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medea10 · 2 years

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My Review of Kakegurui

How did I get into this anime? I was curious about this particular title for quite some time. There aren’t really that many anime titles where the main premise is about gambling and even when one exists, the anime itself stinks.

Hyakkaou Private Academy is the home to the rich and powerful’s offspring. Basically, the entire school is filled with recipients of the lucky sperm club. On the surface, the school seems to be doing its job of teaching these kids the real world. But once classes are over, everyone gambles. Take your pick of the games! Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you go broke, and sometimes you become someone’s pet bitch. The student council has a system in place where if someone falls into debt due to gambling, they become ‘house pets’. The boys are known as ‘fidos’ and the girls are known as ‘mittens’. If they become a house pet, they must wear a tag around their neck and get harassed by classmates.

Ryouta Suzui is one such unlucky mongrel as he found himself falling to Mary Saotome. Mary is pretty handy when it comes to gambling and has crumbled several unlucky students. Enter Yumeko Jabami! She’s the newest transfer student to Hyakkaou and to Mary, an easy target to take advantage of. Unfortunately for Mary, she’s going to learn the hard way in a game of “fuck around and find out”. Yumeko is loving these games, but she loves figuring out the cheaters of the game even more.

Who’s bluffing? Poker face or kill face?! Who will win? Who will lose? Enter the rabbit hole to find out.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB…AND THE OTHER DUB: So, things started off turbulent as this anime was in Netflix jail. Only recently has Netflix decided to give the U.S. audience some anime on a week-by-week basis. ONLY SOME ANIME! But seeing as this came out in 2017, unless you were living in Japan or had a VPN, you were shit outta luck to seeing this. But it eventually got released to U.S. Netflix with several languages available. Not only that but the live action Kakegurui is also on Netflix, as well as recent spin-off Kakegurui Twin. So, Netflix has total control over the Kakegurui franchise. End of story, right?

As of 2021, Sentai Filmworks licensed Kakegurui. Not a big surprise as Sentai has decided to pick up several animes that were exclusive to sites like Amazon, Crunchyroll, and Netflix. But then Sentai decided to give Kakegurui a dub. Replace the L.A. based voices with the ones in Houston. I’m not sure what and why all of this is happening and why it’s absolutely necessary to have two English dubs when one dub was recorded not too long ago. The only other time I see this happen is with Dragon Ball and whenever Animax grabs a title. Was this payback from when Netflix redubbed Neon Genesis Evangelion? I know Sentai has nothing to do with Evangelion, but most of the people of that company do. Here’s my opinion on the matter. I prefer the Netflix dub for Kakegurui. Also, the Netflix dub to Evangelion sucks eggs and should be wiped from this Earth. Moving on!

What’s really weird about this is that if you go to Hidive’s website, they don’t even have a page for Kakegurui. I guess they just have the rights to put it out on blu-ray and not the right to stream it. Here are the voice actors, yo!

JAPANESE CAST: *Yumeko is played by Saori Hayami (known for Shinobu on Demon Slayer, Shouko on A Silent Voice, Ononoki on Monogatari, Kagura on Fairy Tail, Tsuruko on Anohana, Himawari on Boruto, and Fubuki on One Punch Man)

*Ryouta is played by Tatsuya Tokutake

*Mary is played by Minami Tanaka (known for Lily on Zombieland Saga, Nako on Hitoribocchi, and Hinata on Assassination Classroom)

NETFLIX CAST: *Yumeko is played by Erika Harlacher (known for Violet Evergarden, Kou/Star Maker on Sailor Moon Stars, Shinobu on Demon Slayer, Crusch on Re:Zero, Ami on Toradora, and Ruler on Fate/Apocrypha)

*Ryouta is played by Griffin Burns (known for Tadano on Aggretsuko, Jintan on Anohana, Colt on Attack on Titan, Muichirou on Demon Slayer, and Doppio on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pt. 5)

*Mary is played by Kira Buckland (known for Setsuna on Yashahime, Beatrice on Re:Zero, Umi on Love Live, Mitsuri on Demon Slayer, Izumo on Blue Exorcist, Luculia on Violet Evergarden, and Reimi on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pt. 4)

SENTAI CAST: *Yumeko is played by Estelle Link

*Ryouta is played by Adam Gibbs (known for Shinichi on Parasyte, Seita on Grave of the Fireflies, Oreki on Hyouka, Hiroomi on Beyond the Boundary, Mitsuo on Golden Time, and Shuu on Domestic Girlfriend)

*Mary is played by Christina Kelly (known for Alice on Food Wars, Sophia on Chunibyo, Kouko on Golden Time, Nanami on Pet Girl of Sakura Hall, and Mine on Akame ga Kill)

SHIPPING: Oh, there are a lot of ships that people flock to with this series. But aside from seeing all the obvious lesbianism going down at the student council, we do see obvious stuff when it comes to Itsuki’s feelings for Kaede. Other than that, some might point to the words exchanged between Ryouta and Yumeko in the season one finale. But there’s one thing everyone should know while watching this anime. The only ship that matters here is Any Character x Gambling.

Ryouta has no chance of satisfying Yumeko unless he can bring the heat in a game. The way I see it, unless Ryouta makes Yumeko moist down there in a game, it’s not gonna happen. We only saw it once, so it’s not off the table.

In season two, we did see a bit of unrequited love. It’s been clear from her debut that Kirari’s secretary Sayaka loves her. Imagine that, a lesbian named Sayaka! Never saw that before, hahaha! Kirari did say some things to Sayaka that could be taken as a dismissal. But then we get the scene where Sayaka loses a game and has to jump from a building and Kirari jumps off with her. I don’t know if it’s love or just bitches being crazy.

And as for Kakegurui Twin, Mary Saotome has a childhood friend named Tsuzura. Ever since Mary transferred to this school, Tsuzura has been hanging with Mary. Not just that, but sees Mary as her prince. And yes, her imagination goes that far, wedding dress and all. That’s great and everything but what the hell happened to Tsuzura in the main series? If she loves Mary Saotome so much, where the hell was she in those 24 episodes?

CAN’T READ MY, CAN’T READ MY…: Let’s talk about the kill faces. Everyone has one! Even the men! But in this anime, the kill face is majority a women’s sport. Let’s face it, the majority of this anime is focused on the women and how many kill faces one can make in the span of a 22-minute episode. Usually, we’ll see this when the random character feels cocky or whenever Yumeko catches them cheating or lying.

Seriously though, the only face that scares me is whenever Yumeko gets angry when Midari does something to anger her. Out of all the scary faces I see in this anime, Yumeko’s displeasure of being with Midari is the one that scares me the most. Yumeko is actually nicer to the characters who literally poisoned her than she is to Midari.

ENDING TO SEASON ONE: It’s been pretty clear that the student council has been running this show from day one. President Kirari put in the system of “fidos” and “mittens” for those who are in debt from gambling. Not only that, but draws up “life plans” for those poor souls. These life plans are pretty much what they sound like; to force the debtor to give up any dreams of their own in place of what the student council has written out for you. Mary was not down with that and slowly crawled her way out of debt. But we’ve got other shit going down from the inside. There seems to be a traitor in the student council.

Yumeko has had her fair share of run-ins with members of the student council with different outcomes. Yumeko defeated Itsuki (the chick who likes taking off people’s fingernails) and Itsuki in return was dropped from student council. Yuriko however defeated Yumeko and that caused Yumeko to temporarily become a house pet. And then the battle between Yumeko and Midari (the eyepatch chick with a death wish) ended with Yumeko as the victor. And then Yumeko took out Yumemi! But that last one revealed someone who was plotting Yumemi’s downfall and that was the student council treasurer, Kaede.

Kaede is a cold, calculating, blunt man. And if I might add, perfect casting choice for Tomokazu Sugita! Good on you, Japan! More so, he’s one of a few characters that didn’t expose numerous “kill faces” when up against Yumeko. And I gotta say, quite refreshing to see more male characters. I love the heavy lesbianism as much as the next girl, but mix it up sometimes! Kaede had high ambitions of becoming student council president and was willing to screw anybody over to get there. So, will he be able to take Yumeko down in a match? Nah! Kaede embarrassed himself in front of a large crowd that included Yumemi’s fan club, the entire student council, and even the president. Kaede was then stripped of his title, went into a hysterical coma, and his hair went all Marie Antoinette.

Moving away from that drama, Yumeko is about to go face-to-face with the president of the student council, Kirari. Both girls are intimidating and have an unbelievable love for gambling. The stakes for this game are pretty dire as if either girl loses, they must drop out of the school, never to return. Long story short, it was a tie so neither girl has to leave. We learn a few things about these characters in this episode, however that’s not the important part for the shipping community. For the shippers, some clever wordage was tossed around that could give us a dropped hint for Yumeko x Ryouta. I think Yumeko and Ryouta’s words in the final episode were meant differently from what we’re all thinking. On another note, I’m not sure if it was Kirari playing or if it was her doppelganger vice president.

In the final couple of minutes of season one, Itsuki nurses Kaede (who is still in his hysterical coma). Kirari disbands the student council. And Yumeko is still gambling for the sheer thrill of it.

SEASON TWO: As I said before, Kirari is disbanding the student council. Add to that, she’s making the next student council election a big gambling event. The one with the most chips at the end of the month becomes the next student council president. Not just that, but the winner also becomes the head of the Momobami clan. Kirari was the head of the clan and her stepping down from that position has brought out 11 members of the clan to transfer to the school and compete for that honor. Each one of these 11 members all have last names that end with ‘bami’. Interestingly enough, Yumeko’s last name also ends with ‘bami’, but as for her being related to any of these people is shrouded in mystery. Yumeko’s family and everything about her is an enigma. We know that she has an older sister that’s in a hospital of some sort and that Yumeko literally has an unlimited amount of money at her disposal.

As one would expect, Yumeko is going to take part of these challenges. Many want Yumeko to become the next president, but all Yumeko wants is to gamble. Others have invested their time with other competitors like Mary Saotome and several of the random Momobami clan members. And because she can’t pass up a good game, Kirari is also competing to stay president. I don’t get it if she’s the one that disbanded the student council and started this whole melee election. Whatever! Crazy bitches be crazy bitches!

ENDING: Yumeko has had some life-or-death challenges this season. This doesn’t scare her; in fact, she gets a kick when the stakes are ultimately high and the scent of death reeks. Unless Midari is involved, but that’s to be expected, she’s annoying. Nevertheless, Yumeko did go through a lot of frightening moments including being poisoned, almost gambled away a pinky finger, and playing a game where the loser would have to plunge to their death. Yumeko has made it through all of that and thensome. Although, the poisoning was pretty gnarly, girl almost died there. When it comes to the election, Kirari is still in the lead as she holds the most vote coins. Yumeko, Mary, and Ryouta wind up in the top 10. But no one can really come close to Kirari. Seriously girl, what was the point of all this?

But those Bami members are determined to take down Kirari by any means necessary. Terano might seem like the big kingpin of this gang of Bami members. She is in second place after all and was behind some of the bouts Yumeko faced including this tax game she played alongside Kaede and Itsuki. But what does that old saying go, never trust a pretty face or something like that? Rei, the one who has been seen as just a moderator at most instances showed their true colors in the season two finale during an auction for vote chips. Rei wants revenge against the Momobami family and will happily see to Kirari’s downfall. Call it a lifetime of putting up a façade and being a servant to the clan.

I was kinda surprised Rei was really biologically female. I say ‘kinda’ because Romi Park voiced her. So I had a small feeling that was the case.

Anyways, Yumeko in her oh-so-delicious fashion managed to take down Rei and then doing an ultimate gamble. I honestly don’t know what could possibly surpass all the gambles that were life-or-death. Yumeko nearly risked her life in several gambles, including almost dying from being poisoned. But I guess this time it was for the Jabami name. Regardless of all the turmoil, Yumeko wound up victorious, Rei dresses like a girl for once, Yumeko nearly loses all of her vote chip winnings from the game against Rei, and there’s no real conclusion to who’s going to run the student council.

Okay, so…I thought the first season was pretty solid and left an opportunity for a second season with the student council shake-up. But then season two kinda fell flat with the introduction of all the ‘bami’ clan members. Maybe the Mary Saotome spin-off will clear things up! Five years after the main anime ends, Netflix drops the Mary Saotome spin-off. Now will this clear up all the weird things surrounding her involvement with the mysterious vice president? I’m gonna spoil it right here and say, no. There are only 6 episodes and most of them revolve around Mary and a bunch of characters we don’t see in the main series.

TWIN: Much like Yumeko, Mary was also a transfer student. And also like Yumeko, her high school debut captured the attention of many as Mary caught wise to what the other students were dishing out in terms of games. But Mary was scouted by different people. Some wanted her to join certain clubs. Others wanted her to become a student council member. And then there are those who are putting their faith in Mary to take down the student council’s barbaric system of ‘fidos’ and ‘mittens’. Seeing as that system was thriving one year later, it looks like that Mary wasn’t able to put a fork in it. But nice try with the resistance, guys!

There’s only six episodes. There are a few new characters that we never see in the original anime. Most of these characters are definitely not third years on the verge of graduating. So why haven’t we seen these people before? Are we going to get more episodes in the future? Is the manga adaptation still in publication? We still haven’t seen what happens to Midari’s eye. I mean, we know what happens, but we just haven’t gotten the gory viewing. And what happened to Tsuzura? She loves Mary! Did she graduate early, get killed by the student council, commit suicide for Mary’s adoration, transfer schools, get slapped with one of those student council life plans that went into effect immediately, what!? I’d believe the third option myself. Something has to account for not seeing her in the main series.

Kakegurui has been very entertaining. And even the spin-off with Mary was interesting. I’m hoping for another batch of episodes in the future. Again, only the first season had my attention. The second kinda bored me with the student council election. Maybe it was the addition of all those clan members or the fact that I expected more from certain characters. As far as having an anime revolve around gambling, it wasn’t all bad. It could have been worse. There has been worse from what I’ve seen. Maybe in the future, I’ll check out the Kaiji series as I heard that had to do with gambling. Maybe another day once I finish the romcom I replaced Kakegurui with.

In the meantime, if you want to check out Kakegurui, Netflix has every episode available for streaming. This includes the first season, second season, the Twin spin-off, and I think there’s even a live-action Kakegurui on the platform. However, Sentai Filmworks released the first 2 seasons on blu-ray. Just remember that there’s a different English dub than what Netflix gave.

#kakegurui #yumeko jabami #mary saotome #ryouta suzui #sayaka igarashi #midari ikishima #kaede manyuda #kirari momobami #rei batsubami

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rek1s-headband · 3 years

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Oh oh! Can we get some hedcanons about cherry adopting a girl who is around miya's age. Like how close would they be and how would others feel about her being his daughter now. Bonus points if uncel Joe and little missy mess with daddy blossom

Xoxo love your work so far, keep it up💙

➯ A/N: This was such an amazing request, I had so much fun writing it! Hope you enjoy :)

Also, i started watching Your Lie in April today, and its AMAZING! So much more than what I was expecting

➯ With a daughter

➯ Characters: Kaoru Sakurayashiki with a young daughter. Reki, Langa and co. are mentioned throughout!

➯ Warnings: none:)

Having a child had never crossed Kaoru’s mind before, but when Joe had teased him about how “you treat Carla better than you would a child!”, the idea kind of stuck with him. And so, he’d spent countless nights awake, wondering to himself if it was something he truly wanted?

He’d pass parks, seeing parents with spewing babies and toddlers throwing tantrums, wondering if he could actually put up with that? But as he passed the shops, he came across a mother and her daughter, who looked around 12. He watched them pass, a grin on the child’s face as she looked into her shopping bag, examining her haul for that day. And so it was settled

He wanted a baby girl he could spoil absolutely rotten

And the search for a child carried on, and this time instead of baby shops and websites, he was browsing the shelves of Claires and other tween clothing stores. It had only occurred to him over a bottle of wine with Joe, as they were discussing if Kaoru was truly ready for something like this. Instead of a crying baby or a messy toddler, he could simply adopt someone a bit older!

It made sense too. For a single parent, an older child seemed much more doable. Of course, he wouldn’t be alone. Joe was always telling him how he’d help out, yknow, if he actually went through with the damn thing.

Not to mention, the older you get, the more difficult it is to get adopted. Babies and young children will get adopted left right and centre, whereas the child he will take home will have been there for a while. Finally, they will have a place to call a home

He spent months trying to get the approval for adoption, and one fateful day he finally got the letter that yes he could go ahead and take one home. He was ecstatic, spending the next few days finding out the location of every orphanage around his area of Japan. He messaged every single one, asking when their next visiting day was

And so it was set: Kaoru would not rest until he had found his perfect little girl

He went through orphanage after orphanage, searching for someone he could call his own. However, none of the children were lighting that paternal flame inside him. It wasn’t their fault of course, they just didn’t click with him, staring at him any time he tried to talk to them. Visit after visit, he’d go to Joe’s, ready to tell him about his recent fail.

It wasn’t until Joe came up to him with a phone number, asking if he’d been to this particular orphanage yet. Apparently they had a few children aged 12 and up, and were available for visit that Saturday. And so there he was, packing a bag and getting ready to travel to the house. This time felt different, somehow. He could feel his palms sweat, as if he could sense he would take one of them home

When he finally made it to the house, he was a nervous wreck. The lady of the house let him in with a smile, telling him the children were in the backyard playing while she bounced a baby on her hip. Cherry winced as the baby gurgled at him, glad he opted for an older child

She led him outside, gesturing at the children who were sprinting around in the vast field, hiding behind trees and bushes. It was clear they were playing a game of hide and seek. He smiled as he scanned over them, but it quickly disappeared when he noticed one little girl sitting on the step, head in her lap while her shoulders gently shook with tears

He walked over to her, bending down with a soft smile. He didn’t know where this sudden calmness came from, but that was his last priority right now. A little gash sat on the girls knee, caked with blood as it trickled down her shin. He frowned, pulling out a tissue to gently wipe it. She jumped, wincing with shock from the fresh wave of pain, and surprise. Kaoru gently wiped at her knee once more before looking up at her to attempt a conversation

“Hello, is your knee alright?” She shook her head frantically, wiping a tear away from her face. A small breathy laugh escaped him as he watched the child stand, gesturing to her leg

“Nope, not at all. I think its broken, if you ask me. All cause of that stupid thing!” She threw her arm out, gesturing to a pink board Kaoru hadn’t noticed before. A skateboard.

That’s when Kaoru realised it: I want this one

Suddenly he felt a new sense of importance, like he had to make a good impression. He walked over to the board, tutting as he looked down at it. “This is what hurt you?” He looked at it with disdain as the little girl nodded her head violently. Kaoru could see how she hurt herself, the thing was massive, especially for someone her age. It looked around the size of a board he would use.

Grinning, he picked up the board. “Well, want to see something cool?” She watched in wonder as kaoru stood on it, pushing off and turning quickly, popping an ollie over a stray toy. The little girl jumped, throwing her arms up as she cheered Kaoru on. He finished with a flourish, coming back to stand beside her. “What did you think?” She was speechless, simply moving her hands, saying scattered “wows” and making various sound effects. Kaoru smiled, certain that he could teach her more.

When he realized visiting time was coming to a close, he proposed the idea to the girl, who’s name he had come to know was Lily: he’d come back next week, and he’d bring his board. He even promised to find her a smaller boar perfect for her to learn on, saying he knew a friend who could make her one. From there he would teach her the basics of skateboarding, even a couple of tricks once she got that down. She was delighted, bouncing up and down and declaring she couldn’t wait, all the energy of someone much younger than her. Kaoru found he couldn’t stop smiling himself either

He made his way back through the house, Lily skipping alongside him. He explained the plan to the Lady, that he would come back next week for another visit. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to the lady to request one final thing from her

“Make sure no one snatches her up from me while I’m gone, yeah?”

Needless to say a bottle of wine was opened at Joe’s that night in celebration of Lily, the potential daughter

And so the weeks turned into months, and Kaoru returned each week with his board and some sweets for her and the other children, teaching her everything she needed to know about skateboarding. After a month or so she could confidently ollie without bailing, and next time he visited she displayed it with delight, watching Kaoru’s face light up with pride.

She had taken a real liking to Kaoru, according to the Lady. She refused to pay any other visitors any notice, declaring they “simply weren’t Kaoru.” This is what finally made him realise that maybe it was time to ask if she’d like to live with him from now on, where she could practice with him every day.

When he asked her, Kaoru could’ve sworn he actually saw stars in her eyes. She simply lit up, throwing herself at Kaoru, tears streaming down her face as she shouted yes, of course she would. she wasn’t the only one crying, Kaoru could barely see from the tears in his own eyes, the lady dabbing at hers with a tissue

Once the paperwork was complete and Lily was his, he felt a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He had packed her a new change of clothes the day he went to collect her, bringing Joe along with him for emotional support. Lily came flying at him the second he got out of his car, wrinkling her nose at Joe

“You never told me you had a boyfriend, Kaoru” she stuck her tongue out at him from over his shoulder while they both tried to convince her that no, they weren’t a couple, before she ran upstairs to get changed. Joe turned to Kaoru, an almost offended look on his face

“Why were you so adamant that we weren’t together??” “I dont need her worrying she’s going home to a Gorrila” “HEY”

Once they all got home, they threw a little party at Joe’s who had closed a little early specially for it. Kaoru didn’t let her out of his sight, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable with all the new people. Of course, it was only Joe, Shadow, Reki, Langa and Miya, all of whom she would meet eventually, but he still worried in case she got overwhelmed.

She made quick friends with Reki, who was ecstatic from the moment he realised she could skate. The two bonded over it, talking about tricks they’d learned, Reki shouting over at Kaoru because why hadn’t he taught him anything??

Miya was a bit standoffish at first, but when she saw the switch in his hand, the two were instantly bonding over who had better villagers in Animal Crossing, and who had passed more levels in Mario with three stars

As the months went on, Lily really settled into her new life in Okinawa, starting at school in Miyas class. The two were joined at the hip, Miya often coming home to Kaoru’s so they could practice together, or simply study and watch some movies. Reki constantly teased the shit out of the two, talking about how he heard “wedding bells”. This comment earned him a swift whack into the skull from Kaoru, warning him not to tease his little girl

Soon enough Kaoru was making her own skateboard with built-in Carla, who helped her skating improve insanely. As Kaoru said, she was definitely a chip off the old block. Langa and Reki would take her to the skate park with them, helping her land new tricks and would take videos of her to send to Kaoru

Shadow was like a chill uncle to her, bringing her flowers for her room and taking her out to get some clothes and ice cream. Joe was like an uncle too, but a much more untrustworthy one. Would he take her to the park, or would he take her to parts of downtown she definitely shouldn’t have been? Who knows, certainly not Kaoru...

Poor Kaoru can never get a minutes peace. Every second of the day she’s plotting something, waiting for him to let his guard down so she can pounce, scaring the shit out of him. When the others are around its 10x worse, all of them ganging up on him to pull pranks

As well as skateboarding, Kaoru tried to teach her how to do calligraphy. She ended up being awful, blotting the ink and smearing it with her hand. But hey, it was a fun art project that made it onto the fridge

At S, she was watched like a hawk. When Kaoru was competing,the others would be like her bodyguard, making sure no one got within 5 feet of her. She’d watch her dad with wonder, the look of awe never leaving her face since the first day she saw him skate. She can’t wait for the day she can compete, maybe even beating her own dad

The first time Lily called Kaoru “dad” was when he won a race, showing off some amazing skills and winning the insanely close match by a hair. He picked up his board, looking around for Lily. He saw her in the crowd, throwing her arms up and cheering “THATS MY DAD!! LOOK, RIGHT THERE, THATS MY DAD!” When she spotted him, a large grin spread across her face. “Nice job out there dad! You did amazing!! D’you think I can do that one day?”

Everyone was staring at her, she hadn’t even realised she had said anything out of the ordinary. Soon enough Kaoru was lunging at her, picking her up in a hug so she didn’t see the tears quickly forming on his face. With a smile he pulled away, his voice dripping with pride

“Of course you could. You’re my daughter, aren’t you?”

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ljstlr · 3 years

Text

LIFETIME.

genre: angst, heavy angst

words: 1911

choi minho x reader

———————————————————————————————————————

“Will you marry me?” Minho watched from the corner of the garden your soon-to-be-fiancé rented out just for this event – to propose to you. And as you answered yes, the atmosphere was filled with cheers, clapping, and even crying. Minho was about to let out a cheer when he felt an itching sensation on his throat, so he stepped out of the garden to the parking space to soothe his throat.

After what felt like an unending amount of coughing, he stood frozen in his spot. He couldn’t keep his eye off his hand. A daffodil laid gently on his hand and he would usually call the flower beautiful if it just didn’t come from his throat and had droplets of his blood on it. Minho silently cursed.

A single daffodil symbolizes an unrequited love. Minho read silently on his phone as he took his seat next to your other set of friends. As he read through the website, he couldn’t help but feel the uneasiness in his lungs and he knows exactly what was going on in his organ.

Is he scared? Fuck yes. He was just about to enter his 30s and he suddenly developed a disease that has no cure. Well, actually, it does. But he didn’t have the cure.

“Hey! Hyunjae told me you were a part of this, why didn’t you tell me?” He was disrupted from his thoughts when he heard your voice lingering on his right shoulder. He quickly shut off his phone as he flashed you a smile.

“That would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it now?” Minho chuckled as he watched you pout and playfully slap him on the arm. The two of you shared a conversation up until you had to leave because your family wanted a portrait to be taken with your fiancé.

And he just had to be the one to take the photo. He bitterly counted down as he watched the genuine smile on your face through the phone screen – why couldn’t he make you smile like that?

He bowed down to your mother as he gave her back the phone. He quickly excused himself because he felt the itching feeling again and he didn’t want to cause a scene. Minho watched the sink fill with daffodil and his blood. He sighed as he used his arms to support himself on the sink.

This wasn’t the way he imagined his death to be.

As days gone by, Minho was definitely not getting any better. His apartment was starting to fill with flowers and the floors were smeared with blood. It looked pretty much like a crime scene but he didn’t care anymore. He was bound to die anyways.

But he was taken back when he heard knocks on his apartment door. He knew it was you – you were the only one who always came unannounced. He mentally cursed as he tried to get rid of the daffodils on the floor but being the impatient person you were, you opened the door yourself with the keys he lent you.

“Minho...?” He knows you were holding back yours tears and that caused Minho to immediately soften up. He walked towards you and wrapped you in a hug which caused your tears to overflow.

You stayed like that for a while until you pulled away and looked at Minho straight in his face. He gulped and felt a sting on his throat with the action he has just done.

“Why did you keep this from me?” You asked.

“I didn’t want you to stress about me, (y/n). You’re getting married.” Minho responded with a fake smile and but he knows you didn’t know that.

“Minho, are you dying?”

“No, I’m not. I’ll get better.” A lie. A bittersweet lie just to keep you from feeling pain. He was dying, but even so, all he wanted was for you to be safe and happy.

He watched as your face slowly lit up and your frown become a smile and it was like a medicine for him. Watching that unfold right in front of his eyes made him feel better – despite the rough and uncomfortable feeling of the flowers invading his lungs and throat.

“You better not die,” Minho was about to answer but you cut him off.

“Cause my baby better meet his Uncle.” And once again, Minho felt a crack on his heart. He was feeling other things as well, but he pushed those down because he didn’t want you to worry.

“Y-you’re pregnant?” Minho forcefully spoke and you nodded with a smile.

The feeling he was trying to push down got the best of him and he started coughing violently in front of you. You panicked as you see Minho struggle to cough and wheeze as a yellow flower came out of his mouth.

A yellow carnation symbolizes disdain, rejection, or disappointment. This lingered on and on in your head as you slowly pick up the flowers on the floor and throw them in the garbage bin. You look down on your hands to see scatters of blood everywhere. You let out a sad sigh before washing it away.

You opened the door to Minho’s door to see him coughing out even more carnations into his bed.

“You told me you weren’t dying.” She spoke coldly which made Minho pause from his fits of coughing. He didn’t know which one hurted more – the expression on your face or the feeling of suffocation from all the growing flowers.

“I won’t die.” Lie.

“Let me help you, Minho. I don’t want to lose you.” He smiled through the pain.

He wiped off the tears flowing down from your eyes as you beg him to not die. He hated seeing you like this. He didn’t want to leave you in a state like this when he dies.

“Hey. Calm down, (y/n). Stress is bad for your baby.” He felt a thorn stab through his lung as he spoke, but he hid away the pain from you.

She eventually calmed down and begged Minho to talk it out with the whoever it is that’s making him go through all the pain of the disease. He listened to her go on and on about getting well even though he knows there is no longer any more hope to hold on to.

And as she bid her goodbye and walked out the apartment door, Minho prayed. He has forgotten his religion long before, but he begged God to keep him alive just for you. Just so he can take away the pain that his giving you, he’d rather see you happy.

But he knows God once again failed to listen to his prayers as he felt another thorn stab him.

Anemone. He slowly read the word that matches the new flower that came out of his mouth today.

It indicates fading hope and a feeling of having been forsaken. He wanted to let out a bitter laugh, but the flowers and thorns constrained him from doing so.

He brushed off the yellow and purple flowers off his sofa to get a hold of the invitation you just sent him. A wedding invitation.

Minho hasn’t seen you ever since the carnation flowers, but he appreciated the hourly texts he got from you asking how he’s been. He’s glad that your communication only relied through technology, because he looked like shit. He would hate it if anyone saw him like this.

He couldn’t speak. It’s been a day or two since his vocal cord got fucked up from the thorns. He couldn’t sleep. I mean, how could he? Every damn minute is like an hour episode of coughing out flowers. He’s pale and skinny. Of course, he would be, considering the amount of blood he loss and not being able to digest any sort of food for the past weeks.

It was a miracle that he made it this far.

But he knows it’s over. As another fit of coughing attacked him, he felt a stabbing pain in his trachea. He started to lose the ability to breath, but he was able to reach the letter on his coffee table and held it close to his chest. It’s a letter he has been saving solely for this day.

He took one last deep breath before he laid lifeless on his sofa floor.

Be happy for me, (y/n).

You were in disbelief. You can’t believe your standing right in front of your Minho’s grave. Tears fell from your right eye as you gripped harshly on the letter his mom gave you before they all left the cemetery. You were the only one left and you refused to leave.

You sat down beside his grave and gathered the strength you have left to unfold the letter he left you.

“Hey,

If you’re reading this, firstly, I would like to give you my sincerest apologies, (y/n). I know I told you I would survive, but I didn’t have a cure. God knows how desperate I was with all my prayers to Him on how much I wanted to stay alive for you, but even He can’t find a way for me to live anymore.

I wish you a happy life. I have known you since the day you decided to hang out with the loner in high school – which was me of course. You deserve the galaxy and all of its stars for making my short stay in this life wonderful and memorable. Anyone would agree that I short-lived this lifetime, but maybe that’s the way it was meant to be.

Cause I couldn’t bear watching the love of my life be happy with someone else. Fuck, I can’t believe that I’m that much of a coward to only confess my undying affection for you now that I’m dead. But I was never the selfish type. I didn’t want you to suffer just because you couldn’t love me back.

You were and are happy, (y/n). I couldn’t take that away from you, so I kept all the pain to myself. And I would do it again and again if it’s for you. You wanted me to find a cure, but now we both know why that’s impossible. Because the cure for me is to be loved back by you, and that will never be a case now, wouldn’t be?

Maybe, just maybe, in another lifetime, I would be the one you spend your entire life with. Get married, have kids, buy a house, a car, all of that rom-com shit. But this lifetime isn’t ours, (y/n).

In this lifetime, I’m Minho. Your high school best friend, your college roommate, your co-worker, your ‘best man’, and now your guardian angel from above.

I couldn’t be the one you love, so let me just be your angel for now.

Until the next time we meet,

Love, Minho.”

Your heart broke as you finished reading Minho’s letter. You couldn’t breathe from all of the sobs you let out as you run your fingers through the ballpen ink and scatters of blood.

You gripped the letter and held it close to your chest. As you cried, you felt an itch on your throat. You thought it was just a cough that you needed to let out from all the sobbing, but you were wrong. And so was Minho.

Cause he could’ve survived, and this lifetime could’ve been theirs.

Because you just coughed out an Anemone flower.

#shinee fic #choi minho fic #minho fic #choi minho angst #choi minho #choi minho x reader #minho x reader #shinee x reader

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shhhlikeme · 4 years

Text

“Losty Aone” / “Losty Mountain Man🏔” Series:

Outtake Collection #18.5:

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A/N: I know y’all wanna know what happens here sooo I’ll meet you down at the end with more of my authors notes!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EARLIER THAT NIGHT - 10:36 PM - ISSA MESS AT THE MOVIES - PART 2 😭🤡

“Hey. You sure you don’t want us to go with you? I can cancel with my parents and—“

You interrupted your friend, waving her off nonchalantly as you jumped out of the back her car. “No, no, Kusa. Thank you for driving me. You guys didn’t need to! But I really appreciate it. I need this time by myself to just…. You know…. Breathe.”

Kusa frowned at you, still look unsure as to whether she should leave you alone at the theatre or not. Going to the movies alone is a little weird in her opinion, and she knows that you have still been so heartbroken from your breakup, so the fact that Aone had been asked out by one of the girls on the Date Teko cheer team that you considered a friend really hit you hard.

Despite it all, she and Katana have agreed to let you deal with this the way you see fit, because forcing their desires on you wasn’t the right way to go, and the last time they tried that you cut them off for a week. They had to tread very carefully, as friends.

“Okay, babe. Call us when you want to get picked up, Okay? We don’t mind.”

You nodded, wrapping your favourite jacket around you a bit more tightly. The sweater-jacket that actually belonged to the man you were in love with. “Thank you.”

Shutting the door, you stepped back so that Kusa could drive away.

Katana, who was sitting in the passengers seat, pressed the button to roll up her window and You gave them one last wave, ready to see them off, but just before you could Katana—quiet and deep in thought, pressed the same button to roll the window back down. The car didn’t budge.

“Y/N.” The pretty cheer captain said in a small voice, staring at her lap. You had to lean in to hear her.

“Hm?”

Big brown eyes looked into yours as your bestie stared at you. It was silent for a moment and the intensity in the air was palpable. Finally, the brunette spoke.

“I’m worried about you.” She finished, looking more serious than you’ve ever seen her.

Earlier this Saturday night, you found yourself crying in the shower after you heard that an ex teammate of yours, Sutairu, is interested and has decided to pursue Aone.

This girl was gorgeous, sweet, and has noticed your Mountain Man from day one, unlike you. There is not one bad thing you can say about her, and you were sure that eventually—especially with Futakuchi’s help—Aone would some day let his walls down for her. One day you would see the most perfect man in the world with another girl because you let him.

And even though it’s what he deserves: a girl that is better than you, the thought alone shatters you every time it crosses your mind.

Aone was on this girls instagram story,—a photo of him in another hoodie standing in front of the students he teaches with a caption saying: MCM🤫💋❄️

What did that mean? Could they be dating now?

Enough was enough. After crying in your shower, You decided you needed a change in scenery, so you got dressed, only putting on concealer and keeping the natural state of your hair when it’s wet. You threw on a huge cardigan, a tank top and some jeans and told the girls what you had planned. Kusa wouldn’t take no for answer, so they insisted on dropping to you at the theatre to see this action-thriller you found on the website.

So here you are, heart dragging behind you on the floor. You needed to be alone and you needed a change of scenery, that’s all you knew. So now hearing your besties and seeing the absolute fear for your well-being evident on their faces, made your stomach turn even more. Mainly because you couldn’t help them help you. No one can. So that’s why all you answered was,

“I’m worried too.” Staring into the eyes of the two beautiful females you call your best friends. You then Added, “But I need this hour, okay?. I’ll see you guys later. I have my phone.” Without waiting for a response, you spun away from the car to walk into the large building downtown, straight to the bathroom so you could cry in the stalls prior to the movie.

After you spent a good 10 minutes using toilet paper to wipe under your eyes, then reapplying some conveniently packed concealer there in the mirror, you stuffed the Fenty Beauty case in your purse and walked out of the bathroom so that you can purchase your ticket at the self-serve automated machine. You had grabbed your ticket when it slid out the slot and were began walking to your designated theatre when you heard a familiar voice call out to you.

“Hey! Y/N?”

Turning toward the voice, you looked over to see a group of 4 boys, all of which you’ve seen before, but in volleyball practice gear. While they were all staring over at you, naturally—your eyes settled on the one in the middle that you recognized the most. And the one who called your name.

“Takeru,” You breathed, honestly relieved that it wasnt someone from school that you had to pretend you wanted to speak to. Takeru is someone you genuinely liked, that you actually got close to at the Volleyball/Cheer Camp last summer.

“One sec!” He called, and you stood there waiting as Nakashima handed his card to his friends that were waiting at the ticket kiosk. One of them must have said something annoying to him, because Takeru blushed and told him to shut the fuck up. Feeling scrutinized by his friends, you wrapped your arms around your torso as he stealthily limbo-ed under the rope that divided the line from from the rest of the theatre.

***

“Ouuu dudes, look. That’s Takanobu’s super hot girlfriend that you fell in love with last summer! This is your second chance bro, don’t fuck it up!” Takeru’s friend nudged him with his elbow and teased him from where he was standing in line. The other boys chuckled when he said that.

Takeru went red—mostly because he knew it was true. “Shut the fuck up, I’m over her!” He defended himself. He resisted the urge to hit his friend for saying that out loud. Getting out the line because he couldn’t risk his dumb friends exposing his past crush like they almost did multiple times last summer, Nakashima escaped the line to approach you, finding himself jogging over, instead of walking.

🤨

SLOW DOWN, Takeru told himself. ARE YOU REALLY THAT EXCITED TO SEE HER?

“Hi, Y/N!” The ex-high school volleyball player greeted you with a warm smile that neither of you had any idea was reserved for only you. “It’s been a while.”

You forced a smile back, but you could see by the way that his own smile faltered that Takeru noticed your smile didn’t reach your eyes. “You okay?” He asked, concerned.

Lying, you nodded, looking down at your boots and Nakashima resisted the urge to reach forward and tilt your head up. To touch your beautiful skin like he’s wanted to do since the first day you approached him for help, he really thought those emotions had fled… but being around you again made him realize that obvioulsy they hadn’t.

She’s taken, idiot. The athlete reminded himself.

“Is Takanobu here?” Nakashima thought to ask, distinctly remembering how much just mentioning his name would bring a big smile to your face back at camp, lighting it up in its entirety.

So imagine Takeru shock, however, when you winced at the sound of his name instead of beamed. Still staring at your boots, you shook your head. “No, I’m here alone.”

Alone?

Ask. He told himself. ASK!

“Um-ummm—“ is all he could stutter out.

S m o o t h, idiot. he chastised himself for being so lame.

“Please, Takeru-san,” you lifted your head to look up at the man you considered to be a pretty good friend. “Don’t.”

Even though his mind was buzzing with a million questions, Being the smart volleyball player he is, Takeru shut his mouth because the tears welling up in your eyes was enough of an answer than any. His heart sunk seeing you look so unbelievably broken. Without missing a beat, He switched gears. “—What movie are you seeing?” He asked instead.

You grinned weakly but gratefully at his change in topic, a smile that actually did reach your eyes. “Uh, I don’t even know,” you chuckled pathetically. “I just picked any random movie, um, because, yeah.”

She’s so cute, thought Nakashima. “Well it’s written on your ticket. Shall we see?”

“Oh, uh, right.” Feeling dumb, you lifted the ticket in your hand and read the movie title aloud,

“Jet Down 2.”

A large amused smile graced Takeru’s face. “Really—that is probably the biggest ‘guy’ movie ever made,”

You nodded, not wanting to mention that hearing the title made you remember that your ex loved the original of this movie. Your nod introduced Takeru and yourself to an awkward silence. You weren’t about to tell him that you picked a movie that you’d be the least interested in so that you can cry in peace because the sounds of shit blowing up will drown out your sobs, no ma’am. If this was any other time, you would have been so happy to see and catch up with this boy. Asking a million questions and telling him how happy you were to see him. But unfortunately, all you could think about was the “MCM” Snapchat you saw earlier. You were devastated, and Takeru caught on to it.... seeing you about to shatter, yet again. He offered his help.

“Want some company? Uh—“

You immediately shook your head. “No, Takeru-san! You came here with your friends. Enjoy that. Don’t mind me, I....“

Nakashima stared down at you like you were a work of art. When you stopped your pathetic babbling, he nodded slowly, recognizing the same expressions he’s seen his sister’s wear when they were on the verge of crying over a boy. Right before they yelled him to leave their room, leave them alone, and shut the door. The same rule probably applied here. Like an expert, Nakashima backed off. “Okay,” he continued nodding. “I guess I’ll go then. It was really nice seeing you.” He opened his arms and you leaned in for a chaste hug, immediately wishing the male arms around you belonged to a certain white haired volleyball player instead.

Takeru, on the other hand, didn’t realize how much he missed the feel of you in his arms again. He didn’t want to let go. He wished that the feelings you had for Aone-san were for him. Stupid.

Uncharacteristically, Nakashima turned his head to whisper something in your ear before you let go. Before he never saw you again. “But, tonight, if you need a shoulder to cry on, I’m just one theatre over… Okay? I have a pretty comfortable shoulder, so just text me.”

Holding back tears, you nodded, removing yourself to make your way to the bathroom again.

***

Better late than never, you thought to yourself as you sadly sat in your seat in the theatre solo, unsure of how much time has even passed. You didn’t realize this stupid movie would be so packed, but you were thankful for assigned seating (since you specifically chose an aisle seat in case you needed to make another fast-cry escape). You just sat in your seat, curling into a ball and trying to hold it together the best you can.

You couldn’t.

Another 10-minutes later, you found yourself ugly crying in your three-quarter eaten popcorn, completely drenching the salty snack and making it soggy.

A MESS, you called yourself. This movie was about guns and cars and shit blowing up—but all it took was one tiny little subplot romance scene to break you. LIKE I SAID: A MESS.

One little stupid ‘be safe’ scene and you were thinking about the time you went to the movies with your ex boyfriend and current love of your life. That time, you had insisted on watching this scary movie but you were getting so unbelievably scared, refusing to leave when your boyfriend offered because you are strong af, so when you resorted to hiding yourself behind his bicep and whimpering instead. Takanobu had enough when he heard you make those sad noises, so he scooped you up from your seat so that you were sitting in his lap. That way, you felt his strong arms around you on boy sides and you were easily able to bury your face in his chest or finish the movie. You finished the movie.🥰

You would like to say that that was one of the sweetest things that has ever happened to you, but what with being in a relationship with Aone Takanobu for the past year—that absolutely tooth rottenly sweet gesture wouldn’t even crack the Top 10.

Your tears poured down your cheeks, and you imperceptibly wiped your tears on the sweater of his that you were wearing. Then you realized whose sweater it was and cried even harder! Your heart hurt so much.

And to make matters worse, you ran out of tissues.

Knowing that with your luck you’d run into someone you knew if you left now with a completely drenched face. A/N: or turned around :/desperate and sad, you decided to text your friend Takeru about your dilemma. All you asked him for were some tissues because he sort of knew what you were going through even though you didn’t spell it out for him. You hoped he could help for now and then later tonight you’d send him back the money he spent on his movie or something. You kept erasing the message but decided to send it when others in your row were possibly on to the fact that you were sniffling so much for more serious reasons.

You sent it. Received a response within seconds saying he was on his way.

Nakashima stumbled in to your the theatre not long after. You waved to him where you were seated in the dark, and he came over like a good friend, giving you a brand new popcorn and a set of tissues. You smiled weakly at the kind gesture and remembered that Aone is the entire reason why this boy Takeru is even here right now. Your tears re-established themselves as your date on this your solo movie night as you leaned your head on Nakashima’s shoulder, who told you that if Aone broke up with you he was an idiot.

“I’m the idiot,” You whispered to him, because even if it was just a fleeting thought—Aone didn’t deserve any blame. Ever. He is undoubtedly the best person on this planet. “It’s me,” You whispered again, glad that your whiney voice was no match for the volume of the explosions on screen. You blew your nose in a tissue and resumed your position on Takeru’s shoulder. The gesture was platonic enough, but you realized then and there that there was only one shoulder you felt comfortable leaning on, whether it was friendly or not. You sat back up in your seat and met the gaze of a concerned volleyball player.

“Takeru, I’m so sorry. Can you bring me home—“ the request died on your tongue as you witnessed, or at least you think you did— a dark blur of a a large body with…silver? No, white hair racing down the stairs as if he’d been pushed down them. The figure turned on its heels and fled the theatre in a faster speed than should be possible for a body so large.

The oddness stopped you in your tracks for a second.

Why did that person-?

You were confused, until a waft of fresh mountainous breeze hit your nostrils, making you gasp. It was The best scent in the world. The scent that was vaguely imbedded in the sweater you were wearing. The scent that belonged to—oh God. You choked on your tears.

“Was that…..?” Your tear stained face scrunched together, trying to piece two-and-two together as your losty brain overworked itself.

“What were you going to say? You want a drive home?” You could faintly hear Nakashima’s question even though he was right beside you. You were too busy thinking about how that couldn’t have been Aone who stormed out of here, would he choose this movie—oh my—

Lightbulb turning on, you whipped your entire upper body around and searched the seats for someone recognizable. While your scanning stopped momentarily on a few students from school, they ultimately swam to the person or persons you were looking for: There! Kenji-san and Koganagewa-san, two males who were looking at you and Takeru as if you two were the villains in the movie that just popped out of the screen.

So that WAS Aone!

Why didn’t he come say hi?!

Your heart started racing. Because you loved him.

But if that was Aone.....

Then why did he leave in such a hurry like that…?

And why were his friends looking at you and Nakashima like we…..?

Hold on.

Your eyes take a mind of their own, whipping from Futakuchi, to Kanji, to Takeru, to Takeru’s shoulder that you ere just laying on, back to the vacant seat where Aone must have been sitting in the between his two friends, and then you looked down at your sweater—his sweater. You thought back to Aone’s shattered expression when you broke up with him by the Ferris wheel and then you saw your own brisk walk from that night redone in his body in the way he just left this theatre blur.

Oh no, You thought. Did this look like a…? With Takeru…?!

OH GOD NO.

Your heart dropped like one of those rides at the amusement park:

“Y/N. Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick! I can bring you home if you— Y/N? Y/N WAIT LET ME GET MY KEYS—!“

You were already gone, leaving your purse, wallet, phone and everything behind—not having to jump over anyones legs to run down the stairs and out of the theatre. You weren’t as fast as Aone, not by a long shot—but you’d be surprised how fast a girl can move when she’s running to the love of her life.

Running around the empty theatre because everyone was watching a movie, you quickly checked the boys bathroom (not caring that you shouldn’t be in there) before realizing it was empty and then sprinting outside in to the cold night.

Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone. Please don’t be gone, you chanted.

Your head snapped left and right, eyes scanning the parking lot for Aone’s car, and when you spotted it signalling and waiting to make a right out of the theatre, you dangerously raced toward it! Heart pumping, you jumped in front of the vehicle with both hands extended in front of you as if you had the strength to stop the car from moving if you could.

The horn of the car honked dramatically, followed by a head that was not your Mountain Man’s sticking out the window to shout profanities at you to get the fuck out of the way.

Stepping back shakily, you automatically went back to scanning the lot again for the same 4 wheeler, because locating that car was ALL that mattered right now.

Finding HIM was all that mattered.

You had to be more cautious now in your search. More purposeful.

Far back, hundreds of meters from where you were standing you could make out a car that you somehow knew was his. Something, just something, told you it was, and your heart started racing even faster. The lights had turned on like the driver was about to leave, and then it shut off again as if the driver changed their mind about leaving. Without thinking about it, only listening to the pull in your heart that said your man was over there, you used your years of cheerleading experience to catapult you toward the parked vehicle.

When you got closer, your heart squeezed on its own accord as if someone was making pizza dough with it. Slowing down, you took in the sight that was your ex boyfriend sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, white hair visible only because his head was down, forehead kissing the steering wheel, his shoulders vibrating slightly because he is crying. It’s him.

Position:

Not stopping to think anymore, acting on pure love and instinct, you sped over to the driver’s side and tugged the door open. Thank God it was unlocked.

This giant mountain man didn’t move from his position crying on the steering wheel. Only muttering a broken, “Kenji-san, please leave me—“

“Not Justin Bieber look-alike!” You croaked loudly, heart pounding when this gorgeous man’s head lifted as soon as you uttered your first syllable. He looked you up and down and your breath caught in your throat. You’ve NEVER seen such a beautiful man cry before, and although it tugged at what was left of your heart—you thought he looked breathtaking.

“Y/N…..? D-did Kenji-san send you out-t-t he-here? I apolo-pologize—“

You shook your head, unable to stop yourself from pouring your heart out.

“Hey. Remember the other day after you helped me film my cheerleading tryout, you said that you were happy we were fr-friends?” You asked sharply, ignoring his apology for now, and forever grateful for the fact that you had major cojones when you wanted to. They came in handy at times like this.

With red puffy eyes, Aone wiped his face and then nodded, making you melt.

“Well,” You took a shaky breath, sliding your own tears to the side before you left your heart out on the table for this man.

“Well, I’m not your friend, Aone.”

Aone visibly swallowed, his eyes welling up with tears again. He hated himself so much for crying like this.

“I-I know, not y-yet, bu-but I was hoping one day you’d-d—“ Mountain man didn’t even know what he wanted to say, he was dead.

“No. I’m not your friend.” You repeated yourself, watching a shiver run through Takanobu due to the chill in your voice and the intensity your eyes held.

You could sense that he wasnt getting where you were going with this play on words, so you cut to the chase. Hopefully he would get it after hearing what he had to say next, just like you did when he said these same words to you once in a bowling alley.

“The reason I can’t be your friend is because I like you so much more than a friend, Aone. You have no idea how much more.”

Aone shivered again, his beautiful lips separating because his jaw dropped slightly. He recognized his words on your lips now, you could tell. He was understanding how you felt now, so you continued anxiously:

“Everything about you drives me absolutely insane, Takanobu. Your spirit, your love, the way you are the only man I will ever love……even the way you can’t notice that your ex is still madly in love with you, and that she only came here tonight to cry over you alone but ran into someone, and even though she was dumb enough to break up with you.”

Aone’s jaw had just dropped wider as you spoke, his mind reeling.

You stepped in closer to where he was sitting in his car, closing the distance because you just couldn’t stand being any further from him anymore. You also wanted to whisper this next part. You wanted him to know that his confession to you was etched in your brain so much so that you could recite it in a moments notice, even if that said moment was full of pure emotional madness like right now.

“I’m not your friend, Aone.” You repeated once again. “I don’t want to be. I want to be everything else for you. Everything more. Takanobu, I have a confession to make.” You used both of your cold hands to cup his cheeks, his beautiful, red, stubble filled, wet cheeks.

“I love you. I love you, my Mountain Man. I love you more than I did yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. I loved you on the Ferris wheel, and I loved you when you filmed my tryouts. I love you Right now, and I will forever. I will explain everything, I promise. But there has never been, nor will there ever be anyone else for me other than you, Aone-san.”

You giggled through your tears because Takanobu looked so confused but happy. It was an odd expression, but very cute. You continued,

“I know we get called Losties a lot which used to bother me, but you know what: maybe we are, but that’s besides the point—because all I know is that I used to hate being called that…. Until I met you.” You leaned in so that your foreheads were touching. “When I met you, Aone-san....... I stopped caring about being lost….... none of it mattered to me.......insofar as we were lost together. Together with you is the only way I want to go through life, Aone, so I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for letting my insecurities drive me and I’m sorry for possibly confessing to you when you have someone else. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m—“

Mountain Man imitated your gesture of cupping your cheeks in his large hands, wiping away your tears like you did to him.

And then, without saying another word like he was good at—

He slid you into his lap sitting in the front seat, back in the same position he pulled you in the last time you two were at this theatre—

and then he kissed you.

It was a kiss so passionate that you gasped into it, needing him, needing him like a hiker needed their mountain. A kiss so passionate it l lasted for the remaining duration of the movie (no word of a lie) because you refused to let each other go—but most importantly: it was a kiss that made you realize that you and Mountain Man weren’t just two losties lost together like you mentioned a bit ago—no. Absolutely not. Actually, this kiss was so passionate it made you realize that you were really two losties that were lost in every aspect in life—minus one:

Because you two could never be lost when it came to your feelings for one another. Finding true love happened to be the only aspect of life that most people on this planet remained lost in, which happened to be the exact aspect of life where you and Aone have both been….

Found.

🐢

———————————

A/N: That’s it! I am secretly here to let y’all know that there will be one more collection post next time I write, and that post will be the end of this losty series. I will cry when that time comes lmao but for now tysm for reading this marathon - I would loooove to hear your thoughts! I literally die when you guys comment or send me private messages reacting. It makes my whole day istg. Anyways, Wishing you all the best as always. See you next time. Xoxo

Taglist: @galagcica @chaichai-the-weeb @nairobiisqueen @bisasterrr @juminly @simply-not-the-same @marvelousbakugou @qyuanon

#haikyuu fluff #haikyuu boys #haikyuu angst #hq headcanon #haikyuu!!#aone x reader #aone x y/n #haikyuu headcanons #hq headcannons #haikyuu headcannons #koganegawa kanji #kenji futakuchi #haikyuuwritersnet #aone takanobu stories #aone takanobu x you #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #date tech

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Riding High

Ch20: When The Bough Breaks

Chapter Summary: Fliss finds herself in an impossible position…and her decision tips Frank’s world upside down.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Don’t hate me…

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 19

And this day’s ending is the proof of time, killing all the faith I know.

“Was that another one?” Frank asked as Fliss tossed her phone onto the coffee table with an angry snort.

She nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Frank sighed and looked at her “Honey…” “I know, I know…” she looked at him. “Look, I’ve made notes of every time I’ve had one so… its recorded. But again, it’s not like we can prove anything…they happen like twice a day and then nothing…hardly what they’ll call harassment.” Frank shifted slightly “This has been going on for 2 weeks now sweetheart.” “I’m well aware of that.” she snapped, before she shook her head “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get angry…not at you.” “Come here…” he said, opening his arms and she snuggled into him, leaning against his chest as his hand gently ran up and down her arm. “Maybe you should think about changing your number…and not putting the new one on the website.” “Yeah.” she conceded, “It’s not gonna help for work though…” “You can work round it.” he said, “Keep the business line and if you’re not there people will have to leave a message. Then, once you know your clients…you can give them your cell number.”

“Fucking ass hole is still making my life awkward.”

“Only if you let him. It’s a minor inconvenience to change your number but, if in the grand scheme of things all he has in his back pocket is sending you some dumbass birthday card and silent phone calls then…he’s just a pathetic fucking loser that’s trying to bully you into being scared.” “I’m not scared, just pissed off.” she shook her head “I know he’s a chicken shit, he wouldn’t dare come near me not when you’re on the scene…or my dad for that matter.” “Good, because if he did I’m not sure I’d be able to control myself.” Frank said softly.

“Maybe we should just pay someone to kill him.” Fliss said after a moment’s pause and Frank let out a snort “Bullet straight between the eyes.”

“Nah, too quick.” Frank sniffed, reaching for his beer “I’d dangle him over a tank of hungry sharks and lower him in inch by inch…”

“Or we could feed him to pigs, like in Hannibal.” Fliss mused.

“That’s also an option…no trace” he nodded taking a mouthful of beer.

“You know they should teach this shit at schools” Fliss reached for her own drink “How to get rid of bodies. I feel it is something everyone should be educated in.” “Maybe you should mention it to Bonnie. Tell her you feel it is an educational rite of passage or some other inspiring shit like that…”

Fliss laughed, placing her wine glass down and shifting so that she was led on her front, half on-half off Frank, looking up at him as her chin rest on his chest.

“On a scale of 1 to 10 how much of a meltdown are we facing with Mary on tomorrow morning?”

“From her current mood I’d suspect a good 4 and a half, maybe a 5.” he mused, before he looked at Fliss “I don’t much care, she’s going whether she wants to or not.” “When do the University Classes start again?”

“Not till second week in October.” Frank replied “Which reminds me, I need to submit that funding form tomorrow…” “It’s on the table.” Fliss said, as she correctly guessed from the look on his face he was pondering where he had put it.”

“What would I do without you?” he grinned down at her.

“I have absolutely no idea.” she shrugged and he smiled and leaned down pressing a kiss to her lips.

“Did you speak to Evelyn before?” Fliss asked him and he nodded.

“She’s coming down this weekend.” Frank said, “She’s still on about Mary going to Boston for a weekend.” “You still not comfortable about her going?” Fliss asked.

Frank wrinkled his nose “I don’t know if I trust her fully yet.” “You’ll never know you can unless you give her a chance.” Fliss reasoned

“You think I should let her go?” Frank said, slightly surprised.

“That’s not my decision to make, Frank” Fliss shook her head.

“No, but I value your opinion.” Frank looked at her. “Go on, tell me what you think.” Fliss hesitated for a moment before she sat up and turned her body so she was facing him, her legs tucked underneath her on the sofa. “If it was me in your position, I’d give Evelyn a chance. She’s played ball so far, done everything you’ve asked her to. You’ve got legal guardianship of Mary so she can’t pull any stupid stunts, and if Mary comes back and tells you something she did that you don’t like, well, you cut the visits.” Frank looked at Fliss before he took another drink from his beer bottle. He was torn in two. In one respect he wanted Mary to be happy and it certainly seemed that she enjoyed seeing Evelyn, but on flip side he was still more than comfortable with keeping his Mother at arm’s length.

“I’ll think about it.” he shrugged, non-committedly.

“Well, you should also ask Mary.” Fliss said “She might not even want to go.” “She will.” Frank said, “Evelyn has a piano.” Fliss laughed “Yeah, but she’s also bossy, remember?”

“Yeah, I had heard that.” Frank said, and Fliss chuckled again.

“Well, can you not think about it right now?” she said, taking the beer bottle out of his hand.

“Hey…” he pouted as she put it down on the table, his pout soon turned into a smirk as Fliss moved so she was straddling him on the sofa, his t-shirt that she’d been lounging around in rode up her thighs slightly and his hands rubbed up the side of her bare skin. “Something on your mind baby girl?”

“What makes you think that?” she asked, sliding her hands up his chest, over the soft material of his top.

“Just a hunch…” he mumbled, as he reached up and gently gripped the back of her neck, pulling her head down to meet his.

****** “Hey Frank…”

Frank looked up and smiled at Alan as he walked into the work shop.

“Hey Alan, not seen you in a while, how you doing?” “Good…I’m good. I was just wondering if I could have a word in my office.”

“Sure.” Frank frowned “Is err, everything ok?” “Oh, yeah, it’s nothing to worry about…quite the opposite in fact…” “Alright, well me just finish piecing this oil filter together and I’ll be with you.”

“Sure.” Alan said, “No rush.”

Frank quickly tightened the filter back up, gave it the once over before he set down his tools and hopped off the boat, wiping his hands on a rag before he walked through the door at the back of the workshop and down the small corridor that led to the main office at the rear of the shop. He knocked sharply on the door and then swung it open as Alan looked at him, gesturing for him to take a seat whilst he finished up his call. Eventually, he bid the person on the other end good bye and placed the receiver down.

“Relax, Frank…” Alan chuckled as Frank adjusted his jeans for what felt like the 30th time since sitting down.

“Sorry.” Frank nodded, scratching at his temple. “So errr, do you need me to do something or...” “In a manner of speaking, yes.” Alan said “As you know Paul is retiring at the end of the year, which means the Head Mechanic role is up for grabs…and I was wondering if you’d be interesting in taking the position.” “Me?” Frank’s eyes widened slightly

Alan nodded “I know in the grand scheme of things you haven’t been here long but you’ve impressed me, just like Bill said you would. You knuckle down, you do the overtime if needed, you don’t complain…I like you Frank, and the team does to.” “I err…” Frank scratched the back of his neck. “I’m flattered…but I’ve never managed a team before or…”

“You were an Assistant Professor at one stage right?” Alan eyed him and Frank sighed, nodding “You must have had a research team…” “Yeah, but…” “It’s no different.” Alan shook his head, “And I’m here to help and give you some guidance. I’m not quite ready to retire fully yet. Not like Bill, only so much golf I can play before I go fucking nuts.” Frank snorted “Yeah, not gonna lie, it’s not my thing…” Alan looked at him “The duties won’t be that much different Frank. You’ll just be in charge of booking the jobs in, allocating them to the guys, keeping on top of deadlines and general management of the team…means a little less time spent actually getting your hands dirty but…well, you can manage that yourself. You wanna take a job you take it.”

“Can I take a bit of time to think it over?” he asked.

“Sure. Take a few days, let me know. I’d like to have whoever is taking over in a position to start the handover by the start of October if possible so…” “Thanks.” Frank nodded “I’ll give it some thought.” “Oh, and it also comes with a Ten thou a year raise…” Alan casually dropped in as Frank stood up “Plus a bonus each year of up to 20 percent, depending on how well you’ve done on your targets” “Just a minor detail you forgot to tell me.” Frank arched an eyebrow.

“Well, I wanted to make sure you’d consider it for the right reasons not merely the financial incentive.” Alan shrugged “Another reason I’m convinced you’re perfect for the job.” Frank nodded and with that he left the office. Given that it was almost lunch time he took his break 15 or so minutes earlier and headed out into the September sun, pulling out his phone.

“Hey Sailor.” Fliss greeted him.

“Hey Cowgirl.” he smiled, leaning against the hood of his truck sipping a bottle of water “You got a sec.” “For you, always. What’s up?”

“Nothing, nothing bad anyway…I just got offered a promotion.”

“Frankie that’s amazing!” She gushed “You sound surprised though.” “I am, a little.” he said, before he launched into an explanation of what Alan had told him and what the job would entail, plus the financial incentives.

“Wow!” she said as he finished talking “Baby, that’s fantastic. I’m so proud of you!”

Frank felt himself blushing at her praise, and despite the fact he couldn’t even see her he rubbed at his neck slightly. “So, you think I should take it?” “Of course I do. But at the same time, if you don’t want to then…you don’t have to. This is a great position to be in honey, Alan’s clearly seen your potential.”

“Just not sure If I’m cut out to be management.” he said, biting his lip.

“I had the same thoughts about my business you know.” she spoke gently “I wasn’t sure if setting up on my own after everything that happened was gonna work but then Dad told me that I’d never know unless I took the plunge. Have a little faith in yourself. The only person who doubts your capability is you.”

Frank smiled at her words and looked up and out over the Marina “You always know exactly what to say.” “Not really, I make most of it up as a go along.” she said and Frank laughed. “But, just think, with the extra money you can get a new car…” “There’s nothing wrong with my truck.” “Frank, it’s died on you 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Dad reckons his ride on lawnmower has more power under the hood than that thing”

“Ok, I’ll admit…she’s getting a little clunky…but she is into her twenties now….” Fliss snorted “You could get yourself a nice Audi…”

“Fuck off.” Frank said and she laughed

“I like Simon’s car…” “You like it so much you get one.”

“Would never fit Thor in the back.” she said and Frank had to concede she had a point “But now you’re freelancing…you don’t actually need a truck do you?” “No, but…it’s handy…” “Handy, baby it only has three seats…” “And a flatbed…” Frank pouted slihglty. “So get one with five seats.” she shrugged. “You can buy trucks with a full cab…”

“This is not a good enough reason to get me to take the promotion…”

“You want a better reason?” She said. “Ok, well here’s some food for thought…when the lease is up on our place maybe we could look into buying. You know I don’t wanna rent forever, I want us to have something for the future that’s ours, and the extra money you get a year would make a difference in what we can borrow towards it.” And just like that, as always, she’d managed to sideswipe him. He’d be lying if he hadn’t considered getting back on the property market, he had savings after all…but he’d given it no more thought than a fleeting idea every now and then when he drove past places with real estate signs in the front yards

“This mean you’re coming round to the idea of marrying me and having baby Franks and Flisses?” She snorted “You’re such a dick…although that’s the only time you’ve ever mentioned that when you’re sober.” “So you’re saying that if I ask you when I’m not drunk you’d say yes?” he teased. “Goodbye Frank…” She teased in an airy voice, before she cut the call.

Chuckling to himself he slid the phone back into his pocket and headed back inside to grab his lunch from the fridge in the kitchen. As he did so he passed Paul who was heading out with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Oh, erm…Alan…” Frank looked at him. “So, turns out I don’t need as much time to think about it as I thought I did. I’ll take the job.” Alan smiled at him and pat him on the shoulder “Good man. I’ll get the wheels in motion and then we can work out how we start to transfer Paul’s responsibilities over.”

Frank nodded at him as he walked off.

“Oh…” Alan called after him, “We’ll also need to pick your car.”

“My car…” Frank frowned.

“Yeah, did I not mention? Paul’s BM…that’s a company car. I’m gonna let him keep it as a retirement present so we’ll need to order you another one. Not least because I don’t want my Head Mechanic driving around in that heap of shit you have. Looks like we don’t pay you enough…” Frank stood there, eyebrows raised as Alan simply smirked at him and left. Shaking his head, he gave a little groan, already imagining Fliss’ face when he told her.

*****

Fliss had reacted exactly how he had thought she would, laughing hysterically and then teasing him about how he had no alternative now than to get rid of the heap of shit he was ridiculously attached to. She’d then spent the evening looking at cars on her phone, showing him ridiculously pimped out vehicles in various vile colours, the final straw being a hot-rod red for Mustang with gold rims and flames painted down the side. At that point he’d snatched the phone out of her hand, grabbed her hips and pulled her down under him on the couch and given her something else to think about for half an hour or so.

September ticked by, in the usual speed by which time seemed to be flying for Frank and he found himself thrown into his job, soaking up Paul’s experience of managing the team as much as he could. He was also extremely grateful for both Fliss and Bill’s input, both of them having dealt with managing staff and rotas so he was able to ask them both questions as well. Naturally, when V heard about it she insisted on cooking him a special dinner, and even Evelyn presented him with a very nice bottle of Scotch when she came to visit as a Congratulations.

Another bit of good news for them was that once Fliss changed her phone number the calls stopped as well. Frank was glad about that, because it meant that once again they’d thwarted the ass holes attempts to intimidate her. She’d made a blog, however, of every call she had gotten which now sat in Greg’s files along with the Card. Just in case.

Nope, on the whole life seemed to be going well for the pair of them.

“Someone’s looking smug…” Greg teased Frank as he leaned back in the chair around Greg’s large outdoor table. It was a Saturday at the start of October and they’d finally got round to having that cook out and gathering that the Circle of Truth had been attempting to organise round everyone’s schedule for the last 3 months.

“Well, you know…life’s pretty good.” Frank smiled, sipping his beer, his eyes straying to Fliss who was stood around the bar area to the right of the garden with Bonnie, Zara and Lisa. She was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a tie-died off the shoulder sweater but as usual, she looked stunning.

“You got a ring yet?” Jake asked, dropping down into a seat next to him.

“Oh don’t you start as well.” Frank groaned as Simon and Greg both laughed. “We’re happy as we are…besides, we’ve not even been together a year yet…” “Not far off.” Jake shrugged “Man, when you know you know…” “He’s just scared she’ll say no.” Simon teased. Frank stilled for a moment and then turned to glare at the man. “Shit, you are?” Simon frowned “No, not especially but…” Frank shook his head, trying to find the words to explain “I’m absolutely, totally convinced I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I know she feels the same but…well she’s been married before and I don’t want to ask until I know she’s ready to do it again.”

Greg looked at him, nodding “I get that.”

“That’s gotta be the most grown up think you’ve ever said…” Jake looked at Frank who flipped him off but deep down he had to admit, it wasn’t wrong. He knew that both he and Fliss had come a long way from the people they had been just over 14 months ago when they had first met. Fliss had come alive, flourished even in herself, and he…well, he’d learnt that there was more to life than the meaningless cycle of one night stands and that flying by the seat of his pants wasn’t always the most productive thing to do. Both of them had been broken in their own way, had their own guards and walls around themselves which the other had managed to smash straight through. He stole another glance at Fliss and smiled, he knew there was no other woman for him, but in the same breath…what was the rush? They had a life time. And a ring and a piece of paper wasn’t going to change any of that.

“Man you grew up…” Simon grinned and Frank rolled his eyes.

“Look, I’ll have you know I’ve brought up a kid since the age of 6 months…all this shit about me being a man child…It’s crap…”

“Whatever man…we all know you’re not a grown up until you have scatter cushions on your sofa…” Simon teased, referencing the previous week when he and Bonnie had come over for drinks and Fliss and Frank had had a jokey argument about said cushions. Frank threw his head back in a huge bout of laugher, shaking his head.

“Fuck you!” he said, looking at him as Simon grinned.

“Anyway, man…speaking of weddings…” Greg turned to Jake “You’ve been engaged for what? Three years now…when you gonna set a date?”

“He has a point…” Simon looked at him.

“Well, you can all shut the fuck up because for your information we have.”

“Shut the front door!” Greg grinned

Jake nodded and took a large mouthful of his beer.

“So you gonna tell any of us or…” Jake glanced over at Lisa before he yelled her name and she looked over at him, the other women also looking up.

“Can we tell them now babe?” he called. Lisa grinned and nodded, and then made her way over followed by Zara. Fliss looked at Bonnie who shrugged, and the two of them picked up their drinks and followed.

Fliss perched on Frank’s knee and he slid one hand round her waist the other dropped to her thigh.

“So, we have set a date for the wedding.” Lisa smiled to a huge shriek from Zara. Frank spotted Fliss looking at Bonnie, the two of them sharing a significant smirk and he squeezed her thigh.

“Stop being a bitch.” he said in a low voice.

“Rude…” she mumbled, grinning into her gin. “6th April next year…” Jake grinned. “At Hardemans Secret Garden in Dover, Tampa.” “Well unless you invented a time machine, it ain’t gonna be this year is it?” Simon looked at him, before he gave a yell as Bonnie slapped him round the back of the head.

“Obviously you’re all invited.” Jake said, “Except for Simon.” “Hang on, if he isn’t coming does that mean I can’t?” Bonnie pouted.

“You can be my plus one.” Fliss nodded.

“Oi…” Frank nipped her thigh gently. She grinned at him, ruffling his hair slightly. He jerked his head out of her reach and looked at her over his aviators. She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned.

“Guys this is great news…” Greg said, nodding “Best dig the suit out.” “You wear a suit to work every day.” Zara looked at him.

“And you won’t need to.” Jake shook his head. “In fact none of you will…my brother is best man, obviously, but I’d like you guys there as my Groomsmen…that is, if you’re up for it.” Frank smiled at Greg, then Simon before they all shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m in…” Greg smiled.

“Me too pal, I’m honoured.” Frank smiled, tipping his beer bottle in Jake’s direction.

“Does this mean we get to plan the Batchelor party?” Simon asked. Jake nodded with a grin and Simon leaned back “Oh this is gonna be beautiful….”

***** “You’re fucking mental.” Frank looked at Fliss as she shrugged, circling Cap back round to the jump which Joanne had just hiked up another foot. He shook his head and turned away “I can’t watch.” “Don’t’ be a chicken Frank.” Mary grinned up at him, “It’s cool…I wanna do that some day.” “Over my dead body.” Frank looked down at her.

“Yeah you said that about me going to Boston.” “No, that’s not what I said.” Frank sighed, looking at her “I said over my dead body were you going to live with Evelyn….and did you?” “No…” Mary conceded “But you’re letting me go back for a weekend.”

“Yes, because you’re going for 2 nights and coming home” he said, and despite himself he turned his head to see Fliss sail Cap over the huge jump.

“See….” Fliss said, pulling the horse up to a stop “Easy…” “Whatever you say sweetheart.” he shook his head.

“Can I jump Monty soon?” Mary asked, and Fliss smiled.

“Yeah we can do a little cross pole…” “I give in…” Frank groaned, throwing his hands out to the side “The pair of you are nuts.”

“Says the guy who almost cried when he had to order a new car.” Fliss looked at him and Frank rolled his eyes “I mean who does that?” “Yeah Frank…” Mary said, swinging off the fence to the paddock, leaning back to look at him. “You get to swap a rust bucket for a shiny new Mitsubishi and you were like heartbroken.” “Hey, me and that truck have seen a lot of action-“ “I don’t wanna know…” Fliss started.

“Of which you’ve been part of…” he smirked her and she flushed a little, grinning. “I’m kinda attached to it.” “It’s a lump of metal.” Fliss looked at him.

“How dare you.” Frank scoffed, feigning offence.

“Well now you can have new adventures in the new truck.” Mary shrugged “Simples.” “When you do get it I vote the first thing we do is load it up and head off for a picnic somewhere.” Fliss said, hopping off Cap.

“I can go with that.” Frank nodded as she turned and walked towards the gate, letting her out.

“Can I take him?” Mary asked, hopping down off the fence.

“Sure…” Fliss said, handing her the reins. Mary led the horse away to the barn as Fliss removed her hat and pulled out her bobble, shaking her long hair free before she tied it back up again.

“I really do like it that colour.” Frank mused after a second, watching her. She blushed a little, and he knew why. A week ago she’d come back from the salon, her usually bright auburn hair was a lot more demure, having had caramel put through the ends. When Frank had complimented her on the change she’d gotten a little shy and said that she used to have it like that when she was younger, but John had always wanted her to keep it her natural colour. Now she felt like she fancied a change. Her admission had once again, knocked Frank for, how simple little things like that were so huge for her.

She pulled off her riding gloves, shoved them into her back pocket and they walked into the barn as Mary opened Cap’s stable and led him inside. As always, the large horse bowed his head gently to allow Mary to undo his bridle and Fliss smiled. Cap was secretly her favourite after Heidi. He was such a loving animal, despite his size always being so gentle and careful around people, especially Mary. Most animals were like that around her, she just had this aura that they seemed to like. But then again, everyone said that animals were a good judge of character.

“Can we go to the shack for dinner?” Mary spoke up, looking at Frank “It is Saturday…”

“Oh, I dunno…” Frank sighed, “Not sure my heap of shit truck will get us there.” “No but Fliss’ jeep will.” Mary shrugged and Frank shook his head with a snort.

“You literally have an answer for everything.”

“Wonder where she gets that from…” Fliss looked at him and he nudged her gently with his elbow.

“So can we go or not?”

“Yes, ok we can go to the shack.” Frank said “But the deal is you tidy your room when you get home. It’s a disgrace.” Mary pondered this for a moment as Fliss undid the girth on Cap’s saddle, pulling it off.

“Deal.” she nodded “Only Fliss said she was gonna help me sort my clothes out…some of them don’t fit anymore.”

“Yeah we do that tomorrow morning.” Fliss smiled, “Then we can look at ordering you some warm stuff for New York.” “Are we still getting matching sweaters when we get there?” “No.” Frank said, at the same time Fliss nodded.

“Yes.” “No, we’re not.” Frank looked at her.

“Errr 2 vs 1 Sailor, you’re outvoted.” she shrugged, pushing past him with the saddle on her arms. “But if you’re a good boy we’ll let you pick them right Mary?” “I dunno.” Mary frowned “Have you seen his shirts?” Fliss let out a roar of laughter and turned to face her, before she looked at Frank, laughing even harder at the pure indignation on his face.

“I hate you both.” he said sullenly, folding his arms.

The Shack was busy by the time they arrived but given that it wasn’t too cold they managed to find a small table outside and ordered their food, Mary getting through an astonishing amount considering but the Frank had noticed she was going through a bit of a growth spurt which he mentioned to Fliss when they were snuggled up on the sofa later.

“Not sure getting her any stuff for New York yet is wise.” he mused “If she carries on like she is it won’t fit her.”

“Well we can wait…Fliss said shrugging, her hand rubbing at Frank’s stomach under his shirt. “You have no idea how excited I am…” “Really?” Frank snorted “You never mentioned it.” “Oh piss off” she laughed, before she sighed happily “It’s the one thing I miss about home and Boston…you know this time of year the leaves would be changing colour and falling,…”

“I know what you mean.” he said, his hands carding through her hair “You don’t really Seasons here.”

“Well you do…” Fliss said, “Hurricane and Summer.” Frank let out a laugh as she looked up at him. “You know you’re my hurricane.”

“What?” he looked at her

“Came into my life, blew it all upside down…” “Jesus you talk some shit!” he laughed, shaking his head as she grinned.

“You know there was actually a hurricane Frank back in 2010. So I’m not talking complete shit…” “Whatever Sweetheart…” he snorted, leaning back as her nails scratched against his stomach. He gave a twitch and grabbed her wrist, and looked down at her as she flashed him a coy look. “Stop it.”

“What, this?” she moved and used her other hand, and Frank let out a hiss as he shifted and grabbed that one too.

“You know what that does to me…” he looked at her, his voice low.

“Yup.” she nodded, grinning.

With a jerk of his arms he pulled her forward so she fell onto him fully, drawing a giggle from her as her nose bumped against his.

“I fuckin’ love you.” he smiled at her, and she grinned, giving him a soft kiss.

“Yeah, you’ve told me once or twice…” she smirked, her lips locking onto his.

******

“Fliss?”

“Office…” she called back, and a second or so later Joanne popped her head into the room.

“Everything’s done.” she said, “I was gonna lock up…you’re not normally here this late.”

“Yeah I know but I have some paper work to sort. Need to file a couple of things and, well, thought it would be easier to do it here than take everything home. Frank’s taken Mary bowling so…” “And you’d rather be here doing paper work?” Joanne teased.

“Sadly, it needs doing…besides, last time we went I kicked his ass, again, he sulked for hours.” Fliss snorted “Maybe he stands more of a chance against Mary.”

“Won’t he let her win?” Joanne asked “I mean, she is only eight…”

“No chance.” Fliss looked at Jo. “He says that she needs reminding every now and then that she’s not a genius at everything…” Joanne let out a laugh “Fair enough. Ok, well I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, bye Jo…”

Fliss set about getting to work, filing the various bills and disclaimers she’d had signed and started then sifting through the list of clients and payments, checking who owed what and typing out the bills for the month. Once they were printed and placed in envelopes, ready to be tacked to the stable doors in the morning she glanced at the clock and realised it was almost 8 pm. Frank and Mary should be home now.

She was just about to pack up when she realised she hadn’t gone through the post for the day. For a second she debated leaving it for the morning, but decided she would get it over with. There wasn’t much- mostly a couple of letters from various equestrian societies around the area about a few events going on, but the last one she reached was a manila envelope with the address typed out on the front.

She turned it over, opened it and then pulled out the contents and immediately felt her blood run cold as she looked at the paper in front of her. It was a copy of the photo of her and Mary, taken from the first Blog that Mary had written over the summer. Underneath it was typed a simple message- I always knew you’d suit motherhood.

Fliss swallowed, it didn’t take a genius to work out who it was from but for the first time since his ridiculous campaign now she was actually frightened as to the meaning behind this. Up until now it he’d been nothing more than annoying but this was designed to be more than an aggravation.

It was a threat. A direct threat telling her he knew about Mary.

Whilst Fliss wasn’t Mary’s mother, and would never claim to be she loved that girl like she was her own and the fact that John was even brining her into this made her feel physically sick, so much so that she felt the bile rising in her throat and with a sharp heave she lurched to the side, grabbing the waste paper basket and hocking up the bitter substance. Coughing she wiped the back of her mouth with a shaking hand, reaching for the bottle of water on her desk.

She folded the photo up and stuck it back in the envelope, shoving it in the drawer before she stood up and locked her office, heading to her jeep. Her mind was reeling, now it wasn’t just her he was focussing on, this changed everything. Did she tell Frank? She knew she should, she couldn’t leave Mary in danger. Not that she believed any harm would come to her, not really, especially not under Frank’s care but that was another worry she had. That if she told Frank this, it was really going to push him over that edge into blind rage, and he’d been on the first plane out to Boston, hunting the fucker down…and then what?

He ended up in jail himself because Fliss knew Frank well enough to understand that if that blind rage took hold, he wouldn’t stop.

She had no answer to this, nothing. She sat in her jeep, staring out of the window, trying to force the thoughts and mumbles and voices in her heat to quiet, so she could think clearly, get some form of grasp on what it was she needed to do. And then one voice was screamed at her, clearly, giving her a solution…the only one she could viably see working.

With a loud sob, Fliss covered her face in her hands, unable to see an alternative to the decision she had just reached. A decision that was going to break her heart more than anything had ever done before.

******

“Hey, you’re late…” Frank looked up, immediately frowning as he saw Fliss’ face. “Honey…what…” “Where’s Mary?” she asked instantly.

“She nipped to Roberta’s” Frank said “I know it’s late but we saw her as we were headed out of the car and she wanted to collect something for Show and Tell tomorrow…why?”

“We need to talk.” Fliss said.

Frank stood up off the sofa and walked towards her, he reached for her and she took a step back.

“Ok, Fliss, you’re scaring me now…what…”

“I think…” Fliss looked down at her hands “I think that we need to stop seeing each other.”

Frank blinked, not sure he had heard her right, but when he looked at her he saw a tear trickling down her face and she was avoiding his gaze. The world around him began to fade and a dull buzzing filled his head and rang around his ears as a horrible cold feeling washed over him.

“Lissy…” he swallowed, his words sticking in his throat “What’s brought this on? Did I do something? Are you not happy? I don’t understand…” “I just…it isn’t working for me…” she took a deep breath and looked up at him.

“You’re lying.” he said instantly, he could see it written all over her face “Fliss, what’s going on?” “Nothing, I’m sorry. I just…I need to leave, I need space.” she said “I’m so sorry Frank…” Frank took a deep breath, and watched as she turned to leave. After a second he hurried after her into the hallway, shaking his head.

“Lissy, please…talk to me…” he all but begged as she walked to the door. She made to open it but Frank was behind her and placed his hand firmly on the top of the PVC, causing it to shut. She spun round and looked up at him, the tears now pouring down her face.

“Please, Frank…don’t make this any harder than it is…” her voice was broken, and she shook her head. “I don’t understand what THIS is?” he looked at her, running a hand through his hair as he felt the stinging of tears in his own eyes “Last month we were talking about buying a house together and now you just wanna break it off, for no reason? Honey, just…whatever is going on, we can work through it, just talk to me.”

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered, “Just…let me out…please…”

He looked at her again, her eyes bouncing across his and he knew instantly he couldn’t stop her, and would never do that to her either, no matter how much he so desperately wanted to lock the door and force her to tell him what the fuck was going on. So with a sniff he forced himself to step back and her hand went to the door knob, her shoulders shaking.

“Liss, please…” his voice cracked. “Don’t do this…”

She took a deep breath and opened the door, the warm air from outside hit him in the face, tears stinging his eyes slightly before click of the latch hit his ears as the door shut behind her, leaving him stood alone in the hallway, stunned and utterly, utterly broken.

**** Chapter 21

#riding high #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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zontiky · 3 years

Text

okay so i tried to save this ask as a draft and it got deleted because tumblr is just such a functional website like that <3 but the prompt was “the hargreeves as ghosts in the apocalypse with five” or something like that i’m going to scream

this is SUPER long so i’m putting it under the cut hfkjsd

pre-five: the hargreeves siblings are dead. wait i feel a drabble coming on ooh

The Hargreeves siblings are dead.

Ben isn’t very aware of this at first. He’s been dead since 2006 -- he’s quite used to it, by now. What he is aware of, first, is light. Blinding white light. And Vanya, in the middle of it. He doesn’t close his eyes because he can’t feel pain, but if he could he thinks she would have made him blind. There’s light, and heat, and power, and then he closes his eyes anyway because the ceiling is collapsing around him and it’s instinctual.

When he opens them again he sees ash. Ash -- and Klaus.

He’s gotten used to Klaus, too. Klaus has a memorable sort of face; even if he didn’t, Ben has seen it every single day for almost twenty years. He doesn’t know if it’s actually been twenty years, for him. He doesn’t know how time moves for ghosts. Klaus has assured him it moves the same as it does for the living. Ben isn’t sure Klaus, stoned out of his mind, bleeding sluggishly from his arm, knew what he was talking about.

Anyway.

Klaus.

He’s wearing the coat he’s been flaunting around for the past week. His shirt is see-through, with little stars on it, like a pale imitation of the sky. Ben remembers his pants had laces on them, he’s sure they did not a minute ago, before the brightness that threatened to wipe out his very soul -- his soul is all he has left, really. His gaze drifts down anyway, to check.

Yes. Klaus’ pants have laces up the sides.

“No,” Ben says. Klaus is laying in a heap on the ground, his fingers curled like his tendons have been cut.

His lips feel numb because they always feel numb. Because Ben can’t feel at all. He takes a step. “No,” he says again, louder, surer. “No!”

Klaus looks up at him. His makeup is smudged, like it tends to be. His lips are bitten raw, like they tend to be. His hair is a mess, like it tends to be, and like it will be, always, because Klaus isn’t breathing.

Klaus is lying in a heap on the ground. Klaus is standing above his own body. Klaus is reaching for Ben like he’s hoping to touch him for the first time in years. Just when Klaus’ cold, dead, fingers brush his face, a voice from behind says, so quietly, dripping with disbelief: “Ben?”

Ben shuts his eyes and wishes desperately he could cry.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, for the first time in so, so long, but he also doesn’t feel it at all. He feels-but-doesn’t-feel someone turn him around, until they are saying, “Ben? Ben!” and he has no choice but to open his eyes and face the music.

Diego is gripping his shoulders like he is a dying man and Ben is the answer. Behind him, Luther and Allison watch them, stunned silent. Allison’s hands are pressed to her mouth. She looks like she wants to cry.

And Vanya. Little Vanya, painted white. Her head is hung as her shoulders shake with the weight of the destruction she has so inevitably caused. (Ben would say he always knew she was destined for great things -- but he can’t, because he didn’t.) (Nobody ever said great things had to be good.)

The Hargreeves siblings are dead. Their bodies are strewn across what is left of their childhood home, smouldering and burning, and Ben is very aware of that fact.

righto anyway. so they have an emotional reunion but its also kind of bitter? id have to actually write this for it to make sense so lets skip it for now lol

five shows up

he cannot see them obviously bc theyre all ghosts

god if i did write this it would be such a monster of a fic and would take me like 2 years to finish i already know fhkjdsk

somehow ?? they manage to influence the world around them maybe? idk maybe now that klaus is dead hes sober

or maybe hes high for all eternity?

for the purposes of this au lets say he died sober or in the late stages of withdrawal, and bc ghosts cant feel pain in action hes sober

so EVENTUALLY they figure out how to corporealize bc klaus is like blam wham ghost powers

asdlfk that sounds so stupid im sorry

he would say that tho imho,,, it sounds like something hed say,,,

if i DID write this it would be alternating povs also,,,

ok so out of all of them klaus and ben have the most experience homeless

and while being stuck in an apocalypse is not at all the same thing as being homeless it does help to have some knowledge

five doesnt eat the twinkie!! good for him

dammit okay. theres 2 options we can take here. in the comics five couldnt get back bc he fucked up his math and spent 15 years doing the wrong thing, but if u apply that here, with 6 other ppl checking his work this could be avoided and they end up skipping the whole assassin shtick and just hopping straight back to 2019, ready to prevent the apocalypse

OR five still gets hired for the commission but the sibs are tagging along

i think bc five isnt completely alone in this au unfortunately dolores doesnt exist :((

for each other the 2 paths tho theres also options?? bc they (ghosts) can go back in time and inhabit their past selves bodies? OR they could just,,, cease to exist

IM JUST NOW REALIZING HOW MANY PATHS THIS COULD TAKE,, AAH FUCK

okay gonna split this into parts. this is gonna be so long brace yourselves.

1) they go back in time because math checking and the ghosts swap out for their past selves

after multiple years of being stuck in an apocalypse together i think they would learn to get along with each other. like at least a little bit

which would make it easier for them to prevent the apocalypse

bc theyd:

trust each other more

already know abt the apocalypse and not have to wait for five to grace them all with his knowledge

are working as a team from the very beginning

have open lines of communication

yeah uh. so there

vanya is also already aware of her powers so the whole harold goading her into turning against her family and snapping to wipe out all life on earth thing? yeah that doesnt happen

oh and harold wouldn’t know how to do that in the first place because klaus wouldn’t throw out reggie’s journal! this solves so many problems wtf

there’s still commission issues bc they (and by they i mean five) are on the commission’s radar

so there’s still dope fight scenes sdlkfd pinky promise

okay idk. they stop the apocalypse and everything is okay the end hfkjd

2) they fix the math but only five can go back and the ghosts cease to exist

this is just sad! it would be sad okay! im sad! lets move on

subset of the past one: ben CAN go back with five because he was already dead and time travel affects them differently or something idk

aaaaaa

five & ben dynamic duo would be dope as shit BUT five would not be able to see him... so they use klaus as a middleman fjsdsfd

is there 2 bens? is one ben deleted in favor of the time-traveling ben? i dont know! i dont know my brain is melting

either way shit is happening yall!! obviously klaus is clued in, directly or indirectly it doesnt matter but he is on board the ‘don’t let the entire world end in flames’ train

3) they join the commission and then when five goes back in time they all go back

this is fun because now five is a highly trained assassin who is also lowkey a complete marshmallow for his siblings and once again TEAMWORK WOO

basically the first path but now five has a gun fhsdjk

4) they join the commission but five has to leave them behind and they cease to exist

five with a gun but hes sad now

i didnt go into how much losing his siblings would suck in the prev path but like. it would suck so much. he’s already lost them once if you think about it when he time traveled the first time and yeah he found the adult ghost versions but,, its different

and now suddenly hes stuck with these strange adult versions of the people he knows and he KNOWS them but also he doesnt? at all? they dont have all the years of shared experiences together? and theyre all grown up from the first ‘set’ of siblings he had which for five was like 40+ years ago??

SCREAMS

i have losing my mind disease (self-diagnosed)

subset: five has to leave them behind but they still exist because the commission is out-of-time kind of? idk but they’re still floating around somewhere and come back to impact the plot later or something

yeah idk. literally just wrote them down bc i didnt want them to die^2 hfkjwehd

subset: they still exist but instead of being just Somewhere they’re specifically at the assassination of JFK onwards because thats where five left them and they either go on ghosting and make an appearance in s2 OR they cease because them-wise they havent died yet but that doesnt make sense because ghosts can time travel so nevermind

i dont have the brain energy left to explore this one aaaa

okay jesus christ i think that’s all

I DON’T KNOW. i don’t know. i might write some more of this because honestly it is a very fine flavor of angst + hurt/comfort <3

#didnt proofread this at all 💀 fhsdfks #tua #the umbrella academy #pls dont let this flop i spent like an hour on it hfjksd #aus #team zero #ben hargreeves #wip #I GUESS #misc #ghosting au

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isthisthingeven0n · 4 years

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sad together, last together : s.s

REQUESTS ARE CLOSED UNTIL AUGUST. Please do not send one in right now, as I can’t get to it sorry guys.

brief summary: it all started with a drunken mistake, but led to something more between two of the sadest people in the vlog squad - shame no one knows how beautiful it all is just yet

word count: 1.3k requested: yes! i combined two requests (one to use sad together by olivia obrien a vibe entirely) (two - write about dating scotty and no one knowing) warnings: idk if there are any?? let me know if there are!

* masterlistin’ / masterlistin’ 2.0

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it hasn’t been approved me unless specified. all rights reserved. - i have to start doing this as I had some shit on my other blog with plagiarism)

DO NOT STEAL MY WORK - IT IS ALL MY OWN WRITING

Your fingertip swirls around the rim of the glass as you watch everyone dance together, not a single care in the world consumes their thoughts.

David’s filming Natalie and Corinna, whilst Zane orders more shots to share with Todd and smiles cross all of their faces. Yet, you’re sat in the booth by yourself, too preoccupied with past memories.

“Hey,” Snapping from your past, you smile up as Scott slides into the booth next to you with two shot glasses being placed on the table. “you doing alright?” He asks, you only just understanding him by reading his lips.

“Yeah,” You lie, nodding along to persuade him. “just in my head a bit, that’s all.” You add, glancing to your left, remembering when his arm was around you as you laughed giddily.

Scott goes quiet upon seeing your brows furrow together, your shoulders dropping. “Here,” He speaks up, passing you the shot glass. “it won’t last forever you know.” He tells you, nudging your arm playfully.

“I know, we’re born alone and we die alone, so cheers.” You hold up the glass before knocking the shot back, feeling the bitter burn through your throat as you wipe your lips.

The last thing you expected to wake up to in the morning was a face smushed into the pillow beside you, let alone Scott’s face smushed into a pillow.

“What the fuck!” You blurt out, tumbling out from your bed as Scott begins to stir.

“Too loud.” He mumbles, rubbing his eyes before opening them and looking up to see you. “You’re in my top.” He points out groggily.

“And you’re in my bed, shirtless.” You add and Scott sits upright, taking a look at himself before his eyes widen.

“Did we?” He holds the bridge of his nose as you shrug your shoulders, trying to remember details from last night. “All I remember is you telling me you didn’t want to be alone.”

A small laugh leaves your lips as you perch back on the edge of your bed, smiling up at him. “I mean, that parts true.” You say, now focusing solely on the rising smile on Scott’s lips. “Do you want some breakfast?”

“I’d love some, yeah.”

It was only going to be a two-time thing, but sometimes things didn’t work out that way.

Lying in bed, curled up against Scott’s chest you could hear his heartbeat rhythmically beating. He was fast asleep whilst you were focused on the ceiling, endless thoughts circling your mind.

“Why’re you awake?” Glancing up, you see Scott tiredly looking down at you with a lazy smile.

“Sorry,” You mutter, slowly moving to sit upright. “I just couldn’t get to sleep, too much on my mind that’s all.” You shrug it off, but even in the darkness, you can see the faint outline of concern on Scott’s face.

“Is it about us?” Scott speaks up, catching you looking away from him as he mentions the possibility of being an ‘us.’ “If you wanna stop, we can. I know this was a temporary agreement.” Scott justifies as he shuffles under the covers.

“I, I don’t want it to be temporary.” You quietly admit, playing with the hem of his t-shirt over your body. “And I know, that’s wrong of me to say, but I didn’t think I’d get attached.”

Remaining still, you can feel your heart sinking as Scott turns away from you.

Yet, you blink as he turns the bedside lamp on and quickly reaches out, holding your cheek with his hand as he kisses you sweetly, not wanting to let go.

“Then let’s make it long-lasting, huh?” Scott mutters as you pull away from the kiss, feeling his words closely as you nod. “I guess we should go on a date sometime then?” He suggests, hearing you chuckle softly before cuddling back up into him, knowing you’ll get a better night sleep with him holding you close.

Much to your surprise, things were going well between you both. Yet you couldn’t ignore that dull thought in the back of your mind, still fighting its way through your barriers to pipe in.

Today was one of those days, and you couldn’t ignore the thoughts. Scott could tell from the moment he walked into your place. Usually, you greeted him with a tight hug, your legs wrapped around his waist as he walks to your couch, the pair of you just lounging over one another talking about your days. Instead, Scott was greeted with silence and the eventual shuffle of your slippers, followed by a half-hearted wave.

“Do you wanna go out somewhere?” Scott suggests, feeling the weight of your head lifting from his chest as you quirk an eyebrow in response. “I mean, just to get out of the house. As much as I love being here, fresh air isn’t a bad thing either.” Scott shrugs his shoulder, trying to play it off. But really he does care, and is scared about it.

Rubbing your eyes with your palm, you nod along. “Sure, I’ll grab my purse.” You force yourself to your feet, wandering back into your bedroom as you change into your trainers, discarding your slippers under the dark depths of your bed.

As you emerge from the bedroom, Scott can’t help but beam at you. It didn’t matter how many times he’d seen you, nor what state he has previously seen you in. But there was something about your tired smile and messy hair, just on show for you and him, it made his heart beat faster as you rolled your eyes.

“Alright house cat, let’s go.” Scott holds his hand out, feeling you grab hold as he pulls you to his side, kissing the top of your head as a smile crosses your lips before you close the front door behind you.

Laughing lightly, you took another spoonful of the ice cream to your lips. “You got something on your nose,” Scott motions and you bashfully look away, trying to wipe it off. “come here you dipshit.” Scott chuckles as he rests his hand under your chin, using his thumb to wipe off the blob of ice cream on your nose.

“Better?” You ask, his hand moving up to rest on your cheek.

“Beautiful.” Scott mutters in response before leaning in, kissing you with the sweetness of strawberry ice cream.

“Fuck off, no!” Pulling away abruptly, you both turn to see Zane stood to the side of you with Hidaya by his side, covering her mouth with both hands. “No, you guys? Seriously?” Zane stutters over his words, watching in shock as you just nod.

“Yeah, for like four months.” You smile up at Scott, hearing the words leave his lips. “She’s my girlfriend, and I’m her kinda depressed boyfriend.”

“Oh my god this is adorable.” Hidaya comments, nudging Zane to say something as he simply stares at you both like jugs of apple juice in Ralphs.

“Four months, and none of us noticed?” Zane reiterates his point as you just chuckle before moving over, patting his shoulder lightly.

“It’s okay, Zane. But hey, you’re the first to know.” You joke before moving back over to Scott, accepting your ice cream from him.

“See, I told you good things happen when I visit.” Hidaya mutters, causing you to chuckle lightly.

“You guys want some ice cream, I don’t mind getting some more since mine has half melted.”

Scott looks down to the melted puddle of cream in the cup. “That’s one sad lookin’ ice cream.”

“Almost as sad as us, huh?” You mumble as you walk away to find the nearest trash can.

“So you guys are kinda serious then?” Zane questions, noticing how Scott looks away from him and toward you as you wipe your hands over your skirt before turning back.

“I mean yeah, we’re both sad, so why not be sad together?” Scott shrugs his shoulders as you return, giving him another reason to carry on with his day.

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peachyteabuck · 4 years

Text

study buddy, part v

series summary: after crushing on you since freshman orientation, Natasha finally gets the guts to ask you help you pass her postmodern lit midterm, to which you agree.

chapter summary: one restaurant date, two confessions, and three grades that will make or break natasha’s degree

pairing: natasha romanoff x reader

words: 4,881

trigger warnings: overstimulation, use of a safe word, teeth rotting fluff, strap on sex, ball gags, explicit conversations about whorephobia, orgasm control, angst if you squint

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

part one, part two, part three, part four

The warmth of the sun filtered through blinds is what woke you, wrapped tight in Natasha’s arms. The sex-stained blankets were as messy as can be, some of them hugged your intertwined bodies like a tightly wrapped burrito while others were nearly falling off the bed.

It was messy, beautifully and wonderfully so. If you felt the need to move (which, of course you didn’t because who in their right mind would try to disentangle themselves from such a lovely human person) you doubt you could’ve; Natasha held you with arms too strong and heart beat too soft. You wouldn’t dare disturb her if the house was on fire; then again, if the world was burning down around you – you’d rather die in her arms than reach for uncertain safety. It’s there that you fell back into sleep, tucked under her chin and running your fingers through her hair.

Eventually the growling of your stomachs woke the both of you up, each respective organ desperate for nourishment – and the two hard-boiled eggs, sour gummy worms, gluten-free bread, and half a container of mustard wasn’t gonna cut it. The waning sun was an ominous sign of how long you’d truly gone without food, and you soon didn’t feel all that bad about poking your poor g-

Poking poor Natasha awake.

You didn’t feel all that bad poking Natasha awake as your insides beg for sustenance and your head feels light and holy shit, if you didn’t eat right then you were going to start taking bites out of her – and, for the first time, not in a fun and/or sexy way.

“Hey,” you pressed your forefinger to her nose. “Nat.” You poked the end of each eyebrow, then at various locations of her forehead. “Natasha!” Still, she remained asleep, and buried herself further into the blankets as some unconscious act of survival. “Nat.” You poked her right cheek. “Naat.” You poked her left cheek. “Naaat.” You poked each cheek with each hand at its softest part, pushing until you felt her teeth. “Nat wake uuup.”

She just grunted and pushed you away before she nuzzled back into the covers. “Go away. I want to die here. Let me become a body without organs.”

She paused.

“Or is it organs without bodies?”

You sighed but make no move to displace her. “One, Natasha, we have the midterm coming out soon. If you do not know the original work done by two far left authors from the sarcastic critique by another far left author, I’m breaking up with you. Two, that’s not what that means and you making a vague reference to some postmodern concept does not mean I am going to stop being annoying. Three, would you like to come get dinner with me?”

Natasha shot up, flame-red hair messy and shirt disheveled – it made her look like the top of of a thicket of trees during a forest fire. Along the side of her face, you could see indentations from where her skin was pressed to the pillowcase. “Food?”

You nodded, pushing the strands from her eyes. “Yes, darling, food.”

She wiped at her face and pushed the covers from her legs, eyes half-closed. “Food.”

You picked some of the crust from the corner of her eyes. She blinked indignantly at you but made no move to stop you. “Do you care where we go?”

Natasha shook her head left-to-right silently, then moved to wipe her face once more.

“Okay. There is a very good Chinese place that I want to show you. Is that okay with you?”

Natasha nodded and made a mmhmm noise.

“Cool.”

You kissed the tip of her nose before you got up and scrounged together a passable outfit that would cover the bruises that still littered your body and shield you from the cold. After a few moments, Natasha opened her eyes wide enough to see a few feet in front of her and did the same.

There was s a wonderful silence that filled the air, the comfortable kind. Like the day of that quiz, it’s a wonderful kind of cozy – soothing and sweet.

You could get used to this…

It was a short walk to the restaurant, one you were all-too familiar with due to your many, many nights there. It was the first place you ate at on campus (that wasn’t one of the mind-numbingly mediocre cafeterias) the day you moved in and it had become some pseudo-home, the place always warm and waitstaff always nice (and always willing to let you eat as much as you pay for and abuse their free WiFi).

The menu hadn’t changed much (by “much,” you mean they’ve fixed two of the five typos) since you first started going there, so you should have already known what you want. Still, you opened the folded, laminated paper and read each item with genuine interest, just as Natasha did.

You looked up at her once and awhile just to see her again. Every time you tried to keep her out of your line or sight for more than a few seconds you’d almost burst at the seams, like a sunburst than could only be quelled by looking at her.

“What year are you?” Natasha asked, which broke your unbelievably tender train of thought.

Your brain, which was still very fried, did not compute. “What?”

She reached over to point to the Chinese zodiac calendar on your menu with one of many of her fingers that was inside you last night. “What year are you?”

You mumbled something and shrugged, fake-intense-reading as your neurons attempted to rebuild your capacity for speech. Luckily, Natasha seemed determined to continue the conversation.

“I’m the year of the dog,” she said, nonchalant, as if you were not losing your goddamn mind on the other side of the table. Your brain was fried, your mouth was gaping like a fish out of water, and were your hands shaking? What the fuck were you supposed to say? How should you respond?

Think, you fool! Think!

“There’s a feminist critical theorist who fucks her dog,” you blurted.

Natasha just smiled – god her smile was so big and wide and beautiful - and laughed. “Part of me thinks you’re lying, but part of me worries you’re telling the truth.”

You laughed then, too, smiling big as she did. It set the tone for the rest of the night, mood light and happy as the tired, probably-high waitress took your order and then brought you the food a suspiciously-short amount of time later. It was good, very good.

“And my mom turns to me and she goes,” you wrinkled your noise in an effort to properly invoke your mother’s nasally tone. “This family does not get Fs or Ds or Cs. You better fix this or else.”

Natasha almost choked on her soft drink at your impression. “You were supposed to make an omelet for a foods and nutrition class, what did she want you to do!?”

You took another bite of orange chicken before you rolled your eyes and shrugged. “I have no idea what that woman wants from me now, let alone when I was fuckin’ fourteen.”

You were both laughing as you took food from each other’s plates and swapped small stories. Natasha told you about her own coding mishaps (apparently it was easy to hack into news websites and create fake stories involving certain celebrities and a certain large bird and many, if not too many, phallic objects), you told her about the time you stress-cried in the bathroom so much the janitor kept tissues in a secret compartment for you.

One hand from each of you remained occupied as you held hands on the side of the table farthest from the prying eyes of fellow college students (as if any of them were sober enough to notice, though. Along with being great to you, the restaurant’s very greasy menu meant it was a good spot to quench munchies or quell the pain of an especially bad hangover).

A phone – your phone, you realized – vibrated obnoxiously on the other side of the table. Previously forgotten, you broke from the moment to reengage with the (seemingly) hundreds of people who were attempting reach you via text. At first you thought it’s an email from a client – but then you realized it was a text from a classmate. Specifically, the girl who sat front and center in the lecture hall you and Natasha shared.

“Who’s that?” Natasha asked.

You furrowed your brows as you texted, swallowing the last bit of food. “Oh, Lindsay from our class. She wants to know what I got on the quiz.”

Natasha then realized she never bothered to figure out her grade, and it brought all her anxiety about graduating on time and also making sure you’d never leave her and oh my god what if she failed this fucking quiz?

A few moments of soul-crushing silence passed before you put your phone back down. Natasha watched you like a cat stalking a fake mouse on a string, or a drunk mom at a Christmas party eyeing a dessert table; the drive was genuine, but the goal? Ridiculous. Absolutely, totally ridiculous.

You didn’t press her like she expected, though, didn’t even stare at her with that evil eye Natasha’s sure you got from your mother on more than one occasion. You just went back to eating your food, and put your phone back out of reach.

You noticed her staring at you when you went to borrow (steal) another piece of food from her plate.

“What?”

Natasha furrowed her brow. “Don’t you…Don’t you want to know what I got on the quiz?”

You shook your head as you stole another few bites worth of food. “Not unless you want to tell me.” You shrugged as you swallowed. “I’m not gonna, like, push you if you don’t want to tell me. I’m not my mother.”

Natasha smiled at that and left the conversation there. She was unnaturally quiet for the new few minutes as she listened intently while you told more stories and commented on the food and thought out loud about school and the rest of your life and should you go shopping soon?

Throughout all of it, Natasha remained incommunicative – to the point you started to worry.

“Are you okay?” you asked and reached across the table to put your hand over hers. She smiled, softly, before she replied.

“I really care about you, you know,” she said, low and almost inaudible. You said nothing in return. “And I’m very bad at this. I’m so bad at this. I spent a lot of my childhood in rooms with therapists who said less than I did. I’m not good at,” she waved her hands as she tried to find the right words. “I’m not great at emotions. And expressing them and telling people about them and all that shit. Okay?”

You swallowed the last tastes of duck sauce that coated your back teeth. Despite the sweet substance being a liquid, it felt like a waterfall of boulders cascading inside your throat. “Nat, I-“

“This isn’t me saying I love you, but I want…” Natasha was on the verge of crying, just as you were. She averted your gaze as she continues, staring at the booth cushion directly behind you. “I want to commit to you in some way. I like you, I like the person I am when I’m around you. And I don’t want to lose you because I was too much of a pussy to make a move.”

You said nothing, did nothing. Despite her not looking at you, you stared at her very serious facial expression and watched every muscle twitch for some signs of lying. You saw none.

“I…,” Natasha met your eyes as you spoke. Your mouth was so dry you nearly coughed – but the idea of making any sound terrified you. “I…I need some air.”

You didn’t wait for a reply as you pushed yourself out of the booth and ran out the front entrance.

Natasha didn’t wait for the door to close behind you before she chased after you. She left both of your phones and wallet at the booth, not wanting you to get out of eyeshot but also terrified of the waitstaff thinking the both of you were dine-and-dashers (and terrible ones, at that).

She followed you outside, ache in her heart an excellent distraction from the nighttime chill that dug tiny knives into her pale skin. Still, as her breath was visible in a faint fog in front her, no pain was as unimaginable as the one as losing you.

“Babe, plea-“ began, voice small and nonthreatening as possible.

You interrupted her and avoided looking into her eyes and picked at a loose thread in the sweater you were wearing – Natasha’s sweater you were wearing.

You worried it was the last time you’d ever see her again, and yet you refused to look at her. You refuse dto look at her large eyes and the bags under them, at her nimble hands – thin and agile from years of typing; at her plush lips or beautiful hair or-

Wasn’t that the cruelest irony of all? Of the cognitive dissonant fear of missing something while desperately avoiding looking at it. Still, you chose to jump off the proverbial cliff with your eyes clenched shut and nails digging into the pads of your soft palms and blood rushing in your ears louder than anything you’d ever heard in your life.

“I’m a sex worker.”

Natasha’s eyebrows furrowed and she breathed heavily, like when your mom got mad at you for bringing home that C your freshman year. “There’s-“

“I’m a sex worker. I make my own porn. I sell my nudes. It’s my main,” you sighed. “It’s my only source of income. It’s how I make money. It is how I will continue to make money. It’s how I stay mostly-independent from my very judgmental mother. It’s how I plan on staying mostly-independent from my very judgmental mother and my very judgmental family and the very judgmental world. And if you think that’s morally wrong of whatever, or that I’m some sort of sub-human, or that I’m evil, or that I should stop…”

For the first time that night, you looked her straight in the eyes. No smiling, no laughing, no wishing to see her beautiful face. Power. Authority. Truth. You tried to channel the red you saw on all those feminist theory books you’d had to read for the class that brought you and Natasha together.

“If you don’t believe in the validity of my labor I cannot and will not date you,” you were snarling as you stomped toward her until your toes nearly touched. “I’m not going to let someone who can’t love what I do love me.”

As you stood there, teeth bared and hands balled into fists, stories of rage flashed like lightning in your brain. Narratives of horror from your media studies class, of actresses whose only chance to scream was in front of a camera. If you had sharper nails, sharper teeth, glowing eyes that would be some award-winning monologue where people clap and call it “mind-blowing” and give it “five out of five stars.” You’d be a prime example of how satisfying rage can be as a subversive practice.

But no. You were no antihero(ine), no supernatural being caught on tape. You were not on the silver screen, you were not being streamed on some overpriced platform, you were not the subject of dissertations on media studies or really good articles on feminism or whatever else academics were doing with their time in tenure. You had filed-down nails and wide eyes and soft skin and an uneasy stomach and shaking hands and breath that faintly showed in the air when you exhaled. You had tears that threatened to fall. You had fear.

Natasha’s eyes flitted nervously, her lip between her teeth. For a moment, neither of you said anything.

Natasha was the one to speak first. Her voice sounded as terrified as you felt – with words that were spat through a set jaw and teeth bared.

“Who hurt you?”

You took a half-step back, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What? Natasha, what the fuck are y-“

“Who hurt you?” she whispered, words like knives and eyes just as dangerous. You stepped back, almost scared of her and what she could do to you.

You were pressed against the side of the building then – you could feel the brick and mortar itching at the skin of your back through your top. “Natasha what the hell are you talking about? I don’t kn-“

“Yes,” she stepped back, but grasped at your left hand as she did so. She was a ship tethering to a dock, floating out on the water but always willing to come back to port. “Yes, you do. You know exactly who, what, I’m talking about. What they did. Just tell me who they are, and I’ll ruin their lives.”

You looked for the joke, the punchline. You looked for a glint in her eye that said she was fucking with you and was waiting for you to laugh it off. When you were in seventh grade you got asked out as a joke and the football player made the exact same facial expression you now hunt for.

But you found nothing, no teasing or set up in a larger scheme to mock you. She was serious as you’d ever seen anyone be. “What in the fuck-“

“Tell me who they are. Tell me the name of every person who ever made you feel like shit and I’ll ruin their lives. I’ll steal their identity. I’ll make it so they can never get a job, or a car, or a house again. I’ll do it in a heartbeat,” Natasha let go of your hand and held your face in her food-warm palms. “I will destroy the very existence of every person who ever made you feel like this, because you deserve someone who will protect you from all that bullshit. And I want to be that person.”

The silence was painful, almost. But also comforting. Still, you broke it so speak. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”

Natasha smiled, and pecked your lips. “Good. Now come finish my food with me, it’s getting cold and our waitress is definitely judging us.”

You broke into a fit of laughter, nearly wheezing as she guided you back inside. The food was good, even though it had cooled considerably while you were both outside – greasy and thick with flavor and hot in your mouth along with your soul and Natasha held your hand on the table and fed you with her fork and you stole bits of her food while she was distracted. At one point, Lizzo played on the restaurant soundtrack and Natasha sung low with you, and you ordered more food to take home and it was hot, too hot in your hands as you carried the large brown paper bag soaked with grease to her apartment. Maybe you were going eat the food in the morning, maybe you were going eat it later tonight. It, truly, did not really matter.

There wasn’t much time between when you put the leftovers in the fridge and when Natasha pushed you onto your knees in her (and your) (it was now shared) bedroom. There also wasn’t much time between when your knees hit the ground and when Natasha grabbed the ball gag from its place in her toy drawer.

“I’m so happy you’re mine,” Natasha cooed as she adjusted the matte black straps. She kissed at your temples when it was secured, murmuring sweet words into the top of your hairline. If there was anyone else watching you, if there were some voyeur witnessing this profession of ownership, you doubt they could hear her. The entire world could be gazing at the two of you under a microscope and they would know nothing. Wasn’t it something wonderful, to share such, dare you say it, love that cannot, will not be observed by a single being outside your pairing? “Such a pretty little thing, a beautiful little toy for me.”

You didn’t dare move, worried even a flinch would disappoint her. Even as spit began to fall down your chin and between your breasts, as it pools in the gap between your legs, you successfully resist the urge to wipe it away. Natasha walks to the end of the bed, perching herself on the covers. The silence isn’t thick or uncomfortable, rather something closer to electric, something you can feel on the insides of your nose as you sniffled.

Slowly, she raised her right hand and crooked her first finger. You understood immediately and you got on your hands and knees to crawl across the room to her. When you reached the end of the bed you waited, obediently, for her.

Like at the restaurant – you were nearly bursting out of your skin with excitement as you awaited instruction.

“You’re so pretty, baby,” she cooed. “Now come up on the bed and let me wreck that pussy.”

You do as you’re told without hesitation, scrambling to get on the bed and onto your back. Natasha grabbed a bottle of lube out of seemingly nowhere and poured it over the same strap from the first time she fucked you.

You moaned deeply and reached for something, anything; you whined high in your throat as she pounded into you, the bed smacking against the stained wall with each thrust.

“You’re too pretty for your own good, you know,” her voice was breathless as she spoke. “Normally I would try to keep my toys intact, try to keep them in good condition, but I just can’t seem to help myself around you.”

With each word your back arched farther, your fingers tightened around the sheets.

“F-fuck,” you moaned around the thick plastic sphere in your mouth as you tried to push your back closer to Natasha’s chest.

She grabbed your hair and bit at the curve of your ear before she spoke in a low voice that sent another wave a slick down your inner thighs. “What do you belong to?” she hisses. “Who does this pussy,” she slapped your cunt and you cried out at the stinging pain. “belong to?”

You didn’t hesitate. “You Mommy, I belong to you!”

In that moment, you wondered whether Natasha’s neighbors could hear your screams. But in the one right after, you realized you really, truly, di not give a single flying fuck what they could hear.

“Fuck yes, you’re mine,” she growled as she pressed your face into the sheets, as she loomed over you like a god would punish some human exercising an unholy level of hubris. “Don’t you fucking forget it.”

You couldn’t speak because of the ball gag – didn’t even try to – yet Natasha seemed to know exactly what you wanted to say.

“You wanna cum, love?” she cooed, still fucking into you. “You wanna cum over Mommy’s cock?”

You nodded, the whines high in your throat resembed something close to a please yes please Mommy please I wanna cum I wanna cum I wanna cum.

Just like the lube, Natasha grabbed the hitachi out of thin air before she turned it on low and pressed it to your neglected clit. It was something, it was enough, but only just so. Your muscle tensed and you wailed out as you bucked your hips, as you tried to fuck yourself harder onto the toy. Natasha notices and slows her thrusts, laughing as you become more and more desperate.

“You’re so pathetic,” she hissed. “Such a pathetic little toy. You’ll do anything to cum, won’t you?”

You nodded; words garbled.

Natasha laughed again. “Of course you would, slut. You’d do anything for me, right? You’d do anything I told you to? You’re just a mindless little toy for me, just a dumb little thing with no thoughts besides how you can please me…”

You were drooling around your gag so much it covered your cheeks and pooled on each side.

You’re blissed out, eyes glazed over and body wonderfully lax. Natasha’s isn’t done with you yet, though, because of course she isn’t. You’re now officially her girlfriend, officially hers, and maybe it’s that satisfaction or excitement or whatever in her blood but it it’s letting her stop, not now, not when you look so ethereal with a halo of sweaty hair and the sheets looking like wings and your skin practically glowing.

Not just any angel, her angel – her perfect little blessed creature, sanctified even as she degrades you in such a sacrilegious way.

“I want you to cum when I count to ten,” Natasha murmured as she pushed the sweaty hairs that had escaped their confines from your eyes. “Alright, baby?”

You nodded and tried to chase the fleeting feeling of her fingers as they dusted over your feverish skin.

She turned the Hitachi up a setting, smiling as it met your clit and you cried out.

“One,” she mumbled, rubbing the head against you in small circles. It was something, but certainly not enough.

“Two.”

Natasha knew this. She knew you didn’t orgasm all that easily.

“Three.”

Regardless, she agonizingly slowly turned the toy up a setting. Just as you feared, it remained insufficient.

“Four.”

God, nearly halfway there and you were terrified what would happen if you couldn’t cum. Part of it was exhilarating, but part of it gnawed a small hole in your stomach that left you…empty, somehow.

“Five.”

She ticked it up one, two more settings. You sighed in relief and moved your hips with what little mobility she’d allowed you.

“Six.”

She increased the vibrations again and reveled in your squeals.

“Seven.”

You cried out and wanted to beg for mercy.

“Eight.”

You didn’t.

“Nine.”

You felt like you’d forgotten how to breathe, lungs shriveled up into nothingness. It was as if you could feel each of your cells as they begged for oxygen, as your blood desperately tried to each your heart and brain.

“Ten.”

You came with a deafening scream, your whole body shaking for what feels like forever.

When you came down, your girlfriend was next to the bed, holding what you could only is another section of rope. What she planned to do with it, you had zero idea.

“How ya doin’, baby?” She asks. Natasha could sense something was off, but worried about misreading the signs.

It’s obvious she was not incorrect, though, when you tapped at your thigh three times.

Immediately, Natasha drops the toys in her hands and rushes over – untying the gag and freeing your limbs.

“What’s wrong, baby?” She scanned your body – terrified of finding blood or something worse. “What do you need?”

You swallowed what little spit you could find, your voice hoarse as you spoke. “Red,” a pause as you attempted to swallow once more. “Water.”

It was all Natasha needed before she was rushing off to the fridge to grab a chilled bottle of the stuff and one of those reusable straws she stole from your apartment.

When she returned to the room she pulled you into her lap, keeping you upright as she leaned against the wall.

Natasha watched every muscle, every twitch as you drank from the straw. Your body seemed unwilling to move itself, relying on Natasha to hold you upright enough so that you didn’t choke. The room was silent except for the sound of your noisy swallowing (and, soon, the slurping of last droplets of water). You were about to ask for more, but Natasha found an unopened plastic water bottle within reach and held that for you, too. It reminded you of the first time the two of you fucked, and suddenly the world didn’t feel so cold anymore.

“I’m done, Mommy,” you told her when half the water was gone. “I’m good.”

“You sure, babygirl?” her voice laced with deep, genuine concern. Her eyes reflected the same emotion.

You nodded, leaning into her and rubbing your knuckles where they laid against her thigh. “I’m sure, Mommy. Thank you.”

Natasha closed the bottle and tossed it into the half-open bedside table drawer before she wrapped you in her arms. “Of course, honeybee. I’m proud of you for using your safe word, thank you for trusting me.”

You mmmed and laid there for a moment, your breathing in rhythm with Natasha. You two sat there, comfortable in the silence. If there was anything else to say, you’d say it – but for the while you enjoyed the wordless space you and her existed in.

It took a long while, after your heart had slowed and your breathing had evened out, but you eventually fell asleep in Natasha’s arms. It was peaceful, deep – somehow impossibly more satisfying than any of the other times you’d fallen asleep, even the times you’d fallen asleep with her. There, secured from harm in her arms and wrapped in blankets, you felt secure. It was indescribable, it was wonderful, it was safe. And to you, in that moment, it was heaven.

#study buddy #lukis writes stuff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #black widow x reader

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sp00kworm · 4 years

Text

A Den of Iniquity (Part 3)

Pairing: Dracula/Count Dracula/Vlad Tepes x Female Reader

Warnings: Death, Murder, Blood, Gore, Injuries, Violence, Vomiting and Adult content.

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Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 Part 5

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A week. He had one week to discover how to consume human food. One week to try and be human. Vlad turned his gaze from the mirror and thrust the covering back over it, hiding the glass from his sight. He didn’t wish to see the smog covered beast he was underneath his trickery. The mirror shuddered under the sheet but didn’t crack. The vampire grazed his fingers along the moustache on his top lip and wondered just what this face looked like. True, he had seen photos of himself, slapped across most of his company’s websites, but it wasn’t the same. The image seemed foreign to him. A reflection of a face that wasn’t his own. At least, not anymore. He looked at the painting hung over his fireplace and dusted dirt from his shoulder as he gazed upwards, admiring the strong face he knew as his own. The sword he held in the painting was positioned below it, shined yet in need of another covering of oil and care. Gently, he took the great blade from the wall and swung it in an arc before rotating it over his hand and turning to thrust it at an invisible foe. His blood sang with the vibration of the blade through the air. Dracula took the blade to his desk and sat in the great chair, a cloth in hand as he pondered on what he could do to remedy the hole he had dug himself into.

The internet yielded no results. Therapy websites for eating disorders or calorie planning for dieting. It wasn’t the answer. A gastric bypass. Stomach removal. Eating with certain diseases. Intolerances. All the while, he shined the blade he had broken the cross with, looking down to avoid the sharpened edges. Dracula admired the blade in the light, satisfied with the shine as he leaned to look at his monitor. Nothing. Modern medicine had no answers. He grumbled as he stood from his chair and replaced the blade in its holder. It shone better in the light. Dracula moved back to his desk and rapped his nails along the wood in thought. Once, twice, and a third and final time as he pondered on what he could do to solve his issue. The only person he had ever encountered that knew anything about his curse was Professor Abraham Van Helsing, and that man had wanted him and his brood wiped out from history. He had, however, lived. His ancestors were somewhere out there. Out of curiosity, he put the name into his search engine and watched thousands of results come up. The name, however, was not common. Van Helsing was a small lineage even now, and he opened various social medias, looking for any relative that could be close. There had to be a remnant of the line somewhere in the UK. Abraham was a Professor in London.

There was a link, some way into the third page of results.

‘Doctor disgraced. Drinking problems hit the highest mind in Pathology.’

Dark eyes narrowed at the news article and the vampire opened it with interest, leaned back in his chair as he read. His eyebrows raised and a smile curled on his lips before he started to chuckle. A Van Helsing worked in London. Disgraced in medicine at the University College Hospital. A former teacher as well. With another click, he was searching for more. Profiles and odd links on profiles. Eventually, he gazed at her name with red, burning eyes.

Dr Anne Van Helsing.

The vampire grinned, fangs sliding from his gums as he stood from his chair, huffing with beastly excitement as he rushed to get changed for the evening ahead.

Van Helsing blood was a stench he would never forget. The woman was easy enough to track down once he had looked up her address. She was still half practicing, apparently sober now for a year. He moved under the door of the shop as vapour, green and curling in on itself. Anne lived beneath the occult store, in the basement. Vlad assumed that she conversed with the owner and fed him information in exchange for a cheap rent. The alarm system blinked in the corner, the camera lens stagnant, watching. He moved up the wall and curled over the top of the camera. Electricity buzzed inside before it fried with a snap. The vampire moved under the door to the stairs and floated along the old wood, sensing his surroundings as he drifted lower and lower, along the old stairs and towards the smell of the vampire slayer he knew so well. The green smog slid through her door and coalesced into a rolling shape of a man.

The vampire hunter was laid in her armchair, snoring softly across from a buzzing television screen. It was a late-night reality show rerun. The smoke curled from his hands as they formed, and the vampire, rippling with vapour, curled his gloved hand over her head, watching and waiting for her to wake and grapple him for a fight. He hissed and waited. Slowly, he leaned down towards the woman’s greying blond hair and snarled. The scent of whiskey hit his nose. She was inebriated with alcohol. The vampire’s red eyes caught sight of the bottle in front of her on the coffee table. She wouldn’t be awake for a while. Vlad’s fingers recoiled as he turned on his heels and looked around her small, basement flat. The room was decorated with hard wood and mismatched old rugs. It was dusty yet lived in, like she forgot to clean. Dracula looked at the walls as a barely formed human figure of smoke, floating before he dispelled himself to look for anything he could use. The book. Van Helsing’s notebook. His mist curled around the rugs before coiling around the coffee table legs. There was a great welsh dresser, full of old pottery, the bottom lined with books, in the corner. He rushed towards it, sending a brisk breeze over Anne. The vampire formed in front of the books, a swirling storm of green mist. There was one book, the spine leather, old and self-bound. Misty fingers reached for the spine, tugging it free. The pages of the book fell open under a gale of wind and Dracula hissed from within the storm.

A burning sensation laced through the fog.

“Beast.” Anne slurred from her chair as she fumbled along her coffee table again, trying to find something among the papers. The burning emanated from where his flesh was ripped from the fog. A blessed blade seared in the dead flesh of his foot and Dracula howled, the walls shaking with the noise.

“Vampire slayer!” He snarled as he reached to drag the hilt of the dagger free, his thick, dead blood splattering along Anne’s wooden floor, “I should have ended your line when I had the chance!” He hissed in Romanian as his claws snatched the book, scarlet eyes burning in the black fog as he took three steps back, his floating hair already dissipating out of the window.

“You should be dead!” She slurred as she took the end of the holy blade in her hand and threw it towards him. This time he was ready, and the mist created a hole before swallowing in on itself and bursting up towards the window. Anne cursed as she tripped over the rug, left alone in her small basement as the creature escaped with the notes her ancestor had made when the beast was supposedly destroyed, so long ago.

“Shit.” Anne howled as she rushed to retrieve the holy dagger from her wall. She peered up at the clouded sky in her pyjamas, cursing violently as the vampire escaped. With a thump, she closed the window and reached for the whiskey she had left on the coffee table.

Back in his own home, Dracula peered at the book in his hands, nails trailing over the old cover. The woman in his lap whined, French manicured nails squeaking over the leather of his trousers. With a single finger under her chin, he tilted her head upwards, pulling her lips away from the inside of his thigh. She whined again, pressing herself against his cold skin, her mouth open and neck bleeding from the first bite. The girl was barely into her twenties, yet she was easy pickings, her brain was too addled with alcohol to resist the mild glamour he had applied. She’d even walked out of another man’s arms, just to crawl into his own. The book detailed many things. Autopsies on other vampires, creatures of his brood from when Abraham was young. He looked at their entries and peered at the drawings as the woman climbed into his lap again, pressing her nose under his chin. He petted the side of her cheek as he read the notes slowly, struggling to understand the medical terms.

‘Dead insides. Heart was dead for longer than is conceivable. Putrefied organs. High salt content in tissue samples. Stomach empty of acid.’

Nothing told him about how he could change these things.

Subject: Dracula, former alias Vlad of the Order of the Dragon.

His own autopsy. It seemed Abraham had even analysed his corpse, drawing the body and decapitated head with gruesome detail. There was pages and pages of notes, but no answers. He read the final line with a sneer.

‘Subject laid to rest by Mrs Harker. Tomb sealed before leaving.’

Van Helsing had not expected his revival in any case. Dracula watched the woman in his lap go bleary eyed and whine once more. He took her by the hair and pushed the book onto his desk before exposing her neck and biting. Her cartilage crunched under his jaw and she shouted in pain before melting against his front. Two pints maximum. That was all he could take before she would be close to death. He counted the mouthfuls between hungry snarls before wrenching himself from her neck. Her eyelids closed as her breathing went shallow. The vampire released her head and wiped at his mouth, licking the blood from his fingers with another dark purr. Carefully he arranged her in his arms and stood with her. Dracula deposited her in the guest bedroom, slipping her clothes from her body before he looked at the holes in her neck and leaned down to lick them clean. They would be healed in a day, but he hid the area with bruises. She would believe something else entirely had happened.

He left her with a brunch bar and water on her bedside table. The vampire didn’t care about her so long as there wasn’t a trace of her by morning. It was smart not to kill at every chance he got. He closed the door and listened to the old chimes of the grandfather clock at the bottom of the stairs. It was into the early hours of the morning. He glanced at the smart phone in his hand and the time before heading back to his office and closing the book with a snap. He was dead. Putrefied inside. Salt and dead flesh. He opened the drawer of his desk and chucked the book inside it, kicking it shut with his foot as he looked out of the window. A lone cat strayed across his lawn, tail curled in the air before it sat in the grass and looked at him. He hissed around it, voice echoing in the darkness as the cat hissed back at the window. Dracula spat, thumping at the window, fangs slick with spit and blood. The cat watched him, bristling, but ran from his lawn, down the drive and towards the main road. Dracula watched it leave before closing the curtains and going back to his computer. He slumped back in the chair before opening recipes for the coming date he had planned. Perhaps something raw?

You knocked on the door of Vladimir’s home, running your hands over your outfit worriedly. Why you were worried, you didn’t know. This was professional. You reminded yourself of that as the man answered the door with a smile, his pale face looking out from an inside lit up by soft, warm white light. There were candles in great, intricate candelabras, burning in the entry hall.

“Welcome to my home.” Vladimir pulled open the door wide to reveal the inside of his home and himself. He was dressed smartly, a silver suit lined with blue, his hair down, resting on his wide shoulders.

“I thought this was just a professional affair, Vlad.” You moved into the threshold with a shake of your head at the elaborate setting of his home. The door clicked shut behind you, and Vladimir chuckled at your concern.

He slid your coat from your shoulders gently, “I am a host before everything, my dear. My home is my pride. I enjoy impressing.”

You watched him hang your coat on the hook, “You mean you enjoy gloating and showing off.” You snarked with a smile as Vlad pressed a gentle hand to your back, steering you towards the dining room.

“Something of that ilk, yes.” Vlad opened the door to the dining room and your mouth opened in awe at the warm candlelight from the extravagant candlestick in the middle of the old wooden table. That, itself, was shone to perfection with wax. The cutlery was laid out perfectly alongside the placemats and even the tablecloth was ironed. It was perfect.

“Something tells me this really isn’t just a work catchup, Vladimir.” You looked down at yourself and took a deep breath, “I feel like this is crossing a line that…”

His hands wrapped around your bare shoulders, squeezing, comforting as he hushed you, “Perhaps I have…interest in you, yes, but it is a desire to know more about you. I hold no lecherous desires. I have no ill intentions. I only wish to know you.” He moved around to face you, “I promise you.”

Something about his voice was soothing as he held onto your shoulders, his dark eyes bright with happiness.

Carefully, you plucked Vladimir’s hands from your shoulders, “Fine. I’ll accept it, for now.” You pointed to the table, “And because I’m guessing you have an insane spread planned for this evening.”

Vladimir’s fingers curled back into his palms before he pulled you a chair out at the table, “Oh it is a spectacular menu.” He purred as you sat yourself at the circular table. It was made for two people to dine at. Intimate and close among other things. The rest of the dinning room was cleared, the normal, full length table, pushed to the side at the back, and the chairs stacked out of sight underneath sheets.

“So, what’s for dinner then?” You asked as you watched Vladimir pour you a drink of the red wine he purchased from your shop. He avoided his own glass and sat down across from you, “You don’t drink?”

Vladimir shook his head, his dark hair flopping over his shoulders, “No. I do not drink. It does not sit well.” He patted his tummy before gesturing in the air with a smile, “Drink. Be merry. I will see to dinner. Or, well, the staff will.” A waiter waved from the doorway, the towel over his arm wafting as he disappeared back into the other room, towards the kitchen.

“You really hired staff for one night?” You asked, laughing at the absurdity of it all, “Are you wanting to flash your cash and win me over, Mister Székely?”

Vladimir hummed, “Hardly. I don’t need to announce my wealth to you. If anything, that will make you less likely to entertain my advances.” He explained.

Taking a sip of your drink, you looked at him over the glass, “And you think you’ve figured out how to win me over?”

Vladimir rolled his shoulders, “I have no idea how, my dear.” He confessed as the waiter returned with a large silver platter, rested on one hand, “Ah, dinner is served.” He clapped his hands excitedly as the waiter laid a starter before the two of you.

The starter was delicious, the food of a quality you hadn’t tasted in a long time, not since your last expensive birthday get together. You pushed the plate forwards a little with a sigh of content.

Vladimir had poked at his food, eating just over half.

“That was delicious…Aren’t you hungry?” You pointed a finger at his plate, “Maybe you picked the wrong chef?” You teased as he placed his fork and knife in the middle of the plate.

Vladimir smiled cryptically, “It is very rich. My stomach is not good at coping with such things.” He waved his hand, “I have been this way since I was a child.”

“Ah.” You nodded, “I’m sorry for making fun.”

“You have nothing to apologise for. I have taken no offence.” He was quiet as the waiter took the plates away from you both after refilling your wine.

After a moment, you took a sip of your drink and changed the conversation, “So, Vlad, where do you come from? You didn’t give that information on your website.”

Dracula felt a sense of déjà vu at the question. Time seemed to shift as he saw Mina sitting before him, laughing and perched like a lady on the edge of her chair. It came and went. He smiled at the memory of it before clearing his throat.

Vladimir spread his hands, “I come from a town, deep in the Carpathian Mountains. It was once a stronghold during the fight against the Persians, many years ago. There are legends, that beyond the forest and in the mountains, that a secret order was housed. Dracula, Vlad Tepes, or whatever they call him, he was part of this order to defend the church against the onslaught. A knight of the Order of Dracul.” He noticed your confusion, “The Order of the Dragon, in English. My hometown was bred on the legends, so here I am, feeding the West them as well.” He chuckled before fixing you with a heavy gaze.

“So, you’re from where he originally lived?” You asked curiously.

“Ah, no, but nearby. Close enough for the legends to be very relevant…” He made a cross with his fingers, “And for the locals to be very superstitious.” He laughed again before you frowned, and his laughter died away.

“Is it pretty?” You asked as you took another drink, “Aren’t the mountains some of the only untouched lands in Europe?”

“Yes. The woods are fresh with clean air, expansive and wide. There is a river. A great one. In English it is called, River Princess, or the Princess River. The tears of a beautiful princess filled it from bank to bank.” His fingers trailed along the wood, “Or so the stories go.”

“I think it would be hard to cry that much…” You smiled behind your glass, “But those are wonderful stories. I would love to hear more.”

The beast inside whined at the pain as he began to tell the story of the knight and his princess, the food rotting his insides.

“Thank you for having me this evening.” You paused at the doorstep to his home, watching the man smile from inside, still looking you in the eye, “I…I was sceptical, but I enjoyed it immensely.”

“I am glad.” Vladimir drawled, “I would like to do this again, if I have not scared you away?” He asked as he took your hand, placing a kiss on the back of it.

Gently, you took your hand back and smiled, “I would love to.” You took out your phone and snatched his from his fancy trousers, unlocking it before you tapped your phone number into his contacts, “So we can arrange another.” You offered before hearing the toot of the taxi’s horn, “Goodbye, Vladimir. Have a good night.”

He caught your wrist before you could escape and leaned forwards. Your breath caught in expectation of a kiss. It never came, but he pressed his lips to the inside of your wrist.

“Good evening. Sleep well.” He whispered before he released you to your taxi. You touched the spot on your wrist as you waked down the drive. The door to his home closed behind you as you made it to the car, and you gave one last look at the house before ducking inside the taxi and telling the driver your home address.

Agony. The beast howled inside but he didn’t make a noise. Dracula’s mouth hung open, spittle clinging between vicious, giant fangs, as he clawed at his stomach. His eyes bled to red, black pupils going wide as he hid his face, dismissing the staff, bidding them to leave as he crawled upstairs to his bedroom. The wooden door shuck as he slammed it closed, dragging his clothes free in pain as his stomach muscles seared. Desperately, he pushed his fingers into his mouth to silence his own agony as he fitted on the floor, his muscles burning as claws ripped from his feet and scratched great lines in his floor. Fur rippled over his back as everything clenched in burning ripples of pain. Dracula heard the door close with a scared ‘good night’. He listened to the staff walk down the drive before he began to howl. Pain seared up his stomach as he morphed into a wolfish beast, snarling and spitting against the wood. The vampire limped to his window, unlocking it before he pulled himself out, his head twisting as he looked up at the moon. Pain curled in his guts again as he managed to jump from the window and to the floor. Dracula landed in the grass with an ungraceful thud. Snarling, and starving, the vampire pulled himself up enough to move, crawling towards the little piece of woodlands that separated his home from the park.

The University College Hospital was bright with the activity of Doctors and patients. Dracula didn’t see nor hear the bustling activity as he snarled in the back of the hospital, his fangs embedded in a young nurse. She’d been out on her break, eating a sandwich with her headphones stuffed in her ears. The vampire grasped her in the bushes, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of blood to no avail. His insides still churned and seared with pain with the meal. It was agony. Like being stabbed with holy blades. The red-hot knife twisted in his guts as he dropped the woman. The burning need to drink continued to cripple his throat. Dragging himself along the grass he felt the blood drip past his lips before his stomach lurched and the blood came back up in a spray of curdled red goo. The grass hung under the weight of the blood and Dracula writhed for a moment. He was blinded by his pain.

“Jesus Christ.” A man walked closer with a cigarette hanging from his lips, “I’m…Doctor Seward. Are you quite alright?” A young doctor approached him with a pale face, looking at the gore with horror in his eyes.

Dracula felt a ripple of familiarity about the man as he gazed at the black hair and narrow face, “Van Helsing.” He growled as he forced himself to appear human in the man’s eyes, slicing his own stomach with his nails before the doctor could see.

“My God. Of course, this has something to do with that blasted woman.” Dr Seward looked at his stomach before Dracula snatched his cheeks in his hand, “Calm down. I’ll…”

The vampire pressed his fingers to the man’s cheek bones and watched him grow complacent, his eyes unfocused as he gazed into the red eyes of Dracula.

“Take me to Van Helsing.” He commanded.

Dr Seward’s eyes went cloudy as he nodded and awkwardly helped the vampire to his feet, taking a lot of his weight. No one came close to the wolf man and the doctor as he helped Dracula along the road around the back of the hospital, towards a huge set of iron doors, angled into the ground, leading to a basement underneath the hospital. Dr Seward pulled a ring of keys from his belt, finding the one to unlock the shutter doors before he threw them open. He shouldered Dracula’s weight once more as they shakily descended into the basement. The air grew colder and staler as they reached the bottom of the concrete stairs. Seward left him propped against the sterile wall as he rushed to close and lock the doors again behind them. Dracula took a breath of air, rolling the smell of death over his palette as Seward returned and began to drag him down the hallway. They passed three rooms labelled with ‘cold storage’ and the vampire spewed blood from his mouth again, spraying the concrete floor with goo as Seward dragged him towards a room that stank of congealed blood and bleach.

“Anne!” Seward shouted as he opened the door, still in a haze, “He asked for you.”

Anne Van Helsing looked up from her work on the corpse with a shocked face, her greying hair in a frizz around her head as she dropped her glasses from her nose in shock, “Jesus Christ, Seward!” She cursed as he dropped the vampire to the floor. Her bright, intense eyes looked at the wolfish vampire in his grasp.

“Do not see me.” He hissed and Seward’s face melted into confusion before he walked, like a zombie, to the door, and disappeared down the hallway towards the hospital. Dracula felt her gaze grow cold as he fought to pull himself up, using the metal table as a prop to keep himself upright.

Anne pulled a blade from her leg, “Tell me why I shouldn’t fucking kill you now.” She spat as she held the blade towards him.

The vampire looked at her, his eyes rolling as he smelt the air. She was stone cold sober, her hands shaking around the blade with withdrawal.

“Your grandfather tried it, Van Helsing, and look what it did to me.” He hissed, claws slamming through the metal of the table as the vampire killer held her blade to his chest, “I lived. My head was severed yet I remain…undead.” He wrenched his fingers from the metal and watched her. She levelled the vampire with a stare, “Would you not like to understand, Anne? Would you not like to understand the secrets of the dark?”

Anne took the blade from his chest, “You are vermin.” She conceded as she tucked the blade into her boot again, “I will find a way to kill you, Dracula.”

“You can try, Van Helsing.” He hissed as he crawled up the table, “But I will gut you like I should have done Abraham.”

“You’re in no state to do anything.” Anne pulled him up on the table, gloves slick with blood as she wrestled him upright and reached for a bottle of heavy syrup. It smelt foul. The vampire retched as it was brought towards him. Anne wrestled him backwards , snapping a scalpel through his hand to hold him still and she held his maw open and poured the thick syrup into his mouth, “Ipecac syrup works on animals, so it should work on you. You’ll be vomiting for a long time.” She pressed his mouth closed under his chin and pushed hard against his head to keep him from spitting anything out.

“What is that…” The vampire gipped, “Poison…”

“In about…” Anne looked at her watch under her glove with a mild amount of interest, “Twenty minutes, you’ll be vomiting your guts up... Figuratively that is.” She sat back in her stool and watched spit drip uncontrollably from his mouth as he flipped onto his stomach and wretched, his abdomen clenching and rippling as the vampire heaved, “I find it surprising that this works on vampires.” She observed as he heaved uncontrollably on the body table. The Van Helsing woman began to count as the vampire heaved and gagged, the noise growing more intense until he finally gave in and spewed out a great gush of red and black. Anne stepped back as he sprayed the table and floor with blood, and continued into another burst of thick, black sludge like vomit. She covered her nose as a thick, mucus membrane slipped past his teeth and onto the floor.

“Fucking hell.” Anne whistled as she walked over to the vampire, a pair of tweezers in hand, “I didn’t expect you to actually…throw up your stomach lining.” She plucked the mucus from the mess of black goo and blood curiously before looking at the vampire.

“Vile woman.” Dracula spat as he wrenched himself from the floor, “Cursed line of…” He collapsed against the table with a bubble of blood in his mouth.

“Cursed line of god worshippers? Please, vampire, I’ve heard it before.” Anne moved away from him, leaving him heaving on the table as she went to collect something. She returned a few minutes later with a bag of red liquid in her hand, “Blood.” She tossed it onto the table, barely defrosted and cold, “You need it.” She tossed another on top of it, “For good measure.”

Dracula looked at the blood next to his head with red eyes, “Foul.” He commented.

Anne rolled her eyes, “Six hundred years old and you’re still a baby.” She walked over, her glasses perched on the end of her nose and stuck a bloodied scalpel into the edge of each.

The beast snarled before pushing the plastic edges into his mouth and drinking, gulping the bags with gusto as Anne watched him.

“You are a monster, Count Dracula…” She flipped the table he was laid on as his eyelids grew heavy, pushing him towards the wall, the dry blood bags falling from his lips with the movement, “It’s time you started acting like it. Nothing can reverse damnation. I suggest you remember that when you tear her from her life, just like all your other victims.” Anne leaned over the vampire with a dark look.

Dracula snarled and banged at the table as she turned her hip and slammed the trolley into the cold locker. The vampire felt his eyelids grow heavy as he howled at her worlds, the will to fight leaving his body as the cold set into his dead flesh.

Anne looked at the cold locker as she pulled the gloves from her hands, binning them before washing her hands and finding the packet of cigarettes Seward had dropped on his way out. She walked towards the lift and pulled a cigarette free with three nervous taps to the packet. When she reached the smoking area she dared to exhale, her hands shaking as she wished for the whiskey bottle to take the edge off.

The plush fur of a bear was soft underneath his feet as he dragged the body behind him. The woman screamed as he pulled her by her hair, crying to God, begging to be released instead of being killed. He couldn’t particularly hear her cries as he crawled along the stone, looking around his own castle, heading towards the great cross. The cross was rotting, the metal rusted and the gash still bleeding drips of blood. The woman. The faceless woman was sat underneath it, her lace covered fingers moving up to caress the hole, blood dripping down her wrists. He drew himself up onto two legs before speaking.

“I have brought you food.” His mouth was not his own as he wrenched the young girl forwards. Listening to her cries, she turned to look at the human. She descended the two steps in a roll of silk and came close to him before her veiled face turned to the girl. Bloodied, lace covered fingers moved to snatch her by her cheeks, stopping her noise before the veil shimmered. She reached to pull the bottom upwards and Dracula felt his chest heave in expectation. A mouth appeared but she tucked the lacing tight behind her head, hiding the rest of her features as a mouth full of fangs opened in her face.

The girl screamed as the faceless woman tore into her neck, gulping blood before reaching for his own face, tugging his wolfish snout down before she kissed him, blood pouring past his own lips. Dracula felt himself snarl with excitement, claws dragging over the silk, tugging, and tearing but getting nowhere through the fabric. She continued to feed before offering him another, bloody, kiss. Dracula raked his own claws over the girl’s throat and watched her gag as blood spurted from her. He dropped the body to the floor and pulled the faceless phantom forwards by her hips. Blood squelched under his feet before he was pushed onto his back, the black silk following him as the green snake hissed behind her, dipping from under her skirts to eye him with one, black eye. He felt his blood sing as she mounted his hips, teeth snapping as he dragged at the black silk again, revealing no skin to himself even as he tried to pull it upwards. His own fangs grazed her throat before the snake hissed and snapped around his neck, pulling its coils tight. Bones creaked in his neck as the phantom over him leaned down to lick along his furry chest.

“Please.” He begged before the snake struck, fangs digging deep into his dead flesh. The beast howled, the stone shaking, as he felt his legs go numb. Her face disappeared as soon as she tore the veil free.

The vampire awoke with a snarl, claws snapping forwards to snatch at the veil that was no longer there. His legs ached, and so did the throbbing erection between them. Huffing, he managed to open his eyes enough to watch icy air curl around him.

“Van Helsing.” He hissed as he pulled himself up, shaking ice from the fur on his shoulders and back, cracking the bones as he attempted to shift back. He was still too weak, and the vampire collapsed from the table with a grunt.

“What the fuck…What the fuck?” A worried man whittled outside before the key clunked in the door. The vampire slinked back towards the shadows as the door opened, “Where the fuck did the body go?” He reached to tug at his hair as he spotted the empty blood bags on the floor, “Jesus Christ someone’s stolen it.” He panicked until the vampire launched himself from the shadows, fangs tearing open the man’s throat. Dracula gave a great hiss of relief as the hot blood poured into his icy gullet.

He made sure to leave a mess for Van Helsing to clear up before he smashed his way out of the basement and into the new evening.

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

Riding High Ch 20: When The Bough Breaks...

Chapter Summary: Fliss finds herself in an impossible position…and her decision tips Frank’s world upside down.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: I know I only updated a few days ago with Ch 19 but this one has been written for a wile and I finished yesterday so decided not to wait.

Don’t hate me…

Chapter Song: Shattered by Trading Yesterday

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

And this day’s ending is the proof of time, killing all the faith I know.

“Was that another one?” Frank asked as Fliss tossed her phone onto the coffee table with an angry snort.

She nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Frank sighed and looked at her “Honey…” “I know, I know…” she said, looking at him. “Look, I’ve made notes of every time I’ve had one so… its recorded. But again, it’s not like we can prove anything…they happen like twice a day and then nothing…hardly what they’ll call harassment.” Frank shifted slightly “This has been going on for 2 weeks now sweetheart.” “I’m well aware of that.” she snapped, before she shook her head “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get angry…not at you.” “Come here…” he said, opening his arms and she snuggled into him, leaning against his chest as his hand gently ran up and down her arm. “Maybe you should think about changing your number…and not putting the new one on the website.” “Yeah.” she conceded, “It’s not gonna help for work though…” “You can work round it.” he said, “Keep the business line and if you’re not there people will have to leave a message. Then, once you know your clients…you can give them your cell number.”

“Fucking ass hole is still making my life awkward.”

“Only if you let him.” Frank said gently “It’s a minor inconvenience to change your number but, if in the grand scheme of things all he has in his back pocket is sending you some dumbass birthday card and trying to piss you off with silent phone calls then…he’s just a pathetic fucking loser that’s trying to bully you into being scared.” “I’m not scared, just pissed off.” she shook her head “I know he’s a chicken shit, he wouldn’t dare come near me not when you’re on the scene…or my dad for that matter.” “Good, because if he did I’m not sure I’d be able to control myself.” Frank said softly.

“Maybe we should just pay someone to kill him.” Fliss said after a moment’s pause and Frank let out a snort “Bullet straight between the eyes.”

“Nah, too quick.” Frank sniffed, reaching for his beer “I’d dangle him over a tank of hungry sharks…lower him in inch by inch…”

“Or we could feed him to pigs, like in Hannibal.” Fliss mused.

“That’s also an option…no trace” he said, swallowing a mouthful of beer.

“You know they should teach this shit at schools” Fliss said, reaching for her own drink “How to get rid of bodies. I feel it is something everyone should be educated in.” “Maybe you should mention it to Bonnie.” he said as she took a sip of wine “Tell her you feel it is an educational rite of passage or some other inspiring shit like that…”

Fliss laughed, placing her wine glass down and shifting so that she was led on her front, half on-half off Frank, looking up at him as her chin rest on his chest.

“On a scale of 1 to 10 how much of a meltdown are we facing with Mary on tomorrow morning?”

“What would I do without you?” he grinned down at her.

“I have absolutely no idea.” she shrugged and he smiled and leaned down pressing a kiss to her lips.

“Did you speak to Evelyn before?” Fliss asked him and he nodded.

“She’s coming down this weekend.” Frank said, “She’s still on about Mary going to Boston for a weekend.” “You still not comfortable about her going?” Fliss asked.

Frank wrinkled his nose “I don’t know if I trust her fully yet.” “You’ll never know you can unless you give her a chance.” Fliss reasoned

“You think I should let her go?” Frank said, slightly surprised.

“That’s not my decision to make, Frank” Fliss shook her head.

“I’ll think about it.” he shrugged, non-committedly.

“Well, you should also ask Mary.” Fliss said “She might not even want to go.” “She will.” Frank said, “Evelyn has a piano.” Fliss laughed “Yeah, but she’s also bossy, remember?”

“Yeah, I had heard that.” Frank said, and Fliss chuckled again.

“Well, can you not think about it right now?” she said, taking the beer bottle out of his hand.

“What makes you think that?” she asked, sliding her hands up his chest, over the soft material of his top.

“Just a hunch…” he mumbled, as he reached up and gently gripped the back of her neck, pulling her head down to meet his.

****** “Hey Frank…”

Frank looked up and smiled at Alan as he walked into the work shop.

“Hey Alan, not seen you in a while, how you doing?” “Good…I’m good. I was just wondering if I could have a word in my office.”

“Sure.” Alan said, “No rush.”

“Relax, Frank…” Alan chuckled as Frank adjusted his jeans for what felt like the 30th time since sitting down.

“Can I take a bit of time to think it over?” he asked.

“Sure. Take a few days, let me know. I’d like to have whoever is taking over in a position to start the handover by the beginning of October if possible so…” “Thanks.” Frank nodded “I’ll give it some thought.” “Oh, and it also comes with a Ten thou a year raise…” Alan casually dropped in as Frank stood up “Plus a bonus each year of up to 20 percent, depending on how well you’ve done on your targets” “Just a minor detail you forgot to tell me.” Frank arched an eyebrow.

“Hey Sailor.” Fliss greeted him.

“Hey Cowgirl.” he smiled, leaning against the hood of his truck sipping a bottle of water “You got a sec.” “For you, always. What’s up?”

“Nothing, nothing bad anyway…I just got offered a promotion.”

“Wow!” she said as he finished talking “Baby, that’s fantastic. I’m so proud of you!”

Frank felt himself blushing at her praise, and despite the fact he couldn’t even see her he rubbed at his neck slightly. “So, you think I should take it?” “Of course I do.” she said eagerly “But at the same time, if you don’t want to then…you don’t have to. This is a great position to be in honey, Alan’s clearly seen your potential.”

“Just not sure If I’m cut out to be management.” he said, biting his lip.

Frank smiles at her words and looked up and out over the Marina “You always know exactly what to say.” “Not really, I make most of it up as a go along.” she said and Frank laughed. “But, just think, with the extra money you can get a new car…” “There’s nothing wrong with my truck.” “Frank, it’s died on you 4 times in the last 2 weeks. Dad reckons his ride on lawnmower has more power under the hood than that thing”

“Ok, I’ll admit…she’s getting a little clunky…but she is into her twenties now….” Fliss snorted “You could get yourself a nice Audi…”

“Fuck off.” Frank said and she laughed

“I like Simon’s car…” “You like it so much you get one.”

“Would never fit Thor in the back.” she said and Frank had to concede she had a point “But now you’re freelancing…you don’t actually need a truck do you?” “No, but…it’s handy…” “Handy, baby it only has 3 seats…” “And a flatbed…” Frank pouted slihglty. “So get one with 5 seats.” she shrugged. “You can buy trucks with a full cab…”

“This is not a good enough reason to get me to take the promotion…”

“This mean you’re coming round to the idea of marrying me and having baby Franks and Flisses?” he teased She snorted “You’re such a dick…although that’s the only time you’ve ever mentioned that when you’re sober.” “So you’re saying that if I ask you when I’m not drunk you’d say yes?” he teased. “Goodbye Frank…” She teased in an airy voice, before she cut the call.

Chuckling to himself he slid the phone back into his pocket and headed back inside to grab his lunch from the fridge in the kitchen. As he did so he passed Alan who was heading out with a fresh cup of coffee.

Frank nodded at him as he walked off.

“Oh…” Alan said, “We’ll also need to pick your car.”

“My car…” Frank frowned.

*****

Fliss had reacted exactly how he had thought she would, laughing hysterically and then teasing him about how he had no alternative now than to get rid of the heap of shit he was ridiculously attached to. She’d then spent the evening looking at cars on her phone, showing him ridiculously pimped out vehicles in various vile colours, the final straw being a hot-rod red Mustang with gold rims and flames painted down the side. At that point he’d snatched the phone out of her hand, grabbed her hips and pulled her down under him on the couch and given her something else to think about for half an hour or so.

Nope, on the whole life seemed to be going well for the pair of them.

“You got a ring yet?” Jake asked, dropping down into a seat next to him.

Greg looked at him, nodding “I get that.”

“That’s gotta be the most grown up think you’ve ever said…” Jake looked at Frank who flipped him off but deep down he had to admit, it wasn’t wrong. He knew that both he and Fliss had come a long way from the people they had been just over 14 months ago when they had first met. Fliss had come alive, flourished even in herself, and he…well, he’d learnt that there was more to life than a meaningless cycle of one night stands and that flying by the seat of his pants wasn’t always the most productive thing to do. Both of them had been broken in their own way, had their own guards and walls around themselves which the other had managed to smash straight through. He stole another glance at Fliss and smiled, he knew there was no other woman for him, but in the same breath…what was the rush? They had a life time. And a ring and a piece of paper wasn’t going to change any of that.

“Man you grew up…” Simon said, and Frank rolled his eyes.

“Look, I’ll have you know I’ve brought up a kid since the age of 6 months…all this shit about me being a man child…It’s crap…”

“Whatever man…we all know you’re not a grown up until you have scatter cushions on your sofa…” Simon teased, referencing the previous week when he and Bonnie had come over for drinks and Fliss and Frank had had a jokey argument about the cushions on the sofa. Frank threw his head back in a huge bout of laugher, shaking his head.

“Fuck you!” he said, looking at him as Simon grinned.

“Anyway, man…speaking of weddings…” Greg turned to Jake “You’ve been engaged for what? like 3 years now…when you gonna set a date?”

“He has a point…” Simon looked at him.

“Well, you can all shut the fuck up because for your information we have.”

“Shut the front door!” Greg grinned

Jake nodded and took a large mouthful of his beer.

“So you gonna tell any of us or…” Jake glanced over at Lisa before he yelled her name and she looked over at him, the other women also looking up.

Fliss perched on Frank’s knee and he slid one hand round her waist the other dropped to her thigh.

“So, we have set a date for the wedding.” Lisa smiled to a huge shriek from Zara. Frank spotted Fliss looking at Bonnie, the two of them sharing a significant smirk and he squeezed her thigh.

“Stop being a bitch.” he said in a low voice.

“Rude…” she mumbled, grinning into her gin.

“6th April next year…” Jake grinned. “At Hardemans Secret Garden in Dover, Tampa.” “Well unless you invented a time machine, it ain’t gonna be this year is it?” Simon looked at him, before he gave a yell as Bonnie slapped him round the back of the head.

“Obviously you’re all invited.” Jake said, “Except for Simon.” “Hang on, if he isn’t coming does that mean I can’t?” Bonnie pouted.

“You can be my plus one.” Fliss nodded.

“Oi…” Frank said, nipping her thigh gently. She grinned at him, ruffling his hair slightly. He jerked his head out of her reach and looked at her over his aviators. She stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned.

“Guys this is great news…” Greg said, nodding “Best dig the suit out.” “You wear a suit to work every day.” Zara looked at him.

“Yeah, I’m in…” Greg smiled,

“Me too pal, I’m honoured.” Frank smiled, tipping his beer bottle in Jake’s direction.

“Does this mean we get to plan the Batchelor party?” Simon asked. Jake nodded with a grin and Simon leaned back “Oh this is gonna be beautiful….”

“Yeah you said that about me going to Boston…” “No, that’s not what I said.” Frank sighed, looking at her “I said over my dead body were you going to live with Evelyn….and did you?” “No…” Mary conceded “But you’re letting me go back for a weekend.”

“Yes, because you’re going for 2 nights and coming home” he said, and despite himself he turned his head to see Fliss sail Cap over the huge jump.

“See….” Fliss said, pulling the horse up to a stop “Easy…” “Whatever you say sweetheart.” he shook his head.

“Can I jump Monty soon?” Mary asked, and Fliss smiled.

“Yeah we can do a little cross pole…” “I give in…” Frank groaned, throwing his hands out to the side “The pair of you are nuts…”

“Says the guy who almost cried when he had to order a new car.” Fliss looked at him and Frank rolled his eyes “I mean who does that?” “Yeah Frank…” Mary said, swinging off the fence to the paddock, leaning back to look at him. “You get to swap a rust bucket for a shiny new Mitsubishi truck and you were like heartbroken.” “Hey, me and that truck have seen a lot of action-“

“I don’t wanna know…” Fliss started.

“Of which you’ve been part of…” he smirked her and she flushed a little, grinning. “I’m kinda attached to it.” “It’s a lump of metal.” Fliss looked at him.

“How dare you.” Frank scoffed, feigning offence.

“I can go with that.” Frank nodded as she turned and walked towards the gate, letting her out.

“Can I take him?” Mary asked, hopping down off the fence.

“Sure…” Fliss said, handing her the reins. Mary led the horse away to the barn as Fliss removed her hat and pulled out her bobble, shaking her long hair free before she tied it back up again.

“I really do like it that colour.” Frank mused after a second, watching her. She blushed a little, and he knew why. A week ago she’d come back from the salon, her usually bright auburn hair was a lot more demure, having had caramel and dark brown put through it. When Frank had complimented her on the change she’d gotten a little shy and said that she used to have it like that when she was younger, but upon splitting with John had decided she wanted a completely different look. Now she felt like she wanted to go back to who she was, not needing to put that distance between her and her past anymore. Her admission had once again, knocked him for 6, how simple little things like that were so huge for her. He was also beyond happy she felt like that too.

“Can we go to the shack for dinner?” Mary spoke up, looking at Frank “It is Saturday…”

“Oh, I dunno…” Frank sighed, “Not sure my heap of shit truck will get us there.” “No but Fliss’ jeep will.” Mary shrugged and Frank shook his head with a snort.

“You literally have an answer for everything.”

“Wonder where she gets that from…” Fliss looked at him and he nudged her gently with his elbow.

“So can we go or not?”

“Deal.” she nodded “Only Fliss said she was gonna help me sort my clothes out…some of them don’t fit anymore.”

“Yeah we do that tomorrow morning.” Fliss smiled, “Then we can look at ordering you some warm stuff for New York.” “oooh yeah, are we still getting matching sweaters when we get there?” “No.” Frank said, at the same time Fliss nodded.

“Yes.” “No, we’re not.” Frank looked at her.

“I hate you both.” he said sullenly, folding his arms.

“Not sure getting her any stuff for New York yet is wise.” he mused “If she carries on like she is it won’t fit her.”

“I know what you mean.” he said, his hands carding through her hair “You don’t really Seasons here.”

“Well you do…” Fliss said, “Hurricane and Summer.” Frank let out a laugh as she looked up at him. “You know you’re my hurricane.”

“What?” he looked at her

“Came into my life, blew it all upside down…” “Jesus you talk some shit!” he laughed, shaking his head as she grinned.

“You know there was actually a hurricane Frank back in 2010.” she said “So I’m not talking complete shit…” “Whatever Sweetheart…” he snorted, leaning back as her nails scratched against his skin. He gave a twitch and grabbed her wrist, and looked down at her as she flashed him a coy look. “Stop it.”

“What, this?” she moved and used her other hand, and Frank let out a hiss as he shifted and grabbed that one too.

“You know what that does to me…” he looked at her, his voice low.

“Yup.” she nodded, grinning.

With a jerk of his arms he pulled her forward so she fell onto him fully, drawing a giggle from her as her nose bumped against his.

“I fuckin’ love you.” he smiled at her, and she grinned, giving him a soft kiss.

“Yeah, you’ve told me once or twice…” she smirked, her lips locking onto his.

******

“Fliss?”

“Office…” she called back, and a second or so later Joanne popped her head into the room.

“Everything’s done.” she said, “I was gonna lock up…you’re not normally here this late.”

“Sadly, it needs doing…besides, last time we went I kicked his ass, again, he sulked for hours.” Fliss snorted “Maybe he stands more of a chance against Mary.”

“Won’t he let her win?” Joanne asked “I mean, she is only 8…”

“Have you met Frank?” Fliss looked at Jo. “He says that she needs reminding every now and then that she’s not a genius at everything…” Joanne let out a laugh “Fair enough. Ok, well I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, by Jo…”

It was a threat. A direct threat telling her he knew about Mary.

He ended up in jail himself because Fliss knew Frank well enough to understand that if that blind rage took hold, he wouldn’t stop.

******

“Hey, you’re late…” Frank looked up, immediately frowning as he saw Fliss’ face. “Honey…what…” “Where’s Mary?” she asked instantly.

“She nipped to Roberta’s” Frank said “I know it’s late but we saw her as we were headed out of the car and she wanted to collect something for Show and Tell tomorrow…why?”

“We need to talk.” Fliss said.

Frank stood up off the sofa and walked towards her, he reached for her and she took a step back.

“Ok, Fliss, you’re scaring me now…what…”

“I think…” Fliss looked down at her hands “I think that we need to stop seeing each other.” Frank blinked, not sure he had heard her right, but when he looked at her he saw a tear trickling down her face and she was avoiding his gaze. The world around him began to fade and a dull buzzing filled his head and rang around his ears as a horrible cold feeling washed over him.

“Lissy…” he swallowed, his words sticking in his throat “What’s brought this on? Did I do something? Are you not happy? I don’t understand…” “I just…it isn’t working for me…” she said, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. “You’re lying.” he said instantly, he could see it written all over her face “Fliss, what’s going on?” “Nothing, I’m sorry. I just…I need to leave, I need space.” she said “I’m so sorry Frank…” Frank took a deep breath, and watched as she turned to leave. After a second he hurried after her into the hallway, shaking his head.

“Please, Frank…don’t make this any harder than it is…” her voice was broken, and she shook her head. “I don’t understand what THIS is?” he looked at her, running a hand through his hair as he felt the stinging of tears in his own eyes “Last month we were talking about buying a house together and now you just wanna break it off, for no reason? Baby, just…whatever is going on, we can work through it, just talk to me.”

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered, “Just…let me out…please…”

“Liss, please…” he said, his voice cracking. “Don’t do this…”

She took a deep breath and opened the door, the warm air from outside hit him in the face before the click of the latch hit his ears as the door shut behind her, leaving him stood alone in the hallway, stunned and utterly, utterly broken.

#riding high #frank adler x ofc #frank adler #gifted #gifted fan fic

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mergeatrois · 4 years

Text

Desire

Have to upload again because Tumblr cannot make up their mind on banned content after it was prior approved :))

Sarah’s life felt like it was spiraling downwards. Her grades were shabby, she felt sick almost everyrday now, and worst of all, her own roommate had started bullying her. Sarah thought that life would get better after she came out of the closet, and for a little while it did. Her family was supportive and accepting and she felt relieved to finally tell everyone the truth. Things would have actually been pretty decent if it wasn’t for her roommate Kacey.

Kacey didn’t even talk much to Sarah before she came out as a lesbian. She figured that it wouldn’t have even changed anything between them but she was sadly mistaken. Kacey started lashing out at Sarah, small at first, forcing chores onto her and making small but insensitive comments about her appearance. Eventually these things grew into outright sharp insults, rumor spreading, and even stealing. Kacey was one of the most popular and beautiful girls on campus so her rumors were practically truths to every student that she told. “She cheats and plagiarizes all of her work” “She’s kind of a huge slut” “She’ll steal just about anything she can get her hands on”. All of these falsehoods ran through Sarah’s mind day in and day out all thanks to her shitty roommate.

Kacey wouldn’t even call Sarah by her name, she just referred to her as “bitch” or “dike”. Sarah felt like an intruder at her college, even in her own dorm she didn’t feel very safe unless Kacey was out of the dorm. The bullying was bad enough on its own, but the worst part had to have been that Sarah had developed a crush on Kacey before she came out. Sarah couldn’t help herself when she saw Kacey, she was easily the hottest girl on campus. She was gorgeous, fit, and busty. She was everything that Sarah found sexy. Even her “high and mighty” demeanor was a turn on for Sarah. She would give just about anything to see that smug, snakey look wipe off her face while Sarah dominated her in the bedroom. Nothing turned her on more than thinking about Kacey. She’d think about her almost every time when she masturbated, but on the inside she knew that her fantasies would remain just that, fantasies.

One night, Sarah stayed up late, trying desperately to finish work deadlines and maybe fit in some time to rub one out if she could manage. Kacey was gone that night. She went out on a date with some guy she had met just a few days ago. Sarah was relieved that Kacey was gone but still felt sick with envy. “Lucky asshole” she muttered to himself while thinking of the bastard that would push inside Kacey’s guts that night. She felt frustrated after finishing up her work, she needed some relief. She pulled up her regular porn site and scanned the numerous pages, looking for something good to watch. She searched closely, reading every title on every page. Eventually, she noticed a small, recurring ad banner that had appeared on the last few pages. She scoffed as she read the scamming advertisement. “One trick that’ll help you fuck anyone you want!” Sarah shook her head. How could people even fall for shit like that? What a waste of time. She went on to the next page and noticed that every ad banner was replaced with the one that she had read before moving on. “That’s….odd” she thought as she clicked the refresh button. The page blinked white before reloading. Now all the thumbnails to the videos on the browser were replaced with an small image of the ad banner that she had seen earlier. She read the titles on all the videos, they were all the same. “Life changing product! Click now!”

Sarah winced. She was spooked to hell at this point. What the fuck kind of ad did this? She shivered a bit, slightly shaken by the strange glitch that covered the web page. She decided the bite the bullet. Maybe there was something about the ad that drew her in. Sarah didn’t know, and for some reason, she didn’t even care. She winced and clicked one of the many links that threw her straight to strange website. A picture appeared before her. A image of a smooth, plastic bottle filled with a strange orange substance. Underneath the image was a title filled with big tooney letters and a picture of a young, smiling cartoon witch. The title read “Bellamy’s Magical Elixir!” Sarah scrolled down to read the description of the weird product.

“A new supernatural lotion that will let you have the body of your dreams! Do you ever get tired of being you? Or do you simply want a hotter sex life? Have you ever dreamed about being a hot supermodel or a muscled up stud? If you answered yes to any of these then this oil is for you! Just grab the partner that you want to merge with and rub the oil into both of your bodies. Once both the bodies are finely lubricated, just squeeze together and voila, you now have the body that you always dreamed of. Enjoy your new life and your wildest fantasies! Now only $9.99 per bottle!”

Sarah couldn’t believe her eyes. This couldn’t be real, could it? “I mean, what hope do I really have left?” She asked herself. Sarah felt hopeless in her situation. Kacey was making her life a living hell, and the idea of being someone that Kacey found irresistible turn Sarah on more than ever. Worse case scenario, she blows 10 bucks on a useless bottle of lube. Sarah placed the order as fast as she could. Once the money was sent, the page closed abruptly. She tried searching for the website that she had ordered from just seconds ago but nothing popped up in the search engine. Sarah groaned loudly. “Fuuuuuuuck. I can’t believe I actually bought into that crap.” She was too disappointed in herself to even masturbate that night. She marched over to her bed defeatedly and flopped onto bed. Sarah closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to forget that the night even happened.

She woke up the next morning feeling like death itself. Her eyelids were still heavy. She went into the kitchen and looked around the dorm for a bit. Thank god, Kacey was still gone. She yawned loudly and began stretching before a loud knock resounded from her door. The banging was so loud that it made her jump. “Jeez, spoke too soon I guess.” she mumbled before marching over to the door. She looked through the peephole to that Kacey wasn’t in front of the door. In fact, no one was. She opened the door cautiously and looked around seeing no one. She began to walk outside her dorm when her foot kicked a small package. Sarah picked up the package slowly in disbelief. “No way…it’s already here?” she asked to no one. “That was like, crazy fast.” She walked back inside and ripped the package open. A slim plastic bottle filled with a syrupy orange fluid. She read the instructions on the label on the back of the bottle. She repeated the instructions: “Find yourself a partner and oil up together. Once both bodies are thoroughly lathered with the substance, squeeze both bodies together and enjoy the new you. Note: Only one partner will retain their conscious during this process. The possessed partner will be gone forever and the one taking over will lose every semblance of their old life. The partner that’s being taken over will wait on standby once they are coated in the elixir. Please use with caution.”

For the first time in a long time, Sarah was filled with excitement. All the events up to this point had been so…strange. The glitching ad, the disappearing website, and the fast as hell delivery. Maybe there was something to this elixir after all. She decided to put her faith in the oil. Sarah packed the oil in her bag and rushed over to find Kacey’s laptop. Sarah had snuck a peek at her password while she was typing it in a few months ago, but she didn’t think to use her laptop until this point. Sarah searched quickly through Kacey’s facebook, skype, email messages, trying to find anything about a guy that she was crazy about. Hope seemed lost until she looked through her bookmarks. She saw a tab that linked her directly to the channel of a cammer that Kacey had visited quite often. Sarah looked at pictures of the man in the camera. He was a tall, dark, muscular man with a pretty large following on the site. He would stream naked every other day and put on a show for all of his viewers. The guy looked so familiar to Kacey. She finally figured it out. The guy in the cam was Martin Lennard. He was a student attending their university. No wonder Sarah recognized him, she had seen him just a few months ago while going to the gym. Sarah had been working out with her sister that day when she first saw Martin. He didn’t play any sports for the college but with a body like his, he certainly could. It made sense now why he didn’t, and why he was so reserved. “Jesus Christ, he’s a fucking cam boy.” Sarah said to herself again.

The only time she saw Martin let loose was in the gym. She couldn’t remember much but she could definitely recall how loud he was when he worked out. He strained his entire muscle covered body while in the gym, trying to work out every single muscle until he was drenched in hot sweat. Even Sarah had to admit that he was a pretty dashing guy. Sarah found that Kacey was an avid donator to his stream. She tuned in and donated almost every time he went live. She must have been super into him. It didn’t take long for Sarah to form up a plan. She HAD to get Martin’s body at any cost. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. She sighed calmly before closing the laptop and packing her bag and leaving for class.

During the day, Sarah remembered what day it was when she had seen Martin at the campus gym and began fine tuning her plan. By the time her last class rolled around, she finally had everything worked out. Wednesday rolled around and Sarah took a day off from classes to hang around the gym, waiting for Martin to arrived. Finally she saw his giant, beefy figure stomp towards the gym entrance. He looked absolutely massive. He wore a white tank top that looked almost too small for him. The edges of his meaty pecs poked out the sides of the thin shirt. His swollen arms swung around his heavy gym bag effortlessly as he opened the door to the gym. Sarah jumped up and walked towards the gym desperately to try and follow. She watched him disappear into the men’s locker room before she could grab his attention. She would have to improvise. She waited until he reemerged before sneaking in as fast as possible. Her face was red while she sneaked inside and fear gripped her entire body. She prayed to god that she didn’t get caught.

“Fuck fuck fuck.” she repeated as she slowly snaked through the locker room. She peered into each and every closed locker before finally finding Martin’s gym bag sitting next to an open locker. What a score, he must have forgotten to pack it up before working out. She pulled out the half empty bottle of Bellamy’s Elixir and scratched off the label as neatly as possible before slipping it in his bag. After everything was set she quickly ran out of the locker room and slipped out of the gym in embarrassment.

Sarah went back to her dorm and saw Kacey wandering around inside, talking on the phone. “Yeah, shit didn’t work out last night, I’ll be over in a bi- Oh wait, she’s here. Here, I’ll talk outside, you know how snakey she can be.” Kacey walk past Sarah narrowing her eyes with a devilish grin on her face before she put down the phone and started talking. “I’m gonna be at a friend’s place for most of today. Clean shit up around here. I swear, you dikes can be so damn messy sometimes.” Sarah cringed at Kacey’s caty insult before she walked out of the door with her purse in hand. “Fuck I hate her” she thought as she opened up her laptop. It had only been about 20 minutes since Martin entered the gym, he’d probably be back home in about an hour. Sarah had to get ready. She searched around her bed, finding the other bottle that she had filled with the magic oil. “Christ. I hope this works.”

She waited in Martin’s hallway near his door. He would be there any second. Just when she thought about backing out, she could see him walking towards his door with his gym bag in hand. Sarah jumped a bit and began fumbling through her purse, looking like she was just looking for her keys. She listened closely as Martin opened his door and slammed it shut. She stopped for a minute. She could hear the door lock. Martin may have been a strong guy, but the man was definitely not too careful. Sarah waited another minute in silence before opening his door slowly and inching into the dorm. She left her purse outside, only taking the other half of the oil. She snuck through his place carefully before finding a closet to hide in while he showered in the bathroom. She took the time to strip down naked in the dark closet and cover her body in the oily substance. The orange elixir seeped into her skin making her soft, white flesh nice and slippery. Her face turned red in embarrassment once more. It was strange being naked and oiled up but she was banking on this elixir to escape her shitty life with Kacey.

After what seemed like hours, Martin finally stomped out of the bathroom and past the closet that Sarah was hiding in. She peeked outside the closet door to see him almost completely naked, wearing nothing but a towel that wrapped around his waist. He opened his laptop and started typing on the keyboard before stepping back.

“Everything set up, we live?” He said in his deep, masculine voice. She could see a smile form across his face. “Nice, nice” he said before dropping the towel. Sarah’s eyes widened as she saw the jock strapped that firmly hugged against Martin’s crotch. She covered her mouth, doing her best to contain her excitement.

“I’ve got a real nice show for you guys tonight.” She said with a smirk before pulling out the bottle of elixir that Sarah had slipped into his gym bag. “Forgot I had a little something left in my gym bag. You guys are in for a fuckin’ treat.”

He poured the oil into his hands began rubbing the orange fluid all over his puffed out chest. His hands wrapped around his bulging pecs, slowly coating them in the slippery, reflective liquid. His dark skin glistened and his muscles shined as he slowly bathed himself in the slippery oil. He looked so…hot. He wiped his hands over his tight abs over and over, making sure that the light reflected off their solid surface the most. He refilled his palms with the orange substance before coating his giant arms next. Christ they were fucking huge. Sarah didn’t even care to look at their stunning form the first time that she had seen Martin. He was fucking shredded. He flexed his dark cannons tightly, letting his biceps swell as he washed the oil over their beefy structure. He opened his eyes, staring deeply into his giant guns before turning towards the camera. “Mmmm yeah, you fuckin like that? You like my massive guns huh? Fuck yeah you do.” Even from all the way in the closet, Sarah could see the veins on his biceps thrust against his shimmering, ebony skin. He covered his whole torso in the oil, eventually reaching his hands into the jockstrap to oil up his dick. He moaned softly and tilted back his head as he touched himself, slowly coating that thick black dick of his with the lotion. He finally poured the rest over his thick thighs, letting streams of the magic elixir flow down his legs before he rubbed it into his dark flesh.

He continued to moan and run his hands over his mounds of muscle as the oil seeped into his skin until he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight. He looked almost dazed and he stared at his oiled up body in confusion before shaking his head and turning off the laptop in front of him. Once he closed it, he brought over a chair and sat down. He reached his hand inside the jockstrap once more. From what Sarah could see, he was slowly jerking his cock over and over as he tilted his head back with his eyes closed. Sarah slowly inched out of the closet, covering her chest and crotch as she slowly stepped towards the muscled giant. He started moaning deeply, still oiling up his long, black shaft. Sarah stood in front of the intimidating stud, taking a good look at his body as she stood cautiously. He didn’t even seem to notice her. He moved his hand outside of the jock, letting the strap fill with his growing member. The front of the strap shot out with a large bulge, it grew progressively thicker and thicker as he heaved his heavy chest up and down. Sarah sat slowly onto his lap, trying her best to ignore the massive bulge that ran past her butt and down her thigh. She pulled the strap upwards and slipped her oily legs inside with ease. She let the jock go and the strap snapped against her soft skin making her wince as it pulled their bodies together tightly. Instead of feeling the smack of his oily taut skin, she began falling through his thick waist ass first.

She looked down unexpectedly and her eyes widened with excitement once more. She held her breath as her legs and her waist slowly vanished into his huge, herculean form. A strange sensation coursed through her body. Her legs felt almost twice as heavy as before and something felt so off about her crotch. She felt a strong fabric squeezing against her crotch. It would have felt uncomfortable if her body was so oiled up. “W-wait. Oiled up?” She thought to herself. She looked down once more. Her old legs were completely gone. Her soft white flesh was now replaced with dark, brown skin that was pulled taut over her muscular legs and her crotch was now being hugged tightly by the tight white jockstrap. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. Her new cock began to grow as her breaths became more and more rapid. Her shaft slowly inched upwards against the front of the strap, making the bulge grow bigger by the second. She winced with discomfort. “This-this is so fucking weird.” She said while trying to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe it. She had a cock. A big cock at that. She narrowed and eventually closed her eyes tightly as her dick became harder and harder. It felt weird but somehow so pleasurable. Eventually her eyes opened and she moaned softly as her cock eventually hit its peak and began thrashing fiercely against the soft cotton briefs. She wanted to feel it up so badly but fought the urge to jerk off right then and there.

She fell back, her slender, girlish figure disappearing into the void of Martin’s heavyset chest. His chest seemed to swallow her whole. It took in her body so easily. Sarah blinked an eye before feeling the air suck out of her chest. She inhaled desperately but her chest felt massive and unnatural. It was a chore to bring air into her lungs but she slowly got used to the feeling. She looked down and immediately, her gaze was met with her new hunky torso. Her new black pecs were bursting with strength and muscle, they heaved up and down with heavy weight as she sucked air into her new giant lungs. Fuck. This felt so weird. So unlady-like but she loved how fucking strong her chest was now. Even her tight, firm abs felt fucking incredible. She bounced her new beefy pecs up and down over and over again. She loved showing off their strength and form. She bite her lips as she lifted her skinny arms against his rippling, shimmering, black cannons. His arms curved around hers and her arms slipped into his without resistance.

She could feel their power instantly. The size of her swollen biceps and dark, furry forearms. The veins that thrusted forcibly against her slippery, brown flesh and the muscles that lined around her deep hairy armpits. “Fuuuuck” she let out as her arms strained to thrust their muscles up tightly against her skin. Was in love with this body. She couldn’t wait to explore all its ins and outs. She sunk back her head with a large smile on her face before the old Sarah completely vanished.

Sarah’s eyes blinked groggily as she looked around the dorm. A sense of unease and familiarity filled her body. She felt like a stranger inside the dorm but at the same time, she felt right at home. She blinked her eyes fully open before looking down at her body. A smile crossed her face. She was a total hunk. She felt like an intruder in this gorgeous body, like she didn’t belong. Even though this feeling loomed over her head, she loved her stunning, brawny figure way too much to let it bother her. Sarah stood up from her chair and began feeling up her muscled chest, filling her giant hands with her bunching black pecs. That name ran through her head over and over. “Sarah. Sarah. No no no, Sarah is gone. Martin feels so much better.” Martin brought up her thick arms and began flexing this as hard as he could. “Yeah….Martin” he said to himself with a cocky grin wiping across his face.

Martin loved his body. It was the one that he had been building up for his entire life, but it felt so new. It was like playing with a cool new toy for the very first time. He thrusted his pecs out forcefully, letting his chest swell with air, making his muscles look even more massive and pronounced. God, he loved this fucking body. Everything about it was just so damn perfect. From his massive arms to his heavy, unmovable chest, even his glistening dark skin felt so fucking sexy to have. And his cock, god his cock was perfect. Long, girthy, and throbbing for some action. He was so absorbed in checking out his arms and chest that he had almost forgotten how the strap was hugging tightly against his thick, muscled member. His bulge was pulsing and thrashing around fiercely as he flexed his heavyset form. Another wide grin crossed his face as he pulled down the strap. His long black cock shot forward instantly, still throbbing over and over, just waiting to be touched.

He couldn’t wait any longer. Martin wrapped his big muscular hands around his veiny shaft, slowly running his hand up and down its length. His palm was completely filled with his girthy black shaft, he could even feel the veins brush against his hands as he jerked his cock over and over. His dick was nice and slick thanks to the oil that he put on it earlier, it felt so fucking good as he let his hand glide effortlessly up and down his massive dick. Martin’s forearm began to tighten and cover with veins as he tugged faster and faster. The sight of it gave him an idea. He brought up his other arm and flexed, letting his biceps bulge up near his head. His biceps were fucking huge. Covered in a thick layer of lean muscle, riddled with veins, he loved their size. The pleasure was weighing on him. He moaned deeply, his voice booming throughout the dorm as he pulled on his long dick over and over again. It felt fucking amazing. Beads of sweat broke the coat of oil that covered his muscled chest as he heaved it up and down, slowly getting closer and closer to his climax. His abs were sucked in tight, their deep grooves and ridges still holding small streams of slippery sweat as he held them in, keeping them nice and firm. His pits deepened as he flexed his entire body, finally letting out a loud roar as he could feel his load escape his thickened shaft. His hard, now pulsating cock shot out stream after stream of hot, sticky cum. The fluid escaped his fat tip, spewing puddles of white fluid onto the carpet, almost reaching the desk where his laptop laid. Martin breathed in deeply as he smashed back down into his chair, his hand still gripped firmly around his dark, veiny shaft. He slowly milked every last drop of cum out of his muscled rod before rolling his head back with a smile on his face. This body was absolutely perfect.

Thanks for reading. If you like the stories with thinking of yourself as being the one to merge into others and have spare time to RP, hit up my DMs as I’m always generally looking. Cheers.

#F2M Merge

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sardonicnihilism · 3 years

Text

A Biography of the Woman Who Never Was

Part 3 The Young Adult

Chapter 32

Shannon looked over her list of damnable tomes. *The Liba Lnteus*, *The Beale Ciphers*, *The Voynich Manuscript*, *Magic of Abramelin the Image*, *The Codex Gigas*, *The Book of Soyga*, *The Rohonc Codex*, *The Great Omar Book*, *The Ripley Scroll Book*; each one of these horrid abominations was said to bring death and madness to all those who sought them out. These were grimoires of the most blasphemous and dangerous depths. Yet, none of these were what she was looking for.

Shannon lifted her head, staring off into space, tapping her pencil off the library table she was seated at. She was trying to clear her mind, think of new avenues to approach. The continuing elusivness of the book made her feel uneasy. Certainly there had to be some mention of it somewhere.

She looked over to her right and saw a typical, pink eraser. She stared at it for a few moments and opened up her left hand. The eraser wiggled a bit, and then jumped into her hand. Shannon smiled as she ran it between her fingers.

She then noticed a strand of her hair, resting on the book she had been reading. She put her hand about one foot over top of it. The hair began to move like a snake. It reared up, standing straighter and straighter, until it left the page and floated in the air.

Shannon moved her hand to and fro, the hair following suit. Her hand and the hair danced in the air. She stood up and began to actually dance - swaying, gliding, bending, and reaching. The hair began to glow and catch on fire. It elongated and started to spin around her. The two dance partners floated up into the sky.

They were suddenly no longer in the library. She doubted if they were even still on Earth. It was night here. They were in a forest with trees and vegetation that had no root in Terran soil with the cries of animals that had never trod the world of man.

Shannon's clothes had now been burned away, but she didn't care. All there was, was the dance. The string of fire encircled her even more closely. Eventually it touched her and she burst into flame, but she felt not one ounce of pain. Indeed she was in a state of euphoric rapture.

She and the flame were now one. She flew across the night sky, leaving streaks of light behind her, creating complex, geometric patterns. In her mind she heard a young boy ask what was that; to which the voice of an old woman responded, "That is the Sky Dancer of Chaos and Eternal Night". She then exploded across the sky. Shannon was then back in the library; same position, mindlessly drumming away.

Shannon took her glasses off, laid them on the book, and slouched back into her chair. She was unnerved at her apparent day dream. She was even more upset at her lack of progress.

"Hey stranger," Sam's voice called out.

Shannon looked over in the direction it had come. "Hey. What are you doing here?" She was legitimately curious. She had come to Chambersburg Public Library because her college library had failed to yield any results in her search, but it was more than sufficient for the tasks of any college assignment.

"Looking for you. I haven't seen on campus for a while. I called to see if you were ok, and your mum said you were here. I found a ride in and decided to see if you were ok."

"I am. Just - looking."

Sam pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "That bloody book again?" he asked both concerned and annoyed.

"I still hear things, see things, sometimes even feel them. Prayers and church haven't worked. Maybe if I find something, anything, it'll help."

Sam put his arm around her shoulders. It was striking how large and muscular she was. She felt more of stone than flesh. Yet her face was scared, sad, and tired.

"Listen," he said softly, "you said yourself, they gave you a strange liquid to drink, yeah? I'm guessing that it was some sort of hallucinogenic and it's messing with brain up there," he gently tapped on the side of her head which made her smile. "Instead of looking for some book which may not even be real; maybe you should go to the doctor's instead?"

Shannon leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. "And say what? I might have had some bad acid? Besides, everyone had masks on. I have no idea who all was there. Hell, my doctor could have been one of them for all I know. Shit, you could be one," she turned her head and looked him in the eyes.

"Nah, ain't me mate. I don't believe in any of that mumbo-jumbo. Strict atheist here. Of course, you could think I'm just lying to you. Not like I can prove my innocence."

"Honestly, at this point, I really don't give a shit if you're legitimate or a spy. You're the best friend I've ever had. So if this is a performance, all I ask is that you keep it up."

"Will do," Sam answered back cheerfully.

Shannon looked at her list again. She tore the paper from the notebook and crumpled it up. Real or not, she was done searching.

Suddenly something came to her, something Jen had said. She had called Lovecraft a seer. She also said that his works were based on the coven's text. Finally her last thought sprung up in her mind again, *real or not*.

She ran up to the librarians desk and asked to sign into a computer. The librarian told her what number to go to, and she ran over and started typing.

Sam was extremely confused and worried. He ran over to her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Checking out a thought," she said, super focused on the screen.

"Alright, and how's that?"

"I found this new website called Amazon. They're an online bookstore. Fairly large selection too," she said excitedly. "Hopefully they don't try to start selling other things as well and just stick to books."

As soon as the page loaded, she typed "Lovecraftian horror" in the search bar. Once the search was done, she began to scroll through the selections. Her brow furrowed with frustration, not seeing what she had hoped for. Then a look of absolute joy came across her face as she said, "There!" Shannon pointed to a listing and Sam started to read it aloud.

"*Behind the Bleeding Veil* by Shawn Baxter, 1934. *Behind the Bleeding Veil* is the first book in the Goddess Saga. This book of Lovecraft inspired horror revolves around a sheltered young girl, her mysterious past, and her bizarre college roommate. Originally banned due to its graphic depiction of lesbian sex and gore, it was later reprinted in 1967. Includes the standard cosmic horror troupes such as cults, horrifying, unknowable gods, and cursed books ( *The Book of Forgotten Nightmares *)." Sam stopped and looked at Shannon who was smiling ear to ear.

"I don't get it," he said confused.

"It was all made up. Whoever started that coven, must have read this book and thought it was real. Just like the publishing companies made a *Necronomicon*, they must have made a version of *Nightmares*. It's nothing more than a story someone took seriously." Relief washed over Shannon in tidal waves, washing her clean.

"Pretty much how all religions get started." Sam added jovially.

"Unfortunately, that means you were right and I am having a prolonged, psychotic reaction to a hallucinogenic compound."

Sam turned to Shannon and asked, "Hospital?"

"Hospital," Shannon agreed.

As they were leaving, Shannon turned around and saw a massive black shadow, bubbling with white, distorted, grotesque faces. She raised her hand and the mass was blown away in an explosion of fire.

"I am the Sky Dancer of Chaos and Eternal Night," she whispered underneath her breath and walked out.

***************************************

"Can we talk?" Shannon asked, in a low, shy, almost mournful voice.

Chris wiped the sweat from his brow and gave her a suspicious look. "I got some time between sets. Never was a fan of deadlifts anyway. So, what is it?"

Shannon handed him a piece of paper. "It's for your friend. It's the name of the toxin that was used and the drug that's used to treat it."

Chris took it and looked it over.

Shannon hung her head and looked at the floor as she continued to talk. "Given how long it's been, the damage might be permanent. The doctor said that I might have some continuing effects given it's been almost two years. Still, it should help him a little."

She then lifted her head and looked Chris straight in the eyes. "I'm so sorry. I should have listened. You tried to be a friend and I was a bitch. I hope you forgive me, but I don't expect it, and that's more than fair."

Chris handed the paper back to Shannon. "He committed suicide last year." He paused for a beat, then added, "But thank you anyways. I, I know you must have been going through some stuff, and I'm guessing still are. I understand. I might have reacted the same way if the roles were reversed. Understanding doesn't equal forgiveness though. And forgiveness doesn't mean things will go back to the way they were. It's been a while, both temporarily and emotionally."

"I know," Shannon said as she took the paper back.

Chris stuck out his hand. Shannon took it, shook it, turned around and walked away.

Shannon got to her car where Sam was waiting for her.

"Well, how'd it go," he asked sympathetically.

"About as well as I had any right for it to go," she answered back, putting her sunglasses on.

"You going to be ok?"

"Eventually," she said flatly, and got in her car.

Sam got in the passenger side. "You know, you've missed most of this semester. You got a lot of work to make. You think you can do it? Maybe you can take a leave of absence, all things considered?"

Shannon buckled up, turned the car on, and put it in drive. "I'm not going back," she simply said.

#dark #fiction #drama #sad #slice of life

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eepwritesstuff · 5 years

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In His Arms || BMC

TTW: Major character death. If this may trigger you, please do not read this! (if it won’t, I promise it ends okay.)

Jeremy POV:

I feel my eyes snap open and my breathing get fast. A scream forces its way from my throat, without me even knowing why. What... happened last night? All I remember is...

Fire. Rich. He... he set a fire. My own screams, desperate, trying to escape the blaze. And I had... Failed?

No. That doesn’t make sense. Surely, I’m alive, and I got out. But... That’s not what I remember. I remember being burned alive, my skin burning, the smell of burning and melting skin wafting to my nose until the pain became too much and I passed out.

Had I stayed there? If so, there’s no way I was still alive. So... The question stood. Where was I?

I sit up and see... Michael’s room? And there’s Michael, laying on his bed. He’s wearing his shirt from last night, but he has tear stains on his face. I feel really guilty. I hadn’t meant to call him a loser. I was just stressed, and scared, and I lashed out.

I walk over to him and try to wake him up. “Hey... Michael...” I whisper, shaking him. But my arm went through him. Oh. Oh no. OH GOD, WHAT WILL I DO?

I CAN’T BE A G H O S T. I CAN’T BE DEAD.

As I panic, Michael slowly wakes up, groaning miserably. I wave my hand in front of his face. “Michael, please, you have to hear me, you have to be able to see me, please, I’m so sorry, just see me, please see me-” I beg, but he doesn’t hear. Instead, he slowly gets up and turns on his phone. I sit next to him, hyperventilating.

As he turns it on, he’s bombarded with notifications. All about last night, the fire. He immediately looks it up on google, seeing the articles and posts. He lands on a news article and reads through it. There’s a list of the people claimed by the fire. He scrolls through, seeing name after name. Richard Goranski. Jake Dillinger. Dustin Kropp. Madeline Cornfeldt. He stops when he sees a certain name, gasping and whispering, “No...” And, there it is. Jeremiah Heere.

He starts shaking, pulling his knees up to his chest as tears well up in his eyes. “No, no, nonono... This can’t be right, please let this be a joke, Jeremy can’t be” his voice cracked. “Don’t let him be- he’s gotta be okay. He’s always been okay. He’s always been there. Don’t let him be gone, foreve-” His sobs cut him off as he breaks. As he’s breaking, I am too. I’m dead. I never got to tell him. I never got to apologize. The last thing I said to him before- I called him a loser. All he has now is that memory, over and over, and I can’t do anything.

He sobs for hours, inconsolable, and I’m right beside him. I’m sobbing, and so is he, and there’s nothing either of us can do to help each other.

Eventually, our tears stop. He pulls out his computer and begins typing frantically. I look over his shoulder. He’s looking up something on Google, and he’s muttering stuff under his breath. Stuff like, “C’mon, c’mon...” and “It’s gotta work...” I look at what he’s looking at. It’s a website... About SQUIPs? I thought there’s no information about them online? Well, apparently there is, because Michael’s looking at it. Specifically, the protection measures that SQUIPs use to protect the host body. Apparently, they stop at nothing, even self destruction, to keep the host body in tact. It explains all the cases in which the host, and the SQUIP, were found dead, but the body itself was perfectly intact. Protecting the body like this uses all of the SQUIP’s capacity and ultimately kills it, but the body stays perfectly in tact. I’m confused as to what Michael is planning on doing with this information. Of course, I can’t actually ask him, so I just sit here and wait as he researches for hours on end, not even eating.

Now, it’s around 3 pm, and his stomach growls. he ignores it and keeps working. “JUST EAT, ALREADY. YOU DON’T WANT TO DIE, TOO!” I scream, in frustration.

He sits straight up, eyes wide as he frantically looks around the room. “J-Jer?” He whispers, hope in his voice. I try to respond. “Michael, yes, I’m here! How did you hear me?” His expression drops as he shakes his head. “I’m losing it, he isn’t actually here. I mean, c’mon, Mell. This isn’t Apocalypse of the Damned, there’s no spectator portion after you die. He’s gone. But he doesn’t have to be. Just get back to work.” I narrow my eyes at him, even though he can’t see me. He can’t die, he doesn’t deserve to. At this rate, he will within a few days, out of exhaustion and lack of food. I try again, focusing everything I have on saving Michael. “Michael. I’m not joking, go eat now. Please, you can’t die too...” His head shoots up again, and his hands shake. “Jer... You’re here? How? Are you okay?” I try doing what I did last time, but it’s difficult. “I’m here. Don’t know how. I’m sorry.” Michael’s lip wobbles and a tear rolls down his cheek. He hastily wipes it away, letting out a watery laugh. “Heh, sorry... I just- I thought you were lost, for good.” I can’t help it as a tear runs down my own cheek. I force out more words, already exhausted by the effort it takes. “Missed you. It’s, uh... Really hard to talk, though.” My voice wobbles, and we both know why, but he kindly doesn’t mention it. He nods. “Understandable. Guess I have to go get food now, huh?” I nod in response, even though he can’t see. He sighs and stands, groaning and stretching. He then walks towards the door, and I follow, feeling satisfied.

After he eats a good meal, we both go back upstairs to his room. He gets back on his computer, now looking into people at our school who might practice... necromancy? Oh, Michael... Wait. That could actually work. My body is still in tact, and if somehow, dark magic works, I can... I can live again! I mean, weirder thing have happened. Y’know. Supercomputer, and all. I feel hopeful, for the first time since I woke up like this. Maybe I won’t be stuck like this forever. I don’t just feel hopeful. I feel ecstatic. I don’t even notice, but I start glowing. I don’t notice, until Michael is suddenly looking at me. “Jer? Is... Is that really you?” He murmurs, swallowing hard. Tears brim his eyes as he stares directly at me. “Wait. You can see me? Holy shit. Hi.” I say, feeling stupid, but also I’d missed him. He smiles widely, his tears rolling down his cheeks. “Yeah!” He sniffles. “Hi. I miss you, like... A lot.” He uses his fist to roughly wipe away his tears. ”Yeah... Sorry, Micha. I should have- I shouldn’t have taken the SQUIP, I should have talked to you, I should’ve gotten out-” Michael cuts me off. “No, Jer, don’t blame yourself. Don’t you DARE blame yourself.” He shakes his head frantically. “It’s not your fault, okay? I can’t hear you blaming yourself. We’re gonna fix this, okay?” I nod, feeling a lump in my throat. “Yeah. Sorry. Thank you, for everything. You’re... Really amazing, Michael.” A tear rolls down my face. “What was I supposed to do, just leave you d-” he whispers, as if it’s taboo. “dead?” He gives a weak smile. “Besides, it’s a two player game, right?” I bite my lip. “I ruined that, though, Michael. I left you behind.” He shakes his head. “No, you didn’t. I get it, really. I just want to get you back. I want to hug you, and look at you without seeing through you.” I nod. “Yeah, a hug sounds... really, really good right now.” I feel a pain in my chest, but I sit next to him as he grabs his computer and keeps researching.

Eventually, my glow dims until I’m barely visible, but I’m still here. Michael works hard researching, with the occasional witty comment, which always earn a laugh from me. He smiles every time, like he’d never get tired of my laugh.

After hours, he smiles widely. “EUREKA!” I jump. “Wait- REALLY?” my glow starts up again, brighter than before. He nods. “Yeah! Jer, we can bring you back!” I smile, hope running through my veins again. “Oh, Michael, I- how will I ever repay you?” He shakes his head, still smiling. “No, Jer, don’t repay me, really. Just having you okay again will be enough for me.” I smile, feeling tears prick my eyes. “God, Micha. I’m gonna give you the biggest hug, as soon as I can.” Michael smiles. “By my best guess, that would be tomorrow!” I grin. “I can’t wait.” I feel myself getting choked up and I sniffle. Michael’s gaze softens as he looks at me. “Hey. It’ll be okay, Jer. This whole nightmare- it’ll be over soon.” I nod, trying not to cry for what must be the hundredth time these past few days. “Y-yeah. Thanks. God, Micha. It’ll be over. I-I can’t believe it. I- Thank you.” He gives me a sideways smile. “Anything for you, Jer.” I meet his smile with one of my own, trying to suppress the feeling in my chest. Not now.

The next day, we go to the site where the fire had been. We’re both quiet as wee see the place where so many of our peers, including myself, lost our lives. Michael clears his throat. “Uh, do you know where you would... where you, uh... were?” He says awkwardly. I know what he means, so I nod. “Uh... Yeah. Follow me.” I walk through the rubble, retracing my steps. That night... I had come in, talked with Brooke, blown up at Michael... I had gone to try to find a quiet place to break down; I felt bad because of how I’d treated Michael, but I didn’t want to see him cry. I figured that I’d have forever to tell him, to apologize.

I find the room I had been in when the fire started. I push down the tears that are threatening to come to my eyes. It’ll be okay, Michael is gonna fix it. I remind myself. Michael starts digging through the rubble, trying to find my body. He tries to hide it, but I hear his breathing get rough and he starts to cry as a brown curl appears in the rubble. He digs more off of my body, sobbing at this point, and it takes all of my resolve not to vomit at seeing myself. My own dead body. I rush forward and put my arms around Michael. Even if he can’t feel me, I just want him to know I’m here for him. He swallows heavily and hugs my- dirty, but otherwise perfectly fine- body. He sits there for several minutes, just crying and hugging my body. Sometimes he whimpers, but he mostly just cries and holds my body close.

Eventually, he picks up my body and brings it to the car. He lays it down in the back seats and I sit in the passenger’s seat. He climbs into the driver’s seat and takes a deep breath.

“Look, Jer, I know that, like, you’re here and all... But that was honestly the worst thing I’ve ever had to do, and I hope to God I never have to do anything similar ever again. Just... Seeing your body, but you’re not in it, and I know you’re not. It hurt, a lot. Like, worse than anything you could’ve done while you were alive.” He speaks, staring out the windshield. I nod, trying to level out my voice before I speak. “Y-yeah. I’m sorry, Micha. I know you don’t want me to apologize, but I really am so sorry. You’ve been put through so so much, and I hate that you have to deal with any of this, when I can’t offer much comfort. I can’t give you a hug, I can’t put my hand on your shoulder, I can’t hold your h- I can’t, uh, grab you a slushie...” I trail off, flustered from my weak attempt at covering my blunder. Michael gave a weak smile. “Hey, it’ll all be okay. In just an hour, you will be able to do all of that stuff. I’ll hold ya to it.” We give each other small smiles, kindly ignoring the other’s tear stained face.

An hour later, we were back at Michael’s house, and my body was lain on his bed. Michael washed its- my?- face with a wash cloth, wiping away the soot and dirt. He also put it in new clothes, considering mine from that night were dirty and partially burned away. He still had some of my things from when I’d slept over and left things, so he put my body in one of my old Star Wars shirts, a pair of jeans, and a blue cardigan. After all of this was done, he gulps, looking towards me. “You ready to be alive again, Jer?” He asks. I nod frantically. “Yeah, pretty ready, Micha.” He gives a small chuckle and begins on the spell. He says some words I don’t understand, and my ghost-self starts to dim. I feel myself being pulled into my body. He says some more, and I turn invisible again. He speaks some more, and I’m in my body. Wait. I”M IN MY BODY! HELL YEAH!

I snap open my eyes and sit up, not prepared for the overwhelming rush of vertigo that it causes. “MICHAE- ow...” I hold my head. Michael rushes forward. “JEREMY! Oh my god, dude! Wait, are you okay?” I nod, blinking hard. “Yeah, just a little... disoriented.” I open my eyes and look him in the eye. My eyes start filling with tears. “God, Michael, I-” I fling myself at him, holding him close. He quickly hugs back, sniffling. “You’re okay.. Oh, thank god, you’re okay, you’re here now, this is you again.” I smile, feeling tears roll down my face. “Yeah, it’s me. Th-thank you. I love you so much, you know?” He stills before nodding. “I love you, too. When I thought you were gone, I just- I didn’t know what to do. But you’re okay now, and I can hold you again and it’ll be you...” I nod, just feeling his embrace and welcoming it. We’d have time to iron out what we were and everything else, but for now I wanted to just feel safe, and warm, and loved, and happy. Here, in Michael’s arms.

#boyf riends #jeremy heere #michael mell #be more chill #bmc #fanfic #bmc fanfiction

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barelyabear · 4 years

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Pentagon, Part 1

ABOUT ⬠

After the popular high school girl, Rosetta, loses her secret best friend, Jeremiah , to su*cide, she discovers love from unexpected places as 4 of her peers come to her rescue. The 5 teenagers navigate their lives as they end up twisted in each other’s mistakes, crimes, and love affairs. This story explores topics such as the the LGBT+ Community, Pressure from parents, Unrealistic expectations, and more.

TW ⬟ SU*CIDE

On Tuesday morning, Rosetta’s mother calls her down for breakfast. Rosetta cascades down from her spiral staircase in her silk robe. “Eat up honey, you need to look good for the dance by the end of the month and you’re looking a bit thin,” Mother warns Rosetta as she sits down sipping her cup of coffee as Rosetta follows orders. After breakfast, Rosetta heads to her room and gets ready for school. She walks the car waiting for her as her chauffeur opens the door with her backpack and books inside.

The bell rings as school begins. Rosetta takes a seat in her first class, Junior American Literature. As classmates watch as she takes her assigned seat, the teacher collects Rosetta's late homework that she had missed during her vacation in Maui last week. The intercom goes on for daily announcements but something was off this time. The microphone shuffled with muffled voices coming through the audio. The vice principal abnormally takes charge, “Good morning students. Today we will be skipping morning announcements. You will be able to update yourself on the school website. Today, we offer tribute to one of our own: Jeremiah Schuman. The star baseball player who warmed the heart of many on this campus is no longer with us. Friday night, Jeremiah committed suicde and in respect for his family, we will refrain from details. We ask that you all attend the prayer service this afternoon in the hall and if you experience any stress, anger, or sadness, please go see the counselors. The school will do its best to adjust this devastating loss and we ask that we work together to celebrate Jeremiah’s tribute. The baseball game this weekend will be in honor of Jeremiah so please come out and support the team in remembering what Jeremiah loved to do. Thank you students and have a good day”. Students shuffled around in their chairs as they turn to their friends to discuss the possibilities of why he committed suicide. Rosetta didn’t move around, she stood still in shock. She raised her hand, asking to use the restroom.

As the stunned girl exited the classroom, she ran to the restroom that she presumed was empty. She stood staring in the mirror as tears ran down her cheeks with her hands on the sink. Her breath quickens and she falls to the ground as she resists screaming her heart out.

Jeremiah had been Rosetta’s secret best friend. She was never allowed to be friends with anyone other than those Mother picked out. Mother did not want Rosetta distracted by boys since she was on the road to taking the position of Student Body President. But after spending hours after school in meetings, she always seemed to run into Jeremiah after baseball practice. Soon enough, they developed a friendship but kept it out of the public eye.

Out from a stall came a short girl with long black hair. Rosetta wiped her face and headed for the door. The girl stopped her and asked her to come back, “Hey, wait, I heard you crying and I can’t help but think this outburst has something to do with the kid who killed himself? I know we don’t know each other and I’m not the best at holding serious conversations but I can try and maybe it’ll be nice to talk to a stranger”. There, they sat against the wall as Rosetta spilled every detail of their friendship and how she had no idea he was in pain because he was always happy. She turned to the stranger, “Thanks for listening, I hope I didn’t bother you that much” The girl responded, “No problem, if you need anything, let me know”. Rosetta looked puzzled, “But, I never caught your name!” As the girls walked out the door, she turned back and said, “Adriana Gonzalez”. Rosetta cleaned up and returned to class, pondering what the mystery girl was all about.

After school, Rosetta had her regularly scheduled council meeting. When the meeting was over, Rosetta felt her heart shake as she didn’t see Jeremiah come through the crowd of boys from the baseball field. Instead, a different boy came up. He stopped Rosetta and gestured her to take a seat at his table. And so she did. Confused, Rosetta waited for the boy to speak and eventually he spit out some words, “Are you okay?” She lay her head down as she sighed, “Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” A moment of silence passed as the boy suddenly broke it, “I know you were close to Jeremiah and I just thought that the news would be hard to take.” Shocked by his words, she gasped, “How- how did you- I mean, not really”. The body carried on, “My parents refuse to pick me up from school anymore so I have to wait for the bus that comes hours after school, usually around the time you and Jeremiah meet up, I’ve seen you two talking everyday for the past months but it was only after school”. Rosetta explained the reasoning behind the selected sessions between her and Jeremiah and this time she knew to ask for this kind stranger’s name, “Why are you talking to me? I mean, who are you?”. To that, the boy replied, “I’m Brayden Taylor, and I just assumed that since your friendship was so exclusive, your friends didn’t know you needed comfort”. As Rosetta saw her chauffeur approaching, she left the conversation with a smile.

Mother made Rosetta get a job, claiming that it would make her look hard working on her college resume, even though it made no impact on their upper class lifestyle. Rosetta worked at an election office, running her father’s campaign for governor. She was always stuck doing filing or some simple work to make the time run fast. She craved some adventure. Her coworkers came and went so she never got a chance to make friends out of any of them. Today, Giana Bronty was working. She was known as the “rich whore’ because she was also from an upper class family but consistently got into trouble. “Giana, you’re on poster duty, take someone with you to keep you on check,” a manager shouts. Giana walked straight to Rosetta, “Hey Miss Prissy, you’re coming with me on poster duty, now”. Rosetta went with it since she was tired of all the paperwork.

As they neared the end of their house rounds, they reached Jeremiah’s neighborhood. Giana didn’t know about Jeremiah, she had skipped class that day along with many others. She placed the poster on the lawn and moved on to the next. The girls reached Jeremiah’s house. Rosetta’s throat choked up as she saw his older brother and single mother on the porch setting up a memorial. Careless Giana rushed up, placed a sign and left. Rosetta stood, stunned. She stared at the house that she had snuck into on nights her parents were away, the house she would feel normal. The family never knew her of course, so they looked back at her puzzled. Gaina tugged her arm but Rosetta stood still. Suddenly, she began to run and she ran to the park down the street. Giana, afraid she would get blamed for the hostility, ran behind her and eventually, found Rosetta sitting on the swings that she and Jeremiah would have their deep conversations on. Rosetta sat in tears and Giana sat on the swing beside her. Giana spoke up, “Hey bro, I don’t know what’s wrong but I can’t afford another slip up on this job so could you get your shit together and head back?” Rosetta looked at Giana, “Leave me here”. Giana responded, “You know I can’t do that, I’d get in trouble. Come on, what’s up anyway? Maybe it's best to get your feelings out here rather than in front of your dad’s supporters and on the job”. So there, the two girls sat talking the afternoon away about the shenanigans that Rosetta and Jeremiah would get into in this very park. Soon enough, they finished the neighborhood rounds and went back to work. They didn’t speak the rest of the shift but they did offer each other a wave goodbye after work.

Rosetta walks home and behind her, she hears a boy calling after her, “Hey! Hey! Hey!! Wait up!” In fear, Rosetta speeds up and begins to run away until she hits a driveway and must wait for a car to pull out. The boy catches up and Rosetta turns to him, waiving pepper spray in his face. He dodges and explains, “You dropped this a while back,” he hands her phone over, “Um, I know we don’t know each other but I’ve seen you around school. I saw a message on there saying that you should surround yourself with people so you don’t do something you’ll regret, I’m just a bit worried about you, we can sit and talk if you want”. Rosetta looks down at her phone then jumping up, exclaims, “No, no problem here. Thanks. Got to go”. She runs down the sidewalk to her front door. The boy stands still as he mutters, “Wait! Please come back!”

#my writing #writers on tumblr #writing #free write #lgbtq #high school

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danetobelieve · 4 years

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Second Chances || Ricky and Winston

Winston had exhausted all means of avoiding going home. In that time there had been many new developments, least notwithstanding that they were starting to wonder if maybe Ricky wasn’t as insane as he sounded. But they at the same time were convinced that there was a perfectly rational explanation for all of this. If hundreds of thousands of wildebeast could spontaneously migrate across southern africa, then surely puddles of blood and giant crab things weren’t that out of the question. Either way, they slipped their keys through the front door and stepped into a thin layer of bloody water. Great. They had forgot about the flooding. “Ricky?” they shouted cautiously, slightly terrified that maybe this wasn’t just flooding. After all what other weird things could’ve happened.

At this point Ricky was reasonably certain Winston wasn’t coming back again. It’d been a couple days, they’d blocked him on the town website, and there’d been radio silence from texts. It was… more upsetting than Ricky felt it should have been. But he’d really liked living with Winston. So he’d lapsed back into his old ways; no dentures, and only rarely a shirt. Bachelor life at its finest. Which is why he was taken a little by surprise when he heard Winston’s voice in the entry hall. He’d had the music up load so he hadn’t heard the door open and he’d been too distracted attempting to scrub clean the dining room floors. The house had amazing hardwood floors and Ricky was determined to salvage them from the staining flood that ravaged the town. “Dining room.” He called back, mirroring the tentative tone of Winston’s greeting, reaching to turn down the music blasting from his small speaker, “Floors are fucked. I’m attempting to unfuck them.”

Stepping through the flooded house, Winston found that some of the house Ricky had already tackled and as usual done a really good job. Winston suddenly felt guilty, they should’ve been here helping their friend. Sighing, they shouted through to Ricky. “Hold on I’ll change and help,” running upstairs they quickly changed into clothes that they didn’t mind getting ruined, ditched their rucksack and headed back downstairs. Ricky was back in his element, though the little droplets of bloody water splashed across his body were … a look. Swallowing, Winston polished their glasses absent mindedly as they surveyed the room. “What do you want me to start on?” they asked, reaching under their sink and pulling out a spare bucket and some more rags and sponges.

Before Ricky could stop them, Winston had vanished upstairs to change into work clothes that they didn’t mind getting dirty. Ricky heaved a sigh and pushed himself up from his position on the floor, grabbing some smoked salmon from the plate on the counter and wolfing it down. There was a brief moment he consjdered going and getting his teeth, but, that cat was out of the bag, and he was more comfortable like this. When Winston reappeared he directed them to the opposite side of the dining room. “It’s mostly dry over there. So if you can start scrubbing. I’ve got a bucket of clean wet sand I’ve been using. Don’t at me it’s good and natural and these floors are vintage as fuck. I’m over here seeing what I need to sand down and what’s too warped to save.” He bent back to his work, pushing loose curls back over his shoulder, “you been doing okay?”

Winston frowned at the idea of using sand to clean a floor, but this was their first rodeo and it apparently was not Ricky’s. They were happy to do as instructed and it was good to see Ricky. They weren’t best friends, but they had a tight bond and not talking to someone stung. Almost as much as the fact that Ricky might’ve known more then he was letting on and not told Winston. Though they were sure there was a good reason for their friend withholding this information. “Why is sand good for this shit?” Winston asked as they grabbed a handful of sand and began to scrub the wet grit into the wood. “I would’ve thought a rag would be better,” after all that is what they had gone for originally. They gazed at the floor, scrubbing in silence for a moment before eventually replying. “Sort of,” they paused for a second, “the … ghoul, it uh, it wasn’t the only weird thing that’s happened recently.”

“You need the abrasive.” Ricky paused again, leaning back against the kitchen counter, “but this house is over a hundred years old. I’m not going to use caustic chemicals to try to clean the stains out. That can damage the wood more than the stain itself. It’s how they used to clean it, back when Dee’s family first built the houses.” He went back to work, listening to Winston talk. Frankly he was shocked by their use of the word “ghoul” as it implied an admission that he didn’t think they were up to yet. “You mean the blood puddles? I had my own misadventure with something weird this week too.” He thought back to Kaden and the karkinoid shuddering at the memory. “Hit me. What happened. You get hurt? You don’t wanna get scratched or bitten by some of this stuff.” He was suddenly acutely aware of the fangs that flashed white when he spoke and bent down to his work, keeping his face away from Winston.

Raising an eyebrow, Winston couldn’t help but think that there must be an easier way to do this. But they weren’t sure that starting that argument with Ricky would be a good idea. They hadn’t really resolved their last fight. Winston gazed at their hands which already had sank caking them, they sighed before setting back to work, scrubbing at the stains and hoping this was a weird dream. “Just a bunch of crazy animals like going wild, though they’re not normal either, one of them had bright red eyes, another one breathed fire…” they swallowed and sighed. “I don’t know, maybe it’s just the stress of a traumatic event, your brain wants to create a narrative that makes sense and it warps perception or something.” They knew it sounded like a lame excuse, but they weren’t ready to come to terms with what was slowly beginning to dawn on them. That meant that they may well have a place in this nightmare world of fairytales and Winston simply wanted to run for the hills at that prospect.

They seemed to be embarking down a course of conversation that had previously been barred to them, and Ricky didn’t want to do anything to startle them away from that. Now that Winston knew something was up, it would be safer if they knew as much as they could. But too much at once would just serve to make them throw their walls up again. “Red eyes and fire breath. Not really stuff I’m acquainted with to be honest. Me and mine… we’re more about water and what’s down there. Which isn’t great right now. Which also reminds me… don’t ever try to save a drowning person unless you’ve seen them fall into the water. If you notice them in the water but didn’t see them fall… leave them.” Happy with the section of floor he’d been working on he moved a little ways down, scrubbing at the beautiful dark wood trying to get the red stain off, “That…. Is an explanation. It’s certainly viable. But… this is White Crest. So I don’t think that’s the case.”

Pausing for a second Winston leaned back on their knees and used their wrist to wipe their forehead. They’d been attempting to avoid getting any dirt on their head and had managed to fail rather spectacularly. “You keep talking about me and mine and you said that shit earlier about people hunting you if they knew you had weird teeth,” Winston looked at Ricky, they swallowed, honestly they weren’t sure that they really wanted to know more, “what the fuck is all that about?” Curiosity killed the cat. “Also, I’m not going to not save someone just because I didn’t see them fall in, it sounds like you’re being paranoid. What if they just fell in and got washed down stream or something?” Ricky was definitely acting weird. “What does that mean too? You keep talking in these weird cryptic riddles, acting as if you’re aware of something I don’t know…?”

Ricky stopped working entirely, dumping his rag in the bucket and leaning against the dining room wall. This was, if ever there was one, a crossroads… and it seemed like whatever he said next and however he said it would determine a lot of things about his relationship with his roommate. “I can tell you a lot of things. Matter of fact, I’d like to, because now that you know something… it’s safer for you to know everything. I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you my little corner of it all. But I can’t believe it for you. You… you have to decide whether you want to try to explain away what’s around you, or see an explanation that’s not run of the mill.” Sighing he scratched his cheek before smiling as widely as he could, baring his teeth for Winston to see. “They don’t want my teeth. They want my skin. That’s the valuable part of me.” He shook his head, cutting off Winston’s retort before it could arise, “Not this skin. My real skin. The easiest way to say this is just to say it. I am not human. A pretty solid percentage of this town isn’t, if I had to guess. But I can’t speak about them in certain. But I can about me. I’m not human. I wasn’t born human, and tides willing I won’t die human. This is a shape I can wear… but it’s not the one I was born in.” He let out a long sigh, somewhat shocked at how much he’d been willing to say that quickly, “And now I’m going to sit and scrub and let you mull that over and ask your questions.”

That was … a lot. Winston was staring at their hands, which were covered in sand. They tried to process everything that Ricky was telling them, but the truth was it was a lot. First of all they hunted Ricky for their skin, but not their human … skin? That was weird right, if it wasn’t for their human skin then what sort of skin could they be searching for? The mere fact that Ricky was trying to tell them that he wasn’t human seemed laughable. “Well, if you’re going to tell me anything, then you might as well tell me everything because if there is apparently this world that you’re … telling me about then I need to be prepared for it and maybe we should be telling the rest of the people of White Crest about it so that they too can make sure that they’re safe. There are some weird things happening and they should be ready.” Winston wondered if everyone else in White Crest was experiencing beams of light erupting out of their hands. They scrubbed hard for a few minutes, allowing the silence to envelope them in their thoughts. The implications of all of this were staggering, Winston wasn’t sure whether they were really ready to accept any of this. But it wasn’t as if they had much choice. “If this is a shape that you wear but it isn’t the shape that you were born with, then ... what is the shape that you were born with?”

As far as reactions to the revelation that your roommate wasn’t human… it seemed like Winston was doing pretty good. “To be fair, I think a lot of people know at least a piece of the puzzle. I don’t think there’s anyone who knows everything. But. White crest is a weird fucking place.” Ricky stood, momentarily steadying himself against the counter as his legs wobbled slightly. He poured two good measures of a smoky whisky he’d been given by a client, setting one down in front of Winston if he wanted it. “Simply put. A seal. Hence the fangs. More elaborately put…” the whisky burned in a peaty smoky comfort as he sipped it and he shook his hair loose, “I am a subspecies of therianthrope. A shapeshifter. I’m called a selkie. We’re sort of like werewolves. But our change is voluntary. And whereas a werewolf is a person who can change into a wolf. We’re the other way around. I’m a seal who can choose to look like a human. But. If I don’t change every other week at a bare minimum I’ll die. I’ve never seen it happen. But by all accounts it is horrific.” Another sip of whisky as he waited for Winston to mull his answer over. It would be a long night.

Appearances could be deceiving. This entire ordeal was sending Winston into a tail spin. Their heart was racing and they were beginning to truly wonder what the fuck was actually going on. “I mean yes, of course it is a weird place, the combination of cosplay freaks and the weird proportion of furries has always been self evident, but you’re trying to suggest to me that this is some fantasy shit. This isn’t a game of D&D Ricky!” They weren’t sure whether they were over reacting. Maybe this was something … else. They weren’t sure, but now that they knew there was more information out there, they weren’t about to stop searching. The internet would have something that would reveal the truth to them. Ricky’s admission that they were a seal sent them staggering. “Wait, you’re a fucking seal?” Winston asked, shocked by the revelation. They were glad that Ricky explained what a therianthrope was because that word was most certainly new to their vocabulary. “Sorry, you’re a selkie, like from those weird folktales in scotland?” This was beyond news to them, news that Winston wasn’t sure how to process. They started by swallowing all of the whiskey in one go. Even though honestly they kind of hated whiskey. But the burning taste in their throat made them cough and helped them realise that this wasn’t all a weird dream. This was real. “You’re going to have to explain this all to me.” Winston’s mind was reeling. Ricky was a selkie, a seal, they’d also mentioned werewolves, were they real too? They had so many questions.

“No because if it was d&d I’d be a paladin and right now I’m pretty sure I’m the village craftsman who sends the party on a quest to the haunted woods.” Ricky raised an eyebrow, more than a little impressed by Winston pounding the whisky like it was nothing. “A fucking seal indeed.” He finished his own drink and set the glass down on the counter, stretching out muscles cramped from so many hours scrubbing the floors, “Scotland and Ireland. My mom was an Irish immigrant. She’s who I got the selkie gene from. I think genetically there was a slim chance I’d be human like my dad, but I guess it became pretty evident early on that I was a selkie like my mom. I was actually born in the ocean. I didn’t turn human for the first time until I was a little older than two. But yeah. Like the weird folktales. Only they’re true. Some of them. Everything gets stretched and distorted a bit. But there’s always some kernel of truth there.” Stretching his legs he bent down and touched his toes, stretching his back out, “I’ll explain whatever I can. Just ask away.”

“Exactly and I would be a sorcerer or a wizard or something?” Winston was neither of those things thankfully. Winston held the empty glass of whiskey in their hands and turned it around and around in their long lithe fingers. “Fuck, how, how did I miss that you were a seal for ages?” They paused for a second and gazed at their now empty glass. They had a million and one questions that they wanted to ask, but they had to ask things in a way that made sense. They decided that they would start with Ricky. “So if you’re a seal, how does this transformation work?” they asked, “Also if you transform then why do you have the teeth and ….” they had suddenly had a brain wave. The truth of the matter was that Ricky had teeth because they were a selkie, did that mean that Skylar wasn’t a human too? After all, she had the exact same teeth. “Everyone who has teeth … like … like yours, does that mean they’re not human, or does it mean they’re a selkie?”

“Why not to warlock. Get you that sweet sweet sugar daddy patron.” Ricky watched Winston toy with their glass, rolling it between their fingers. “Well, frankly, because I’m really good at hiding it. I have to be. I was raised to think that secrecy was the best way and after my mom got murdered it sorta pounded that home.” Pouring himself a glass of water he listened as Winston continued to question him “I have another skin. Literally. I have a seal skin and my body secretes a mucus that quite frankly is like lube and I just sort of… slide into it. As for the teeth… who knows. That’s the way it’s always been. We’ve always kept our teeth in our human form. Our shitty hearing and color blindness too. Though I can see really well in water.” Winston was starting to build up some speed on questions and clearly had arrived at a mental conclusion that he wasn’t privy to. “Not necessarily. Lots of weird creatures have fangs. Doesn’t mean they’re a selkie. But it probably means they’re something. But like I said. My area of expertise is the stuff in the water. Since that’s where I live some of the time. But. There’s stuff down there.”

“Because none of those things are real,” Winston replied sharply, at least they were hoping that none of it was real, “sorcerers and wizards and warlocks, they all use magic. I can accept that there are real supernatural creatures like Selkies, but magic cannot be real. That’s just fiction… right?” Realisation about Ricky’s mothers murder washed over them. They’d mentioned people that hunted Selkies and suddenly it clicked. “Oh Ricky …” they were barely capable of saying anything at more then a whisper at that point, “... I am so sorry, is that why it happened?” They were sure that their meaning was clear. “Who can blame you for keeping it a secret after that…” certainly not Winston. No wonder Ricky had decided to keep them in the dark. “You… ok you have another skin and your body lubes itself up so that you can slide into it… and that means you’ve got bad vision and hearing, because you’re a seal.” It all kind of made some semblance of sense but Winston was still reeling. “You mentioned that you were like a werewolf, but werewolves can’t be real. It was the full moon last friday and I didn’t notice any giant bipedal or quadrupedal wolves running around White Crest… you’ve got to tell me that they aren’t real too?” They paused and considered what Ricky said. Was Skylar a selkie or something else? Winston wasn’t even sure that they knew what could possibly exist, let alone what Skylar might well be. “So hypothetically someone with fangs could be anything … fuck this is a lot to take in.”

Ricky’s eyebrow raised archly, “you can accept that your roommate is a seal who can step out of his skin and become human. But somehow magic and sorcery is a bridge too far? Sorry my dude but I’m pretty sure they’re real. That’s why people collect our skins. To sell them for spell and potion components.” Winston’s voice dropped and Ricky nodded slowly, “they were from out of town. The staked out the beach and by chance happened to see her coming out of the water. We never got her skin back, which is why she’s buried in the town cemetery instead of having her ashes scattered to the tides.” It was such a strange situation they were in, and the stained dining room floor hardly seemed like the place for this conversation. “I mean. Come on. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean shit. I’ve transformed at least a dozen times since you moved in and you didn’t notice shit. The supernatural is pretty good at hiding itself. Because humans can react irrationally. Hence the Hunters. Selkie’s don’t do shit to people and they still come after us, for profit.” The last word was spat as a curse but Ricky reined his emotions in. “Hypothetically yeah. I mean you can narrow it down all sorts of ways. But fangs usually aren’t a human characteristic.”

“Of course magic and sorcery is too far, I haven’t seen any examples of that. But you’ve got a very clear mouthful of not human teeth and your explanation gives credence to the fact you’re colour blind and hard of hearing. The seal thing, well I don’t like to admit that I can accept it, but I haven’t been given much other choice.” Pausing for a moment, Winston sighed and shook their head. “That’s shit, I guess if we’ll hunt Rhino and Elephants and god knows what else near to the point of extinction, then why wouldn’t we hunt other things that were more sentient if they helped us get some material gain.” They couldn’t imagine that this was all actually a thing. They couldn’t believe that all of these things really existed. Monsters were still humans, even when something like Selkies and magic existed. They paused for a second. “What other things are … out there?”

“You draw some weird lines. I’m reasonably sure magic and sorcery exist. Though… I’m not sure if there’s actually a difference between those two.” Ricky couldn’t help but laugh a little at Winston’s incredibly robotic and methodical approach to this all “I think I could have been nearly deaf and color blind without also being a seal who moonlights as a human. But. I’m glad my existence is falling into some neat categories for you.” His mouth purses and he felt the familiar embers of rage fanning slowly into flame within his gut. “Hunters are….. obviously I’m biased. But. It can not fathom their creed that everything that is not human must die. I do good. As much as I can. Why then must I die. It’s a simple math for them. And I can’t approve of that.” He laughed a little at the last question. “I can’t give you a complete encyclopedia. Again. I’m good with the water stuff. But not much else. I will say though… mermaids are a thing. And are to be avoided at all costs.”

“Baby steps here, let me get to grips with threnianthropes, no thearanthro, therianthropes and then I will start to consider the possibility that magic might exist.” Winston wasn’t exactly lying here, though they were starting to what Ricky was saying. After all they had seen some really weird stuff. The shimmering bubble of light, the light blasting from their hands. They weren’t normal things and Winston wasn’t sure how much longer they could ignore them. They were getting too curious as to what had happened. They needed answers. “You’re not wrong, and I’m sorry if I’ve simplified this all too much.” Shrugging for a moment, they shook their head. “Just because there are some psychopaths, I mean it isn’t anything new. There have always been intolerant people and I believe you combat that with education, organisation and that sort of thing.” Pausing once more, they stroke their stubble and shrugged before going back to scrubbing as hard as they possibly could. “Mermaids are bad, got it, don’t go looking for Ariel.”

Ricky laughed at the tongue twister Winston found themselves struggling with, “You can just say selkie, Win. It’s going to be easier. Though… you can only say that in here.” His laughter stilled slightly, “You are now only the second person in town who knows what I am. I trust you, I wouldn’t let you live here if I didn’t, but this might be the biggest secret you keep. You know, and Dee knows. That’s it. It isn’t safe, for more people to know what I am, because that brings hunters calling… and I don’t want to end up like my mom. Who would have loved you, now that I’m thinking about it. She would have joked that you and my dad were two analytical peas in a pod…” He trailed off wistfully, for a brief moment imagining the impossible life where he had a whole and functional family; instead of a cold grave and a long distance father. “Education will have to come from somebody else. I’m not risking my beautiful self for some hicks with machetes.” The joke about Ariel made him laugh though, and he half turned, showing off a serrated scar on his back, “They aren’t anything like Ariel. They’re essentially massive angler fish, with a lure that looks exactly like a person. They trick you into trying to rescue a drowning person and then boom… that person wasn’t real and you’re dead. The only reason I wasn’t devoured was because I was in my seal form and can swim fast as fuck. If I’d been wearing my human face I’d be dead as hell. SO that’s why I said don’t rescue drowning people.”

“Selkie, I don’t think that it matters what happens with it as I am almost certain that this is going to be me out of my depth for several more months or perhaps years,” Winston was honestly terrified by everything, “I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone your secret, you know, this is like when you come out, you’ve got to do it on your own terms. Especially because this will quite possibly get you hurt if it gets to someone who shouldn’t know,” pausing thoughtfully, Winston scrubbed the floorboards as hard as they could. “So, what … I mean how do you know who or what a hunter is, are they, are they humans who just know about you and think they can make a bit of money or are they like something … well something else.” Raising an eyebrow as they scrubbed harder. “Ok, so mermaids are terrifying giant angler fish that will do everything they can to kill me, and I am starting to understand why you’re so against trying to save someone that is drowning…” Shrugging for a second, Winston gazed at their hands and wondered how soft they would be after the exfoliating. It was a lot to process. “How prevalent is this sort of thing? Are we talking men in black or much more lowkey?”

“You’ll be surprised by how quickly you can adapt to things… though… maybe I’m biased because I am a thing.” A gentle chuckle sprang forth, “Honestly coming out as gay was and is a lot less terrifying than telling people I’m what some call a monster. Though… I do go bump in the night… but that’s just because I can’t see shit and run into stuff.” Watching Winston scrub Ricky leaned forward and snagged the bucket, “I think we’re good on cleaning tonight. As to hunters? They’re people. Just like well…. Not just like you and me. Just like you. Just regular humans with a god complex and access to more weaponry than any one person should have.” The last question made him pause, and he scratched his stubbly chin thoughtfully, the quiet rasp filling the room, “Again… I’m not a complete compendium of this shit. If it’s in the water it’s my deal but beyond that… oh… and vampires are real too… fyi… they love selkies. But yeah… I think here in White Crest it’s way more prevalent than in other places. But it’s certainly not the only place things like me exist. I mean hell… in Ireland there’s a whole village on the coast that’s filled with a couple clans worth of Selkies. That’s where my mom was from. But I don’t have a real hard and fast answer for you. Sorry.”

Winston didn’t know what to say to that. Ricky had always seemed so normal. Sure he stuck to himself but so did Winston. That’s how things worked for them. “I’ll try dude, it’s just … it’s a lot.” Pressing their hands together for a moment, they stretched and sighed. “I don’t think you’re a monster, those people who hunt living things for, well just their pelts, they are the monsters. It doesn’t matter what you are I guess, you’ve never done anything worthy of that title when I’ve been around at least.” As Ricky scooped up the cleaning supplies, Winston headed to the sink to clean up a little. Then they heard about Vampires. Swallowing, they turned and looked at Ricky. “Wait, Selkies, Vampires and Werewolves are all real…” they swallowed suddenly a lot more terrified and more convinced that they would only ever go outside during the daylight. “So it isn’t just here, it’s across the whole world…” they pushed their glasses away from their eyes and sighed. “This is a lot to take in man, fucking vampires are real, pressumably I don’t want to fuck with that… right?”

“It is a lot. But… you’re smart. You’ll manage it I’ve got faith.” Ricky laughed again, bitterly and sharply, “But they have the most impenetrable of shields… genetics. They are Human. What are humans meant to do but have dominion over the beasts. So they can wrap themselves in that armor and the self-assurance that what they do is what they were made for. To hunt, to control, to stifle everything that isn’t like them.” He closed his eyes briefly, willing that anger that he still had to die down, to return to the embers that he always kept inside him, “Yes. Vampires, Selkies, Werewolves, Mermaids, and a million other things… it’s all across the whole world, but, more than that… it’s all across the whole time. The world has always been like this… you’re just noticing it now. So… ultimately shit will continue to spin onward like it always has… you’re just gonna see new colors while it does.” Ricky laughed as he opened the fridge to pull out the smoked salmon he knew Winston enjoyed almost as much as he did, “No. Though… stick close to me and you’ll be fine. They’ll always attack me first. There’s a lot of the supernatural you don’t wanna fuck with. But… think of it this way. You’re smart… this is a whole new branch of knowledge that just opened up for you to learn. This is like the all you can eat buffet of new facts! Fuckin gorge yourself!” More whisky went into their glasses as Ricky tore a piece of salmon apart, “If you want I can call my gramma and see if she’s got like… books or shit she can send. Maybe somebody has something you can read. Though… knowing her it won’t be in English. She refuses to speak it.”

“Smart doesn’t mean resilient I am afraid,” Winston replied almost as equally bitterly as they listened to what Ricky had to say about their situation. They weren’t sure that they could blame Ricky for their point of view. “I hate to be the not all men guy, but I don’t know if all humans are necessarily like that. A lot of them just … I guess carried away.” They shrugged, unsure why they felt the need to defend themselves when Ricky had made it incredibly clear that they were the bad guys in this situation and Winston couldn’t come up with a good reason why they weren’t. “Well, I expect that explains all of the folklore, mythology and legends that all seems to have similar thematic tales.” The revelation that they would always go after their friend and not Winston seemed unfair, Ricky was articulate and intelligent. He was easily as human, if not physically human, as Winston was. So where did these fucks get off coming after them so hard. Winston picked at their piece of salmon, chewing thoughtfully before washing it down with more whiskey. They winced at the taste once more and sighed. “I think I’m going to spend the next week scouring the internet for any information that I can find about any of this, though differentiating between fact and fiction will be difficult, I just wish that there was a library or a book or an encyclopedia of this that I could get my hands on. I don’t know if I really want your Gramma’s first real conversation with me to be a grilling about the supernatural. ”

“But it at the very least means able to adapt and improvise. I have every bit of faith you’ll take all this new knowledge in stride… and hopefully not die to an aipaloovik or something. I’m getting used to having somebody around the house.” Ricky e nodded as he shredded some more salmon with his fangs. “Always a grain of truth somewhere in there. We may not be drowned women leading men to their dooms in exchange for their humanity back… but… we are seal people. Sometimes it’s hard to find the truth, but, it’s undoubtedly there.” Ricky couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “Woof dude. The internet is a big yikes when it comes to figuring out supernatural truth. There’s so much bullshit it’s hard to find even the tiniest scrap of truth. But… any questions I can answer, I will… I’m just not going to be as well versed in everything as you might like.”

#p: ricky #wickedswriting #para #chatzy para #second chances

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