”
“Shut up!” Bakugou groaned, his hands gripped your shoulders harshly, pushing your back into the tree harder.
“O-Ow! That hurts idiot!” You groaned, trying to shake him off of you.
“Don’t call me an idiot, idiot.” Bakugou retorted, leaning in closer to your face.
Your cheeks burned red, much like the shade of his irises. They were a beautiful vermilion shade, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t finding an odd peace in them.
“Why so red, huh?” Bakugou leaned in closer, his breath ghosting against your lips. You made the executive decision to close the gap and in that moment when your lips connected, it was like a thousand fireworks going off.
Like a light bulb had turned on inside your head, it all came crashing down on you. As fast as you had pressed your lips to his and kissed him, you pulled back and stared at him.
“(F/n).”
“Hey-”
“My name is (Y/n)!” You were happy. So happy to have figured out your name. To have remembered it. Bakugou watched the excitement on your face as you stared back at him.
“I’m so happy I could kiss you again.” You blurted out. Bakugou rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to yours again.
You felt like everything was moving at a million miles per hour but it was a speed you could get used to. Somehow, in some unprecedented way, you had remembered your name by kissing Bakugou.
So if kissing him brought back your name, what else could it bring back?
Guess you’d just have to keep doing it until you found out.
»»————- ★ ————-««
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alias-b · 4 years
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angel cake.
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Summary: Former enemies, now friends and maybe lovers, Billy Hargrove and Evie Fenny start teasing in a church confessional. Things take a turn for the heated when Billy's imagination gets away from him. ~Also posted on my AO3
Billy/plus size!OC. Fucking in a confessional. Sin. Filth. Thanks for reading. Weird to write them romantically bc the start of the fic is Rough. They have work to do. Billy Being Nasty In Church. Teaser at later stuff for my new enemies to friends to lovers Billy/OC Fic, Sins of My Youth, that I want to start posting. XOXO.
Billy Hargrove x Evie Fenny
angel cake. 🍰
   “You really have to go to this thing?” Billy’s Camaro roared into a church parking lot. Looked out of place there. Multicolored tulips swept against the spring wind, too pleasant before the fender.
   “Told mom I’d help out. I’m not staying for the festivities, they just need extra hands setting up the food and Easter egg hunt.” Aviators flashed at Evie in the passenger seat.
   Billy with his arm propped in the window. Denim jacket and white button down tucked into tight jeans. Cigarette dangling out his lips. Exceptionally pretty, even against all the pastel flowers and banners set for the holiday. 
   “What a good daughter. Santa ought to put you on the nice list for sure.” He plucked the smoke out to exhale as she brought the car mirror down.
   “Hell, I forgot I had red on today.You have napkins in here?” She opened the glove box to sift through papers. Billy extended his arm.
   “Use the jacket, give me something messy to remember you by.” A wink followed before she took his wrist and smacked a ruby kiss into his forearm, printing the light wash. Eyes flicked as some of the red lipstick got swiped away, leaving a more pink tint behind.
   “Thanks, I guess.”
   “Red is the devil’s color,  Evangeline.” Came some mocking in a horrid southern accent. She scoffed with her eyes elsewhere.
   “You could always come help if you’re going to pout.” She dug around her purse.
   “Not pouting. Churches and I don’t mix. It’s the one thing dad and I agree on.” Billy pulled his shades down and folded them into his front pocket with the cigarettes. 
   “Well, pick me up in an hour, we’ll go catch something scary and sinful.” She applied chapstick and rubbed her lips together.
   “Sinful? I like that.” Billy’s fingers squeezed her thigh, hot on skin and just barely under the little black suspender skirt. Evie wore a brightly colored tee with sunflowers all over it. Her usual green bomber jacket covered in patches. “That new?”
   “The chapstick? No, it’s tinted and smells like watermelon though.”
   “Let me try.” Billy saw her offer the tube and instead pulled her in by the collar for a kiss. Mashing their lips together. He flicked his tongue out for good measure and heard her gasp against his ferocity. It still managed to catch her off guard. A light smack when he parted, tonguing his bottom lip. “Mm, tastes like watermelon too.”
   “Billy, there are people over there.” She pushed his wandering hand out of her skirt.
   “I’d like to see Jesus himself come out and...what the fuck is that?” Billy’s finger lifted so Evie followed it to see the Easter Bunny leaving a lone side door. Lavender fur with white tufts, huge goofy grin.
   “Yeah, they have someone dress up every year for when the kids arrive, which is in about sixty minutes, so I gotta go.” Evie had Billy’s wrist again to check the time. Pecked his cheek and shifting before he about howled. “What?” Her body jumped at the sound.
   “No fucking way!” Billy was scrambling out because the bunny head had come off so a quick smoke could be snuck around back. “No way! Hey, Harrington! That you, amigo? What’s up, doc?” 
   Steve spun on his heel, holding a cigarette in one hand and the bunny head under his other arm. His head fell back with a groan because Billy was leaning up against his chair, bent over to belly laugh.
   “Hargrove?” Steve looked mortified, but played tough. “Are they really letting you within five feet of a church?” Billy was too busy cackling to retort. Fist clenched and head resting upon his arm on the Camaro.
   “The fucking tail.” Billy wasn’t stopping so Evie crossed her arms.
   “What happened to Gary?” Evie approached Steve, head cocking. “Ignore Billy.”
   “I try to… And food poisoning. I dropped Dustin off at home yesterday to help Claudia out and she begged me last minute. I’m getting fifteen bucks for it though. Not bad for the Saturday before Easter.” He flashed a half smile. “Suit kinda smells like potpourri, I-...Is he gonna stop or what?” 
   “He’ll tucker himself out eventually.” Evie turned her head to see Billy unable to get air. “Billy, take a breath already before you pass out!” A huge gulp followed. More wild laughter. “Jeez.”
   “I’m never gonna live this down, shit.” Steve mumbled around his smoke, flicking it. “Asshole.”
   “Might want to get back in, Pastor will have a cow if he catches you smoking in the suit.” Evie took the head to help Steve back into it.
   “See you, Hargrove. Remember to breathe, dick.” The bunny snuck back in the side door. Another round of laughs at the sight of the puffy tail.
   “I wanna kick his ass so bad. You don’t understand.” Billy stretched out, eyes watering and cheeks blushed. Freckles glowing.
   “You short circuiting still?” Evie peered down at her boots.
   “I don’t know what Easter is about, but that...was the best shit I’ve ever seen.” Billy snickered like a little boy with his hand in the cookie jar. Evie only rolled her eyes.
   “New beginnings, Billy.” Heels clicked up behind them so Billy straightened quick to get his composure.
   “Hey, mom.” Evie leaned out from behind the boy.
   Mona Fenny appeared from the main doors, her arms full of bags. Brightly colored plastic eggs packed with treats about to spill out. Hair pumped, unable to move, with a short 60s sheath dress clinging to her body. Yellow and orange print. Something that was definitely noted by the men around. Single and ready at all times. Evie felt her cheeks heat at her mother.
   “New beginnings, Miss Mona?” Billy repeated, one hand sliding into his jean pocket.
   “That’s what I always thought, sugar.” That southern twang thick beyond all reach.
   Billy always liked to poke fun at Evie, she had the slightest Louisiana touch to her voice that came out when she was in a more fiery disposition. She swore it wasn’t true.
   “Evie, they’re trying to get the dessert table set up. I didn’t realize Billy was joining us.” Mona continued.
   “Oh, I-”
   “You know, Billy was actually telling me he’s never been to a real Easter gathering before. Not a church event.” Evie’s sly smile crossed and he shot her a look. “I’m sure those big, strong arms you got would really help out setting up.” Evie came to him and gave his bicep a pat.
   “That’s lovely, Billy. You know the kids just love this event, fun in the sun and more food than you’ll ever eat. Go on inside, you two. We have decorations to get going.” Mona clicked away, peppy in stride.
   “I had a hair appointment.” Billy hissed through his teeth when Evie’s mother was gone.
   “You want to tell my mother that you’re going to get your hair done somewhere that isn’t her salon?” Evie’s lips pressed. Billy’s face scrunched because she had him there. “I panicked, the people here are too much. Please stay.”
   “Your mom never turns her volume down, does she? Looking more like a brunette Sharon Tate than a Dolly Parton.” Billy locked his car, stuffing the scorpion keychain into his pocket.
   “Been like that since dad left, she’s...on the market. Trying to feel good. People notice and they say some not great stuff. She went from dressing like a nun to a model overnight.” Evie was holding her arms close to her chest still, making this unconscious patting motion Billy always noted like she was trying to console herself.
   “Really bugs you, what people think.”
   “It’s a small town, it bugs everyone.” Evie turned, skirt flitting while her curls bounced. “Don’t like all these guys ogling my mom.”
   Doesn’t like that one might replace her dad. Evie peered back at Billy, lips pushed up to appear brighter. He decided he wanted to see her happier without force.
   “I’ll stick around. You owe me.” Steps followed. One hand gave her bottom a firm pat.
   “You know, the Easter Bunny has to do a dance before the festivities begin?” She whispered then. “It’s tradition.”
   Billy perked up like a dog.
   “Right, so, decorations?” He waltzed ahead with a giggling girl in tow. Spotted the moms passing boxes off. All stilling to see him there. Wind sweeping his blond locks like a beefcake out of a romance novel. Shirt open with his saint chain glinting upon his tanned chest. “Ladies.”
   “Hi, Billy.” Came the chorus.
   He ate that up a little. 
   Sunlight was barely felt through the spring breeze. Balloons and streamers glowed every direction. Twisted around Evie’s manicured fingers as she passed them up to Billy to be tied around the banner.
   “Feel like I might float away here.” The wind swept up her unruly curls as she smiled below when Billy peered to see her. Pink and violet balloons. Yellow streamers. She looked like a piece of decadent candy there. “What?”
   Billy snapped out of it.
   “Why do I have to be on the ladder?” He snatched another bundle of strings from her to tie them up.
   “I wore a skirt so I wouldn’t have to be.” Came the cheeky reply. Hawkins residents hurried all over to set up the grassy field.
   “Let’s switch. Although, the view here ain’t half bad. I can totally see down your shirt.” His tongue swept over eager lips as eyes lowered to her breasts. Brows furrowed to glare at him. It was striking how cute she was, even angry. High, apple cheeks and pillowy lips. The sun brought some gold into lush, dark curls. 
   “Jerk.” An arm hanging with streamers covered her chest. “We’re standing next to a church. Behave yourself, you’re fixing to get smited.”
   “God’s got bigger problems than me.” He shrugged, caught his tongue in teeth. Smirked. “Fixin’ to. Your Louisiana is showing.”
   “Shut it, I got too much family down there still. Sometimes it jumps out. I don’t have an accent.”
   “You so do. Just saying it’s cute.” He caught her cheeks flooding all strawberries and cream.
   “Hey, I have to keep my clinically unapproachable ice queen reputation. You’re not helping.”
   “Damn cute then.” Billy’s head cocked. A wink of those sinfully, long lashes. “Hand me another one.”
   Evie’s hand came to his to offer a new bundle of balloons.
   Green grass swept about as parents worked to hide eggs all over and a full spread of picnic food was set out on blue gingham tables. Kids started to pile in so Billy decided it was time to hide around the building after snagging the biggest piece of apple pie he could. Alone, they watched the crowds play beyond a row of vibrant tulips.
   “One fork?” Evie leaned up against the wall.
   “You had my tongue in your mouth this morning, don’t complain about sharing a fork.”
   “Fair enough.” She let him feed her a bite. “That wasn’t so bad, time flew. You want to jet?” A bouncy tune played as Billy craned his neck around the corner after a huge bit of pie. Evie followed his line of sight.
   “Easter is my new favorite holiday.” He let Evie snag the fork to finish off the slice, tossing the plate into the trash. Genuine laughter as Steve Harrington did a jig in his costume across the open field. Billy’s arm slid over Evie’s shoulders. “You think I can pay one of these kids to kick bunny in the nuts?”
   “We’re leaving… Before you traumatize some child.” She tugged at his wrist to sneak in a side door. “Left my coat and purse over here.”
   Absolutely empty and dim save for the morning sun spilling into stained glass. They passed rows of pews to the tables covered in empty boxes. Evie went for her purse and realized she already lost Billy, curiously rooting around.
   “Hey, don’t touch that.”
   “They actually have one of these things? I thought movies made this shit up.” Billy poked his head around the little confessional booth. Hardwood and sleek to touch. Ornate and out of place against bright blue wallpaper. Two doors on either side. “So, everyone’s planning on staying outside right? Should be entertained a few hours, hm.”
   He went in and a lock clicked.
   “Billy, hey.” Evie felt the urge to keep her voice low. “Get out of there. They actually don’t really use this thing anymore.”
   “Doesn’t get use, eh? Too bad.” His snicker was muffled. “Get in the other side, Angel, confess your sins.”
   “I’ll confess that I think the nickname is still silly.” She wiggled the handle and poked her head into the opposite side. Saw Billy’s pretty silhouette through the tiny mesh window. Both sides were cramped like an airplane bathroom.
   “Roomier than I thought.”
   “Some of us have hips here.” Evie huffed at him, the door shut while she slid inside. “Kinda creepy actually, let’s go.”
   “You gotta confess first, it’s the rule.” His wild curls flicked so she plopped into the wooden bench.
   “This is not even sexy, I feel like I’m about to be murdered here.” She pressed her hands on either wall.
   “Better confess quick in that case,” Billy leaned in, she saw his lashes flutter, “what color are your panties today?”
   “Billy.” She covered the mesh with one hand.
   “Do they match the bra?” He continued, voice lowering.
   “I’m not doing this.” Evie lifted her skirt and shifted a lacy pair of shorts aside to see. Billy’s breath drew heavier. “What’s it matter if they match?”
   “If they match, you walked into this church thinking you’d be getting some later.” He said that far too matter-a-factually. “Sinner. What color? Describe them exactly.”
   “You’re being gross.” She knew he heard the band of her little biker shorts snap. Caved. “Purple. Like a lilac.”
   “Cotton?”
   “...Satin.”
   A lengthy hum from Billy at that.
   “And the bra. I’m assuming the same.” He already heard Evie shuffling to check.
   “Ah, shit.” She let her shirt go and he chuckled. “I didn’t even plan that. I wasn’t thinking about it.”
   “Your subconscious knew, Angel. No denying it.” Billy propped his arm up.
   “Okay, what do you have on?” The challenge was easily met.
   “Nothing under the jeans, currently. You should try it.”
   “In a skirt? Without my little shorts? My thighs would rub, I’d be miserable.” Came a whine.
   “I’d massage your poor thighs, maybe blow the hot skin to cool it off if you like.” His suggestion wasn’t helpful. “Spread them and rub some ice to make you feel better. Few kisses all the way up.” That damn low baritone lingered upon the syllables like he might lick them. Evie gave a silent snort out her nose. “You’d probably squirm a little bit like you are now.”
   “I am not squirming.” Evie’s chest lifted, eyes turned to Billy’s outline.
   “Now, Angel, you can’t tell lies in here. The sins are just piling up for you today.” Billy peered around, couldn’t see much in here. Spotted her lips parting, but sound came out. “Betcha, you’re already soaked through those satin, lilac panties.” His purring was met with hard silence before a forcibly huff.
   “Billy...quit it.” She bit her lip this time sounding like she’d smiled. Billy spotted her cheeks lifting, full and blushed all pretty he figured.
   “I’ll confess, it took every ounce of fight in me to get you here on time. Lot of places in this town to stop and...park at for a bit. The one charming thing I discovered about this place.”
   “How sunny side up of you.” She hummed.
   “You would have let me have it because we would have parked for awhile. You’d be late. Probably left your wrecked panties in the backseat and walked around here with fireworks still going off under your skin. We both know it.” 
   “Probably wouldn’t have made it here at all.” Her slow reply was uttered and Billy grinned.
   “See, I behaved.” He got closer to the window. “Confess, Evie.”
   “Confess that you’re a total horn dog.” She drew in to meet him.
   “Confess what you want me to do to you in there.” Billy murmured. She blew a curl out her face at that. “I got it, I want you to be my first.” He’d offered that with huge, glittering eyes she’d caught the glint of. Eyebrows jumped.
   “What? Literally yesterday, we-”
   “I never fucked in a church before.” He got her eyes rolling hard, almost to the back of her skull.
   “Jesus Christ, Billy.” She covered the mesh again, heard him laughing on the other side.
   “Not the name you need to be moaning right now.” Billy smacked the window closed and came out. 
   “Finally, we can go-” Evie had the door open. Still blushing. Chest puffed. 
   Billy appeared from smoke, had his hands on either side before he pushed in. Catching her lips on the way until the door could shut behind them. Cupping Evie’s face so she pressed into the wall. Back of her legs hit the bench and managed to not buckle. Palms felt around the hardwood for something to grab for until fingers bunched up Billy’s jacket.
   She broke for air. Gulped on it before his tongue was back into her mouth.
   “We should…” Lips swelled with kisses. “Go to the car.”
   “Will you make that walk? I know I won’t.” Came the hushed reply. “We could cross something big off the bucket list.” Persuasive lips were already working on her neck, teeth tugged her ear and grazed back down. Billy got a handful of her tits and hummed.
   “Not...Not sure it’s on my bucket list.” She just held onto him. Knees wobbling as Billy massaged through the bra.
   “I’d add it now while you have time.” He pecked her throat. Felt the pulse under tender skin racing. “Confess.” It was a sinful purr. Evie’s head tipped back. Lungs starting to sputter. Billy made her heart a pile of volcanic mush.
   “What if someone comes in?” She let him tuck her curls aside. Lips on her cheeks and jaw. Finding her mouth again. Tasting sweet sugar from the apple pie they shared.
   “We’ll just have to keep it down and pray the party is entertaining enough to keep people outside.” He mumbled, coming out to pull the shirt from her skirt up over the pretty bra she had on. 
   Hands pulled her suspenders forth until Evie molded into him. Kissed back with the same fierce vigor he gave. Felt the chain around his neck while her fingers slipped under the collar of his shirt, four buttons already undone.
   The hard lines of his body sweltered with fire. Whatever resolve she might have had melted away completely. 
   Evie liked how he always cupped her face to look at her features close between steaming kisses. Fingers trailed to work her bra down just enough for her to spill into his touch. Into his mouth. Bruising suckles. Teeth edging across silken skin. Tongue swirling one dark, rosy nipple than the other as she tried to quiet herself and ran fingers into his gold mane. A hiss and Billy’s eyes lifted. Evie’s head was turned aside, teeth in her bottom lip. Eyes shut.
   “Cute when you try to hold it together.” Cool breath against her hard, wet nipple sent a vibration down her spine. Billy licked up her chest to inhale that amber perfume, a floral scent with a touch of vanilla from her lotion. Smelled lush to match him. She pushed his face back into her cleavage, partly to quiet him because he was too cocky.
   Chuckling and breathless, Billy came up to tease her lips. Twisting her nipples just so to elicit a sigh. Low and even, Billy ran his finger over her mouth.
   “Just confess, Angel, it’ll feel so fucking good when you do.” He caught her bottom lip and let it go.
   “Promise?” Evie’s lips parted involuntarily at his touch, let his finger stroke her tongue and slip out. 
   “I promise.” That same hand already hiked her skirt to tug at shorts until they came down. His finger inched under the waistband of her panties, teasing sensitive skin. She pressed into his body, vibrating for more. Swaying. Arms snug around his shoulders to stay upright.
   A shameless sound when her lips collided with his. Thigh hitching around his hips in a needy motion. Not shy about what she desired for one beat because he knew how to coax that side of her out. Billy teased lighter kisses, let his deft fingers dance along her inner thigh. Evie was stubborn and she knew what he wanted. 
  Confession.
   A growl rippled out her tense vocal cords. Trying to reel sound in despite Billy’s inherent ability to make her see new sparks of vivid neon colors here in pure darkness.
   “Okay…” She panted, pulling for him until their foreheads touched. “Okay.” A drunken moment where eyes could close. One beat of peace in obscenity. His free arm tightened around the small of her back so they were flush together. Perfect fit. Every curve to her body sloped easily into him. An almost Biblical fate because of how good they felt together. Evie parted her mouth to ghost it over his. “I sinned.”
   “Yeah?” Billy’s palm inched up to reward her sighs. A smirk crossed. “How’s that?”
   “Because I was hoping you’d pull over on the way here. Would have seen the new underwear in a better light. And I squirmed the whole way. Your loss.” All that cheeky strength simmered down when fingers pushed between thick thighs. Wet satin fabric slipped deliberately against her and Billy moaned at the mere feel. Rock hard.
   “Fuck, you’re soaked, Angel.” His tone thickened.
   Evie wasn’t able to articulate. Face in his chest with her needy fingers tight on his jacket. She played her demure self again. Billy felt her legs tremor, nudged them further apart with his boot.
   “All for me? I wouldn’t call it a loss. You gotta hold yourself up a bit longer, open that mouth again.” He gave her two slick fingers to suck so he could kiss down her tits some more. Plucked and nipped at every sensitive part of her body. “Fucking god damn it, I might give religion a shot after this.”
   “Yeah?” Evie licked the pads as Billy slunk down to marvel. Thought about taking her skirt off, but he decided he liked the way the straps framed her breasts partially spilling out of the bra.
   One hand forced her thigh up until her foot hit the bench. Evie was curved back into the wall, holding the side frame and gripping Billy’s shoulder.
   “Long as I get to go where you’re going, I don’t give a shit about anything else.” A chuckle warmed her leg as he pushed her skirt up out of the way.
   “That sounded oddly sentimental.”
   “Maybe I’ll bring you down to my level instead. Sinner.” Billy’s mouth placed one open kiss against her wet panties. Tongue following the hard swell of her bud. She decided she’d let him there in darkness. Every muscle in Evie’s body jumped at full attention. His divine and equally wicked mouth hummed blissfully. She craned to dig teeth into her own arm. Fists clenching.
   Billy maneuvered her leg over to get the ruined fabric down. Tucked them into his coat pocket and she figured she wouldn’t be seeing them again. Kneeling, Billy scooted closer and pushed her thigh back up, baring her to his mouth. 
   A cry hitched, snuffing out immediately as he tasted her. Filthy, open mouth kisses until her fingers tangled into his hair. Pulled. Billy moaned into her folds. Squeezed her thighs and loved the feel of them. God, he really couldn’t get enough of this girl. Every whine she let him have. Every nerve that wanted him. Needed him to ease the frays and sizzling. He just couldn’t get enough and was fine with following her into the dark.
   “Don’t stop.” Evie whispered. Hair falling into her face while her breasts rose and fell. She licked her lips and savored him.
   The dirty sounds he made against her that barely carried outside the booth. Billy squeezed her breast once he was certain she could stay up so she covered his hand. Craned to suck fingers. A gasp left. Evie’s hips rolled into his mouth. Asking for even more until two fingers pushed inside. 
   Billy moaned when her walls clamped. Pumped through the resistance to massage her nice and deep. Evie was quivering there. Using both arms on the sides to stay up. Shameless working into him now. Billy made a vaguely amused sound and gave an obscene pop around her clit, leaning out with arousal slicking his pink lips. It was music, the sounds her body let flow into crisp air.
   “Damn, no wonder you don’t go here anymore. Fucking yourself so hard and pretty on my fingers like this. You couldn’t make the nice list if you paid.” Being eye level with the sight had his cock twitching almost painfully. Evie’s head was tossed back. Clearly getting herself closer so Billy pulled away. Silenced her whine with a kiss. Let her suck and nip at his bottom lip. “See how fucking good you taste?”
   Evie’s hands were opening his belt. Quick and eager. Billy hitched as one palm slipped in, fingers ghosting trimmed blond hair to ease him out of the denim.
   “Confess, Evie, how bad you want me to fuck you right here.” He spoke as if he still had the upper hand.
   “Bet you I can do it without words.” Evie had his hips, guiding Billy to switch so he could sit. The question died and buried itself the second she sank down to lick precum pooling at his tip. Billy’s hips thrust up, eyes heavy and hooded.
   “That bad?” He shuddered, legs opening so she could lean into him. Evie unbuttoned the rest of his shirt to kiss the steel muscles. Twitching and molten. Nails scraped his skin. Stopped to stroke him idly. Kissing his abdomen, thighs, and tip. Evie traced the lines of vein and muscle. Down his shaft and back up his chest. So many sharp angles to explore.
   Little butterfly kisses while she leaned in until his cock slipped snug between her breasts. Spit slick and beading clear arousal. Billy moaned at the sight and gave a rut as she noticed and started to come out. 
   Hands latched to her shoulders. Billy hummed and rolled her nipple. Felt the weight of her tits and pushed them to squeeze his shaft. Idle fingers stilled to tuck her hair back in a way that was almost tender.
   “You’re pretty like this,” he said thoughtfully, “you’re pretty every which way.” Teeth tugged at her bottom lip. A shy kiss followed. Sometimes, he got so bold, she sank. Learned to savor it. Billy whispered against her. “Have I ever told you my cock looks great between your tits like that?” Frankly, he’d be happy to get off rubbing between her breasts or thighs alone. Fingers digging into supple skin. Evie had become a drug to him. Vanilla and amber immersed him in a high.
   “The occasion hasn’t really crossed.”
   “I’ll have to fix that next time I can lie you down.” Billy let her stroke him again and come up. Hesitating so he had to encourage her. “Get in my lap.” He was already pulling her into him. Smoothing hair back sweetly for lingering kisses.
   She long stopped worrying about feeling too heavy for him. Billy threw her around a mattress like it was nothing. Spread her legs, bent them up how he liked. Marveled at her flexibility. Kissed her obscenely and told her how pretty and blushed she looked. She liked when he was ample with her body. The boy certainly lifted enough weights, a fuller girl with hips was nothing to that. Jeans shifted lower as she straddled him. A kiss before she sank down.
   Billy moaned. A low honeyed sound into her ear. Almost musical. Arms wrapped tighter. Evie thanked God for birth control and moved at his coaxing.
   “C’mon, fuck me. I want it.” Billy kissed her fiercely. Nipples. Collar. Throat. Jawline. Mouth. And each time, he felt that same thrill rush his bones. A palm smacked her ass, squeezed it. Got drunk off the pulsing and little whines she gave him as if they were gift wrapped. “Confession. I want pictures of you. Spread out with my cock in you every way you like. They won’t beat the real thing, but fuck, I can’t...stop with you. Don’t want to.”
   Billy looked vulnerable when he moaned so pretty.
   His knuckles traced the curve of her cheekbone. Evie bounced, gripped his shoulders to stay upright with her spine curving. Unable to respond to something so passionate. Billy had that mode on him, sometimes it came out in odd ways. Filthy words to match his obscene way of caressing and worship. His manner of making Evie feel bold and sexy. Cute. Pretty. Fierce. Desired. The fact that sometimes he’d lie still for once and seek out her fingers across his curls and her lips on his cheek.
   Evie Fenny was a drug and cure to him, all at once. She gave back. Made Billy feel full and light. Made him feel present. Like he could shed his fangs. Lie back and feel the sun on his skin.
   “Confession,” Evie said between quick kisses with her thumb tracing the edge of his jaw, “I want more of you too. After....”
   “After?” He scoffed. “Like tonight?”
   “Just… After.” She slowed to rock into him. Deep thrusts that made them both moan in sync. So close. “After what’s next for us. Life. High school. Whatever. I want you to be apart of my after.”
   He could blame the sex for short circuiting her brain, he’d given it to her pretty hard.
   “I don’t know what I’m saying.” She rubbed her eyes, laughed because it felt silly. Felt Billy swoop in to kiss her. Wordlessly validating it wasn’t silly at all. That was another thing they did, pumped life into hopeful hearts and dwindling thoughts of something more. Something that was waiting...after.
   “We’ll deal with the after.” Billy skimmed a hand between them. Stroked her until she gave a cry into the denim of his jacket. A beautiful note. Evie thought she heard the twinkling music from outside, joyful and airy. Realized that maybe it was just playing in her head. “Right now, I want you to come.” He pecked her parted lips. “Cum for me, Angel.”
  “Billy.” She found his mouth again. They shared a godly nectar in one kiss. He worked her hips into his as she climaxed. Lungs heaving with a great arch. Billy watched her tits bounce and found his own release quick. Let her slip into him as he fell back to the wall. Lungs tried to find some peace. That New Orleans accent laced her tone again. “God damn it, Billy.”
   “Still a church, Fenny.” He massaged her thighs. Eyes shifting while she breathed even and fixed her bra. Tucked her shirt back in.
  “I need a bathroom. This is about to be a mess.” She slipped off him, pulled her undershorts back on because he wasn’t giving her panties up. Thighs hummed, sore and blissful. Billy tucked himself away to fix his own clothing back. Evie poked her head out. “Coast is clear.”
  Without thinking, she laced her hand in his. Hurried him out to the bathroom to pee and wash up. Saw her patchy, red cheeks in the mirror and huffed. Patted cold water on them. Billy finished at the sink and lit a quick cigarette by the window. That chipper music lingered outside.
  “Your mom is going to be here awhile. I vote your place.”
  “Movie on the couch.” She flicked hair aside. Billy flashed a smile, nodding as he snuffed the smoke out.
  “To start, maybe.” Two fingers grasped her chin, angled Evie’s mouth for a slow kiss. Tasted sweet, obscene, and smoky all at once. Made her dizzy.
  “I’d come back here under certain conditions.” He passed to go out with Evie behind him. She found her purse and coat again.
   “Let’s go, you had your fun.” She chuckled as they rejoined the event outside. Wind and all.
  “Uh, I think you did too.” Billy’s arm hung around her shoulder. Easy with their height difference.
  “You two leaving?” Mona had called, edging from her conversation to cross once the teens were outside. Evie pressed her legs together. Smiled. The Pastor who’d been speaking to her mother followed too. Plastic grin upon his face.
  “Ah, yeah, I’ll see you later, mom.” Evie had replied.
  “Thanks for coming to help.” Mona beamed. “Pastor Ray, you know Billy. Our neighbor. He was kind enough to help out.”
  “Mr. Hargrove. I’m surprised to see you here.” They shook tense hands.
  “Only thing I like more than Jesus is Christ. Who doesn’t want to turn water into wine.” Billy’s sarcasm was almost charming. He got a flat look in return.
  “I see...”
  “Evie, can you take some of the food home, honey? We’ll feed the neighbors.” Mona grasped Evie’s arm to pull her forth. “Just put it in the fridge. I’ll organize later.”
  “Sure.” Evie started to follow.
  “Be sure to grab the cherry pie if there’s any left. The ladies outdid themselves this year. Billy, you’re free to take some food home, son.” The Pastor addressed him kindly again. Billy’s grin flashed shiny teeth.
  “I love a good cherry pie, but I filled up on angel cake.”
  He caught Evie’s head whipping toward him as she went. Eyes ablaze which made his smile bigger.
  “Oh?” Ray’s head cocked. “I didn’t see that over there. Must have went fast.”
  “Like you wouldn’t believe, sir.” Billy patted the man’s shoulder and sauntered by. “Nice church, by the way. Pointy.” Evie hurried to his car with her arms full of Tupperware and boxes. Settled them in the backseat.
  “You’re so dead.” She looked sweet, waving at her mother across the lot. Billy laughed, starting his car. “I pick the music.” Her hand swatted his and a groan followed as she tuned the radio to some Etta James. Billy revved out of the parking lot, turning some heads as he went.
  “Admit it, you wouldn’t change what you did today. Sinner.” Billy’s free hand found her leg out of his usual habit. “Made my first church going experience special.”
  “Don’t turn on the waterworks just yet.” She teased back, sucking her cheeks in without looking at him. “Still mad at you.” A smile pulled her forcibly grumpy expression. Billy came to a stoplight. Tugged at a curl to let it bounce so she peered at him. Nose crinkling when she broke to chuckle.
  “Admit it.” Billy gave her thigh a squeeze, vibrant eyes flickering.
  “Make me.” Evie said, facing the road. “Later.” Lips lifted before the light turned green. His Camaro lurched forward.
  “Happy to.” Billy caught the song change. “Hey.”
  “Hm?”
  “It’s that song you’re always singing to yourself.” Billy turned it up. Irma Thomas. “The mushy one.” Her favorite. He played like it was a careless thing, but Evie stared at him. Warming. Reeled in too easily.
   Anyone…
   Anyone…
  “Shocked you paid attention to that.” She offered after a beat.
  “I have to hear it every day I see you, Evie.” Billy snorted, ocean eyes intent on the road. Evie knew better. “Not like I have a choice. Singing and plucking that guitar constantly.” He peered at the trees. “That stuff you were rambling about during the sex high about after.”
   “Sex high.” She scoffed.
   “Was that the fucking making a mess of you?” Billy asked slower. “Used to hate me.”
   “I didn’t hate you,” Evie paused when he shot her an unconvinced look, “we weren’t agreeable.”
   “Agreeable? Okay, now you sound like that prissy Austen chick you like to read.” Billy’s retort made her giggle. These little details he picked up about her that stuck with him. It was true, their relationship used to be in the negative for good reason.
   “I like when we hang out.” Evie shrugged. “Labels. Whatever. I just meant, we should...keep hanging out.”
   “After?”
   “After.” Evie produced simply. Billy twitched amusement at her, turned a corner.
   “Well,” he parked, “I don’t know, good. I guess”
   “Fine.”
   “Great.” Billy cut back in, challenged.
   “Wonderful.”
   “Fan-fucking-tastic.”
   Evie grasped his jacket, shut him up with a kiss. Made the boy breathless there. Billy’s blue eyes glimmered at her. Calm seas for miles. The sun shined into his car. Made the teens glow.
   “Movie?” She unbuckled to get out with him following. “Gotta get this food into my fridge.”
   “Only if I pick.” Billy stood there and let her set boxes into his arms before she grabbed the rest so they could walk up the driveway.
   “Sure. Our tastes align.” Evie peeked back at him with doe brown eyes. “I trust you.” She’d offered that too casually, Billy stilled at the door to watch her unlock it. Blinked.
   That was the thing about them, how nonchalant their hearts beat together. A totally on purpose accident. Billy remembering Evie’s quirks and her reluctance to show certain petals sprouting from her stem for fear the world might not like the colors. Budding to flash them with some fire and vibrancy because she had a boy who encouraged them despite it all. And she teased this incandescent quality back out of him with ease. Made him work to be still and feel the world turn once in a blue moon. Billy gave this little smile to himself without her noticing and followed Evie into the house.
   They hadn’t trusted each other before. And now it was approaching the after. Whatever that meant. Evie glowed to beam at him there and few things were mattering today. New beginnings.
   Billy let himself hope that the after would last.
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singledarkshade · 3 years
Text
Magical Mix Up
Chapter Eight (Chapter Seven can be found here) Gideon sat on the Waverider, the others had given up trying to fix the ship and were talking quietly. Closing her eyes, Gideon felt the connection to her ship and smiled happily.
“Now, my dear one,” she said through their link, “Where is our wayward Captain?”
Slightly bemused at the negative reply, she mused for a moment, “Show me when they brought him onboard.”
Again a negative reply came from the Waverider.
Completely confused, Gideon thought before asking, “Show me the man that was held within the cells before the crash.”
This time the information appeared, and Gideon stared at the man. True there was a very close resemblance but as someone who knew Rip Hunter better than anyone then it was without doubt that this was a different man. That explained why the Waverider hadn’t alerted her about Rip’s return because the Legends had picked up the wrong man.
And he was currently lost in the past.
Wonderful.
Sara frowned as Jax told her that he’d tried everything he knew to fix the engines and from all indicators the ship should be working again. Turning to where Gideon sat staring into space, Sara decided enough was enough.
“Alright, Gideon,” Sara marched over to her, making the other woman turn, “It’s time for you to stop acting out and help us fix the ship. This is completely childish.”
Gideon stood and moved to face Sara, without a word she clicked her fingers, and the ship sprang to life.
“Sara,” Jax called from behind her, “Everything is back up and at full capacity.” Turning to where Gideon was standing, Sara demanded, “How?”
“As you can see, Miss Lance,” Gideon replied, “I control the ship. Our next issue is locating the man you took hostage.”
“I already explained that we were holding Rip to protect him,” Sara sighed annoyed, “You know what happened the last time, I wasn’t giving anyone a chance to snatch him and make him our enemy again.”
Gideon folded her arms, “Firstly, there is no one after us at the moment. Secondly, in order to do anything like that they would need a scan of Captain Hunter’s mind which they are unlikely to have. Thirdly, there are a number of ways you could have spoken with him to help return memories however I will concede this wouldn’t have worked.”
Suspicious Sara asked, “Why is that?”
Bringing up the recording of Rip while in the cell, Gideon remained silent.
“What?” Sara demanded confused.
Gideon frowned, “That is not Rip Hunter.”
Jax and Zari joined Sara at this pronouncement and stared at her then the screen.
“We know what Rip looks like,” Sara stated sounding annoyed.
Gideon nodded, “I will admit this man resembles him but that is not Rip Hunter.”
Jax squinted at the screen, “He has no beard, and his hair is lighter but it’s Rip.”
“Then where is the scar above his right eyebrow that he received as a child?” Gideon asked, before continuing, “Why does he suddenly have a group of freckles below his ear that have never been there before?”
They stared in silence at her none of them able to dispute what Gideon was telling them because all of them were well aware that Gideon knew Rip much better that they did.
“Now, there is a man stranded out of time,” Gideon stated angrily, “Lost and alone with no reason to trust any of us who we need to find.”
Sara grimaced, “John went out to search for him.”
“And has he found anything?” Gideon demanded.
The others looked at one another guiltily before Jax said, “We haven’t heard from him since he left.”
 The prison he was in had a dirt floor, and concave walls that went up to the hole in the ceiling and nothing else. John sighed in annoyance. He should have known this would happen, it was just the way the day had gone with the spell not working, the crash and Rip running from them.
Although he couldn’t blame Rip.
It must have been terrifying have a group of people claim to be your friend while keeping you hostage. John knew he had to get out of here and contact the others, because how much would ‘Rory the Nurse’ know about Ancient Rome?
His headache had thankfully begun to dissipate, which meant he should hopefully be able to perform a spell or two.
As soon as he found his way out of this place.
                                 *********************************************
 “And you’re sure you can get us in?” Rip asked as he and Rory marched through the streets.
Both were still in uniform, but Rory had taken back his own because he needed to feel comfortable to do this.
“Easily. I am Centurion Galeus Britannicus,” Rory stated before adding, “Although to family and friends, Rufus.”
Rip stared at him, “You’re serious.”
Nodding, Rory replied, “Travelling with the Doctor carries some risk.”
“Risks I get, but a whole new identity?” Rip asked, “With the knowledge you also have, means there is a much longer story.”
“There is,” Rory admitted, “But I’ll tell you after we’ve rescued your friend. For now, they’ll assume we’re twins which is a lucky omen, so all you need to do it stay quiet and glare. Quiet especially because not only is your Latin atrocious, your accent is even worse.”
Rip nodded, even though he wanted to ask more, instead noted, “Considering this is the night shift, how many guards do you think will have fallen asleep?”
“None, unfortunately,” Rory told him, before explaining, “There were severe penalties for guards that fell asleep on duty, usually stoning by the rest of their cohort, so whilst there will be fewer guards at night, they will be awake and vigilant. Which is why I’m hoping my title and our reason for visiting will give us some breathing space. Just make sure you do your part.”
Rip nodded again taking a deep breath as they reached the building. Rory had gone over the ways one single guard could defend the place, which was not making him feel any better, but they needed to rescue John. The other option was going to the Waverider and seeing if the team had managed to fix the ship enough for them to use the couriers. However, that could take too long, and the ship may need a lot more repairs taking up more time.
As insane as Rory’s plan was, it was currently their best one.
 Rory walked to the guard standing to attention at the front of the building.
“Centurion Galeus Britannicus,” Rory stated, steel in his voice, “The prisoner brought in earlier violated the home and bedchamber of our sister. I have been sent by the Senator to speak with the prisoner before he is put on trial.”
The guard looked at two men, obviously confused by the fact they were identical before jumping when Rory barked.
“Do I need to repeat myself?” Rory continued to glare at him, feeling Rip standing completely still at his side keeping an ice-cold stare on the guard.
“No, sir,” the guard replied, he moved to open the gates before speaking quickly to the guard just inside. Wincing at whatever the other guard said before nervously turning back to Rory, “Do you have an official order, sir?”
Rory pulled out the psychic paper the Doctor had given him and held it out so the guard could read it. He had been told the information would show if he was confident.
The guard nodded and turned back to the other one, who opened the gate and led them inside.
Rory watched as the second guard took a rope ladder from where it was stored and tossed it down the hole containing the prisoner they were here to see. Moving to one side slightly he watched Constantine climb out, the grating was slid back on and the man was grabbed by the guards. As soon as Constantine was turned to face him, Rory punched him sending him into the wall.
“We’ll take it from here,” Rory told the guards, who both nodded and left them alone.
 John rubbed his jaw as he tried to refocus after being punched. Unsteadily he stood to see Rip standing there, dressed in a soldier’s uniform, and staring coldly at him. It looked as though the spell had worked, there must have just been a slight delay.
“Did you have to punch me, Rip?” he demanded, staggering to his feet.
“Yes,” the other man stated coldly, “And as I’ve said many times before now, my name is not Rip.”
“But mine is,” a familiar voice came from behind him.
John slowly turned to where an almost identical man stood, dressed in the same outfit. He looked between them a few times before demanding, “What the bloody hell?”
“No time to explain,” the man, who was called Rory said, “We have one chance to get out of here, so shut up and do what I tell you.”
Glancing at Rip questioningly, John was stunned when his friend nodded, “Rory is in charge.”
“He’s a nurse,” John noted.
Rip shrugged, “With a few special skills.”
Drawing his sword, Rory turned to Rip, “Do it.”
With a slight smirk on his lips, Rip pulled out a small silver disc with a button in the centre and pushed it.
A few seconds later there was a pop then crash and Rory grabbed John’s shoulder pushing him forward.
“Run.”
 Rip ran with Rory towards the two guards who had been dazed slightly by the gates being blown off the walls. John was pushed past them, but they managed to regain their senses as Rip and Rory started out. With their swords drawn, Rip defended himself stunned to see Rory just to one side fighting with ease as though the sword was an extension of his arm. There were very few he’d ever met who could fight with such fluidity.
As they managed to get past the two guards, Rip and Rory began to run after John. The other guards from the prison were chasing them.
“We’re not going to make it to the Waverider,” John called.
Rory grabbed John’s shoulder to making him turn the corner, “That’s not where we’re heading.”
Rip smiled to see the TARDIS sitting in front of them, Amy standing at the door waiting for them. The moment they reached the door, she moved out the way allowing the three of them to run in before she slammed the door shut. The Doctor threw the lever to move them out of the city.
 John took several deep breaths of relief when they entered whatever the hell the blue box was. His head was full of questions and as he stood to find the massive room that could not have been inside the little box, more were added.
Turning he saw Rip standing with his arms folded and a grim frown on his face, while the doppelganger, Rory was kissing the redhead who had been at the door.
“What the bloody hell?” John demanded again.
“You,” the redhead suddenly turned and marched towards John, “Abducted my husband…”
“Amy,” Rory caught her arm and pulled her back, “It’s okay.”
The redhead turned to her husband and frowned, “It’s not, Rory. They could have got you killed. Again.”
Rory gently pushed her hair back from her face, “I’m fine. And we’re together again. He thought he was helping his friend.”
Amy turned to John and glared at him for a moment before telling him, “You’re on thin ice.”
From the glare he was receiving John was suddenly very sure if she wanted to kill him, the other three would be holding her coat.
“Okay,” the final occupant of the room, tall with floppy brown hairs and a tweed jacket walked over to them, “Mr Constantine, welcome to the TARDIS. Rory is being very understanding about being taken by you and your friends, on the other hand I’m not as forgiving.”
“Hold on,” John held up his hands, “The spell I did to locate Rip found Rory. We had no reason to believe he wasn’t Rip.”
“How about the fact he kept giving you a different name?” Amy snapped.
John turned to Rip who sighed.
“I explained the Phil situation to them.” Rip said, “But even then, why was he put in a cell?”
Wincing John replied, “Sara thought it was for the best. To keep you safe.”
Rip and Rory shared a quick look of annoyance, before Rip continued, “Which leads me to my next question, what did they do to Gideon?”
Grimacing even more John held up his hands, “It wasn’t my fault.”
Rip’s expression become even more granite like than before, “What wasn’t your fault?”
Glancing around the room, John realised there was no help here and sighed, “I was using a protection spell on an idol from Thermiscrya and it somehow interacted with Gideon. Now she’s…”
“She’s what?” Rip demanded when John trailed off.
John sighed,” She’s human.”
Rip stared at him, turning to the other three to make sure he’d heard right, “What do you mean, she’s human?”
“Seriously, Rip there’s not many more ways I can say it,” John rolled his eyes.
“Gideon’s human?” Rip breathed in astonishment.
John nodded, “And she’s on the Waverider now.”
Rip caught the railing beside him and let out a slow breath, “Okay, I need to have a word with Sara anyway. Let’s head to the Waverider.”
“Doctor?” Rory said suddenly moving to the third man, “What’s wrong?”
“It looks as though your friends may have attracted the trouble we caused in the city,” the other man, the Doctor, replied.
Rip and John shared an annoyed look.
“Of course they have,” Rip sighed, “It appears I have another rescue mission on my hands.”
“That would be we,” Rory noted, “We have another rescue mission.”
Amy nodded her agreement before asking, “So, what’s the plan this time?”
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rubysunnday · 4 years
Text
O’ Christmas Tree
Summary: You and Finn can’t wait until the Christmas tree is up to do ‘other things’.
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You honestly didn’t know what Tommy and the others were thinking, leaving you and Finn in charge of the children and the Christmas tree.
“I mean, it’s almost as if they want something to go wrong, Finn!” You exclaimed as you watched their cars disappear down Tommy’s ridiculously long drive.
“You can say that again,” Finn grumbled as he stumbled down the stairs carrying a box of decorations. “It’s not even been ten minutes and I’ve already lost Katie and Charlie to the kitchen.”
“Tommy and John are going to kill us if we make their children ill,” you warned, taking a box out of Finn’s arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek as you passed.
“I was planning for us to go ice skating and drink coca,” he said, sighing as the lights came out in a giant tangle. “And then other things were meant to happen.”
You raised an eyebrow. “Other things?”
“Yeah, other things.” Finn looked up at you. “Ya know, bedroom – “
“We found a gingerbread house!” Katie yelled, interrupting Finn before he could finish his sentence. You giggled as Finn groaned, turning around to hit his head on the wall as you walked up to Katie.  
“Was it an assembled gingerbread house?” You asked, crouching down so that you were eye level with Katie.
“Was being the keyword,” Finn added, smirking as he looked down at them.
Katie giggled, holding out a plate to you and Finn which had what was once a wall on it. “It fell apart after Charlie ate a window.”
You took the plate and stared after Katie as she skipped back down to the kitchen. “They’ve eaten an entire gingerbread house, Finn.”
“Yeah, I can see that, love,” Finn replied, wrapping his arms around your waist. “We should probably put this tree up and then send them to bed.”
“So, we can do ‘other things’?” You queried, turning around to face him.
“Maybe,” Finn replied, smiling as you kissed him.
Your romance had been a whirlwind of emotions. You’d met after he’d tripped you up in the Garrison one night, catching you before you knocked into Arthur and fell flat on your face. He’d been smitten with since that day, the two of you rarely leaving the others side. Your parents had kicked you out when they’d discovered you were in love with a Peaky Blinder, throwing you into the street despite the awful weather that night.  
You’d ran to their house on Watery Lane, practically falling into Arthur when he opened the door. He’d caught you, taken you inside and warmed you up, saying nothing. He’d hugged you until Finn had burst through the door, taking his brother’s seat as you sobbed into his arms.
You hadn’t spoken to your parents since, but you didn’t regret choosing Finn over them. You’d gained a whole new family in the process.
“Do you think if we stand on the top of the stairs and throw the decorations at the tree it’ll work?”
You snapped out of your mind and turned to stare at your boyfriend. “If you want smashed baubles and lights everywhere, then go for it.”
“Haha,” Finn muttered, glaring at you as you knelt down next to him and helped him untangle the lights.
The two of you sat there for a while, untangling the lights and wrapping them around the giant tree in Tommy’s sitting room. Finn hoisted you onto his shoulders so that you could reach the top of the tree, wrapping the lights around the top point.
“I thought this was meant to be a joint effort?” You moaned as you hung baubles off the branches, no children in sight.
“They’re all in the sitting room listening to Karl read them a story,” Finn replied, his voice muffled by the tree. “And finishing the gingerbread house. We should probably put them to bed.”
You dropped the box you were holding. “I’ll go close the curtains and turn their beds down if you get them upstairs,” you called as you quickly ran up the stairs.
“Hang on!”
“Too late!”  
Finn swore quietly as you disappeared upstairs, begrudgingly putting the box he was holding down and walking into the sitting room.
“Right, bedtime,” he called, chuckling at the groans which arose from the kids assembled on the chairs.
“But Uncle Finn,” Charlie moaned, sulking in his chair.
“The sooner you go to sleep the sooner Santa comes,” Finn reminded them, and he was suddenly in the middle of a stampede as they all rushed upstairs, tripping over each other as they charged to bed.
“Uncle Finn,” Karl said quietly, following behind Finn as they walked upstairs. “Is Santa real?”
Finn paused, looking down at his nephew. He wasn’t good at this kind of thing. He’d been very quick to realise Santa wasn’t real and had never truly believed in him. But Karl strongly believed that he was, and he didn’t want to ruin the illusion for his nephew.
“Of course, he is, just ask Auntie y/n.”
Karl hummed in response, scampering off to find you as Finn relaxed slightly, glad he’d managed to wriggle out of that one.
You turned around as Karl came in, looking slightly perturbed.
“What’s wrong?” You asked as he climbed into bed, snuggling down with the teddy bear you’d given him last year.
“Is Santa real?” He asked quietly as you sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Of course, he is! What makes you say that he isn’t?” You asked, tucking him in.
“Just something Uncle John said.”
You froze. “Huh. And what was that, exactly?”
“That Santa was a stupid story to make a usually dull month more exciting.”
You were definitely going to kill John later.
“Well, Uncle John doesn’t know what he’s on about, ok?” Karl nodded sleepily. “Go to sleep and in the morning, Santa would’ve dropped off all your presents!”
Karl smiled as you bid him good night, kissing his forehead. You softly shut the door behind you, walking straight into Finn as you did so.
“Hey, you,” Finn whispered, kissing your neck, his hands wandering around.
“Finn, my love,” you replied, pushing him off gently. “We still have a tree to do.” Finn groaned loudly and you elbowed him, telling him to shush. “I’m also going to kill your brother when he’s back.”
“Which one?” Finn asked, not at all surprised, as you walked down the stairs, your arm in his.
“John. He nearly spoiled Christmas for Karl.” You rolled your eyes. “Him and his big mouth.”
Finn chuckled, spinning around so that he could kiss you on the lips. “The sooner we do this tree…”
“The sooner we can do ‘other things’, I am aware,” you chuckled, shoving him off and towards the tree. “That is if your family doesn’t magically appear first.”
Finn sighed. “Which is highly likely since the last time we were nearly caught.”
You giggled as you set about hanging baubles from the tree branches. The top of the tree only just missed the ceiling, leaving just enough room for a star at the top. Although how you were going to get it up there was a different story entirely.
“Which star this year?” Finn asked, holding up two different stars.
“Gold,” you replied quickly, snatching it out of his hand. You looked up at the tree. “We’re never getting that up there.”
“Hang on.”
Finn suddenly ran off and you watched in confusion as he ran out the front door, narrowly missing one of Tommy’s maids as she cleaned the porch. A few minutes later he came back, carrying two wooden ladders.
“This is a terrible idea,” you called as he proceeded to climb up the first one, placing the second one on top of it and against the wall.
“Climb on my back,” Finn called, turning around to look at you.
“Nope.”
“Oh, come on, how else are we meant to get the star on the tree?”
“We wait for Arthur to come home?”
“But then we would’ve failed in our mission.”
“The mission being?”
Finn raised his arms and the ladder wobbled precariously. “CHRISTMAS!”
You huffed and began to climb the ladder. “If I die, I’m suing this entire family.”
Finn laughed as he helped you climb onto his back, holding your legs tightly as you leant forward and, somehow, managed to put the star on top of the tree, wedging it against the ceiling.
“Tada!” You sung softly as he helped you down, the ladder holding steady as you climbed down.
Finn jumped off the final rung and ran towards you, scooping you up in his arms and spinning you around.
“Bedroom?” He whispered in your ear and you felt a tingle go down your spine.
“Of course,” you replied, smiling into his kiss as he lifted you up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carried you upstairs, never breaking the kiss.
You got to the top of the stairs and Finn could wait no more as he sat you on a table, passionately kissing your entire body. You giggled as his hand began to wander again, disappearing up your skirt.
“We’re back!”
John’s loud voice filled the hallway and the two of you groaned. You buried your head into Finn’s shoulder as his hand fell back down to his side.
“Every bloody time,” you muttered, taking Finn’s hand as he helped you off the table, straightening your skirt.
“Hi!” You called cheerfully, walking down the stairs, trying to ignore your pounding heart.
“Everything ok?” Tommy asked as you reached the bottom step.
“Well, apart from John nearly ruining Santa for Karl, everything was fine,” you replied, glaring at the man.
“I did what?”
“Karl overheard you saying Santa wasn’t real, you prick.” You swatted his arm and John quickly moved behind Tommy.
“He doesn’t –“Ada began.
“No, I reassured him and told him that Uncle John is just an idiot,” you replied, giving John a false smile. John glared back at you, ducking as Polly smacked him around the head. The conversation carried on as Finn’s hand found yours squeezing it tightly.
“Other things?” He asked quietly, his hand wandering yet again. You giggled, grabbing his hand and moving it further up.
“Gladly,” you replied, smirking as your hand began to wander too. Finn stiffened, coughing slightly and you tried not to laugh as his face slowly turned red.
“Y/N come have some drinks by the fire,” Arthur called, grabbing your hand and dragging you away from Finn.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Finn growled, and you giggled, winking over your shoulder at him as you were whisked away.
“Maybe another night, Finn,” Ada whispered, giving him a knowing look as she followed the rest of the family into the sitting room.
Finn just glared, storming outside to get some much-needed cold air.
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threnodygrimblood · 4 years
Text
The Family that Shouldn’t Be
Summary: With Muriel and Eustace dead, Courage finds himself all alone at the farmhouse. Fortunately or unfortunately for Courage, the villains he faced in the past begins to make themselves at home at the farmhouse, bringing with them much fun and mayhem the small pink dog can handle.
Rated T for just in case
It seems that every time I write a chapter, I expect it to be short only to find it longer than expected. This chapter was going to be a Valentine's chapter initially, but since I couldn't come up with an idea to introduce the Black Puddle Queen, I decided to rearrange some chapters around. I plan on writing a Christmas chapter. . . *looks at calendar*, which means I'll have to hold off on writing a chapter for Keeping Secrets for the time being so I can get the Christmas chapter written on time as I don't want a repeat of the Halloween chapter.
I also kept wanting to refer the Black Puddle Queen as the Black Widow Queen. I blame the spider for it. I also feel bad that I didn't give the Black Puddle Queen many speaking lines nor interaction with the others. I'll have to make that up in the next chapter.
All Courage the Cowardly Dog characters belong to John Dilworth.
The Queen Who Saves Courage From Love
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"Oooh yeaah. That feels goooood, Pup." Cajun murmured.
It was shedding season for the furry occupants in the farmhouse, which was evident when fur of various colors began coating the floors. Le Quack and the Clutching Foot were out of the house; Courage had told them about the time he dug up the bones of a giant kangaroo monster, and how valuable they were. So, the two had headed off into the desert to dig up more bones to sell. Of course, those who remained at the house were sure that if they couldn't find any, then Le Quack being the con artist he is, will attempt to sell any regular bones they find out there.
Courage had found Cajun sitting on the front porch, struggling to reach his back with the brush. Understanding the strain of trying to brush his own back, Courage offered to brush the fur on Cajun's back for him. Courage would stop every now and then to pick out the clumps of hair from the brush's teeth and tried not to feel envious that Cajun's shed fur didn't come out loose as his did.
"Done." Courage announced once he was sure he got out all the tangles and knots, and there was no more loose fur.
"Thanks, Pup!" Cajun said and turned around to face the dog. "Let me brush your back for ya."
It's been a while since Courage had a proper brushing and wasn't about to turn it down himself. Turning, Courage waited for Cajun to begin. Once the fox did, Courage couldn't help but sigh as the brush went down his back in a slow, soothing motion that he couldn't help wagging his tail. Courage heard Cajun chuckle, but Courage didn't care, and he didn't care that a tangle got snagged as Cajun brushed it out.
"And you're done, Pup!" Cajun reported.
"Thanks, Cajun." Courage said. He was a little sad it ended, but he was also glad because his legs were starting to fall asleep, and Courage hated the sensation he gets when it happens.
Together, the two picked out the pink hair from the brush, and Cajun, in his cleverness, clumped the pink together to make a miniature Courage. Courage couldn't help giggle at Cajun's eccentric behavior. The little dog picked up the brush and headed inside as Cajun went to toss the fur that didn't get blown away by the breeze in the trash can out back.
Courage walked over to Katz sitting in the armchair, reading a new book, and asked, "Katz? Do you want me to brush your back for you?"
Ever since the incident with the spirit Big Toe and his goons brought, Katz had gotten moody. Well, a lot moodier than usual. Especially when Courage and Cajun were hanging out together, and Courage couldn't understand why it was since Katz wouldn't talk about it. Courage hoped that offering to brush the feline will ease his mood.
Katz studied Courage for a moment, turned back to his book, and said, "No, thank you. I can manage on my own."
"Are you sure?" Courage pushed.
"Yes, Courage. I'm sure." Katz said, his tail twitching in agitation.
"Okay." Courage said, feeling dejected.
Courage headed into the kitchen, where he found Cajun drinking water from a glass.
"Why so glum, Pup?" Cajun asked, concerned.
"I offered to brush Katz, but he turned it down." Courage explained.
Cajun snorted. "Ya have a better chance at brushing Le Quack than brushing the kitty."
It was a good thing Le Quack was there, or else he would've smacked Cajun with his mallet.
"What about Weremole?" Courage asked.
"When I mentioned havin' his fur brushed, he bolted for the hole he made in the ground. Probably doesn't want his fur harvested." Cajun answered.
Courage could see Weremole's reasoning when it came to his fur. After all, it's the antidote for when he bites someone and turns them into a weremole.
Cajun set his empty glass in the sink and announced, "Now that my fur is free of loose hair, I don't have to worry about clogging the drain. See you in an hour or two, Pup."
Cajun left Courage alone in the kitchen, and the dog let out a sigh. His thoughts keep returning to Katz, and Courage wished he knew why Katz was acting the way he was and that he could find a way to help him. Every time Courage asked about it, Katz would avoid the question or simply say he was fine, but Courage knew he wasn't. Courage wanted to cheer Katz up and wished he knew the cat's favorite food was, but he was evasive about it when he asked. Courage could make happy plums, and he was glad he got the ingredients to make it. But it would take time to make it so for now; Courage decided to make a pot of Katz's favorite tea and bring it to him before starting on the happy plums.
Courage had a pot of tea steeped the way Katz liked it on a tray along with a teacup, a bowl of sugar, and a little pitcher of milk. He took one look at the tray and decided that it could use a plate of cookies as well. Courage wished he had time to bake the cookies for Katz and hoped he would be okay with store-bought cookies instead. Courage pushed one of the chairs over to the sink and stacked pots on top of the chair to reach the top cupboard where the cookies are.
As he stood precariously on the cooking pots and hoping they don't go toppling over, Courage wished that Cajun placed the baked goods closer to the ground where he could reach them. After getting the cookies, Courage carefully climbed down his dog-made ladder, took one step for the table, and stopped.
There sitting at the table drinking Katz' tea was a human. "Mmm, this is delicious." the human said.
"Who are you?" Courage finally asked once he found his voice.
The human turned and looked in Courage's direction. "I'm the God of Love, Eros," he answered and took another sip of the tea.
Courage blinked as he stared at the human claiming to be a god, and he could see that his curly hair was the color of gold, he wore a white toga much like the Storm Goddess, and Goose God did. White feathery wings fluttered occasionally, a sling hung across his back, and a golden bow leaned against the table. Yes, Courage could see how this could be Eros.
"Ah, what are you doing here?" Courage asked as the familiar anxiety inside him began to rise in him.
"Someone asked me to do them a favor," Eros answered as he took hold of his bow.
Courage's heart began to thump hard against his ribcage, and the cookies were getting crushed between his paws. "Wh-what favor?" he stuttered.
"Oh, it involves you," Eros said as he notched an arrow. "Now hold still. I promise this won't hurt at all."
That had to be the first time someone told Courage that being shot with something pointy wasn't going to hurt, and he may have believed the God of Love if fear and instinct didn't run amok in the dog. As Eros let the arrow loose, Courage cried out in surprise and held up the cookie package as a shield. Amazingly, the packaging stopped the arrow from hitting Courage, while Eros himself stood surprised by it, Courage tossed the box aside, it hit one of the pots, causing them all to topple over with a loud crash, and made a dash for the kitchen door.
Courage heard Eros muttering as he pushed the door open, and he was sure the God was getting ready to notch another arrow. Courage hurried through the dining room, and he realized his mistake when he saw Katz halfway across the living room with a look of worry on his face.
"Courage? What is-" Katz was interrupted when an arrow sailed through the air and hit Katz in the chest.
Courage gasped in horror as Katz fell back, and he ran over to the cat. "Katz!" Courage screamed in fear.
Courage pulled the arrow out and searched for a wound and was relieved to find none. "Katz! Are you all right?" he asked once he turned his attention back to the feline.
Katz turned his head towards Courage and stared at him. Courage grew worried again and was about to ask another question when the feline pulled the canine into a hug and did something Courage never thought the cat would ever do to him or anyone else. Katz kissed him. Katz had kissed Courage and was now purring and nuzzling him!
Courage was so flabbergasted by his predicament; he nearly forgot the reason he was running in the first place.
"I guess this works out," Eros said as he walked into the room. "Now, be a good puppy and let me shoot you."
Courage couldn't get away anyway, plus Katz's hold on Courage had tightened as the cat hissed at Eros. Eros ignored the cat as he drew the drawstring on his bow back. It wavered about as Eros tried to find an opening to shoot Courage.
Frustrated at the cat's attempts to shield Courage, Eros said to the dog, "Can you please tell the cat to release you so I can use this arrow on you?"
Courage, of course, screamed again in terror at the thought of being shot. Cajun sopping wet, with a towel around his waist, came tromping down the stairs. The fox had forgotten his sunglasses in his haste to see what had Courage screaming in terror.
"Pup! What's the matter?!" He hollered.
Caught unguard, Eros turned towards the newcomer just as he released his hold on the drawstring. The arrow lodged into Cajun's chest, causing him to tumble down the stairs, landing in a heap near the grandfather clock. Courage winced when he heard Cajun's fall and managing to free himself from Katz's embrace somehow, hurried over to Cajun to see if he was alright.
"Cajun!" Courage howled soon realized he made a huge mistake as he kneeled next to the fox.
Cajun looked up at Courage stunned and, much like Katz did, pulled the dog into his grasp but licked his muzzle instead. Courage was aghast at what was transpiring, especially when Katz tried pulling him out of Cajun's arms with a snarl.
"Oops. I didn't expect this to happen," Eros sheepishly said as he scratched his head at what he did. "Thinking about it now, I should've just poked you with the arrow instead."
"Can you fix this?" gasped Courage as Cajun and Katz squeezed the air out his lungs from fighting over him.
"Sorry, but I'm needed elsewhere," Eros answered suddenly. "But don't worry, the effect of the arrows will wear off at midnight tonight. So good luck with those two. You'll certainly need it."
And with that, Eros was gone. Out the front door, that is. Courage howled in exasperation at the same time Cajun yelped when Katz poked him in the eyes. Katz cradled Courage in his arms and gave him another affectionate nuzzle. Courage let out a sigh. It was barely noon, and it was still many hours until midnight before Katz and Cajun returned to their old selves. He was sure he could find a way to handle the love-stricken cat and fox. How hard could it be?
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"Courage is mine!" Katz growled.
"No, Pup belongs to me!" Cajun snarled.
"I love him!" Katz snapped.
"I love him more than you!" Cajun barked back.
Courage learned sooner than later that having to deal with two people struck by Cupid's arrows and falling in love with him was harder than he thought. Katz and Cajun had begun their bickering over Courage that the dog was worried that they would start a painful game of tug-of-war with him. They instead released their hold on Courage and began grappling over him. They were rolling on the floor when Le Quack and the Clutching Foot returned from their expedition.
They stood rooted to their spot, watching the unusual event happening before them. Big Toe and the other four toes began making bets on what was going on at the same time Le Quack asked, "Qu'est-ce que ç'est?"
Courage decided to take that opportunity to make a run for it, leaving the two very confused. Courage's chest heaved as he panted for air while pressed against the back of the house.
Courage's eyes caught sight of one of the holes Weremole made and thinking that it would make an excellent temporary hiding place, he scrambled towards it. Courage's back feet kicked up sand and dirt as he squirmed his way into the tunnel. Courage crawled through the maze of tunnels Weremole had made. He took a right and stopped when he came nose to nose to a snarling Weremole.
"So-sorry for disturbing you, Weremole." Courage stammered as he backed up. "I'm also sorry for coming into your home, but I'm trying to hide from Cajun and Katz."
"Grrr?" Weremole asked.
"They've gotten hit by love arrows, and I made the mistake of being in their sight when it took effect. So now they're both in love with me." Courage explained.
Weremole seemed to understand Courage's predicament and didn't say anything else about the dog being in his burrow. And Courage's reprieve didn't last long when dirt began raining down on top of him.
"Pup!" Courage heard Cajun's voice say behind him.
With a yelp, Courage crawled through the tunnels, not only forgetting that being a fox Cajun has a keen sense of smell but also was a burrowing animal as well. Behind Courage, he heard Weremole followed by a yelp from Cajun as the fox encountered the feral animal. Courage scampered up what he believed to be another way out of Weremole's home and had popped his way out, and his heart just about stopped when someone pulled him the rest of the way out the hole.
"Courage." purred Katz as he drew the dog into a hug.
Courage couldn't deny that the hug felt nice when it wasn't the two of them trying to pull him out of each other's arms. The gentle tender hug was short-lived when an orange paw shot out of the ground in reminiscence of a zombie coming out the sand that Courage screamed hysterically. The rest of Cajun popped out the field, and he shook to clear the sand from his fur and coughed. Weremole gnawed on one of Cajun's legs
"Pup? Why did ya run from me?" Cajun asked, and the hurt tone in his voice made Courage feel guilty.
"Because he has no interest in a mangy backwater fox like you," Katz answered for Courage.
Courage, of course, denied such a thing but couldn't even tell Cajun this as the fox stated, "I'll show ya what a mangy backwater fox can do!"
Both Courage and Weremole were flung through the air as Cajun tackled Katz to the ground.
"Oof! Courage cried out as he landed on his rump as Weremole landed on his back.
Weremole got to his feet and launched himself at the cat and fox. Courage didn't know what to do. Should he help them? If so, who would he help first? Certainly not Weremole, he was doing fine on his own. So that left Cajun and Katz, and he knew that he helped one, then the other would either be heartbroken or worse: try to kill his rival.
Courage jumped when he heard "Puppy dog." behind him.
Turning around revealed Le Quack. The duck watched the fight taking place as yips, growls, and curses rend the air.
"What is wrong with those two? Have they been afflicted with some, how do you say, brain injury?" Le Quack inquired as the Clutching Foot joined them.
Courage recounted to the two of how Cupid, Courage had said Eros' name, but since the Big Toe and his lackeys didn't know his actual name Courage had to use Eros' most common name, had shot Katz and Cajun with his arrows. How they both fell in love with him because he was the one they saw when the arrows took effect.
The Clutching Foot was disappointed that none of them got their bets right. Le Quack made a mistake to laugh at Courage's unfortunate predicament. Two shadows fell upon them and ending Le Quack's laugh as he looked up into the enraged faces of the fox and cat.
"Did you just laugh at Courage?" Katz asked with deadly calm.
The Clutching Foot knew trouble when he was saw and hopped away as swiftly as he could. Courage felt sorry for what was going to happen to Le Quack, but he also saw this as an opportunity to try and hide.
After turning their fury on poor Le Quack, Courage had run upstairs towards his bedroom and dove under the bed. He knew it was nothing more than a temporary haven. Time ticked by as Courage sweated, waiting for either of Katz or Cajun to show up. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and a small whine rumbled out his throat. Courage yelped when his legs grabbed, and while being dragged out, he dug his nails into the floorboards, leaving long grooves behind.
Once again, Courage was heft up from the ground and came face to face with Katz.
"What were you doing under there Courage?" Katz inquired, and before Courage could answer, his stomach growled again. Katz chuckled.
"Let's get something to eat," Katz suggested.
The cat carried Courage in his arms, and the dog couldn't think of anything to say as Katz headed down the stairs.
Katz placed Courage in a chair and patted him on the head before looking to see what was available for a meal. Katz paused when he spotted the pots on the scattered on the floor.
"Why are all these on the floor?" Katz questioned.
Courage had utterly forgotten about those! Scared of how Katz would react, Courage answered, "I made you some tea and thinking you would like some cookies I decided to use the pots to get them from one of the top cabinets because it's so high up and I'm small. I accidentally knocked them over. I'm sorry!"
"You made me tea?" Katz inquired, and looking at the table, saw the tray and teapot Courage had left there.
"I wanted to cheer you up and thought making your favorite tea for you would do the trick." Courage said as he blushed.
Courage didn't expect Katz to caress his face, and it certainly gave him an odd feeling in his stomach. "You're so sweet, Courage." Katz cooed and smiled at the small pink dog. "You sit there, and I'll put the pots away and get something for you to eat."
Courage watched Katz clean up the kitchen, took one look at the crushed box of cookies, declared it was no longer edible, and threw it away. Courage was shocked by that. Katz always had an issue about anyone wasting food, and here he was doing just that. The arrow truly messed him up.
Now Courage stared at the plate of cookies Katz had placed before him along with a glass of milk while Katz sat nearby, paws tucked under his chin as he watched Courage with his tail swishing side to side.
Courage could count on one hand the number of tense meals he had. He chose a cookie from the plate and took a bite. His mouth felt as dry as the desert outside as he chewed and hoped he didn't choke when he swallows. Courage did choke, but it wasn't because of the cookies nor from Katz never taking his eyes off the dog. It was simply because Cajun kicked the door in, startling Courage. It would've been terrifying if the door hadn't swung back and smacked into Cajun, causing the fox to let out a bark of pain.
Cajun pushed the door open more gently this time, and he walked in, rubbing his nose. The hostility Courage could feel from Cajun and Katz glaring at each other increased the tension so much that Courage wanted to get away as quick as possible. He shifted in his chair and made the best impression of a deer caught in headlights when the fox and cat turned their attention to him.
Cajun noticed the cookies on the table and said, "Oh, are you hungry, Pup? Let me cook you something."
He headed for the fridge when Katz stood up from his seat and said, "I was going to make something for him."
Katz and Cajun shoved at each other as they grabbed for ingredients for whatever it was they planned to cook for Courage. As Courage slowly and quietly got down from the chair, he began to start hating himself for continually running away as he quickly slipped out the backdoor and once again ran for it.
Courage stopped in the kitchen as he panted with his tongue lolling out. He was exhausted. His legs were tired and cramping. Courage desperately wanted to sit and rest, but he couldn't allow himself that. Not while Katz and Cajun were on the hunt for him.
He tried finding new places to hide, but Katz and Cajun always found him. Courage had wondered where the last three remaining villains were and learned that Weremole had grown bored of using Cajun and Katz as a chew toy and retreated into his lair. The Clutching Foot was hiding out in the basement, which left Le Quack's whereabouts unknown. Probably off somewhere licking his wounds.
Courage looked around the kitchen; it looked like a warzone. Katz or Cajun left the faucet on, and water flowed over the basin, leaving a giant growing puddle. Vegetables and fruit were thrown so forcefully the stuck to the wall and eggs dripped from the ceiling. There was an enormous head-shaped dent in the fridge door, and knives of different sizes embedded in the wall, table, and the kitchen door. Something charred, smoking, and inedible were all that remained in one of the pans on the stove. Courage cocked his head and listened for either cat or fox. Not hearing either nearby, he was sure he still had time before they discovered his current location, Courage walked around the puddle as he made his way over to the sink, hopped up and turned the water off. Courage jumped clear of the pool and tried to think of something, anything. He needed a new place to hide. Katz and Cajun found his hiding spots much too quickly. He gazed out at the miles of desert and promptly shook his head. Not only would Courage not be able to find suitable shelter out there, but he would need to bring provisions and something warm with him to last him until midnight.
Of course, he didn't have to attempt to survive in the desert. Courage could head to Shirley's wagon and hide there. But even then, he knew if he did that, she would possibly place a curse on the fox and cat, and that was something Courage didn't want for Katz and Cajun. He couldn't fault them on the way they were behaving. He could take the truck and hide in town. But they would hear the truck and find some way to follow him into town. And even if the people in town were able to mask his scent, they would tear the city apart looking for him.
Whoever asked Eros this favor no doubt knew what they were doing if they intended to get rid of Courage. Courage didn't want to think it, but he was sure the effect on Katz and Cajun were getting worse with their maddening desire to claim him as their lover. And he feared that one or both would kill each other or kill him if they couldn't have him for themselves.
Courage wanted to let out a howl of frustration but dare not lest he disclosed his location to the other two. As Courage racked his brain for a solution, he wasn't aware of the tall, beautiful woman emerging from the pool of water behind him. He heard not a sound as she raised her arms clad in black from the puddle. If Courage was aware of the newcomer, it was too late. A hand clamped his muzzle shut, the other hand wrapped around his chest, and back into the pool, she went, taking Courage with her.
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"Where is he?" Katz growled as he stalked the grounds. He wasn't thrilled that the fox was also looking for Courage as well, but at least he wasn't with him now.
They searched everywhere they could think of where Courage could hide in like the chimney. The fox and cat checked all of Courage's hiding spots again, all except Weremole's den, Cajun didn't want to incur the feral mole's wrath again. Growling again, Katz approached the kitchen door. Inside, he paused when he spotted Cajun roaming the room.
Katz's eyes narrowed as he watched the fox. "What are you doing?"
"Pup's scent is the strongest here," Cajun explained.
Katz sniffed the air then made a face. He was amazed the fox could pick Courage's scent through such a repugnant smell permeating the air.
"Pup was here in the kitchen, and that's it. I get nothin' near either door. It's like he vanished in thin air." Cajun continued.
Katz scoffed. How stupid can the fox be? "That's preposterous. Someone can't vanish into thin air." he voiced.
As if on cue, they both jumped when they heard Courage screaming in terror. Fear for what could be happening to the dog and hot anger for whoever is causing those screams had both Katz and Cajun racing out the back door following the shout to the back of the barn. They ran around the end of the massive structure merely to skid to a stop when what they across was not Courage. Still, a stereo with a speaker belting out a recording of Courage screaming and next to it was a small pile of bombs with a timer attached to one already counting down. They barely had time to react when the timer reached zero, followed by the bombs going off in a massive and loud explosion.
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Let's take a moment to change locations and divulge where Courage is. Courage's current situation was that of a tropical paradise. Leaves from palm trees fluttered in the gentle salty breeze, and a quaint little resort settled further up the beach. The beach itself was clean and warm, and it was here that Courage laid in a lounge chair looking at the sea. The water hitting the surf and seagulls calling was quite relaxing. But not by much.
"Why am I here?" Courage wondered aloud.
"The Black Puddle Queen brought you here to keep you safe." Le Quack answered as he walked up to the lounging dog.
Courage next asked, "Why are you here?"
"The Black Puddle Queen thought it would be best that you had someone to keep you company. Drink?" he offered the coconut cup he held in one of his wings to Courage.
Courage thanked Le Quack and took the drink from him. Le Quack jumped into the other lounge chair next to Courage's and took a sip from his straw.
"But why are you here?" Courage asked again.
"Would you rather have Big Toe or Weremole here?" Le Quack asked himself.
Courage knew for sure that if Big Toe were here, he would be trying to rob the tourists and the resort and ff Weremole were here, he would either dig tunnels everywhere or try to eat the people here.
"Not really." Courage answered.
"There you go." Le Quack retorted.
Le Quack drank more of his drink while Courage just stared down at his. He was grateful the Black Puddle Queen helped him get away from Katz and Cajun and hoped that they would be alright. After all, he can't fault them for their behavior. But still, Courage's paranoia continued to run rampant as he expected to see a plane appear in the sky or a submarine to surface in the ocean. Courage was amazed his fur hadn't started falling out from the whole ordeal. He sighed and took another drink.
Le Quack noticed and asked, "What is on your mind, Puppy dog?"
"I'm worried about Katz and Cajun," he answered.
"How so?" Le Quack asked.
"I expect to see Katz and Cajun showing up even though I know they don't have a clue where I am. I also don't want them to kill each other over me."
"They'll be fine." Le Quack reassured Courage, paused, then added. "Maybe."
"Maybe?" Courage inquired. Le Quack just cackled in response, which caused dread to settle in Courage's stomach. "What did you do?" he pushed.
"I did not appreciate them beating me up, so I left them a little present." Le Quack answered
"What present?" Courage asked.
"Nothing too terrible, just a few bombs rigged to a timer." Le Quack told the dog.
"Bombs?!" Courage yelped.
"Don't worry your fluffy little head off; the explosion won't kill them. Hopefully. It should be a lesson to them that Le Quack always gets the last laugh." Le Quack stated.
As the duck began laughing his diabolical laugh, Courage added this new information to his list of things to stress over. He prayed that Katz and Cajun were doing fine.
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"You both were acting like Courage was in heat the way the two of you were chasing after him and attacking each other." a blush coloring the Black Puddle Queen's cheeks as she spoke those words. "You both became a danger to him, and to save him, I took him somewhere safe."
It was a little past midnight when the Black Puddle Queen talked to the two then left through the bucket of water that was in the living room. Now it was creeping up on one in the morning as Katz sat in the armchair, and his body racked with pain as he pressed an icepack to his eye. Katz had bandages wrapped around his wrist and hand holding the icepack, around his forehead and wounding about his left ear, and his chest. The gauzy material was also around the quarter end of his tail and both his legs.
"Why am I the only one with the cone?" Cajun complained.
"Will you desist your persistent whining?" Katz inquired. He slowly turned his head to the fox sitting in the rocking chair next to him. Cajun's whole body seemingly encased in a cast with a cone securely around his head.
"I'm only whinin' 'cuz I'm the only one wearing this cone," Cajun said.
"You are more injured than me," Katz answered.
"I wouldn't be if someone hadn't used me as a shield," Cajun growled.
It felt like a headache beginning to blossom in Katz's head, and he slowly rubbed his temple to ease it.
"Please do shut up before I turn your cone into a fishbowl." Katz sighed.
"Turn it into a martini cup, and I'll drown happily." Cajun chirped.
Katz's lips twitched as he tried not to smile at Cajun's remark. The two were silent for a while more before Cajun asked, "When is Queenie gonna bring Pup back?"
"In a day or two. She thinks Courage should relax a bit before returning home." Katz answered.
Katz and Cajun were alone in the living room. The Weremole was in his home underground, the Clutching Foot retired to the basement soon after finishing their story, and the Black Puddle Queen went to check on Le Quack and Courage at wherever it is she put them. She still wouldn't disclose their location to them. "Just in case." was her reasoning.
"I don't blame her for thinking Pup needs to be away. The Pup must've been freaking out by our behavior the whole time." Cajun stated.
"Yes." Katz agreed with a heavy heart. The explosion had thrown them quite a distance and knocked the two out for several hours. When they came to, Weremole and the Clutching Foot was helping the Black Puddle Queen tend to their injuries and barely being able to move were confided to the chairs. It was around this time the arrows' effect wore off, and neither Katz nor Cajun could remember any of their actions; it was akin to being in a drunken stupor, minus the hangover. But after seeing the state of the house of the living room and being told what the grounds looked like, they knew it wasn't good. They were both equally horrified by how they were acting when the Clutching Foot, Weremole, and the Black Puddle Queen recounted what took place. How did the Black Puddle Queen know what was transpiring? She was watching what was happening through any open water on the farm accessible from her realm.
For Katz, it was bad enough that he has to compete against Cajun for the dog's love without the help of Cupid's arrows, but to fight over Courage like he was some prize to be won while under the influence of the arrow. . .it made the cat physically ill. The cat felt so downtrodden over the whole thing that he was ready to concede to the fox.
"The sucky part of the whole thing is that I don't romantically like Pup." moaned Cajun.
"What?" Katz perked up, and his heart skipped a beat at the fox's words.
"I said I ain't interested in Pup in that way," Cajun clarified.
"But you're so nice to him all the time," Katz stated.
"Just cuz I'm nice doesn't mean I love 'im," Cajun affirmed.
"You're not nice to me." Katz pointed out.
"Hard put bein' nice to someone who constantly tries to cave my head in or tries to disembowel me." Cajun retorted with a growl.
"Touché," Katz said.
"Now that ya know I ain't interested in Pup, ya can pursue him romantically," Cajun told the cat.
"Wh-what?" Katz stammered.
"Have you become hard of hearin' suddenly? I said you can try your paw at startin' a relationship with Pup." Cajun reiterated.
"What makes you think I. . . love Courage?" Katz pressed.
"Well, for starters, ya stopped callin' him 'dog' and started callin' him by his name. Secondly, winnin' that fish plushie at the County fair is somethin' someone would do for the one they love and thirdly, the way ya hesitated when ya used the word 'love.' Now I ain't a genius, but I ain't stupid neither, and I can see that ya love Pup." Cajun explained.
If Katz's fur weren't already a shade of scarlet, he certainly would be that color right now. He thought he hid his feelings for the dog so well.
"Am I that transparent?" Katz questioned.
"Possibly," Cajun answered. "I always thought you hated all dogs."
"I do," Katz confirmed. There is one such dog that will always fill him with hatred whenever he thinks of him. "I'll admit that I hated Courage for continually thwarting my schemes and for defeating us when that farmer called us to help destroy him. After returning to my motel to lick my wounds, I pondered on what was it that made Courage able to defeat us time and time again. So, when I learned of the farmer and his wife's passing, I thought it an opportunity to learn more about Courage."
"Ya never expected to experience it firsthand with all the spooky stuff that's been happening after gettin' here," Cajun confirmed.
"Quite." Katz agreed. "I'm still unsure when my acrimony for Courage changed to affection, but I know seeing you with him tended to make my blood boil."
"Wait. Ya mean to tell me the reason ya abused me all the time is cuz ya were jealous of Pup and me?" Cajun asked, stunned.
"Yes," Katz answered solemnly.
Cajun stared at Katz for a minute then began cackling, "Hahahaha- ow! Hahahahaha- ow! Hahahahahahaha- ow!"
Katz threw his icepack at the laughing fox and hissed when pain flared in his wrist. The icepack bounced off the cone and flopped to the floor. Katz glared at the icepack like it just insulted his mother and moved his leg to drag it back to him, but seeing how it was further than he expected, he quickly gave up as he was too much in pain and too tired to make an effort to retrieve it.
By then, Cajun was done laughing and gasping from pain, he said, "I never pegged ya for the jealous type."
Katz merely grunted in response.
Cajun then asked, "Why didn't ya make your move on Pup yet? Worried that the other villains have a thing for him too?"
"Would they?" Katz asked in return.
"I can't speak for Weremole and Le Quack. Black Puddle Queen is more of the seduce 'em and eat 'em type. Though I'm sure, the Clutching Foot ain't interested seein' how dog saliva is the cure to get rid of him and his lackeys." Cajun answered and then added, "Even if one or all of them love Pup romantically, he ain't gonna reciprocate it back."
"What makes you say that?" Katz inquired.
"I'm pretty sure Pup has romantic feelings for ya too," Cajun answered.
Katz blinked his yellows eyes at the fox. Surely, he's jesting. "What makes you say that?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.
"Besides Pup only reactin' to your name when that water creature had its hold on him, he runs to ya anytime somethin' spooky happens." Cajun pointed out.
Katz took that moment to analyzed Cajun's words. Yes, Courage responded to Katz's voice and as for running to him. . .back when the dummy transferred his soul into Katz's body and vice-versa, he couldn't move at all, and he couldn't speak unless someone used the trigger and handle inside the dummy's body, but he could hear, and Katz did hear Courage run into the room calling out his name. And Courage did come to Katz when the dog thought Cajun was planning to cook him. Could it be true?
"I see that wheel in your head turnin', pussy cat, and ya shouldn't be afraid to try and confess to Pup, or else it'll be too late, and you'll regret it," Cajun stated. "Christmas is right around the corner; ya should get somethin' special for Pup and Valentine's is comin' up too so ya should think about doin' somethin' romantic with Pup on that day."
"I never pegged you as a romantic," Katz said.
"If ya made an effort to get to know me, ya would've known." Cajun countered.
Katz certainly didn't want to agree with Cajun, so he grunted in reply as he slowly pushed himself up. "I think I'll make my way to bed. The sooner I sleep, the sooner I am healed and can clean the house before Courage comes home."
"Sounds like a plan." agreed Cajun.
Once Katz was on his feet, he watched as Cajun rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, grunting as he went and flopping forward onto the floor. Katz heard a muffled "Ow," come out of Cajun as he laid face-first on the ground.
"Do you need help?" Katz asked, dreading having to help Cajun as he felt the ache in his body.
"Just flip me on my back, and I'll sleep here on the floor," Cajun answered.
Katz slowly worked on getting down on his knees, with his already sore arms and with more grunts and groans, managed to push Cajun onto his back.
"Thanks, pussy cat," Cajun sighed gratefully.
Katz took a few steps towards the stairs, stopped, and meandered over to the couch. He grabbed the blanket draped on the sofa, dragged it over to where Cajun laid, and placed it on top of the fox.
Cajun was surprised by Katz's gesture but didn't show it. "Thanks again, pussy cat." he chirped.
"You're welcome," Katz said.
Katz pivoted and made his way to his room once again. Once he climbed up the steps and was in his room with the door shut, the cat flopped onto the bed, too exhausted to care if he wasn't laying in it correctly. Katz fell asleep almost instantly, but before he did, he had to wonder why Cupid decided to show up and hit him and Cajun with his arrows.
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Now, who was it that asked Eros for the favor in the first place? Well, it so happened that Eros returned home to the heavens only to be greeted by a God and Goddess.
"How did it go?" the Goose God inquired.
"Did Courage and the one he loves have a good time?" the Storm Goddess asked.
"I didn't hit Courage with my arrow," Eros admitted.
"What?" they both asked incredulously.
"I hit the cat and the fox with my arrows, and they both fell in love with the dog," continued Eros.
"WHAT?!" they both screamed.
"I wanted to thank the dog for helping me get with Trucky." the Goose God bemoaned.
"And I wanted to thank Courage for reuniting me with my Duncan." the Storm Goddess added as she hugged her precious Duncan. "So, Goose God, and I thought Courage spending time with the one he loves would be a nice early Christmas present from us both."
"But, you somehow managed to screw it up?" the Goose God demanded.
"I may have told the dog I made a mistake when I shot the fox with my last arrow, but I actually knew what I was doing. The dog will get with the cat in due time." Eros told them both.
"So, are you going to make Courage and the cat fall in love with each other?" the Storm Goddess asked.
"Seeing how they already are in love with one another and don't need my help, I'll let them get to that point on their own," Eros explained then left.
Yes, he knew Courage and Katz were in love with each other the moment he set eyes on them, and he could tell the cat was bitter towards the fox involving the dog. So, he gave a little push to get the ball rolling with this seemingly love triangle the cat thought was going on. He stayed and watched the whole thing with his iron arrows ready to cancel out the love his arrows created if things have gotten out of hand. Courage and Katz will become a couple in time; they certainly don't need outside help for that. After all, who knows love better than the God of Love himself?
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lori-alet · 4 years
Text
ML fanfic - Don't stand close to me
I spent the night almost without sleep, and had to get up earlier than usual.
Pajama party in girls company, arranged in my room, had consequences: drowsiness, headache, and a sore neck.
I went to the library with a little delay and was immediately sent to a complete knockout by Vladimir.
“Your brilliant change of image will not save you from work today,”
He said, disappointed at the mustache I had on my upper lip.
“Everything you need is on that table. You can proceed.”
He slammed the door behind my back, and left. I sighed while grabbing the cleaning materials. Dusting these old books would've probably take me the whole day to finish. They were many, and in many different languages. Some even in braille, for Raphael who spent a lot of his time reading despite his blindness. He was also the kindest to me, while Vladimir was very authoritative and very scary when angered. “Remind yourself to not lie.” I whispered.
Ethan terrified me, at first, but as I was his Chalice, it started to slowly change.
Sometimes he would hang around pretty women with his friend, Beliath, and that bothered me. I hated Beliath and his Don Jovan attitude. I wanted to spend more time with Ethan, who, despite his aversion to humans, didn't hate my presence.
As the oldest, Aaron was kind to me too, but I barely saw or had a talk with him. The one who spent all of his time inside and locked up was Ivan, the youngest vampire of this imposing manor, aggressive and often unable to control his bloodthirst. I shouldn't continue to blame and hate him for that accident, as he was turned only recently and the others were trying to help him get used to this new condition. The thought of that almost made me fall from the ladder I was on. Cursing Vladimir for giving this kind of punishment. Not that I didn't like cleaning and ordering books, but I'd rather not do the higher up shelves by myself.
"In case you forgot I'm still human, you jerk."
I said, pissed. If Ethan heard me, he would laugh. He was probably still sleeping on my bed. Sunlight was harmful to vampires, even if they lived inside a manor. I gave a quick look at the clock on the wall. It had gotten midday, and I was starving. I threw the cleaning cloth on the floor, and got out of the manor. The place I wanted to eat was my favorite, and it wasn't even far so it didn't take me long to arrive. I knew the town streets perfectly.
The barista girl was my friend from the orphanage. She smiled and offered me a seat, while I waited for her to bring me a cup of cappuccino and two sandwiches. After, I would ask for a piece of cheesecake and some pudding, or fruit salad. I was definitely going for a fill, and stay at the cafe for as much time I wanted to.
Who the fuck cared if the mighty Vladimir didn't see me at my workplace? He thinks he has more rights in that house manor, left to me by my deceased parents?
Hungry and angry, I took a bite from my sandwich.
“You look awful.”
Noemie’s voice woke me from those damn thoughts. She stood in front of me, with another smile.
“Is everything ok?” she asked, while putting away the empty plate.
I shook my head.
“The mustache looks cute.” Noemie said, as she sat on the chair in front of me.
“Don't ask about it.” I told her, and took another sip of cappuccino.
Sooner or later, I'll get my revenge on you, Beliath.
“What are you smirking at?” Noemie asked.
She stood up shortly afterwards, as her boss called her angrily and saved me from answering. I finished my cappuccino and stood up too, paid for my order and decided to take a short walk around the shops. I wanted to buy a new pair of leather gloves for Ethan. Not a book or a watch, he would probably hate those.
I stopped by a men's store that had a discount. My attention fell on a pair of goatskin leather gloves, with a zip on the side. I smiled, picked up the gloves and made my way to the cash desk.
“Please, pack them in a gift box.” I said.
The man stared at my face for a few seconds, not listening to my request and that bothered me.
“Excuse me, but can you...” Snap out of it!
I screamed internally.
“I'll take those and leave, if you don't want to take my money!”
Had to say this to snap him out of his daydream.
The weird guy packed my gift as I paid, and I noticed the manager staring at him, but I ignored it, taking my gift and leaving.
In the afternoon, the streets got more crowded and noisy. I walked across the river, trying to clear my thoughts. I sat on the bench, but got up after ten minutes, as seeing a kissing couple made me feel jealous. I wanted to fall in love and go on dates too, not a walk on the wild side.
A flashback of that night ran through my mind, reliving that scary moment in a single heartbeat. How I almost died, and how my life became my worst nightmare. It would have been better to die, was what I thought back then. I was nothing but a blood bag, living my days in a manor house ruled by six peculiar vampires. Saved from death by one of them and making me his chalice, or forbidding me from being free from that bond. Not that it was impossible to break it, there was a way and I just didn't like the first two options.
Options, yes... I thought.
I had two options: get what was mine from a solicitor, and kick those bastards out, or make them treat me as the rightful leader of that damn manor and had them pay their rent.
“Superior beings my ass,” I shouted, while a stranger laughed. “You've been messing with the wrong person.”
Fired up, I took a deep breath and resumed my walking. I still had some time left to sightsee since the weather was nice, but I changed my mind and decided to go back.
I pushed the door open and got inside the manor. Laid my stuff on the table and drank a glass of water. I returned to the library, but done with cleaning. Instead, I choose a book and went to the salon. I leaned on the couch, and started reading. The content was enjoyable, but still I yawned and slowly, I fell asleep.
I blinked my eyes open. There was a hand playing with my hair and another one holding the book between my legs. He let go of that long strand of black hair and I felt his soft fingers touching my cheek. His black leather gloves were thrown on the wooden table.
“Ethan,” I whispered. My eyes met his, he was kneeling on the carpet.
“You're cute when you sleep.” he said, smiling.
I sat myself up, removing that strand of hair from my face. He stood up on his feet.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“Because I'm hungry.” Ethan replied.
“You didn't go with Beliath?” I asked again, while stretching my arm to him, but he pushed it away.
“I don't want your blood.” he said, annoyed.
That puzzled me. Ethan managed his bloodthirst perfectly, but he would drink my blood every time after waking up. I stood up from the couch. Maybe he was feeling unwell, after last night.
“I'll go get some water from the kitchen.”
I left him there for a few minutes, and returned hiding the gift behind my back.
“It's for you.” I said, my heart beating fast.
He raised his head and his eyebrow. I loved it when he did that.
“What's this?” he asked, while taking the small package from my hand and unwrapping it.
I was a little scared he might reject it, but he didn't. He was surprised and happy.
Guess he liked it. I thought, while watching him.
Just that smile was very alluring. He didn't try the new gloves on, but he got up and took me in his arms. “Don't stand so close to me,” he said, as he went into his room in the blink of an eye.
Not able to hold back his rising feelings, Ethan put me on the bed and leaned over. His body on me. He delicately brushed off my hair to the side of the face, and stroked my cheek. As he looked into my eyes, I closed them and did not move away, as if knowing what would come next. He kissed my neck, and ran his finger down the center of my chest. I shivered from his touch.
To be continued...
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trashy-croud · 4 years
Text
Nevada: Nevada Desert
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Okay this level starts us off smack-bang in the middle of nowhere. At least it make you feel that way as you only find a small source of water, cacti and bushes around in this sandy wasteland. We encounter vultures once more along with snakes - although these snakes are far more different compared to the previous area we were in. Instead they are much smaller, but nonetheless do some damage despite their size.  We do some exploring to find a cave and to encounter our first secret of the level. Luckily there is only three in this level and finding them wasn’t as tedious as I would’ve thought of them being.
We basically did a drop of faith into barbed wire - dodging it only just, and encountering more snakes. Doing this enabled us to claim the first secret and oh god, was I thankful for the save crystal we got. We also got some flares and a small medi-pack. I felt like I was making a little collection of these because unlike the previous instalment, I’ve decided to actually try and not waste flare of medi-packs constantly. We’ll see how long it lasts. 
After claiming this secret and progressing forward. We stumbled upon a black box structure... thing. I suppose it was a container of some kind. We did different types of jumps to get over there, moving around in the upper levels of where we were only minutes ago. We got a whole new view of it all, and it felt very similar to how they would reference back to previous levels in the previous instalment, such as the Ice Palace where you could look onto the previous level. But rather than that here, we looked back on where we began in this level and interacted with it all in a much more different way. It was really nice.
After getting on top of this structure, I noticed there was a hole. And holes, mean jumping in. Without hesitation. There was a crap ton of hesitation from my end. I dangled and then felt like not doing it. It wasn’t until my dad loomed over my shoulder and made me jump that Lara would finally fall into the hole. We landed in water, which is all good, but it wasn’t good for my poor heart. 
After the swimming, we encountered a section that I have gotten stuck on multiple times. I cannot do precision jumping for the life of me as we were at a canyon, water beneath us so there shouldn’t be too much to worry about, right? Wrong, you jump on platforms and a vulture comes to great you and knocks you into the murky depths below. But that ain’t all, because he proceeded to do this several times. Purely because I couldn’t shoot and stay on the platform long enough to shoot him. My own fault, sure, but, let’s just push the blame onto the vulture just this once.
We managed the reach a climbable wall in this canyon but the way it was laid out reminded me of the Temple of Xian - just over the lava pit where the ladder splits halfway across so you can’t climb up the way you came. Sneaky, I must say, but it also meant that after I got the second secret that hid itself in a cubby by this ladder, I couldn’t climb up and carry on. So we had to make our way back up again. Oh how I started to loathe this because it takes me several attempts to even get back to where I was in the first place due to me pressing the wrong buttons or not timing my jumps very well.
Once we got back to where we were, we climbed up the ladder and made a couple more jumps, only to encounter another snake and a rather tricky situation. There is a hole in the ledge next to you, what do you think is the best thing to do? Jump into the hole? Oh, no, don’t do that. That’s a slippery slope to your demise and having to do it all over again. So we hang off the edge and let go before holding on again super quick and swinging across to the side. With some monkey bars and a ladder, we made it up to where we needed to be. We spotted a little lever with a boulder facing it - oh god another boulder trap. I thought we left those in India?! But there we spotted a cable leading down into the cave from the lever and being the nosy sod I am, I just had to follow it. So down we went to spot a big old box of T.N.T. I swear I sung “T.N.T.” by AC/DC throughout the rest of my time playing this level. It got stuck in my head for so long. We went back up to go activate it but we didn’t have a detonator key. So off we went to go find one, and this meant trekking up into the mouth of the waterfall. Y’know, where I fell in. A lot.
Reaching the entrance way of the cave, I decided to sacrifice a save crystal and began my journey further in, oh boy was it tedious. Sometimes Lara didn’t jump, other time she jumped too soon and I was about ready to lose it. But we finally made it and there was an overhang which we got to crawl under and find a ladder. Sneaky, very sneaky. Then I heard a snake hiss and the secret chime. Man, I was so ready for this, there was back flipping, snake killing and the works before we managed to pick up our set of uzis. Actually what I said wasn’t a hundred percent right. More like I back flipped, failed to land on the ledge, tried again, landed on it, got poisoned by the snake, killed it, wasted a medi-pack and then picked up the beloved uzis. I was an absolute fool.
After claiming the last secret of this level, which all were surprisingly close to one another, we managed to progress further on with this level. We encountered another snake as we left the overhang, and then encountered our first person of the Nevada levels. Or just in general if we ain’t counting Tony the Loon. If we are, he was the first man in this level we encountered. I was easy to deal with him as we also searched around a bit, before climbing up, I went to go check out the little cavern to the side, only to find a rather large drop which I wasn’t willing to jump into any time soon. There was also a save crystal which I picked up. I was thinking about going down but I knew my own luck was I would let go and fall to my demise. So I scratched that idea and instead went out to climb up the waterwheel and to explore more. Now I died a couple times in the water in the area we got to next. This is because, I hate swimming levels. Anything involving swimming, I cannot do for the life of me. This was no exception to that.
So there’s also some hidden levers, one which is in the other pool to get some items - I believe they were grenades? But then one in the passageway to actually make some progress. I didn’t know where it was at all and it wasn’t until I had died several times that I’d manage to actually find the switch. Totally didn’t press action at random to see if I could find anything. You can’t accuse me of doing that. You have no proof.
Anyway, all these switches and swimming led us to being able to divert the water towards the waterwheel and also enabled us to activate the elevator as we see a small cutscene of it coming up. This is where that side cave was and where the big drop was. Turns out that’s an elevator shaft. Learn something new everyday.
Making our way back to this elevator shaft, we found the detonator key sitting inside, as well as another man who seemed to think it was cool to hitch a ride in the elevator. Won’t blame him, though curse him for taking the easy route in there. So now came the challenge of getting back to the spot where the T.N.T. laid dormant. Eventually I gave up with attempting some jumps and instead let the water take me over the cliff and to climb my way back up again. You know, like the weakling I am. (Or as my sister says.)
As we got back to the detonator, we plunged it and had to jump quickly out of the way. Don’t think I forgot that boulder trap so quickly! No way was I forgetting it and letting that death loom over me. As we went into the caves to see the damage we’d done, I was quickly reminded of the T.N.T. in Natla’s Mines, during the first instalment of this series. Perhaps this was a throw back to that as it changed the environment we once new and would have to climb our way up and out. This is when my Dad decided to get involved.
I saved once more and would up outside some wire gates/walls, and my dad told me it’d be funny if I walked into it or touched them. That’s never a good sign, and my dad has clearly played this level and remembers some things about it because it all leads to death. Wire metal fences = death. They are electric and although I was a bit annoyed he got me to go into them, I was interested in the effect they used to show that Lara has been electrocuted. It almost looked magical-esque. It was a strange appearance, not that I’m complaining. I just haven’t seen Lara electrocuted before in the previous games, I mean we could in the first game with Thor’s room in St. Francis Folly, but it wasn’t that sort of effect. It was just interesting to see this slight difference and how they told the death apart from others, rather than just having her fall, the also gave that effect. I thought it was pretty neat so just ignore me if you’d like.
Anyway, after discovering it was electric, we went on searching around and found a crawl space, not only that, we could jump up to find a small area filled with water with two switches. I’m not sure what one of the switches did but the other opened another door. Ah, the switch to open a door, to pull another switch. You gotta love Tomb Raider games. After pulling all of the switches, we made our way to a water tank, after finishing off two guys who came charging towards us. This water tank helped us to get higher ground and to be able to jump into the compound that’d electrocute us if we tried to go in by any other means. Did you know that if the fences are electric, that electric current an pass through the metal switch on it? Funny that, ain’t it? So yes, we had a couple of deaths by electrocution during this part of the level. I mean, even accidentally touching it, this level showed me no mercy whatsoever!
We powered through, taking care of more guys in this compound and would finally make sure the fences were no longer electric from flipping an entirely different switch, hidden behind a keycard-locked door. Fun times. After this, we took the bike out and would finish the level by jumping over another fence with it!
This all triggered a cutscene in which Lara has knocked herself out, she got where she wanted but got a little injured in the process. The comments by the two guards referred to her as a “crazy geek freak” whereas the other suggests she’s an “eco-terrorist” but the first guard completely dismisses that idea as they take her away to the compound. And that’s it for this level. A very interesting level which paid homage to some of the things that they did in the previous games, that’s what it looked like to me at least, with the revisiting of somewhere we’ve been before but from a different view, and the use of T.N.T. changing the area we knew once before. It was a difficult level but we powered through. Now onto the next level - “High Security Compound”. Why is my dad laughing so much? Oh God, what’s coming next?!
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claybefree · 4 years
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Excerpt- Mule Skinner Blues
The man guided Kit up the trail until it merged within a hair's breadth of treeline next to the tracks, running like that until it met the railyard. The two lines coming in from the outskirts split and branched into a multitude of tracks like veins of a leaf stem spreading across acres of junctions and ballast rock.. The trail there was halted abruptly by a wall of chain link, complete with a man sized hole in it. Not far was what must have been a dead line as along it’s back were parked huge lengths of what Kit guessed to be track laying equipment, low slung, enveloped with clumps of Queen Anne’s lace and left to rot away. Hulking wrecks with a rainbow of multicolored patina, years of different owners individual paint schemes peeling away over one another. Red and yellow gave way to yellow and orange which gave way to blue, with the deep burgundy of Lord Rust presiding over all. 
“Okay, Hobo 101 meets under that barge there,” the thin man said. 
“What, underneath?”
“Yeah, don’t worry it ain’t goin anywhere.” he said with a grin. “It’s a Sunday so there ain’t that much personnel but if you see a white truck a comin’ you better coon it, quick.”
In response to Kit’s confused look he said “Here, allow me to demonstrate.”
Hustling through the hole in the fence, he started off across the sparse grass hunched almost to squatting, hands just above the ground as if he were about to drop to all fours. A sneaky kind of lope, Kit decided, that looked almost exactly like a racoon. 
The weeds were almost four foot tall and clustered thickly so that once underneath, they were well concealed.  Kit crawled up next to the thin man and lay across the rails, the smell of creosote impregnated timbers all around. They peered out through a multitude of top heavy stalks each bearing a small continent of impossibly intricate white flowers waving gently in the breeze. 
“Okay, so if you run across a worker that wants to talk, it’s probably safe. Most of these guys work a twelve hour shift, so bullshitting with a hobo is a fun way to burn time. Plus you might find out something useful. You’ll know a bull if you run across one, they usually cuss and yell. There’s this one red-faced old drunk who works here, means as hell. If you see him my recommendation is you haul ass.”
As they were talking, the rumbling in the earth beneath them grew to where it filled the air around them and a locomotive rolled out from between the lines of freight heading towards them. Kit resisted the urge to wave at the engineer. The thin man paused, waiting for the building fury of diesel fumes and machine grumble to pass them. A rogue’s gallery of battle scarred boxcars followed behind as the train picked up speed heading into the wild heart of forest just outside the yard.
“So the mainline he’s on is headed East, besides he’s local. You need a mountain train. The line on the other side goes North. That’s the one you want. At some point he’ll make a left, hopefully, at which point you’ll be on the mighty Highline. Ride that til you can’t anymore. It stops at the Pacific ocean. Think you can manage that?”
“I think I can.” Kit chuckled. 
Rows of oil cars rumbled past, black as pitch with streaks of pitch spilling down the sides from the lid. Then a number of boxcars, pale sun-faded yellow with black doors slid open. Red company emblem a flying “W” tucked in amid a riot of graffiti, brash hieroglyphs that might have been slurs in purple and green.   
“Now if you wind up on a boxcar, make sure you jam the door open, so you don’t accidentally wind up locked inside. Also, I wouldn’t recommend riding topside of a trash bin or a coal car, you’ll freeze to death.”
“Freeze? Ain’t it August?” Kit said, “What month is it anyway?”
“Don’t matter where you’re going, friend.” He smiled. “You do got a jacket in that rig, I’m guessing?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay- so the ideal is that type car right there, a grainer,” he gestured at the silver and grey walled construct rolling past, it’s box battered and slightly concave from too many years being in service. Black iron trucks and wheels spinning diligently away underneath.  “You’ll want the ass end of things, shetler wise, under that triangular edge. Not the side where the mechanics are located, mind you, the brakes and such, there’s no real estate there. Oh and make sure it’s got a porch. Otherwise you’ll have to ride suicide which is not nearly as fun as it sounds.”  
“Growing up on a farm so I learned early on how to behave myself around heavy equipment.”
“That’s pretty comforting, actually. Oh yeah, see those three bolts on the wheels? If they’re going to fast to count, then the train is moving too fast to catch. When you go for it, make sure you get both hands on the thing before you haul your shit aboard. If it pulls out of your hand it’s going too fast and you’ll need to ditch it into the rocks. Ballast rash ain’t no fun but I think you understand the importance of not winding up under the trucks.”
“Imagine that’d put a hitch in your giddy-up.” Kit said.
Noticing the grim turn of his mouth, the thin man said, “I know this is a lot to take in but be careful, don’t die and you’ll be a gentleman of the yards in no time.” and slapped his shoulder.
“No chance in talking you into coming with me is there?”
“And take the chance of watching you get chewed into hamburger? Sorry but no.” he laughed. “Besides, I got to stay here and mind Screwdriver. At least until he realizes his lady love ain’t coming back anytime soon, and then probably a week or so after that. Maybe I’ll talk him into going home to the farm. Hopefully you won’t have to wait long. Just do me a favor and don’t start drinking until you’ve successfully boarded your ride, okay?”
“Will do.” 
“See you on down the line, Kit-By-the-Way.” and with a smile he doffed his floppy hat, scrambled out from under the car and was gone into the treeline. 
 In the end, it took no time at all. Hidden away from the heat of the day, he dozed until awoken by the familiar rumbling that sounded like the end of all things. The engine passed in a blaze of orange and yellow, gleaming bright as a sun in the afternoon light. He picked a grain car and made for it straight away, making sure not to linger in the sight line along the locomotive’s edge, the only hitch being almost getting decapitated by the skeleton frame of an empty lumber rack. The beast was going slow enough to catch with ease, and as luck would have it, the porch was enclosed in a steel case with a large circle cut into it that he could squeeze into. Once inside, the diamond plate steel of the floor was clean and spacious, a fresh coat of battleship grey. There were even half a half dozen comic books left by another traveller. Spider-man versus the Rhino. Black Panther. He crawled inside his enclave of welded steel and made himself hidden and comfortable.
Just as the thin man said it would, the train slowly thundered out the yard and made a hard left, heading North, at which point it stopped entirely. Fearing he would be discovered, Kit remained sequestered and read his comic books. After an hour of this he ate a can of ravioli, raw, slurping cold meat sauce from his fingers.  During the second hour he ventured outside to pee into the rock between the cars and then quickly hid himself away again, even though he was completely enveloped entirely by forest and had seen not a soul since they’d left the yard. He developed a welcome case of the stares and let his gaze drift across the lines of the coupling he was told not to cross, even mimicking the shape of it with his two hands, cupped one inside the other. He watched the way the ladder on the car across from his rose, battered and worn, to the top edge, and convinced himself he didn’t need to climb it.  Still the train sat motionless with not even an occasional tremor to indicate shunting yet for this or that. Finally, with nothing else to do, he broke into the handle of Jack he had hidden away in the depths of his bag, having endured the nagging weight of it for what seemed like an eternity.
“Well, the old guy didn’t say nothing about drinking after I got on the train, which I did manage to do. Seems like time to celebrate to me.”  He would have to portion it out if he could, as he had no idea how far it was to California. Tipping it back, the burn in his throat and consequently his stomach was like a lover’s embrace. Everything immediately softened, the colors of the woods brightened, the filth covering everything fell away and the world didn’t seem so big and scary. 
Eventually he heard a series of bangs from far away as the engine began to pull the train along it’s chain length to move out, a clamor that echoed well into the woods and back towards town. His turn came and he was thrown back into the hole, the slack jerked taught, and the great assembly of steel and iron and rust began to roll. Naturally he took another shot to celebrate his departure. 
It occurred to him that unlike the tractors he’d grown up riding, this was more a moving city as it was a piece of equipment. It was not a smooth ride, which surprised him, and there was always a sound of metal creaking somewhere. As they gained speed, and the woods parted and they spilled out onto another limitless ocean of wheat fields, he realized that everything left in his mind would shortly be pushed out by it. The train would consume his entire existence, there was no arguing with it, the train was terrible and absolute. 
Presently the woods surrendered to wheat fields spreading away from both sides of the train. Off to his left the sun fell below the racing clouds, setting the whole thing alight into a golden blaze that threatened to consume him. A conflagration of yellow and orange set to consume the prairies. The train, picking up even more speed, rocked him like a child.
“Sadie-girl, I sure wish you could see this,” he said quietly. 
The engineer poured on more speed such as to send them flying through towns and countryside. It sounded like a mile up the track from him but Kit could hear him laying on the horn as they roared through each crossing. Towns that seemed only to be out there to harvest wheat, maybe they were able to muster a downtown, sometimes just a convergence of a road and rail, with few houses thrown in just to indicate a population. Occasionally there was a water tower or a fallen down depot giving a name to the place to be noted and then immediately forgotten. Monolith grain elevators stood vigil, rising windowless out of the landscape, clapboarded in faded black or white or grey, an architecture completely foreign to him. As dark fell and the train picked up more speed, he became drunk and yelled at it all, incoherent, raging against his own insignificance.     
Morning found him under his leather jacket, body inside the hole and head on his boots as a pillow on the perforated steel walkway outside, woken by a light rain or cloud vapor accumulating on his face. In a literal fog, his waking gaze followed the rail, polished to a mirror finish and passing smoothly beneath him like a pair of silvery ribbons. The pace of the locomotive seemed to not have abated in the least, and he figured he must have caught the famed hotshot he was looking for. He sat up. The softness of the fog obscured the morning, but as near as he could tell the sun was off behind them. They must have turned West somewhere in the night, and his friend was right, he was freezing. 
No coffee to be had, he rummaged around the pile he’d made to sleep under until he found the bottle of Jack, on it’s lower third, and took a three finger belt. The mist cleared enough to reveal a martian landscape. They were in the mountains sure enough. Maybe it was the hangover, maybe just being unfamiliar, but everything looked jagged and angular and desolate. Tall aspens, he gathered, maybe doug fir. Pines of every kind. The only familiar thing was the rail flying beneath him, it’s gauge holy and absolute, punctuated with a million crossties.  
“Sadie, I don’t particularly care for all this ponderosa bullshit, no ma’am,” and pulled again on the bottle in his lap. “Too many pines, rocks and dust. Not enough green. I feel like I might dry up and blow away as it is.”  He stood up and stretched, swaying slightly due as much to the train as the fact he was not at all sober. He threw his jacket over his shoulders and clutched the bottle by the throat for good measure. Didn’t want it getting away from him. 
At this point the engine up the line let loose with a blast from its horn, sending ghosts of echoes to fill the canyons. 
“Ah yes, good morning to you too, Captain!” Kit shouted back. “You heavy handed sonofabitch!”
Suddenly the earth fell away into a chasm that must have been a thousand feet deep, the floor of it buried in the fog and unseen. He grabbed onto the ladder mounted to the outside corner of the grain car. “Holy shit. I guess that’s what all the noise was about.” 
The trestle was immense, a miraculous web of cross bracing filling the valley in what amounted to a straight line through the air yet neither side had a rail or walkway. It occurred to him to just let go and fall away into the clouds. The rocks or river or whatever below waiting would hold him close until the vultures and wolves and whatever else came to claim him, and he could belong to the forest from then on. Listening to the pines whispering, the occasional train whistle, coyotes crying, perhaps he could become a whisper in that valley himself. 
Instead the locomotive pulled him across the abyss to the other side before he had formed a proper mind to leap. He sat down hard, thumbed off the top and pulled on the Jack once again. There was a bag of beef jerky stashed somewhere he’d considered for breakfast, but decided against it. 
“Hey Sadie, wake up and come look at this,” he yelled over his shoulder. “Purple mountains majesty and all that.” For a moment it seemed the same shade as the lavender she had left on the dash of the Toronado. Delicate purple flowers windswept from the open window and perched on a skin of turquoise leather.  Maybe they should have stayed in the farmhouse, he thought. 
He lamented the he never showed her the network of rabbit tunnels crisscrossing the yard, long mounds of soft earth stretching this way and that between the house and the barn. He decided he would hang on just in case he ever saw her again so he could describe this to her. The soft earth with rabbits hidden beneath, the ground yielding underfoot oddly comforting. He drank a little more and thought these things and in this way passed into California. 
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fire-the-headcanons · 5 years
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Follow the Beacon Summer—Summertime
[If you don’t like angst, go ahead and start here! Otherwise, here’s a link to the Masterpost. A fun chapter this time.]
Summer squinted through the rifle’s scope at the apparently deserted building, searching each window for any sign of movement. Of course, if a teacher had come in on Saturday to grade papers they’d hardly be pacing around their classrooms, but at least none of the lights were on.
Back on the field, preparations for the dance were now well underway. She took a few seconds to locate her mother and Huang, helping Tai and a few other students put up the large tents near the cafeteria doors. All busy and distracted.
Summer spun the rifle, extending Gungnir into spear form with a satisfying click. A twist and a shove let the shaft separate from the gun. Clamping the harpoon between her teeth, she slotted in the special Dust magazine she’d prepared.
It wasn’t a difficult shot. A huge banner stretched over the cafeteria doors, taped to the gutter. She took aim at the far side and fired, the modified ice round striking the tape dead center and freezing into a ball about the size of her fist.
Nobody on the field batted an eye at the sound of the rifle discharge, and she hadn’t expected them to. Gunfire was just background noise at a combat school like Signal, even on a Saturday. Three other shots had echoed over the grounds by the time the ice melted enough to fall from the wall, taking the soggy tape off with it. The banner fluttered down, still anchored on one side, to hang over the security camera on the corner.
Summer grinned and let the harpoon drop from her teeth into her hand. It glided into the rifle’s barrel with ease, and she aimed over the building before pressing the button on the stock. The Dust cores in the rifle and arrow glowed to life, repulsing each other, and she braced against the gun to keep it from flying in the opposite direction. The half-spear arced into the air, stabilizer fins popping from the shaft as soon as it left the barrel, and disappeared onto the school roof.
Perfect.
Her mother emerged from the tents carrying a stepladder toward the banner, and Tai sprang forward to stall. At best, they had a minute before the security camera was clear. Summer tossed her rifle into the box of tablecloths she’d been sent to retrieve and stepped from the bushes onto the sidewalk. Nobody spared her a glance as she strode right up to the wall and back out of sight of the field.
Around the corner, the ladder rattled under her mom‘s footsteps. “Ah, the tape’s wet. Tai, could you grab some more?”
“Sure, Mrs. Rose.”
The banner twitched as her mom started to pull it back into place. Summer dropped the box, grabbed the rifle, and activated the Dust cores again—this time to attract. The gun nearly leapt from her hands, but she was ready and tightened her grip as she flew into the air. The angle of attraction threatened to drag her against the brick, but she ran up the side of the building using Gungnir like a rappelling line.
Below her, the camera emerged as her mother dragged the banner away, but she rolled onto the roof out of sight. She retrieved the arrow and returned it to the rifle, folding her weapon to its most compact form before sliding it down the back of her hoodie. It took a moment to get it to clip to the magnetic holster, but finally it caught with a soft click and Summer moved for the entrance.
The door opened without trouble, and she peeled the tape from the latch before slipping inside and letting it lock behind her. No cameras in the emergency stairwell, luckily, though one pointed at the ground floor exit. Summer headed down to the second floor instead, and gave the handle a slow and tentative push. It still creaked louder than she liked.
Other than the faint growls of captive Grimm in a classroom, the hallway was silent and deserted. If the door opened more than a foot the cameras would catch it, but she’d always been on the small side. It wasn’t hard to squeeze through. The bank of lockers that ran right up to the doorframe provided a blind spot—she jumped, grabbed the top, and pulled herself up as quietly as she could manage. No one came tearing out of the classrooms at the sound of wobbling metal, though the Grimm growled a little louder as they sensed her nerves.
Her boots on the locker roofs sounded almost like swords clanging together, but she made it to the next classroom without falling from the narrow ledge or alerting anyone. Another door she could only open a crack waited at the other end.
This room was unique, with windows into the courtyard that were nearly blocked by a large tree. Summer slid to the floor and inched forward along the wall to the blind spot behind the teacher’s desk. It was easy to climb from the window to a sturdy branch and make her way to the ground. Leaves shielded her from the camera at the far end of the yard, and any movement would be passed off as a gust of wind.
It was even easier to climb back in through the window to the headmaster’s office, always left unlocked. No cameras either, thanks to the same employee privacy law that provided a blind spot behind the desk upstairs. Summer exhaled with satisfaction as she sat in the grand leather chair.
And nearly fell out of it again as the phone rang.
Just someone leaving a message. She shook herself mentally. The computer snapped awake at her touch, demanding a password. Summer grinned and started to type.
SUMM3RTAIM3.
It opened instantly, and she leaned back in the chair with a delighted smile. What should she dig through first? …His travel arrangements would probably still be in his email, if the state of his office at home was anything to go by. She clicked on the application.
Password:
“Oh, come on, who logs out of their email?!” She slapped the desk and tried again. SUMM3RTAIM3.
Incorrect password.
Just perfect. The phone wasn’t helping her think either. “You’ve reached the office of Headmaster Azraq of Signal Academy, please leave a message...”
She scowled and typed BALT515.
Incorrect password.
She didn’t know any others. Maybe she should go through his latest documents instead? They were a lot less likely to hold anything useful...
There was one more thing she could try. She started to type, ST3RLINGRO—
“Summer, knock it off.”
She froze, hands hovering over the keyboard, staring at the phone in abject horror. “B-Balt?” her voice squeaked so badly she winced.
“Come on, pick up.” He didn’t sound mad, but he definitely wasn’t happy either. “Azraq set up the webcam, I can see you in there.”
Summer hung her head and pressed the button. “Hi, Uncle Balt.”
“I thought you talked about this,” the desk speaker said.
“I didn’t get to talk,” she grumbled, leaning back and kicking at the floor so the chair spun slowly. “They did all the talking. I just want to know what they’re hiding from us!”
“It’s Huntsman business. Summer, they don’t tell me about their secret missions either.”
She paused, halfway through her second rotation. “…What, really?”
“I love Azraq and I trust his judgement. And he tells me what I need to know, even when Ozpin disapproves.”
Ozpin.
A wild grin stole its way over her face as she stared at the phone in disbelief. She’d been hoping to get an imprecise location, or more cryptic and coded messages. Maybe today hadn’t been a total loss. “Ozpin?“ she repeated. The new headmaster of Beacon Academy, the mysterious academic that everyone joked was too young to attend the school, let alone run it? The one that had been appointed amid whispers of nepotism and conspiracy? That Ozpin?
The line went silent. And then very...not silent.
“Swear jar, Uncle Balt!” Summer laughed, logging out of the computer and ending the call. This was worth getting grounded.
Well, no point in hiding now. She walked right out of the office, around the corner, and out the front door.
“Summer? Where were you? I thought you were helping them set up for the dance on the back lawn!” her mom demanded, nearly dropping the box of tablecloths Summer had abandoned earlier.
“Azraq’s office.” She didn’t bother to hide her grin.
Tai stared at her, disbelieving. “What happened to stealth?!”
 “Were you involved with this?” Huang scowled down at him.
“No, definitely not.”
He shook his head, almost laughing. “I ought to ground you.”
“You broke into the school?” her mom demanded. “We told you he was leaving for a classified mission, and you broke into his office?!“
“No! Calm down! The doors were unlocked, so I just…walked in.”
Her mom didn’t look convinced, but she also had no way of knowing Summer had spent the better part of two years figuring out that route through the security cameras. “You’re going to make your uncles a batch of apology cookies, and then you’re grounded for a month.”
That was way too much! “Mom!“
“That sounds like an excellent idea, Claret,” Huang growled at Tai.
His jaw dropped. “Dad, come on! We’ll miss the dance!”
“Then you two shouldn’t argue if you want to convince us to let you go.” Her mom folded her arms. Summer and Tai both grumbled acknowledgement, and the four of them headed back toward the field.
Is Uncle Azraq even going to be home in time for the party? Wait. Maybe— “Is Uncle Azraq even going to be home from Solitas in time?” she blurted.
“Nice try, kiddo,” Huang said with a glare.
Summer grinned. “So he’s not in Solitas.”
Her mom grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the Xiao Longs. “You’re going to have to try harder than that if you want to convince me to let you go to the dance, Summer.”
“I wasn’t going anyway,” she said. “Sorry, Tai! Balt caught me. They rigged the webcam. See you Monday!”
“Yeah, sure,” he sighed. Behind him, Huang looked like he wanted to laugh.
[Looks like Qrow isn’t the only Grimm Reaper fan in Team STRQ...I couldn’t resist giving Summer a weapon that also took inspiration from Maria’s. The gravity Dust cores are awesome and I’m kind of sad the show probably won’t utilize them more]
Next Chapter: Taiyang—Baking the Rules
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