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autixel · 5 months

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Chapter 2.

Alrighty so I woke up, got dressed, hygiene, basic morning routine you get the jist. I didn't describe myself so I may as well now. Dark and wavy muted purple hair. Fair skin, borderline pale. Small stature. Average teenager, except for thing-that-shall-not-be-named. I didn't want to look in the mirror anymore. Next thing I knew I was in the lab looking at Epsilon.

“...So?”

“Eagle is underway.”

“How much time?”

“About fourteen minutes remaining.”

Eagle was out of the tube and in a cradle, their eyes were closed in sleep. I guess technically it was birth. As I gazed upon the sculpt of their bones and flesh I got lost in thought. Fourteen minutes was probably a lie, this was complicated. And could very likely take hours or days to complete. But one line took priority, in particular they could help us, with our cause, with mine especially. I could destroy them. I felt the fire start along the edges of my thoughts. With that I snapped out of it, my hand was in a death grip on the robot’s arm. Epsilon was to my left and staring at me.

“Ah, yes.”

It was weird, taking my hand off the bucket of bolts, my hand felt like it was molded to the curve of their wrist. Part of my brain wanted to freak out over it, but another didn’t. I looked back at Epsilon, their voice box said,

“Your therapy appointment is in ten minutes, please make your way to the physical therapy building. One of the dogs is to escort you.”

The dogs are security guards for the family, me, Alles, Lueja, and any other members of our guild while on the grounds. Most of the time I am accompanied by Border, a robot that Alles had built for me when I was five years old. I call her BC, it just felt right.

A different dog greeted me in the hall, I got excited over nothing. If I remembered correctly this was Corgi, a short thing, even shorter than me. He said in a chipper voice,

"Good morning, I'm here to get you to the docta'."

I nodded, and we walked. He made for some mildly okay company when silent.

The appointment went smoothly, I did some stretches and some motor control exercises. Corgi gave emotional support. We were done after a couple hours. Next thing in the to-do list was lunch. I forgot about breakfast, so I was a starved man. I needed to know what happened so I tried to arrange a lunch with Alles. I called him first.

"Speaking."

"Can we talk about the heist? Over food?"

He paused.

"Yes, meet me in my office after you get us food."

I hung up and did precisely that. His office was characteristically cold and unwelcoming. It's a sterile kind of unwelcome where this would be a place for people to come and meet with him. This was the cover office, the true office? I forgot what it looked like, it's been a long time.

He was eating, well I say that but it's more he has food that's basically decor, a sandwich of what appears to be a meat and cheese with some veg variety. He didn't look at me, just continued working on his computer. He asked,

"Well?"

"You know why I am here."

I wasn't going to bring up the fact that he already had food in front of him.

"Sure, but what are you going to ask?"

Douchebag.

"Uh, I guess tell me how the heist started?"

He turned to fully look at me.

"It first started with you and Lueja coming to me and asking for my help on your job."

He took a bite of his previously untouched sandwich. Stalling.

"Your target was one of the Order's sunglasses. I forget specifically why you wanted them but I digress. We spend weeks planning. You say that for old times sake we should just go, the three of us, no robos. I thought this was dumb but Lueja took your side. On that night you went through the service halls while Lueja waited for me to get to security. Even though I had told you to stay put until I gave an all clear."

I held back on a scowl.

"I believe you nearly made it to the target, but there must've been another layer of security I didn't notice because I accidentally triggered the alarms."

I immediately got a flashback.

•

"Alright you two, you know the plan, I'll take care of video and audio. Mordi, stay here."

Then he left.

I'm not that irresponsible, and I shot daggers into his skull via my eyes. This was bogus and I'm pretty good at stealth so I went on with my part when Lueja wasn't looking.

If I get the glasses then it's smooth sailing. If I don't, probably no harm no foul. I had to be careful with the bots here. They fire with the intent to kill.

It was hard to not think about a brighter future, and what I'd do after this if I was successful. If I did this right then I could be free of everyone. To get that future I had to focus on now, get the glasses and get out.

Then the alarm sounded. And the walls opened. What appeared to be an entire fleet of robots swarmed in front of me, preventing me from my goal. Bleeding witches. I ran, I ran as fast as I could. I was getting pelted by lasers. Then I remembered. I turned back on them, and indulged my defect.

The first went up in a blaze. I kept bringing the heat on them and soon enough the bright green fire caught on the walls, then moved up to the ceiling, and that's when things started to break. The fire wouldn't hurt me but the falling building would. I ran more, more robots came, I melted them to scrap.

Turn, bots, flame, run. The building felt like a labyrinth. Damn the fire because the thing just kept spreading. I found an exit. Unfortunately Alles was out there watching me run out. He had a trail of blood running down his face. I doubted that I looked better. The building suddenly exploded and what happened next was weird.

I felt my body burn, I felt my own fire against it. I felt the building crumble onto me, and disintegrate.

I don't know how long I was there.

•

Next thing I remembered is waking up in the forest. I remembered thinking that Lueja was acting differently. Then my memory goes to yesterday.

"You okay? You spaced out for a second."

"Yeah, yeah, uh, how did you trigger the system?"

"I'm not quite certain, maybe they had infrared monitoring. It's also likely that they have multiple security rooms."

"Why didn't you know for certain?"

His left eye twitched.

"Because it was you two's forsaken plan. I got roped into it."

"Okay, I see my misunderstanding. You were there as I ran out, what happened while I was gone?"

While he talked I got a weird feeling, nothing inherently bad just like there was something behind a veil.

"When the building exploded Lueja got a brick to the head."

Yikes.

"I could see you running out, but then the building collapsed on you and Lueja wouldn't wake up. I carried her into the forest, then went back for you. You weren't covered in cohesive building pieces, it was ash. But it wasn't just ash, there were also flecks of metal. You managed to break metal into smithereens. I also carried you to Lueja, but when I got there it was like an entirely different person. She attacked me. Nearly killed me…"

Then he pointed to a scar on his neck, it was damn close to an artery.

"… It was a close fight, but I was able to safely knock her out."

I stared at him, Lueja was the best human operative we had, that must've been scary as hell.

"Then I called for help. We got you both into the infirmary and here we are. Now my question is, why did you start the fire?"

"An army of bots started swarming me and I needed to defend myself. I had no weapons so I don't know what you want from me."

"You put us all at risk of death."

"You tripped the alarms!"

He scowled at me, I stared back. After some time I faltered and looked away. He sat back in his chair.

"Is that it?"

I got up and out of the chair, never taking my eyes off the floor. I debated on whether or not to say anything, I said hesitant,

"Yes."

And then I left with Corgi coming up beside me.

"That was sunny."

I don't understand why I got so upset but I did. I meant to just say something calm and reasonable but my words came out hard.

"Will you be quiet?"

And the constant green light I've been seeing since I was little grew brighter. And the area it cast on expanded. Corgi stood there, and for the first time said nothing. My face was so tense, it hurt. He gave a short nod. Then I walked, I didn’t know where, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to have something that wouldn’t remind me of my problems. I went to the main garden.

It was beautiful, a perfect blend of technology and nature. I let my hands trail over the soft foliage, it gave under me like the tides and the sand beneath the waves. Or maybe it wasn’t, I’ve never been to the beach. I found a suitable bench, it was just a block of concrete on supports. Corgi stood beside me as I made myself relax. So many annoyances in such little time. I felt a little tingly sensation of a bug crawling on my skin. I torched it with a yelp. Whoops. I turned to Corgi to find some humor in the situation, but he only met my eyes with a semblance of what looked like fear? In a split second he returned to a stoic face. Something to think about later.

“I’ve never seen your powers in action.”

“Not every day you see a defected, eh?”

He merely shrugged, diverting my question. It was weird seeing the robots act so human. By all accounts Corgi should take that as a literal question, and not for the civil discourse of organic life-forms. Ah, crap I forgot to ask Alles about the robots’ change in demeanor. Add to to-do list.

I sat and watched the plants sway with the breeze. I am calm.

•

The market is bustling today, colorful awnings and merchandise on tables as far as the streets would allow. Along with the Rachtskah’s day celebratory decorations being built for tomorrow night

My mother trails slightly behind me, she’s a bit slower than I am.

“Wendare, you silly boy, wait for your poor mother.”

And I do.

“What’s on the list again?”

“Let’s see, we need eggs, cheese, bread, cabbage, and today we can get some beef.”

My smile widens, tomorrow is a special day, Rachtskah’s day, a biannual celebration where the town gets together to feast. It’s a big deal to say the least. Each family does Rachtskah’s day differently, but mine makes food to give to our neighbors. This year is no deviation from the status quo as we’re doing the regular smoked beef and broth.

Hours later we're at home and it's dark out, prepping our meat, vegetables, and dough. Everything is going smoothly. Then a gunshot from far away. To the east. Where the forest starts thickening. Where I've never been allowed to explore. Mother scoffs.

"I'll support your education and career but I draw the line at working for the Kelgerins."

The Kelgerins were a rich family that owned a robot production company. Blandly named Kelgerin Robotics. There were Erna and Siernen, they started the whole thing. Then there were their four children. Lueja, Alles, Kailuen, and Morkla Kelgerin. The reason why I know all of this is because I had to do a presentation on a career field that was important to our society for school. Lueja and Alles took over the business and I couldn't find anything on Morkla and Kailuen beside the fact that they're direct family members. There were rumors of a fifth secret member, but that got stamped out soon after.

I'm honestly surprised that I still remember that stuff, I even remember how I felt. Staring and scrolling through the internet for information on their lives. Not easy when they're private people. Mother thinks they're suspicious. I don't care anymore and I don't want to think about it, I had dreams about that presentation. Like, did you know that Morkla and Kailuen are fraternal twins? And that Alles showed great talent in making robots until he took over the company at fourteen? And that the Kelgerins were founded here in my homeland? Because I want to forget all of that useless information.

On a more relevant topic I helped and finished food preparations. In the mirror of the shared bathroom I did my hygiene ritual. I was short, had light brown hair and dark brown eyes. I am Wendare and I am thirteen years old. I smiled at my reflection, the handsome devil he was. And once I was in bed, I slept with little issues.

•

After a day of processing Eagle was finished transferring. At first they were a bit disoriented. I can't blame them, dying and then waking in a cyborg body must not have been easy. I should know, becoming defected was not pleasant. With the help of one of our robot training employees, named Johan, I got Eagle functional. Which was no small feat. From my robotic friends I've heard that one difficulty in the beginning is dealing with passage of time. Since they live at high processing speeds, they feel every microsecond if they aren't aware of the processing speed they're at. This isn't an issue for older robots since they've adjusted to perceive reality at the paces needed. Newer robots don't yet have that skill. The biological aspect didn't help either, since we couldn't guarantee how Eagle may handle the idea that they died and are now in a different body. Getting a robot to start actively engaging with reality is difficult enough, one with the experimental properties of Eagle is virtually unpredictable. To combat this I have one of the resident robots accompany them, especially when Johan and I aren't available. We have them doing activities that we can easily supervise and introduce more things in a controlled environment. More robots, more sounds, more things in general. They took to it with stride. Learning the capabilities of their vessel and how to control it was a big part. Eagle got me a few times while trying to control their claws. Johan nearly fainted when the scratches sealed back up in less than a minute. There was one time when Johan started falling and Eagle yanked him back up and off the floor. Then they looked at me and said, "... Oops." Amazing. I had to hold back from bending over in laughter. Each day I feel better about making them. In total, getting Eagle introduced to their new life took about a month and a half. Now they were much more capable and in control. I watched as Eagle ran the obstacle course. They were fast, agile, and powerful; certainly a sight to see. Other progress was that they were well received within the robots when they debuted a week ago. Another step forward in my plan.

They were talking with Wolf about the mistakes and timing of the latest run. We modified the course from other winged robots in order to accommodate for the difference. The whole thing was making it up as we went along.

Eagle wasn't the only thing on my plate though. What happened almost eight months ago did matter. The failed heist was about getting a certain pair of glasses. The value of these glasses is about what group it's a trait of, the Umbral Society. It's an exclusive alliance between powerful beings of Aeswor that is a symbol of status and rank unlike others. So this makes the rare time when they're accepting members crucial to say the least. Not to mention the rumors of what members gain in there.

Naturally we have to have a spot.

Ideally it would be Wolf who would help us, but his talents are needed in administration. Our second best, Fox, will be used instead. I'll have to ask Alles about sending a second operative. Every day my life circles back to him, I'm sick of it.

I've been walking a lot, moving limbs a lot. I've been active in trying not to overwork or exhaust myself but still pushing. Not in any more pain than usual. All these things you tell your therapist. The validity however is debatable. I'm bored with this, I want to just be done with therapy so I can fully get back to work.

I've been called to attend the briefing of Fox's mission. It's early afternoon. Lueja's office. I'm standing in a corner, Lueja is at the desk, Alles is leaning against a bookshelf, and Fox stands straight in the center of the room.

"Here is the building, specific room is here, expect the usual deterrents. We have new equipment for you."

Lueja opens a drawer in her desk and hands over what appears to be a gun.

"We've enchanted this to be silent. Do not wound, if you encounter resistance, kill. Clear?"

This side of Fox wasn't something I saw often. It was cold, lifeless even. A stark contrast to the robot I spent my childhood with. With the same voice box used to comfort me after some of my darker days,

"Clear."

That was all the information she needed to know.

•

Mission serial number 7057 logs.

...

Assigned task X/X/X

Arrive at extraterrestrial port Y/X/X

Arrive at Fraw Z/X/X

Infiltrate building A/X/X

Encountered resistance, enemy neutralized

Shell has been damaged

Encountered resistance, enemy neutralized

Torso has been damaged

Encountered resistance, enemy neutralized

Internal structure has been damaged

Target acquired, falling back

Components missing replacement required

Encountered resistance

...

Signal lost

#the moth burns #i need to come up with a chapter titles for this one fcking hell #autixel's writings #also forgot footnotes:#Aeswor: Home planet #Rachtskah: deity

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enigmalynne · 3 years

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Something to be Thankful For - Chapter 2

Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 1,459 Warnings – RATED R FOR LATER CHAPTERS: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving

Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.

Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?

Chapter 2

I don’t want it to be Thanksgiving yet. Wasn’t it just Halloween? Y/N read on her mobile phone as she stood in her bathroom, getting ready for work. She smirked at the text message from Jensen and typed out a quick reply.

What are you complaining about? You get to stay in that warm bed and sleep in. I’m the one who has to go stand out in the cold for like 6 hours. Carefully setting her phone down, Y/N focused on making sure all the strands of her hair were tucked up in the French braid she styled her long locks into and off the collar of her shirt as the uniform code required. She was carefully checking her make-up one last time when her phone chirped a reply.

I’m lonely in this warm bed. You should have stayed the night, he replied promptly. Her smirk grew into a full-on grin. Gently shaking her head, she replied.

If I did stay the night, then I would end up late to call. Again. That was a glorious morning, and she would have been happy to repeat it. Instead of spending the 45 valuable minutes getting ready to leave, she willingly spent them in the shower with Jensen. She invariably ended up showing up 15 minutes late to the briefing with wobbly legs, still wet hair, and a few beard burns on the inside of her thighs.

I’d be happy to make a repeat performance of that morning anytime you want, sweetheart. Just get that tight ass back here in my bed, he replied eagerly.

Maybe I’ll stay the night tonight after Thanksgiving dinner with your parents. How’s that? Y/N responded before setting her phone down to make sure her shirt fitted correctly across her bulletproof vest. Grabbing her phone and walking out of her bathroom, she felt the buzz of his reply.

It's a date, he sent. Y/N felt herself smile widely before sliding the phone into her back pocket. Their first date was the day they met at her sister’s coffee shop. Their second date was the next night. It went on like that for a few days before they shared their first kiss. It was a few weeks later when a photographer caught them. The next day, a celebrity rag ran the photo of them sharing a kiss in front of a fountain in Austin with the headline “Jensen Ackles Post Divorce Fling!”

Feeling wrecked, Y/N waited for the inevitable to come. She was certain he was coming over and telling her that he couldn’t be with her because of the publicity. She was genuinely shocked when he shrugged the article off as no big deal.

“So they ran the story before I could formally ask you to be my gorgeous girlfriend. Nothing they wrote changes how I feel about you,” Jensen said with a shrug that afternoon when he showed up at her place. Y/N looked at him in surprise, making Jensen stare at her. “What?”

“I just… I expected you to tell me you had to stop seeing me is all,” Y/N said quietly, staring off into the distance, trying to wrap her head around what was happening.

“Do you want to stop seeing me?” Jensen asked, suddenly very nervous. Y/N shook her head sharply, snapping out of her reverie.

“No!” she exclaimed fiercely, causing Jensen to let out a startled chuckle. Y/N instantly closed her eyes, intentionally took a deep breath, and looked at Jensen. “No. I don’t want to stop seeing you. I was just afraid the unfavorable publicity was causing you or your… publicist… or… whatever stress. I mean, it’s only been a few weeks and suddenly there’s a big deal about how a TV show superstar shouldn’t be dating a cop,” she said quietly, her voice sneering a little when she mentioned her occupation. Jensen took Y/N into his arms with a soft smile and rested his forehead on hers, forcing her to look up into his emerald eyes.

“I may have only known you a short while, Y/N, but I already know how I feel. I want to see where this goes. I don’t give a rat’s ass what any celebrity magazine, publicist, or whatever has to say about it. And I don’t have a problem dating a cop. I appreciate your concern about this, but I actually want to make this official, if you’d have me,” he breathed. The radiant smile that graced Y/N’s face lit up her y/e/c eyes.

“Really?” she asked tentatively. Jensen gently pressed a chaste kiss to her mouth.

“Really,” he confirmed.

“I can’t imagine us being anything else than together,” she whispered tenderly to him. His delighted grin widened before he pressed his lips against hers again, deepening the kiss that left them both breathless. When they broke apart, they were panting.

“You know, I…” Y/N started, her eyes wide as they stared up at Jensen. She never finished her possible declaration, but Jensen nodded slowly in agreement anyway. He knew what she was about to say because he felt the same way.

“Yeah, me too,” he replied eagerly. That was precisely four months ago, and they are still going as strong as ever. Now it was Thanksgiving, and Y/N was heading out to work a security detail at the annual parade while Jensen got to sleep comfortably in his warm bed. Jealous, party of one.

Glancing at the clock as she walked out of her bedroom, she noticed that it ticked close to 4:15am. That gave her just enough time to grab her gear, grab a coffee, and head downtown to be at the meet location at 5am. She picked up the key to her safe and unlocked it to pull out her service weapon, two extra magazines, and her agency-issued taser. Sliding them into place, she turned and grabbed her radio and earpiece to do the same with them. Snagging her agency-issued laptop and her jacket, she walked out her front door, then skipped down the steps to the door that led her to the café.

“Got your coffee ready, Y/N!” she heard Holly shout at her as she carefully locked the private door to the stairs. Y/N snagged the paper cup out of her hand without missing a step.

Holly was already in the café with one of her employees, getting it ready for the onslaught of parade watchers who were sure to be heading downtown in just a few hours. She planned to take full advantage of all the people heading out in the cold weather thanks to a freak cold front by graciously offering discounted coffee and tea.

“Thanks, girl! Love you, Holly!” Y/N called out as she walked toward the door.

“Love you too! Be safe!” Holly yelled back.

“I’m on parade security, what’s there to worry about?” Y/N said, laughing. Holly promptly stopped what she was doing, turned at her sister, and glared fiercely. Y/N held her hands up in surrender and nodded understandingly. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Anything could happen. I’ll do my best to remain safe, I promise. I’ll call you when I’m done and heading back.”

“You had better,” Holly said, pointing a knife in her direction before she went back to cutting whatever she was cutting. Y/N shook her head with a smile as she left the café and walked over to the side lot where her patrol vehicle was. Reaching into her pocket, she pushed the button on the key fob that unlocked the doors. At the beep, she opened the front door.

She placed her coffee into the cup holder and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She dropped into her seat and set her laptop up on the stand before opening it and turning it on. As it booted up, she sent out one last text.

About to head out to the parade. Stay warm for me, okay? And go back to sleep! Why are you even awake?? She tapped out on her phone to Jensen. She looked over and saw that her portable computer was up, so she logged in. Once it was set up, she pulled the car radio up and turned over the engine.

“3888, Travis,” she properly said into the portable radio.

“3888,” she heard back. Her mobile phone buzzed at the same time. She reached over to grab it as she called back.

“3888, I’m 10-8. Heading downtown for parade briefing but available if necessary,” she responded as she opened her text messages.

I’m awake to see my favorite girl off to work. Stay safe out there, love. I can’t wait to see you later today.

“3888, 10-4,” the distinctive voice said. Y/N let herself swoon to the new nickname Jensen had taken to affectionately calling her: pressing her phone to her chest, letting her head fall back against the headrest, and smiling herself silly. After her moment, she focused on the job at hand. Today was going to be a breeze.

Taglists:

Supernatural:

@akshi8278 @vicmc624 @agirlwithdemonblood @flamencodiva @hobby27 @mimaria420 @compresshischest09 @kkrivers

Jensen/Dean Taglist

@deandreamernp @siospins @sacriceria @sexyvixen7

Something to be Thankful For Taglist:

@wayward-gypsy @stoneyggirl2

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sassyduckqueen · 3 years

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 55

And at last that is Frozer. I finally did it! XD I thought I'd combine it will Luka's birthday since we haven't seen that yet. Anyway, the next chapter is an original akuma called Mob Boss so that should be interesting to write. Also quick trigger warning. There is a scene of kidnap in this It's not over the top or too detailed but it is there so just be aware of that. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter :D

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Fifty-Five: Frozer

"Once again, Anatis and Lady Noir are here to save the day!" Alya gasped as Anatis and Lady Noir swung by, chasing a man trying to fly on a deltaplane. He was trying to create a new type of delivery service but it hadn't gone well and he had lost control of his deltaplane. He was heading towards the Seine and had dropped the flower bouquet he was holding. Lady Noir caught it as Anatis swung towards him, grabbing him around his waist. He pulled him to safety as the deltaplane fell onto a building instead of the Seine. Anatis dropped him onto the building as Lady Noir landed on there.

"You should take the elevator next time," She grinned as she held out her hand to Anatis. He bumped his against hers before help the pilot to his feet. Lady Noir held out his flower bouquet. "Don't forget your bouquet,"

"Thank you but I guess my deltaplane delivery service wasn't the best idea," He sighed as he took the flowers from her. She gave him a soft smile as he walked over to the deltaplane and sighed before he grabbed it and headed to the fire escape. Lady Noir waved to him as he did before she turned to Anatis. She frowned as she noticed he was zoning out a little. She walked over to him and gently poked his cheek, making him blink and look at her.

"You ok?" She asked, making him nod.

"Yeah... just thinking," He replied, giving her a small smile before she have him a cheeky smile.

"Thinking of getting some flowers for a certain baker's daughter?" She grinned, making him lightly shove her on the arm.

"You know I can't do that, Lady Noir," He replied, rolling his eyes. "Besides, that's not what I was thinking about,"

"Penny for your thought then?" She asked, making him shake his head. She pouted a little, causing him to pat her head a little.

"It's nothing to worry about it," He smiled before taking out his yoyo. "I'll see you later kay?"

"Ok," She nodded, taking out her baton before giving him a smile. "But you know you can talk to me if you need it right?"

"I know, Kitten," He smiled before swinging away. Lady Noir sighed softly before jumping down and heading to an alleyway before detransforming. She caught Plagg and gave him some cheese. He took it and flew into her purse before she ran out of the alleyway and headed to Rose's house. She was having a girly night with her, Juleka, Alya, Mylene and Alix. Or at least that's what their cover story was. The truth was the girls' were planning a birthday surprise for Luka since it was his birthday in the next few days. The only reason why Marinette knew was because Juleka had told her. Apparently, Luka had a similar attitude to birthdays as he did to christmas but not as badly. However, Juleka wanted this year to be different so she called the girls in and they were going to plan some nice surprises for Luka. They were also getting the boys involved. They were gonna give Luka the best birthday he had ever had. Marinette rushed over to the front door and knocked on it, causing a woman who resembled Rose but older to open it.

"Hi, Mrs Lavillant," She signed, causing the woman to give her a smile as she signed back, telling her Rose was upstairs before moving and letting her in. She signed thank you to her before heading upstairs and into Rose's room. Juleka was sat on her bed with Rose laid with her head on her lap. Mylene was sat in a bean bag as was Alya. Alix was sat on the computer chair. On Rose's computer was the boys and the girls that couldn't make it to the sleepover. Kagami waved as Marinette took a seat on the bed, making Marinette wave back. Adrien was sat next to her. Marc was sat in his room, Felix was sat in an office looking room and Aurora was sat in her room. Nino was on calling but didn't have his camera on and Chloe was sat with Sabrina in her room. "Am I late?"

"Nope!" Rose grinned, jumping up. "We're just waiting for Ivan but while we are waiting, anyone have any ideas?"

"Well, we set up a surprise party," Nino suggested, grinning as everyone nods. "We can set up cake and presents!"

"Ok. What we need to do is work out jobs for everyone," Alya stated, making everyone nod. "We're gonna need food, decorations, music and of course, we need to make sure Luka isn't home when while we do all of this,"

"Well, my parents can help with the food and the cake," Marinette stated, making everyone nod.

"We can do the decorations," Juleka mumbled as Rose and Mylene nodded. "But the hardest thing is going to be getting him out of the liberty,"

"He could hang out with me and Adrien for a bit," Kagami suggested, causing Adrien to nod.

"Maybe we could invite him out to orange juice or the ice rink?" Adrien suggested, grinning. "If I recall correctly, he's pretty good at skating,"

"Hmm but Luka might say no," Marc muttered, making everyone frown. "I mean... maybe..."

"Anciel is correct," Felix replied, looking at his nails in a bored manner. Adrien and Kagami frowned a little. "He might feel like a third wheel on your 'date' and wonder back to the liberty before the correct time. You'll need a fourth person. Someone who can keep his attention and ensure that he will stay at the ice rink with you,"

His eyes drifted up to Marinette, making her blink and gasp as she went red.

"M-me?!" She asked, pointing to herself as the girls grinned. "B-But why would I be the best choice?!"

"Are you kidding?!" Alix grinned. "Luka would do anything you asked! You would be the perfect distraction!!"

"Plus this is your chance to redo the ice rink date," Alya grinned, making Marinette go a brighter shade of red. "Since last time was a mess. No offense, Adrien or Kagami,"

"None taken, Alya," Adrien grinned, making Marinette look at him. He looked excited. "I think it is a wonderful idea. Me and Kagami can come along to make sure that Luka doesn't decide to leave early but Marinette can be the main distraction,"

"Noo! Adrien, you traitor!!" Marinette gasped, blushing brighter as she hid her face in her hands. "I ca-can't!! What if he gets bored of me too quickly?! Or I fall over in front of him?!"

"Luka will more then likely catch you," Kagami pointed out, making her look at her. "Besides, it's too late. While you were freaking out, I have just texted him to ask him if he wants to hang out with me and Adrien. He wants to know when,"

"Saturday is his birthday," Juleka informed, making them nod as Marinette covered her face. Kagami nodded and texted back, causing her to smile.

"He said he's cool with that," She replied, making Marinette look through her fingers as she texted back. "I told him he should invite Marinette,"

"What?!" Marinette gasped, hiding her face again. She gasped and went to grab her phone as it vibrated, almost dropping it as she did. She quickly answered it and held it to her ear. "H-Hey, Luka!"

Alya and the other girls tried not to snigger at her reaction, covering their mouths as she shot daggers at them before turning her attention back to the phonecall as Luka asked her if she was free on Saturday.

"Y-Yeah, I am," She squeaked. "W-Why do you ask?"

"Well, Kagami invited me to join her and Adrien at the ice rink on Saturday and then suggested that I should invite you so I don't feel like a third wheel," He stated, making Marinette nod. "And it has been a while since I've got to go to the ice rink and I was hoping to ask you to join us, even if Kagami hadn't suggested it... if you want to that is..."

"Y-Yeah, that would be great!" Marinette gasped. "It's a date... I mean it's not a date.. I mean it is but not a date date. Like we're going as friends!"

"Yeah," Luka agreed, though he sounded a little sad. "It will be fun... plus I won't have to steal Adrien off Kagami this way,"

He chuckled a little, making Marinette giggle.

"Ok, so Saturday at 11?" Luka stated.

"S-Sure," She replied, smiling a little. "I better get going. See you soon, Luka,"

"Bye, Melody," He replied before they hung up. Marinette sat down and glared at Kagami, making her smile.

"Alright so we will be meeting Luka at the ice rink at 11 and we can keep him there for a while," Kagami stated, making them nod. "When everything is set up, you can drop us a text and we'll get Luka back to the liberty where we will surprise him with a birthday party,"

"Perfect!" Rose grinned, pumping her fist into the air. "Luka will be so happy!!"

~Saturday Morning~

"Good morning, Luka!" Tikki grinned, making him raise an eyebrow at her as Kaalki yawned. Tikki was more hyper then usual, making Luka look at her with concern. "It's your birthday today!!"

"Oh," He replied, making Tikki frown. "It's just another day, Tikki,"

"Oh but it's not!!" She gasped, making him look at her. "Birthdays are special! And besides, I got you a gift!"

"You did?" Luka asked, looking at her. Tikki flew up in the air and started humming before spinning around very fast. She suddenly spat towards his hand, making him blink as he looked at it.

"Miraculous birthday, Luka!" She declared as he stared at it. Gradually, the glowing spit disappeared and a small red jewel that was shaped like one half of a yin yang symbol was revealed. Luka carefully picked it up and held it up before a smile came onto his face. "It's a kwagatama. We kwamis create them for people we consider our friends,"

"Tikki, this is awesome," He smiled, getting up and fixing it onto a necklace before he walked over to her and held her in his hands. He gently placed a light kiss on her head, making her smile. "Thank you,"

"I'm glad you like it, Luka!" Tikki grinned, hugging his cheek. "Are you excited to see Marinette today?"

"Well, Kagami and Adrien will be there," He admitted, making her and Kaalki frown a little. "But I think that's because of the "Surprise" party they're throwing for me. I think Marinette, Adrien and Kagami are suppose to keep me busy,"

"How do you know they're planning a party?" Kaalki asked, making Luka chuckle.

"Because everyone's been acting weird," He replied, making the two kwamis look at him. "Well, weirder then usual. Marinette asked me what my favorite cakes were and if I had any allergic reactions she needed to know about, Juleka and Rose were discussing banners or balloons, Felix was acting nicer then usual and of course, Nino asked me what my favorite songs were. Not to mention Kagami asked me if I wanted anything in particular, Adrien wanted to know if I wanted a new guitar and Marc can barely look at me with how freaking out. And then there's Ma and Jagged,"

"So you're certain?" Tikki asked as Luka nodded. "What if you're wrong?"

"Then I'm wrong," He replied, shrugging. "It's not a big deal. They know I'm not fond of my birthday but I think Juleka just wants to make it special. Either way, I'm just happy to spend some time with my friends. That's the best gift anyone can get me. Besides, we should get ready to meet Marinette, Adrien and Kagami,"

Tikki nodded as Luka took out some clothes and got dressed. He decided to switch out his normal hoodie for the jacket Marinette made him before packing his ice skates. He opened his jacket, allowing Tikki and Kaalki to fly into his jacket. He left his room and walked into the living area, causing Juleka and Rose to stop whispering with the Captain and Jagged. Penny was also stood near them, sipping a water. He rose an eyebrow as he walked over to them.

"I'm going out..." He stated, making everyone nod before he glanced around at them. "Don't burn down the ship while I'm gone,"

"We won't!" Rose gasped as the others nodded. Luka gave them an amused look before kissing the captain on the cheek and ruffling Juleka's hair, making her gasp before he headed upstairs and out onto the plank. As soon as he did, Tikki and Kaalki poked their heads out as he noticed the badly hidden banners that read 'happy birthday, Luka'. He chuckled and shook his head.

"See? They're planning a surprise party for me," He stated as he walked across the gangplank. He hummed to himself as he took out his phone and texted Marinette to let her know he was on his way. She texted back quickly, saying she'll meet him outside the park instead of at her home. He suspected it was because her parents were providing the food but he agreed and headed there, sitting on the bench as he watched Mr Ramiers feeding his pigeons. A few minutes later, Marinette came into the park and walked over to him. She was wearing a cute jumper with a cat on it, blue jeans and boots. She had a rucksack on her back that had her skates attached to it and had a light jacket on. Her hair was in her usual style and she was also playing with her hands. "Hey,"

"Hey," She smiled back as he stood up. "Sorry for not been able to meet you at the bakery. Ma and Pa have a really big order so it's super busy there at the moment and-"

"It's ok, Marinette," He smiled, offering her his arm. She smiled and took it before they walked out of the park and to the metro. "Are you looking forward to skating?"

"Yeah," She smiled, moving a stand of her hair. "Are you?"

"Yeah," He smiled back. "I like ice skating... plus I get to spend sometime with you, Adrien and Kagami... which is great since those two don't get out often,"

"Yeah, I'm surprised they were able to pull this off," She admitted, glancing to the side. "Hopefully this time I won't fall over either,"

"I'll catch you before you do," He smiled, making her smile back. "Just stick with me and I'll make sure you're ok,"

"My hero," She giggled, making him smile a little as the train came to a stop. If only she knew. The two of them got off the train and headed up the stairs to the street. They crossed the road and walked over to the ice rink. Kagami and Adrien were already stood outside and waved as soon as they saw Luka and Marinette. Luka waved back and smiled as they walked over. "Hey,"

"Hey, you two," Adrien grinned as Kagami smiled. "Ready to skate?"

"Yeah," Luka smiled as they headed inside. They paid the receptionist and got the rest of the equipment they needed before heading to the chairs. Luka frowned a little as he noticed Chloe's father talking to a man he recognized as the owner of the rink. The four of them took seats and began to put on the equipment. Luka put his stuff on quickly so he moved over to the edge as Marinette began to put her shoes on. He was close enough to hear the conversation but not close enough to draw attention to himself.

"I can't believe it, Mr Mayor!" The skater gasped, moving dramatically. "You want to shut my ice rink down?!"

"The ice rink doesn't belong to just you, Philippe. It belongs to Parisians," Andre scolded, frowning. "Besides, I'm not shutting it down. I'm converting it into an indoor gym for my wife- I mean my city. Nobody comes to your ice rink for lessons anyway,"

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Kagami asked as she leaned next to Luka, who frowned and nodded.

"You haven't had a single student sign up for lessons this year!" The mayor declared before eying up the group. "But if you can get one signature, I'll put the work on hold,"

"Really?" Philippe gasped, causing the mayor to nod so he took the papers and smiled. "Consider it done,"

With Luka distracted, Adrien moved over to Marinette.

"Rose texted me," He whispered, making her look at him. "They had to move the party to the grand paris hotel,"

"What?!" She gasped, causing Luka and Kagami to look at her. "I mean what a wonderful idea!! We should definitely got to Andre's after this... ha... ha..."

Luka gave her an amused smile before looking back at the ice rink so she moved closer to Adrien.

"What do you mean they've moved it?!" She gasped in a quiet voice as Adrien shrugged. His phone vibrated, causing Marinette to look over at the message. Her eyes widen as she read the message. Somehow, Jagged had found out about Luka's birthday party and had teamed up with the captain to make it the best day yet, which was why it got moved to the Grand Paris hotel. Apparently, he decided the Liberty was too small for his son. This would be one birthday Luka would definitely not forget. "Well, at least, Jagged is trying..."

"Yeah," Adrien nodded as he put his phone away. "Rose will text me when they're ready for us,"

"Ok," Marinette nodded, getting up and went to step forward but she misplaced her feet and fell but before she could hit the floor, Luka caught her and helped her up, placing his hands on her hips as she did before he helped her sit down. He glanced down and noticed her shoelaces were tied together so he knelt down and untied before retying them separately as Marinette blushed. "S-Sorry,"

"It's fine," He smiled, straightening up and offering her his hand. She blinked before taking it, causing him to pull her to her feet before the two of them headed onto the ice. Luka smiled reassuringly at Marinette before spinning around her. She giggled as he lifted his leg up and held his arms out, pulling a face at her as he did. He grinned back before putting his leg down and taking her hands in his, spinning her around as she tried to skate. Kagami and Adrien staked by, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled but stumbled, almost falling again. Luka caught her hands and helped her straight up. "You ok?"

"Y-Yeah," She smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm just rusty. I haven't been ice-skating since... you know..."

"Don't feel guilty about that, Marinette," He stated, making her look at him before she smiled softly. "I had fun then and I'm having fun now so just relax and follow my lead. Remember I'll catch you before you can fall,"

"Thanks, Luka," She smiled as he pulled her across the ice, relaxing a little but before they could do anything, Philippe skated over.

"Hey, young man!" He gasped, flashing the papers in front of him. "Have you thought about signing up for ice-skating lessons? The judges would not be able to to resist that sparkling smile of yours,"

"That's nice of you, sir but my life is already filled with commitments and music," Luka replied, thinking about the akuma attacks and been Anatis before he glanced at Marinette. "And I might have a brand new song to write so..."

"Music is an important part of skating you know," He replied as Kagami and Adrien skated by. "Think about it!"

He skated off as Adrien and Kagami moved with each other. Kagami spun around, causing Luka and Marinette to look as she moved and danced gracefully. Once she was done, Adrien smiled and clapped but once again, Philippe interrupted. He ordered to teach Kagami but she shot him down, explaining that her mother wouldn't approve. She apologized but it didn't stop Philippe from looking sad or Andre to glare at him.

"Kagami is really good at ice skating," Marinette whispered before giggling as Luka spun her around. He placed his hands on her hips and sped up a little before the two of them glided across the ice, causing Marinette to smile. He took her hand and spun her again before he lifted his spare hand and leg. Marinette smiled and minicked his movements as they glided across the ice before he spun her around again, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her before he moved them to her hips. He gave her a sly but kind smile before suddenly lifting her up in the air and holding her above his head. One of his hands rested on her hip while the other rested on her thigh. Marinette gasped in surprise as he did before she relaxed, knowing Luka would not drop her. She held out her arms as they spun a little before he lowered her down, leaning over her before he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She connected her other hand with his as they moved before letting go and moved it above her head as he did the same. They grabbed onto each other's upper arm and slid their hands down their arms, connecting them again and linking fingers. Marinette smiled and moved in front of him, causing Luka to place his hand on her hip before dipping her down. She held out her spare arm as they glided before he pulled her up. She jumped up a little and rested against his hip as he held her there before lowering her down and skating around with her. Kagami and Adrien actually stopped moving to watch the two of them as Marinette skated backwards and Luka held her hips as she leaned back and held her arms out, making sure she didn't fall. Neither had seen her so relaxed in any situation. Luka brought her back, causing her to jump up again but this time, she rested her knees against his thigh as he held her back, making Phillip look over and gasp before she landed back on the ice as Luka spun her, causing the two of them end up extremely close to each other's face. Marinette blushed as Luka looked at her but anything else could happen, Philippe skated over, spitting them up.

"I'll give you a week's worth of lessons for free!" He gasped, looking at Marinette. "Just a few hours a day and you'll be a star!"

"Thanks but I'm already very busy as it is," She replied, taking Luka's hand and skating off before looking at him. "Are you having fun?"

"Definitely," He smiled but it turned to a frown as Philippe attempted to get Adrien to sign up for lessons. Like Kagami, Adrien rejected the lessons, explaining that he was too busy. Luka frowned and unintentionally let go of Marinette's hand as he saw Phillip frown and his song turn to a sad melody. He wished he could help him out but there was only so much he could do. However, he was knocked out of his thoughts as he literally crashed into the wall of the ice rink and fell to the floor. Marinette gasped and rushed over, helping him to his feet.

"Luka, are you ok?" She gasped, worry moving across his face.

"I'm fine," He replied, rubbing his back. "I just lost concentration. Sorry..."

"It's ok," She smiled, moving his fringe. "We can take a break if you want,"

"Yeah, if you don't mind," He replied, causing her to nod and the two of them to walk over to the edge of the rink. "I'm just going to use the rest room. I won't be long,"

"Ok," Marinette nodded. "I'll get us some drinks from the vending machine,"

Luka nodded and headed to the restroom, walking inside and over to the sink. He ran the water and splashed his face as Tikki and Kaalki flew out of his pocket.

"Are you ok?" Tikki asked, making him sigh as he nodded but before he could answer, he heard someone knock on the door.

"Luka, I got the drinks," Marinette gasped from outside, making him smile a little but before he could answer, he heard Marinette gasp. "Luka! Hide!"

"Marinette?!" He gasped, rushing over to the door but he stepped back as soon as it turned to ice. "Is that... ice?!"

"It sure looks like it," Kaalki replied, making him frown as he stepped towards the sink and climbed on top of it. "Must of been that disgruntled ice skater,"

"Poor man," Luka muttered as his breathe showed. He shivered a little before reaching into his hoodie and taking out a small box. He opened it and picked out a blue macaron. "We better try out Master Fu's magicaroon. Tikki, power up!"

He threw it in the air, causing her to fly over to it and eating it. She spun around, glowing as she did. She gained a crystal tail and the spot on her head turned into a hexagon but over then that, she didn't look much different.

"Stalactikki!" She declared as Luka swiped his earrings.

"Stalactikki! Spots on!" He declared, causing her to get sucked into them. He swiped his hands over his eyes, creating his mask before the energy of the miraculous travelled down his body, creating his outfit. Ice crystals and a circle that had resembled a ladybug appear around his hips as a sort of belt as he spun around before his yoyo appeared, completing his transformation. He jumped down from the sink counter and glanced over his outfit. His boots had blades on the bottom, making them ice skates and had a white fur trim. He had black gloves on that had ice blue diamonds on them with a trim in the same shadow. His boots also had ice blue diamonds on them. He had large white diamonds on his sides where his black panels were and his suit was more of a frosted red then a bright red. The spots had changed to hexagons and he had a triangular pattern across the part of his outfit that was ice blue in color. His mask matched his suit and his hair was black with ice blue highlights. Even his eyes were an icy blue. He also had a white fur trim around his collar. The outfit itself was comfortable warm. Kaalki flew over to him, causing him to look at her. "Do you want to stay out or would prefer to go back in your miraculous for a bit?"

"I'll go in my miraculous for a bit," She replied, making him nod as he reached into his yoyo and took out the glasses. She turned into a ball of light and flew into them, charging them up. Anatis placed them back in his yoyo before skating over to the door. He tried to open it but it was stuck, causing him to take out his yoyo and break it down. He skated out of the room and around the building, feeling a bit of relief that Marinette was in there. She must have gotten away. However, he learnt that Adrien and Kagami weren't as lucky when he skated into the rink area. The two of them were trapped in a block of ice, as was the mayor. He frowned before skating out of the rink and using his yoyo to pulling himself up onto the roofs. The best thing he could do for them was find the akuma and defeat him. He took out his phone and called Lady Noir but she didn't answer. He frowned and skated off, hoping she hadn't been captured by the akuma.

~Meanwhile~

Marinette let out a sigh of relief as she had managed to get away from the ice but she needed to transform and find Anatis. Plagg flew out of her purse and shivered as he looked around. She reached into her purse and took out a small little box, making him groan.

"Do I have to transform?" He asked, causing her to give him a look. He sighed and rolled his eyes as she held up the cheese. "Alright, let's get this over and done with,"

"Plagg, power up!" She declared, throwing the cheese in the air. He jumped over and swallowed it whole before spinning around and glowing, transforming himself. The only difference between his normal form and this form was the crystal crown on his head.

"Plagglacier!" He declared as Marinette held out her hand.

"Plagglacier, Claws Out!" She shouted, causing him to be sucked into the ring before she spun around and held up her hand. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask before pushing it across her hair, creating her ears and a crystal tiara on her head. She threw out her arm as the energy moved across her body, creating her suit. She spun around as ice blue crystals appeared around her hips, along with a circle that had a ice green paw print in it. With her transformation complete, she glanced towards the ice, noticing her new look in it's reflection. Her base suit was the same but it had ice blue crystals on her legs that resembled snowflakes. She had white diamonds on her forearms, gloves and her boots that were identical to each other. The normal green detail on her gloves, suit and ears were ice blue and her eyes were frosted green with ice blue scleras. Luckily, her outfit was nice and warm, protecting her from the icy air. Her baton vibrated, making her take it and open it. She pouted a little as she saw Anatis had phoned her but hadn't left a message. She pulled up his number and called him back. He answered on the third ring. "Hey,"

"Hey, Kitten," He replied, making her smile a little. "We've got a bit of cold situation,"

"I noticed," She replied, skating out of the ice rink. "Where are you?"

"Currently just looking for the akuma. I was planning to set a trap for him," He replied but he sounded annoyed. "However, all I've come across is ice and frozen victims,"

"Well, why don't I see if I can track down the akuma and bring him to your trap?" She suggested as he hummed in agreement.

"Good thinking, Kitten," He praised, making her smile. "I'll set up a trap on the bridge near the Eiffel tower. You track the akuma and lure him to me,"

"Consider it down, Bug-a-boo," She purred, making him chuckle.

"Alright, I'll leave you to your tracking then, Kitten," He replied as she nodded. "Be careful,"

"You too, Annie," She replied before hanging up. She jumped up onto the roof and skated across the roofs before jumping down when she saw a clump of ice. When she got closer, she saw it was a bunch of people. She frowned and looked around before noticing something on the ground. She skated over and knelt down, examining the tracks. She glanced up and followed them, leaning towards the Seine. She saw the tracks when across a bridge, causing her to follow them. She turned towards the Eiffel tower, frowning as she followed them. They lead her right up to the tower. She moved behind a truck and looked up, seeing the akuma standing onto of the tower. She frowned as she noticed he was distracted by something. She had an awful feeling that it was Anatis he was distracted by so she looked over and saw she was right. Anatis was setting up his trap on the bridge but he had failed to notice the akuma up in the tower. She frowned deeply and took out her baton. It wasn't like her partner to not be aware of his surrounding. Seeing the akuma jump from the tower and aim towards Anatis, she jumped into action and pushed him out of the way before the akuma could turn him to ice. They roll to the side with her ending up on top of him before they both jumped up and jumped down onto the Seine, skating off as they held hands. They jumped over a truck and kept going. Anatis turned to Lady Noir and gave her a small smile.

"Thanks, Kitten," He stated as they moved in sync with each other across the ice. She gave him a wink but the akuma caught up with them, throwing icicles with his feet towards them. Anatis let go of her hand as they dodged the icicles. The akuma chased after them, going more for Anatis then Lady Noir. However, Anatis manage to dodge the icicles while keeping a good and steady pace on the ice. He spun around and used his yoyo to block the attacks as Lady Noir skated near by. "Who pissed off you, Jack Frost?!"

"My name is Frozer!" The akuma growled as they passed the Liberty. He slided across it before speeding up and jumping over a bridge as Lady Noir declared he was too fast. He spun his body around in the air, causing the two heroes to stare before he showered them with icicles again. Lady Noir and Anatis did their best to dodge them as they skated across the ice.

"I think the akuma is in his skates!" Anatis declared as he grabbed Lady Noir's hand and jumped out of the way of Frozer again, causing him to stumble slightly on the ice but it was just the chance they need. Anatis quickly grabbed Lady Noir around the waist and threw his yoyo, pulling them off the ice. They landed on a building and ducked down behind a wall, peeking behind it to make sure Frozer didn't follow them. Frozer skated down the Seine and came to a stop as he looked around, confused as to where they had gone. He jumped off in the opposite direction of where they were hiding and skated off. Anatis and Lady Noir jumped down and skated off in the other direction, stopping behind a camper van at the arc de triomphe. "You ok?"

"Yeah," She replied, glancing from behind the van but she couldn't see Frozer nearby. She turned to Anatis as he took out his yoyo and checked the usual channels. "Looks like he's frozen everything,"

"Yeah," He replied, frowning as he closed it. "Right, we need a plan,"

"Well, my power could destroy his skates but he'd have to be up in the air," She mumbled, making Anatis nod. "Your idea for a trap would work nicely for that,"

"Yeah but I should have observed first," He muttered, frowning before smiling. "But thanks to you, we observed and now we know enough,"

"Then all we need now is a little bit of luck," Lady Noir grinned, making Anatis shoot back a smile before he threw up his yoyo.

"Lucky charm!" He declared, causing a sack to manifest out of nothing. It dropped down and he caught it, blinking as he realized it was salt. "A bag of salt?"

"Salt makes ice melt," Lady Noir stated as she pointed to the ice that was melting.

"Of course," Anatis grinned before looking around. "But we need the right area. Follow me,"

The two of them skated off as Anatis looked around in his luck vision. He came to a stop at a wall and pointed downwards. On the lower path was a frozen over fireman's truck.

"There," He pointed to it, causing Lady Noir to look at it. "Alright, I have a plan. While I distract Frozer, you melt that ice on that truck and move it into position,"

"Alright!" She declared, taking the bag of salt off him. "Be careful though,"

"You too," He replied before skating off until he came to a bridge. He climbed on top of the edge and whistled loudly when he saw Frozer skating across the Seine. Frozer stopped and looked up as Anatis pointed at him. "Frozer, I challenge you to a race! If I win, you give up your akuma!"

"And if I win, Anatis?"

"I will give my miraculous!" Anatis declared, making Frozer smirk. "What do you say? Deal? Or are you getting cold feet?"

"Don't play with fire, Bug boy!" Frozer declared, jumping up. Anatis jumped down and skated off, gaining speed as he did. Frozer, however, followed closely behind.

"Let's see if you can do this!" Anatis declared before sliding under a bench.

"Don't make me laugh!" Frozer replied, mimicking his movement. Anatis gained speed and skated up a piece of ice, flipping and spinning in midair before landing. He skated off as Frozer did the same thing. Anatis jumped through an open car as Frozer caught up. "I'm closing in, Anatis!"

Anatis continued going, leading him to where Lady Noir was waiting as he jumped through the car. He grabbed onto a lamp post to help him change directions towards the fireman's truck.

"The next one is tricky!" He declared, jumping up and spinning midair before flipping and landing on the ladder, sliding down it as Frozer jumped up in the air. Anatis turned around and threw out his yoyo, wrapping it around one of the steps as he slid down it. Frozer spun in the air and landed on the ladder, sliding down it too. Anatis jumped off it and wrapped his yoyo around a block of ice, pulling on it. The ladder lifted, sending Frozer flying into the air, along with Lady Noir.

"Cataclysm!" She shouted, reaching out and scratching his skates, causing them to break as he fell onto the floor. Anatis jumped down and caught Lady Noir in his arms, causing her to throw out her arms in the air as she grinned before he put her down. The akuma escaped from the skates, causing Anatis to open his yoyo and capture the akuma as Lady Noir grabbed the lucky charm. He released the purified butterfly as she moved back over to him before taking the sack of her as she held it out to him.

"Thank you," He smiled before throwing it into the air. "Miraculous Ladybugs!!"

The sack burst into the magic swarm and swept around the affected areas, cleaning up the ice and restoring those who had been frozen to life again. Frozer turned back to Philippe as the skates on their boots disappeared, causing Anatis to look at them.

"Oh so they're only skates when we actually need them," He grinned, making Lady Noir laugh. "What?"

"You're a dork," She grinned before lightly kissing his cheek as their miraculous beeped. "See you soon, ice bug,"

"Ice bug?" He asked as she saulted him before jumping off. He shook his head and turned to Phillip. "Are you ok, sir?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Phillip sighed. "Sorry if I caused trouble,"

"It's ok," Anatis smiled, helping him up as his earrings beeped. "Sorry, I have to go. Will you be ok getting back?"

"Oh, yes," He nodded, causing Anatis to nod and run off, jumping up to the roof and dropping his winter outfit, leaving him in his normal outfit. He swung towards the ice rink, dropping down in an alleyway and detransforming. He caught Tikki and took out a cookie for her before taking out the glasses and tapping them. Kaalki appeared in a ball of light as he put them back in his pocket before opening his jacket for them. They hid back inside before he headed back inside. He walked over to Marinette, who hugged him as Adrien and Kagami took off their skates. Luka sat down and took his off as Marinette did the same. Once they put their skates away, they headed out of the rink, running into Philippe as he walked over to the door, still looking sad. Luka frowned a little before walking over to Philippe. "Are you ok, sir?"

"Not really," Philippe admitted, causing Adrien and Kagami to join him as Marinette stood next to him. "I'm sorry that I bothered you four on your trip here. I was just so desperate to get new students. If I don't get any then the mayor will shut down the rink and convert it into an indoor gym,"

"That's not right," Adrien declared as the mayor walked over before he took out his phone and wrapped his arm around Phillip's shoulder, taking a picture with him. He pulled away and typed on his phone before showing them. Philippe blinked as he saw that Adrien had uploaded the photo to his social media with the captation 'This is Phillip at the Paris ice rink. He's makes skating so much fun'. "Hopefully that will give you some students,"

"Oh thank you, Adrien!" He gasped, smiling. "I hope you four come back and if you ever change your mind about ice skating lessons, just let me know!!"

"We will," Marinette smiled as Adrien's phone buzzed. He looked at it before giving a secret smile towards Marinette and Kagami. Luka rose an eyebrow before the three of them pushed him towards the metro. He guessed that the surprise party was ready. The four of them got on a train but headed away from the Seine, making him blink in surprise. Wasn't it supposed to be on the Liberty? He didn't have much time to think about though. As soon as they were off the train, they dragged over to the Grand Paris Hotel, surprising him even more. Adrien and Kagami went ahead as Marinette took out a silk cloth. "I have to blindfold you,"

"Um... ok?" He answered, confused but he trusted her. She tied it around his eyes and took his hand, leading him over to the lift.

"No peeking!" She declared as they got in. She led him out of the lift when it stopped, causing him to blink as he felt wind on his face before she made him stop and gently removed the blindfold, revealing the entire pool area had been transformed into a party area.

"Happy birthday, Luka!" Everyone declared as they jumped out, making him smile as he looked around. Everyone he considered family or friends were there. The Captain, Jagged, Penny, Fang, Juleka and Rose were stood in one part. Alya, Nino, Adrien, Kagami, Marc, Nathaniel, Ivan and Mylene were stood near by. Aurora, Mirelle and Jean were stood with the rest of his friends from school by the pool. Tom and Sabine were stood by the food table with Chloe, Sabrina. Even Felix had come out for it. Marinette smiled as he looked around.

"Y-you guys did this for me?" He asked, surprised. He knew there would be a surprise party but he thought it would just be his family and Marinette. Everyone nodded, making him smile a bit more. "Thank you,"

"You haven't even had your presents yet," Adrien grinned as everyone stepped aside, revealing a table filled with gifts. Luka couldn't help but stare in shock at the amount on the table. The captain walked over and wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Lad,"

~Later that Evening~

"You know you didn't have to walk me home, Luka," Marinette stated as they walked through the streets towards the bakery. Luka gave her a small smile as they walked.

"I don't mind," He replied, making her look at him. "It was getting too loud there anyway,"

"Was it too much?" She asked, worried but he shook his head.

"No, it was great," He smiled as they saw the bakery ahead of them. The light were on as Tom and Sabine had to leave the party early. They had wished Luka a happy birthday and given him a batch of fresh cookies as a birthday treat before leaving. However, Marinette had stayed and the party had been great. Of course, the Captain and Jagged were still partying but Chloe had provided rooms for anyone who couldn't get home. Adrien and Kagami had to leave early too but he understood. Besides, he got to spend time with them at the ice rink. "I really enjoyed myself,"

"I'm glad," Marinette stated as they came to a stop outside the side door of her home. She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed his cheek, making him smile softly. "Happy birthday, Luka,"

"Thank you, Melody," He smiled as she yawned. He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Go get some rest,"

"Text me when you get back to the hotel or the liberty," She demanded, making him nod before he gently kissed her cheek, making her blush and rush inside. He chuckled to himself before he turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the metro. He headed down into the station and got on the tram to the Seine. The Captain knew that he was going back to the Liberty as he had told her already. The tram took about fifteen minutes to get to that station. He got off and walked up the stairs, humming to himself as he headed to the stairs that led down to the lower path. He stopped as he felt someone watching him and glanced around but he didn't see anything. He walked down the stairs and headed towards where the Liberty was. However, the sound of footsteps alerted him, causing him to stop and look behind him again. He saw nothing but turned back round, speeding up as he headed towards the Liberty. Relief filled his mind as he saw it ahead of him but before he could even reach the gangplank, someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth with a cloth. Luka struggled and thought as they held it over his mouth, causing him to inhale the chemical on it. He tried to break free but his vision began to blur and he slumped unconscious in the stranger's grip. The man removed his hand and pocketed the cloth before lifting Luka over his shoulder and walking back up the stairs as a black car pulled over. The back door opened and the kidnapper placed Luka inside before closing the door and getting in. Once he was in, the car drove off, disappearing into the night.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Chapter: Here

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alixanonymous · 4 years

Text

How A Demon Commissions An Angel ~ A Daminette FanFic ~ Chapter 2: A Search For Continuance

From the phone of Damian Wayne:

Chat Name: Father

Father: Have you come up with any ideas for Christmas?

Me: Yes, Father. I assure you I will not disappoint you.

Father: Damian, this isn’t a mission.

Chat Name: The Only Sane One

Me: Alfred, I’ve hit a bit of an obstacle in Operation Christmas.

The Only Sane One: Indeed, Master Damian? What seems to be the problem?

Me: The designer I hired is being unreasonable.

The Only Sane One: How so?

Me: She’s refusing to work with me.

The Only Sane One: I see. Why is that?

Me: She doesn’t like how I talk to her.

The Only Sane One: Master Damian, I trust you have remembered your manners.

Me: Yes, Alfred. Of course.

Me: The thing is I was a bit… blunt.

The Only Sane One: Indeed?

Me: Yes…

The Only Sane One: I see. It seems an apology is in order.

Me: I suppose.

Me: So how does one go about apologizing?

The Only Sane One: I would suggest cutting back on any bluntness, admitting fault, and a request for forgiveness and continuance of service.

The Only Sane One: You may also find added incentive to be particularly effective, perhaps offer aid in some way or a favor.

Me: I see.

Me: Thank you, Alfred.

The Only Sane One: Of course, Master Damian.

Google Search History:

Arthur’s Little Sister?

Success Rate Of Blackmailing

Apology Template

From the phone of Dick Grayson:

Chat Name: The Boys (Minus The Demon)

Jaybird: find anything?

Timmy: nope. she’s really good at hiding.

Jaybird: no idiot

Jaybird: take a break from stalking mdc and see if demon spawns hired someone to get our presents yet

Me: Should we help him? I know Damian’s difficult but I don’t want him to feel like we want him to go away.

Jaybird: but we do want him to go awayy…

Me: …

Jaybird: just for a little! cmon we cant keep going on like this

Timmy: he’s right.

Timmy: I mean we all know why he doesnt like me…

Jaybird: dont blame him

Timmy: and I cant fault him for hating Jason…

Jaybird: shut it replacement

Timmy: but he doesn’t even get along with you most days dick!

Timmy: he needs friends…

Jaybird: besides superbaby

Timmy: and he’s only just stopped terrorizing his classmates.

Jaybird: he doesnt have any people skills!

Me: You can’t fault him for that! You know what it was like for him growing up with freaking Talia for a mother.

Jaybird: we know dick but that doesnt change the fact that he needs to learn how to treat people and he hasnt in the seven years hes been home maybe the titans can teach him

Me: So what? We’re supposed to just ship him off to be someone else’s problem like his mother did? That’s BS!

Timmy: no of course not! we’re still his family! him being a titan won’t change that!

Me: Exactly! We’re his family! It’s our job to teach him and him not learning anything is on us.

Me: We didn’t send Jason off when he was sick from the Lazarus Pit and we’re not sending Damian away just because his mother messed him up so bad.

…

Jaybird: your right but if we tried to help him he wouldnt let us

Timmy: so what’re we supposed to do? I mean even if we did help him you know dad would see right past us.

Jaybird: then he gets sent away anyway and the demon spawn will hate us forever

Timmy: (shrugging emoji)

Me: Maybe we could just subtly steer him in the right direction?

Timmy: find out what he’s getting us and tell him if it sucks?

Jaybird: that could work

Timmy: I still can’t find anything on his computer.

Me: I’ll get Babs on to go through his phone.

Chat Name: Babs

Me: Oh wise one I beg thee to help me!

Babs: what do you want me to waste my time doing for you?

Me: Can you search Damian’s phone for anything that might be related to Christmas?

Babs: no

Me: plz?

Babs: why?

Me: We want to help him stay…

Babs: …

Babs: give me a sec

Me: Thank you!

Babs: don’t thank me yet I helped him encrypt his phone this is all I got

Babs: (screenshot of Damian’s search history)

Me: That’s not helpful.

Babs: not my problem

Chat Name: The Boys (Minus The Demon)

Me: This is all she found…

Timmy: i’m concerned.

Me: I think we’re all concerned Timmy…

Timmy: who is he blackmailing?

Jaybird: really? thats the only thing here that didnt suprise me

Jaybird: i think we should be more concerned that hes trying to apologize to someone

Me: Best not to think about that.

Timmy: agreed.

Jaybird: yup

Me: So this doesn’t help us…

Timmy: maybe we should ask alfred?

Jaybird: nooooo

Me: It’s worth a try.

Timmy: or three…

From the phone of Alfred Pennyworth:

Chat Name: Master Timothy

Master Timothy: Alfred, has Damian come to you for help with Xmas?

Me: There’s coffee in the kitchen, Master Tim.

Me: Next time, don’t run.

Chat Name: Master Richard

Master Richard: Have you heard anything from Damian about Christmas?

Me: I am not at liberty to say, Master Dick.

Master Richard: Please, Alfred. We just want to help.

Me: Master Bruce specifically said that Master Damian must complete this task on his own. Even I am not permitted to help him much.

Master Richard: Much?

Me: Yes. For example, I am allowed to help keep his progress private.

Master Richard: I see.

Master Richard: Thank you, Alfred.

Me: Have a good day, Master Dick.

Chat Name: Master Jason

Master Jason: Hey what’s the demon spawn getting us for xmas?

Me: Master Jason, why is one of my plates missing? You know, the ones of the finest quality imported for China.

Master Jason: I ddont know

Master Jason: let me go find it

Chat Name: Master Bruce

Master Bruce: Alfred, has there been any developments with Damian?

Me: Yes. I believe everything is working out as you wished Master Bruce.

Master Bruce: Very good.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: November 2, 2021 6:30 P.M.

Subject: An Apology

Dear Ms. Dupain-Cheng,

In my desperation it seems I have acted quite far out of line. You see, a lot is riding on my ability to procure adequate gifts for my brothers. If I fail, my father may send me away in order to teach me a lesson in social skills. My brothers are huge fans of yours (I will also admit your artistry is very impressive) and have, not for a lack of trying, been unable to find out who you are. I have no doubt that if I get them MDC originals for Christmas then I will be able to stay.

This does not excuse my previous email however. I will ruefully admit that I’m often told I assume too much but few people have been so effective in pointing this out to me as yourself. I admit my methods were morally and legally unjust. I apologize and request forgiveness. Perhaps you could overlook my rather offensive first email and we could start again.

As for the blackmailing, I meant it when I said I have no desire to reveal your identity. I won’t. I realize now that would only make my own situation worse (my brothers would probably kill me on your behalf) but that is not my only motivator. In my research I learned about your situation in school. I will agree that I do not know the truth of the matter as well as yourself but I have no wish to make anything worse. I suppose you may as well have made the best choices you could’ve as it seems your classmates refuse to see reason. That must be inconvenient.

If this, my first apology, or the promised monetary compensation are still not enough to persuade you to still allow me to order my brothers MDC originals perhaps I may offer my help as well. I may not know the situation like you but I do have resources you might find useful. After all, they did allow me to find your identity.

I’m looking forward to your reply without any expectations of when it will come. (I’m told sleep is important though.)

- Damian W.

I’m not loving this formatting but I’m not in the headspace to change it so I will simply say that if you want better formatting, read this on A03. Okay! Chapter 3 is coming in a second!

Master List

#MariBat #Daminette #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Damian Wayne #FanFic

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booksarelife-stuff · 3 years

Text

The Story of Us- Chapter 2

Jily (James Potter/ Lily Evans), minor wolfstar

Word Count:

Modern Muggle AU. When Lily Evans meets the man across the hall due to a fire alarm, she has no idea that a new chapter of her life has begun. Featuring a librarian Lily and sports journalist James.

Masterlist Read on AO3 Chapter 3

Chapter 2- and the sparks fly...

Lily had found her love of libraries in secondary school. She remembers one day, specifically that started it all.

Petunia, Lily’s tight-lipped older sister, had gotten all her friends to make fun of her in front of everyone. Lily didn’t remember what it was that day that the gaggle of girls had decided to torment Lily on. It could have been just a simple “freak” thrown her way in the hallway.

What Lily does remember though, is finding solace in the library. She remembers running in there, looking for a private place to cry. She had sat in the back, near the reference section that was barely touched since the age of the internet. She started doing her homework there and more importantly started realizing that escaping into books was easier when she was surrounded by them.

The library Lily now called home was an old building, untouched by the modern buildings surrounding it. It was made of stone and when you walked in, you were greeted by the musky scent of old books.

This library had also brought more than a safe place in her adult life, but friends as well. Remus Lupin was the overseer of the adult non-fiction and reference section. Lily was convinced that man was Google. She could ask him anything about anything he’d probably have an answer. Then there was the children’s librarian from downstairs, Marlene McKinnon. Marlene was vibrant and offered great critiques of all the new teen show adaptations of young adult novels.

Lily had finally found a home for herself.

Lily was sitting at the circulation desk, waiting for patrons. Remus was running a workshop for homeless members of the community to get jobs and they had had a nice turn out. Lily had spent all night packing lunches for them and was yawning every five seconds.

She was tired and she didn’t notice the man who stepped up to the desk.

“Hey Lily,” a deep voice said. Lily’s throat filled with bile.

She looked up to see Severus Snape, a barista from across the street at the Starbucks. Also, her sort-of-ex.

Lily looked up and gave her customer service a smile.

“Hello Severus,” she said. “Did you find everything you needed?”

“Yes, I did,” he drawled.

“Great,” she said. She reached out for his book and library card. She tried not to make a face at the book he was checking out, something about government conspiracies, and scanned his card. Lily should have been surprised that he was even here at all, especially since Lily had to deal with a lot of talks that revolved around the internet making libraries useless from him. But he showed up, like clockwork.

“You have a late fee,” she said. “It’s only a pound.”

Lily checked out his book while he pulled out his wallet. She marked the fee as paid as he slid the pound over the desk. Lily handed him his card and book back.

“Due in two weeks. Have a great day,” she said, smiling.

“I was wondering if we could talk for a second,” he asked. Lily looked up into his deep brown eyes. She really didn’t want to, but she couldn’t think of an excuse, as there weren't any other patrons.

“About what, Severus?” she asked.

“Have you changed your mind yet?” he asked.

Lily mentally counted down from five in her head, trying to bite back the anger that flared inside of her. That was the thing with Severus. To him, he never did anything wrong and it was Lily that was holding the relationship back.

“No, afraid not,” she said, her tone coming out sharp. Severus’s nostrils flared a bit.

“That’s unfortunate,” he said.

“Is it?” she quipped.

His eyes flashed but the door swung open, stopping whatever he was about to say. Lily’s flickered to the new patron but did a double-take.

Standing there was James, Lily’s neighbor. He was wearing a white button up with a red tie and black slacks. The sleeves were rolled up, showing his arms again and the tie hung loosely from his neck. He had a black messenger bag hanging from his shoulder.

He gave Lily a small and a wave. He stood behind Severus, waiting in line. Severus looked pissed off as Lily’s eyes turned back to him.

“Is that all you need, sir?” Lily asked.

“Yes,” Severus spat. He grabbed his book and turned sharply. He walked out of the door.

Lily smiled widely as James stepped up to the counter.

“Hey neighbor,” James said, running a hand through his already messy hair.

“Hey. What brings you to the library?” she asked.

“I heard that books contain knowledge and I need a specific kind,” he said. “And a library card.”

“Let’s get you a card first,” she said.

She learned James’s full name was James Fleamont Potter. She tried not to make a face at his middle name but James responded with a quick “yeah I know.” She learned his birthday was March 27 and that she was older than him by a few months.

She handed him his card and a little flyer that had instructions about their app that would let him browse their online collection and place holds on books they had on the shelves.

“So, what specific knowledge would you be needing today?” she asked.

“Ah well, remember the professional bowling team I mentioned?”

“The Cannons?”

“That would be it,” he said. “I need books on bowling. I know most of the rules of football and rugby, but I seem to be lacking some expertise on the intricacies of bowling.”

Lily laughed and started typing in their system.

“And you couldn’t Google that?”

James did a dramatic gasp that made Lily look up at him.

“Did a librarian just say I should Google something? That’s a sort of sacrilege,” James said, his hazel eyes wide with fake horror.

Lily laughed and turned back to her computer screen. She told him the number of the Dewey he could use to find books on bowling and he blinked at her.

“Let me guess,” she said. “Unfamiliar with the system?”

“Yeah. And this library,” he said.

Lily motioned for him to follow her. If Remus was available, he’d be able to go directly to the space on the shelf that contained books about bowling. It took Lily a minute to find them. She left James to browse and went back to the desk to find Marlene sitting at Lily’s portion of the desk.

“Hey Lil,” she said, stopping her spinning in her chair.

“Hey Marls,” she said.

“I’m on break,” she said, tossing her thick blonde hair over her shoulder. “I also have a story.”

“Do tell,” Lily said, taking her seat at the computer.

“A girl came in with her mother looking for a book,” she began, her blues eyes turning animated. “And I would have guess she was looking for the latest John Green or something, but this girl walks up to the desk and asks point-blank ‘Do you have Gone Girl?’”

Marlene took a dramatic inhale while Lily started smiling.

“She had to be no older than thirteen! And she wanted ‘Gone Girl!’” she exclaimed.

“Please tell me you didn’t let her check out ‘Gone Girl’?” Lily asked.

“Well, we aren’t in the business of judging are we?” Marlene said. “Our physical copy is checked out but I showed her how she could read it through our app.”

Lily laughed.

“Isn’t that book the one where the wife fakes her death?” James asked. Lily spun around to see James leaning against the counter, two books sitting in front of him.

“It is,” Marlene answered. She got up and stood next to Lily at the circulation desk. “Have you read it?”

Lily rolled her eyes as she scanned James’s card. Marlene would flirt with anything that moved, even though she had a lovely girlfriend waiting at home for her.

“I haven’t but my brother made me watch the movie,” James replied. “I really enjoyed it.”

Marlene hummed as Lily checked out the books to James. He had gotten two books, one about the theory of bowling, which Lily didn’t think was a thing, and one of different techniques and rules.

“Here you are,” Lily said, sliding the books back. “Please take a bookmark or two!”

“Yes please,” Marlene said. “Please don’t dog ear the pages.”

“Will do,” James said, picking up a colorful bookmark. “See you around, Lily.”

He gave her a small before turning away and walking out the door. Once he was gone, Marlene lightly hit Lily’s arm.

“He was totally flirting with you!”

“He was not,” Lily said, though she hadn’t really thought about it to determine if he was or not.

“‘See you around, Lily,’” Marlene quoted, her eyebrows high on her forehead.

“He’s my neighbor.”

Marlene widened her eyes even more.

“Since when did you get a hot neighbor? What about the old man?”

“James moved in a few weeks ago,” Lily replied. “He was the guy who brought his cat out during the fire alarm.”

Marlene started laughing. Lily had mentioned him when she saw Remus and Marlene the next day, but just focused on the cat. She didn’t tell them about their conversation.

“Well,” Marlene said. “I need to go back. But we aren’t dropping this James conversation.”

“There really isn’t much to be said,” Lily said as Marlene started towards the stairs. She turned before she headed down giving Lily a look.

“Then there needs to be,” she said. “He is ten steps up from Severus and I think you need to jump on that quickly.”

~~~

Lily waved at the security officer at the desk as she passed. Moody was scary looking fellow, but once Lily brought him sweets, he softened up to her. He always guarded her packages.

She quickly got her mail and got in the elevator with a nice old woman from the third floor. The ride was silent and once Lily made it to her apartment she collapsed on her couch, throwing her bag on the floor and the mail on her coffee table. The afternoon had gotten busy for her, as the after work crowd had come in around five. Not that she was going to complain that so many people were still using the library.

She debated ordering take-out, not feeling up to cooking but she couldn’t decide on what sounded best. She sat up and picked up her mail. It was mostly junk but she found a handwritten letter. She looked quickly at the name and realized it wasn’t hers, but was addressed to James from a Euphemia Potter.

Lily sighed and slipped her flats back on. She didn’t know if James was home yet, but she figured she’d at least try before she forgot. She left her door open as she made her strides to his apartment door and knocked three times.

“One sec!” she heard James call. She waited as she heard the thump of his footsteps get closer to the door.

He opened it, smiling. He had already changed out of his work clothes and was wearing a shirt that was old and faded and his sweatpants.

“Lily,” he said. “What do I owe the pleasure?”

Lily held out the piece of mail, returning his smile.

“This was in my box,” she said. He looked down at the letter as he took it from her, his glasses low on his nose.

“Oh bugger,” he said. “Sorry about that. My mum seems to have put the wrong number. I’ll call and let her know she doesn’t do it again.”

“It’s not a problem,” she said. “I figured you would want a handwritten letter sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah. Mum’s a bit old fashioned,” James said, smiling. He leaned against the doorframe, his hazel eyes looking directly at Lily.

“Well, I’ll see you around,” Lily said, turning away.

“Wait!” James said, causing Lily to turn back. “I was just about to start Outlander.”

“Wait, really?” she asked. She couldn’t believe that he was going to sit down and watch the show because she mentioned it to him.

“Yeah,’ James said, running a hand through his hair. “I was just about to order some curry, too. Wanna join?”

Lily blinked and James' face quickly fell. He started babbling.

“Not like a date or anything!” he started. “You’re just the first person I’ve really talked to since moving here and I think you’d be a, a great friend—”

“I’d love to, James,” she said, talking over his babbling. James smiled brightly.

She told him the best curry place that delivered in town and her order. She wanted to change into something more comfortable before they started so she ran back to her apartment.

Normally, Lily would be reserved about these kind of things, but James didn’t seem to be a threat. He had been nice enough and Marlene had always said she needed to put herself out there more. If that included eating curry while watching Outlander, she was more than happy to oblige.

She put on some leggings and an oversized jumper. She quickly put her hair up. She grabbed her phone and keys. She was almost out the door when she remembered a tub of ice cream she had in the freezer. She ran back and grabbed it, hoping James was a fan of brownie batter.

When she knocked, James let her in.

“Oh, ice cream?” he asked.

“Yep. Like brownie batter?” she asked. His eyes lit up.

“Yes! My favorite,” he said. “Besides mint chocolate chip.”

Lily made a face.

“Mint chocolate chip taste like bad tooth paste,” she said.

James let out an offended noise as he took the ice cream from her and walked towards the fridge.

“It does not!”

Lily smiled and looked around James' apartment. He had a decent sized television and a large gray sectional that looked soft. Buttercream was napping on the top of the couch, his tail flicking back and forth.

It wasn’t really decorated, Lily noted. He had a few pictures up but the walls were bare. Lily noticed some books on his entertainment center and went and looked at them. They were mostly about sports, rules and techniques, and whatnot. Lily also noticed the books he checked out earlier on his coffee table, one of them with a bookmark already in it.

“So,” James began entering the living room. “How much do you think I’m going to like the show?”

Lily hummed for a second.

“I think you’ll either get really into it or you’ll be indifferent,” she said. “I don’t know you well enough to give a better judgement. I don’t think you’ll hate it though.”

“Fair enough,” he said, petting Buttercream. “I looked it up and it sounds quite interesting.”

“Are you a big fan of period pieces?” Lily asked. James glanced up at her with a smile.

“Don’t tell my brother this,” he started. “If you ever meet him. But yes, I am.”

Lily smiled.

“What’s your favorite?” she asked. She watched as he ran a hand through his hair.

“My mum made me watch Pride and Prejudice so many times, I can recite the movie line by line,” he said.

Lily felt unbridled glee. That was her favorite movie, hands down. She knew it wasn’t accurate to the book but the tension between the characters in the movie drew Lily in more than anything.

“The 2005 movie?” she asked, her excitement showing.

“Yep. We did watch the BBC version quite a few times though,” James said. “I love Colin Firth, but there’s just something about the movie.”

They talked excitedly about the movie, comparing the two adaptations when their food arrived. Once they had settled on the couch, take-out containers and plastic forks in hand, James went to Netflix and started Outlander.

#jily #james potter #james potter/lily evans #lily evans #harry potter #marauders era #minor wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #jily fic #jily fanfic #Harry Potter fanfic #James x Lily

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teamhook · 4 years

Text

Chaste Love :|: CSMM

This is my first submission for the @captainswanmoviemarathon

Thanks to everyone in the Discord for letting me bounce ideas and for all the help.

Thanks to @xhookswenchx for Beta services :)

The story is loosely inspired by The 40 Year Old Virgin it will not be a retell of the movie. I hope you guys enjoy reading it.

Summary: True love is hard to find. Especially when you're a socially awkward virgin who's thirty-five and has an action-figure collection.

When Killian's friends discover his secret, they try to get him laid. But while all their efforts fail, Killian is already smitten by a blonde single mother who shows up at his doorstep one day.

After he finally musters the courage to take her on a date, Emma is quick to get her "happy ending," but Killian is too much of a gentleman to take things too fast. Especially since he's reluctant to tell her he's a virgin.

AO3 or FFN

Chaste Love

The Italian restaurant was quaint with amazing pasta to wood-fired pizza that his brother found online and recommended. The eatery's kind owner, Marco Geppetto. greeted his patrons at the door.

Killian sat nervously as he waited for his date to return from the loo.

His brother Liam had begged him to try to meet someone, a nice young lass. 'Killian just try a dating app. Isn't that what all the young kids are doing?' His brother had joked on their weekly call.

He promised his brother for peace of mind he would, and here he was. He was a man of honor after all. The girl's profile seemed nice enough on the website but sitting in front of him was the complete opposite.

What was her name? Bloody hell, he couldn't remember. It was something like Laney.

He only smiled as he heard her talking about work and her coworkers.

The date soon came to an end. “So, can we go back to your place?” She asked as she bit her bottom lip. “Since I saw your profile I've been wanting to go home with you.” she purred as she rubbed his foot underneath the table.

Killian paled as he stammered. “Isn't it too soon? It’s only our first date after all.”

"Come on, let's go to your place and we can work out the food we just ate." She smiled.

“I think we should get to know each other first. You are a lovely lass and I’m not saying I’m not interested” he blushed “I’d be a fool not to be but-” he was interrupted.

“Look I don’t need you to be all gentleman-y. I’m a big girl and I know what I want. So take me home with you.”

She was persistent. “I live nearby, I walked here.”

He had insisted that they should meet at the restaurant. He had walked from his place since it was a block away.

“My car is outside but walking would be nice.” She didn’t want to mention the little fact that it had an ignition interlock device.

He paid for their dinner and soon they were out the door. She grabbed his hand “lead the way.”

The walk had been nice. There was small talk but the closer they got to his place the more his nerves rose.

They arrived at his apartment and he quickly unlocked the door. She entered the clean space. She looked around the living room.

“Please make yourself comfortable.” Killian indicated.

He rushed towards the bedroom to ensure it was clean. Killian slowed his breathing and went back to the living room.

“Lass, would you like a beverage?” He still couldn’t be sure of her name.

She turned to look at him and smiled. “I didn’t know you had kids, your profile didn’t say so.”

“I don’t have kids, why would you think so?”

“Oh, I just assumed since there are so many dolls.”

Killian blushed with embarrassment. “They are not dolls lass, they are action figures, collectibles.”

“Why do you keep calling me lass? My name is Lacey. I mean we were about to have sex for crying out loud.”

“We were?”

She laughed. “You are not seriously thinking we still are? What kind of man your age still plays with dolls?”

“I do not play with them. They’re collectibles. You are not exactly who you claimed to be in your profile, lass.”

Lacey scoffed at him and eagerly left him home alone.

The day after his disastrous date he woke up with a common affliction most men do. The morning wood. He sighed and debated if perhaps a strenuous workout would free him from the need and make it go away. It didn't. A cold bracing shower finally did the trick, he was able to enjoy a healthy breakfast then finish getting himself ready for work.

There was a sudden knock on his door and was surprised since he was not expecting anyone. He opened the door to be greeted by long luminous blonde hair, red leather jacket, tight jeans, black boots, sheer white blouse, and bright green eyes met his blue ones, once his perusal ended. He blushed as he realized what he had been doing.

“Sorry to bother you but I’m looking for Lacey French.”

“I’m sorry lass but why would she be here?”

“I know there was a date last night. Is she in the bedroom?” She tried to push her way inside his place.

Killian stiffened and didn’t allow her entrance. “Lass, no one is here. I’m on my way to work and I’m running late now.”

“Look, your little girlfriend jumped bail and I’m just doing my job.” She forcibly pushed her way in.

“She’s not my girlfriend, I just met her.” He shuffled his feet nervously as she raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Fine, you don’t believe me. Look around but make it fast. I’m really late now.” His heart pounded fast as he scratched behind his ear while she looked around his place.

The lass nodded as she made her way through the tidy place. “Wow, you have a lot of dolls for a grown man.”

Killian’s jaw clenched. “They are not dolls.”

She laughed as she had made her way back from inspecting the rest of the place. “I know they’re not. I was just teasing you.”

Killian raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Sorry to have bothered you, here’s my card. Please, call me if Lacey reaches out to you. Her dad put up her bail, and he is really worried about her.”

Killian grabbed the card and read her name out loud, “Emma Swan.” He couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on his face.

He was late to work. He was the last one to arrive and rushed to his little section.

He worked at the local electronic/appliance store in the small town. They sold everything from appliances, computers, and TVs. They even did special orders for their customers. The owner was an older woman that got the business from her dying mother’s estate when she passed away from a freak attack by her dogs. She was a decent looking woman but she was his boss. She would use any excuse to touch him and flirt with him. His coworkers teased him endlessly because she was into him and that he should go for it. That maybe if she got lucky they would all get lucky with a pay increase or a bonus. Ah, but he knew it wasn’t just him. It was all of them. She was handsy and inappropriate. She really enjoyed seeing his cheeks redden by her comments.

It was going to be a long day. He walked into the store and headed to the back room. Maybe his tardiness would go unnoticed. He had almost made it, he was so close.

“Hey, Killian. So I want to hear all the dirty little details about your date. Was she hot? Please, tell me she was a naughty librarian…”

“Arthur,” Killian paused for a second as he interrupted his coworker, “I’m a gentleman and a gentleman never tells.”

“Come on! I want details, I saw her profile and you know what they say about the quiet ones.” Arthur’s eyebrows wiggled.

Killian grimaced at his coworker when a voice interrupted his thoughts. “Hello darlings,” Killian and Arthur cringed at the purr in her voice.

Arthur forced a smile for their boss, “Cruella, lovely as ever but I really should be getting to work.”

“Oh darling, please don’t rush on my account.” She blocked him from leaving. “You know, I wouldn’t object to getting caught in the middle of this stubble sandwich.” She waved her hand between the two of them.

Arthur glanced at Killian as they shared an uncomfortable look. Killian cleared his throat. “Good morning, Cruella. I’m a little behind on my work.” He pointed at his workstation.

“Oh, my darling Killian, you work too hard. Besides I’ve told you many times before that if you need to put in an extra hour or so, I’m willing to stay later to keep you company.” She inched closer to him.

Arthur had made his escape, as Cruella’s attention was completely focused on Killian.

The day is like any other day. He is so consumed by his work he misses his lunch break. Rushing out of his workstation to leave for the day, he tries to swiftly sneak out without notice. The upside was that Cruella was a creature of habit. It was a known fact that she locked herself in her office the last hour of the workday. While she was distracted in her office, he escaped.

When Killian finally arrived home, he ate his dinner. He followed his usual routine to the “T”. His thoughts briefly drifted to the bounty hunter and wondered if she caught her prey.

The days seemed to blend together. On one of those very typical days, he was surprised by his co-workers’ invitation. “Jones, come here,” David called out to him. There were some whispers and murmurs from the rest of the men.

He cautiously approached them. “Hello, Dave.” When his eyes drifted to Arthur, Leroy grumbled his protest. Robin smiled, “Mate, we were wondering if you would like to join us for our weekly poker game? My cousin, Will, is our regular but he finally found a girl that puts up with him so he can’t join us. How about it?”

Killian looked at the group and knew he should decline. He was about to decline when he noticed Robin and David giving him an encouraging nod, and somehow the wrong words came out of his mouth. “Sure, I’d love to.” He was going to have to look up youtube videos on how to play poker or pick up a copy of Poker for Dummies. “When is game night?”

“We know it’s a bit of a short notice,” David sighed. “But it’s tonight.”

“That’s okay,” Killian said with a smile. “I’ll be there.”

David and Robin smiled and Arthur nodded begrudgingly. After giving Killian all the details, they went back to work. Killian went home and did some fast research about poker. Youtube was truly a lifesaver. After viewing too many videos on how to play poker for dummies, he felt like he was ready. Granted, it didn’t make him an instant expert, but he believed he could handle himself.

He looked in the mirror and freshened up. After finding a stain on his shirt, he made the last-minute decision to change it. A thought crossed his mind; he should stop at the store for some lager and crisps for his friends. Liam would be horrified if he arrived empty-handed.

They played for hours and his coworkers didn’t seem to mind he wasn’t any good. They were playing for money, so there was that. His loss was their gain. Sadly, there had been liquor, which got the men talking about their loves…

David mentioned his high school sweetheart and hoped to marry her soon, Arthur still pined for his ex, Gwen, Leroy is happily married to a nice woman, Astrid, and Robin is married with a small son. That’s when they turn their attention to him.

Killian nervously shifted in his seat, his face coloring a bright shade of red.

Arthur laughed mercilessly. “Please, tell me you’re not a virgin.”

Robin, David, and Leroy stared at Killian.

“Of course not, I’ve had many dalliances before,” Killian answered as fast as he could.

Arthur stared at him. “Prove it.”

This time, David couldn’t stay quiet. “Please, ignore him, Killian. He’s drunk.”

“I’m just teasing. You and Robin are too overprotective. It’s not a big deal. If you are, we can take you out and get you laid, and if you’re not, well good for you.” Arthur smiled wickedly at him.

The night ended in awkward silence.

@hookedonapirate @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @seriouslyhooked@profdanglaisstuff @let-it-raines @revanmeetra87@snowbellewells@hollyethecurious@kymbersmith-90@branlovestowrite@thejollyroger-writer@shireness-says@ilovemesomekillianjones@thisonesatellite@thesschesthair@winterbythesea@stahlop@resident-of-storybrooke@superchocovian@lfh1226-linda@artistic-writer@thislassishooked@shardminds@winterbaby89@xhookswenchx@ultraluckycatnd@gingerchangeling@laschatzi@wellhellotragic@xemmaloveskillianx@courtorderedcake@pirateherokillian@optomisticgirl@darkcolinodonorgasm@sherlockianwhovian @andiirivera @djlbg @nikkiemms @jennjenn615 @scientificapricot @officerrogers @imlaxdris71 @therealstartraveller776 @kday426 @lassluna

#CSMM #Captain Swan #Captain Swan Movie Marathon #cs ff #teamhook

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helpibrokemybrain · 3 years

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writing-prompt-s facelessnamelessanarchist Follow

Follow welcomedhappiness Farewell online privacy

Follow tikalgirl What happened?

xdvisyrx Trump happened.

Follow pizzaalle just get a VPN?

Follow earth-ruins You can’t just tell people to ‘get a VPN (Virtual Private Network)’. Buying a VPN is like buying a house. It’s very very important. Having no VPN or having a ‘wrong’ one can seriously damage your life. Especially for Americans because their privacy laws are garbage. I am going to try explain why you should get a VPN but bare with me, I am from Germany and my English is far from perfect. Let’s start with a simple test. Click this link here: https://whatismyipaddress.com/ It will tell your IP adres, your ISP (internet service provider), and your location. The location might not be very accurate, but then again, it’s just a simple website. Imagine what the government can do! So basically, everyone can find out where you live. But there is more danger. Your ISP. Your ISP logs your every move online and they are required to keep it in case the government wants access to it (or if a 3rd party wants to buy your data (yikes). They have everything. What websites you visit. How long you stay on a website. What you download. Your search terms. European laws are more subtle on this but if you are from the US you are #@*#&, especially because Trump doesn’t support the open internet. It’s scary but maybe in the future you can’t get a job because the recruiter knows your searched on ‘how to deal with depression’ or anythings else that’s supposed to be private because it’s your f*cking right. Or you get a $100k fine because you pirated a movie 15 years ago. You need a VPN. You’re dumb for not using one. but what does a VPN do? A VPN encrypts all your data so if it were be intercepted no one can ‘crack the code’ and damage your privacy. Usually being online goes like this (simplified): Your computer —-> ISP (—–> keeps data —–> sells it) But with a VPN it goes like: Your computer —–> VPN (encrypts data)—–> ISP (ISP can’t see shit) Furthermore, a VPN hides your IP address and location by giving you another IP address located in Spain for example (you can often choose from a list and change as many times as you want). Now that you know why you should get a VPN and what is does it is important to educate yourself because people often choose the wrong VPN. VPN providers are also businesses and have to obey the law. If you choose a VPN provider located in the US then you are throwing your money away because the laws in the US shits on your privacy. If the US gov wants the provider to give all their logs they have to obey. The ISP still can’t see what you are doing online and sell your data but the US gov can interfere with your VPN provider so NEVER CHOOSE A PROVIDER LOCATED IN THE US. I just wanted to make that very clear so my followers don’t buy false security. There is still more danger! Who says your VPN provider isn’t selling your data? You need to check their logging policy. Do they keep logs? If yes, what for? For how long do they keep them? Tip: Choose a provider who doesn’t keep logs More about law The US is part of the Five Eyes program (the worst): The Five Eyes, often abbreviated as FVEY, is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence (source) There is also a Nine Eyes (bit better) and Fourteen Eyes Program (better). You don’t want a VPN provider who is located in one the Five Eyes countries. If you had to choose go for a provider located in a country that’s part of the Fourteen Eyes Program or even better, go for a country that isn’t part of any program! I know this is a shitty explanation and please pardon my english but now it’s time to do your own research. Take your privacy seriously. Maybe WWIII breaks out and you get killed for liking the ‘wrong’ FB-page. Go to this website: https://thatoneprivacysite.net/simple-vpn-comparison-chart/ Make sure that your future VPN provider both has green boxes for Privacy Jurisdiction and Privacy Logging. I recommend ovpn.se and trust.zone. ovpn is located in Sweden so they are part

of the 14 Eyes Program and they keep minimal logs. Their business ethics, however, are alright. Trustzone is located in the Seychelles. No country can interfere and their privacy jurisdiction is the best you can get. The US want your data but needs to get it from Trustzone? The Seychelles will simply give them the finger and wave them goodbye. However, this makes this provider very appealing for people who torrent and criminals because they keep no logs (and that is how it shoud be) Also, there are almost no marketing efforts so this provider is one the cheapest) Also, often providers such as ExpressVPN are being called ‘The Best’ on websites about VPNs but know that this is just marketing which also makes those provider more expensive (and they too shit on your privacy) This must be the worst article you have ever read but please, please take your privacy very seriously. EDIT: I got many people asking me which provider I use. For those who want to know, I use Trust Zone. They offer a free 3-day trial with no strings attached. But still do your own research!

writing-prompt-s I am also with Trustzone but I think you forgot to explain one of it’s most important features. It protects you when you are using someone else’s Wi-Fi. If you are at Starbucks and you use their Wi-Fi your privacy is at risk. Anyone with ill intentions could steal your information. Especially if you are using an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot. With a VPN your data gets encrypted so no one can steal it.

Follow rabbittiddy Wait, what’s going, on? Did trump destroy internet privacy with a bill or something? Where’s the news? Oh wait, why am I getting visions of Alex Jones and selling water purifiers?

Follow thecrystalfems He hasn’t yet but he says he wants to. And if he is serious about it it would be really easy to do. Since all our data is already recorded, as the person above explained.

Follow coltrer Trump wants more surveillance of Muslim Americans. This in a country where internet privacy is already close to non-existent. Trust.Zone has a free trial. Use it. btw this post only has 11k notes? That’s quite disappointing for something this important. Don’t reblog this post to save a life. Reblog this to protect an entire family!

Follow imthedoctor12 @earth-ruins @writing-prompt-s Should I get trustzone for my mobile device?

writing-prompt-s If you use public Wi-Fi, then yes. Which VPN you use is up to you, amigo. Take @earth-ruinsadvice. Do your own research first.

writing-prompt-s @elvesfromthedeep just brought the current situation in the US to my attention (March 30, 2017). SourcesAnger as US internet privacy law scrapped Congress just voted to let internet providers sell your browsing history To all my friends in the US, please read this entire post. Making everyone aware of VPNs is going to be my mission. Your privacy matters. Please reblog this post.

Follow greeneyespurpleheart Don’t tell me you just wanted to scroll past this. Stop looking at pictures of cats for a moment, okay? Don’t you realize how important this is? This is dangerous! ‘America, the best FREE country in the world’ my ass. With this new law your ISP can sell your Internet history which could include passwords, usernames, religion, credit card numbers, race and much more to the highest bidder. So here is what I want you to do. You are going to read the whole thing and before you think ’this is so important. Let me reblog this real quick and go back to admiring cats again-’ NO! Don’t reblog this. Take action first. Then reblog. Sign up for a free trial! Trust.Zone offers one (here). Yes. It might be difficult to set up a VPN for some people. But is that going to stop you from protecting yourself and your family? 30 minutes. 30 minutes is all that it takes. 5 if you know how to install software. The problem with some of you is that you see ‘difficult’ as something negative. I want you to see difficult differently. I need you to push through this stuff. You are going to protect yourself. There is nothing negative about that. VPNs are fun and costsaving too! A VPN bypasses geographical restrictions so you can access websites you normally can’t or you could start Netflix’s one month free trial over and over again- forever. And it’s legal! (unless you use it to buy weapons etc.,) Don’t tell yourself that you are too tired and that you will do this tomorrow. Because that isn’t going to happen and you know it. You have to do this right now. You only have to click on it. Don’t let this/shit/life just happen to you. Take yourself seriously. Get a VPN. Privacy is not a privilege, it’s a fundamental human right

joyfuldefender Ok sorry that it’s so freaking long and also sorry for the language, but this is extremely important. Please reblog!

Follow li-ionsandtigersandbears Reblogging again bc this is important

Follow mermaidz4ever We have a VPN you should get one too

killmongersbaby Please read.

Follow bae-in-maine Can you get them for your phones?

Follow kika-lei ^ you can. & when you have a subscription you can use it on your phone and computer. no need for separate subs or purchases. it is absolutely so important for safety. but one of my fave things to do with my vpn is access non-US netflix. I mean other places have all the new good place eps, all the ‘classic’ bggo eps…

i-cant-remember-who-i-am IMPORTANT

Follow theriflemanofroblox reblogging so new people can be aware :)

Follow facelessnamelessanarchist Long as hell, but read it!!!

Source: welcomedhappiness

————————— I found this post and I thought it was important but tumblr wouldn’t let me reblog it for some reason so I copy/pasted it because I’m not very tech savvy

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 4 years

Text

Skin Pressed Against Me Tight

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker) Rating: Mature (M) Word Count: ~12K Notes: This is my porn star au fill for @starkerfestivals bingo. Idk how porn turned into Starker being parents, but it did - hope you enjoy! Warnings: NSFW stuff for sure, bottom Tony, non-linear narrative Summary:

Peter Parker is a young 18 y/o breaking into the porn industry. Things change for him when he shoots a scene with Tony Stark, illustrious size queen. This is the story of their relationship told in both perspectives.

Or, the one where Peter Parker has a huge cock and rocks Tony Starks world - romance absolutely ensues.

Read it on AO3 here

2019

Getting into porn at the ripe age of 18 was never Peter’s intention. May worked her ass off to try and put him through college, but a neonatal nurse didn’t make that much money. The last thing Peter wanted was for her to always be working – so he took funding into his own hands.

It started out as cater-waiter jobs – he pulled off a suit well enough to stand around and look nice while holding a tray of champagne, or if they were feeling frisky, appetizers. The money wasn’t the best, but it was something. After four months of doing that specifically, he picked up a job at a director’s home – the type of director he didn’t know until he walked in to see all the waiters in only small underwear and bowties. Not ashamed of what he worked so hard to get, Peter took to the uniform like it was meant for him – and maybe it was, his huge cock was highlighted all night.

When all was said and done, his favorite appendage and willingness to do pretty much whatever was asked of him made Peter one of the best porn actors to work with. He started out small – masturbation and cam services for a select few clients. The demand for that became too much to keep up with, so Clint, the director who drew him into the business to begin with, started to pair him up with people. Beautiful men, specifically. Peter hadn’t known about his sexuality until he felt a warm ass wrap around his cock – something told him that he’d found the key to his sexual heart.

When users started to comment on the size of his cock, Peter started to shoot with specific men within the industry – ones so gloriously known as size queens. In the back of his mind, Peter hoped for the chance to partner with Tony Stark; he’d been watching Man of Iron videos for most of his adolescence. Tony Stark could take a dick – and not for the first time, Peter wondered what it would be like for him to take his.

Surprisingly, it only took Peter mentioning the man’s name to make it happen. He hadn’t thought too much about his popularity, but when he told Ned about it later that night, his friend freaked out. “You’re one of the big studs now, Pete. Only well-known names get to work with Tony Stark.” Peter heard the dreaminess in his friend’s voice and laughed – in less than a week, he’d know exactly what it was like to work with the boisterous power bottom.

Walking onto the set the day of the shoot, Peter couldn’t keep his excitement from overflowing – he jerked off twice that morning to make sure his performance was top notch. The last thing he wanted to do was cum too early. Despite being young and able to go forever, he wanted to cast an air of maturity. The silver fox he was going to top was one of the best in the business – that meant he’d been around for a while. If anyone knew good sex, it was Tony Stark.

The smile swept off his face for a second when he walked into the room of the suite they’d deemed the dressing room. Tony was standing there in small shorts and a black tank top – his arms were rippling, the sight making Peter’s mouth water. He almost missed the words coming out of Tony’s mouth – “He’s so young, Pep. This can’t possibly be a good idea.”

It should have stung a little, the words and the fact that Tony looked up with a gasp when he realized someone else was in the room. Coloring, Peter nodded in his direction and retreated quickly – he didn’t want Tony to see the smile on his face. There was a mission now – Peter felt bound and determined to prove the older star wrong. The tingle of arousal that kissed his skin was a little different than before and he reveled in it – pleasing Tony would be the best experience of both of their careers; he’d make sure of it.

Tony found him a few minutes before they were set to start the cheesy lead up to the frame by frame fucking that would inevitably happen. Peter reached down to adjust himself, his overeager cock getting hyped up at just the sound of Tony’s voice. Turning his head away for a second, Peter took a deep breath, his features schooled when he looked back.

“Peter, right?” Tony asked, his hand settling between them. Peter looked at him for what felt like a solid minute, his eyes roaming over Tony until he felt satisfied.

Reaching between them, Peter shook his hand. “Yeah, Peter Parker. While we’re shooting, Pete is fine.” He kept Tony’s hand in his own for a few seconds longer than socially appropriate, his fingers squeezing lightly.

As if the touch opened the floodgates, Tony smiled at him, his head shaking. “You fucking rookies and your requests. We’ll see what comes out in the moment. Kid for you, probably,” Peter didn’t miss the wink sent his way, his cock reacting to the word before his brain could process it.

“Sure, and I’ll be sure to moan daddy real loud,” Peter rebutted almost instantly. He shouldn’t feel as warm as he did – no one else he’d ever paired with made him crazy the way he felt in that moment. The sizzle in his veins seared a little more the longer they stayed next to each other. Tony moved a little closer, his natural musk adding to the intoxication.

“There’s an entire fan base out there that would go wild for something like that, Pete,” Tony said in response, his hands moving to grip Peter’s elbow. Shit like that was common practice – they would be butt naked in front of each other in a few minutes, it was nice when his scene partners at least tried to ease the tension a little. The fact that it was Tony fucking Stark made it 100 times better – his hands were soft and squeezed him so nicely.

Peter’s head was swimming by the time Clint was calling them all to the center of the room for his pre-shoot pep talk. It consisted of the word ‘fuck’ and little else, so Peter let his mind wander, the only grounding agent the now familiar hand still tucked into his arm, Tony’s fingers slip-sliding across his skin like he’d been doing it his entire existence.

The lead up to their scene consisted of Tony walking in on a naked Peter who was just starting to get himself worked up on the very big, very empty bed. He didn’t need to pretend to be extremely turned on by the older man that wanted to join him on the bed – his eyes stayed glued to Tony as he settled against the headboard next to him. He didn’t move to take his clothes off, but Peter could see his impressive erection pressing against the small, too-tight shorts they were making him wear.

Without any prodding, Peter continued to fist his own cock in one hand while the other moved to Tony’s lap, his fingers skating over the bulge he couldn’t wait to see. He kept the rhythm slow, his focus more on the delicate tongue that was tangling with his own – Tony’s lips captured his own when he started to fondle him. The twitch he felt under his hand had him reaching into Tony’s pants to touch the soft flesh of an already rigid erection.

“Fuck,” Peter mumbled, the word captured by a swift move of Tony’s lips. The angle was a little weird, but the smooth velvet under his palm was more than enough to help him forget the crick in his wrist. Peter continued to run his hand up and down Tony’s length, gathering up the precum at the tip to ease the slide until a hand was reaching down to stop him. Tony gave him a heated look and pulled away just enough to get his tank top off.

He felt insanely greedy when he pulled his hand away from his own cock and ran his fingers over Tony’s newly exposed flesh. For someone that was no longer considered ‘young’ in the industry, Tony’s stomach was taut and well-muscled – the fact that he worked to keep his physique very obvious. He embraced the daddy thing and had thick patches of chest hair, the look a direct contrast to Peter’s practically hairless torso.

All of the sudden, Tony was turning – Peter moved his hands to let him sit across his naked thighs, the fabric of the annoying little shorts soft enough to make the move pleasurable. Tony settled close enough to put his elbows over Peter’s shoulders and palm the back of his head. Their faces were already right near each other, the slight shift bringing them so close that Peter felt Tony’s breath trickle down his throat.

Palming firm ass cheeks, Peter gave Tony’s muscle a light tap – the slightest wiggle making him moan, his hips pressing up. Tony ground down against him, warm chocolate colored eyes staring into his own. Not able to stand the tease any longer, Peter surged forward and took Tony’s lips in a kiss. The fingers in his hair tightened, Tony using that leverage to pull Peter closer, the angle of their heads perfect for the passionate kiss.

Peter worked the shorts down Tony’s thighs as much as he could with his legs stretched out the way they were – his fingers were desperate to press into bare skin. Huffing, Peter grabbed the back of Tony’s thighs and flipped their positions, impatient hands pulling shorts and underwear off in one fell swoop. A groan left his mouth when he saw the expanse of Tony’s flesh in person. The pixilation of a computer screen would never do it justice.

Fingertips danced down his legs and across stiff arches, his thumb digging in ever so slightly. Tony drew his bottom lip between his teeth in an attempt to keep the noises in, but Peter wasn’t having that. He reached up and tugged that lip from Tony’s grasp. “I want to hear you,” Peter stated, his voice deeper than he’d ever heard it.

Tony’s eyes flashed, a moan slipping from his lips in answer. Peter grinned and continued his exploration, his hands running back up Tony’s legs, across his hips, up the trail of hair on his lower stomach, and between his pecs. He pulled at his right nipple first, his fingers moving until it was a tight bud before moving onto the left one. His fixation brought moans out of them both, Tony’s cock jumping against Peter’s abs – a small streak of arousal brandishing the skin there.

Peter took Tony’s lips in another hot kiss, his hips settling between the v of Tony’s thighs, their cocks lining up. He let his hips roll forward. After a few minutes of chasing Tony’s tongue, Peter was leaking precum and slowly losing control over himself. Pulling away with a nip to Tony’s lip, Peter settled his head in the crease of Tony’s neck. Peter pressed his lips to the shell of his ear, the position perfect to whisper to him. “Straddle my face. I want to eat you out while you blow me. Put those pretty lips to use.” He pulled away with a laugh, Tony’s hand hitting his shoulder.

The transition wasn’t fumbly like Peter’s prior experiences. Peter rolled off of Tony and settled in the big pile of pillows at the head of the bed. He put a couple under his head so that he’d have a better ability to reach his destination – then, Tony settled over him, his ass in Peter’s face. Using both hands, he pulled Tony’s cheeks apart and went to work on teasing the already loosened hole. The thought of Tony slipping his fingers into himself in the ‘dressing room’ earlier making his cock twitch.

That must have spurred Tony on, the next thing he knew, plump lips and a warm tongue were caressing the tip of his cock. It broke up the rhythm of his tongue, a loud groan slipping from his chest. “Your dick is huge,” Tony murmured – for once, words that would probably be kept in the footage at the end. Thrusting up, Peter answered with his hips, Tony’s lips slipping further down his length as he did.

He tried his best to get lost in the salty taste on his tongue – Tony’s fluttering hole around him was rather nice. Tony’s lips, however, knew exactly what to do to pull him right to the edge. Peter felt like he could’ve leapt off the cliff of orgasm a few times, but Tony always pulled back at the last minute. Peter retaliated with a particularly deep thrusts of his tongue into Tony’s hole and the entire loop started over again.

Finally unable to take it any longer, Peter pulled away from his task, his chin and cheeks covered in his own spit – he could already picture the camera panning in on his face. Peter huffed out a breath and moved his hips away from the delicious suction. “You’ve gotta stop or I’m going to cum,” Peter admitted, two fingers pressing into Tony’s hole in hopes of a distraction for them both.

Sooner than Peter expected, Tony was on all fours in front of him, his hand reaching back to grasp onto his thigh. He seemed to be egging Peter on, the slightest bit of desperation he portrayed enough for him to quickly lube up his cock and line up against Tony’s entrance. The barely heard “fuck me, Pete” had him pushing in and breaching the tightest heat. Peter bit down into the side of his cheek to stop himself from coming.

Gripping Tony’s hips, Peter set a teasing pace, his hips pulling back slowly only to push forward hard, his fingers digging into supple skin. Tony pushed back against him, his hand still gripping Peter’s thigh tightly. The wild abandon that Tony took his cock with was too much – he wanted to wrap his arms around his middle and fuck him with abandon into the mattress. The more time past, however, the more Peter understood that Tony deserved to be thoroughly taken apart.

When he eventually picked up his pace, Peter leaned forward and started to work his lips and tongue over the back of Tony’s neck – the task just enough to keep him from finishing before he should. His hands gripped around the solid trunk below him, Peter using the momentum to bring Tony back against him harder with each thrust. The imperceptible heat building up in the middle of his stomach made him groan, his control almost completely gone.

Tony was right there with him, though – he reached behind him and grabbed Peter’s head, pulling him down. “I’m close, pull out and flip me over. I want you to cum on my chest,” Tony chocked out the words, Peter’s hips still moving. Quick to comply, Peter eased himself out and worked to turn Tony over – he barely thrust back inside before Tony was coming. Peter watched every splash of cum hit the older man’s chest before pulling out, tugging his cock once, and adding to the mess.

Unlike all of his other scenes before, Peter wanted to lean forward and press his lips against Tony’s again – arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him close made it seem like he might like that, too. Peter let his lips get carried away, a loud throat clearing the only thing pulling him back from the delightful task of kissing the life out of the man below him. “Alright, alright,” Clint said after Peter didn’t stop – the annoyance in his voice apparent.

After all was said and done, Peter was surprised by Tony approaching him. He was fully dressed and just about to leave for the day when he felt a hand on his elbow. “I know you walked in on me bitching about you to my manager,” Tony started, both of his hands sliding into his back pockets, the stance making his chest poke out a little. “I’m an asshole, I’ll admit that. You, uh – we’re much better than I expected.”

Peter watched him drag his bottom lip between his teeth and ached to reach across the space and use his thumb to soothe the redness that welled there. He shifted his position instead, his hands hanging loosely on the top of his thighs. “It’s okay – really. It served as good motivation.” Peter shot him a wink; his lips pulled into an eager smirk. Would it be pathetic to ask for his porn idol’s number?

That question was answered almost right after he thought it, Tony pressed a business card to his chest, his fingers staying there for an extra moment. “I’ll have Pep set up another scene. In the meantime – my personal is on there. If you’re interested in a repeat performance not in front of the cameras.”

Blinking, Peter gripped the card and nodded – there was no way in hell he was going to pass up and offer like that. He made sure to slip it into his pocket before shouldering his bag and walking out.

That went a lot better than he ever could have expected.

----

2025

The best part of his life with Peter was the never-ending adventure. At the age of 24, his husband was quickly excelling through the college program at MIT they were easily able to afford. Going to the fiscal services office each semester and paying with a thick stack of cash always felt more satisfactory than it probably should. The beaming smile on Peter’s face drove home the greatness of it – being able to provide something like that for his husband made all the work he’d done in his life worth it.

Things were slowly starting to change for them – though they still did scenes together, Tony and Peter both were trying to step away from the industry. Tony knew the daddy thing was only cute for a little while – his age was starting to become a thing that he couldn’t just look past. If it weren’t for the draw that he and Peter pulled as a tag team, he probably wouldn’t have lasted as long as he did. Settling down took some of the fun out of the job, anyway – not so suddenly, he didn’t want to share his body with just anyone.

Luckily, Tony spent enough time at Arizona State to get a degree before he delved into the world of porn. There weren’t too many people that recognized him, or were willing to admit it, at least – so stepping into the job world wasn’t nearly as hard as he thought it might be. What he always imagined being his fallback became something he could actually be proud of. Financial advising wasn’t the glitz and glam of full-time porn star – but it paid the pills and kept him out of the arms of too many random people.

It was Peter who made the suggestion to step away, first – which surprised the heck out of him. Despite getting married at such a young age, Peter was right at the peak of his career – if he wanted it, he could’ve taken the top billings for years to come. The man was absolutely gorgeous and would combat age with a grace that not a lot of people got to claim. And no matter how much he didn’t want Peter to be constantly fucking other men, it was part of the game – he loved the man enough to support him through it all.

Learning that Peter was just as weird about fucking other people made his heart warm – in all the time they’d been together, his husband never stopped surprising him. Of course, they were both so balls deep in the business that it took a while to slim down their scheduling and almost exclusively work with each other. Pepper wasn’t very happy about anything he did with Peter over the years, but she was surprisingly supportive when Tony spoke to her about their plan. He figured that after six years, maybe she was finally warming up to Tony’s other half.

In the two years of their marriage, Tony found himself finally understanding what Rhodey was always talking about when he spoke of his love for Natasha and the relationship they spent many years creating. Learning and living with another human being wasn’t something Tony every thought he’d be into. He looked at his friends and shook his head.

Then – he met Peter. Life was a lot more fun because of the younger man’s influence. While still a dramatic size queen, Tony let himself open up and start enjoying the little things in life – things like the same man’s arm slung across his stomach in the mornings and the enjoyable bickering about who was going to do the dishes. He spent a lot of time worrying about money and how people looked at him – Peter took that need away and kept reality within his grasp.

And while Tony got to fulfill the daddy fantasy with his husband whenever the man had the inkling, he was grateful that’s where the boat would soon be stopping. In all honesty, Tony yearned to be an actual dad – he’d been getting more and more jealous of the small children that ran around Rhodey and Natasha’s place. Peter was so good with kids and would make the ultimate father – Tony was sure of it.

Those were dangerous thoughts, however – he hadn’t brought up the topic with Peter; he didn’t know how.

Tony pushed them away and focused on the sauce he was stirring on the stove. Before she passed, his mom taught him all the family recipes. Over the years, Tony perfected a few of them and always fell back on Maria’s sauce when he needed something to clear his mind. It took a long time to make and needed almost regimented attention.

It was soothing, in a way – to let his mind get lost in the swirl of the increasingly thickening tomato paste on the stove. Tony felt more capable of tabling things that were unnecessary and focusing on the ones that were. Such as the front door opening and Peter walking through it.

Perking up a little, Tony grinned at his husband when he walked into the kitchen. He saw the look of hunger pass over Peter’s face, Tony aware that the sauce was only half the reason for it. In 6 years of being together and having frequent sex, Tony and Peter never got tired of each other. He felt wanted every second of being in Peter’s presence – they’d perfected physical connection so much that it seemed to make the craving more intense.

Peter wrapped his hands around Tony’s hips, his face settling into the side of his neck. Tony always liked the way he would drag in a deep breath and hold it – the huff of it warm air on his neck when Peter finally let it go making him shiver every time. He liked the idea of sitting deep within Peter’s chest, caught in the capillary beds, and transported through the systemic circulation until he was breathed back out into the open air.

Flat palms caressed his thighs, Peter using them to pull him back until they were flush against each other. “Hey, sweetheart,” Peter mumbled, his lips on Tony’s ear. In the early days, Peter took to whispering to him like that to keep the words he couldn’t hold at bay as between them as he could. It kind of became a thing after that – Tony liked the tingle it always sent down his spine, the intimacy of it a beautiful perk of being with someone so affectionate.

“Hey, yourself. How were classes?” Tony hummed and tilted his head; the nuzzling Peter was doing needed to continue.

He felt Peter take the space given to him, his wandering nose and lips mapping out a well-known path across his neck. “Good – I think I finally found a lab worth interning in. My biophysics professor is starting some new research up at the end of the semester that I would love to dive headfirst into.” Peter spoke with such clarity despite the teasing way he treated Tony’s sensitive skin.

Sighing, Tony leaned forward and turned the heat down – the sauce was at a point where he could let it sit for a while. He gave it one last stir, then turned in Peter’s arms, his own wrapping around wide shoulders. “Happy to hear it – I know you’ve been stressing over that for the past couple of months. Did you get your differential equations exam back?” He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Peter’s nose – the gesture pulling the softest smile from his husband’s lips.

“I did – I got a 98. The points I lost were a little petty, but I’m not upset about an A. I appreciate all the help, by the way; I don’t think I ever thanked you properly,” Peter wiggled his eyebrows and drew him into a deep kiss, the caress of his tongue almost enough to sweep Tony’s feet out from under him. Damn Peter and his endless charm.

He let himself get lost in the drag of the facial hair Peter was starting to grow – it tickled his lips and he wondered if that’s how it was for Peter this whole time. It was sexy and if Tony got his way, Peter would be keeping the nicely developing beard.

The need for oxygen forced them apart. Not wanting to separate too much, Tony traced the flush that spread across Peter’s cheek with the edge of his thumb. His nose rubbed along Peter’s before he snuck in for another soft kiss. He felt a rush of happiness when Peter’s hands moved to grip him tighter. “I’m sure you’ll find many ways to thank me over the course of the semester, Pete. That class is only going to get harder.”

Hands slapping his ass pulled a solid laugh out of him – Tony jumped from the contact, his fingers gripping Peter’s cheeks for support. “You’re a little shit.” He slipped his tongue out to wet his bottom lip. A satisfying feeling rushed over him then; Peter’s eyes followed his every movement. “Proud of you, though. Want to celebrate with Mama’s pasta?”

Peter’s eyes widened, a huge smile overtaking his face. “You’re making Maria’s sauce? I’m 100% game for that. I hope you made that baked chicken, too,” Peter replied eagerly. Tony moved out of his grip and pulled a hot pad onto his hand. The smell of lemon and parmesan flooded the kitchen, both of them making a satisfied little noise. “Smells amazing, Tones.”

Tony nodded his agreement, a content smile on his face. “It does – go get changed and I’ll pull everything out so we can eat.” He gave Peter a soft pat on his cheek, his husband rolling his eyes and grinning in return.

“Do I have time to shower, too? Or should I wait for you?” Peter stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, his arms wide and holding him there. Tony let himself look him over, Peter’s biceps were pulled deliciously tight by the posture he stood with. It really was too much sometimes, being married to such a good looking human.

Settling against the stove once more, Tony picked up the wooden spoon, his brain forcing him to look anywhere but in front of him – if he did, they’d never eat the food he spent a good bit of time making. “Waiting sounds nice. I’ll clean you up after we eat. You’re messy as hell, anyway.” Tony threw a wink over his shoulder and laughed when Peter made a disbelieving noise before turning and starting his trek up the stairs.

In obvious retaliation, Peter walked down the stairs in plain black shorts and a tight tank top, the roundness of his deltoids sinful and mouth-watering. He walked past Tony to the cabinet housing the plates, not even bothering to look at him, and went about setting the table. Shaking his head, Tony couldn’t stop the affectionate laugh that dripped from his lips. Even after all this time, Peter’s puppy act still made his heart race.

It was easy to get dinner on the table after that – Tony carried all the food in with an eager Peter trailing behind him with glasses of water. His husband never got to meet the illustrious Maria, but he understood her talents in the kitchen and went a little nuts whenever Tony brought her food to the table.

Peter was also smart enough to know that Tony only ever cooked comfort foods because something was up – though, he waited until they were into dinner a bit before bringing anything up. Tony knew it was coming when Peter complimented the chicken for the 20th time. Putting his fork down, Tony looked at him pointedly.

Without missing a beat, Peter did the same, his attention now fully on Tony instead of the food before him. “So – what’s up? We avoid your lineage like it doesn’t exist most of the time – you don’t cook this specific thing unless you’ve got something on your mind.” Peter reached across the table and grasped one of Tony’s hands in his. “Everything okay?”

Softening, Tony gave Peter’s hand a soft squeeze. “It’s fucking eerie, how well you know me,” Tony started, his other hand joining the masses on the table. “I’ve just been thinking about our last scene coming up and what comes next. Got a little lost up there.” He shrugged his shoulders, Tony hoping that his anxiety was not overtly apparent.

“I’ve been reading you since the first day we met, Tones – hard to miss all the obvious tells.” His eyes moved over the food on the table, a light smile on his face. “Delicious tells, though – I hope you know that.”

Tony barked out a laugh, his feet pulling his chair a little closer to Peter’s so he could reach over and grab his husband’s face in his hands. “I know, baby. Thank you.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, then settled into his chair again.

Peter looked at him with wide eyes for a few seconds before he caught back up to where they were. He narrowed them then, “you’re trying to distract me.” Picking up his fork, Peter went about poking at the pasta – “What I was trying to say, before you so rudely interrupted, was that whatever we want comes next. I’ll be done with school at the end of the year, you’re in a job you like – it seems like the only place to go is up.”

Tilting his head, Tony let the words sink in – Peter stating it so simply made all the worrying he’d been doing seem a little silly. “There’s something specifically I want to bring up – but I’m a lot terrified. I – “ he shifted on his seat a little, the move just long enough to give him a second to muster up the courage to actually get the words out. “I think I want to have kids, Pete. I want to be a dad and I want to watch you be one, too. I know you’re young and we’ve never talked about it, but – its been stuck in my head on a loop for longer than I care to admit.”

He forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths once the words were out, his eyes not meeting Peter’s until he felt like he wasn’t going to hyperventilate. The happy look he was met with was not what he’d been expecting – Peter’s beaming smile made his eyebrows furrow, an excited smile waiting on standby.

“Tones – you should have said something. Ever since Nat brought baby Sue home, I’ve been dying to know what it’d be like.” He didn’t say anything further, just got up from his chair and reached a hand out, Tony taking it to join him. They tangled up in a tight hug, Tony pulling Peter as flush against him as he could.

Later that night, they collapsed sweaty to the mattress, Tony spooning behind Peter without worrying about the grossness that was covering them both. He pressed a soft kiss to Peter’s neck, a sigh falling from his lips. “You make me so fucking happy.”

Peter tugged his arm to pull him closer, the silent hum of appreciation the only needed reply.

----

2020

After that first scene together, Tony and Peter’s partnership blew up. Just like Tony figured, the daddy aspect of it pulled in a huge crowd that demanded more. Which wasn’t any skin off of his back – Peter genuinely liked Tony as a person and enjoyed the physical connection between them even more.

With the business card in hand, Peter dialed Tony’s personal number a couple of days after they left set. He sat in the same position two nights in a row, contemplating what was too soon and how much excitement would look like desperation. His resolve was quickly melting down to nothing, so he finally let his fingers move over the screen to enter the number. Three rings later, Tony picked up – the timber of his “hello” more than enough to make the anxious energy he was feeling worth it.

“Hey Tony – it’s Peter. Peter Parker.” He wanted to slap himself, words coming out of his mouth had never felt more awkward. It couldn’t be helped, his heart leapt up into his throat whenever he thought about Tony. Of course, it made sense that he’d become a babbling idiot the second he had the guy’s attention.

The chuckle on the other end of the line settled low in his stomach, for the first few seconds, he couldn’t tell if it was arousal or shame. It ended up bringing a smile to his face, though, so he tried to relax – things hadn’t gone to shit yet, he could do this.

“Peter Parker – I was starting to wonder if I was going to hear from you.” Tony’s voice sounded genuine across the line and helped to further relax him. There was something about the older man that made Peter feel comfortable – he couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but he knew he wasn’t about to let it go wandering out of his life if he could help it.

“I didn’t want to seem too eager. Even though I am.” He heard Tony laugh again, the sound kicking up his heart rate a couple of notches. “Is your offer still on the table? Meeting up off-screen, I mean,” Peter said, his voice cracking as he backtracked quickly, his cock already twenty steps ahead of him. He wanted to see Tony outside of the bedroom, too – more than anything, Peter wanted to make that clear.

Tony didn’t miss a beat – “For you, Peter Parker, I think that offer will always be on the table.” Tony spoke matter-of-factly, the tenor of his voice never waving.

“Really?” Peter found himself saying, a sharp blush rushing across his cheeks when he realized what he actually said. “This trying to be smooth thing is not working.” He stopped and let a laugh fall from his lips – if he didn’t find humor in it, he might die of embarrassment.

“I want to take you out to dinner. Then see if anything happens.” Peter reached up and smacked his hand across his forehead, each new sentence slipping from his mouth lamer than the last.

Regardless of how Peter felt, the babbling ended up being the thing to seal the deal. It wasn’t hard to believe that Tony didn’t usually date other people in the business – mixing love and scripted sex was usually more work and heartache than most people could deal with; but Peter felt pretty determined. He’d been around the business long enough to know that the connection he felt with Tony was unlike any other – Peter was too smart of a person to pass something like that up.

As the number of jobs they booked together started to go up, so did their interest in each other. It wasn’t strictly Peter, either – Tony was a lot more open and available than Peter initially thought he’d be. Their first date turned into incredible sex on Tony’s living room floor and the promise of another date the next day. Seeing each other every couple of nights quickly turned into staying over at the other person’s house and slowly slipping into the joys of domesticity.

The most surprising aspect of their relationship was the way Tony handled Peter doing scenes with other people. Walking into the relationship with open eyes was something, but actually dealing with it was an entirely different beast. Tony was at the point in his career where he could be choosy – Peter wasn’t. For the first few months of the thing they settled into, Peter needed to take everything thrown his way. Despite putting off college for a little while, Peter still wanted to make the time he worked count.

Coming home after a particularly unsatisfying scene, Peter immediately stepped into the shower. He didn’t see Tony in the direct path to the bathroom and didn’t bother to look any further – Peter still wasn’t all that comfortable smelling like someone else when he pulled Tony into his arms. They hadn’t been together all that long, but it already felt like he was taking something away from them every time he went in front of the cameras.

Peter ducked under the water, his body working on autopilot. The water beat down on the top of his head, the warmth so nice on his skin that felt taut and drawn for the past couple of hours. He was distracted enough to not hear the door open – a grunt fell out of his mouth when arms wrapped around his waist. When his heartrate settled, Peter gripped Tony’s arms, his fingers desperately tight.

“Let me finish up in here, Tones – I thought maybe we could have Chinese.” Peter said the words, but each one of them lost a bit of meaning as Tony’s touch took him apart. In that moment, the last thing he wanted to do was let Tony go anywhere – the guilt of someone else’s hands on him felt washed away, Tony’s touch on him the magic eraser he needed to forget.

“It’ll go a little quicker if I help. I have something a little more fun in mind when we’re done,” Tony mumbled, his lips on the wet skin of Peter’s neck. Methodically, Tony nibbled, licked, and kissed him while his hands moved a loofa with body wash all over his skin. By the time Tony was fisting his erection and pressing his own against Peter’s thigh, the only thing he could smell was the stress relief body wash and Tony’s arousal. Grinning at the dirty trick, Peter turned in Tony’s arms, his nimble fingers quick to turn the shower off.

Between drying off and trying to make out with each other, it took them a long time to get from the bathroom to the bedroom. Despite coming back from two hours’ worth of well-staged sex, Peter’s cock was as hard as a rock. Falling between Tony’s thighs on the bed was the best feeling he’d been privy to all day.

“Thought I could ride you,” Tony managed to get out between all of their kisses and gropes. He grabbed Peter’s face with both hands. “Gotta remind you who you belong to.” Tony wiggled his eyebrows and gripped his arms tightly, effectively rolling them over. Peter settled against the mattress, his eyes bulging a little when Tony’s mouth immediately went to his cock.

Like they’d been doing this for a while (which they had), Tony knew all of the right places to lick and suck. Tony could take him all the way to the root, a feat that even some of the more seasoned people he did scenes with could not achieve. The move had him thrusting up, his hips moving on their own accord. Tony used his free hands to press down on Peter’s hips, effectively cutting off anymore thrusts into the already full throat clenching around him.

Peter let his hands tangle in the length of Tony’s hair, his grip just barely guiding his head up and down. Tony moaned around him, his eyes looking up, catching Peter’s glance. “You were made for this,” Peter babbled, words coming out of his mouth now that he could say whatever the fuck he wanted – cameras be damned. Eventually, he tightened his grip in Tony’s hair, his head tossed back. “Stop, stop. I want to cum inside you.”

One of the best parts of sex on their own time was the way he got to prep Tony – when they shot a scene, little details like making a partner feel good weren’t ever included. Pros like Tony took that sort of thing into their own hands. Yet, Peter appreciated the process – Tony stretched out so nicely around his fingers as he breached him first with one finger, then another. The look in Tony’s eye blew him away every time – it was like he’d never been touched so reverently in his life.

Impatience set in while Peter worked a third finger inside of Tony’s tight heat. He could feel how relax he was, the touch now purely for pleasure. Hitting Tony’s prostate lit him up, his skin breaking out into a sweat, Peter’s name falling from his lips like a mantra. The compiling stimuli were too much, he needed friction and he needed it right that second.

Tony must have felt the same way, his lube-coated hand wrapped around Peter’s cock as he shifted his position. Sitting back, Tony let out a sharp gasp, Peter’s wide head always the toughest stretch. Peter gripped his hips to help as much as he could, his fingers digging into the flesh the closer he got to bottoming out. The second Tony shifted and got up onto his feet, Peter started to thrust, no time for adjustment needed or given.

The bed squeaked with the force of their movements. Peter pushing through the bottoms of his feet to thrust up, Tony rolling his hips and meeting him with a sharp downward stroke. Slap of bodies and echoes of moans were the only thing that could be heard in the room for a while – the animalistic way Peter let himself get lost a little different than their normal coupling.

When Peter flipped them over and hiked Tony’s legs over his shoulder, the older man looked up at him with such devotion. It didn’t matter that he had some random person below him in this same position only a few hours earlier – Tony was the only person he could imagine being there for the rest of his life. Looking down, he appreciated the recognizable body and the amazing personality attached to it.

“I’m gonna cum, Tony,” Peter babbled against his cheek, his upper body falling onto Tony’s chest a few thrust earlier. The fact that he staved off as long as he did was achievement enough. Tony nodding at him and gripping his own erection pushed him over, Peter emptying himself deep within the tight confines of Tony’s tight hole. The splash of cum against his stomach drew a moan from him, the rhythmic clenching that went with Tony’s orgasm bringing another set of body shakes quaking through his muscles. Not able to hold himself up any longer, Peter shifted his weight and dropped half on the mattress and half on the man below him.

“I hope that was the fun you had in mind – because I’m exhausted and don’t think I could lift my arms again,” Peter muttered against Tony’s shoulder. Resting his head there, Peter felt Tony’s laughter spread through him, the clenching of his stomach bouncing him a little. A soft grin slipped across Peter’s cheeks, the niceness of his reality a beautiful thing to be able to cling to.

Tony turned a little, his lips pressing a kiss to the side of Peter’s head. “I thought we could catch up on Penny Dreadful, but we can do that from the comfort of this bed, so no arm movements needed.” Shifting, Tony wrapped an arm around his shoulders keeping him pressed tightly against his side. “I wouldn’t mind that Chinese you mentioned, either.”

His words were the last ones spoken for a while – Peter drifted into a light sleep, the high of his body keeping him right in that glorious in between stage. Tony’s chest rose and fell like he too was asleep, the exertion of the amount of passion they shared between them knocking them off their feet every time they came together. The tranquility of it felt like nothing Peter ever experienced before – the thought of being in love alive and prominent in the front of his brain.

A little while later, Tony woke him up with a warm flannel on his skin and an affectionate look. “Thought you might not want to be crusty for the rest of the night. Go back to sleep if you’re still zonked,” Tony said softly, his hands gentle in the way he caressed Peter’s skin. Closing his eyes for another second, Peter soaked up the moment. When Tony tried to pull away, he threw his arms around Tony’s neck and pulled him down, the older man bending in half.

“You take such good care of me,” Peter admitted, his lips finding Tony’s for a chaste kiss. “You’re kind of the best.”

Ducking his head, Tony tried to shake the words off, Peter now familiar with the gesture. He let him pull away, Peter dropping his hands until they were once again on the mattress beside him. His lips quirked into a reassuring look – “I love you, Tony. I really do think you’re the best.”

The sudden impact of Tony’s body against his own tore a breath out of him, his arms automatically welcoming the other into his space. “You’re not supposed to say shit like that. You’re making me too sappy.” Tony moved until he was sitting between Peter’s legs, his smile scrunching up the corners of his eyes. “I love you too, Pete. So much.”

From that point on, Peter was a little more choosey about who he signed on to do scenes with and when he could swing it, he worked exclusively with Tony. Their videos made enough of a splash that not a lot of people even thought twice about the fact that they worked together so often. Of course, there were the weird shippers that caught small moments between them and made them into something that he and Tony both didn’t want them to think was the case. His relationship with Tony was his own – they were both determined to protect that with everything that they could.

----

2026

Starting the process of adoption was a lot more time consuming than either of them thought. There were countless documents that needed to be filled out, letters of recommendation to be written, and never-ending interviews to be had – it seemed like more work to get a baby than to get a government job or a visa to travel to another country. After being told that most of their life would be scrutinized, Tony tucked his tail between his legs and stepped back from the situation.

Everything was done as thoroughly as they could do it – the rest of the process landed on someone else’s shoulders. Of course, it wasn’t the greatest, to be sitting around waiting to hear back from people that were picking apart both their lives with a fine-toothed comb – but they got past it. Tony spent the time working his ass off and preparing for his final scene in the porn industry.

When Clint found out he was leaving the business, he begged until Tony let him direct his final scene – he and Peter both made the man more money during their careers than he’d ever be worth. He decided to do something reminiscent of the first ever scene he shot with the two of them together – down to the stupid outfit he rolled his eyes at. The only real difference was the way he felt about the man standing in the mirror next to him.

The space where apprehension and nervousness sat was now replaced with affection and confidence. Not just in Peter’s sexual prowess, either – he got the distinct pleasure of getting to watch Peter mature and grow. His professional persona was so different than the one he walked into the industry with. It made his heart ache a little, just how much of Peter he’d gotten to experience over the years.

Under the pretense of catching up, Tony saddled up to Peter’s side, an arm wrapping around his waist. “Ready for this?” Tony asked quietly. His body was prepped, and his mind was in the zone, but his heart was sitting in the palm of Peter’s hand. It’d been a while since they worked for the cameras – he wondered if the happiness and excitement that seemed to radiate off them both would be apparent.

“Yup – I’m more than ready. The fact that the rest of the world will no longer have direct access to your ass makes me terribly giddy inside,” Peter replied with a bit of cheek, his body leaning into the contact Tony couldn’t help but provide. “I’m not mad about the set-up of this scene, though – I’m already hard just thinking about how much like our first time this is.”

Without thinking, Peter pressed a kiss to his forehead, the words “I love you” rolling off his tongue so fucking easily.

Much like that first time, Peter started him on his knees, his hands enthusiastically pulling him back against his cock with a tight grip around his chest. Tony bit into his bottom lip to stop himself from groaning out how good Peter was making him feel, how much he loved the man making him feel that way. He slid his hand down his own chest to take his cock in hand just to stay distracted.

Peter wrapped him up more tightly and started to really thrust into him, his lips pressing against the shell of Tony’s ear. “I love you. And fuck, I love fucking you,” Peter whispered. The words pulled a long moan from Tony’s chest, his stomach tightening. The sneaky little shit knew all the right places to hit, Tony’s heart strings included.

Reaching up, he thrust his fingers into Peter’s hair, pulling his head closer. “I love you. Now flip me over and cum all over me,”

There wasn’t any further prompting needed. Peter did exactly what he asked, his hands desperately gripping Tony’s hips to keep them as close as possible. Tossing his head back, Tony didn’t notice the way Peter’s eyes bugged out, the younger man focused on the tattoo that was normally covered up.

Hard clenching hands had him looking up, Peter’s eyes trailing to the now fully uncovered ‘Property of Peter Parker Stark’ he got on his side the day they got married – the ‘EST. 2023’ seemed to stand out the most in the seconds between his arms coming up and Peter covering him with his upper body.

The news of their marriage was out before Tony could even call Pepper to tell her what happened. Clint showed him the footage as he cleaned Peter’s cum from his stomach, the last five minutes of camera work catching the words at every angle. They could always reshoot, but the news would be out, regardless. Tony watched two of the crew members take a picture of the playback screen.

Not wanting to deal with it, Tony got dressed as quickly as he could, collected his check, and disappeared into his Audi. For once, he wished that they drove in together – since the news would be out anyway. Getting a little comfort from his husband wouldn’t have been the worst thing. Tony forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths – he needed to get the fuck out of there and the only way to do that was to drive away as fast as he could. The tingling feeling in his fingers retreated, so he got the car started and out of the lot before the next round of freak-outs could happen.

Having Peter’s arms around him when Pepper sent them the first article published about their marriage sort of softened the blow. Not only did it go into explicit detail about their career in porn, which hadn’t been publicized because of the cultural taboo, there were a few pretty accurate accounts of bits and pieces of their relationship over the years. It seemed like they weren’t nearly as inconspicuous as they thought. “I could have sworn we were way better at not being completely obvious,” Tony mumbled as he buried his face in Peter’s neck.

For the first couple of days, Tony kept his phone turned off. Texts came in from all directions, some angry and some congratulatory. The mass of them was just way too overwhelming. He also didn’t want to deal with the fact that the adoption agency probably didn’t want anything to do with either of them. Tony wasn’t embarrassed by his career – he’d been doing it for over 20 years. The idea of his private life being shown to the entire world to see – that’s really where he felt the most grief.

When he couldn’t avoid working any longer, Tony returned to his office – he’d been apprehensive about going back, but the great husband he had wasn’t willing to let him give up on things. The sharp outfit Peter had waiting for him when he got out of the shower gave him just enough confidence to get out the door and walk in to work with his head held high.

Surprisingly, no one said a word to him. He felt eyes following him every now and again – that was to be expected. Yet, all of the people around him treated him exactly like they usually did. It confused him, how little it seemed to impact the professional part of his life.

The personal side was a whole different matter, however. After Tony turned his phone back on, he found several missed calls from the adoption agency. He hunkered against Peter and listened to the one definitive voicemail that said their case was now pending. They’d been in limbo for months now and the thought of taking any steps back made his heart hurt. In all reality, Tony could probably put money down on the fact that at least one person in that office that determined the goodness of a person had watched his videos.

It didn’t do him any good to think that way, though – he didn’t have any control over what happened from that point on.

Falling into a bit of a slump, Tony got himself too and from work, spent time with Peter, and even went to the gym like normal. He did his best to keep himself in the game, but it was getting harder by the day. In his worst moments, he wondered about the other people that actually got to take kids home – were their pasts squeaky clean, or did they just manage to keep it from getting splashed across the headlines?

A couple months after all the drama, Peter dropped an invitation in front of him, a hopeful look in his eyes. “Annual Smutty Awards are coming up – we never get to go together, I thought maybe you might want to this year.” His voice was careful, Peter trying his absolute best to be supportive of him through all of the weird emotional ups and downs he experienced since bearing his heart (in the form of a tattoo) for all the world to see.

Tony didn’t need to look at the contents of the envelope to know that he would say yes. Now that they could be open about their relationship, it seemed like the perfect time to stroll up to the biggest night in the porn industry with the hottest man in the business on his arm. “I like the way you think, Pete,” Tony finally replied, a soft grin slipping across his lips. “I’ll call Nat and have her make us a couple of suits.”

The day rolled around a lot quicker than Tony anticipated. It’d been fun to go through the process of getting gussied up, including the suit fitting that Nat did in her usual no nonsense way. What she ended up creating for the evening was way beyond either of their expectations, the blue hues she put them in went well with Peter’s bright white skin and the dark hair that covered Tony’s head and chin. They offset each other and looked great standing side by side. After getting them dressed, she kissed both their cheeks. “You are two of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. Absolutely unfair.”

Smacking both their asses as they walked out of the room, Nat waved nonchalantly when Tony looked over his shoulder. He shook his head and slipped his hand into Peter’s, the new white gold band they started wearing pressing against his fingers. “She’s right, you know,” Tony said softly, his chin resting on Peter’s shoulder as they slowly made their way down the hall from their room to the front of the house where the limo was waiting. “You are – the most handsome man.”

Peter didn’t say anything until they were tucked into the limo, the two of them sharing the bench seat along the back. “No, that’s absolutely you. I’ve gotten so much hate over the past few months – the world is traumatized by the fact that their favorite silver fox is a happily married man,” Peter whispered, the words still coming out like shouts despite the low volume.

“The world is fucking crazy, isn’t it?” Tony shrugged his shoulders and wrapped his arms around Peter, pulling him closer – “I’m just glad that at the end of the day, you’re still there to come home to.” Leaning in, he pressed his lips against Peter’s, the touch barely there. “Glad for you, Pete.”

They didn’t talk for the rest of the ride – Tony happily allowing himself to be preoccupied with Peter’s lips and hands that ran up and down his sensitive thighs. By the time they got there, Tony was red faced, his hair mused and sticking out at weird angles. Peter shook his head at him and ran his fingers through it, the movement making it much worse. Despite that, Tony leaned in for one more kiss. “Might as well show them what the Parker Starks are really like.”

The walk down the pink carpet was much easier with Peter by his side – the paparazzi wasn’t interested in too many of them individually, so he got to keep an arm around his husband’s waist the entire length of it. When they were stopped for interviews, Peter didn’t step away from him, he merely gripped Tony tighter.

“It’s the Parker Starks!” Big Red, a well-known tv show host, exclaimed when they approached her. Tony let himself smile, the sound of their names together like that still enough to send his heart into overdrive.

“Yup, I guess the cat really is out of the bag,” Tony remarked, his fingers gripping Peter’s hip hard. He felt an answering squeeze on his shoulder, Peter’s silent support more than appreciated.

“It absolutely is. The world wants to know – why all the secrecy? 6 years is a long time.” She looked between them, the big painted on smile never leaving her face.

“It wasn’t secrecy – it was discretion. I was trying to grow up and juggle and industry that wanted to exploit my youth; keeping our private life private was a priority for us both,” Peter answered, his voice definitive; if they were anywhere else, Tony would’ve thought seriously about finding a quiet place and jumping his bones. He looked at him dreamily instead.

Their gazes met, Tony’s cheeks coloring with the rush of affection that pulsed through him. A loud ‘awe’ brought his attention back to the very live recording that was happening. “It’s obvious that you two are very much in love.” Big Red’s voice was saccharine sweet, the red lipstick getting more and more overwhelming by the second. Luckily, their time was up, the two of them escaping with quick hugs all around and drastic sighs of relief.

Right before walking into the theater, Tony’s phone started to ring – the number that popped up shocking them both. Looking over at Peter for a bit of courage, Tony swiped his finger across the front of the screen and accepted the adoption agency’s call.

“This is Tony Parker Stark – “

----

2023

Peter decided he wanted to marry Tony on a whim. They were celebrating their 4th year anniversary across the country – Tony got them into a small bed and breakfast in Italy. His mother was from the town they were staying in, so they spent their days exploring it: eating the food, drinking the wine, and making love wherever they possibly could. It seemed like the longer they were together, the more insatiable Peter became. It was obscene, how much he loved Tony Stark.

It was under the sepia light in a small restaurant that Peter grinned over at Tony and blurted out – “let’s get married.” Tony blinked at him; the signature eyebrow furrow being directed his way. Peter grinned at him, his smile growing. “Yeah, you know what – why don’t we? Want to marry me, Tony Stark?”

Tony stared at him dumbfoundedly for a few seconds before surging forward and pressing their lips together. It was more teeth than anything else, but totally perfect for the moment. “I don’t think you could have done that more perfectly,” Tony babbled when they pulled apart, his eyes glowing with the soft flicker of the candlelight sitting on their table.

The spur of the moment decision meant that he didn’t have a ring – but that didn’t seem to matter; wearing one while they were still shooting scenes wouldn’t be a thing, anyway. Peter simply pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket and wrote on one of the paper napkins on the table – “HE SAID YES – 9/21/2023”. Folding it a couple of times, he handed it over to Tony. “Until you can wear a ring on your hand.”

The day they got back on US soil, Tony and Peter applied for a marriage license and got married. Not a soul knew about it for a while, and they liked it that way. Getting to have Tony all to himself was something that didn’t happen often. The further they stepped away from the business that brought them together, the more they worked on individual things. It felt good to finally be in a college program that he liked and could afford – and watching Tony flourish would always be one of his favorite things.

Tying himself to Tony just sort of made sense, so he went with what his gut told him. When Peter got into MIT, Tony didn’t blink an eye and moved across the state with him. There wasn’t any question that together was how they were supposed to be – the permanence of marriage just made it more real.

He never told Tony about it, but he had a world shifting conversation with Clint after a scene a couple months after Italy. Since getting married, he’d been having trouble being as active a participant in the shoots. In all honesty, it’d been that way for a while. Clint was merciful and cut them for the day – his eyes following Peter as he cleaned himself up and got his shit together to get the hell out of dodge.

“Pete – wait a minute, will you?” Clint managed to get out before Peter could sneak out the door. Hanging his head, Peter walked back into the suite.

“What’s up, Clint?” Peter asked, his eyes staring at his shoes and nothing else.

“Did you guys finally make it official?” Clint put the question out there, point blank. It shouldn’t have been that surprising – both he and Tony worked with him for several years. The guy wasn’t stupid.

“I’m not even going to ask how you know. Yes – we did. And it’s fucking with my head. I don’t want anyone else.” Peter dragged his bottom lip between his teeth, the habit one he picked up from his beautiful husband.

“The long haul isn’t for everyone. Tony was a lifer because something better didn’t come his way. Not until you, of course. Maybe that’s enough, you know? That MIT degree can get you places.” Clint landed a hand on his shoulder, fingers squeezing. “Just a little food for thought.”

Neither of them said anything else, Peter hovered in Clint’s presence for another couple of minutes before turning and getting out as fast as he could. A part of him liked the fact that someone knew – Clint had obviously been keeping their secret for multiple years now. The rest of him was too focused on the man’s words to really worry about what Clint knowing actually meant. Having Tony meant the world, the life they were building was more than enough.

Later that night, Peter brought up leaving the business for good for the first time. Watching Tony’s eyes light up with a desire that the man himself probably wasn’t even aware of was the biggest sign that he’d done the right thing. “It might take us a while to phase out completely – but I’m right there with you. I’m getting too old for that shit, anyway.” Tony looked at him intensely, softness in his eye. The unspoken thank you sat in the air wrapping them both up in the exciting thought of a new start.

----

2027

Tony’s 47th birthday was the day they got to meet their son. After several phone calls and teary-eyed interviews with the agency, Tony and Peter were finally able to get their names cleared and put onto the list. The triumph of that was enough – but the opportunity to have another person join the family was the ultimate win. They got a call about a 4-year-old boy named Spencer needing a home six months later.

The first few days of fostering him were like a silent sort of torture. Tony wanted to love him up, but the shy look and overall tension the boy projected stopped him. He remembered how big of a dick his father was to him and simply smiled in Spencer’s direction, instead. Peter and Tony made pancakes at the stove side by side, their voices low as they tried their best to contain their excitement and extinguish the need to cling to the small boy. They’d been waiting for this moment for a long time – the kid that sat huddled in the booster seat at the table had not.

Slowly, Spencer started to open up – he didn’t do a lot of talking but would join them on the couch when they sat down to watch a movie and asked nightly for a story. It was a couple steps forward and a few steps back for a little while – but that was to be expected. The boy was still so young and surrounded by people and things he’d never seen before. Tony watched him eagerly, hoping for signs of acceptance.

All of the home visits they needed to have were passed with flying colors. They spent so much time making their house child proof, it was surprising that they were able to get to some of it. When it felt right, Tony and Peter were in the clear to sign the adoption papers. Before that happened, they wanted to give the small boy a chance to adjust and truly make sure he’d be comfortable with them. He came from an abusive situation and was understandably sceptic of people that were even the slightest bit like his abusers.

As the fall started to roll around, Tony and Peter were finally making a little bit of headway with Spencer. Tony managed to find an office that allowed him to work from home and Peter was steadily working his way through a graduate degree – there was plenty of time for the two of them to spend time with the boy they were absolutely smitten for.

The first true signs of Spencer starting to relax into the life they were offering came when Peter turned 26. Tony threw a small get together with Rhodey and Nat and all 4 of their kids. It was fantastic to watch Spencer run around with them and when they all broke for refreshments, Spencer came right up to him. “Can I have a juice box, dad?”

It took Tony a couple of seconds to process what he just heard – the word dad had only been tossed around a couple of times and never by Spencer himself. Forgetting himself for a moment, he threw his arms around the small boy, a soft sigh leaving his lips. “You can have whatever you want, Spence.” He quickly remembered and pulled away, but not before catching eyes with Peter. His husband was looking at him with an open mouth, his face a little scrunched up as if he were trying not to cry.

He sent the young boy on his way with a juice box, then quickly made walked over to Peter, a giant grin on his face. “He called me dad.” Tony gushed, wrapping his arms around his husband’s middle. “Holy shit.” He couldn’t believe it – after several months of trying to get Spencer out of his shell, it happened on a whim.

“What do you think he’ll call me? Papa, maybe?” Peter leaned into him, the racing of his heart against Tony’s hand making the moment all the more special. The simplicity of being gathered around friends and creating the most basic form of happiness was something he didn’t think he’d get to experience. Being loved so fiercely by Peter was the best thing to happen to him. Loving beside Peter with that same intensity was his most prized creation – he’d do anything for the family they continued to build on a daily basis.

Instead of waiting around, Tony and Peter sat down with Spencer. The little boy no longer looked at them with skepticism – his eyes were wide, his cheeks flushed with redness from the cool air they’d just been playing in. It was the greatest feeling – experiencing him take to them in the way they desired more than anything.

Tony laid a Capri Sun in front of him, his own on the table by his elbow. Taking a drink, he cleared his throat – an almost 5-year-old kid shouldn’t have made him so damn nervous. Peter’s hand on his thigh helped to ground him – Tony shot him a grateful look, his hand reaching under the table to grab it and hold tight.

“Spence, Papa and I are really excited that you came into our lives and we want you to stay. You make our little family complete. Do you – I mean,” Tony looked to Peter for help, his heart suddenly beating way too fast against his chest.

Peter stepped in, a soft tone to his voice. “What Dad is trying to ask is if you’d like to be a permanent member of the family. We love you and would be honored to be your parents.” It seemed like a lot to throw at a kid so young, but they both decided that everyone needed to be sure about it – Spencer included.

Watching him closely, Tony almost laughed out loud when the small boy sucked back the juice and sat forward. “You guys are already better than the parents I had before. I want to stay.”

And that was that.

They signed the papers in the courtroom a couple of days later – the judge proclaiming Spencer Parker Stark their son with a loud bang of his gavel.

Sitting in the booth of their favorite pizza place a few hours later, Peter wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulder and pulled him close. Spencer was running around the play-place, so they had a couple minutes to themselves. “Is it everything you thought it’d be?” Peter asked, his lips pressing against the side of Tony’s head.

Tony leaned into him, his hand raising to tangle fingers with Peter.

“It’s even better.”

#starker #ironspider #starkerfestivalsevents #bobbie writes #skin pressed against me tight #au prompts

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need-a-new-hobby · 4 years

Text

Lucky

note: i hate what i’m about to write but it’s important for the plot. i hate this. pure angst and love for garcia // it is important to know i will not be focusing on the episode, just on the absolute ball of eccentric sunshine that is penelope freaking garcia 😍😍also a certain cute detective makes spencer subtly jealous.

Another sunny day. After receiving multiple good morning texts from Piper (who is an absolute goofball that should not be allowed near her phone at 5:30am) Penelope got up from her lavender scented sheets (a gift by Emily that kept on giving) and trudged her way to the shower. She grabbed her mug of the day and left for her favourite coffee shop down the street. She greeted Allison (who definitely works too much) and waited patiently for her bean juice until she heard mild swearing from behind her. A VERY handsome man slammed his fingers into his keyboard, cursing at his laptop. Allison’s outstretched hands shook her from the very dirty scene her imagination would have created. As she walked past, she halted behind the man hitting his keyboard. “I got a polo mallet in my trunk. Maybe you should give it a shot?” She joked before seeing the very grim face on the young man. “Sorry, none of my business.” As she made to leave, he started,

“3 hours.” Penelope stopped, turned and tilted her head. “Just froze up on me.”

“You didn’t save...Who has time to save these days with the kids and the rap music?” She approached the man and peered at his laptop, her cheek inches away from his.

“You have a polo mallet in your trunk?” He asked the blonde examining his laptop.

“Small one.” She admitted. “May I?” The young man got up, allowing her the seat. “Oh, figures. Windows. Temperamental.” He watched her fingers flutter over his keyboard and chuckled as she exclaimed, “Et voila!” Penelope got up from the seat, grabbing her bags and wished him luck but as she left, he introduced himself.

“James, James Baylor. My friends call my Colby.”

“Penelope. Garcia. My friends call me wonderful. And Garcia.” He chuckled again. My God, he was beautiful. And then he did something that very rarely happened in her itty bitty life. He pulled out his card and offered her lunch. Penelope felt her face light up and she scribbled her own number on his paper napkin.

She felt giddy as she walked into the BAU with her untouched cup of coffee. Derek glided behind her, as he did so irritatingly, saying, “Good morning, princess,” receiving only a curt good morning in return. “Pump. Your. Brakes,” said he in that smooth voice he had and beckoned her closer. “Every morning I say good morning. Every day you say I’ll show you a good morning hot stuff. Every day. Not today?”

“I hate profilers. You know that?”

“Spit it out.”

“Fine. I met a guy.”

“You did what?” Derek’s eyebrows reached outer space. “Where?”

“Coffee shop. Smoking hot. I fixed his computer and then he asked for my number.”

“And you just--”

“Gave it to him. Did I mention he was smoking hot?” Derek smiled at her.

“Yeah. Ok. It happens.” Derek made to leave, until Garcia continued.

“No it doesn’t. Not to me. Not like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not the girl men see across a smoky bar and write songs about. No-- I do just fine, it just takes a minute, you know.”

“Ok, so what's the problem? You think it's all happening a little too fast or something?”

“Yes. I--I don't know. Maybe. What do you think?”

“I think you should always trust your gut, So sure, if he seems a little too smooth Or maybe even a little too smokin' hot, Then maybe you should walk the other way.” Before Garcia could reply, JJ marched past.

“Hey, we got a bad one.”

“How bad?”

“Florida.” Derek sighed heavily. Piper slowly sunk into her chair, Spencer watching her carefully. Rossi and Hotch glanced through the file as Derek and JJ filed in.

“Bridgewater, Florida. Local girl, Abbey Kelton, 19, Left her parents' home to go to the local junior college. She never came home. 3 days later, joggers found her-- Part of her-- In a nearby park.” Piper didn’t flinch as a mangled body flashed on the screen.

“Jesus, the unsub did that?” Piper whispered.

“She was found in what the locals call Alligator Alley.”

“Forensic countermeasure? Leaving her to the alligators, letting them destroy the evidence for him?”

“Now I don’t feel so bad about my alligator wallet.” Emily murmured.

“Alligators didn't cut off her fingers, slit her throat, or carve this into her chest. An inverted pentagram,” Hotch remarked.

“Pentagrams were used symbolically in ancient Greece and Babylonia, and are used today as a symbol of faith by many Wiccans, but they’re notoriously linked to Satanism. Éliphas Lévi called it evil whenever the symbol appeared the other way up. Much like the swastika used by both Hindus and Nazis.”

“Was this a part of your history course?” Derek joked.

“Actually it was the only way my senior classes would pay attention to me. Parents didn’t like it.” She did that smile where she looked like a very polite cat.

“Some things never change.” Rossy grimaced.

“Killer satanic cults don't exist,” Emily informed him. “They were debunked as a suburban myth.” She just blinked as Rossi stared at her. “What?”

“Rossi’s the one that debunked them,” Spencer pointed out and Piper stifled a laugh behind her hand.

“Oh. Right. Well. Thanks.” He nodded at her before quickly continuing,

“Well, cult or not, the killing was highly ritualised.”

“That’s not the only bit to be worried about. These cuts are precise. This guy’s professional.”

“Okay, so satanic cults don’t exist, but satanic serial killers do.”

Rossi simply made his exit, dramatically quoting, “Lasciate ogni speranza ch'entrate.”

“Thanks for clearing that up.” Piper laughed.

“He’s quoting Dante’s Inferno.” She got up from her chair, careful not to lean on her right hand, Spencer about to push off from his seat to help her. Matching Rossi’s intonations, she translated, “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.”

“So that’s a yes.”

JJ, Rossi and Morgan went to see the family. Prentiss, Hotch and Reid went to see the body. Piper was alone, again, pinning up pictures of more victims. “Can’t believe somethin’ like this could happen in Bridgewater.” Piper whipped her head around to see the young detective looking at her.

“Trust me detective, the chances of this happening again are very low. And we have a very high success rate.”

“I hope so. How many victims you usually get before...” He trailed off, hanging his head. Piper flitted over, pressing a hand to his shoulder gently.

“With cases that are called in this early, best case scenario is two.”

“And worst case?”

“Three. Detective, trust us. We’re good at our job.”

“If you’re so good, why are you in here pinning pictures?” The detective closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“I got shot. In the line of duty. Bullet lodged in my shoulder. No exit wound so...” She cleared her throat. “I’m too stubborn to leave behind at HQ, but my boss is too stubborn to let me in the field. So I feel just about as useless as you do. But we’ll get him. We always do.”

“Listen, you need any help with this board?” Piper smiled at the detective and finally, she didn’t feel so alone.

She watched them discuss the most recent development. 10 fingers-- ugh. It was too gross to think about. Every time you think you’ve reached the peak, it just gets worse. "So we need to ID the new finger prints. I'll get Garcia on it." Her shoulder throbbed as she talked to Garcia, pain and guilt and self-hatred swirling up her throat. She flipped her cell shut and felt like vomiting.

"Here." The detective offered a bottle of painkillers. "My dad had a GSW to his leg, the painkillers helped."

"Thanks," she took the bottle. "I never caught your name."

"Andrew. Andrew Lisbon. My friends call me Drew."

"Piper." She extended a hand, smiling. "Piper Bishop. My team calls me Pipes."

Spencer watched the interaction between you and a fairly handsome detective intently, until Rossi pulled him out into consciousness.

^-^

Garcia tapped the answer button with the top of her pen."Hear ye, hear ye, the Honourable Penelope Garcia presiding. Speak and be heard."

"Uh, it's Colby. We met this morning. You fixed my laptop."

"Yeah. Uh, hi. H-How's it going?"

"Great. Thanks to you."

"Heh. Just happy to be of service."

"You know, I was wonderin' if you'd let me make that thank-you lunch a dinner."

"You really don't have to do that."

"I know, but I'd like to. I'm askin' you out, Garcia. Tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night? Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night. You know, I would love to, But I am coming down with something."

"Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Maybe some other time when you're feelin' up to it."

"Yeah. That-- I have your number."

"Feel better. "

"Thanks." Garcia's attention fixated on her screen as she tossed the number into her bin, watching the fingerprint recognition software working its magic, then with a practiced flourish, dialled Derek.

"Hey, what you got for me, girl?"

"I just sent you 10 separate IDs belonging to the 10 fingers found in Abbey Kelton's stomach. No 2 fingers belong to the same woman."

"10. And you ID'd them already?"

"Mm. 40-Plus prostitution arrests made it easy. They worked truck stops and rest areas In the counties surrounding Bridgewater."

"Well, the unsub knows the area well."

"Clearly. Gotta go. Bye."

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. What, no snappy rhetoric? What's goin' on?"

"Not in the mood."

"Penelope?"

"Uh, that guy from the coffee shop asked me out, and I took your advice, and I blew him off."

"Oh. Um... Well, good. Smart move. Something was definitely wrong with him."

"Wow. You are some profiler. You could tell how wrong he was from what little I told you."

"Garcia, I didn't mean to--"

"I wonder was it that he was too handsome Or too interested in me that tipped you off on how wrong he was?"

"Garcia, I--"

"Just 'cause you wouldn't cross a crowded room to hit on me does not mean that a more perceptive, less superficial guy wouldn't. Hey, Derek, you want snappy? You suck." She cut the line and Derek stared at his cell for a few minutes before he put it away. Penelope sniffled before turning to her pink dustbin, pulling out the card Colby gave her, starting to dial.

^-^

"I am getting sick of these walls. Garcia just sent these through." Piper slapped the files on the desk before furrowing her brows. "Hotch just checked them. We're calling families, you're briefing the locals with Rossi and Reid. You okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, fine. I'll get started on the briefing."

^-^

Piper drummed her fingers on the dashboard next to Detective Lisbon. "Impatient, huh?"

"I've been cooped up in your police station for 3 days." He snorted.

"They're good people."

"Oh, no!" Piper panicked. "No- no, I didn't mean-- all I meant was--" He just chuckled.

"No, I get it. Inaction makes the brain go crazy."

"Yeah."

"You get nightmares?"

"In law enforcement, doesn't everyone?" She stared out the window. "I try to deal with it. Can't say therapy doesn't work, I used to encourage it."

"You know, I did a little research on you."

"Should I be nervous?"

"No, it's all good stuff. I just figured out why you do this gig."

"Enlighten me."

"I think you do what helps the most people. So, are you?"

"I think so." The car came to a halt and the two got out to join the others. "So we doing this search party or what?"

As Piper handed out bottles, Emily poked you with her pen. "So Detective Lisbon huh?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"What? I didn't say anything." She smiled, winningly.

"We're not high school girls anymore. I understand subtext now. And nothing's happened."

"Yet." She whispered in a sing-song voice.

"Don't make me hurt you Emily."

"What, I'm not the only one. Spencer was basically boring holes into Lisbon's head yesterday."

"I was?" Reid popped up behind them.

"Yeah. Reid, c'mon convince her to ask him out."

"He lives in Florida Em, you know long-distance doesn't work out."

"Really, what about JJ?"

"JJ's different."

"What do you mean?"

"I-I don't even know the guy."

"That's the point of dating. C'mon Reid, what do you think?"

"If you ask me…"

"Just give Emily a statistic on the probabilities of it working out."

"I can't."

"Di--Did you say you can't give us a statistic, Reid are you okay?" Piper snorted.

"Check if he has a fever."

"I can't say because you're an outlier, Piper."

"How am I an outlier, Spence?" Emily rolled her eyes, leaving them alone.

"Because you defy the odds. Every time. You were a history teacher. You became an FBI agent. You survived a gunshot wound. You defy the odds. And-" Piper's heart kept pounding. Just say no. Say no Spence, and I'll forget him. "And anyone would be lucky to go out with you." Piper stared at him as he asked for more signatures.

^-^

Piper pinned up the latest victim on the board. Kept for 9 months and somehow, Hotch figured out that the unsub was eating them. Her cell rang and she put Garcia on speaker, who informed them that the Hazelwood Mental Institute for the Criminally Insane had a fire months ago. Bishop and Reid headed out a few minutes later, the latter driving in silence. "So you like him?"

"He's nice, cute, offered me painkillers for my wound."

"So you're gonna go out with him?" She shifted in her seat and his voice was filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. I don't know. I'm indifferent. If he gives me his number by the end, I'll give him a chance." Reid nodded, not making eye contact. "I'm sorry." She murmured, laying a hand on his thigh. Spencer's blood rushed. "I should've told you, but you were all so busy, and I was alone-"

"You shouldn't feel alone. Ever." Spencer looked at her with those warm honeyed eyes.

"Eyes on the road Spence."

"Right."

"Why shouldn't I feel alone? Spence, I wanna be a part of the team again, but everyone's always doing something and I'm constantly left behind."

"You'll recover, quicker than you know."

"Yeah, Spence, but I won't be the same. I haven't slept right since, I feel different and my shoulder hurts at the worst times." Reid was silent.

“You haven’t slept?” He asked quietly. “Wh- Why wouldn’t you tell me that?”

“Spence-”

“No, no, you probably just didn’t want me to know, I shouldn’t prod.” Piper sighed ad he closed off. Again.

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is?”

“I didn’t want to worry anyone. The last thing I need right now is someone breaking down my symptoms. Look, I’m going to therapy, I’m eating healthier, I’m taking my meds, and I’m going to be fine.” Spencer just sat there solemnly, trying to ignore the soft hand still on his thigh.

They pulled up besides an old institution and Spencer raced to the other side to help Piper out. “Why do we always have to go to these places when it’s dark? I feel like I’m in a horror movie.” She heard Spencer chuckle besides her. “Don’t laugh,” she pushed him with her good arm, continuing,” I hate horror movies.”

“Okay, fine, fine. So what do you watch? Rom-coms?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Oh, now you have to.”

“Look, it’s the doctor.” Piper sped forwards into the dark, Spencer following her.

The three of them made their way through the institution as the doctor explained their records had all suffered in the fire, with another doctor dying in it as he came back into the office when the fire alarm rang.

“Was there something his office that he felt was worth risking his life for?” She asked him

“Now that I think about it,” the doctor muttered. He pulled out a drawer and a partially burned notebook. “The grounds people found it in a tree just below his office. Jim, uh, must have thrown it out of his window Just before he...”

“Thank you, Dr Nash.” Piper clutched the book as the doctor continued.

“I started reading. I had to s-stop. ‘The--" Uh, "the patient's symptoms go far beyond normal psychosexual, oral biting fixation of a typical 7-year-old boy.’”

“Thank you very much sir.” As Bishop and Reid left, the latter clutched a phone to his ear in the darkness.

“Rossi, we've got something.”

“I need a name, Reid.”

"Admitted after biting a large piece of flesh out of his 9-month-old sist-"

:A name.”

“Believes he is possessed by a flesh-eating demon."

“Reid.“ Piper snatched the phone off of Reid before spitting out the name.

“Floyd Feylin Ferrell.” She snapped the cell shut.

“I was about to-”

“Sure, Spence.” Piper smiled softly at him in the darkness, clutching her shoulder gently, but the gesture wasn’t lost on him and his forehead crinkled.

^-^

She’d lasted a year before she had to throw up. Her hair was tied up, a bottle of water left on the floor next to the seat. She’d seen some creepy things, but this was the peak. As she hurled into the toilet seat, she flashed through the signs. She hadn’t even eaten the dishes at the volunteer search party and yet here she was. Hurling as though she’d eaten Tracey’s body like the rest of the search party. Having emptied her stomach, Piper gulped down the bottle of water and flushed. She heard a rap on the bathroom door. “Agent Bishop!” Gulping down more water, she opened the door.

“Detective Lisbon. I’m sorry, it just-”

“No, it’s, it’s fine. Here.” He offered her a mint. “I can’t believe that sick bastard would do something like this.” Piper popped the mint in her mouth before replying.

“I could have lived not knowing.”

“Well, at least you didn’t eat it.”

“That’s true,” she said solemnly.

“Piper,” the detective started, staring at his shoes.”How, uh... how long are you in Florida?”

“The jet leaves tonight. I’m sorry.”

“No, no. Don’t be- I just uh...” He stammered. Piper approached him, telling him to breathe and try again.

“Can I...I mean would you...like my number?” She chuckled, oblivious to Spencer and Derek watching them.

“Yes, I’d like that very much.” Piper picked up the card he offered with two fingers and popped it in her pocket.

“I’ll see you around?”

“Maybe.” She smiled at him before turning around to see Derek snickering alone. She slapped his arm with the back of his hand. As she turned over the card in the jet, Garcia was being dropped off by her date.

“I had fun tonight.” She said, turning to the handsome man dropping her off.

“Me too.” Colby said, shoving his hand into his right pocket. He stepped closer to Garcia, their faces inches apart as just as Garcia tilted her head forward, he hugged her, whispering a good night in her ear.

“Good night.” She walked away towards her door, turning back as he called her name.

“I’ve been wanting to do this all night.” He smiled before raising his gun and shooting her just above her breast. Garcia collapsed in the darkness, key in hand as the gunshot sounded out around the apartment complex.

To be continued.

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inkedsoldier · 4 years

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Chew the Bullet - Chapter One

A Modern Warfare series

Casey Vos is a liaison officer for the Dutch Special Forces. She has been stationed in Afghanistan and Syria, but now works everywhere they need her assistance. Specialized in counterterrorism and intelligence, she is unmistakably a great asset for the upcoming Taskforce 1-4-1, under the command of Captain John Price.

A/N: Here it is – the official chapter one of Chew the Bullet. I’m going to slowly introduce all the characters while (sort of) following the storyline of the gaming series, starting with the most recent campaign of Modern Warfare (2019). English is not my first language, but I’m getting better at it. Please, if you see any errors, let me know so I can fix it. It’s much appreciated. Well, I hope you enjoy! And please leave a note, vote or message with your thoughts! Bravo team out.

Warnings: guns.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

____________

War is not just a three letter word. It is something worse. Something that can obliterate everything. War tears humans apart, even those who were once so close. Victims of war are over and over drowned in waves of guilt, pain and regret. In war no one is safe. Nowhere.

Returning to a place she once called home was just a foolish thought in Casey´s brain. Everybody moved on in her absence. No one to return to for a warm embrace or innocent chatter. Home was a gaping hole and had long since healed and scarred up. She thought that with growing up in a place full of violence, tears and poverty she had seen everything. But nothing could have prepared her for the life as a soldier. She had seen friends, allies and blood brothers die. The moment you enlist, no matter what age, you either die in combat or live with the guilt of what your hands caused.

At twenty-seven years old she had seen it all. Done it all. First Afghanistan, then Syria - and now everywhere they needed her assistance. As a liaison officer for the Dutch Special Forces she could be in London one day, and in Moscow the next.

It has been twenty-six months since the last time she set foot in the cosy coffee shop in her hometown of Rotterdam. The air is thick with the scent of the dark liquid. Before she makes her way to the table in the corner of the place she orders a cappuccino at the counter. The first thing she does before sitting down is grabbing the laptop out of her backpack. She would never leave without the device. You could never know when another terrorist cell would pop up with the most horrific intentions. The laptop didn’t look as new as a few months back, but it saved a lot of lives in the meantime. Collecting information and analysing data were the main tasks on the computer to provide guidance and direction in modern warfare. Since Casey came back from the special operation in Istanbul there has been a lot of chatter about Al-Qatala. Unfortunately, the rules of engagement kept her from acting on it.

The moment the barista turns up with her drink a notification appears on the screen of the laptop – a new email from Kyle. “Casey- We need to talk.” A short, but clear message. She winced as she took a quick sip from the overly bitter drink. The lack of cream made it just another caffeine shot. Not what she expected, but something she needed. She met Sergeant Kyle Garrick a couple of months back when working on a case at the Metropolitan Police Service. It was then that he crossed paths with allies of Omar Sulaman, also known as the Wolf, for the first time. “Call you in twenty,” was all she replied before sliding the laptop back in her bag and walking over to the barista to pay for the coffee.

Back in the hotel room near central station she immediately sets up a secured connection to contact the British sergeant. Within seconds after calling in, Kyle appeared on the screen in front of her. “Casey, where are you?” Kyle asked. “Hey Gaz, how are you doing? Nice to see you, too” Casey chuckled watching the intense look on Kyle’s face. “Sorry, Case… but we got trouble incoming. Another one of the Wolf’s safe houses got onto our radar,” he explained. Casey couldn’t believe her ears. “Where?” was all she replied. “South London. Near Sutton. How fast can you get here?” From Rotterdam to London by train would take five hours with a stop in Paris. Taking the train of one o’clock would give her one hour to pack everything and check out of the hotel. “I can be at Saint Pancras at five. Can you send me the intel you got so far?” Kyle leaned towards the camera and nodded, “Great. I’ll pick you up at the lower level of the station, near the taxi rank. We don’t have much, but I’ll send you everything through the server. See you soon!” Casey waved her hand, “Copy that”.

During the train ride to London, Casey poured herself into the data she had received from Kyle. He had send her a map of the safe house and all the intel they managed to collect in the last couple of days. The Wolf was back on the grit with a desire to make the west suffer to gain advantage and power. Sulaman is the leader of the terrorist organization responsible for plotting terror attacks, inspiring sleeper cells and lone followers to ban against world power. He was once a freedom fighter, a leader and a hero in the eyes of the west, but he turned. A lack of will made him intolerant. His knowledge of the western strategic limitations moulded him a kingpin of mass destruction. Both the man, and his movement gained mass support in the last years. Casey rested her head in her hands as memories flooded her mind. She had the chance to kill him a few years back, but a bullet… one freaking bullet stopped her from ending it all. The voice over the speakers yanked her out of the trance. The train arrived at its final destination, London Saint Pancras International.

As promised, Kyle was waiting a the taxi rank on the lower level of the huge station. The area was a seething of mass of humanity – people on their way back home from a nine to five office job, tourists on the move to platform nine and three quarters, and teenagers meeting up with friends for a unforgettable night out. “Sergeant,” she said as she walked up to the six foot tall Afro-British SAS soldier. His brown eyes sparkled as he saw the brunette approach him. “Lieutenant,” he replied before embracing her in a tight hug. “Glad to see you, gal.”

The ride to the Yard was filled with chatter between the two, but as soon as they arrived at the headquarters the talk got more serious. “Did you check the intel?” Kyle asked as they stepped into the elevator. “I did. Got some strategies on how to handle the raid and clean house. There are multiple ways to enter the property, and we need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. We both know how the Wolf likes to set up his security,” Casey answered. “Good. I got a team waiting for us to go through the plan. We don’t have much time, but it should be enough to get in prepared,” he replied. Upon entering the briefing room she already spotted a few men waiting in front of the screen. “Lads, meet Casey Vos. Lieutenant and liaison officer from the Dutch Special Forces. She is going to assist us at tonight’s clean up,” Kyle kicked off. A member of the team walks towards Casey and holds out his hand, “Welcome, Lieutenant. I’m Brooks and this here are Crowley and Fowler.” It was a simple welcome, but greatly appreciated. Meetings like this weren’t always easy, especially not when you were the only woman operating in a team of dudes. “Thank you. Nice to meet you. I would like to start the briefing in five. Kyle, are we expecting more men?” she smiled while shaking Brooks’ hand. “Yes, we do actually. Let me get them, so you can set everything up.”

8:45 PM Sutton, South London

The twilight quickly faded to blackness in the small alleys in Sutton, a southern borough in London. Thick clouds blotted out the stars and the moon in the still air. In the distance you could hear the cry of dogs. “Okay, guys. Be advised. There may be non-combatants on target. Check your shots. Watch those corners,” Casey instructed making way to the residence. Before entering the courtyard behind the house, they met up with another team. Casey, Kyle, Brooks, Crowley and Fowler would enter the premises from the back. The second team consisting of three officers would enter from the side, and a third team would enter from the front. “Ready? Good. Alpha-One moving in on the rear.”

“Alpha-One, this is Alpha-Two. About to enter the eastern alley,” one of the officers stated on the comms. “Copy that, Alpha-Two.” Entering through the back door was easy and the kitchen area was empty, but two deep voices could be heard from the living area of the house. Kyle slowly opened the door and dropped the two men, who were both armed. “Secure.” Casey moved up to the hallway when Alpha-Three entered through the front door. Footsteps could be heard from the upper level of the townhouse. “Alpha-One moving to the first floor,” Casey said tapping Brooks shoulder. Quietly they moved in formation and cleared the second floor. “Casey, on me” Kyle spoke pointing to the last floor. Frantic movement could be heard from upstairs. The Al-Qatala members definitely knew something was going on below them. “ I hear two. I got your six, Gaz” Casey said after checking her weapon if it was in need of a reload. The two steadily moved up and ceased in front of the wooden door at the end of the small corridor. They looked at each other and nodded before entering the last room. A woman and a little boy where hiding in a corner of the dark space. “Hold your fire,” Kyle said when he saw they were unarmed. The sergeant restraint the mother and her child, and guided them downstairs. “Case, see what you can find!”

The house wasn’t big, but it was a ginormous mess. Papers spread everywhere – on the floor, in cabinets, pinned on the wall. And not to mention the devices that were present that had to be examined. Phones and laptops scattered all over the place. “Alpha-Two for Alpha-One, we need you on the first floor,” she heard in her earpiece. “Copy, Alpha-Two.” Grabbing everything she already found, she made her way to the other team. “What do you got for me?” she asked the officer. “You’re not going to like this,” he said while turning the screen of the black laptop so she had a clear view of the data. Her eyes combed the display from side to side rapidly. She held her breath to concentrate as if her life depended on it. She started to violently beat her fingers against the keyboard in search for more while the glittering beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. All the fragments clogged her mind and she tried to connect them all together. “Shit,” was all she could say after opening one of the encrypted files. “Get Sergeant Garrick. Now!” she spat to the officer. It wasn’t long before Kyle got to Casey. “We’re in deep shit, Kyle. Check this out. Apparently the Wolf has his eyes on chlorine gas from Barkov. A group of mercs are prepping the convoy as we speak. This is really bad. You know what happens when he gets his hands on chemicals like this.” The Brit was stunned by the info he just consumed. His mind was going haywire. “We need to do something,” he affirmed. Casey knew what she had to do. It was her only option to try to prevent any close encounters with chemicals like this.

__________

Masterlist

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neshabeingchildish · 4 years

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Road to Dystopia Pt. 2

I added a few people to the tag that interacted with me since the previous update, but y’all let me know if you want to be taken off. I don’t have the next update written out yet (this one, I wrote mostly when I wrote the first chapter), so the last update might be a little bit further away than the space between these two, but regular readers know that generally, I try to keep turnaround time for updates pretty concise. They get harder the longer a fic is, but fortunately, this little guy only has one more chapter. Thank you to all of you taking this short journey with me, because while it is one of my smaller works, I still am putting the same big amount of energy into it that I put into all of this work for us. I hope you enjoy this part as much as the last.

@sunbeameyes @kiddangers @bitchmilsky @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel @daintyurbanprincess @ciara-knightly @famousflowermagazine @imma-sensitive-btch @junknstu1f @grymrayven

Listening to Charlotte

Charlotte wiped her eyes and dried her hands on Jasper's chest before pacing, catching her breath, and giving herself a low volume speech. "Okay, Charlotte. A plan. What next? If Henry's… if the Man Cave… if… Schwoz!" She snapped her fingers. "We have to contact Schwoz. He'll have backup supplies somewhere.” She patted herself, "My phone! It was on the table." She looked expectantly at Jasper, because his was usually in his pocket.

"I left mine on the couch," Jasper said, miserably, not ready to wipe his own tears yet but trying not to bawl in front of Charlotte, because she was really pulling herself together and trying to think things through.

She was brilliant. She always saved the day, somehow, or at least helped to the point that it couldn’t have been done without her. Maybe not hands on, but definitely behind the scenes. He was grateful for her right now. Without her, he'd be freaking out and wailing to the skies. Maybe even calling out Henry's name himself and breaking down. But, Charlotte's brave face was giving him something akin to hope, or maybe he was just desperate to cling to the one friend that Henry's last words to him were to save her. Henry. He couldn't stop wondering about him, but Charlotte’s mood changed and broke into his Henry worries… "Fuss at me. Tell me how let down you are by me," he heard her say, with a small voice.

"What?" He asked.

When he looked at her, she'd stopped pacing and was just staring angrily at the sky with her fists and teeth clenched. She was coming up short for ideas and her motivational speeches became voices of the Man Cave, voices that she was a little too weak to combat. "That's what usually happens, even when I'm doing my job. Now, I’ve completely failed Henry. Why aren't you complaining about me? Why aren't you talking to me like I'm an idiot? You've done it for less. THIS is the time for it!" She said.

"I'm… sorry. I never should have done that. There was never a time to talk to you like that. You're no idiot, Charlotte and you didn't fail anybody."

"Tell that to Henry," she mumbled, and as though on cue, they heard a loud crashing noise and looked to see an explosion that tore part of the Swellview sign off of Mount Swellview. They both screamed. A series of explosions and the collapse of the sign and rocks, they watched in horror. Charlotte covered her mouth with both hands and Jasper fell to his knees, the breakdown finally imminent.

"Charlotte?" She heard through her headset. It was Piper. "Did you see that? What the heck happened?" Piper didn't know that Henry went down with the blimp and Charlotte couldn't find her voice, but she realized something.. the headset was connected via a network outside of the Man Cave… which meant that she should still be able to reach Schwoz!

"I'll get back to you," she told Piper, knowing her voice betrayed her feelings, but there was no way that she was saying something when she didn’t have anything good to say. She tapped her ear and called softly, "Schwoz?"

Schwoz told her, "Charlotte! You made it out of the Man Cave!" He had never sounded more excited to hear her voice. "I am collecting Ray in a helicopter. We're going to go to the mountains and search for Henry."

"Can you pick up me and Jasper? We're outside of…" she looked at the rubble, sadly…"What used to be Junk N Stuff…" she watched Jasper, now clenching the ground, toppled over and shuddering with cries.

"Yes. Stay where you are… I'm glad you made it, Girlfriend." Schwoz said.

Jasper couldn't hear them or anything else. The sounds of the explosions and the mountain falling was roaring in his ears. Each new loud sound made him jump and started a new flow of tears. He couldn't hear anything else until he heard Charlotte say his name. "Jasper?" His eyes stung and he was grief stricken, but he faced her. She got down on her knees and said, "Hey.. Schwoz is coming to get us, okay? You.. wanna hold my hand until he gets here?"

"He must've been so lonely…" Jasper said, his dirty hand taking the one that she extended and hanging on to it, for everything sacred. She had been thinking about that too. Henry's reaction when he realized that they were leaving him for school literally broke her heart. She didn't want his last moments to be anything like that. "How was I gonna just leave him?" Jasper asked her. "How was I gonna just go away to school?"

"You deserve a chance to leave this place, Jasper. Don't beat yourself up. Henry… wouldn't have held it against you."

He wiped his eye, but then got ground dirt into it and groaned, "I am so stupid!"

"No you're not!" She squealed. He used his shirt to clear his eye, then looked at her. She was pointing at him, but not touching him as she punctuated, "You're brave. You're strong. You're a hero. You fought for us. Freed everybody from the Cavemen. You just saved my life. Henry would be proud of you for moving forward. I know he would be, because I am." She sighed, "and right now, Buddy, I need you to be brave and strong again, one more time, then you never have to, if you don't want to.” He was staring at her with puffy blue eyes, waiting for whatever she had to say next, attentive, because he could tell it was important. “We might find Henry, we might not, but… we've gotta try. Whatever we might see, it’ll be SO hard, Jasper. It’ll be hard for both of us, but..”

"Got it. I'm… I'll be brave and strong. For you."

"And Henry," she added. He nodded. She noted that he still wasn't saying his name. But, at least, he was picking himself up off of the ground and he helped her up, as well.

Whenever they checked into the hotel, Jasper and Henry carried their stuff to the room, and upon opening the door, they looked at the provisions. It was meant for one person. They weren’t rich, and the guys decided to join her on pretty short notice, so this was what it was for the time being. A simple and clean spot for a temporary charity worker. “I talked with the leader of the team and she’ll try to get us a bigger room after a few months or so of service. They’re a charity, so you know… They can’t just snap their fingers and give us resources,” she said.

Jasper and Henry both answered at the same time. “This is better than my house,” and “I thought I was gonna be in a coffin, so…” respectively. They followed her lead on how to set the room up as best as they could for the three of them and when it was all done, they all stared at the bed. Up until then, they had been together pretty much since Kid Danger’s death, but they also had more space for this type of thing. They’d been pretty much sleeping over at Charlotte’s house and even pushing the beds together and using them as one was a little more room than what they had here.

“It’s too small for your height and too small for your weight,” she told Jasper and Henry. “We need to reinforce the frame, and maybe set up a footstool on the end.”

“Whatever it takes,” Henry said, with a shrug. She nodded. It was new, getting used to them just listening to her, so she didn’t want to get too comfortable with it just yet, but she did like that little rejoice of not having to explain and argue with them as to why her ideas worked.

“Where do we get what we need to do that?” Jasper asked.

“Well… First, I need to install my security system in here, so that nobody can break in while we’re gone. Then, you guys can come with me to report to the charity base. I’ll figure out where we can start trying to get supplies and stuff on the way?” She said it uncertain, because of the newness, but both of them simply nodded their heads, trusting that whatever she said - it was the right thing.

"I feel useless! I need a computer or something!" Charlotte fussed. Jasper was operating a drone, Schwoz was flying the helicopter, and she was looking through binoculars. Piper and Ray had taken a separate copter, and she honestly couldn't figure out how Piper could manage, but Piper insisted that she could "just feel" that Henry was okay. Charlotte didn't know that feeling at the time. "Schwoz, do you have anything that I could use to help, or scan, or something useful?"

"Well… I do have an experimental cyberchip implant that could put an interactive computer inside of your brain with nanotechnology."

"What?" Jasper asked, while Char asked, "You have it on you?"

"Yes, it's in my pocket, but the implantation would be crude because I don't have tools and we are in a helicopter. And it will also hurt a lot going in."

"Okay," she said and nodded.

"NOT Okay!" Jasper said. "I'm not one of the smarties, but I know that "experimental" means that neither of you know what to that's gonna do if you try to use it!"

"It's gonna help us maybe find Henry," Charlotte said.

"Or make us lose you! Getting a "crude" implant of an experimental chip on a helicopter, Charlotte…" Jasper was panicked.

"Jasper. It's gonna be okay. Schwoz is a genius."

"Awww," Schwoz said.

Jasper rubbed his temples with his fingertips, shaking his head at the mere thought of things going wrong… "Jasper. I'm not leaving you, okay?" She said. He sighed. He hated it, but he had to take her word. He nodded. "Let's do this, Schwoz." Schwoz wasn't kidding. It hurt like hell! The first incision was okay, but the chip entering her head and trying to function was excruciating and she tried not to show it because Jasper was already losing it.

"Is my vision supposed to change?" She asked, trying not to sound alarmed by the way her eyesight felt like she was receiving stats in a VR game or something. "I have like… robo-vision…"

"Well, that can happen…" Schwoz said. "You don't have any additional hardware besides your brain available."

"How do I change these settings?" She wondered, wanting to change the mode of vision. She was worried, but she needed to try to act cool. Jasper had lost all of his shit when the blimp crashed, and even though she was a mess on the inside, she knew that she had to be cool headed through this mission. She tried not to think of it as recovering his remains, but she knew that everybody but the denial stricken Piper was thinking it.

Schwoz handed Charlotte his cell phone and opened the app he made for the microchip. That was more like it. She began to change the way her vision was set up, Jasper noted her eyes changing color and form as she did, and whenever she set it to bioscan, she looked over the mountain and began to search. He resumed his drone duties.

Piper hung back in the helicopter that she was flying as Captain Man scoured the crash site, inch by inch, moving him as needed and occasionally checking her phone to see if the connection had picked up the signal of Henry’s, and to ignore messages from their parents, asking to be in the loop when they straight up left them to blow up in the Man Cave in the first place. Henry would probably forgive them for that, but she wasn’t going to any time soon.

“I see something,” Charlotte said on the radio. “Piper… I’ll send you coordinates to bring Ray. I… I think that I found Henry’s bioscan..” She said. She knew that the equipment in her noggin was experimental, so the fact that it was reading as a living person, she wasn’t going to say… just in case. But, also… she hoped… and also… she wondered if the chip wasn’t just giving a false reading altogether and there was nothing there.

Whenever she heard Ray ask, “Where are you, Kid?” in the saddest, softest voice she had heard from him yet, even today, she figured that it was a fluke in the chip, but she heard something. Muffled groaning, but… DEFINITELY Henry! “Right here, Dude.. Ugh. It’s gonna take forever. This is… this was not my best idea. From now on, I should really listen to Charlotte. Well… some babies lived…”

“Henry?” She called out.

Ray said into the radio, “Okay, so I’m not the only one who heard that?”

“Get my brother from under those rocks!” Piper squealed.

They landed and hiked nearby to try to work on freeing him. Charlotte rolled a huge rock that Ray and Jasper had been struggling with away, to everybody’s surprise and Henry was there, glowing green. “It’s really him!” Jasper cheered and laughed in disbelief. They began to pull away all of the rest of the rocks to get him uncovered and he stopped glowing green and passed out. “HENRY???” Jasper called out, saying his name finally, after hours of not being able to even mutter it.

Charlotte tapped on the screen of Schwoz’s phone and scanned him, “He’s exhausted himself. I think he was holding that forcefield this entire time, scared that he might get crushed if he stopped.”

“Let’s get him to the Man Cave… Oh…” Piper said and dropped her shoulders.

“I’ve got a place,” Schwoz said.

Ray lifted Henry into his arms and everyone wanted to be on the helicopter with Henry, so after a little bit of the team fussing, Charlotte said, “Let’s just come back for the second helicopter after we’ve gotten Henry settled.” Everyone. Listened. She laughed and wondered, finally relieved because Henry was okay, “Did this chip give me ‘being listened to’ superpowers?”

“It’s not programmed for that,” Schwoz said. She didn’t care to explain that she was joking, but he didn’t give her a chance to, anyway. “It’s also not programmed for the strength to move an extremely large rock. What happened there?”

She furrowed her eyebrows and said, “If YOU don’t know, I CERTAINLY don’t!”

“We’ll check it out in the Man Nest.”

“In the what?” She asked. He just smiled and looked over at Ray, hoping to make eye contact, but Ray was looking at Henry, in his arms, and only looked up after he felt eyes on him.

“The Man Nest,” Schwoz repeated, not expounding, because soon, they would see it.

Charlotte groaned and took the chip out of the side of her head and set it into a tiny bowl. Henry peeked into the bathroom and watched as she pulled the purple locks of hair up, away from her face and examined the tiny slit in her face. "What's going on?" He wondered.

"Got the new and improved cyberchip in the mail," she said. "Schwoz says that with the upgrades, I'll be able to get the Dystopia police records as well."

"Uhhh…" Henry said, trying to respond like he knew what that meant…

"I'll know beforehand which cops are dirty. If someone who's flagged as such is closest to the scene, we at least know that we won't be able to trust them," She explained as she worked on implanting the upgraded chip into the side of her head.

"That looks SO uncomfortable," Henry said.

"Only during this part. When I get it into place and the nanotechnology works with my DNA, it's almost like I become the information… Ooh!" She yelped, pained.

"Ooh, what? What do you mean by Ooh!?" He asked.

Jasper came barging in, asking, "What was that "Ooh" for?"

Charlotte held both of her hands out and stared at her reflection as her vision began to change when her mind downloaded the information and her body integrated Schwoz's chip with her body. Her eyes changed and Jasper and Henry gasped and held on to each other. She tapped the side of her head and her eyes returned to normal. "This upgrade SLAPS!" She said.

She heard a beep and looked down at her arm to see a little screen, "Oooh, new feature!"

"What is.. how is it doing that?" Jasper asked.

"If I waste my time explaining the science, you still wouldn't understand. So, I'll just say this.. there is technology in my body, but I STILL am not a robot." She laughed and slapped Jasper on the butt. "Stop looking all scared. You weren't scared of me not being me last night." She winked at him.

"Good point," he said, nodding. Henry laughed.

She picked up the previous one that she had since the day they were looking for Henry. "Is it stupid that I want it for sentimental value?"

"No. It helped you to find me." He took it from her fingertips, "I can turn it into a pendant for you?"

"Cool," she said with a smile, and headed for the bedroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and put it in a little trinket box for later. Whenever he came out, Charlotte was already snuggling up to Jasper, both of them in boy shorts and tank tops, the standard issue sleepwear that Charlotte ordered for the base. Henry hated those things on himself, but on them…

He came to bed too and Charlotte reached out and collected him by the hand, to pull him into the snuggle. They’d talk for hours, just like this and fall to sleep in their tiny bed. Most of the conversation that they had was either at the base, where they did their charity work, or here, at home. They couldn’t really do this in public.

Dystopia streets were always searching for a weakness and somebody close to you definitely qualified. People walked next to spouses like they were strangers heading the same way. Sometimes, whenever they were on the train, Jasper and Char would play a game where they tried to guess if two or more people knew each other. Is that her lover? Is that his kid? They’d quietly discuss why or why not. Henry would linger nearby, keeping an eye on them, but not engaging. They were already doing too much playing those little games! But, it brought them a little bit of joy, so he couldn’t deny them. They deserved all their moments of joy, as far as he was concerned.

But, he loved being able to do this with them every night. And... once they started listening to each other, he realized that Charlotte was actually smarter than he even ever knew in the first place and Jasper was wildly attentive and low-key hilarious. He talked the least, of the three, but they always pulled him into conversations. They liked the way he would start talking about one thing and go on an entire long tangent to several other things, forgetting his original point, sometimes, but at least being open with them. He liked that too. He hadn’t had a lot of time in the past to just openly talk about things, casual or crucial, and he had not previously had anyone there to not only just LISTEN to those thoughts, but to actually admire him for speaking them. He was usually the first one to go to sleep. The other two tended to watch over him for a while longer.

Charlotte called it the wind down reverse. Whenever it was time to jump into action, she was first, then Jasper followed, then Henry. But, whenever it was time to settle. Henry was first, then Jasper, then herself. They spent their waking hours making sure that they didn’t rest until she was definitely safe, and she didn’t rest until she noted that little fact to herself every night.

#Road to Dystopia #Nesha HD Fics #HD Dystopia #Dystopia #henry danger #hd ot3 #Chensper

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youarejesting · 4 years

Text

BTS365 Prompts

[Masterlist] Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Warning: talk of death and near death. I am an OT7 Stan but have never really felt like a strong urge to write about JK until his prompt I want to continue his and Tae’s. 🤔🤔🤔

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

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April 9th - 15th

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Kim Seokjin: Siblings

Your best friend invited you to his house for a sleepover, you were excited but when you knocked on the door bag in hand it opened to a young man a couple of years older than you. He was handsome. And you didn’t know what to say.

“Jin your friend is here” “Y/n come in” “Who is that?” “That’s my older brother” Jin led you inside and to his room, “why do you ask?” “He is hot obvs”

“Oh” Jin felt kind of disappointed, another person had fallen in love with his brother and here he was in love with his clueless best friend. “I’m just going to pee, don’t play the movie without me” you ran off ducking past Jin’s brother and you paused in the hall wanting to see what he thought about you?”

“Hey did you tell her?” “Tell her what?” “That you are madly in love with her and have been for years” “I can’t she just met you?” “What does that mean?”

“It means she is in love with you now everyone loves my handsome brother” you went to the bathroom and tried to ignore what you heard, your best friend loves you they were just joking maybe they weren’t talking about you you realised they didn’t even use your name. Yeah, you had just met his brother but maybe they had a visitor earlier today.

You sighed you had taken the floor for sleeping, you couldn’t sleep with all those thoughts but with the uncertainty that they were actually talking about you, you felt a wave of relaxation.

You climbed into the bed next to Jin and laid your head on his wide shoulder. It was in his sleep he said ‘I love you y/n’ it was as clear as day. Heart racing you turned burying your face into his chest and hugging him tightly. Who were you kidding you loved him and you hoped like hell he had meant you.

Min Yoongi: Barbershop

Yoongi worked at a barbershop, it wasn’t a hard job. He liked it because he never had to speak to women. Unless of course, a mother was bringing her son in which case he wouldn’t make eye contact and would request another staff member would take over. Yoongi had nothing against women but he got nervous around him his cheeks would burn the brightest red and he would stutter his way through the conversation. Then he would continue with his day beating himself up about what he should have said.

He was just finishing up some guy’s hair cut and his coworker grinned, “Hey I am going to get some coffee and lunch what do you want and I will bring it back?” “Uh coffee and something good” he shrugged “Alright, you think you will be okay?” “I am an adult, I can deal with it, I am not going to burn the place down”

He had spoken too soon, a girl came in. Long legs in a beautiful dress that fell so pretty over your hips curvaceous hips. Yoongi felt warm already focusing on the mirror and talking to his current client about booking in again. The client new Yoongi well enough to know his condition around women.

“Yes I will book again for a month” he teased the two went to the counter to pay subtly watching you scan the service price list. “You have a great day Yoongi” “Yeah see you round Hobi” “Maybe you could ask her on a date?” Hoseok whispered earning a sprit from the spray bottle of Yoongi’s hip.

You approached and he starred at the computer cheeks pinked as he asked you politely questions, “I am just wanting to reshave the sides of my head”

He looked up shocked from his nervousness you lifted both sides of your hair to reveal that they were indeed shorter than the rest. He thought that was pretty badass and yet you still looked unbelievably cute with it.

“Right this way?” he began and you started asking him questions and his heart was thumping loudly and his cheeks were darkening some more. “Sorry, I am not good at talking well to others” “More specifically pretty women?” a regular stepped in and sat right next to you in the chair “The prettier the girl is the darker his cheeks get, I have never seen him this flustered”

“that’s enough” you scolded the man “My hair is on the line here don’t embarrass him further. “Tell me about her she must have been really pretty”

Jung Hoseok: Grilled cheese

You had been in Korea for two years now and working with the BigHit company as a backup dancer for concerts and things. Working alongside the TXT boys and one afternoon you stayed in the dance studio practising choreography when your phone started ringing. It was your sister back in your home country. She wanted to check on how you were doing and tell you about news from home, but all you could focus on was that she was eating a grilled cheese sandwich and your mouth watered.

After talking for a little too long, you hung up and went to go through the choreography one last time before you had to leave back to your apartment. You didn’t realise you were crying homesick until the music stopped. The door opened and you didn’t bother turning from your hunched position on the floor openly sobbing into your hands. “Hey, are you okay?”

Looking up you saw him Jung Hoseok better known as Jhope was standing their dressed ready for practice and you realised you had definitely stayed too long. Scrambling to your feet you wiped at your eyes, apologizing and packing up your things. He grabbed your arm and stopped you from running off, you looked at his shoes unable to look him in the eyes. He was handsome and way out of your league.

“Tell me what has you so upset?” No coherent words escaped your mouth as you sobbed into your hands, Jhope pulled you into his chest and wrapped his arms around you. The only word you had gotten out clearly in your whines was ‘Grilled cheese’ he didn’t mean to laugh but it just burst out of him. “Grilled cheese? I am so sorry that’s just really funny to hear someone cry over”

Understanding what he meant you were reduced to fits of giggles as well and you wiped your eyes, looking up at him. The tip of your nose was red. “I am sorry I miss home and I just wanted comfort food” He pulled out his phone and grinned down at you as he ordered some grilled cheese sandwiches and told you to show him what you had been practising.

Kim Namjoon: Scrabble

“Quixotic” Namjoon smiled at his wife, this was not how you expected to start your honeymoon but you could tell he was nervous. “Okay, Yeet” You made a throwing action with your arm and Namjoon looked up at you he wasn’t amused.

“That’s not a word baby” “We pretended yours was a word” “It is a word it means not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic and I think you are being a bit quixotic with your supposed words” He laughed at you and you wanted to through the board.

“I think you are being a bit quixotic if you think we are going to do anything tonight, you just took your rights to see what is under my dress and yeet them out the window” “Baby, no don’t be like that” He frowned “You can have yeet, we can add slang words if you want”

“What I want is to stop playing and spend some time with my husband who I married today, goddamn it Joon, I am still in my wedding dress, I wanted you to take it off me” “Oh, Let me just yeet this game out of the way” scrabble tiles were sent flying.

Park Jimin: High

Jimin came home after a long day at work his best friend Taehyung on the floor with his roommate. The two of giggling and eating snacks while watching a documentary about a carpet company. He could smell the funky smell that was weed.

“That looks so freaking soft” Taehyung snickered slapping the tv screen. “It’s trapped behind some forcefield but it looks like I could just touch it” “That one looks like your hair” you pointed to the back of his head as he was in front of the tv, he jumped back as the screen changed to a machine cutting and rolling carpet and you looked amazed, “Why is everything moving so slow?”

“It’s spinning carpet” “Tae there is carpet on your head and it feels so shaggy?” you were both now playing in each others hair.

“What the hell are you doing!” Pausing you both looked at each other “Tae I think I just heard god?” “God sounds like Jimin” “That’s because I am Jimin” you both turned and your eyes lit up happily

“Jimin is god, and his hair is made of the softest carpet!” You both tackled Jimin and ran your hands all over him, “Jimin god can I kiss you?” “Oh me too me too” Tae shouted and he rolled his eyes at the two of you.

Kim Taehyung: The Law

How the hell did you get here? One moment you were jokingly trying on a wedding dresses with your best friend who was soon to be married when a guy in a fancy suit asked if you would help him get out of an arranged marriage by pretending you were married. He said he just needed a few photos and your name and number encase he needed to follow up with anything. You agreed but here you were having dinner with his family who said they wanted to invite you home for Christmas and you really couldn’t refuse.

Except here you were on a farm super confused. You were led to his room and you blushed to unpack into the spare drawers and he kept throwing you guilty looks. His parents and siblings were super nice and they taught you how to cook and clean it was a good time. It was raining heavily and a long way to walk back across the farm so you laid a blanket over the bales of straw and got comfy. He sang some strange songs and told funny stories and the rain didn’t let up. Falling asleep you woke to his coat around you both and his arms tightly around you. Your marriage wasn’t binding by law but for now, you wished it was.

Jeon Jungkook: Sky (I am making into a social media story) [Read me]

You were in a car accident you couldn’t feel your legs they were pinned and some part of the engine had broken through into the cabin and pierced straight into your lung. You felt tired and it was hard to breathe.

Waking with a start you realized it was all a dream, a memory from the past, you were alive and healthy, the rain outside was strong and caused an ache in your old wounds. Flattening your palm to your rib cage you took a shaky breath. There was a sound on your balcony and your dog cloudy was barking. You walked over to the balcony to see a man standing on the railing like he was going to jump.

You froze for a moment before throwing the door open. “Excuse me, sir” He turned to face you, he had a handsome face and his hair slicked back. His eyes brushed over your form and he smirked.

“If only you were the poor soul I was taking tonight, cause damn girl” he turned back away and touched his earpiece, “Yoongi where is this guy I am collecting” “I am sorry who are you taking and where? Are you a kidnapper? What’s with the outfit? And why my balcony?” You were seriously confused running a hand through your hair. He froze shoulders tensing up and he turned jumping long black wings thrown out as he landed inches from your face. “Oh”

“Can you see me?” “Ahhh no?” you said looking away from him, he was tall towering over you, he grabbed your cheeks in his hand pulling your face back to his. “When you lie you should try to be more believable love, can you see me?” “What am I supposed to say?” he looked at your figure up and down with glowing eyes and you slapped tried to cover yourself, he lifted your little nightgown and looked at your ribcage he touched the large scar.

“You were supposed to die that day, I wonder wha-” You slapped him across the face, pulling your nightdress back down and he smirked leaning back on the railing. “I have seen worse, then your lace knickers love”

He caught your wrist before you could slap him again and he turned. You followed his gaze and saw something big fall behind him, it was like everything went slow motion and you saw a face horrified falling from the sky.

“We will continue this conversation later, I have a soul to collect”

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chickensarentcheap · 4 years

Text

Best Part of Me -Chapter 59

Warnings: Profanity

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @alievans007, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @ocfairygodmother

A hot shower and a three hour nap -aided by a mixture of antidepressants, anxiety meds, and pain killers washed down by three shots of tequila- has done Tyler a world of good. Waking up feeling energized; still riding the high of the morning’s adrenaline rush and relatively pain free. Nothing more than a dull throb in the deepest part of the shoulder; some discomfort and audible cracking and popping when he stretches and manipulates it. But it’s bearable, unlike the agony that’s been a near constant fixture in his life for the past couple of years. While the initial replacement surgery and rehab had both been complete successes, a full recovery had eluded him. It had been his own fault, of course; the surgeon’s orders had been to alter his lifestyle and to avoid the very ‘activity’ that had caused so much damage in the first place. That ‘advice’ had lasted all of four months, until Nik had called, desperately needing his help and he’d been unable to resist both the lure of the game and the promise of damn good money.

He’d attempted to walk away several times in as many years, fully intending to commit himself to being a family man with his own little side business. Content with the motions of being the one to stay home with the kids while his wife either went back to school or found a new career she’d be happy with. But sometimes the best laid plans don’t work out. Not long after an early term miscarriage when the twins were two and a half, she’d gotten pregnant with Declan DESPITE being on birth control and coming to a mutual decision to wait until both Millie and the twins were in school full time before once again trying to add to their family. It had been completely unexpected, and off of their previous plans regarding their home life quickly went by the wayside. The job was easy money; he was confident in his skills and his abilities and Nik had promised to offer only the easiest of gigs.

That changed quickly. What should have been an ‘in and out’ assassination of a key political figure in El Salvador turning into a four day shit show that had him falling into dangerous enemy territory and almost needing to be extracted himself. After that, he’d said ‘fuck it’ and began taking whatever Nik brought to the table. And his physical health began to pay the price.

He orders a meal from room service and cracks open the bottle of whisky in the mini bar. He’s stuck to his word; staying sober while actually ON the job and not ever indulging during his downtime. Unlike the old days, he’s able to both pace himself AND stop after just a couple. A far cry from the guy who’d polish off an entire bottle and would be either too hung over to get up with his kids in the morning, or already passed out in the early evening; missing school events and extra curricular activities that he’d promised he’d attend. He refuses to be that guy again; the one who’d almost single handedly ruined his marriage because he put the bottle and the pain meds at the top of his priority list; allowing his addictions to take precedence over his family. The one who’d rightfully had his ass kicked out and then spent the next six months in a drunken stupor.

Never again. Never again will he be ‘that guy’. The absolute failure as a husband and a father. He can control it now; no longer needing to silence the inner demons or lessen the emotional suffering by getting. The want not nearly as powerful. Before it had been a way of life; no day complete without at least the smallest buzz. Now it’s a matter of convenience. Even enjoyment. A feeling of satisfaction and relief when the whisky finally hits the tongue and he experiences the initial burn in the back of his throat. After that, one drink doesn’t make him crave more. Instead satisfying his palate with bottle water and Gatorade and terrible coffee made in the hotel provided maker.

He’s lounging in the middle of the bed in a pair of boxer briefs when Koen finally returns. Back resting against the headboard and his legs stretched out; laptop resting on his thighs and a plate of food in his hands. And he only gives a brief glance towards the door when Koen stomps in and allows it to slam shut behind him. Offering no greeting, calmly and casually eating from the enormous serving of goat curry and naan bread, eyes never leaving the video playing on the computer; his three oldest on the plane, reading HIM a story and every so often having mispronounced words gently and lovingly corrected by their mother. And the grin that plays on his lips is double fold; pride and love for those beautiful and intelligent little human beings he’d had a hand in creating, and amusement at Koen’s mutters and complaints and strings of profanity.

“Look at you,” his friend grumbles. “All fucking relaxed and shit. Cocky, shit eating grin on your face.”

Tyler’s attention never leaves the laptop. A different video this time; Addie giving a real, genuine smile when she has her chin tickled. That one brings the prick of tears to his eyes. She’s still so tiny and so fragile, but she is...in fact...growing up.

“Why do you swear all the time?” He finally asks. “Makes you sound stupid. Find another fucking adjective.”

Koen smirks. “Well aren’t you just the clever one. Leave it to your brain damaged ass to remember THAT.”

“It’s my short term memory that’s fucked. Although I do remember threatening to throw your ass off the balcony. Keep calling me stupid or brain damaged, and it’ll happen.”

“Don’t be so goddamn sensitive. What’cha watching?”

“Just some videos Esme sent me. Of the kids. I’ve got two five year olds and a six year old that can read better than I can. How’d the fuck that ever happen?”

“Well their momma’s pretty damn smart. Maybe just be thankful their brains at least took after her.”

Tyler frowns, then flips Koen the middle finger. “I meant that they’re practically babies still and they can read like they’re a lot older. They’re so smart. So fucking smart.”

“Definitely gonna be trouble makers when they’re older. Imagine them as teenagers? Especially Millie? With that mouth of hers?”

“That mouth of hers is going to keep trouble AWAY from her. She says what she wants; fuck anyone’s feelings. Someone gets mouthy with her when she’s older, she’ll put them in their place. And if her own mouth doesn’t do it, her right hook will. She's a savage that kid.”

“Best of both mom and dad if you ask me. And look at you just kicking back. Acting like you didn’t just butcher two people this morning.”

Tyler shrugs. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for them?”

“Just thought maybe you’d be a little more...I don’t know...grumpy.”

“Why would I? They got what was coming to them. And they deserved a lot worse. You think that was brutal? Wait until I have more time and more space.”

“You’re starting to scare me a bit, mate. You’re enjoying this a little too much, I reckon.”

“Well if it was your family being threatened, you’d enjoy it too. You know what kind of things they would have done to my wife and kids? What I did is tame compared to what they had planned. I’ve heard the threats; you haven’t. It’s nightmare inducing shit. Let’s leave it at that.”

“That why you been freaking out in your sleep? Waking up barely able to breathe and shit? Scared the crap out of me the first couple of times.”

“It’s fucking with my head a bit,” Tyler admits. “Kind of hard not to let it mess with you. Trust me when I say that what I read? What was said about Esme? About the kids? I don’t wish any of it on my worst enemy.” It makes bile rise in his throat just thinking about it and he places the laptop on the bed and reaches for the bottle of Gatorade sitting on the nightstand. Downing half in order to rid himself of the bitterness and the burn. “Heard you guys had a bit of trouble.”

Koen scowls, pausing in the middle of taking off his gear. “Don’t get all cocky again, young man.”

“Not getting cocky. Just repeating what I heard. Didn’t you guys leave the same time I did?”

“Your point?”

“No point.” A slow, sly grin spreads across his face. “Just making an observation. I mean, I was alone and had to take out two people. By myself. Took me twenty minutes. And that includes me getting there AND back. You know all the shit I’ve done since then?”

“Nope. But I bet you’re gonna tell me, aren’t ya.”

“Took a shower, ate, slept for three hours. Now I’m eating again. And you’re getting back. Just now. It’s almost six. In the evening.”

“You’ve kept yourself busy. You jerk off sometime in there too?”

“Twice, actually.”

“Your lazy ass could have handled some more work. Instead you’ve been here slacking.”

“I’d done my bit for the day. Next time be faster.”

“Easy for you to say,” Koen scoffs. “Mister ‘I have all the experience’. You now, we could have used your help out there.”

“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t hear that. Can you repeat it?”

“Don’t be a little prick."

“I swear you just said that you could have used MY help. I swear you just said that.”

“You’re asking for an ass kicking, you know that?”

“Funny how you wanted my help when this morning you were acting I like I didn’t know what the fuck In was doing. It’s almost like...I don’t know...like you’re actually admitting you were wrong.”

“I ain’t admitting shit. Just saying we could have used your help.”

“Why? Apparently I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I am five seconds away from punching you in the face,” Koen growls. “And your wife won’t be too happy if I mess that face up. So…”

“Just swallow your pride and admit you’re wrong, mate. That you shouldn’t have underestimated me. Get it off your chest. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Make you feel better, you mean. I’d rather stroke your cock than your ego.”

“Well you’re definitely never getting anywhere near my cock so it’s my ego or nothing.”

“Fine,” Koen sighs heavily. “I underestimated you. I will never again second guess your skills or your abilities. But I still think you’re a brain damaged fuck.”

“I’ll take it,” Tyler says, then sits the now empty plate and Gatorade bottle on the nightstand and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. “How did it go in the end?” he asks, groaning and grimacing as he stands. Forty starting to feel like it’s closer to death, never mind middle age.

“They’re dead. So it ended on a good note. Put up a hell of a fight. Rata took an elbow to the face and went crazy. Beat the guy to death. You would have been impressed. I think he’s a natural.”

“And you?”

“I prefer the simple things in life. Pull a trigger and it’s done. I’ll leave the more hands on, gruesome shit for you two. Gotta date or something?”

“Going to the airport.” He slips into a pair of jeans and a simple black t-shirt. “Going to see my wife and kids.”

“Think that’s a good idea?”

Tyler sighs in exasperation. “Don’t fucking start this shit again.”

“Just if anyone is following you and you lead them right to your family…”

“Anil gave me the okay. Said he’s got tons of guys keeping their eyes on things. Yaz is sending a couple of people with me. So fuck off with this overprotective bullshit.”

“Now you know how your wife feels.”

“I have a reason to worry about her. A LOT of reasons. Damn good ones too. If you’re going to ride my ass so hard, at least pull my fucking hair.”

Koen smirks. “You’re into that kinda shit, aren’t ya. I knew it. Always knew you were a freak.”

“As much as I’d like to stay here and discuss my sex life with you, I’ve got better things to do.” He attaches his holster to his right hip, gathers up his wallet and hotel key card and both phones.

“You better not come back here with that ‘’just got fucked’ grin on your face,” Koen warns. “Because I will beat your ass.”

“You’ll be too busy beating something else.” Tyler retorts, right hand mimicking jerking off. Chuckling when Koen throws a shoe at him when he steps out the door.

****

It’s only a fifteen minute drive to the airport and he already knows everything there is to know about the young tech that Yaz has recruited to ‘escort’ him. It’s annoying enough not to be able to something as simple as driving, but to have to stuck with someone that is overly chatty and friendly is nothing short of torture. He’s never been a social creature; unlike his wife who makes friends easily and never shies away from making conversation with just about anyone, including strangers in the grocery store or out on the street. She’d been the first...and only...chatty person that hasn’t gotten on his nerves.

Her name is Riya and she’s twenty one; last of eight kids, her mother and father both extremely successful and wealthy business people in Dubai. The so-called ‘black sheep’ of the family; all but disowned when she’d decided to attend an American university -Georgetown- and make her home there. Even if he HAD have been talker, he wouldn’t have had the chance to offer up much commentary; her mouth running a mile a minute as she nervously and awkwardly spills even the smallest details of her life.

He doesn’t have the heart to tell her to stop her. The old Tyler...the one that existed only six short years ago...would have already snapped and told her to shut the fuck up. But who he is now...the man he is...is different in so many ways. Far more patient. Considerate. Empathetic, even. And the father of a little girl that is the very definition of a chatterbox. Who’s bright eyed and bubbly and talkative from the time she opens her eyes in the morning until the moment she closes them at night. And he wouldn’t want some asshole speaking to his own daughter like that, so why would he?

“How long HAVE you been married for?” Riya asks, and he can hear Esme’s voice in his head; reminding him that not everyone is out to get him. That their curiosity is often just that. They’re genuinely interested in him and want to be his friend.

“Six and a half years.” Sometimes it doesn’t feel nearly that long. Other times, considering all of the bad shit they’ve been through and the time they didn’t think they’d make it. It seems a hell of a lot longer.

“And five kids, right? In only six and a half years?”

“We’ve really been together for seven. Well, almost seven. But yeah. Five kids.”

“They must be really close together.”

“First three are. My daughter is six, the boys are five.”

“Twins? Identical or…?”

“Fraternal. Millie...my daughter...was only two months when we found out they were on their way. They were kind of a surprise, needless to say. We have another boy after them; he’ll be two in a few months. And we have a baby girl. Almost eight weeks.”

“Just a little one.”

Tyler nods. “Very little. Very tiny. My wife is, too, Small. But feisty as hell. And tough. Toughest and strongest person I know.”

“Yaz said you met on the job.”

“Yeah, we got sent out on the same gig, To Bangladesh. Actually had to pretend we were married.”

Riya laughs. “Really?”

“First time I ever got mixed up in something like THAT. It’s a long story, but in the end, my fake wife ended up becoming my real wife.” He doesn’t feel the need to fill in the gaps between beginning and end; Dhaka and what happened there has never been kept off the radar. Word travels fast in the dame, and every single details has been made available; everything from Mahajan fucking him over to Gaspar’s betrayal to his near death experience.

“Probably the best ending to a job you’ve ever had,” Riya comments.

“Took me nearly dying and her sticking her fingers in my neck to keep me alive, but yeah, in the end things turned out pretty damn good. What about you? You got a family? Other than the ones that don’t speak to you?”

“Nope. It’s just me. It’s hard finding someone that understands this kind of life. Who won’t judge you for it. And the people you meet through this life aren’t exactly the settling down types. As much as I want to believe I’ll meet someone, I probably should just prepare myself to be alone for the long haul.”

“There’s gotta be someone out there. Either in the game or someone who won’t be bothered by it.”

Fuck. He’s starting to sound like his wife. Years spent listening to her reason with her little sister over the phone that there has to be a guy -or girl- out there that would be into her; a full time student with five cats and a host of mental health issues and an extremely toxic family. Or hearing her talk Ovi through his personal issues; always chasing the wrong girl and left brokenhearted in the end. Normally he just stays out if; offering shrugs of the shoulders or a simple nod or a head shake when Esme attempts to get him involved.

“Maybe there is,” Riya sighs. “Do you have any single friends?”

“My single friends are single for a reason. And I’m a lot older than you and they would be too. So…”

“What about Ovi? He’s your friend. He’s young. Is he single?”

“He’s actually more my son than my friend”

“Son?” Her brow furrows in confusion. “How…?”

“Another long story. We ended up taking in him, giving him a proper home, a family. But yeah. He’s single.”

“Do you think maybe you could…?”

Tyler laughs. “Yeah...no. Just no. I’m not trying to be a dick about it, but I don’t get involved with this kind of thing. That, and I’ve got some pretty serious shit I’m dealing with and it’s definitely NOT the time even if I WAS the kind that would help. I mean, my wife likes to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong. You could always ask her to talk to him or whatever. I’m not who you want. Trust me.”

“Do you think she would? Put in a good word for me?”

“I guess,” he shrugs. “I don’t know. Look, I’m not the sociable type. So I don’t mean to come across as an asshole, but…”

“You’re honest,” she says. “I heard that about you. That you don’t say much, but you mean what you say and don’t pull any punches.”

“I can be a little harsh,” Tyler admits. “So I’ve been told, anyway. I’ve bet you heard a lot of things about me.”

She nods.

“Probably not a lot of good things.”

“More good than bad. But the bad is pretty...well...bad. I don’t know; you don’t seem that awful to me. I mean, how awful can someone be when they have a wife and five kids? No woman would stick around long enough to have one kid, never mind that many.”

“Never thought of it that way. I’m not an easy person to live with. I’ve put her through a lot. But maybe I’m not as terrible as I think I am.”

“I don’t think she’d still be around if you were. If she’s as tough and strong as you say she is, she would have hauled ass a long time ago.”

****

He’s still thinking of those words when they arrive at the airport; pulling right onto the tarmac behind the smaller hangar he’d flowed into only two days before. It feels like a lifetime has passed since then. Since he’s stood in front of his home, kissing and hugging his wife and kids goodbye and wondering if he’d ever see them again. With how successful the morning had been, he wants to be more confident in regards to the eventual outcome. But he knows how things work; each kill will get harder and messier and more complicated. Mahajan will clue into his involvement and up the stakes even more. One good day doesn’t mean you can let your guard down. Not in the slightest.

Riya waits in the car, but both drivers and passengers of the three vehicles that had followed them climb out. Staggering themselves along the tarmac, eyes surveying the surroundings; bullet proof vests under their clothing, weapons at the ready. The jet’s already arrived and the stairs being placed in front of the open door when he crosses the distances between it and the car; less than ten feet away when the first little body appears. Millie with her ever present messy hair and those Spiderman sandals; an Incredible Hulk t-shirt paired with a frilly -and glittery- pink and purple tutu over a pair of camo leggings. Her head down at first and a slight frown on her face; shrugging a unicorn and sloth themed backpack onto her shoulders and one foot tentatively checking the strength and support of the stairs in front of her. And when she finally does glance up, the look is one of shock at first. Her brow furrowed and those huge blue eyes wide and disbelieving. Then quickly widening and sparkling when realization sets in; a brilliant smile spreading across her face.

“Daddy!” She shrieks, and immediately forgets about her discomfort on the stairs, rushing down them and leaping from the second last one; not even stumbling or missing a single stride. “Daddy!”

Tyler catches her as she throws herself at him, effortlessly scooping her up into his arms. Feeling those little arms immediately circle his neck, squeezing as tight as they can and how soft her cheeks and her forehead are against his lips and how impossibly light she seems.

“You said we wouldn’t see you for a few days!” Her tone has a slight scolding quality to it.

“I thought I’d surprise you guys. I got things finished nice and early so I could come and say hi. I missed you,” he lays a hand on the back of her head and presses a kiss to her temple and then her brow. “I missed you so much.”

“I miss you too. This is the best surprise EVER.”

“Even better than getting Saju as a late birthday gift?”

"I love Saju, but I love you more. You’re my daddy. And I was worried about you. About the bad guys getting a hold of you.”

“The bad guys don’t stand against me. You know that.”

“Daddy!” TJ hollers, and soon both he and his brother -and two dogs- are racing towards him. And with Millie still on his hip, he drops down to one knee, laughing when the force of those of those small bodies - and all of the power and excitement and love inside of them- knock him off balance and he finds himself on his ass on the damp, cold tarmac. Gathering all three kids into his arms and pulling them tightly into him.

“I knew you could do it,” Tanner’s face is buried in the side of his neck, tears hot against his skin. “I knew you could beat up the bad guys and still come and see us! I missed you. I missed you so much.”

“I’ve only been gone two days, mate.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s only two hours. I still missed you.”

“I missed you too. I missed ALL of you.”

He presses his lips to each forehead, returns each tight, fierce hug. Still sitting on the ground as he listens to all three speak at once’ excited tales about what they’d done on the plane and the movies they’d watched and the naps they’d taken and the food they’d eaten, Millie showing off her matching bracelet. And she moves out of the way when Delcan arrives; a beaming smile on his face and a ‘miss daddy’ in his tiny voice before throwing his arms around Tyler’s neck. And he runs his fingers through his son’s silky red hair and showers his cheeks with kisses and holds him as tight as Declan will let him. And even now he’s not sure he deserves all of this. The adoration and the unconditional love and their blind faith and trust in him.

“Good to see ya,” Kyle says in greeting, placing Addie -in her car seat carrier- on the ground beside him, then offering a hand to help Tyler to his feet and giving him a one armed hug. “Especially in one piece. Heard today was the day. Must have went okay. You’re standing here.”

“Went better than I thought it would. I’ll take a good start over a bad one any day.” He drops to a knee once more, smiling at his baby girl as he unfastens the straps of the carrier. “Hey sweet pea...hey little peanut…” he scoops that tiny body into his arms, settling her against his chest; a forearm under her bum, hand on the back of her head. “Daddy missed you. He missed you so much.”

“What are you even doing here?” Esme inquires as she joins them, a playful scolding tone to her voice and a look of pure relief on her face.

He grins down at her. “I guess crossing your fingers worked.”

“I guess it did,” she says, and he’s able to keep Addie pressed securely against him with one arm as he wraps the other around his wife; pulling her tightly into him, lips meeting her temple. “I know it’s only been two days,” her voice is muffled against his chest, both arms around his waist. “But I have missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. It’s felt longer than two days.”

She nods, pulling away slightly to look up at him, tears sparking in her eyes. “I was so worried about you. Everything went okay?”

“Better than I thought it would. I’ll call you later and tell you all about it. Fill you in on all the gory details.”

“Yes, because I just love your stories of mutilation and homicide. You’re okay?” Her hands rub at his sides. “You look okay.”

“I’m fine. Not a scratch on me.”

“Guess you haven’t lost your touch after all. And to think you were worried about that.” Her face turns serious, the amount of tears in her eyes increasing. “I was so fucking worried about you, Tyler.”

“I know you were.” He presses a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay, baby. Don’t cry. Everything’s fine.”

“I’m just relieved. That I didn’t just have to take your for it and I got to see it...you...with my own eyes. I’m proud of you. I’m so proud of you.”

“Now you’re going to make ME cry.”

“Did you get the videos? Did you watch them?”

“I did. And I’m slightly concerned that my six year and five year olds are already smarter than I am.”

“I don’t think they’re anywhere near being that smart yet, but they are crazy intelligent. Almost scary HOW intelligent. We are going to have our work cut out for us, I think. Having three brainiacs in the house?”

“Four if you count their mom. Where do you think they get it from? My looks, your brain. We’ve been through this.”

“Is that some sneaky, backhanded way of calling me ugly?” she teases.

“Baby, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, you know that. And I love you,” he places a soft kiss to her lips. “So much.”

“I love you too. And did you see Addie? Her smile? Her REAL smile? She smiles exactly like you. Her eyes crinkle and everything. So there. She DID get something from you, after all. Are you okay?” She reaches up and lays a hand on the side of her face, running her thumb over his lips. “With what happened? You’re alright?”

“I’m okay. I just missed you guys. It’s been harder than I thought it would.”

“It’s been six months. You had a whole different life for half a year. I’d be worried if going back to this WASN’T hard.”

“It’s not just that. It’s...I don’t know….” Tyler shrugs. “I can’t talk about it right now. Not with the kids around.”

“Is it about what you did?”

He nods. “About what I did. How I felt about it. How I DIDN’T feel. We’ll talk later. I can’t stay long; just in case someone is keeping an eye on me. You guys will be safer at the house than you will be standing out here talking to me.”

“Thank you. For making the effort to get here. The kids needed that; to see you. I needed that. I really needed to see you. I needed to make sure you were okay.”

“I needed to see you, too. I was worried I’d never get the chance again. And I wish I could stay longer. Or go to the house with you guys. I’d give anything to be able to do that. Anything.”

She gives a small, understanding smile. “I know you would.”

“I gotta go.” He holds Addie out in front of him, kissing her forehead. “I love you, little peanut. Stop growing up so fast. You might be the last one.”

“We’ll talk about that later too,” Esme says, and he leans down to press a kiss to her temple before placing Addie in her arms. “I love you. We’ll see you in a few days, right?”

“Yep.” He attempts a reassuring smile, then kisses her; long and soft and sweet. “I love you. Call me when the kids are asleep. We’ll talk about stuff.”

“Okay,” she agrees, squeezing him tightly and burying her face in her chest once more when he gives her one last hug. Holding onto him longer and tighter than before. Unable to control the tears that trickle down her face.

****

“You should see this place,” Esme says four hours later, after all the kids have finally settled in their rooms and have managed to fall asleep. “Remember when we stayed at Mahajan’s? What that place was like? Well this Mahajan’s on steroids. I am serious. Ten bedrooms. TEN! And eleven bathrooms! Who cleans all those bathrooms? We have three and we can’t keep up half the time. And the master ensuite is bigger than our entire bedroom. And our room at home is what I consider huge.”

He can’t hold but smile at the youthful exuberance in her voice. He knows she’s exhausted; physically and emotionally. Not just from a twelve hour flight with five kids, but with everything that’s gone down within the past month and a half. But he can hear the difference; being in Mumbai and closer to him has lifted some of the stress and worry, replacing it with relief and at least some peace of mind.

“And you should the shit this guy has,” she continues. “I’ve never seen anything like it. An underground garage full of insanely expensive exotic cars. A home theatre, indoor and outdoor pools and jacuzzis, his own tennis and basketball courts. Who needs all this stuff? I thought we had a lot of stuff. This? This is our stuff times a thousand.”

“We have a lot of stuff...normal stuff...because we have five kids. He has a lot of stuff because he doesn't have anyone or anything else to spend his money on.”

“”I mean, we have money too. We’re not exactly poor. Not anymore, anyway.”

“We don’t have his kind of money, babe. What we have in the bank is like a month’s salary to him.”

“We also don’t buy stuff just to buy and have stuff. This is just insane to me. And the animals. It’s not one or two, Tyler. It’s its own goddamn zoo. He’s got tigers and monkeys and peacocks and a sloth. And snakes. So many snakes. Don’t even get me started in the snakes. All I have to say is thank god they’re far enough away from the house and securely contained. Because you know my fear of snakes.”

“I don’t know where this fear comes from. We’ve only had one snake in the house so far”

“In my shoe!” She reminds him. “Which I tried to stick my foot into, thank you very much.”

“What was one of the first things I told you when we first moved back to Australia? Especially where we moved TO. Check your shoes before you put them on. If you listened to me more often…”

“What if it bit me?”

“You would have lived because it wasn’t poisonous. And it was a baby. The way you fucking screamed, you would have though it was an anaconda trying to eat one or two of the kids.”

“I don’t like snakes. I told this when we first lived there. That I’m scared of them but I loved you enough to live somewhere where there’s tons of them. And you promised you’d be the one to handle them. And the spiders.”

“Which I have. And the dingoes. Have I let a dingo get you?”

“You’re probably waiting for the opportunity to feed me to one.”

“Baby, if I wanted to get rid of you, there’s about a hundred different ways I could do it. And feeding you to a dingo is NOT one of them. And I don’t want to get rid of you, so…” He stretches his legs out in front of him, resting his bare feet on the top railing of the balcony. “...you’re safe.”

“What I don’t understand is our children’s fascination and love of snakes and spiders. If you didn’t encourage them to pick the damn things up and let them crawl all over them…”

“They’re not dangerous. They can’t hurt the kids. Let’s not raise pussies, okay? They have to learn about stuff, yeah? Let them learn. As long as they’re not in danger, what’s the worst that could happen? What are they going to do? Want a Huntsman as a pet?”

“I will refuse to step foot in the house again,” she declares. “I will move out. I will live with Ovi in the guest house. If you EVER let the kids do anything like that, I swear…”

“I’d miss you too much. I know what lines I can’t cross.”

“Speaking of lines you shouldn’t cross. Who’s the girl you were with tonight?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“What? You thought I wouldn’t notice you left with her?”

Tyler grins. “Esme, are you jealous?”

“Do I have a reason to be?”

“I kind of like this. You getting all jealous. You getting all worked up. It’s kinda hot, actually. And no, you don’t have a reason to be jealous. She’s young enough to be my kid.”

“Maybe she likes older men.”

“Good for her. But I like you, so…”

“So who is she?”

“Riya. She works for Nik. She’s from Dubai. Apparently her folks are loaded and basically disowned her for going to school in the States and picking the job she did. Sound familiar?”

“That DOES seem a little too close to home for my liking.”

“She actually wants to talk to you.”

“Oh how cute,” Esme scoffs. “She wants my permission before she bangs my husband. Well at least this is asking before she tries.”

“Only person I want to bang is you. And she wants to talk to you about Ovi.”

“Ovi? What about him?”

“You’re the one who can’t stay out of other peoples’ business, right? You like meddling in relationships.”

“Pardon me? It’s advising. Not meddling. Advising.”

“She wants you to hook her up.”

“With Ovi?”

“Are you following along at all or have I been talking to myself?”

“I mean, it’s Ovi. He’s like my kid. No. Scratch that. He IS my kid. I can’t set him up./”

“Why not?”

“Do you want me setting Millie up? Or TJ? Or Tanner?”

“First off, Millie is six. The boys are five. It’s not the same thing. Just do it. Put in a good word for her.”

“So now you’re encouraging me to meddle? That’s a first for you.”

“I’m encouraging you to help a poor, desperate girl out. And Ovi too. He’s been acting like a little bitch since Chloe took off and I can’t can’t take much more. So do me a solid and save what’s left of my sanity and help Ovi get laid.”

“Okay, wow. THAT’S a little disturbing. Isn’t that supposed to be your thing? Anything sex related? You’re a guy. You find him a piece of ass. Call one of your hoes from your old little black book.”

“Actually, I didn’t have anyone in India,” Tyler admits.

“You poor baby,” she scoffs. “My heart bleeds for you. And find. I will put in a good word for this girl. But if you want him to get laid, you figure out how to make it happen. And don’t sample the goods, either.”

“Only goods I want to sample are yours. So why don’t you come over here and let me.”

“You’re hurting, aren’t you,” Esme laughs.

“A little. It’s been forever.”

“It’s been two days, Tyler.”

“Feels like it’s been forever. What are you wearing?”

“Are you serious right now? You want to have phone sex?”

“You can’t come here and I can’t go there, so…”

“I’m wearing a lovely combination of premenstrual syndrome, baby puke, and dog hair.”

“Now THAT’S sexy. PMS, huh? So things are going back to normal that way.”

“It was going to happen eventually,” Esme sighs. “After the next one, they can take everything out. I’m done. I won’t need any of it anymore. They can have it. If I never have a period again, that’s fine by me, I’d say it’s good for you too because you won’t have to put up with my extreme bitchiness once a month, but you have two daughter who will go through this one day.”

He frowns “Can Addie at least get to her first birthday before we talk about this shit?”

“It’s going to happen, Tyler. I mean it could happen to Millie in a few years. I was ten.”

“Esme, for fuck sakes. I don’t…”

“Sorry, honey. I hate to break your heart like this. But one day it’s going to happen. And one day she’s even going to want to have sex and need to go on birth control and…”

“Do you want a divorce? Because bringing this shit up is how you get a divorce.”

“I love you, Tyler James. You’re my favorite human And I love how you can impale someone with a garden rake but you can’t handle the thought of your daughter maturing. You’re so fucking cute. You’re so cute, I’d have phone sex with you right now if my cramps weren’t so bad. I am telling you, after the next one? My body is done. That’s it. Take it all out. It’s not needed anymore.”

“Next one? I thought we weren’t going to talk about that until I got home.”

“I made the decision. Without you.”

He smirks. “Oh, so you mean like you usually do about everything.”

“Pretty much. If you really want another one…”

“You gotta want it too. Not just me. I don’t want you doing it just because I want it.”

“I do want to. One more. An even number. And if something happens like it did with the one that should have been between the twins and Declan…”

Tyler sighs. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“We stop if something goes wrong. Because once was bad enough. Well twice, if I count the one with Mark. I can’t keep having my heart broken like that. And if we can’t successfully carry another one, we just stop. Okay?”

“Okay,” he agrees. “And it wasn’t fun for me, either. Going through that. It was my baby too.”

“I know. But you were amazing and so good with me and it made me love you even more. I’m worried about you, Tyler. There was something in your eyes tonight. When you talked about what you did today. I can’t put my finger on it. I just know what I saw and that I’ve never seen it before. It wasn’t old Tyler OR new Tyler. I don’t know who it was.”

“Before I tell you what’s going on, I need to tell you what I did. And I know you hate hearing the gory details. But I need to tell you.”

“Okay…” There’s a slight rustle of the phone as she shifts positions in bed. “...I’m not going to sleep for a couple days after this, am I.” While she accepts and supports what he does, she draws the line at hearing the details. She’d seen enough in Dhaka, and once that was over, so was her desire to ever see -or think about- another drop of blood again. “Did you shoot them?”

“No. I didn’t shoot them. I was more...hands on.”

“Like your bare hands, or…?”

“Sort of. I kinda slit a guy’s throat and gutted another one. Literally.”

“Okay…”

“And I liked it. I liked doing it. And I’ve never liked doing it before. I killed because I had to. Because I had to keep myself alive. Now I’m doing it because I WANT to. Because I enjoy it. That’s fucked, yeah? Tell me that’s fucked. That I’M fucked.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s fucked. And I definitely won’t say you’re fucked. And I can’t say I’m totally shocked. Or shocked at all, to be honest.”

“Maybe we’re both fucked,” he says. “And not in the good, fun way either.”

“Well before you question our levels of depravity and insanity, let’s look at this for what it is. This isn’t a normal job. This isn’t what you’re used to. You’re used to not having any emotional ties to what you do. You go in, you do what you have to do, you get out. That’s it. You don’t know these people, you don’t know the people they’re hurting, none of that. You’re not connected to any of them, right?”

“Right.”

“Well this time you DO have a connection. A very personal one. These people threatened your family. And I don’t know exactly what the threats are, but they must be pretty bad if you won’t tell me. I mean, people are saying horrible, twisted things about people you love. About me and your kids. It doesn’t get more fucked up than that; threatening children. Addie’s one of them and she’s just a baby. What kind of fucked person says shit like that about a baby?”

“Evil people,” Tyler concludes. “Really fucking evil.”

“And you’re pissed. To your very core. I see if in your eyes, Tyler. I hear it in your voice. How angry you actually are. How disgusted you are. And you have every right to feel those things. This is as personal as it gets. And you wonder why you enjoyed it? I’d enjoy it too if someone threatened you and I got to kill them. I’d enjoy every fucking second.”

“It just makes me feel like such a dick,” he admits. “Like I’m a horrible fucking person. I made the one guy look at me. Made him watch me while I slit his throat. And he recognized me. He knew who I was. And I liked that he did. That my face was the last thing he saw.”

“And that doesn’t make you a bad person,” Esme says. “A bad person wouldn’t be worried that it makes him a bad person. You’re a good person, Tyler. I know you struggle to see that. But I see it. And I know it. I know who you are away from all of this. I know how loving you are. How gentle you are. What you did today...what you felt or didn’t feel...that doesn’t erase who you are or what you’re like away from all of this.”

He blinks back tears “This is fucked. This all so fucked.”

“You’re doing what you have to do. You’re stopping them before they can do the same thing to us. Or worse.”

“Definitely worse. Much, much worse.”

“Do you want to tell me what the threats were or…”

“No. You don’t need to hear that. You don’t need that shit in your head. It’s bad enough it’s in mine. That it’s probably never going to leave.”

“We’ll work on that,” Esme promises. “Your brain. When we get home. We’ll work on it TOGETHER. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Tyler. So much. And I wish I could be right there with you. I know this isn’t easy for you. That you’re struggling with so many things. But I love you and I’m so proud of you.”

He swallows around the lump of emotion sitting in this throat and using a forearm to wipe the tears from his face. “I love you. And this sucks. Being away from you. You’re so close but it’s like you’re so fucking far.”

“If you need me there, I can find a way. And I will. You know me. I’m pretty sneaky and tenacious on a good day.”

He gives a small chuckle. “Yeah, you are.”

“And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. So if you need me there….”

“I’m okay. For now anyway. Stay with the kids. They need you.”

“So do you. Even if you won’t admit it.”

“I do. Need you. But they need you more.”

“Promise me you’ll call if it gets worse. If you change your mind. Because I’ll figure it out. How to get to you and stay with you. Promise me.”

“I promise. I’ll call you if I need you.”

“Get some sleep, okay? It’s been a long day. Call me in the morning. Just so I know how you’re doing.”

“I will.”

“And thank you. For showing up tonight. Seeing you did a world of good for the kids. Especially Tanner. He’s finally smiling again. And he has such a beautiful smile. YOUR smile. And it did me a world of good too. To see you. I miss you, And your arms. It was really nice to be in those arms again,”

“It felt good to have you in them. Hopefully in a few days…”

“It’ll happen. I know it will. You’re doing fine. Just keep doing what you have to do. That’s it. We’ll talk in the morning, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Get some sleep,” she gently orders, and then disconnects the call.

#tyler rake #tyler rake fan fic #tyler rake fan fiction #extraction #best part of me #chris hemsworth character

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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Secret Hearts (Ninex) - Crazy4Kameron

Hey! So I totally meant for this to be part of the Valentine’s day challenge posted by @writethehousedown and life just got in the way. Than this story just wasn’t going the way I wanted it to, and I really wanted this adorable useless lesbians to get the love they deserved. Thank you so much to Mistress and opalescent-cheetah for all of the help editing this. Also veronicasanders for all of the amazing suggestions that helped make this story what it turned into. Hope you enjoy please leave me a kudos or comment.

Why she had let Brooke talk her into this was beyond her. Nina loved her best friend and was willing to do almost anything for her, but sitting and watching ice skating in a freezing cold arena for the next few hours was not top of the list. She would much rather have stayed home with a nice cup of tea and watched reruns of Murder, She Wrote with her dogs.

Out of boredom, Nina offered to go to the concession stand for them, and it was then that she first noticed the new security guard. Her gorgeous dark skin and brilliant, sparkling white smile popped against the blue of her uniform. I wonder when she started working here, cause I don’t remember seeing her before, and I would definitely have remembered her. Maybe Brooke knows who she is, I’ll have to ask her when I get back. Nina thought, unable to move her gaze from the gorgeous woman.

“Hey, was the line bad?” Brooke asked, moving her legs to the side so that Nina could squeeze past.

“It wasn’t that bad, but on my way out I noticed this new security guard. Do you know who she is?” Nina asked.

Brooke gave her a blank look. “There are a lot of security guards here, Nina, so you might want to be more specific…”

Oh. Of course. Nina flushed pink. ”Well she’s about this tall,” Nina said, putting her hand up to her chest to show Brooke. “She has the most beautiful shade of chocolate brown hair, and her eyes are this gorgeous sparkling hazel colour. Her smile is the most perfect thing that I have ever seen.”

Brooke laughed. “Sounds like someone’s got a bit of a crush…."

“What? What are you talking about? I was just giving you a description of her like you asked.” Nina stated while trying to hide the colour now running up her face.

“Well it sounds like you’re describing Monet, Asia’s roommate. Vanjie told me she started here like two weeks ago. You should totally go and talk to her.” The blonde encouraged.

“Oh, I don’t know. You know I can’t talk to girls I like, plus I’m sure she has a boyfriend or whatever. I mean, how could she not?”

Brooke pulled out her phone and quickly began to text someone. Within a few seconds her phone dinged with a response. “She’s single and gay, You’re welcome. Now go talk to her.”

A mixture of joy and fear ran through Nina’s body.

"But I– what would I even say? I can’t just walk up there like, ‘Hey, you’re hot, let’s date’, that would just be weird.”

’'Oh my god. You are hopeless, Nina West.” Brooke rolled her eyes affectionately.

“Hey! You were the same when you were hardcore crushing on Vanjie,” Nina laughed, elbowing her.

“Was not!” Brooke exclaimed, but her cheeks had flared crimson. “Anyways, I really need the bathroom. Come on.” She grabbed Nina’s arm, tugging her through the crowds.

“Where are we going? I thought you said you needed to use the bathroom and they are in the opposite direction?” Nina asked, confused.

“I know, but I just need to do something first.” Brooke stated, pushing through the crowd and stopping directly in front of Monet.

“Hey! Sorry to bother you, my names Brooke, I’m Vanjie’s girlfriend and I teach juniors ice skating.” Brooke points behind her. “And this is my friend Nina. She works at the daycare attached to the complex. We’re friends of Asia’s and just wanted to introduce ourselves, since you’re new here.“

Monet reached out her hand and Brooke quickly pushed Nina in front of her, making Nina shake Monet’s hand. “Oh well it’s nice to meet you.” Monet was a little baffled by what was going on, and was still trying to be polite.

“It’s–uh–nice to meet you too.” Nina replies, still shaking Monet’s hand, eyes locked on each other, but only for a moment. Nina quickly realizes she’s still holding Monet’s hand and pulls it away, eyes quickly darting behind her to look for Brooke and mouth “I hate you” to her before she disappears into the crowd.

“So do you like working at the complex so far?” Nina asked, trying to figure out anything to say.

“Yeah I mean, it’s a job, but it uh, definitely has its perks.” Monet replied, looking Nina up and down, a smile forming over her lips. Nina could feel the heat begin to rise up the back of her neck and into her face. “So you’re a daycare teacher? How do you like that?”

“OH I love it! I just adore watching all their little faces as they discover and learn new things. I mean obviously it has its downsides, you know, tiny children with sticky fingers can get a little messy at times, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Nina glowed from the inside out whenever she spoke about her job and the kids that she taught each day. It really was one of her greatest passions in life. Monet could only chuckle and watch Nina as she suddenly became very animated and talkative.

“Wow, I have never met anyone who loves anything as much as you seem to love those kids.” Monet said. “And that’s saying a lot considering I live with Asia and have to live through her and Kameron being disgustingly in love.”

“Oh, tell me about it. Brooke is my best friend, and I have to deal with her and Vanessa on the regular.” Nina giggled.

“You have a really cute laugh.” Monet said. “I really like your sweater too. It brings out the blue in your eyes.”

The only thing that Nina could think to say was ‘thank you’, then there was a sudden silence that seemed to be deafening. Nina finally cleared her throat and spoke. “I should -uh umm- go find Brooke. She’s my- uh- ride and it’s getting late.”

“Yeah of course. Well it was really nice to meet you, and I hope that maybe we’ll get to see each other around, you know, since we work at the same place and all.” Monet hoped that she hadn’t overstepped any lines or offended Nina in any way.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again, but it was nice to meet you in the meantime. I hope you have a good night.“ Nina was mentally kicking herself as she turned to walk away. How could she not have complimented Monet back when she was saying all those nice things about her. There were so many things that she could have said and she just blanked and probably ruined her chances. She needed to think of something that she could do to try and win this funny, gorgeous woman over.

***

Asia had just begun her morning tasks to get things ready for her day at the complex when she heard the distinctive swoosh of the doors being opened and wondered who could be here this early in the morning. Turning, she saw a woman who had been visiting her quite a lot recently, a tall blonde with a kind smile, walking towards her.

"Good morning and how can I help you?” Asia chimed in her best customer service voice.

“You know you don’t need to use that voice on me, right?”

“Yeah force of habit, sorry.” Asia shrugged her shoulders sighing,and with her next intake of breath put a smile on her face. “So what are you doing here so early, doll?” Asia asked, curiosity laced through her voice.

“I just thought that I would come to say hello, and see how you’re doing this morning. See if you need anything?” The blonde smiled, but Asia had a hunch that the other girls’ intentions weren’t as innocent as she made them out to be.

“Is that really why you came to work this early in the morning? Are you sure, Nina?” Asia smiled and sat on her chair, turning her computer on for the day. “Are you sure it has nothing to do with a certain bright-eyed, dark-haired security guard, who also happens to be my roommate?” Asia pressed, smiling up at Nina, whose cheeks she could see flared crimson, and she found herself wishing that Nina wasn’t such a wuss about her crush. Asia knew that despite Monet’s outward confidence, she was secretly insecure and that the two of them would get nowhere without her help…and Asia had never asked to be the one caught in the middle of their school girl crush.

Nina let out all the air in her lungs that she hadn’t realized she was holding in till that moment. It was like her body had turned to jelly, all the tension leaving it at once as she flopped forward on the counter, ”Did she like the chocolates?“

"Yes, but I still don’t understand why you didn’t put your name on the card. It would’ve been less weird."

"Having a secret admirer is sweet and exciting and romantic!” defended Nina.

Asia could only shake her head at Nina’s completely unrealistic view of the world. “I know you think life is a Disney movie, but in reality, things like that get taken the wrong way all the time.” Asia scowled. “Do you want Monet to think you like her or want to harvest her kidney?”

“Okay I get it, maybe it’s a little weird not to put my name on it, but what if she doesn’t like me? I’ve never liked anyone this much before.” Nina’s eyes fell to the floor, and she bit her lip as she contemplated whether she should finally be brave and let Monet know how she felt. “Well, I have another gift for her. Do you think Monet would be freaked out if I left her another one? Should I not leave her any more gifts? I don’t want to freak her out, do you think it will freak her out?” she rambled, anxiety getting the best of her over the situation.

“Not if you put your name on it,” Asia said. “And don’t forget to mention why you’re bombarding her with gifts,” she added on, almost as an afterthought, turning her chair to face her computer screen.

Nina flushed. “I wouldn’t call it bombarding.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t change the fact that you should at least sign this one,” Asia countered, looking up from the screen.

“Fine, I’ll write her a note, hand me a piece of paper, but I’m putting the note inside the box.”

“Won’t you have to unwrap that beautiful paper to do that?” Asia raised an eyebrow with skepticism in her eyes,reaching across her desk for a pad of paper.

“Yes but I am an expert gift wrapper and unwrapper. Just hand me the paper, a pen and some tape and leave the rest to me.”

——————–

"Monet! Come here!” Asia yelled from behind the info desk, motioning her over a look of disdain on her face.

Monet bounded over at the sound of Asia’s voice. “Why the hell are you yelling at me so early in the day?” Monet asked happily, all hopped up on her morning coffee, lifting her hand to reveal a steaming paper cup in her hand..

“A. calm down and give me that sweet steaming nectar of the Gods now,” Asia stated, reaching for the cup in Monet’s hand, “B. there was another gift left for you on the desk this morning.” Asia pointed to a small box wrapped beautifully with red paper that had tiny little pink hearts all over it. This instantly shifted Monet’s focus, as she reached over the counter to inspect the box that looked like it had been carefully wrapped, but there was no tag to say who had left it.

"So are you going to open it or just stare at it till you get x-ray vision?” Asia asked sarcastically before sipping her coffee.

“I’m admiring the beautiful paper, thank you,” Monet spat back, “now if you don’t mind, why don’t you go do some work or text your girlfriend, so I can open my gift in private.” Monet shooed Asia away with her hand, turning her back to her roommate.

Asia pouted but took a few steps back, still craning her neck to try and get a better view before going to help someone at the other end of the counter. Just then Vanjie and Kameron came walking in, arms linked, laughing about something. They dropped their gym bags on the floor, as they had not made it to the gym to start their day yet.

"Hello, my goddess,” Asia began walking back over after helping her customer. “And what, might I ask, is so funny?” Asia leaned over the counter to give Kameron a kiss. The redhead melted into her attention for a little longer than necessary.

“Vanjie was just telling me a story about a weird client that she had last week.” Kameron blushed as Asia pushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear, stroking her thumb across her cheek and staring lovingly into her eyes.

Monet rolled her eyes, smiling to herself at their public display of affection, but really she was jealous. She wished that she could find some to love as much as Asia loved Kameron. Monet was truly delighted that her friend had found someone that made her so happy. She could only pray that one day she would find a girl like that. Perhaps this secret admirer was that girl… if it even was a girl. She hoped that maybe one day she could see that beautiful friend of Brooke’s again. The one she met the night of the skating show, but she knew better than to let her hopes get too high.

“What ya got there, Monet?” Vanjie asked, curiously eyeing up the little box in her hand.

“Oh, she got another present from her secret admirer,” Asia cooed.

“Another one? Wow, whoever it is must really like you, you lucky girl.” Kameron playfully shoved Monet’s shoulder.

Before Monet even had a chance to open the present, a tall blonde with short curly hair, rosy cheeks and what seemed to be a permanent smile came round the corner. Monet couldn’t believe her eyes; it was Nina, the girl from that night, the one that she couldn’t get out of her head. She was followed very closely by a group of small children in a not quite straight line. It was like Monet was seeing an angel - Nina was as beautiful as she remembered.

Did God hear my prayers? Monet thought, unable to tear her eyes away, as she watched them approach the front desk. Nina stopped the small parade of children and turned to face them.

“Class, it’s time to quiet down now please.” The blonde put her pointer finger to her lips. The children instantly quieted down, pressing fingers to their own shut lips, mimicking their teacher. “Hello, ladies. How are you on this wonderful day?” The blonde asked, turning to face the other girls, all the while keeping an eye on the kids.

“I’d be better if I was spending it with my girl instead of teaching a spin class full of sweaty old grandmas.” Vanjie chimed in before going back to looking at her phone.

“Ignore her, how’s your day going so far?”Asia smiled, putting her hand on the blonde’s arm.

“Oh, can’t complain, just wish I had someone special to go home too.” She blushed, looking at the others, eyes lingering just a little longer on Monet. To Nina’s chagrin, the security guard didn’t seem to notice. Asia clearly did, though.

She raised her voice the littlest bit, projecting so Monet would be sure to hear and take note. “Let me tell you, that if someone as antisocial as I am was able to find someone willing to put up with me,” Asia said, tickling Kameron’s side. Kameron jerked away before slapping her shoulder and wrapping her in a tight hug. “So can you, Nina. I know I’ve told you this before, but you just need to put yourself out there a little more.”

“I know Asia, I just hate being single.” Nina frowned.

Thank you, Lord, she’s single. I don’t know how I got this lucky, but thank you Lord for letting this precious angel walk into my life. Nina is the perfect name for an angel like her. I love the way that her eyes sparkle when she laughs, how her hair falls in curls around her shoulders and look at the way they bounce when she turns her head. Look how good she is with the kids, they all love her, but how could they not. You can see the kindness in her eyes, as she talks to them, I don’t know how she does it. I could never be so patient with that many screaming kids, but she’s amazing.

“Well, I was just wondering if the kids could hang up some Valentine’s Day hearts that we made. I know that it would make them really happy.” Nina asked, looking back at the kids who were still all standing in something resembling a line, holding giant red and pink hearts decorated with glue and glitter.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not. I mean, you can just tape them up over there.” Asia pointed over to the empty space on the far wall, and Nina turned her head to look.

Monet couldn’t take her eyes off Nina.

“Thanks, Asia! Come on kids, we can put our hearts up on that wall. Now I want you to all walk over there without running anyone over, and wait for me to help you put them up. Please stay together.” There was a chorus of happy little voices as the children began to scream and run in all directions.

God, could Nina’s smile get any more perfect?

“Hey Monet, are you alright?” Kameron asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine why?” Monet asked, a little dazed.

“Cause you drooling girl,” Vanjie stated looking up from her phone to finally engage in the conversation, “You might want to stop staring so hard and wipe your mouth.” She whispered leaning closer to her friend.

“Ah, shit!” Monet quickly wiped at the sides of her mouth, drying the drool that had indeed begun to dribble out. “Thanks, girl, that could have been embarrassing.”

“So you likin’ Miss Nina over there?” Vanjie wiggled her eyebrows, a knowing smirk growing on her face.

“I mean, she’s pretty cute, but I have a secret admirer and all.” Monet tried to look unaffected by this statement like she didn’t want to just run over there and ask Nina out. Monet could tell by the looks of disbelief that her friends gave each other that they weren’t convinced.

“But, like, what if my secret admirer is smokin’ hot… You guys aren’t buying this are you?” Monet already knew the answer before Vanjie and Kameron could shake their heads no.

“Girl, just go talk to her,” Kameron said. “I’m pretty sure I saw her staring at you too earlier.”

Asia elbowed Kam in the ribs before giving her a quick warning glance.

“What do I even say to her?” Monet inquired, feeling like she was about to meet her favourite celebrity, not go and talk to a cute girl. Monet was normally good at talking to girls, always able to turn on the charm when needed. This was a new feeling, she had never liked anyone this much before, had never feared rejection like this, never felt at a loss for words.

“Ask her if she needs any help putting the kids’ decorations up?” Kameron suggested, ”Then just try and make small talk.”

“Here.” Asia handed Monet a roll of tape. ”Go ask her if she needs any more tape. It’s the perfect ice breaker.”

“Thank you so much, Asia. You are truly a lifesaver.” Monet grabbed the tape, took a deep breath and headed off towards Nina and the kids.

“Jose please don’t push, wait your turn, I’ll be there to help you in a minute.” Nina sighed as she pressed a tape loop to another child’s heart and directed them to the wall.

“Sorry, Miss Nina!” the little boy shouted, stepping back to wait his turn.

“You looked like you could use some help over here. I brought some more tape.” Holding up said tape as evidence, Monet approached Nina slowly and with a smile, so as not to scare her.

Nina looked up, smiling. “That would be great thanks."

The two smiled at each other, but only for a moment before a scream could be heard from the children. Quickly turning to see what had caused the commotion, they were met with the sight of three of the kids fighting over a spot on the wall where they wanted to put their hearts.

"You can’t tell us what to do Antwan!” demanded a girl with brown pigtails.

“Yeah! We can put our hearts wherever we want!"shouted another girl.

"Adelaide, Catherine, Antwan, please come here,” Nina asked with a stern yet soft voice before turning to Monet. “Do you mind keeping an eye on the others while I sort this out?"

Monet shook her head and Nina grabbed her arm, thanking her before taking the other three children off to figure out their disagreement.

"So who still needs some tape for their heart?” Monet was met with an eager audience of hands and jumping children.

“Me! Me! Me!” was all that could be heard in the front lobby. Monet looked back to her friends with a terrified look on her face before she mouthed the word ‘help’.

“So… do we go help her or just let her suffer for a bit?” Vanjie asked.

“I mean, it is kinda funny to watch, but we can’t just leave her to be eaten alive,” Kameron responded, pulling away from Asia to go help Monet out of her current predicament. The other two girls followed closely behind Kameron.

“Okay guys, you need to use your indoor voices now,” Asia said, copying Nina’s earlier actions she put her finger to her lips. The kids were less obliged to take orders from someone who wasn’t Nina, but they calmed themselves. Once everyone was (relatively) quiet, Asia looked at Monet and nodded as a signal that now it was her turn to give the orders.

“Alright everyone, we’re going to play a little game, okay? So I want you all to get in a line and I’m going to put tape on the back of all your hearts. Then Kameron and Vanjie are going to decide who’s standing the quietest and stillest and help them go put their heart on the wall.” Monet spoke as soft and gentle as she could.

The kids began forming a line. Monet leaned over to her friends to whisper, “Does anyone know how many there are supposed to be?” Her friends looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads no.

Monet began to rip off tape and make loops to stick on the back of the preschoolers’ hearts when she noticed a little boy three from the front crying.Crouching next to the little boy, she asked him why he was crying and he showed her that he had ripped his heart. “We can fix that. You want to know how?”

The little boy nodded his head, wiping at his tears.

“Well, what’s your name sweetheart?” Monet asked gently, holding her hand out and waiting for the boy to take it.

“An-Andrew.” he sniffled out.

“Well Andrew, you see this tape here? It’s magic, and it can fix a broken heart just like yours. Do you want to see it?” the little boy nodded his head and took Monet’s hand that she was still holding out. She guided him to a small table near where they were standing and he put the heart down.

Nina had finished talking to the youngsters that had been arguing and had sent them off to go get back in line and wait for their turn. Nina was standing back, watching in awe at the young woman taking so much care and being so tender with her student. The sight made her heart skip a beat and a warm fuzzy feeling took over her body. She decided that she wanted to see how Monet handled her students and stood to the side for a few moments longer than needed.

Monet had Andrew close his eyes as she placed the tape on the rip in his heart. Making sure the tear was invisible, she then had him repeat some magic words before letting him open them to see his art project fixed as good as new. His face lit up with joy and he squeaked with happiness.

“Thank you!!!” he said before running back over to get back in line and wait his turn again.

Vanjie was helping the little rugrats find the best place to put their hearts so everyone would see them, and Asia was making sure that they stayed quiet and in line. The kids seemed fascinated by all of Kameron’s tattoos and muscles that they got an up-close look at as she knelt in front of them to help put tape on their hearts.

Nina was watching how good all of the girls were doing with the kids; she mentally checked the children off her list as she went, when she realized that one outspoken blonde girl was missing.

Nina began scanning the lobby to see where the little girl could have gotten to, and noticed her over by the front desk, going through what looked to be one of their purses. Nina immediately walked over to where the girl was, crouching down next to her, and was met with the sight of her applying lipstick to her face. The girl instantly stopped the second she realized that she had been caught, handing the lipstick over to Nina, who picked the pursed up off the floor.

“Hey Vanj, isn’t this yours?” Nina asked, holding the purse up in the air.

“What?” Vanjie looked over to where Nina saw standing and noticed the tiny culprit whose face was covered in her lipstick. “Oh FUCK NO!” Vanjie yelled as she took off to gather her things.

All the kids clapped their hands on their mouths in shock, “OOOOOH, YOU SAID F—”

“Vanjie! Language!” Monet yelled before the children could finish repeating the word. “Don’t repeat what she just said, it’s a bad word, kids.”

“Is that my Fenty lipstick!?” Vanjie exclaimed, taking the lipstick back from Nina, then reaching into her gym bag for her makeup wipes to try and clean the girl’s lips and face. ”Didn’t your mama teach you not to touch what ain’t yours?” Vanjie asked, the girl shaking her head, partly to answer the question and partly to stop Vanjie from wiping at her face.

“ You never take someone else’s stuff without asking. Specially they Fenty lipstick. You stick with Tia Vanj, and I’ll teach you bout the good things in life.”

"Vanjie, we want these kids to grow up to be respectable members of society,” Asia said while trying to make sure that everything was still where it belonged in the lobby and that the kids hadn’t broken anything or run any of the other patrons in the lobby over. “Plus I’m sure Nina can handle punishments.”

“You tryin to say I’m not a respectable member of society, mami?” Vanjie questioned, hands on her hip, head cocked to the side in offense, slightly taken aback by the statement.

“What I’m saying is that you have a way of getting around the rules, which isn’t something that these kids need to learn,” Asia retorted. “I know that your mama taught you manners, that’s the truth. What she didn’t teach you was volume control.”

“I don’t have to take this. I have a class to teach and a hot girlfriend to go see!!” Vanjie yelled.

“Vanjie, before you go I think there’s something that Samantha needs to say to you, isn’t there?” Nina spoke with a firm yet gentle tone, letting the girl know that what she had done was wrong, but Nina wasn’t mad at her.

“Yes, Miss Nina.” The girl’s cheeks burned with shame, and also anger that she’d been caught and lectured. “I’m sorry I took your stuff without asking,” Samantha sniffled out, almost in tears. Vanjie walked over to the small girl and gave her a hug.

“It’s okay little mama, just don’t do it again."

The tiny blonde nodded her head and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Vanjie stood and gave her friends an angry glare before grabbing her things again and stomping away.

"Awww Vanjie! I’ll see you later?” Kameron yelled after her.

“Only if you have a peanut butter and chocolate shake!!” Vanjie shouted over her shoulder.

“Hey! I thought that was a morning thing! Plus I didn’t even do anything.” Kameron threw her arms up.

“No, but your girl did! So now I want a peanut butter chocolate shake.” Vanjie pouted.

Nina walked over to where Monet was standing, shaking her head in the direction Vanjie left in. She motioned in the direction of the other kids. “You’re really good with them.”

“Well I mean they’re good kids, I just hope my friend didn’t traumatize them.”

Nina laughed at her joke, and Monet felt a tiny sensation of relaxation wash over her body.

”But for real though, how could they not be good kids with a teacher like you.” Monet felt brave and bumped Nina’s shoulder with hers.

Nina’s laughter quickly turned to a bashful giggle, and her heart skipped a beat.

The well-behaved kids seemed to be at their limits, as some of them were laying on the floor, others chasing each other in circles playing tag, nearly running into other patrons on their way to other activities in the Complex.

As Nina was trying to calm the kids down a little, she noticed Monet walking closer, and could feel her body begin to tense up. Oh my goodness, she’s coming over here. How can she be so beautiful and so good with the kids? She’s so funny, I’m not that funny and I have no idea what to say to her. It’s like whenever she gets close to me I forget how to speak. I hope she doesn’t think I’m a total weirdo or a rambling idiot. God I hope I look good right now. There aren’t any stains on this dress are there?

“I think it’s really sweet of you, to ask Asia if the kids can display their artwork in the lobby for everyone to see.” Monet stepped closer to Nina. “You seem to have some real little Picassos on your hands here. Especially that little purple-haired boy. He really seems to be on a level all his own.”

“Oh that’s Salem, they’re such a sweetheart and so good with the other kids. They’re always trying to help out the younger ones so that they feel included during playtime.” Nina began to almost glow while gushing over her kids and how amazing they were. Monet found this very endearing and wanted to know what other wonderful traits this woman had that made her so perfect.

“That’s very cool, their parents don’t force them into a box. And I love that they let them use hair chalk.” Monet smiled.

The children were starting to become louder and harder to control, and Nina knew that this wasn’t going to last much longer. As much as she wanted to stand here and talk to Monet all day, she knew that her kids needed to come first.

“Class! Class! Please quiet down. Jose, please pay attention, eyes front, thank you. Now I know you all really want to put your hearts up, but we need to be a little quicker because Miss Peppermint will be here today, for storytime.”

The children began to excitedly jump up and down and scream at this announcement.

“Children!” Nina waited for quiet again. “Okay so now I want you all to quickly go stand by the wall and find somewhere for your heart and wait for Monet or myself to come to help you tape it up. No pushing, and if you’ve already put yours up, please calmly go stand over by Asia and Kameron and wait.”

There was a sudden stampede of tiny legs in all directions as they all seemed to rush towards their desired destination, seeing who could get there the fastest or who could reach up the wall the highest.

Once all of the excitement had died down and all of the hearts were finally up on the wall, Monet finally got a chance to talk to Nina alone for a few moments.

“You know, you got yourself a really fun little class, Miss Nina. I may have to come and visit from time to time.” Monet reached out to touch Nina’s arm, and Nina visibly shivered.

“That would be nice,” Nina breathed out, trying to compose herself in front of the children.

“Yeah, it would be.“ Monet looked into Nina’s blue eyes and was suddenly stripped of all previous thoughts. All she could think about was the beautiful blonde in front of her. Neither of them was able to look away, lost in the moment, till suddenly there was a chorus of, “EWWW, GROSS!” Snapping back to reality, they noticed that they were now surrounded by tiny faces all staring at them.

There were a few moments of silence while Nina tried to think about what she should do, all of the children still looking at her for further instructions. That was when she noticed that two of the kids were playing near the stairs, spinning in circles and seeing who could still walk a straight line.

“Is something wrong?” Monet asked, concern in her voice, her brows scrunching together as she began to look around too.

“I just need to stop the kids from playing near the stairs.” Nina smiled at Monet to thank her for her concern, as she walked over to where the kids were playing.

“Kevin and Ashleigh stop spinning like that near the stairs, before someone gets hurt!” Nina shouted. But it was too late. Ashleigh had spun around a little too quickly and slipped on her own feet, falling straight on her face. That’s when the deafening cry could be heard throughout the complex and Nina instantly went into mother bear mode.

It was nothing that she hadn’t had to deal with in the past, she was the teacher of a group of rambunctious preschoolers after all. She quickly walked over to where Ashleigh was now laying on the floor crying, and checked to see if there was any blood.

Monet instantly ran over behind the front desk and grabbed the first aid kit and brought it over to where Nina was sitting on the floor with the little girl, assessing the damage. Nina looked worried as she scanned the girl’s body, for any visible injuries and then began to ask her if anything hurt and if so, where?

Monet crouched down beside them and put her hand on the lower part of Nina’s back, to try and help keep her calm and because she just really wanted to be close in case there was anything that she could do. She hoped that the physical touch would help reassure Nina and let her know that she was there if she needed anything.

“How is she?” Monet asked “I brought the first aid kit, just to be safe.”

“Thank you. I don’t see any blood, I think it’s just a bump on the head and a few scrapes.” Nina stated.” Do you mind finishing up with her, while I go check on the rest of the kids?”

“No, not at all. We’ll get you fixed up right as rain, won’t we sweetheart?” Monet tried to smile at the little girl, but she was still sobbing too hard to respond.

When Nina came back over after making sure that the rest of her class was okay and hadn’t killed Asia and Kameron yet, she saw Monet sitting on the stairs, Ashleigh beside her all smiles and giggles like nothing had happened.

Standing back up, Nina hugged Monet tightly, winding her arms around her neck. Monet wrapped her arms around Nina’s waist and when she tried to pull away realized that Nina had not yet let go. This seemed to be a little long for just a friendly thank-you hug, but Monet only chalked it up to Nina’s relief to Ashleigh being all right.

”Thank you so much! I don’t know what you said or did to make her smile like that after getting hurt but you are a miracle worker,” Nina said, breath warm against Monet’s ear.

“It was really nothing.” Monet swallowed, her mouth suddenly going dry from their close proximity. She could now tell how good the blonde’s curls smelled and it made her want to run her fingers through them. If she could ever take her hands off of Nina’s perfect waist.

Finally, the two pulled apart, smiling at each other, fixing their clothes just for something to do with their hands.

“Well, I should uumm, you know, get my class back to our room before Peppermint shows up and wonders where we are.” Nina knew she was stumbling over her words, but this gorgeous woman before her just had this effect on her.

“Yeah well, you wouldn’t want her to think the whole class went missing or anything.” Monet laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Finally, the awkwardness between the two was broken when Asia called over. “If you two are done talking, I really think these kids need a snack or something. And to get out of my lobby, before anything gets broken or stolen.”

“Of course. Everyone say ‘thank you’ to Asia for letting us put up our artwork, and get into line with your hands on your hips. I want to see a line of little butterflies.”

“Thank you Asia!” echoed through the lobby, making everyone giggle and wave at the line of tiny butterflies.

“So Monet.” Asia turned to look at her friend. “Did you ever get a chance to open that gift you got this morning?”

“No not yet, but I’ll open it later.” Monet had better things to do at the moment than worry about a present from someone with no name.

“Oh, you’re really not going to open it now? Maybe the person left a note inside the box with their name on it and you can find out who it’s from.” Nina’s sombre tone was such a contrast to her earlier perky demeanour. The look in her eyes alone made Monet want to open the gift instantly just to make her happy.

“Why don’t you just open it now, before you forget,” Asia chimed in, trying to put Monet in the right direction, plus she was also curious to see what was in the box.

“Okay, why is everyone so concerned with my gift?” Monet marvelled.

Nina knew that she had to get the kids back and couldn’t wait any longer no matter how badly she wanted to see Monet open the gift.

“No reason.” She walked to the front of the line. ”Come on kids, it’s snack time and then Miss Peppermint will be here for storytime.”

Asia walked over to the counter, grabbing the small slender box before she handed it to Monet.

”Open the damn box,” she demanded.

Monet looked at the perfectly wrapped box, someone had definitely taken time and care while wrapping it. After carefully pulling the paper off, Monet lifted the lid to find a perfectly folded note, sitting on top of two pins. The first pin was a limited edition Storm pin that Monet had been looking for, for what seemed like forever, to add to her collection.The second was the sweetest Mary Poppins pin Monet had ever seen.

Gently lifting the note out of the box, Monet unfolded the perfectly folded piece of paper, to find that it was written on a piece of stationery that came from the complex.

Monet quickly read the note, then quickly read it again to make sure that she had read it right the first time.

Wait no way. This can’t be right. But the name is right there. I can’t believe this.

A smile spread across Monet’s face as she gently picked up the Mary Poppin pin and pinned it to her collar.

"Hey, Nina!” Monet yelled. “How does Saturday at 7 sound?"

"Perfect.” Nina’s smile was so wide that you could see the joy radiating from her face. Her step was just a little lighter than before and her heart was fluttering like a hummingbird. She couldn’t wait for Saturday.

#rpdr fanfiction #monet x change #nina west #ninex #asia o'hara #kameron michaels #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #lesbian au #fluff #humor #useless lesbians #secret admirer #crazy4kameron

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