#parents will be unhappy but oh fuckin well! i know i can never be good enough for them anyway

[soldier-poet-king]

Tattoo session officially booked for Sept 2!!! Had the hour long in person consult this morning, artist was super sweet and seemed genuinely really excited to do the project. It's a full day (8 hr) session so it's not the cheapest, but not unreasonable given artist experience, selected style, HEALTH AND SAFETY STUFF, time spent on design, etc

Like I am so fuckin nervous and almost threw up this morning but the artist was SO kind and lovely and non judgemental, of this goes well I'll want her to do my whole half sleeve tbh

#franposting #also like. it's a lot of money but ive been saving for eons and its only a tiny fraction of what i have saved #and when you compare it to like. rent prices. its like. oh. well in the grand scheme of things this isnt even half a months rent so #if i have to live with my parents im at least spending SOME of the money ive saved #esp worth paying well for health/safety and also smthn that will yknow. be on my body forever #its at the same studio a friend had work done at recently and she had a fantastic experience #so im comfortable going there #im just!!!!! #parents will be unhappy but oh fuckin well! i know i can never be good enough for them anyway #also like. go big or go home. this is a significantly sized upper arm piece to anchor my eventual half sleeve #upper arm tho so its easy coverage with a rolled sleeve cardigan during the warmer months #bc yknow. workplaces. all that bullshit #after my consult my friends came over we drank and watch part of s2 sab and bitched about terrible fantasy novels #and how from blood and ash is basically just sjm tropes but worse so ofc we have to read it for trashy bookclub #ive already been warned about all the nsff (not safe for fran) scenes im gonna have to skip lmao #but we love sitting around tipsy garbage talking mediocre books #anyway off to play bg3. tmrw is church. nonnas. grocery store(?). pathfinder #still havent meal planned whoops

[curious-menace]

Can you do headcanons of any Riddler getting cared for and gentle kisses from reader after getting beat up? He needs some loves.

SO I MAY HAVE SUGGESTED THAT MY ULTIMATE FANTASY IS TO GIVE RIDDLER A HUG WITH BACKRUBS AS HE TELLS ME ABOUT HIS DAY AND I STAND BY THAT WHOLE-HEARTEDLY .

i freaking love this stuff so im going to do all of them mwahahah

post asswoop riddlers getting loves

Arkham riddler

He’s VERY quiet, which knowing him and his inability to stop talking, is  bad news.

I paint arkham riddler as a cry baby and i stand by that. this is the hill i will die on. He’ll have dragged his sorry ass into your apartment or house , dripping blood on your floors but he wont bother calling for you. he’ll just sit at the table with his head in his hands having a lil pity party until you find him.

when you do finally get home, he’ll be looking like a kicked puppy. he’s gotten stuck in his own head, mentally beating himself up even more. he got a fright when you came in because he was so caught up he didn't even hear you at the door.

He’s literally sits there like a child with his arms up for you to come scoop him up. he’s not even sure why his first thought after getting beat up was to come here, he’s probably lead the cops here or something and that was so stupid and- you should probably give him a lil soft smooch on the head to stop him before he goes into a spiral.

he needs more emotional and mental care than physical. Talk to him while you're patching him up. any topic, it doesn't matter just keep him focused on your voice and not the one in his head calling him dumb.

he wont admit he wants to be held and coddled after something like this. get your softest blankie and 2 mugs of coco with marshmallows and just ramble at him. tell him about your day or ask him to explain something boring and complicated so he’s focusing on that rather than how upset he is. let him sit on your lap or between your legs on the sofa and watch how its made or mythbusters or something until he falls asleep. he should be ok again in the morning, he doesnt stay down for long. 

Blacklight Riddler

He’s used to getting his ass kicked, either by batman, the other rogues or once he’s a PI, by unhappy clients and the people he put away. He might be tiny but he’s pretty tough. 

even if he’s really hurting, his probably trying to crack jokes and tell blood and bruise related riddles. He doesn't like to see you worry so even if he’s in a lot of pain or a bit upset about things, he’s trying to make you smile.

he likes kisses on his bruises. even if he just banged his hand on the table he’ll come to you because he wants you to kiss it better. 

He’s a decent fighter, unlike a lot of riddlers who couldnt fight their way out of a paper bag. He can throw punches but he lacks in defence and with his bad knee, dodging can be a little hard. even if he wins the fight he’s still likely to need you to patch him up.

He likes kids plasters. like hello kitty and spongebob. no im not joking, he ALWAYS wanted them when he was little and his parents always said no. now he’s an adult he’s going to use them whenever he damn well pleases.

 if it was a particularly bad one, he’ll be ok in the moment even if he has to go to hospital. But he’s going to drop the facade at some point and let you see how upset he is. winding up in hospital after being beat was a common occurrence in childhood. even after doing it time and time again as an adult it doesn't make it any easier on him. he’ll want to stay in your bed, be close to you for few days until either he starts to heal or something snaps him out of his funk.

BTAS Riddler

he really prefers other people to do the fighting for him. well physically anyway. he can handle his own arguments...most of the time. He’s going to need you to nurse a bruised ego more than anything. he probably got dunked on my batman or crane and now he’s huffing.

i don't know if this counts as care and kisses but he clearly needs you around to keep his sorry ass alive. he hurt his side in a fight once and said he wasn't hurt. believable... until he started to act a little confused, a little dizzy. needless to say it worried you enough to take him to emergency care. 

He was obviously in agony by now but he was still fighting with you the entire drive there, insulting you and insisting he was fine. its a good job you took him when he did, turns out he’d ruptured his spleen and would probably be dead if you weren’t around to act like his common sense.

he still hasnt apologised for that. or any of the other times you insisted on medical care to stop him from pushing up daisies. he just pretends like you know he’s grateful so he doenst have to admit he’s bullheaded, stubborn and worst of all, wrong. 

if he has been seriously hurt, he acts more indignant about it than anything. he wants to be waited on and pampered while resting in bed. he can be a genuine pain to deal with, talking about how lucky you are to see him in such a vulnerable state and how you should be grateful he’s letting you do this for him.

He doesn't want to admit how much he actually needs you. his goons wont put up with him when he’s like this and he’s freaking paying them to do it. you do it for free and no matter how annoying he is you havent left him yet. he doesn't tell you but youve noticed he starts getting you more gifts about a week after he’s recovered. like its taken him a day or two to work out he should probably thank you for all you do.

Original Riddler

this riddler is just weird. like he gets a freaking hang nail and he pretends like he’s dying. but he could nearly lose a limb and he’ll say “tis but a scratch” and still try to hobble about like nothing is wrong.

actually he’s more like olaf “oh look i've been impaled.”. he probably tries to laugh off life threatening injuries like its nothing, taking maybe 3 steps before he collapses on his face in a blood puddle and lets out a tiny “help”

good luck moving his tall lanky ass around. better get a gurney and maybe those vets at the zoo who deal with giraffes. seriously if you want to take care of him you are going to need help or some sort of action plan and a go bag because with his limp butt this will not be easy.

he’s kinda like BTAS riddler in that he needs you to tell him the injury is serious. hes not dumb he just has a high pain threshold and genuinely doesn't realise that injuries are as bad as they are. 

he can be a bit of a baby while being patched up. he doesn't like a lot of blood or gore, it makes him feel a little sicky. better give him your phone to play with like a kid at the doctors or put the tv on for him to watch while you bandage  him. word of warning, he will pass out or throw up if you try to give him stitches.

i think you should focus your love and attention on him AFTER medical care. just focus on the job, be silent and as fast as possible to get it over with quickly. you should probably bring him something sweet too. no not just you, although you are sweet for looking after him. give him something sugary because he’s going to be light headed after seeing any blood. maybe you could give him a lolly for being a good patient. 

Telltale riddler

this riddler is essentially a metahuman. he can REALLY take a beating and bounce back fairly quickly. just look how many times batman punched him in the face and it barely stunned him! he doesnt usually need patched up after a fight. maybe just a lil smooch and some hugs

he did really need your help after the whole pact thing. having his friends abandon him hurt like hell, more than any physical injury ever could.

after that, he clings to you. almost obsessively so; we know he’s got some serious mental illnesses but he usually has the worst of it under control, even without meds. now? it seems like he’s experiencing ptsd and is afraid to go anywhere without you, like you might up and disappear if you arent in his line of sight at all times.

i think this riddler might need the most intense care from you. hugs and gentle reassurance wont be enough. you’re going to be responsible for taking him to therapy, keeping him taking his meds and grounding him to reality. this is the kind of responsibility you took on when you got involved with him but i doubt you realised how hard it would be. i cant promise it will all be worth it but i can promise he wont ever forget your kindness.

the kind of care he needs after such a hard knocking down is just stability. im not one for romance or any mushy gushy stuff but please just pour your love into the cracks in this poor mans soul.

its hard going, but he has his moments. his gallows sense of humor is still there and hey, after him being in and out and gone for so long, it might be nice to have him around more.  

Zero year riddler

INSUFFERABLE LITTLE SHIT THIS ONE. he could LITERALLY be bleeding out in your arms and he’d STILL be backseat driving on your medical skills. the temptation to just leave him there to bleed is INCREDIBLE.

he’ll drop the act eventually. he’ll ask and maybe even beg for your help. man has  no shame and all the self preservation instincts of a lemming. dont get me wrong, he can be a total coward some times, only looking out for himself . but when he’s actually hurt ? not a fuckin clue. does this head wound need an ice pack or heat pack? is this spurring blood wound worthy of medical care? no idea. he was a very sheltered child who never got so much as a bruise so he has no idea what to do when he’s hurt.

he gets the everloving shit kicked out of him on a clockwork basis. like you could hear knocking on your door at 3 am and already be at the table with a first aid kit like oh its tuesday riddler must have broken his nose.

he takes entirely too much joy in making you patch him up. youre starting to wonder if he’s doing it on purpose just to see you in your little apron and latex gloves . he’s getting off on this and you know it but god help you, you just  cant resist his dumb face asking for your help and would you also wear this pink nurses outfit while youre at it?

one time he lost a LOT of blood. he would be fine but he was pretty damn loopy from lightheadedness. while you were trying to get him into bed to rest he started flirting with you. can you believe the audacity? he’s lost 3 pints of blood and he’s still more focus on his libido? 

he’s actually going to be both humble and grateful for your help when he finally comes round. dont get me wrong, he’s still a bit of a prick but at least he says thank you for saving him before he demands you kiss all his booboos and ouchies. 

nonnie i am having a stroke. i was trying SO hard to just pick one but i COULDNT because i am WEAK for hurt and comfort.

theres a reason i have a tag that literally says “i have naughty hands and no self control”

someone needs to stage an intervention

got something you wana talk about? send me an ask or a dm! im always game to talk about our favorite curious menace 💚💜

#asks #riddler headcanons #riddler #edward nygma #edward nigma #arkham riddler #arkham knight riddler #arkham knight #blacklight riddler #blacklight au #btas riddler #btas #batman the animated series #original riddler #telltale riddler #batman telltale #zero year riddler #zero year #my stuff #my writing #my headcanons #headcanons

[gyokuto]

i’m rewriting yashahime in my head (i’m only half serious, oh also, i’m not a writer)

-i’m not keen on the idea of sessh procreating for some reason it feels ooc lmao (hello aroace king), but i think towa and setsuna are cute. it seemed like there was naraku symbolism & kagura fit nature vs. nurture, so for the sake of keeping the twins, somehow kagura is reborn, and we’re gonna say she is a half-demon. the twins are hers and sessh’s. they’re actually 3 quarter demons which i think is a cool contrast to their cousin moroha

-rin is the best older sister ever, and the apple of her father’s eye! i’m trying to think of what would be a good “profession” for her...but honestly i just want her to be happy and carefree lol. her childhood was very stressful

-i like the twins’ designs, but i haven’t thought about them much since i was never a huge sessh fan. towa is for sure nonbinary. personally, i wish their discomfort with gender norms was explored more in “canon.” setsuna, i have to think about more since they basically wrote her like a 14 yr old, less mean version of sessh, but i would wanna flesh her character out more. i think it would be cool if they were actually hisui’s age (and older than moroha by maybe a year or two?)

-once i had this thought that it would be cool if there was a time period where mixed human/demon ancestry was more common (maybe humans like sango and miroku have distant demon relatives like a great grandparent or something. can we explore this???), and something happened and it became taboo which is why inuyasha went through what he did, etc. so, there’s still discrimination over it, but things are getting better however towa and setsuna struggle because of who their “grandpa” (naraku) was. i think inuyasha (cause half-demon uncle) and rin (human who understands humans can be just as cruel) would play a big role in helping them accept that they’re not to be ashamed of their ancestry (side plot? maybe this is a side story apart from something else i talk about later in the post.)

-kohaku? he has no scar and his freckles are back! that boy has suffered enough. he still adores his sister & he is the best uncle ever! kohaku has very soft vibes lol for some reason i feel like he wouldn’t really want to slay demons after everything he went through. can we just let him rest? maybe he would become a healer of some sort. kohaku maintains a close relationship with sessh, kagura, and rin! lives with miroku and sango. maybe he is closest to his niece gyokuto?

-kingyo are BOTH alive and well. they’re both lesbians. gyokuto is spiritual like her father, and k’inu does her own thing. maybe she inherited his shady/flirty behavior? i feel like i saw a similar hc, and i think that’s cute. she’s off charming girls and that’s why we haven’t seen her

-hisui takes after his mom. he’s a sweet boy but he’s also serious. his mom trained him! he also learned some stuff from his uncle kohaku!

-miroku and sango are bicons. why is this relevant? cause i said so. i feel like it fits their characters idk why. they’re wholesome and happy because sango deserves the world. miroku is still flirty but only w/ sango because he’s matured and loves his fuckin wife. who wouldn’t? she’s amazing. also, we’re done with stupid misogynistic tropes! he never groped ppl. we are retconning that shit. kilala is also alive and well.

-miroku was the stay-at-home dad mostly while the kids were young & sango brought in some $ by doing slaying jobs, but i can see them switching it around and him bringing home $ from doing spiritual jobs. also, she is the head of the demon slayers because why wouldn’t she be? (she is the older sibling and unlike sunrise i’m aware that women can uh do something other than be wives, also kohaku’s done w/ that stuff remember?) 

-they live next to kagome and inuyasha! kagome and inuyasha had their beautiful little babeeyyyy moroha who takes after both of them. inuyasha loves his child very much, and is constantly overwhelmed by a happiness he never thought he would have! she’s pretty much like a mini version of him, and kagome finds their relationship very endearing. she loves them very much! like in the show, moroha’s in touch with her spiritual powers. i think it would be cool if something happened one day while moroha was by the well, and she ended up in the present time. sota, mama higurashi and grandpa higurashi would cry and dote on her properly. maybe the plot is that she is stuck there, and inukag gotta go get her back? cue eventual kagome reunion with her family that is very emotional and makes me cry.

-random, but i think it would be cute if miroku, kagome, and kaede taught the kids who were into spirituality and healing, and sango and inuyasha taught the kids who were more into combat/slaying. i liked the inuyasha and sango friendship and the miroku and kagome friendship, so i think that’s something i would explore more

-moroha and hisui are best buds since they’re basically the cousins closest in age (i mean towa and setsuna too, but i don’t think sesshoumaru + his family would live as close to everyone)

-kingyo are definitely moroha’s older sister figures too

-i think kaede is strong and not kicking the bucket anytime soon, so she would basically be like the go-to babysitter while the kids are young & she is fine with that. when the kids were younger, inu gang still went on little day missions while kaede looked after the kiddies

-little shippo...i don’t know what to do about him. maybe we can age him at the same rate as a human would until he is done with adolescence...? so maybe he would be around rin’s age? i think his role would be like an uncle/older brother to the kids. he lives with everyone in the village, of course! also, his powers and magic have gotten more sophisticated. i need to think more about his character

-my version would be more slice of life instead of everyone being unhappy and there being another big bad that needs to be defeated...

-we can keep kirinmaru cause his design is cool. he can be toga’s spiteful ex because why not?

-maybe there is a prophecy but it came from an oracle (maybe zero can be the oracle instead of his sister) who saw a quarter demon with strong spiritual powers would defeat kirinmaru in like 3 yrs time or something (he has become too powerful and tyrannical?) we can keep the manipulation of space-time as a thing. maybe he somehow triggered the events that led to moroha being trapped in present day? (she’s the MC of my version)

-maybe a chunk of the story follows her life throughout a few years trapped in the present-era, but it explores the ways in which demons are still a part of present day japan (that way she does get raised by her parents, but also is apart from them for a period enough for it to feel like there’s a conflict (mirroring when kagome couldn’t get back to feudal japan)

-maybe we see some of our og gangs descendants (moroha enrolls in school or something)?

-kirinmaru keeps tabs on her through osamu kirin????? she figures it out idfk

-inuyasha finds out his dads ex is scared of his 14 yr old daughter? dude idk someone said toga kirinmaru exes and my brain has been like fixated on this ever since. it’s like not even relevant but i will make it relevant some how

-after tearful higurashi reunion, they all go back to feudal era and kick kirinmaru’s ass. prophecy is fulfilled (maybe well stays functioning and kagome can once again travel back and forth. i have to work out how this wouldn’t screw time up. maybe we can just close our eyes and ignore it? hehe)

-omg i almost forgot koga. idk what would happen w/ him....i feel like he would definitely be like moroha’s uncle! ginta and hakkaku are married.

-OH! kikyo? she is fucking resting in peace. please let her rest. she went through so much lol.

#my posts #but it makes me happy lol #this is all in good fun i don't even wanna pretend like this would actually be good #yashahime

[thiswasinevitableid]

Return (OT4)

Prompt for the 28th was: Costume

He might be showing off a little bit, carrying all the suitcases in at once, but Duck likes the appreciative look Indrid gives him as he does. The Sylph is already settled on the shoved together king beds, sketchbook in hand, eyeing the ranger conspicuously when he bends to set Joe’s bag down first, just as the agent finishes checking something off his to-do list

“Oh, thank you, um, honey.” The last word still comes out quiet. Really, the only time Joe says it loudly is when Duck has him pinned to one surface or another. 

He smiles to show he heard him, but if he’s being honest his attention has been mainly on Indrid this whole day, watching for signs of discomfort or unhappiness. The Sylph has insisted over and over again that he wanted to come on this trip, that he would be alright, and that they could all stop fussing about this please and thank you. 

But that doesn’t change the fact they’re in Point Pleasant.

They’re here for the Mothman Festival, Duck making good on his promise to Joe to go with him. He’s excited, and he likes seeing the agent happy. Indrid seems happy too, and Duck is trying to walk the line between letting him be and making sure he’s as alright as he claims to be. In spite of his experiences in Kepler, Indrid still sometimes takes unhappiness as inevitable, even when it’s his own. 

“Okay” Barclay tucks his phone into his back pocket, “my vote is for that cafe a few blocks over; if we go early, we can beat the dinner rush. Plus, even though it wasn’t a huge trip, being on the road tires me out, so I wanna crash soon as I can.”

“That is your only reason for wanting to get into bed sooner?” Indrid sends a suggestive smirk his way, making the bearded man blush. 

“Maybe. Depends on what everyone else is up for.”

The answer turns out to be a decent dinner followed by collapsing into bed in rapid succession. It doesn’t escape Ducks’ notice that Indrid stays in his human form and opts to nestle down between the ranger and the agent, holding Barclay’s hand where it’s draped over Joe’s waist. 

He wakes up once during the night, the dim light of the alarm clock enough to sting his eyes. In his arms, Indrid takes several deep breaths, rolls to burrow his face into Duck’s chest. He waits to see if Indrid will say anything, but the next sound he hears is a gentle chirp-snore. So he kisses his forehead, and goes back to dreaming.

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

“Having been to the TNT plant plenty of times, I do not feel the need to go on the hayride there.”

“Yeah, think we can skip that.” Duck sips his coffee as they wander through the first few blocks of the festival. Joe’s early rising has them beating much of the crowd, though runners from the 5K jog by now and then. 

“Why were you there, anyway? It doesn’t seem suitable for you.” Stern turns them towards the museum.

“The Winnebago’s previous incarnation wasn’t all that far away. Frightened humans are not known  for their powers of observation.”

“True.” Joe and Barclay say as one. 

They split up soon after, Joe and Duck into the museum while Barclay and Indrid scope out the food booths (“Being in a space with a great deal of inaccurate information about me is not my favorite). Wandering the exhibits, the agent’s fingers slip between his own, and Duck smiles when he sneaks a peek at him. He’s so relaxed, his dark hair out of it’s usual slicked-back state since he wanted to get out of the door quickly, looks utterly at home in his mothman patterned button up shirt, animatedly talking about the displays. Indrid is usually the one of them most likely to dump information out in one big flow, but Joe has his moments. 

The building is warm enough that Duck unbuttons his overshirt, revealing the t-shirt beneath. Joe turns to tell him something, and stops, eyebrows zipping up his forehead. 

“A little on the nose, isn’t it?”

Duck grins, looking down at the bright red letters reading “mothman is my boyfriend.”

“Juno bought it for me once she found out. Usually just wear it when I wanna make Indrid laugh. Plus, seen three people with similar ones, so it ain’t like anyone is gonna take it as confession.”

Joe nods, gracefully weaving through a small clump of visitors on their way to the gift shop. When Duck falls in next to him, the agent murmurs, “you’re worried about him too.”

“Kinda hard not to be.”

“I know. I’m trying to take him at his word but it’s, well, it’s difficult. It wouldn’t be the first time my interests turned people off. I’d hate for him to get overwhelmed by all this and try to hide it for my sake.”

“He ain’t bad at hidin things, but he’s also real fuckin blunt.” He puts his arm around Joe’s shoulder, “it’ll be okay, city mouse.”

After spending slightly more money than necessary (look, he promised lots of people souvenirs and also he needed to buy a few things for Joe for the holidays), they make their way back into the festival. On a bench near an outer edge, Barclay and Indrid are sitting thigh to thigh, Barclay feeding Indrid funnel cake. He says something and Indrid laughs.

“You know, even though it was fleeting, I’m glad they found each other all those years ago. One of the things I love most about Barclay is how he takes care of people, and I think Indrid needed that.”

“Not gonna lie, never expected the biggest softy in Kepler to also be Bigfoot.”

“You didn’t expect it? Think about how I feel.”

He laughs, “yeah, you got me there.”

They move through the festival as a quartet after that, Barclay delighted with his “Mothman Blend” coffee and Indrid with the sweater bearing his likeness and the words “live, laugh, lurk.” As noon approaches, more and more mothman appear, all in varying degrees of impressive or lackluster cosplays and costumes. Stern keeps muttering about scale, Indrid about wing placement, and Duck can’t help but think none of them get the color right. 

“I have an, ah, an idea.” Indrid says, turning a mug reading “I Heart Mothman” over in his hands, “So many people are excited to meet those who look like me. I want to see what happens if they see the real thing.”

“Uh, that seems real-”

“Risky yes, but I’ve checked the futures and there is not one where I am identified as what I actually am.”

Duck and Barclay trade a skeptical look, but Joe has an uncharacteristically scheming glint in his eye. 

“I know exactly how we can insure that. Duck, Barclay, wait here please. Indrid, come with me, we need to run back to the hotel.” He grabs the Sylphs hand. 

“What are you--oh, oh yes, that is rather clever” is the last Duck hears before losing them in the crowd. 

“....you wanna help me pick out a present for Jake?” Barclay still looks worried, so Duck nods and they set off towards a t-shirt booth.

Barclay is mid-anecdote about his run in with a cougar out in California when every visitor in sight starts whispering and taking pictures.

The cooks mutters “If this goes wrong, Mama’s going to lock all four of us in the safehouse for the rest of our lives.”

In his Sylph form, Indrid towers above the crowd. His arms are resolutely set by his sides and head held high, Duck gets a rare glimpse of how his boyfriend must have looked in the halls of Sylvain. All the same, his eyes are drawn to the  antenna twitching with nerves as the onlookers get closer.

“If you could just step back from the specimen a bit, thank you.” Joe steps directly in front of Indrid, and Barclay lets out a soft, appreciative growl to Duck’s right. The agent is in a full suit, complete with sunglasses, a picture of handsome, aloof calm. 

People in the crowd laugh,take more pictures as Indrid’s “handler” guides him over to Duck and Barclay.

“Do you just pack a suit no matter what, babe?”

“No. I, um, I know how much certain people like it when I wear one. I planned to bring it out this evening but this seemed like the better use.”

“It’s working splendidly. So far. Just keep people away from my wings; I only like it when you three touch them.”

“Roger that. Lunch?”

“Sounds good to me. Lead the way, mister man-in-black.” Duck steps aside so Joe can go first, clearing a path for them, Indrid staying close to the agent’s back. They opt for a waffle stand selling, among other things, waffle sandwiches and something called the “Mothman Delight” that consists of strawberry jam, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. Indrid orders one, only to ask Barclay to feed it to him to keep up the ruse of this being a costume. The cook doesn’t object in the slightest, though at one point he whispers something in high sylph that makes Indrid poof up with a chirp. 

The longer they wander the festival, the more relaxed Indrid becomes, fielding questions about costume construction and wing mechanics with the ease of someone who spent a century constructing alibis for his very existence. Lots of people take pictures with him, Joe shepherding them into poses that won’t make the Sylph uncomfortable. Several inquire as to why he didn’t enter the cosplay contest. 

“It wouldn’t have been fair.” 

It’s when they’re debating when and how to get dinner that a family approaches. Sandwiched between her parents, a girl of about seven stares up at Indrid with wide eyes, clutching her stuffed mothman to her chest. 

“Can, um, can” she looks back to her parents for help.

“She wants to know if she can hug you.” The woman says, as a child wanting to hug a massive monster is utterly unremarkable. 

Joe glances at Indrid, who nods, “Yes, if she would like to.”

The girl hands her small mothman to her dad, takes four steps forward, and throws her arms around the much larger one. Indrid does his best to hug her back, settling for putting his hands on her shoulders. 

“She’s just obsessed with cryptids.”

“You’re my favorite” she smiles up at Indrid.

“Mine too.” Duck chimes in, resting his hand on the smell of Indrid’s back. 

“We’re out here because it’s all she wants for her birthday.”

Joe makes a high-pitched noise at the same time Barclay lets out an “awww.”

Indrid smiles, pats the child’s head, “In that case, would you like to take a picture with me?”

“Yes!”

“May I pick you up?”

She nods hard enough to send her alien-patterned headband down her forehead. Indrid picks her up, holding her while she beams at her mom’s camera. 

“Are you liking the festival?” He asks as they pose.

“Uh huh. ‘Cept for the parts where people say mothman does bad things. He doesn’t, he stops them, everyone knows that.” 

“She’s gotten in at least three arguments with classmates over that.” Her father adds, holding out his arms as Indrid passes the girl back to him. 

“I, ah, I am glad to know the mothman has such determined defenders. Happy birthday, my dear.”

As they turn, the little girl calls out, “bye mothman! I love you!”

Indrid looks back, red eyes a bit watery, and waves as Duck murmurs, “Me too.”

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

Stern doesn’t regret how much he ate at dinner. He;s just glad he packed those antacids. 

When he sits up, two bodies are missing from the bed, and it’s only the sight of a note on the nightstand that keeps him from bolting out of bed to look for them. 

Indrid and I are out for a late-night walk. Back soon.

-Duck.

“Everything okay?” Barclay rolls over, brown eyes reflective in the dark. 

“Yes” he pops the antacid into his mouth, “they just stepped out.”

“O-” the sylph yawns “kay.” Blinking sleepily, he smiles, “anyone ever tell you you’re the hottest thing on two legs?”

“You did, this morning.”

“Good, gotta meet my quota.” He opens his arms and Stern snuggles in net to him, “sleep tight, special agent.”

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

Duck didn’t see Indrid leave, but he’s got a hunch as to where he went. Still, he almost misses him, spots the silver hair in the moonlight right before a hedge obscures it. 

Indrid sits in the middle of the embankment, the Ohio reflecting the night sky in motion. To a passerby, he looks to be studying the opposite shore. Duck knows that his gaze is closer than that, sweeping over air that wasn’t always empty. 

“Huh, there was only one future where you followed me.”

“You want me to go back?”

“No.” 

Duck picks his way down to Indrid’s side, finding a flat stone to sit on. 

“It’s funny, the ways stories change. What they say about me grows further and further from what I say about myself.”

“‘Drid, you know this wasn’t your fault. No more than the Cottonwood or anythin else was.”

“That is the story I try to tell in my mind. That there are things that cannot be stopped or altered, that must only be endured. That was why I gave up for years. Then you and the others showed me that even the worst, seemingly inevitable futures can be changed. And that is good, so very good, but all the same it....it sometimes serves as proof of what I fear; that I could not stop these” he gestures to river, “disasters not because they were unstoppable, but because I was incapable.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Sometimes. Just as you sometimes worry you could have done much more good in the world had you neglected your powers. I wonder how much of my failure was out of my hands.”

“Drid” Duck cups his cheek, turning his head and gingerly tilting his glasses up his forehead, “You’re forgettin somethin; the cottonwood, the funicular, the end of the goddamn world, none of that was stopped by one person. It took a whole bunch of us, every damn time. You were alone. There’s only so much one fella can do on his own.”

Indrid closes his eyes, inhales and looks out over the river one last time. Then all his attention is on Duck. 

“You’re right. I may not always believe that, but I know it’s true.”

“You know what else?”

The smile suggests he does. Indrid leans the few inches in to kiss him, the action dreamlike in its softness. Duck catches a hint of two different scents; a pine tr sop and a cologne. The Sylph is sheltered from the chill by a sweatshirt that started off as Barclays, but is routinely claimed by his boyfriends. 

“You ain’t alone anymore.”

For the first time in decades, the mothman smiles while within sight of the rebuilt silver bridge. 

“You’re right, my love. I’m not.”

#promptober #OT4: Government Men and Their Cryptid Boyfriends #sternclay #indruck #duck newton/agent stern #indrid cold/duck newton #agent stern/barclay/indrid cold/Duck newton #trans duck newton #trans agent stern

[mediocre--writing]

He Loves Me Not

Tony Stark X Reader

Summary: When one single drunken night brings out the worst in Y/N, how will Tony react when 20 years of pent-up feelings are released on him within 20 minutes?

Word Count: 3,906

Warnings: None, there’s some angst, but it ends fluffy 

**This was posted from my other account previously

One could almost smell the alcohol from the ascending elevator, the stench going up to the living room in the tower, it was disgusting, really. So when the elevator doors opened, it was to no one’s surprise that a disgusting, drunken Y/N came waltzing through the halls.

More like stumbling around in her bare feet, heels in her left hand, clutch in her right, skin-tight dress clinging to her sticky, sweaty skin.

It was moments like these that Steve was more than grateful for his Super Serum enabling him to not get drunk, he never wanted to involuntarily look like that.

It was kind of a bust on the movie night that the other Avengers had invested most of their night into. While most of them were asleep, Steve, Bruce, Tony, and Clint were talking while the third Harry Potter movie played in the background.

Y/N almost fell flat on her face as she walked into the living room filled with sleeping Avengers, kicking Thor as she tripped over him, saving herself at the last minute. Good thing the god was a heavy sleeper.

“You do realize it’s 12:30 in the morning, right?” Tony asked Y/N, who barely shrugged in response, practically falling on Steve’s lap as she sat on the couch. “How much did you drink, fluffy?”

“I only had one drink,” Y/N slurred as she blinked slowly and carefully.

“I think you mean one case,” Tony told her, raising an eyebrow at her, to which she gave him an aggravated look.

“No,”

“Wow, pouty face, hits you in the heart, doesn’t it?” Tony mumbled to Clint, who was beside him, before addressing the absolutely hammered girl sprawled along the couch, half in Steve’s lap, and boy did the discomfort on his face make Tony smirk on the inside.

“I think you had more than one drink,” Tony told her slowly as she raised her head once again, glaring playfully at Y/N.

“And I think you’re always wrong.” She said grumpily, voice muffled by Steve’s thighs.

“Oh, I’m always wrong, aren’t I?” Tony inquired, rubbing the top of her head, watching her back relax as her breathing got quieter.

“Um-humph,” Y/N agreed, propping her chin on Steve’s thigh, staring at Tony through her lashes, eyebrows raised as if to tell him that, obviously, he was always wrong.

“Ok, well, one thing I’m not wrong about it getting you to bed, fluffy,”

“Why do you always call me that!” She yelled loudly as Tony helped her off the couch, grabbing the shoes and clutch as he supported her with his other arm.

“‘Cause your hair is all fluffy in the mornings, that and you hate when I do it.”

His fucking smile. That Tony-Stark-shit-eating-grin that could make any girl weak did nothing but aggravate Y/N, he was always like this. Cheeky, arrogant, idiotic, charming, caring, sweetheart.

The little bitch.

Y/N was leaning on Tony’s shoulder once in the elevator, leaning against the wall as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Where’d you go to tonight?”

“Where does it look like I went?” She asked harshly, but not moving her head from his shoulder, which only got more comfortable.

“Just wondering which bar got you so fucked up, had to have been a good place,” Tony asked, watching the numbers above the elevator get closer to her floor. “or was it a horrible experience… or person?”

“Good person, bad guy.” Y/N said, speaking more clearly than she had all night.

“Wanna elaborate on that?” he asked, craning his neck to look at her face, which looked peacefully disturbed.

“You.”

Tony swears everyone could hear the gears turning in his head at that very moment.

Did he do something that he didn’t remember? Her birthday was months ago, he doesn’t recall anything important that he forgot to tell her, there hadn’t been a mission for the past month, surprisingly.

He was a scientist, what variable was he forgetting to include.

A projection of all their years together flashed through his head, they met at MIT, she helped him after his mom and dad died, she was his partner when he started his takeover of Stark Industries, she went through the Avengers Initiative with him, along with anything important in his life. She was always with him, and she always seemed happy, so why was she so suddenly unhappy.

The only thought in Tony’s head was the quote “Drunk words, sober thoughts.”

Was she really so unhappy being around him? Did she only ever stay around for money or fame? Was she only doing this out of pity, or was there another ulterior motive behind their friendship?

“Me?” If Y/N was sober, she would’ve noticed the breaking of Tony’s voice.

“Yeah, you and your–your fuckin– just like the– I– You’re my problems.”

The door dinged open, showing the hallway in which Y/N’s room was on, along with Wanda’s.

“Fluffy what di–”

“Stop calling me that!” She begged as she pushed away from the wall and Tony’s shoulder, stumbling her way to her door, almost falling multiple times until he came out of his frozen state and grabbed her shoulders from behind, steadying her as he walked her to the door.

“Y/N, can you please tell me what I did that made you mad?” Tony asked, holding her shoulders for both emphasis and necessity, as she began leaning left so far she almost hit the wall.

“You’re you, Tony.” Y/N told him, locking eyes, and for that split second, Tony knew that everything that would come out of her mouth next wouldn’t be lies. “You’re amazing and sarcastic, and kind of a bitch to the team, but you’re so nice to me. And we’ve been together, as friends, for like 20 years. But I don’t want to be your friend anymore.

“Got it?” She said, teary-eyed.

“Y/N,” Tony called before she disappeared through her door, making her head turn, the tears flowing freely now. “What can– did I do? Why’re you so drunk right now?”

“You!” She screamed so loud you could hear the scratchy strain on her throat, causing her tears to come down a bit faster, but backing away when Tony tried to wipe them off her face. “This is all because of you! You and you’re lovable self, and I fucking love you but you and Pepper love each other so much and I’m not allowed to stop it because I won’t let you be unhappy for me, because I know that you just want me happy, but I don’t want it!”

She slammed the door, and Tony knew the clattering in the room wasn’t her drunk mind wobbling around the room, but throwing things at the door and walls, and her screaming wasn’t from a physical injury, but the stabbing feeling in her heart that screamed to be relieved.

Through all of this, Tony didn’t move. He wanted to, he wanted to run through the door, cradle her probably shaking body and stop her crying, but he, truthfully, didn’t know what he would say, or if he would get hit with a lamp, so he stayed away, walking to the lab, where he would crash at around 6am, just like every other time he had something on his mind.

Y/N knew that he would go to the lab. But what she wanted more than anything was for him to run in, screaming about how he secretly loved her as well, and how he never loved Pepper as much as he loved her.

But that was only for fairytales, and the shit-hole that was Earth was no fairytale, it was some twisted story written by the Grimm brothers and turned into reality by Tim Burton.

So, like any logical person, Y/N decided to scream and cry and throw things around, and, if she were sober, she probably wouldn’t have ever said anything. She wouldn’t want to die at that moment, to see the confused regret on his face when she spilled out her heart.

Everyone heard it. Steve, Clint, Wanda (who was woken up by the screaming a door down), and Bruce, who knew what the screaming was about.

Tony was oblivious, but anyone could tell that Y/N loved Tony, and it may have seemed only platonic to him, but she was in deep. And Tony was even oblivious to the fact that at least a little part of him loved her too.

Even Pepper knew that they fit together well, when one was being an idiot, the other would become an annoyed parent, they were there for each other. They’d been through too much with one another.

So Bruce turned on the coffee pot at 12:45 that night – more so, morning, bringing a large cup down to Tony in the lab, where he was bound to end up after the screaming ended. With his amazing timing, Bruce had just set down the two cups of coffee when Tony came walking in, dazed and confused, walking like a zombie who didn’t know where to go.

“Wanna work on something or do you wanna talk?” Bruce asked once Tony sat down, grabbing his designated mug, something that Y/N had bought for him as a joke, one that said ‘Worlds Greatest Dad’ on it with Peter’s signature on the back with a happy face next to it.

He stared at the mug for a moment, looking at the straight black coffee swirling around with little bubbles around the swirls.

“Let’s work,” Tony said, getting his tools from the desk, getting FRIDAY to bring out his latest suit, Bruce staring at the broken man for a moment before putting on his glasses and preparing for a long night with the resident insomniac.

It had been a week. Y/N wasn’t avoiding Tony, she was going on every day like nothing ever happened and everyone had the same question: Did she not remember what happened?

She did. Y/N was a wreck that morning, going on an early run once she knew that Tony was crashed in the lab and probably wouldn’t be up until noon, and let the five miles she jogged clear her thoughts.

If he didn’t want to bring it up, she sure as hell wasn’t going to. So she went about everything as normally as possible, not letting any feelings overwhelm her and keeping to herself just a bit more than usual, to not get any questions.

It was hard, most of all, that she didn’t get to talk to anyone about this.

She knew that Tony and Bruce talked, and if he wanted to, Tony could let Bruce know anything, or Rhodey, or anyone. Because he formed real relationships with the people he worked with. The only person Y/N was close with was Tony and it’s not like she could talk to either of them about her problems, being in love with Tony and all.

So Y/N continued to silently suffer through the Terrible Tony Times, which she had labeled this era of her life that morning when she got her sober mind back. Anyone could tell she was off, she worked harder, did more things around the compound, talked less, and her jokes were few and far between.

Wanda, the only person that Y/N had talked to more than for debriefing for a mission or a friendly morning greeting, finally brought it up to Natasha and Bruce. She figured she could offer Y/N’s perspective, Bruce Tony’s, and Natasha could be the impartial voice since she’d known both of them for an equal amount of time and wasn’t particularly close with either.

It was a plan, a sneaky one at that, and would only work if they got a certain spice out of the picture.

Pepper and Tony’s relationship seemed to be the only thing keeping them apart, and Tony would never break up with Pepper to only make Y/N happy, but he didn’t necessarily want Y/N unhappy as he was with Pepper either.

The trio was at a standpoint, nothing was going to get any better unless they truly found out Tony’s viewpoint on this situation. And the only way for that to happen was to get him totally-completely-hammered-to-the-ground-wasted so they could get a truthful and straight-up answer from him.

The plan was working, it was a Friday and the team, per usual, was enjoying a week with no missions that left with a horrible news story. Everyone had had a drink or two, but Tony, who was hanging around Steve and Thor, had been shooting back the Asgardian liquor that Thor brought for himself and Steve.

At this point, they were waiting for Tony to start headbanging to himself singing the alphabet song, which had happened a time or two, then Natasha would go in with her “sneaky spy thing” (Wanda’s words) and get an answer from Tony.

“I’m doing it now,” Natasha murmured to Wanda as she stood up, getting a confused look from Y/N, who was laying off all alcohol after her little incident with Tony. “Going to the bathroom.”

“I don’t trust her,” Y/N said to Wanda after seeing the sultry smile that she put on her face before she fully turned around, “What’s she going to do, Wanda?”

“Not sure, I’ve learned to not ask questions that I don’t need answers to,” Wanda said, locking eyes with Y/N before sipping the whiskey out of the glass.

“Well the only thing I enjoy anymore is knowing everything so I’ll be right back,” Wanda’s hand latched onto her upper arm, causing Y/N to turn with wide, accusing eyes pointed at the brunette. “Wan, whatcha doin’?”

“Leave her alone, Y/N,” Wanda said sternly,  her eyes oddly serious for her usual calm demeanor. Her grip was still tight on Y/N’s arm, drawing out a long sigh from the woman.

“What do you know that I don’t?” Y/N asked Wanda.

Meanwhile, across the room, Natasha began talking to Thor, Steve, and Tony about whatever came to mind, trying to get Tony alone as fast as possible.

“Did I ever tell you boys about the mission Bruce and I went on in Barbados?” She asked the men, who all shook their heads, “Really? Apparently, I didn’t tell the girls either, so how bout you go sit with them and I’ll start storytime in a minute?”

Natasha’s raised eyebrow and curious eyes led the two blonds to the couch in the living room, her hand reaching out to grab Tony’s arm when he tried to leave. “I need to talk to you,”

“Yes ma’am,” Tony awkwardly saluted her as they stumbled to the far end of the kitchen, away from the others.

“Can I ask you a few questions, rapid-fire, as fast as you can?” Natasha asked, “And honestly, too.”

“Yes…” Tony narrowed his eyes, still blurry and confused from the strong liquor, but still snarky and annoying, as always.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Gold,”

“What’s your favorite food?”

“Cheeseburgers,”

“Your favorite team member?”

“Bruce,”

“Who’s your favorite person?”

“Y/N,”

“Where do you want to grow old?”

“Somewhere secretive,”

“Who do you love?”

“Y/N.”

“What’s one secret you have?”

“Too many”

“Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?”

“Yes, a donkey named Eorye.”

Natasha smirked with her bright red lips, curly hair falling around her face, “That’s all I needed to know, thanks, Tony.”

“Welcome, fireball!” Tony slurred as he walked into the living room, sitting on the other side of Wanda, Y/N at her other side.

The days following were crucial to the plan and were on thin ice. Trying to get inside Pepper Potts’ head was going to be an issue, she was a tough nut to crack, and though Nat had gotten through people stronger than her, she didn’t want to come off invasive or rude.

Pepper was going to be an issue, that was certain, until she disappeared, though Tony didn’t seem as worried as he should’ve been, claiming “She didn’t want to stay, I wasn’t going to force her.”

The team thought that this was it, he and Y/N would finally get together and be happy, like they should have always been. But nothing happened.

Y/N continued to avoid Tony like the plague and it seemed like Tony was doing everything he could to talk to her.

“Y/N, Mr. Stark requests to see you in the lab.” FRIDAY’s voice would announce in the kitchen.

“Tell him that I would, but I’m busy doing anything else,” Y/N would respond every time, sometimes there was variation, but it was usually the same.

The next two Team Fridays passed, they all drank and had fun doing whatever they did, but Y/N would, mysteriously, become ill in her room all night and wouldn’t answer, or unlock, her door.

So it was a random Wednesday.

Tony was fed up with this, he was ready to tell her that he loved her too, that things with Pepper had been on the edge for a while, and that he’s sorry that he was weird that night, he didn’t expect it, that’s all.

But she was only a ghost at this point. He would see her across the room, from the other end of the hall, but when he’d get close enough, she’d be gone, in a closet, hiding around the corner, sprinting around the compound, until Tony found her.

Her hands were wrapped, beads of sweat dripping down her back and forehead, her leggings and sports bra clinging to her sticky skin as she punched at the bag, going harder and harder as Tony watched from the door.

“Don’t kill the poor thing, Rogers already killed their family.” Tony joked with a small smile on his face, looking at Y/N’s back as she stopped and tensed at the sound of his voice. “Did you know that I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past two weeks?

“At first I thought it was just normal, it was still weird, but then you just didn’t show up anywhere I was and would disappear if I showed up. Do you even know that it’s been a month since we’ve talked like friends? That I got a haircut? That I … broke up with Pepper?”

“I know,” Y/N stated, still not turning to face him, but unwrapping her hands slowly.

“Oh, you know?” Tony asked, scrunching his nose up in the cute way he did when the sarcastic bitch came out. “Well, I know that you haven’t been doing much of anything, that I’ve tried to talk to you over and over constantly. I know that you don’t talk to anyone anymore, but that’s because you only ever talk to me. What I don’t know is why you won’t now.”

“Tony?” Y/N asked, finally facing him, sucking a breath in through her nose, “Why’d you break up with Pepper?”

“You know why.” Tony smiled softly, raising his eyebrows in a sign of surrender.

“No. I don’t. I have two possibilities of why you would have broken up with Pepper,” She looked down at her shoes, his shoes, then back up to his eyes. “If you broke up with Pepper to make me feel better, then everything gets worse, Tony. I can’t feel like I ruined a relationship because I don’t talk to people about my feelings. That’s my problem, not yours.”

“No offense, but do you really think I’d end a relationship over you?” Tony snarked back, “You know better than anyone that Pepper has only ever made me go out of my way and do things I wouldn’t normally do. You know that she never made me really, truly happy.”

“But you guys were fine, and you were going to propose to her soon–”

“Yeah, because you told me to. I trust your judgment more than I ever valued hers, you told me that I was prepared for the next step, and I thought that if you thought so, knowing me, then she’d think so, too.” Tony ranted, pacing back and forth in front of the door. “You are the only person here, besides maybe Rhodey, that I’ve trusted for so long, that I’ve known and respected for so long when any friends I make get their picture and leave.

“An- and you know that I would go to the ends of the earth for you, and you would do the same for me, and I know that you’ve liked me in MIT, and I thought you may have liked me when we were working together, and I thought you stopped, because we grew up and you went on dates with guys, so I got with Pepper because you never said anything to me–”

“You never said anything either!” Y/N shouted to stop Tony’s ranting. “This is a two-way street, and you can’t blame your relationship problems on me not saying anything to you when you so obviously never said anything to me. Your problems aren’t me, your problems are your own faults, Tony!”

“I’m not blaming you! I’m saying that we both didn’t say things we should’ve in college, and I know that I’ve had my share of mess-ups, but so have you. And that’s why I think we can work well together.” Tony’s words softened as he walked towards Y/N, putting his hands on her upper arms ever so gently. “And even now, when you’re all sweaty and gross, I still know that I love you, Fluffy.”

“I love you too, Tones.” Y/N smiled at him, looking at his hazel eyes that bore into hers. So many unspoken words shared at that moment, their plans for the future, their lives, anything that could be communicated with that look was said easily in the deep moment as they leaned into one another.

Her eyes flickered down to his lips, smiling as they got closer, closer, and closer before they were breathing on each other’s lips.

Their eyes closed as their hands wandered, his going to her hips and hers on his shoulders, their lips nearly touching–

“Oh, Mr. Stark!” Peter’s voice yelped along with a crash that came from the doorway, where Peter had landed on the floor in his excitement.

The blooming couple sighed, eyes darting to the clumsy kid, who’s cheeks were flushing from how he found the duo.

“I-I’m so sorry Mr. Stark I didn’t mean to intrude, but–”

“Kid,” Tony snubbed his mumbling, “I’ll meet you in the lab.”

“Ye-Yeah, got you, Sir.”

“I told you, ‘Worlds Greatest Dad,’” Y/N poked his chest, “Right here,”

Her tongue was between her teeth as she held in her giggles, Tony pulling her in for a tight hug, kissing her head before resting his own head on top.

“I love you, Fluffy,”

“I love you too.”

“Good, you had me worried there for a minute.” Tony joked, pulling his head to look at her face.

“God, you’re annoying, maybe I don’t love you so much anymore.” Y/N teased as Tony picked her up and spun her around as they both laughed, oblivious to the group of Avengers watching from the door after Peter had told them what was happening.

#tony stark x reader #tony stark #tony stark imagine #marvel x reader #tony stark one shot

[emma-nation]

Within You - Bloodbound AU - Chapter 2

Summary: One year after defeating Gaius, the gang has finally found peace… Until a tragic incident awakens the ultimate and most dangerous threat they ever faced.

Genre: Angst/Adventure/Romance

Rating: T - Warning for violence and language

Notes:

- Sequel to the fics For You, In The Daylight and Without You. You can read all of them here.

- I'm sorry for taking so long. I've been very busy for the last few days. Also, I wanted this chapter to be perfect, as it's extremely important to the plot.

- Happy Holidays!

Tag List: @supersphynxsworld​​, @lightning-fury​​, @spacecarrousel​​, @tigerbryn11, @gavryllo​​, @annabellewerecorgi​​, @whoinvitedalx​​, @sheyah​​, @imnotdonewiththeelementalists​​, @scaryqueenbee, @bigmemesplz, @la-guerra-69, @kamilahsayeed-owns-me​​, @morvengarde​​, @tephy24​​, @iam-the-fuckin-queen​​​​, @voltos9, @scorpistraub​​​​, @leavemeandmyshipsalone​​​​, @jen825​​​​, @andreear17​​​​, @justejuste727​​​​, @aureliaxj, @graceschoices​​​​, @sleeping-with-her06, @galaxyside-0​​​, @msuhailey, @zoe6111​​​, @noodledragon22​​​​, @tigerbryn11, @shanuuh​​​, @ilovetaylor13m​​​, @honorablebicycle​​​, @ilovekamilahsayeed​​​, @allaboutchoices​​​, @fal-carrington​​​, @scarlet-letter-a0114

Kamilah

“Your hands are shaking. Why don’t you take a cup of tea and calm down?”

Kamilah went to the kitchen and prepared her wife a special tea to ease her stress in such a difficult moment. Amy was sitting on the couch, crying in silence while she attempted to contact her mother.

When she returned to the living room, the girl had an entire different look on her face. Kamilah looked into her eyes, they seemed bottomless and without any emotion.

"Amy?"

“Don’t ask me to calm down when my dad could be dying,” she said coldly, before heading to their bedroom and starting to shove some clothes inside a small luggage.

Amy wasn’t acting like herself. Again. She was an impulsive person, even reckless sometimes, but that was something completely different. Aside from her look becoming vague, she’d become extremely angry and aggressive.

It had happened a couple of times since they returned from Greece. The first, triggered by a small mistake she made at Ahmanet Financial that resulted in a contract loss. The second, one night after her visions about Kamilah’s past started to increase. In both cases, she’d act distant and cold for a few days. Closed inside her own shell.

That had nothing to do with being a Bloodkeeper. Adrian thought it could be some sort of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after her near-death experience. 

“Amy,” Kamilah spoke softly, trying to get her to hear. “We can go in my private jet by the morning. Driving right now could be dangerous, look at the rain falling outside.”

She wouldn’t listen. Amy continued packing her clothes like Kamilah wasn’t even present. The female vampire sighed and went to her home office.

“Adrian,” she said through the phone. “It’s me. It’s happening again.”

She told him about Amy’s father and how it triggered her strange behavior for a third time. 

"You know what concerns me. It all began since we discovered the Tree."

Adrian didn't believe it was possible, but Kamilah had a bad feeling about that situation from the start. The First Vampire had once tried to kill Amy to return to life. Whatever their connection was, their lives were bounded by something powerful. A power where Amy's death would make possible for her to walk on the Earth again. 

Kamilah only knew her through legends and stories told by Gaius, but it was enough to know she wouldn't easily give up. Especially when she had been so close to obtain what she wanted.

"What should I do?" She asked.

"Give her space. But go with her, don't leave her alone in under circumstances."

When Kamilah hung up, she only had time to see Amy passing through the corridor, carrying her bags. She quickly changed her clothes and followed her to the garage, using her vampire speed.

"I'm coming with you," she was already inside the car when Amy finished placing her stuff in the trunk. "I'm driving."

The girl didn't complain or express any emotion. She simply sat on the passenger seat in complete silence, staring at nothing.

Kamilah started driving, but that tightness in her chest only increased as she followed to the road. She knew something terrible was about to come, yet she couldn't tell when. Or how.

----------

Lysimachus

Even two years later, Lysimachus hadn't completely earned the trust of all Council members. The mistrust surrounding him had gone worse when he began to work as a Nighthunter in New Orleans. 

His chair on the Council was hanging by a thread now. Though he no longer feared a death punishment, Jax, Adrian and even his sister could be supporting Priya and Lester against him after such a huge mistake.

"I can't simply erase her mind, Adrian," he told. "What about her employee? A big person is behind this. They'd certainly seek for revenge."

"Go home," Adrian advised him, "talk to her. Try to make her spill who's paying her. We can go after them."

"Okay."

Before heading to his apartment, Lysimachus invited Katherine to the nearest bar. It'd be their first conversation since her appearance in the Council meeting.

“How could you betray me like this?"

“I never betrayed you,” she was sitting on a stool next to him, playing with her glass and with an annoyed look on her face. “As soon as you left the diner, a lot of zeros suddenly appeared in my bank account. Then, my phone rang. Somebody wanted to hire me to monitor Raines’ research. Well... I remembered your file, that was accidentally on my phone.”

“And used it in your favor!”

She rolled her eyes and stared at him for a moment, in silence.

“I couldn't say no, don't judge me."

He sighed and shook his head in denial. After one year working together and being partners, he'd never expect this act coming from her. 

"Do you have any idea of what your friend is in possession?" Katherine continued. "In the wrong hands, it could spread chaos and destroy the entire human race.”

“But it’s not in wrong hands, okay? Adrian has been studying it for good purposes.”

"Wrong hands, like mine?"

They both turned around to see Priya standing right behind them, with a malicious grin and her phone pointed to them.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest traitor of them all?"

“What the hell are you doing here?” Lysimachus questioned, wondering if his night could become any worse.

“It's a public place,” she answered. “I come here occasionally, when I’m too bored in my big mansion.”

Something in the way she said 'big mansion' suggested she was attempting to insult Katherine. Knowing the Nighthunter, Lysimachus knew she wouldn’t simply ignore it.

“Big mansions can be quite of a pain in the ass,” she lamented. “I remember when I lived in one.”

“Not when you have houseboys to serve you.”

Priya joined them at the bar and ordered herself a drink. Recognizing her, the bartender said it was for free. Lysimachus just stood there, observing the scene and thinking of a manner to stop the conversation, that would certainly end badly.

“Oh so it’s true," Katherine sounded curious and sarcastic at the same time. "You do fill your house with sex slaves.”

“Better than living in an empty penthouse, don’t you think?”

“How do you…” the point Katherine stood up to face Priya in a challenging manner was enough for him to intervene.

“Can you both just stop?” He asked. “Priya, why don’t you go home?”

“Whatevs,” she shrugged, swallowing her drink in one sip. “I’ve got exactly what I wanted here.”

She played an audio file on her cell phone, when Katherine admitted she had access to Adrian's file. 

“If you want I can kill her for you,” Katherine suggested as Priya left. “I have a good aim when it comes to vampires.”

“I’m sure we can solve it in another manner,” he told, considering the alternative Kamilah gave him. Debriefing her would be the most correct thing to do, but first he had to know with who he’d be dealing with later.

----------

Amy

“She just don’t get it. Kamilah only cares about her own interests. She doesn’t have any empathy for you at all!”

Amy shook her head, dismissing that thought. It had happened again. Her emotions and thoughts got out of control, leading her to act aggressively.

Depression. Anxiety. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Schizophrenia. A quick research on the internet suggested she could have any of these disorders. She’d take every opportunity when Kamilah was out of New York to visit a therapist. Dr. Blackwood was new in the city. One of the first vampires Lysimachus marked with his Brand, he chose a Scarab design to represent his Clan. Amy could vent and confess her everything, including the supernatural, without the fear of being labeled as crazy.

After a few sessions, her results were still inconclusive. Exams didn’t show anything wrong with her. Medications weren’t effective.

A sudden wave of unhappiness filled her heart. Not only because of her dad. Or because she how badly she had treated her wife. It was something bigger. Something she could not explain. Tears started streaming down her face.

“Amy,” Kamilah gently placed her hand on top of hers. “Everything is going to be okay.”

She was very focused on the road, making a lot of effort to see ahead. The rain had gotten even worse after they left.

“What a stupid idea,” Amy thought. “I should have waited until the morning.”

“Your father is still young, the chances of recovery are very high at his age. Besides, in case he needs better care, we can ask him to be transferred to the best medical facility in New York.”

Kamilah continued to speak. She tried to focus on her voice or the warmness of her hand, but the thoughts started again.

“She doesn’t even like your parents.”

It wasn’t true. The female vampire’s efforts to gain her parents approval were finally showing results. Her dad loved to hear her stories about Egypt and her mom would spend hours talking to Kamilah about finances. She focused her thoughts on their last Holidays together, where they all went to a ski resort.

“Thanks,” thinking of her family made those negative thoughts disappear. “And I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I just…"

Her crying wouldn’t let her proceed.

"It’s okay,” Kamilah squeezed her hand. “It’s a scary situation. It’s normal your emotions are overwhelmed.”

It was time to tell her. They had been together for two years. Kamilah was the person she trusted the most in the entire universe.

“I’m seeing a doctor for a few months now. I didn’t want to tell you until she had a conclusion, but… there isn’t any.”

Although she did her best to hide, she could tell her words had impact on Kamilah.

“Well, if there isn’t any explanation in science, we need to consider our other option here.”

“The supernatural,” Amy concluded.

“Exactly,” Kamilah looked at her with a nervous smile on the corners of her lips. "Do you think..."

That fraction of second she took her eyes from the road to look at Amy, she missed it. There was a woman, dressed in white standing in the middle of the road. Even with the heavy rain, Amy was able to distinguish her glowing red eyes and the blood in her vests. Her eyes widened in fear.

“Kamilah! Look out!”

By impulse, she grabbed the wheel, pulling to the other side of the road. The asphalt was wet and slippery, what made it impossible for her to regain control.

----------

Lysimachus

Being a Nighthunter for at least 10 years, Katherine was very cautious of her steps. Knowing this, Lysimachus couldn't raise any suspicions, he needed to act naturally.

If he couldn't get her to speak, he needed to take extreme measures. He offered her to spend the night at his apartment, until she found a place to stay.

"It can be dangerous," he said. "A Nighthunter alone in New York City. Some vampires may feel threatened and attack you."

"Oh really?"

With a mischievous smirk, Katherine exhibited her skills. In one stunt, she pinned him against the wall and pointed a sharp stake directly to his heart.

"I mean it, Katherine. You never know what Clan leaders are capable of. They can be a bunch of snakes when it comes to their interests."

"Does that include you?"

"Why are you asking?"

"You were so gentle to invite me to your place, when you're on thin ice with the Council," she pressed the stake a little harder, almost perforating his chest. "I've done my research about you in the past, you're a vampire with psychic abilities. You're going to erase my memories."

"I would never," Lysimachus told, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I just want to talk. About your employee."

Katherine finally released him.

"I know nothing about them."

"Not even a name, or a gender?"

"The person I spoke on the phone, it was a man. He had an accent... Greek maybe."

Considering how tired she had been, after a shower, it didn't take long for Katherine to fall into a deep sleep. Lysimachus carefully took her laptop from her baggage and started to investigate.

First, he tried to trace the money back to its sender. It took him to a bank in Prague. Then, he tried Katherine's cell phone. Anonymous number.

They'd certainly call again, and all he had to do was to make sure he'd listen to the conversation.

"I'm so sorry, Katherine," he tapped both of her devices. "It's for your own good."

After placing everything back in place, he waited. He laid on the couch and pretended to be asleep. There was a lot on his mind at the moment. Besides his problems with the Council, Kamilah had sent him a message. Amy's father was going through something bad.

Maybe he was tired, or only paranoid, but living for over 2000 years and having psychic skills, he knew when something dark and dangerous was approaching. And that was what his senses were alerting him of right now.

"I should call Kamilah to check if everything's fine," Lysimachus thought.

As he grabbed his phone, Katherine's started ringing in the bedroom. He went to the kitchen and secretly listened to the conversation.

"Raines thought he was in possession of the First Vampire's body, but DNA tests proved him wrong," she told her employee.

"Right..." the male voice paused at the other side of the line. "What about the research?"

"I've had access to the results. He also presented them to me during my visit. So far, he has obtained positive results for a serum to cure Ferals and to make vampires walk in the sunlight."

"Has he considered ingesting the blood himself?"

"No. He told me it would be too dangerous."

"Is it safe in his laboratory?"

"I suppose it is, but..." Katherine paused. "Now the information is in the hands of the infamous Council Of New York, I wouldn't trust them. Especially Priya Lacroix."

"I see. I'm going to New York to observe closer," the man told. "I expect to meet you."

"Sure."

Lysimachus opened his laptop. Another anonymous, untraceable call. At least now he knew the man was coming for them. After getting the date, time and address, Katherine could be debriefed and he'd assure her safety.

----------

Amy

Amy stood paralyzed and nauseous as the car finally stopped, colliding with a tree. All her surroundings were spinning, her head ached intensely and she was unable to even think. What the hell happened? The last thing she remembered was the mysterious figure standing in the middle of the road.

“Amy,” she looked at Kamilah on the driver’s seat. There was some blood leaking from small, shallow cuts on her skin that were already healing. “Are you alright? You’ve received most of the impact.”

“I… I…” after a moment, her pain was gone. As well as her dizziness. “I think I am.”

“There’s a cut on your forehead. Let me heal it.”

Kamilah pricked her finger and pressed some blood on her wound.

“Did you hit your head?” She asked.

“Yeah, but it was nothing. I feel fine.”

“Anyways, we better ask a CT scan once we arrive at the hospital.”

Kamilah dialed a number where she ordered a service to pick them up and later, collect her damaged vehicle from the woods.

“Shouldn’t we return to New York?” Amy asked, following her wife back to the road.

“We’re half-way to your hometown,” Kamilah said. “If you’re okay, seeing your father is still our priority. Right?”

Amy nodded, still feeling upset due to her early behavior. Her body was sore from the collision and now the rain was soaking her clothes, she was also shivering in cold. Noticing it, Kamilah took off her own jacket and wore it around her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry,” she told, starting to cry again. “What have I done? I must be really going crazy."

Kamilah stopped and involved her in a comforting hug.

“That’s okay,” she kissed Amy’s forehead. “What happened, Amy? Back in the car?”

“I saw a woman standing in the middle of the road.”

“A woman?”

“Like one of those freaky horror movies Lily likes. She... she was a vampire. I saw her red eyes. And there was blood over her clothes too."

Amy knew the look on Kamilah's face. She didn't think she was crazy, she was intrigued. 

"We'll investigate further when we get home. You're not going crazy, trust me."

She wrapped her arms around Amy's waist and quickly pulled them out of the woods using her advanced speed, what made Amy feel nauseous again. Only a few minutes later, a driver arrived to pick them up. For the rest of the trip, Amy's mind could only try to remember the woman. Her features, her clothes, her hair... she seemed so familiar, but at the same time so strange.

In the hospital, her family was in the waiting room. Her father was submitted to surgical procedure. Her mother came to meet them and quickly panicked, noticing how bad they both looked.

"I told her we should find a doctor and ask for a CT scan," Kamilah said. "She's hit her head."

"Kamilah is right, Amy. Come with me, I'll help you to find someone."

Amy didn't know which of the two women standing in front of her was the most overprotective.

"It was nothing," Amy insisted. "I'm okay. Just a little bit tired. I'm gonna... I'm gonna wash my face."

In truth, she just wanted to be alone for a moment to think about on everything that was happening. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was a complete mess. Her make-up was completely ruined by tears and rain. There was still some dry blood on her face and hair from the injury Kamilah healed.

"Oh my god. Disgusting!"

She applied some cold water on her face, to clean herself and hoping it'd relieve some of the exhaustion she was feeling. She needed to stay up for her dad. She needed to be there when he was out of surgery. She just needed to see him. That was why she desperately wanted to be there, wasn't it?

Turning off the water, Amy looked at the mirror again. There she was, standing right behind her. The same woman from the road. Glowing red eyes, exposed fangs and blood all over her vests. And she was smiling at her. 

She tried to scream but no sound would come out. Her legs were becoming too weak, forcing her down on her knees. All the intense pain she felt after the accident had returned. She still tried to reach for the phone in her pocket and text Kamilah, but she had no strength.

Instead, a vision started to form in front of her. She saw that woman and all the pain she experienced from finding out her husband and daughter were dead.

"I-I'm sorry..." she tried to speak. The woman couldn't hear it. It was just a vision, an hallucination. Strangely, she felt deeply connected to it somehow.

Amy closed her eyes, attempting to return to reality. The smell of blood seemed real. It wouldn't go away. Opening her eyes again, she noticed she was in another vision. 

The penthouse she lived with Kamilah was completely dark. It looked a little bit different, the furniture, the decoration. She grabbed a framed picture she found at the office. From an important event they were supposed to attend in only a few days.

"W-What... A-Am I seeing the future now?"

She heard a muffled sob coming from the master suite. She ran as fast as she could and opened the door. Kamilah was lying on the floor and she was severely wounded. 

"Kamilah!" Amy yelled, taking her in her arms. "What happened? Talk to me."

"Amy, I always knew it..." she struggled to answer. "I always knew you'd be my ruin. I always knew you'd be my death. I fell right into your trap and you know what? I don't regret it. Not even for a second."

A hint of a smile appeared on her lips, before she started coughing blood. Amy began to cry. It had to be a manner to save her.

"N-No. I'd never do anything to hurt you. I love you!"

Before she could do anything, she saw her again. The woman. She streaked forward and in a blink of an eye she extracted Kamilah's heart. Crushing it with her own hand.

Amy felt like her own heart was being crushed too. She couldn't breath. She couldn't stop the pain. 

The world spun around again and she was back at the bathroom. But not for too long. Soon, the world around her faded and everything became darkness.

----------

Kamilah

Outside the hospital, Kamilah grabbed her phone to call her brother. Adrian already had a lot of trouble in hands with that Nighthunter breathing on his neck. Venting her problems on him felt too selfish.

She sighed at the picture on her screen. The one from their trip to the ski resort. She and Amy looked perfectly happy, and now, everything seemed to be falling apart again. 

She also noticed the date. It was their first wedding anniversary.

"What a way to celebrate it."

At least Lysimachus had found out some good information about Katherine's employee. He authorized her to ask Serafine to erase her mind and then, he'd be attending the meeting in her place.

"What about you, sister?" He asked. "Your voice seems strange."

"It's Amy. I'm worried about her, but..." she sensed Amy's mother coming in her direction. "I'll talk to you in person, when we arrive."

"Okay."

He was ready to hang up, but she stopped him.

"Brother, wait. Do you think it's possible for a deceased person to be linked to a living person's mind, like a parasite? Using them, feeding off from the emotions and creating visions and thoughts?"

"I... Uhhhh..." he thought for a second before answering. "I haven't seen anything like this before, but I can make a research."

She hung up and Amy's mother came to tell her the news. Her husband was completely fine. The surgery was a complete success. Minor than they assumed at first. The doctors could barely believe he had a heart attack so recently.

"They said 'if you told somebody else, they'd say you're inventing things', the exams and symptoms indicated a heart attack, but his heart is so strong and healthy. It almost seems like he played a prank on us."

Inventing things. Playing a prank. Illusions. No. It couldn't be. That entire situation was forced. She played all them like puppets and they fell for it.

"Mrs. Parker," the realization made Kamilah's voice crack. She hadn't seen Amy for almost 20 minutes now. "W-Where is Amy?"

"I thought she was here with you. She wasn't in the waiting room."

She didn't care what mortals would think. Using her supernatural speed, she needed to reach Amy as faster as possible. Kamilah opened the bathroom's door in a slam. 

"A-Amy..." she felt her heart tightening inside her chest, like if it was about to explode. 

Her wife was lying on the floor unconscious. She kneeled right beside her, to confirm what her hearing was detecting. A weak, almost inexistent pulsation. Having lived for so long and watching so many mortals die, she briefly examined Amy to conclude she had a grave brain injury in the collision. She knew the human body enough to know she'd hardly survive that.

The door opened and she didn't even had to turn around to know it was Amy's mother. She could sense her desperation and hear her muffled crying. Yet, she wasn't able to act. She stood frozen in place, with Amy in her arms, watching as life left her body.

"Do something!" Mrs. Parker grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard, making her come back to reality. "Y-You promised it... You said you'd protect her!"

"B-But..." at that stage, only Turning Amy was an option. There was no other manner to save her life.

"Do what you have to do! I know what you are."

Kamilah nodded in agreement as her fangs opened a large gash on her wrist. She placed it inside Amy's mouth, letting the blood flow down her throat. 

She could feel it when her heart stopped beating and she exhaled one last breath. It was the worst feeling in the world. Kamilah felt empty and alone. She wanted to cry, to scream, even knowing that soon her wife would slowly come back to life.

That could only be another attempt of the First Vampire to end Amy's life to regain hers back.

But she failed. Kamilah found her in time. Time enough to Turn her. She'd live. At the first signal her body was beginning to react to the transformation, a small smile appeared in the corners of Kamilah's lips. She sighed relieved.

"Is the going to be okay?" Amy's mother asked, still watching everything.

"Most likely, yes," the female vampire answered. "There's still some procedures I must perform, to guarantee a successful Turning. The next six hours are crucial."

The woman tossed Kamilah her car keys.

"Go. I'm only begging you, save my daughter."

Kamilah nodded again. Without being noticed, she rushed outside the hospital carrying Amy in her arms. She placed her inside the trunk, where she'd be confined in a small space and away from any sources of light.

At the same time she started driving, she also dialed Adrian's number.

"Adrian, prepare the basement. I'll be there as soon as possible. We've got a problem."

#bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #playchoices #choices stories you play #bloodbound fanfiction #within you

[cvseydeidrick]

bauer james morgan.

[tw for mentions of alcoholism]

story: portland born, trailer park raised / actually raised by a single dad / well, “raised” is putting it lightly / his mom had an affair when bauer was a toddler and left behind him & his dad just because she was wildly unhappy with her life / bauer’s dad was a gas station attendant by day and a drunk by night (well, and during the day too but he liked to pretend he wasn’t) / he also wasn’t much of a parent either. like he loved his son but was also too depressed and intoxicated to really care most of the time / he made sure that he had food to eat and a bed to sleep in but truthfully not much beyond that / so bauer really grew up a latchkey kid and learned to fend for himself much younger than he should have / he really liked to draw and skateboard and that truthfully was about it / dropped outta high school his senior year bc lmao who needs graduation / moved to seattle on a whim, bummed out on friends’ couches and only held stupid jobs so he could afford food, weed, and booze / when he was 19, a one night stand at a party made him a father and gave him the ultimate ‘oh shit’ moment of his life / they tried to make it work but she was as dumb of a person as he was and just as dirt poor / they fought a lot, he drank a lot, and he was arrested for stealing when his daughter was about a year old which made her mom up & leave him / and since neither of them can afford court or a lawyer, she decided to just keep his kid from him because she fucking could / he sobered up (mostly) and dedicated his time when he wasn’t trying to keep a job to his drawing & his art and eventually realized he could make a career out of it / basically went door to door of every tattoo shop in the city and begged for an apprenticeship / he’s about a year out of his apprenticeship now and also about a year in to being able to see his daughter again / trying not to fuck it up but. lol. we’ll see how that goes. 

persona: certified grade a dumbfuck / like usda prime level dipshit / “he was a skater boy, she said see ya later boy” / perpetually sixteen years old on the inside / actually is a decent artist but you’d never guess based on how ridiculous he is / loves the feeling of an adrenaline rush and will do just about anything to get one (how else do you think he got 38754896 tattoos on his face) / has a heart of gold at his core but he’s just really bad at keeping promises and following through on anything / truthfully would not hurt a fly / but will conveniently forget the favor you asked of him two days ago / love dad jokes and stupid puns / also has little to no shame so he makes a fool out of himself more often than he doesn’t / loves loves loves being a dad tho, like more than anything on this earth so he’s trying to be better like he really is 

needs: uhhh anyone who’s willing to deal with him really? equally careless, free-spirited friends to just fuck around with. maybe he has like one (1) whole good mentor in his life to keep him just on the line of the straight & narrow path. tattoo clients ofc!! i was gonna request baby mama but i really don’t know - if you want her tho, pls you can have her!! he’s literally completely wide fuckin open so if you’re feeling brave enough to handle this knucklehead, please. he needs people to contain him and keep him from being too much of a moron tbh. 

#sweeterplacerp #i am so sorry to bring this human to you all #pls hmu for plots of any kind if ur interested!!! #i'm jem4420 on discord!! xo

[dirtyahs]

What Are We? (Tate Langdon x Reader)

HELLO IM BACK JESUS CHRIST IM SORRY IVE BEEN SO ABSENT LIFE IS KIND OF KICKING MY ASS BUT IM DOING MY BEST!! I LOVE ALL OF U FOR BEING SO KIND AND PATIENT <3

This was requested by my pal @stellaholland i luv u so much bby i hope u enjoy :,)

Word Count: 4,814

Warnings: unprotected sex, teasing (sexual and nonsexual), kinda fluffy at the end! (take that lightly, i dont write fluff well lmfao)

   You stood in front of your closet, continuously searching through the clothes as if something new was going to appear. You pulled a black skater dress off of the hanger and slipped it over your head, looking in your mirror, only half satisfied with the way it looked.    "You're just trying on the same dress in different colors, it's not that hard to pick one." You jumped when you heard a voice behind you, turning around to see none other than Tate. Your family had moved into the house about seven months ago. Both your mother and father were some kind of twisted horror fanatics, so they purchased the house knowing full well you'd be the owners of "Murder House." It was strange to get adjusted to at first, it's like living with ten other people, but only sometimes. Tate made himself visible the most out of everybody.    "How long have you been sitting there? Fuckin' creep." You scoffed, sitting on the edge of your bed to put on a pair of black boots.

"Long enough." He smirked at you, standing up to walk to your desk, flicking through your notebooks.    You saw Tate most often, but frankly, he was the last person you cared to see. He was obnoxious, arrogant, and overall just kind of a douche. You'd come home from school to see him laying in your bed listening to your music. Or you'd wake up in the middle of the night to things falling off of your bookshelf, furniture moving with no one being there. It was always him though. It's like he got off on just screwing with you; so he did. Quite often. Everybody else in the house was decent. Nora was sweet, she just cried a lot. Which was fair given her situation. Chad and Patrick were both okay individually, but when they were together, they were beyond irritating. Just so incredibly passive aggressive - you couldn't imagine being stuck in a house for eternity with someone you wanted to divorce.    You stood up, smoothing out your dress before grabbing your small bag and slinging it over your shoulder. Your parents had decided everyone was going to go out on a nice lunch today.    "Can you get out? I'm leaving." You pushed past him, opening your door and motioning him to walk out. 

"I can never get out, angel." He said, sounding just as conceited as ever, making his way to the door, leaning against the wooden frame. "But I guess I can leave you to your little lunch date with mommy and daddy." He teased you condescendingly. You'd done your best to not let him bother you, but he knew exactly how to get under your skin.

"Thanks for being so kind, Tate." You gave him the sweetest smile you could manage, slamming your bedroom door when the two of you had exited. 

ii.    You'd finally gotten home a few hours later. Your parents were very good at starting conversation with every server you'd ever had. They get talking, and then the server gets talking and it seems to last forever. They do always get some kind of discount or something free for being kind though. Your mom had been a server for a decent part of her life, so she was always extra nice to them.        Telling them you had homework to work on, you made your way upstairs to your room, hearing music coming from behind the door. Just as you suspected, Tate was sprawled out on your bed, hands behind his head, eyes closed. You sighed and walked over to your bed, smacking Tate's side.

   "Can you get the fuck out? I have homework to do." You hissed. You definitely weren't going to do homework though. You'd probably end up reading, or watching YouTube or something - but Tate didn't need to know that part. His eyes opened slowly, and you felt like you couldn't look away. He looked angelic (ironically.) His blond curls spread messily around his head, face peaceful, and most importantly, he wasn't talking, which made him look amazing. Without a word, he moved over to one side of the bed, making room for you on the other.

    "Tate, I mean it, get out. I've got shit to do." You tried to sound strong - however, you weren't very threatening.

"Whatever you've got to do, just do it quietly." He mumbled, eyes closing once again. Looks like you weren't going to be getting him out of your room. With that, you grabbed the book you've been reading and took a seat at your desk chair, kicking your boots off and putting your feet up on the desk. Your dress fell just a bit to reveal part of your upper thigh. Within minutes, you heard quiet snoring coming from the boy in your bed, blankets pulled up to his chin now. How he managed to make himself so comfortable in your room remained a mystery. It was his room first, technically though. You looked up from your book to see him snuggled tightly under the dark purple duvet, lips parted just slightly. 

You couldn't take your eyes off of him - he looked so  peaceful and quite beautiful honestly.     No - what the fuck are you thinking? You thought to yourself. You don't like Tate - you haven't since the day you moved into this house. He was rude and condescending and way too overly confident. He might be nice to look at, but that's all he had going for him. You had to shut those thoughts down immediately. You shook your head and picked your book up again, returning to the chapter you were reading. iii.    "Why are you going to school? Wouldn't you rather stay here with me?" Tate teased, leaning against your door frame, blocking you from leaving. He'd been there since you woke up, but he wasn't going to tell you that part. He'd watched you strip out of your pajamas and slide into your hip hugging denim jeans. He enjoyed seeing you - there was something so erotic to him about just watching you go about your normal routine. Not only was it erotic for him, he just liked to watch you. He was fascinated with the way you'd wing your eyeliner, or paint your lips your favorite pink nude. He liked seeing the way you'd quietly sing to yourself in the morning. Most people that moved into that house were terrified of him and everyone else there. You and your family were so different for him. Tate hadn't felt accepted probably ever in his life. Being accepted, and even admired was such a new feeling for him.     

"No, Tate I wouldn't. I need to go to class today." You huffed, slinging your bag over your shoulder and crossing your arms. He had that stupid smirk stuck to his face. Today, it was hard to tell him no. He did this every few days, and you always pushed past him without a second thought. Today, you kind of wanted to stay home with him. But you couldn't. You'd always done well in school, and it was something you took pride in. So you did what you always did and pushed past him, looking over your shoulder to see him watching you walk away. 

"Your ass looks cute in those jeans!" He called, blowing you a kiss oh-so sweetly. Your heart jumped a bit with his words.    You sat in the cold blue plastic chair, resting your head in the palm of your hand as your English professor babbled on about the assigned reading. The assigned reading that Tate wouldn't let you finish. You were sat in your bed, legs crossed at your ankle trying to finish the chapter. You looked up to see none other than your blond haired nuisance. He was wearing torn up black jeans and Doc Martens. You had the same pair. He crawled over the iron swirls of your bed frame, and laid next to you - uninvited. He tried to talk to you about whatever he could - about your book, about your boots, about himself, about how good he thought you looked in a denim mini skirt. His flirting was always sarcastic. At least it seemed that way. No matter how sarcastic he was though, somehow his words always made your heart flutter. No matter how much you tried to suppress it.    "(Y/N)? Can you tell me what happened to our main character in chapter 7?" Your teacher had her arms crossed over her chest, pulling you from your little fantasy - you just zoned out in class thinking about Tate fucking Langdon? Really?   

"I-well Mrs. Sanchez..." You stammered, sucking your bottom lip into your mouth, cheeks turned an almost electric red. How the hell did you get so carried off thinking about a boy you thought you couldn't stand? 

 "Please pay attention, all of this is important." She said, clearly unhappy with you. You were one of her favorite students, but she had almost ridiculously high expectations of you. Oh well, you thought, she'd forget about it tomorrow.    You closed your front door behind you. It was about 3 o'clock. Your mom and dad would be at work for another couple of hours. But you were sure you'd walk upstairs to find Tate curled up in your bed for his afternoon nap, just like you found him there every day. He was a bit predictable sometimes. You trudged up the stairs, desperately needing some alone time. You'd found yourself day dreaming about Tate more than once. You'd see something that reminded you of him, and you'd feel your heart jump in your chest. You'd thought about the little freckle on his nose, and the way he'd touch all his fingers to his thumb when he got a little nervous. You'd thought about the one time you walked into the bathroom to see him shirtless standing looking in the mirror. His jeans were unbuttoned and hung low on his hips. His muscular shoulders stiffened a bit when he saw your reflection.

"I-I..." You stuttered, unable to look away. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here." Your cheeks were beet red, voice audibly shaking.     "That's okay," He turned around and took a few steps towards you. "You can walk in on me like this whenever you want. It seems like you're liking what you see." He growled, his hand moved to rest against wall next to your head.    You sighed and threw your bag to the floor, kicking your shoes off quickly. That memory ignited something in you and you couldn't deny the wetness forming between your thighs. Swiftly, you unbuttoned your jeans and slid them down your legs, crawling into your bed. You hooked your phone up to your speaker, playing your "Steamyyyyy" playlist, as if you'd ever been with more than one person before. You ran one finger down your chest, to your stomach, finally reaching your black panties, one finger rubbing light circles over your clothed clit. You let out a throaty sigh, gradually picking up speed. Your eyes were closed, head thrown back onto the black silk of your pillow case. You pushed the fabric to the side, your fingertip finally making skin to skin contact with the little bundle of nerves held between your soaking folds. Your lips remained parted, letting out desperate little whimpers every few seconds. Your free hand gripped at the sheets as your finger worked faster, whimpers eventually turning into loud moans. You hadn't been alone to do this in so long - honestly, you'd forgotten what it felt like. As alone as you felt, you logically knew you were never alone in this house. Tate was sat in your desk chair, a distinct protrusion pressing against his light wash jeans. His jaw hung open as he watched you, in shock over how beautiful you looked.Your mind was running with thoughts of none other than him; you thought about his fingers working you like this, his large hands caressing your skin, his full lips pressing kisses into your neck.     

"Tate..." You gasped, fully immersed in your fantasy, feeling that familiar tighten in your tummy, your fingers moved harder almost instinctively. Tate sat there, quiet. You'd finally rendered him speechless. His name fell from your lips several more times. His hand clapped over his mouth to hide his whimpers as you made his cock twitch against his boxers. Truthfully, he'd fantasized about you more times than he cared to admit. Seeing you like this was just a happy accident. He'd walked into your room with the intention to scare you, throw some stuff off of your shelves to mess with your head. But he stopped outside the door, hearing muffled moans. He opened the door slowly, eyes widening when he saw what you were doing.     Suddenly, the coil inside of you snapped and your legs started shaking. Your jaw hung agape, nails digging into the soft fabric beneath you.     

"Oh- fuck! Tate..." You hissed loudly, guaranteed that someone, somewhere in the house heard you. But, it was just Tate. He now stood at the end of your bed, watching as you soaked your fingers, his hand gently palming himself through his jeans. Once you'd finally ridden out your orgasm, you pulled your fingers from their spot between your legs, sighing deeply, satisfied. Your eyes finally opened and you looked around - still no one. Part of you was surprised Tate wasn't there to make fun of you. It was in that moment that you realized how loudly you'd been saying his name. You literally gotten off to him. He'd invaded your thoughts throughout the day and now he was doing it again in your only alone time. God dammit. You sighed and leaned up in your bed, rubbing your eyes. You couldn't keep playing this game with him - you needed to ask him what the hell his goal was. You needed to see what he felt for you. 

   You stood up and slid back into your jeans from earlier, making your way to your bathroom down the hall. The closer you got, you could hear a voice coming from inside. Your hand met the coolness of the door knob, but you stopped, feeling your knees weaken when you realized what you were hearing. From the other side of the door came strained grunts. Your heart was racing but you couldn't pull away. You pressed your ear against the door, the voice getting louder and louder. 

"(Y/N)," the voice hissed - your suspicions were confirmed, it was Tate. "I-I'm gonna' cum..." He hissed, letting out a loud, relieved moan. Your mind was racing, desperate to see what he looked like in that moment. Moments later, you heard the zipper of his jeans and quicker than you meant to, you began your little run down the hall and down the stairs, no doubt he heard your foot falls. Your heart was going to jump out of your throat, you were sure of it. It was your own fault for thinking you'd ever have any kind of alone time in this house. Tate never left you alone - he saw you. He had to. There was no way that was a coincidence. You opened he fridge, not really looking for anything, just trying to occupy yourself. You jumped when you saw two hands on either side of your head, making contact with the fridge. Speak of the devil.

   "Tate! You-you scared me." Whether he saw you or not, it was clear that something had you frazzled.    

"Can we talk?" His voice sounded deep, gravelly, almost like when he'd just woken up. You finally turned around and looked up at him. His hair was a bit messy, cheeks tinted a pale pink.    

"Yeah, about what?" Your voice shook with your words, hands clasped tightly in front of you. You looked up at him as he pushed his body closer to yours.    

"No need to act like you don't know what you heard." He growled, chest pressed tightly to yours. "And I'm not going to act like I didn't see you soaking your sheets thinking about me."

His dark eyes looked bright. He got some kind of thrill out of embarrassing you. You opened your mouth to say something sarcastic back, but no sound came out. Tate being this close to you was making your heart race, you didn't have the overwhelming urge to shove him away like you normally would.   

"I think," He whispered, lips ghosting yours, "You like when I tease you." He smirked, one hand moving down your side to your hip. "Why don't you tell me what you were thinking about, hm baby girl?" His lips brushing yours forced an unintentional moan from your throat, cheeks flushing almost instantly.    "I-Tate..." You were mesmerized. He had you in the palm of his hand and it excited him. "I wasn't thinking about you." You tried to lie, realizing just how dumb you sounded after the words came out.     

"Oh Tate," He raised his tone to mock you, "Fuck me, Tate." He chuckled down at you. "Nothing to be embarrassed about doll, I know you heard me saying your name just like that too." He gave your hip a firm squeeze. 

"After what, nine months in this house, I think it's time you live your fantasies." 

He held you tightly in his hands, spinning you two around so you were pressed against the edge of the counter top. You had nothing to say. Honestly, you were unbelievably excited. You'd thought about his hands touching your skin, his lips on yours, you've wanted this longer than you cared to admit. Your hand came up to hold one side of his face, taking a fistful of his hair and kissing him - hard. His lips worked against yours perfectly, feeling as if they were made to fit together. He got rougher, not hesitating to take control of you. He pushed you firmly against the cool marble behind your back, lips moving from yours down your jaw and to the soft skin on your neck. His kisses started gentle, but quickly got aggressive, nipping at the skin, leaving purple marks in his wake.

You tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, feeling him smirk against your skin before he pulled back to tug the gray fabric over his head, showing you his slightly toned torso. Your heart rate picked up once again as you looked him up and down. 

   "Your turn, angel." He cooed softly, watching as you followed his actions, tossing your tank top to the side. He smirked at you, using both hands to grope at your exposed chest, pressing possessive kisses to your chest.    

"I've always loved it when you don't wear a bra." He teased you, his playful, mocking tone returning.

"It's much more obvious than you think." He smirked and tweaked one nipple between his pointer finger and thumb, making you whimper from the slightly satisfying jolt of pain. You leaned your head back, allowing your eyes to shut as his tongue replaced his fingers, flicking over your nipple. Your lips were parted, letting out quiet gasps of pleasure. His now free hands moved down your sides and to your jeans, unbuttoning them with ease and sliding them down your thighs. You kicked them aimlessly to the forming pile of clothes on he floor.

His kisses started moving south, trailing them down your breasts, to your stomach, to your hips, finally reaching the thin cotton fabric that was now soaked between your legs. One of his hands came up to lift your leg over his shoulder, his lips pushing a few light kisses against your clothed pussy. You whimpered, desperate for him. You'd never admitted it to yourself, but Tate has always a central theme in your fantasies. He'd force his way into your thoughts without you even realizing it, and after you were done, you'd push it away and pretend like you'd thought about someone else. You didn't want to be attracted to someone as annoying and immature as Tate, but now he had his head between your thighs and you had no intention of stopping it.

   He'd pushed the thin fabric aside, flicking his tongue against your clit just once, to make you moan out in pleasure.         

"Stop teasing me, dick head." You half whimpered, half challenged him. You did want him, so badly, but you couldn't let him see just how wrapped around his finger you really were. With your words he roughly pulled your hips forward, forcing a harsh smack to your ass.    

"I like you much more when you're just moaning my name." He growled, but he listened to you. His lips attached to your clit and he began sucking lightly, not hesitating to push two fingers into your wet heat, making you squeal in pleasure. It'd been a long time since someone else's fingers had penetrated you, and somehow Tate was fucking amazing at it. He curled his fingers perfectly in rhythm with the way his mouth worked your clit. Your hands gripped the edge of the counter top, knees growing weak. You felt that tight heat rising in your tummy, his fingers and tongue getting you so close to release, much quicker than you ever did by yourself.     

"Tate- I'm gonna-" He stood up, smoothly lifting you up onto the counter, keeping your leg slung over his shoulder.    

"You're cumming on my cock." He growled dominantly, his eyes looking dark and almost feral. He kicked his jeans and boxers to the side, completing the pile of your clothes. You couldn't help but watch as he stroked his length a few times before lining it up with your entrance, pushing into you painfully slowly. You looked up at him, taking in his features. His jaw hung open a bit, blond curls hanging in his eyes. He looked as perfect as someone possibly could. Once he bottomed out inside of you, he looked up, beginning to thrust into you, starting slow and picking up gradually. 

   "Fuck-" He hissed through gritted teeth, "You're so fucking tight." His hands rested on the counter on either side of your hips, fingertips turning white from how hard he pressed into the surface. He kept up a steady pace for awhile before you felt his hips stutter - he was close. He brought one hand up and began rubbing fast circles over your clit, making your legs tremble around him.    

"Cum with me, angel." He growled, fingers picking up their pace, your lips barely brushing his as you felt that tightness return. Your jaw hung open now as he pushed you closer and closer to the edge. You watched his fingers and hips work in time against you, when all of a sudden you felt him release, covering your walls with his hot cum, forcing the coil in your tummy to snap. You came with him, nails digging into his shoulder, knees feeling weak before it was even over. You watched his face relax once he was finished, chest rising and falling quickly. He looked up at you through his hair, flashing a faint smile. He pulled out of you slowly, pressing a loving kiss into your cheek before bending down to dig through the pile of clothes to find his boxers. He slipped them over his legs, followed by his jeans, but you stayed in your spot on the counter.    "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He looked at you, jeans resting low on his hips.    "You get on my fucking nerves more than anything, and somehow you managed to have me up on this counter for you." You shook your head, blatantly in shock from what just happened. You didn't want it to end though. There was something about seeing Tate so vulnerable, yet so confident that just left you wanting more. He smirked, pulling his shirt over his head and shrugging.    "Neither of us are complaining." He smirked, tossing you your shirt and helping you down from the counter. You pulled your tank top on, opening your mouth to respond when you heard the key turn in the door - your parents were home.    "This isn't over, Langdon." You hissed, grabbing your clothes before rushing up the stairs, accidentally slamming your door much harder than you intended.    A few weeks had passed since your encounter with Tate, and there had been a repeat of those events every few days. You two started to pick up on what the other one liked. Like how you enjoyed having your hair pulled and Tate enjoyed when you'd kiss his neck. He liked having you in control. For someone as confident and douchey he was, he liked having you dirty talking him, being the more dominant one occasionally. And god damn, that boy was always in the mood. You'd feel his hands on your hips when you'd brush your teeth in the morning, or when you were getting ready for bed, he'd kiss down your shoulders the way he knew you loved. But you didn't mind. If he wanted it, you were happy to drop what you were doing and sleep with him. It was a fun little arrangement.    It was late, probably around 2 A.M., Tate was laid next to you, a blanket covering him from the waist down, his arms behind his head. You looked over at him, feeling your heart race a little faster. The more time you spent with Tate, the more you grew to appreciate him. He was funny, and charismatic. He'd make you giggle but then have you bent over your bed in the same minute. You couldn't help but miss the feeling of him when you slept alone in your bed. He was always warm.    You pulled the blanket tighter around your chest as you leaned up on one elbow, looking over at his sleepy face.        "Tate can I ask you something? It's kind of dumb, but I just need to know." You felt nervous all of a sudden. You weren't even exactly sure what you wanted with him. Could you be in a relationship with someone who died in the 90's? Was that even what he wanted? What if he just wanted to be fuck buddies? Is that okay with you? Your brain was jumbled with all these thoughts, interrupted when he looked over at you, skin almost glowing in the dim light.    "What's up?" He looked up at you, his finger drawing lazy circles on his chest. You took a deep breath and visibly shifted, clearly uncomfortable.    "What are we?" You blurted out, cheeks going red immediately. "Because we- we fuck a lot. You're in my room a lot. You never let me be alone, and I just don't want to say something weird, or continue being in the dark I guess." Your voice trailed off before you collapsed down onto your back again, suddenly unable to look at him. He looked over at you though, you couldn't meet his eyes.    "What do you want to be?"    "No, don't put this on me. Answer my question."    He sighed, and you finally looked over at hi,.    "(Y/N)," He started, looking over your chest before looking back into your eyes. "Honestly, this started as sex." Your heart dropped. "But you're right, we have spent a lot of time together. I like being in here with you, regardless of what we're doing." He moved to cup one side of your face.    "I don't want to tie you down, ever. I can't leave this house, and I don't want you to be stuck here with me." You opened your mouth to cut him off, tell him that you were willing to be here with him, for however long he wanted, but he cut you off, brushing his thumb over your bottom lip.    "How about this - you and me continue what we're doing here. We can be boyfriend and girlfriend here, but I won't be mad if you find someone else, out there." His words almost brought tears to your eyes. You hadn't felt cared for like this in so long, and to be here, this vulnerable and intimate made your eyes well up.    "Please just agree. If I could leave this house, I'd ask you to be mine right now, and I'd parade you around for everybody to see. But I can't do that, so we keep doing what we're doing, and see how things progress naturally." He flashed you a close mouthed smile, but it felt genuine nonetheless. One tear fell down your cheek, and you returned his smile.    "That sounds perfect to me. Boyfriend and girlfriend, kind of." You grinned before he pulled you into a kiss, hands wrapping around you to keep you in his arms - and you'd stay there as long as he wanted you to.

#ahs #american horror story #ahs1 #murder house #ahs murder house #tate langdon #ahs tate #ahs evan peters #evan peters #tate langdon imagine #tate langdon fanfiction #ahs imagine #ahs fanfiction #sarah paulson #ahs sarah paulson

[write-havoc]

The Flame is Gone, The Fire Remains Ch 6

Summary: Negan and Chuck have cemented their relationship and are proud parents of a new baby girl. Will they be able to balance their new found parenthood with keeping their community safe from the perils of the world?

Sequel to This Is How I Disappear

Fandom: The Walking Dead AU

Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character

Status: Ongoing

Contains: swearing, violence, blood, smut

Intended for readers 18+ of age only

Masterlists in my bio

“Is she alright?” Negan asks, his voice full of worry.

“Yes, she’s alright,” Chuck responds, exasperated over the repeated question. “She’ll be fine.” She leans over the crib to gently wipe Maddie’s fat tears away.

“She’s fuckin’ crying.”

“She’s teething , Negan. It hurts.” She takes the now room temperature teething ring away from the little girl. “Go grab a new one out of the freezer.”

Negan practically runs out of the nursery to fetch one to relieve Maddie’s sore gums. When he rushes back in, Maddie is still crying. “Here you go, princess.” He puts the frozen ring to her mouth. “Fuck. I hate hearing her in pain.”

Chuck rubs Negan’s back as he’s bent over the crib. “I know. But there’s not much we can do about this. Everyone goes through it. We just gotta wait it out.”

As the cold helps to numb Maddie’s gums, she starts to settle a little.

“See?” Chuck says. “She’s just fine. You okay with her while I shower?”

“Yeah.”

Once Chuck is done with her shower, she finds Negan sitting on the couch in their room with Maddie laying in his arms. “She’s doing good,” she mentions, since the little girl seems to be quiet. Once Chuck rounds the couch, she can see that Negan has his finger in Maddie’s mouth. “I think the teething ring would be better for her to bite than your finger,” she jokes, though Maddie seems perfectly content.

“I dipped it in whiskey,” he responds.

Chuck’s face falls. “You’re joking.”

“No. It did the trick. She started fuckin’ fussing again, but now she’s out.”

“Negan!” she chides. “You can’t do that.”

“It’s fine, baby girl. Moms have been doing that shit for a hundred years.”

“I don’t want you giving our baby whiskey.” She leans over him and runs her hand over Maddie’s hair.

“She was fuckin’ crying,” he explains like that excuses it.

Chuck shakes her head with a giggle. “She already has you so whipped.”

“She’s my little princess.” He looks down at her and smiles as he gently takes his finger from her mouth.

“Don’t spoil her.”

“I’m gonna spoil the shit outta her,” he responds.

Chuck laughs. “She needs to be humble.”

“She will be. I’m not gonna raise her to be a fuckin’ asshole.”

Chuck just gives him a look. “And how many people have you met that were spoiled as children turned out to be nice, humble adults?”

He looks at her a moment before answering. “Alright, you got a fuckin’ point. Spoiled ass kids turn into asshole adults. So how about I’ll be the one to spoil her and you can be the disciplinarian. That way she’ll be well rounded.”

“Is that how it’s gonna work out?” she asks with a laugh. “So she’ll hate me and love you?”

He just shrugs in response.

 A few weeks later, Chuck walks into Negan’s office with Maddie in her arms. “Oh, hey, Simon,” she greets when she sees him sitting on the other side of Negan’s desk. “I didn’t know you were up here.”

As soon as Maddie sees Simon start to stand from his seat, she reaches out for him.

“There’s my girl,” Simon calls out and takes the little girl from Chuck.

Negan lets out a huff, but it’s not entirely serious. “I thought we were fuckin’ working here.”

Simon completely ignores Negan as he starts to wiggle his mustache and make faces the way that Maddie always loves.

Chuck can’t help but laugh along with her daughter. It’s so funny to her that the two most powerful men she knows are reduced to mush by a little girl. “She loves her Uncle Si Si,” she mentions.

Once Maddie stops laughing hysterically, she starts to grab at Simon’s mustache. And he, of course, lets her.

“How are your other kids?” Chuck asks, referring to his niece and nephews that arrived just over a month ago. “I haven’t seen them in a few days.”

“They’re great.” He looks up from Maddie to speak. “I’m so glad that they’re here. They had a helluva time out in the shit, walking halfway across the country just to see if I was still alive. I’m just so fuckin’ happy they’re safe now.”

As Simon is talking with Chuck, Maddie keeps patting his face, wanting his attention back on her. She starts to babble a little, then a clear “Si Si” comes out of her mouth.

Everyone is quiet, wondering if they heard what they think they did.

“No fuckin’ way my kid’s first word is fuckin’ Si Si.” Negan gets up from his desk to stomp over to them. “Say dada,” he prompts Maddie.

She looks at him a moment, then back to Simon. “Si Si.”

Chuck walks closer, too. “Did you say ‘Si Si’?”

Maddie giggles. “Si Si!”

Simon still hasn’t said anything, but when Chuck looks at him, she can see tears in his eyes. She lays her hand on his shoulder. “She does love her Uncle Si Si.”

“This is bullshit,” Negan gripes, not noticing how this had affected Simon. “Dada. Say dada,” he tries again.

Maddie laughs, but just babbles at her father.

Later on that night, Negan is still complaining about it as they get in bed. “My first kid’s first word was for fuckin’ Simon ?!”

Chuck rolls her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is.”

“Stop being a baby.”

He shoots her a look. “Why aren’t you pissed?”

Of course she had hoped that Maddie’s first word would be mama, but the second she saw the look on Simon’s face and how much it meant to him, she was fine with it.

Simon never had any kids. He never expressly said why, but Chuck knew it was because of the love he had for Lucille. He never had any serious relationships because he could never stop loving her, even though she was with Negan. In a weird way, Chuck feels guilt over that, even though that past had nothing to do with her.

But then there was the way he reacted to the news of her own pregnancy with Negan. It hurt him. Though he got past it, Chuck still feels a pain for him that he’s never been able to get what he wants. Despite the fact that he and Patty have gotten serious and moved in together, they’ll most likely never make a family since Patty is middle aged and probably can’t get pregnant anymore.

The way Simon is with Maddie and his other niece and nephews proves that he would have been a great father. And deep down, Chuck knows that he would have wanted that for himself. Which is sad to her.

Chuck shrugs in response. “It meant a lot to Simon.”

“So?”

“He’s never gonna be a father, Negan. We’re most likely gonna get more chances to get first words.  He never will. And with the way he is with Maddie and his sister’s kids, it’s obvious he would’ve loved to be a father.”

Negan lets out a sigh and scrubs his hand over his face. “Shit. Am I an asshole?”

“No. I get why you were disappointed she didn’t say ‘dada’, but Simon is part of our family and I love him. I want to see him happy.”

Negan lets out a groan. “I don’t like hearing you say you love another man.”

She giggles and swats at his chest lightly. “It’s not like that. He’s like the brother I never had.”

“Gross. He wants to fuck you.”

“He does not.”

“You think if I was completely out of the picture he wouldn’t fuckin’ jump at the chance to be with you?”

“Stop,” she answers with a giggle then cuddles up to lay on his chest.

“Simon is the most loyal fuckin’ guy I’ve ever known. Lord knows I haven’t deserved it, but I trust that man with my life. But I know he doesn’t get over shit. He loved Lucille the whole time she was married to me. Never fuckin’ wavered. I bet he loves her just as much now. And I know he loves you the same.”

“That makes me feel bad, Negan.”

He squeezes her into him so he can kiss the top of her head. “It’s not your fault he loves you.”

“I know, but I still feel bad about it. I’m just really happy that he’s found love with Patty.”

“Yeah.” Negan nods, though he seems a little skeptical. “I just want you to know... If anything happens to me-“

Chuck sits up to look at him. “Stop. I don’t want to hear this.”

“No.” He pushes her hair back from her face. “Just know that I’m okay with you being with him. He’d lay down his life for you. He’d treat you right.”

“If something happens to you, I’m not gonna be with anyone else.”

“I want you to be happy...”

“My mom never dated after my dad died. I know men asked her out, but she never took them up on their offers. When I got a little older, I asked her why. She just said that she already met the love of her life. I didn’t really understand it at the time, but I do now.”

“I don’t want you to be alone.”

“I won’t be. I’ll have family and friends. My mother was never lonely or unhappy. She just knew that she’d never love another man like she did my father.”

Negan gently pulls her down to meet her in a kiss. “Since you mentioned growing our family...” He flips her around so he’s on top of her.

She can’t help but squeal at the motion. “Negan, that’s not gonna happen yet,” she gets out between giggles.

“You know, we’re not getting any younger.”

She pushes him up to give him a scathing look. “Calling a woman old isn’t a great thing to do if you’re wanting to get laid.”

He just laughs. “That’s a good point.”

“I don’t wanna try until Maddie is at least a year old,” she says more seriously.

“Alright.” He bends down to kiss her right behind her ear. “Doesn’t mean we can’t practice,” he whispers.

 Just a few days later, Maddie adds both “mama” and “dada” to her vocabulary, which she uses generously, much to Negan’s delight.

“Dada,” Maddie calls out from her mother’s arms.

“She doesn’t wanna go, Mama.” Negan bends down to kiss his daughter on the head.

“Come with us,” Chuck suggests.

Negan lets out a huff. “I got shit to do. Unfortunately.” He gives her a smirk. “You could come with me .”

“I want to get back to work, Negan. And the kids are excited to learn music again. And I think Maddie will enjoy herself.”

“Alright, fine.” He gives Chuck a kiss then takes Maddie from her. “I’ll walk you guys down to the fuckin’ classroom.”

The little family and their ever present guards head downstairs. Once they get into the room, the kids all look at them, excited to get a reprieve from there normal studies. Despite what Negan had said earlier about having work to do, he ends up staying to watch Chuck pick up where she left off with the students, which is how to read sheet music. Each of the kids has a little keyboard so they can find the notes and follow along as Chuck plays the piano that has been set up in the room. Some of the older students are a little more advanced, so she goes over chords with them.

As Chuck plays and sings, she sees Negan with a big smile on his face watching on, Maddie bobbing away happily in his arms. It brings a smile to her own face seeing them so happy. Not only that, but the fact that the kids seem to be enjoying the music makes that smile stretch just that much further.

 When Halloween comes around, everyone at The Sanctuary seems to be excited. People remember the party from last year and want to make this year’s celebration even bigger. Chuck, of course, gets her costume all ready as well as one for Maddie. When Negan first sees them, he can’t help but let out a little laugh.

“You are so fuckin’ adorable,” he calls out.

Since Chuck was a cat last year, she thought it would be really cute if she dressed up as a mouse this year. She found some gray tights and a gray long sleeved T-shirt and paired that with pink converses, white gloves, and mouse ears that she made herself along with a overalls cut into shorts. (She’s not confident enough with her post baby body to only wear form fitted tights.) For Maddie, she found a bright yellow onesie and drew little circles on it so it looked like holes, making Maddie look like a slice of cheese.

Chuck shrugs a shoulder. “I thought it was cute.”

He walks over to them, placing a kiss on Maddie’s head as she sits in Chuck’s arms then one for Chuck, too. “So fuckin’ cute.”

“Are you dressing up?” Chuck asks.

“Thought I’d be the devil again. Make it like a tradition.”

The party goes off without a hitch, both the children’s one and the adult one after. Chuck loves to see everyone dressed up and having fun. It doesn’t escape her notice that there are a lot of women sporting pregnant bellies under their costumes. Apparently after Maddie’s birth, there was somewhat of a baby boom at The Sanctuary.

Kayla and Harlan must be busy.

Chuck smirks at the thought. Despite how busy the doctor’s office is, they must be happy that they get to bring so many new lives into the world.

The first family ends up leaving the festivities a little early, since they have an almost seven month old in tow. Once they get Maddie out of her little costume, they set her down in her crib. The little girl falls asleep almost instantly, the excitement of the day talking its toll on her.

As Chuck and Negan get into bed, she notices that he’s been unusually quiet. And as they start to get comfortable, Negan is being much more cuddly than usual, almost stiflingly so.

“Negan?”

“Hmm.”

“You alright?”

He squeezes his arms around her a little more from his position behind her. “Yeah.”

“You have me in a death grip, Negan.”

He lets out a heavy breath onto the back of her head. “It’s been a year since Eldritch took you,” he finally whispers into her hair.

Chuck starts to turn around, so Negan loosens his arms to allow her to. “He’s gone, Negan. You don’t have to worry about him.” She runs her fingers over his forehead, hoping to soothe him.

“I know he’s gone, but I can’t fuckin’ get over it. He took you from me. And her .”

Chuck bends down to kiss his lips. “She’s right over there in her room, safe and sound. You can hear her breathing on the monitor.”

“I know.” He wraps his arms around Chuck and pulls her down to lay on his chest. “I know that, but I still think of everything he fuckin’ did to you. All the ways it could’ve ended in me fuckin’ losing you and Maddie.”

“I’m sorry, Negan. I don’t want you to dwell on it, though. What we have now is so beautiful. Just remember that when your thoughts go dark.”

He kisses the top of your head. “I’ll try, baby girl.”

 In the coming days, Maddie realizes that she can crawl, which she does. A lot. When she’s in her room, she crawls over to her bookcase and pulls all the books and toys off it. Then she crawls over to her toy chest and pulls those things out. When she’s done, her whole room is trashed, which she finds pretty amusing.

During this time, Chuck has never been more thankful of the extra guards hanging around their apartment. Because Chuck loves the cats so much, she doesn’t want to close them out of the apartment by shutting the door. But since Maddie also loves the cats, she’ll follow them right out while Chuck isn't looking. Thankfully, both Laura and Arat are good at rounding Maddie up when she goes on the move. And Sam and José on the front door to Negan’s office have stopped her more than once from escaping down the hall. Maddie never seems to care too much; she loves the extra attention she gets from everyone.

Because Maddie is so mobile, Negan has to have a special case made for Lucille to keep her well out of Maddie’s reach. Instead of being left on the floor propped up on the wall, Lucille has her own display shelf near the door to the bedroom. When Negan’s in his office, Lucille is usually put up on one of the bookshelves, since Maddie routinely likes to crawl up to her daddy while he’s at his desk.

“Maddie’s coming through,” Arat calls out, like she always does.

As soon as Chuck hears this, she comes out of the apartment. “I don’t know how she’s such a little escape artist,” she says to herself.

“Let her come,” Negan answers. If he’s too busy for Maddie, he’ll tell whoever’s on the door to take her back inside. But today, Negan is just sitting at his desk talking with Dwight.

Maddie crawls right over to Negan and tries to pull herself up his legs, with Chuck following behind.

“My beautiful princess,” Negan says to her and he helps her up into his lap. “Are you escaping from Mommy?”

“I had her in her little playpen while I was reading. I thought she couldn’t get out, but I guess I was wrong.” Chuck sits down in the chair beside Dwight. “How’s Sherry? I haven’t seen her in a while,” she directs at the man beside her.

“Good,” he answers. “Real busy in the kitchen.”

Negan looks up from making faces at Maddie. “I hear everyone’s fuckin’ happy with the new head chef.”

“With all the trade and how good the harvest was this year, the kitchen’s doing real well,” Dwight comments.

“I’m glad,” Chuck says genuinely.

“She getting on ya to put a baby in her,” Negan asks. “Since everyone else is pregnant, it fuckin’ seems.”

Dwight gets a little bashful. “We’re not- I mean, nothing serious. You know- But we’ve been talking about it.”

“That’s great,” Chuck says with a smile. “I’m so happy that Maddie is going to have some kids her age to run around with.”

“She’s certainly a little social butterfly already,” Negan adds.

“I wonder who she got that from,” Chuck says sarcastically, knowing full well that Maddie is already more like Negan than she is Chuck, despite the physical resemblance to her mother.”

“Think it’d be too much if I decreed that all babies will have the middle name Negan?” the man himself comments.

Chuck just laughs, knowing that Negan is joking. “I don’t think that’s gonna catch on.”

“I like the sound of that.” Negan lifts Maddie up in the air. “You like that, princess?”

The little girl just laughs.

“She agrees,” Negan determines, faking seriousness.

 ——— Negan’s POV ———

Before the winter sets in, Rick fuckin’ requests that all us leaders in the area should meet at Alexandria to discuss some things. It’s probably a good fuckin’ idea, but I don’t want to leave my family. So I think that shit over. Seriously.

With how often the area between us and Alexandria is patrolled and the fact that no one’s really seen any fuckin’ biters near the road in a long ass time, I decide to take Chuck and Maddie with me. It’s got me anxious as fuck, but I think it’s gonna be good.

I know I’m “Negan” and I’m certainly the fuckin’ leader of The Sanctuary, but I’ve honestly been going over shit with Chuck. It’s fuckin’ nice to have someone like her to rule with me. I mean, I always had Simon and I love that fucker for all the shit he does here, but he’s more than likely to just go along with what I say. That’s fuckin’ amazing most of the time, but there’s been instances where Chuck’s come in with a different perspective and it’s been better for everyone involved.

I’ve been so concerned with keeping my people alive that that’s were I fuckin’ go to when I gotta make a decision. Always. But Chuck’s been the one to make sure people are happy , too. When shit is real bad, like how it was when this place started, happiness ain’t a priority. But now that we got enough food and clean water and we don’t have to worry about getting our dicks bitten off by undead fucks, we need to make sure our people are emotionally good, too. Cuz discontent can break nations just as much as hunger can.

So, yeah, part of the reason I’m bringing my girls with me is just cuz I fuckin’ want them with me. But part of me wants Chuck to be at my side as the leader she is. She might not see herself that way, but I do. She can rally people just as much as I can, but in a completely different way. I did it with fear, intimidation, and rigid rules. You piss me off, you go against the greater good, you’re out.

But Chuck... she’s gotten the people behind her by being her sweet ass self. She’s smart and funny and fuckin’ adorable and people know she has their best interests in mind. She’s set up swap meets outside the point system to help the people that have been struggling. She knitted so many fuckin’ blankets just to make sure people won’t be cold this winter. And what I’m most proud of, she’s been good to those kids she teaches music to by tutoring them in whatever else they want to learn. Shit, one kid brought up World War 2, so Chuck found a book and started talking to him about it after school was actually done. Anything those kids are curious about, science, history, even old movies, she’ll talk to them about it. I know that shit might not seem important now, but it fuckin’ is. It’s how we raise people and not fuckin’ monsters that just survive in this shit.

The weather’s not too fuckin’ bad yet since it’s just the first week on November, but we still all bundle up in case shit goes downhill. Me, Chuck, and my princess are going to be in a wagon drawn by our horses. It’s gonna be less comfortable and take fuckin’ longer than a car would, but it’s all we got now. Cars are kinda fuckin’ useless without gas, and that ethanol shit we’ve been making really doesn’t work in most cars just in its own. It works better in the tractors and tillers, anyway, so that’s where it all goes.

The wagon we’re in is like an old west wagon, but we took some car seats and put them in there so we’re not getting splinters in our asses. Dwight and Fat Joey are up front driving the thing while me, Chuck, Maddie, and Laura are in the back.

“I didn’t expect the road to look so good,” Chuck comments after a while.

“We’re on top of this shit,” I say. “Our guys and Rick’s patrol all this shit. Keep the roads clear if trees fall or whatever. We can’t exactly repave, so if there’s cracks, we fill them up with gravel so we don’t lose a fuckin’ wagon wheel.”

Chuck gives me a smile as Maddie starts to fuss in her arms. “I’m so proud of you doing all this.”

I just chuckle back, but it does make me feel fuckin’ good that she’s on board with everything I do. “Is she hungry?” I ask, changing the subject to our daughter.

“Yeah.”

“Do we need to stop?”

“No. I can do it here. Just hold her a second.” She passes Maddie off to me as she pulls her shirt up.

“Keep your eyes up front,” I call out to Dwight and Fat Joey. I don’t want them getting an eyeful of my wife’s tit. Even if it’s gonna be covered by Maddie’s face.

Laura leans forward from her seat behind us. “You planning on weaning her any time soon?”

“Not really,” Chuck answers as she situates Maddie in her arms to start feeding. “We have her eating some solid things, but breast milk is so good for babies.”

“She’s prepared to breastfeed Maddie until she’s a teenager,” I joke. We’ve talked about this more than once. I think it’s fuckin’ weird to have a full on toddler sucking on a tit, but Chuck insists it’s perfectly fine.

“That’s not true,” Chuck calls out with a laugh. “Just maybe until she’s like... five or so.”

“Five?!” I say in shock. “She’s got a bunch of fuckin’ teeth by then.”

“Yeah,” Laura pipes up. “Your poor nipples.”

Chuck just laughs. “Breast milk is better for brain development!” she calls out, pleading her case.

Once we get to Alexandria, we’re greeted by Rick and his gang. Aaron, of course, comes rushing out to see Chuck and Maddie.

“She’s getting so big!” he cries out and takes Maddie into his arms.

Maggie and Glenn walk up to us with him carrying their baby Herschel. Aaron brings Maddie close so she can see someone her own fuckin’ age for once. Both babies look confused, but then start babbling and patting each other with their little fuckin’ hands.

“He’s adorable,” Chuck comments to Maggie.

“She’s beautiful,” Maggie responds of my little princess.

Maggie walks over to Chuck and hugs her. “I can never thank you enough for what you did for me. You saved my son’s life by giving us your milk.”

“Any mother would do that,” Chuck says to her. “Without any formula now... We just have to take care of each other.”

I let out a laugh. “We were literally just talking about this shit on the way here. My lovely wife wants to keep our kid on the teat until she turns five.”

Chuck just gives me a look. “It’s not that weird! Historically speaking,” she makes the excuse.

“Well I can’t wait until I can play around with your tits without them leaking all over he place.”

“Oh my god, Negan.” Chuck’s face is bright red. Whoops.

“What?” I try to downplay it. “I’m pretty sure they know we fuck. We’ve got a kid.” I look around at everyone that heard what I said. Some of them are stifling laughs and some are looking a little offended. What-the-fuck-ever. They should be used to me by now.

When I see Carl trying desperately to hide his face, I decide to fuck with him a little. “He knows what I’m talking about.”

Everyone looks at him and it’s fuckin’ hilarious how he squirms.

“Negan,” I hear Michonne’s low mom voice scold me.

“He’s, what, sixteen?” I start. “Tits make up like 80% of his thoughts now.”

Rick just shakes his head, but I can still see a little smile on his face. “Stop teasing my son, please,” he finally says.

“Alright.” I back down from that. “So what’s this fuckin’ meeting we’re having, anyway.”

“We’re still waiting for Ezekiel,” Rick tells me. “So you guys can relax until they get here.”

Me and Chuck follow Aaron, still carrying Maddie, to his house. We’re staying with him tonight and he seems fuckin’ excited about it.

“I borrowed a little crib for her,” he tells us. “It’s set up in the spare room for you guys. I also have a play pen and some toys to keep her occupied, since you said she likes to crawl around so much.”

“Thanks Uncle Aaron,” Chuck says to him.

We all bum around for about twenty minutes until the lion king and his crew finally make their appearance. Me and Chuck with Maddie (and Laura) go to a newly constructed meeting room behind their church along with Rick’s A team and Ezekiel and a few of his guys. We set up the play pen for Maddie and Hershel and Judith, too, across the room with Laura and Olivia the Alexandrian watching over them.

“So,” I slap my hand down on the long table we’re all sitting around, “what are we fuckin’ discussing here?”

Rick lets out a breath before he fuckin’ starts. “Here at Alexandria, we’ve decided to run this place as a council. Me, Michonne, Gabriel, Maggie, and Aaron currently sit on this council. Every decision about the community comes to a vote and we’ve found that has been working well for us.”

Michonne jumps in. “I’ve been reading a lot about constitutional law and I thought, with how our community has grown and thrived, that we should draw up a constitution for ourselves. But then I thought, our community isn’t alone. We’re tied with your communities,” she gestures to me and Ezekiel. “Through trade, intermarriage, people coming and going, and through fighting a common enemy. So we thought,” she looks to the members of her council then back to us, “we should draw up a charter. Cement this relationship and everything it means to us in writing.”

As I think it over, Ezekiel jumps right in. “That is a wonderful idea,” he says with that huge ass smile on his face. “The Kingdom is ready and willing to participate in this endeavor.”

Everyone then looks to me expectantly. Maybe a little nervously. I just shrug. “Doesn’t sound like the dumbest of fuckin’ things. So I guess I’m in, too.”

The Alexandrians all look like they have something to say but they don’t wanna fuckin’ say it. Me and Zeke are clearly out of the loop, which kinda pisses me off.

“Yes?” I prod so they’ll spit it the fuck out.

They all look to Aaron who clears his throat before he starts to fuckin’ talk. “I’ve been spending some time at Hilltop,” he starts, which I already fuckin’ know since Jesus told me he’s training him to fight. Which I think is just a gay euphemism, but whatever. “I asked Jesus to come here today for the discussion, but he declined because he didn’t want to make waves...” he makes sure to look at me, “with you.”

“Alright. So?” I respond.

“He’s the leader of Hilltop,” Michonne answers.

“He’s the governor of Hilltop,” I correct her. “ I’m the leader. Hilltop is under my control.”

Gabriel decides to jump in. “We think it’s time for Hilltop to gain its independence,” he says in that creepy ass tone of his.

“Oh, do you ?” I bite back. “What the fuck is this?” I call out as I look around. “Did Hilltop put you up to this?”

Aaron holds his hands up. “No. They didn’t.”

“Then why the fuck are you putting your nose into my business?”

Michonne answers. “We would like them to be involved in this charter. They should have just as many rights as we do.”

I let out a huff. “All I’m fuckin’ hearing is that you want to fuckin’ cut my population and resources. I’m not a fucking idiot, Rick. I know I got more people than you or The Kingdom. More crops, too. But that might not be the fuckin’ case if I cut Hilltop off. So let me ask you this, asshole. Are you planning on starting shit with me? Going to war, is that it?”

“No,” Rick responds firmly. “Absolutely not, Negan. That is not what we want.”

“Well then what the fuck is this? A humanitarian issue? The Hillfolk aren’t fuckin’ starving. I’m not taking all their shit to their detriment like fuckin’ England did with Ireland two hundred goddamn years ago. I’m fuckin’ good to Hilltop. My men keep them safe there and it’s pissing me right the fuck off that you’re insinuating that they’d be better off without me!”

I feel Chuck’s hand grasp my knee from under the table, distracting me for a second. Which I’m sure was her intention, though I’m fuckin’ glad she decided to do it discretely and not in front of all these people.

As I’m taking a breath, she clears her throat. “I think the idea to have our own constitutions is a very good one,” she starts, and I can tell she’s nervous. “And this charter is something we can work on, but I think it makes more sense to get those constitutions in writing before we take that next step. Before we start to discuss the details of how our communities interact with each other, we should lock down what our citizens rights are first. For The Sanctuary, that will include the rights of Hilltop’s people. Any possible changes to our relationship with them will be discussed by us and them .”

Everyone mulls over what she said. Even me. I’m a little fuckin’ surprised that she not only managed to de escalate the situation, but she told everyone here that Hilltop is our business. And our business is our business.

Rick clears his throat to move on. “Yes. We should shoot to have our separate constitutions finalized by the spring. Then, we can reconvene to discuss any treaties.”

“Until then,” Ezekiel jumps in, “we should continue our trade as we have been. Weather permitting, of course, as winter is almost upon us. And if, god forbid, one of our communities finds itself in need of assistance, we should all pledge to come to her aid in whatever way necessary.”

We all agree and with that, this fuckin’ meeting adjourns. Though I’m sure it didn’t end the way Rick and the fuckin’ rest of his goddamn gang had hoped. Now me and Chuck are off to Aaron’s house to stay the night and I’m not fuckin’ sure I can keep my mouth shut.

Which, of course, I can’t. As soon as we put Maddie to bed, I lay into Aaron as we sit in his living room.

“What the fuck, Aaron?” I manage to keep my voice down so I don’t wake my princess upstairs, but my tone is still fuckin’ angry.

“I’m sorry,” he has the sense to say.

Chuck looks over to her uncle. “Why didn’t you tell us before that this is what you guys were planning? We talk like everyday.”

“We wanted to do this officially ,” Aaron explains. “The council didn’t want me using this family connection-“

“You’re on the fuckin’ council!” I call out.

Chuck lays her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. “Maybe he’s right.”

I whip my head to glare at her. “You’re taking his fuckin’ side?!”

“No. I’m not. I don’t think they should be getting between us and our affairs with our people, but maybe we shouldn’t be discussing it outside of...” she thinks a moment, “office hours. So tensions don’t rise.”

Aaron lets out a heavy breath. “I don’t want this to get between us,” he says to me. “You’re my family. And I love you for the way you treat Chuck and Maddie. We...” he pauses, “ Alexandria ,” he corrects, “isn’t going to demand you do anything. We just, I don’t know, wanted to suggest it. Keep that option open for Hilltop.”

I shake my head at that. “You had to’ve known that shit would piss me off.”

“I did. That’s why I thought if it came from me, it might be better.”

“And what about Jesus? And tell the fuckin’ truth, Aaron.” I ask, wondering if I’m gonna have to bash his manbun head in for starting a fuckin’ coup.

“He didn’t start this. Honestly. You can blame me if you need to blame someone. I’ve been heading out to Hilltop a lot and I told Rick and everyone how great the place is run. I really don’t know who put the idea in everyone’s head, but we all just thought that maybe if the Hilltop was independent, it could make us all stronger in the end.”

I sit back into the couch, letting out a fuckin’ huff in response. When I look over to Chuck, I can see that she’s tired. “You wanna go to bed?” I ask her. I’m fuckin’ done with this conversation anyway.

“Yeah,” she answers.

I get up from the couch with a groan and hold my hand out to her. “Come on, baby girl. Let’s get some sleep.”

When Chuck stands up, so does Aaron.

“I really am sorry, Negan,” he says from behind me. “I don’t think we handled that right. But we really just want what is best for everyone, all the communities.”

I turn back at him and nod. “Well...” I look down then look back up to him, “since you decided to spring shit on me, as punishment, I’m gonna have loud sex with Chuck in your guest room.”

Aaron scrunches up his face. “Come on, man.”

Chuck slaps my shoulder, then looks over to her uncle with her cheeks all red. “That’s-That’s not gonna happen.”

I just laugh as I continue up the stairs. I’m still fuckin’ pissed, but I guess it’s not worth throwing away my relationship with Chuck’s uncle. Or with the other communities. I just fuckin’ hope they don’t press the issue because I’m not sure what will happen if they do.

#writehavoc the flame is gone the fire remains #writehavoc writes #negan #negan x oc #negan fanfiction #negan x ofc #negan x original female character #negans thirst squad #negan/original female character #negan / oc #negan / ofc #negan / original female character #The Walking Dead #the walking dead fanfiction #The Walking Dead AU #the flame is gone the fire remains

[redvelvetreel]

Red Velvet Reel 6.2: Cele-BRAT-ion!

                     [Fic Directory]

Pairing: [Married] Spicyhoney (Underfell Papyrus x Underswap Papyrus)

Summary: As they struggle to get through this stupid bet, Stretch realizes he had way too high expectations for the evening and Fell monsters are stress. He knew that, and yet...

Characters: Edge (Underfell Papyrus) & Stretch (Underswap Papyrus) & Red (Underfell Sans) & Blue (Underswap Sans) & Classic (Undertale Papyrus) & Comic (Undertale Sans) & Slim/Puppy (Swapfell Papyrus) & Black (Swapfell Sans) & some poor random waitress lol.

Contains: Mpreg/Skelepreg! Meeting up in a (sports) bar! Everyone talks a lot and never shuts up! (More) Stupid Fellverse posturing and antagonism! Lots of headcanons! 

Rating: Teen and up! (I guess?)

Note:  Hah, a labor of love that I’m still not satisfied with but! Enjoy!

Underswap Papyrus – Stretch            Underswap Sans –  Blue Underfell Paprus – Edge                     Underfell Sans – Red Swapfell Papyrus – Slim/Puppy         Swapfell Sans – Black Undertale Papyrus – Classic              Undertale Sans – Comic

“Typical,” Black let out an annoyed puff of breath, “Your kind are too curious.”

“My kind?” Edge propped his head up on his hand, smirking smugly even as he feigned innocence, “I would have never taken you for a coward, but appearances can be deceiving, I suppose. Would you like to look at the drink menu?”

“You!” Black curled his fingers into such a tight fist his knuckles cracked, scowl positively withering. “If you think I’ll be goaded by something so insufferably baiting and juvenile-“

“Put up,” Red popped his p’s for extra emphasis, leveling Black with a flat look, “Or shut up. Ain’t no one got time for yer bullshit- ain’t no one care.”

Black swore under his breath, banging the table once in frustration before turning to his brother, “Pochi!”

“Poochie?” Comic and Stretch looked at each other, unsure if they had heard correctly.

Slim looked up as though startled by being addressed, shoulders tense and sockets blown wide. Feeling so many eyes on him, he hunched in on himself, nervously picking at the myriad of bracelets on his wrists.

“Tell these overly curious buffoons which one you bet on,” Black sounded incredibly bored, waving his hand in the air dismissively, “And make up some inane reason why- you’ve already sunk enough money into this pointless game. Ah, wait- this crepe.”

That skirted a dangerous line. With a fearsome scowl, Edge slammed his hands onto the table as he pushed himself to his feet, looking very much like he was about to punch Black out. Unthinkingly, Classic grabbed his hands, squeezing them with a nervous smile as he gestured to the Slim with his chin, “Er, Slimjim! Once more, big voice, please!”

Blue sat up from his slump, looking confused, “Slimjim? The jerky?” He asked quietly, but Classic didn’t seem to hear him.

Obviously uncomfortable with so much attention on him, Slim looked down at the table with a shrug. When Black started drumming his fingers impatiently, however, he let out a shaky sigh and pointed at Stretch.

“Cuz...” He whispered to himself, snapping his bracelets against his bones with furrowed browbones. Slim started running his pointer finger along every bead on his first bracelet, flicking it up with his claw to catch on his palm before repeating the process, “...Ya know...”

Kinda weirded out but mostly sympathetic to how unhappy the hunched up skeleton looked, Stretch turned towards Comic conspiratorially.

“What obvious reason?” He whispered loudly, “Does this hoodie make me look fat?”

“Nope,” Comic winked as he whispered back, “I can’t Fathom why he’d say that.”

Slim smiled immediately, cheekbones dimpling as he scrunched his face up in a repressed laugh, “Nyeh.”

“Cute.”

Black choked on something, turning to cough into his elbow even as he waved off Comic’s offer to pat his back. He finished the rest of his drink in a big gulp, eyes still closed and coughing lightly, although it seemed oddly forced.

“That’s is extremely weird!” Classic spoke up loudly and cheerfully, puffing out his chest as he pointed at himself, “Therefore I, the Great Ambassador Papyrus, will return normalcy by explaining my bet! And reasoning!”

He dropped his voice to a loud whisper, “With the disclaimer that betting is a form of gambling, and gambling can be a very serious issue! Moderation is key, and if you or any of your loved ones are struggling with it, there are resources available!” He winked audibly, looking at Black earnestly, “I can be discreet! Just let me know how I can help.”

Whereas Black looked confused and annoyed, Slim seemed absolutely delighted, clapping a hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle.

“Sasuga, Papz,” he told Classic warmly, going back to playing with his bracelets as his bright smile dropped into something more neutral.

“I don’t know what that means, but thank you Slimjim, I think!” Classic answered just as brightly, before tapping his chin thoughtfully, “Where was I?”

“Talkin’ about dear Aunt Sal ‘n the chickens that roost in the ol’ barn,” Comic supplied helpfully, grin growing wider as his brother turned to him in complete outrage.

“Don’t be silly, Sans!” Classic tossed his head imperiously, sounding annoyed, “Everyone knows it’s cows that roost in the barn!”

He sighed loudly, “Where was I? Ah, Yes, I actually bet it was... you, Eggo!”

Stretch and Comic practically collapsed on themselves snickering, trying not to burst out laughing. Even Black seemed to be covering his mouth to avoid smiling.

Slim didn’t look up, but reached over to rest a light hand on Classic’s shoulder... who looked embarrassed. Edge’s cool look in their direction sobered them quickly, but his voice was kind as he turned to his counterpart, “I understand. It’s difficult to keep track of so many nicknames.”

Classic smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “I’m sorry, Papyrus- I just seem to forget everyone’s nickname when I’m thinking of your real names. I understand why we do it, and I hope we’re all satisfied with our nicknames- but it is still just so very, very frustrating!”

Expression softening, Comic leaned his elbows on the table, “Aw, Pap-“

“It’s fine! I’m over it!” Classic waved his brother off cheerfully, all smiles and overly excited energy. Stretch wasn’t entirely convinced. “Anyway, it’s because Sketchers is very much like Sans, and Sans- “

Despite their best attempts, most of the skeletons at the table couldn’t help smiling.

“Excuse me, Chexmix is absolutely terrible at taking care of himself! Ergo, Sketchers is too! Ergo, he wouldn’t have the discipline! To resist so many bad habits and temptations! It would be terribly difficult for him-“

Classic jerked towards Stretch suddenly, “Not that I don’t think you are not capable of doing these things! Oh no, I think you could absolutely do these things! If so motivated! Which you probably would be in that situation! In which case, if my guess is incorrect, I very much believe in you! Because I know you will be the best parent you can be!”

Stretch laughed in good humor, grabbing Comic’s glass in a toast, “Guilty as charged! No offense taken, bud.”

Classic beamed, turning back to Edge enthusiastically, “So it can’t be Sketchers! Well, probably not. And, well, you are kind of a control freak, Egg- eh, Edge! It would be better for your peace of mind to be in charge! And you are also very disciplined! And that is why it can only be you! Likely!”

Before Edge could say anything, he turned to Blue on his right. “Bluebell?”

“Oh, I already know the answer-“ Blue toyed with the straw in his glass, jolting when Classic gasped loudly.

“What?!” He was indignant, “And you didn’t even give us a hint?! How could you?! So this is pointless?! You even put a bet in!”

“I literally just said so!” Blue was drawing himself up on his knees in an instant, defiantly glaring only inches away from Classic’s face, “I didn’t put a bet in!”

“Blue,” Stretch called out wearily, making a ‘sit down’ gesture with one hand.

“No.” Black’s scowl was fearsome, managing to look annoyed and disappointed at the same time as he turned towards Red, “It was you.”

Blue sat down with a toss of his head, “See?! That was slander!”

“Me what, cuppycake?” Red put both his elbows on the table, looking smug as shrugged in an infuriatingly flippant matter. “Lie? Cheat? Of fuckin’ course! What kinda star-eyed bruto ain’t fuckin’ check, eh?”

“ ‘Kinda gamesman fesses up?” Slim leaned on the table, gold teeth glinting in a lopsided smile, “Black’d call that’d confession. I’d say yer just a dumbass.”

“HAH!” Red threw his his head back in uproarious laughter, smile wide and sharp as he dug his fingers into the tabletop, “Takes one t’know one, wardog!”

“Your bet is cancelled and the money you put into the pool forfeit,” Black nursed his new drink like he had a headache, “On account of poor sportsmanship and being stupid enough to blatantly confess to it.”

“What?!” Red slammed his fist down on the table, sizing up against Black on his side, “Ya fuckin’ huevon-!”

Edge finally spoke up, sounding almost bored, “When one is burned, it’s natural they would seek an expedient and convenient salve,” He rested his chin on his fist,  a challenging glint to his eyes, “Who knew money was what soothed a royal guard the most? Or perhaps it’s a more personal problem?”

Oh no. Stretch didn’t like getting involved in this fellverse bullshit- too much posturing and exaggerated reactions that made it hard to tell when a real fight was about to break out or not- but Black’s eyelights went out. And his skull flushed a dark purple as positively murderous intent started to radiate off of him. Fuck.

“Black!” He knew this was a terrible idea even before he felt everyone’s attention shift to him, trying very hard to ignore the alarmed expression on Blue’s face. “So, buddy-“

Edge gave no outward indication of concern, but he did kick him under the table. Hard. “What’d you bet? Betcha agreed with your bro, right?”

Black stared at him, hard, for a long moment- long enough Edge had dropped the pretense of indifference to grab onto Stretch’s legs in a vice grip to yank him away at a moment’s notice. Red had a bone attack clenched in his fist. As did Blue, and Slim was sitting up alert and his eye- Yeah, ok, fuck-

“Let’s all calm down and have another drink, yeah?” Despite his laidback demeanor, there was a hard undertone to Comic’s words that sent a chill across the whole table. “If you Fellies got something to settle, take it outside. I like this bar, and it’d be a real shame if we were kicked out because a couple of boneheads couldn’t play nice.”

Comic gave a long sigh as he leaned back into the couch cushions, “S’not my place to say, but I don’t think Stretch’s having all that great a time. I know I’m not, and I don’t think Paps ‘n Blue are either.”

No one said anything.

“Well...” Stretch appreciated the attempted save, but this new chastised atmosphere of morose but still combative monsters wasn’t much better. Comic was looking like he regretted getting involved.

“All’s fair in love and war, right? I was hoping we’d be heavier on the love tonight,” Stretch waved his arm vaguely, shrugging with a forced smile, “But I’ll take what I can get. Let’s just, uh, lighten up on the liquor, and-“

“Fine.” Black was still seething, arms crossed tightly as he tossed his head imperiously, “Your money is still forfeited.”

“What?!” Red actually looked surprised, slamming his fist onto the table with a snarl, “What fer?!”

Blue cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, “You just admitted to cheating, bonehead!”

“Shh!” Red made an odd flicking gesture at Blue, “Buss out, Baby Blue! Always such a goddamn metiche!” He turned back to Black comparatively, completely ignoring Stretch who put his head down on the table. “S’ain’t-“

“I’m being lenient since you seem to have gone completely native,” Black gave Red a withering glare, “If this were in a Fellverse, I would have taken your hand as collateral.”

“Sans.”

Slim was usually so silent and unassuming, it was easy to forget he was there- but his quiet voice held tremendous power. He held a silent staring contest with Black for a long time, until Black finally looked away with a derisive toss of his head, “Like I said: I’m being lenient. Pray I don’t change my mind.”

Slim sighed wearily, leaning back on his seat and tossing his head over the head rest. He lifted his arm and started playing with his bracelets again, but at least everyone settled down. Even Red, who had Edge’s hand clamping his jaw shut firmly.

“I’m still not sure what gave you the ridiculous notion that I would deign to participate in something so trivial,” Black scoffed, leaning back against the seat as he crossed his arms. Ugh. And Edge had wanted- had especially specifically specified this asshole needed to be invited too. Stretch eyed the honey mead, only inches away from his face, longingly.

“However! If I had placed a bet, which I am not confirming I did-“ He understood now why the Fellverses tended to drink heavily among each other, but if they knew it was going to make them more combative, why did they even meet up at all? It couldn’t be that they actually enjoyed each other’s company, could it? “Then it would have been on that one. For obvious reasons.”

He didn’t need to look up to know Black was talking about him. “Forreal, what are you guys talking about?” Stretch turned his head to look at Slim, who just hunched further in on himself. “Is it my stats? The lack of fangs? My rounded edges?”

“Nothing worth worrying about,” Edge gave each Fell monster a cool look before turning back to his husband, “As you well know, value judgements based solely on cursory stat CHECKs are neither accurate nor effective.”

Oh yeah. During that minor freak out after Dyna’s checkup, Edge had told him Red was thinking along Underfell lines when he made those caustic comments. Something about Edge’s stats being better for defense of a pregnant partner, so it’d make more sense if Stretch was actually the pregnant one- yeah, okay. It would make sense other Fell monsters would come to that same conclusion too. And they would assumed Edge had too, and that as a couple, they had decided to go the ‘logical’ route. This was gonna be explosive to see play out- hopefully no actual explosions involved though.

Stretch tuned back into the tail end of a surprisingly civil argument between Edge and Black

“-And CHECKs won’t tell you a monster’s motivations or reasonings, their fears and specialties, which makes it incomplete!” Edge slammed his fist onto the table. “And they’re also very easy to manipulate into displaying false data!”

“What?!” Black looked honestly horrified, which seemed like an incredibly out of place emotion on his face, “They are not easy to ‘manipulate’- they have some of the strictest protocols and tightest security of all display mechanics! Conscripts can’t even change the color of their names without a royal reprimand!”

“Conscripts?” Edge blinked, flabbergasted, “A royal reprimand? Who has time-?”

“Um,” Classic had been shifting uncomfortably throughout every tense period, murmuring to Blue in hushed voices, before raising his voice again, “We haven’t heard from Sans yet! My Sans! Chexmix! No, wait- Cosmic! Er, Comic!”

Comic opened a single eye with a widening grin, not dozing quite as deeply as he made it seem, “Honest mixtake, Bro, no sweaturn.”

Blue and Classic rolled their eyes in unison, giving each other shared looks of annoyance. “Mix-take was good, points for well-timed creativity- but sweat-urn was weak!“

Comic’s smile just seemed to grow, leaning forward conspiratorially, theatrically whispering, “Should I Apollogize?”

Classic sighed, resting his head in his hands, “That’s a reach, but better than your usual material. Please just answer the question, brother.”

“Always so Sirius, bro, but ok- I’ll finish this off with a Big Bang,”He winked at Stretch, who had given him an appreciative salute. “Well, I put my bet in with my buddy Stretch here.”

Stretch hung his head with a sigh, “I guess I’m just more Papternal than I realized, a bonDadfied old man.”

“Nice,” Comic held his hand out for a fist bump, “I figured babies are a skeleton of work on your body, and who better than a lazybones to chill and let Pancake do their thing? Soulings are also gonna do all sorts of weird stuff to your body you can’t control, so a relaxed, carefree attitude is gonna be really helpful.”

He sighed, shrugging with a wink towards Edge, “But I’m starting to think I’m out 40g, huh?”

Edge’s expression shifted from preoccupied to considering in a moment, silent except for drumming his fingers on the table thoughtfully. He made a point to make and keep eye contact with everyone at the table, smiling almost coyly. With a nonchalant shrug, he slid the mug in Classic’s direction.

Stretch took advantage of the stunned silence to help himself to the other mug, “Yay, this one is finally mine~”

Then everything got LOUD.

[Part 1 ] [Part 2 - Here! ] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

#spicyhoney #Underfell Papyrus #underswap papyrus #underfell sans #underswap sans #swapfell sans #swapfell papyrus #undertale sans #undertale papyrus #skelepreg #fanfic #redvelvetreel #red sans #blue sans #edge papyrus #stretch papyrus #classic papyrus #comic sans

[vantablackcap]

For the ship meme: sambucky and samsteve!! :)

AwWwWwWwWwWwWw YeEeEeEeEeEeEeahHhHhHhHh. (two ficlets for the price of one! I’m doing Sambucky here, will do Samsteve in a separate post!)

“Are you for real?” Sam asked. The palace attendant looked less than impressed as they nodded, gesturing again to the little path in the grass. “It will be easy enough to find, but I can arrange for an escort,” they said, blandly polite. “I think I’ll manage. Which place is his?”“You’ll have no problem recognizing it.”They shared a Look and Sam burst out laughing, finally cottoning on. Yeah, just look for the white guy tending to goats. Fucking goats. 

As it turned out, Sam did get a little bit lost – but once the local kids figured out who he was looking for, they pointed him in the right direction. Sam sensed a little bit of condescension from them; after all, who didn’t know where the White Wolf lived? Honestly, foreigners were so dim.“If Steve sent you, tell him I’m fine,” Bucky called without turning around as Sam approached the small house. He was apparently deep in concentration, brushing one of the goats loosely gathered around the small piles of grass dotting the ground. “Do I look like Rogers’ fucking messenger boy?” Sam called back, skirting around a small pile of goat shit. Apparently Barnes was really into the good clean country livin’ thing. “Nah. You’re right. Sorry,” Bucky said, finally looking up. He looked .. rested. That wasn’t a word that Sam ever thought he’d apply to the harangued-looking man, but apparently Wakanda was doing him some good. “It’s good to see you, Sam.”Sam, having finally walked up to where Bucky was tending to his goats, stopped short. “It is?”“Yeah. You’re a little better than goats to talk to.”“Oh, fuck you,” Sam said lightly. He lowered himself to the ground and settled on the grass, and only tensing up a little as no less than 5 goats made their way over to nudge and snort at him. “They’re just curious. Don’t have many visitors around here,” Bucky said said with a tinge of amusement in his voice. Sam gingerly pet the rough coat of the smallest one and relaxed a millimetre when it didn’t bite his hand clean off. He’d had his share of experiences with irritable farm animals in his childhood, so he wasn’t taking chances. “Just thought I’d see what the fuck you were doing in the middle of a field,” Sam mused. He’d been to Wakanda a few times on reconnaissance missions that he only knew roughly 40% about, but hadn’t seen Barnes since he’d first been released from cryo. “Mostly raising goats,” Bucky said matter-of-factly. He gave a Sam a smile that was tinged with just enough “fucking obviously” for Sam to pick up on it. “You don’t get bored out here?” Now that the goats had sniffed and bleated at him, as well as figuring out that he didn’t have any tasty treats on him, they’d wandered back off to their grass. The sky was a bright, cloudless blue that made Sam a little dizzy with how badly he wished he could take off with his wings here. He couldn’t even imagine the view of the city and forests.“I’ve got books.”“Books on raising goats?”Bucky gave him a sour look. “Just a couple. You gonna talk about goats the whole time?”“Maybe.”“Good. Great.” Bucky stood, dusting off his hands. He eyed Sam for a moment before his face did a weird thing; it lit up, which was a thing Sam was still getting used to seeing him do. Shit, if Wakanda was treating Barnes so well, maybe Sam could apply for a work visa or something. “Wanna stay for lunch?” Bucky asked, still looking kind of intently at Sam.“Is it goat?” Sam said, unable to help himself.Bucky looked scandalized. “These aren’t for eating, Wilson.”“Nothing wrong with some curried goat, man. You too good for curried goat?”Bucky looked thoughtfully at the animals milling about near a cluster of trees. Sam clapped a companionable hand on his shoulder and grinned. “I’m jokin’, I’m not gonna eat your pets. Lead the way.”* * * * * * * * * *Lunch was surprisingly good; slightly bitter leafy greens that had been steamed (and seasoned, which Sam was pleasantly surprised by) and fried fish that was admittedly bland, but nicely crisp on the outside.  “Can’t really get the balance right,” Bucky muttered, poking at his fish with a wrinkled nose. Sam hmm?ed to encourage him to go on; he was busy trying to get the perfect fish-to-vegetables ratio in his next bite.“Well, if I add the seasoning before, it all comes off in the oil, but if I add it after, it’s a damn saltlick.”Sam chewed thoughtfully, winced, and covered his mouth with his hand. After carefully retrieving the offending fish bone, he spoke: “You washing out the inside and everything?”“Washing?”“Yeah.”“Like with water?”“Barnes. Barnes, please be joking. Please.”Bucky shrugged and gestured for Sam to go on, but a rueful smile was tugging at his lips. “You clean out the whatever-whatever inside, and you wash it and then rub it down with lemon. Then salt, pepper, seasonin’, an– you didn’t do any of that, did you. I can tell from your face.”“Lemon…” Bucky muttered. “Knew I forgot something.”“Want me to write this shit down for you, gramps?”“Fuck you.”

* * * * * * * * * *“Can I ask you a question?” Bucky asked. He settled on the floor next to where Sam was sitting cross-legged, watching the sun dip lower. “Mhm.” Sam seemed distracted but not unhappy; he’d shucked off his light jacket and sneakers and was sitting in his jeans and tanktop, absently wiggling his toes in the little patch of grass that grew determinedly in front of the door. “You ever eaten curried goat?” Sam gave him a sidelong look.“Yeah. Got a problem?”“No, just … curious.” Bucky was silent for a little while, during which a handful of farmers returning home called a greeting as they passed his home. Sam was still looking at him. There was something about his posture that seemed at home, relaxed despite everything that had gotten them to this moment. He was kind of like that; the moments of calm in his life had been few and far between for years now, so he settled into them and took them for what they were. Bucky admired that. He was working on that whole relaxing-while-he-still-had-time thing, himself. “My grandma’s from the Caribbean,” Sam finally said, seemingly satisfied that Bucky wasn’t trying to provoke anything. “She used to make stuff like that when me ‘n Sarah visited in the summers. Never really liked it until I got a little older.”“What’s it taste like?” Bucky asked. His leg was pressed against Sam’s, but neither of them seemed keen on moving. Sam being here felt right, like he belonged here – not just in the physical space, but here with Bucky. Which… what? What?“Kinda… earthy? Like lamb, but stronger taste… Sarah was crazy about the stuff. Couldn’t really find the right ingredients in the States. Too expensive for my parents.”Bucky hesitated a little before nudging Sam’s knee with his own. “Do you… do you want one of my goats?”“What?”“If you’re, uh. If you want curry…”“Holy shit, Barnes.”Bucky seemed to realise that that was a really weird thing to say, but he grinned awkwardly nonetheless. The laugh lines around his eyes were deeper, and his face didn’t carry the glazed blankness or tired scowl that it used to. It was really fucking nice, which was surprising to Sam because he was so used to lying to himself that he only cared about the guy in that friendly-coworker kind of way. “A whole goat, eh? Save that one for the dowry.”“Shut up. I was trying to be hospitable.”“I’d settle for coffee,” Sam smiled. He gestured to the goats, some of who were already dozing in the cooling evening air. “And name one after me, that’s good enough.”“Two of them are already named Sam and Samantha,” Bucky said as he got to his feet. Sam took a moment to grasp what had just been said, but Bucky had already moved back into the house to bring up the lights as the sun went down. “Bucky, what?”“Oh, I got some mangoes. You want mangoes?”“Barnes.”“I’m gonna have some either way but I’ll cut one up for you too.”“Bucky, why the fuck did you name your goats after me?”Bucky didn’t look up as he settled the fruits on a specialized spike attached to his cutting board. Then, he took his time rattling around in a kitchen drawer before pulling out a small mechanized peeler and positioning the cutting board against his hip to keep it steady. “Nice setup,” Sam said, admiring the ingenious design of the assistive devices Bucky was using. “I named ‘em after you because they’re stubborn but I like ‘em,” Bucky said in response. Sam scoffed. “Steve is fuckin’ stubborn.”“You think none of the goats are named after that asshole?”“Point.”“Want some?” Bucky asked, nodding down at the now-peeled mangoes. He had a bit of a challenge managing with one arm when the damned things started slipping around on the wooden cutting board, but he managed to carve thick, sweet slices off of the fruits. Then, he held out his hand to Sam. Sam stared at the juicy deep-yellow mango flesh gripped almost delicately between Bucky’s fingers. His fingers twitched because surely he was supposed to fucking take it from Bucky like a normal human being. But Bucky’s eyes were locked on his, and Sam didn’t think Barnes realised that his hand was shaking just a little. Sam moved towards Bucky, slowly enough to back off if needs be. Bucky’s breath hitched and he brought the piece of fruit up, closer to Sam’s face. So. Oh. Okay. Right. “Don’t smash that into my face,” Sam said, joking lightly to cover for the fact that his heart was hammering away a mile a minute.“I won’t,” Bucky said, and his voice was so quiet that Sam found himself in the man’s space and Barnes had the nerve to be teasing, tracing the slice of mango across Sam’s lower lip with a feather-light touch and then leaning down to tentatively kiss him andOh. Right. Okay. Sam pulled back slowly, his eyes fluttering open. Okay, that had been surprisingly smooth. “You been practicing that move, Barnes?” he said shakily. Bucky just took a big smug bite of the same mango piece that he’d tempted Sam with. Sam took the opportunity to get revenge by kissing the taste off of his lips. It was heady, and sweet, and overwhelming in a way that reminded Sam of hot summers and cool salt water on his ankles, and Bucky felt it in his bones like sinking into his first unbothered sleep in over 70 years, and they both agreed that they needed to get to a bed sooner rather than later. * * * * * * * * * *“Bucky.”“Mmmm?” Bucky felt boneless, a little sticky and too hot, but sated and incredibly smug. He’d wrung some pretty impressive sounds out of Sam Wilson not an hour ago. “You should get some chickens.”“Wuh?”“For eggs. So I can make my ma’s famous breakfast fry-up.”Bucky turned to look at Sam in the dim light from the crescent moon outside. “Baby, you do that thing with your tongue again and I’ll get a million chickens.”Sam smiled, and Bucky’s stomach did a funny swoop because that dorky little tooth gap was now adorable, and they were both naked, sure, but the moonlight was draped across the outline of Sam’s dark body like silk, and his eyes drank Bucky in like he was worthy and good and desirable. And that? That shit was all new. It felt pretty good.It felt even better to see Sam’s face light up when Bucky woke him up the next morning with a kiss and a basket of cheeping yellow chicks.

#Sambucky #Winterfalcon #woofgender #WHOOPS this one got away from me #ficlet #me: I WILL ALWAYS END A FIC THE SAME WAY BITE ME #fic #fan fic #prompts #my writing #i mek a post!

[the-stoked-flame]

Meet the Character! - Orion Llewelyn

GENERAL

► Name ➔ “Orion Llewelyn, I reckon you’ve heard o’ me.” 

► Are you single ➔ “Nah”

► Are you happy ➔ “No time in life t’spend bein’ unhappy, so yea’.”

► Are you angry? ➔ “What’ve I got t’be angry about?”

► Are your parents still married ➔ “Doesn’t really work that way where I come from.”

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ “The Sagolii.”

► Hair Color ➔ “Brown most o’ the time. Now an’ then I put a bit o’ blue in it when I’m feelin’ like it.”

► Eye Color ➔ “As gold as glitterin’ treasure, mate.”

► Birthday ➔ “Twenty-first Sun o’ the 2nd Astral Moon.”

► Mood ➔ “Stir-crazy.”

► Gender ➔ “Guy. I’ve always been comfortable that way.”

► Summer or winter ➔ “Gods who can fuckin’ stand the cold o’ the winter? It’s freezin’! Summer by a soddin’ landslide. Gimme sunshine, sand, an’ the smell of adventure anyday.”

► Morning or afternoon ➔ “Mornins. Have ya ever seen the way the sun rises?”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ “Nah. Tried that once, not sure if I care for it nowadays.”

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “Definitely not.”

► Who ended your last relationship ➔ “Uh..we both did, I guess.”

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ “With a face like this? O’ course I have.”

► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ “Wouldn’t say I’m afraid o’ them. I just elect not to participate in ‘em most o’ the time.”

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “I don’t think so!”

► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “I imagine I’ve had many.” He gestures to his face again.

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “Nah, I’ve never stopped lovin’ me.”

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ “I’ll take lust, thanks.”

► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Lemonade with a heap o’ sugar.”

► Cats or Dogs ➔ “Dogs make more excitin’ friends.”

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “How about we jus’ start with someone to adventure with, eh?”

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “Wild night out! There’s so much more fun t’be had out there than inside.”

► Day or night ➔ “Daytime, there’s jus’ so much more goin’ on. The night’s not bad either, though, what with all the stars bein’ out.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ “Not when it’s mattered.”

► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ “...No...........”

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “...I mean there have been some real good treasures I’ve come across. Got ‘em in the end, o’ course.”

► Wanted to disappear ➔ – “Uh...next question.”

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ “Gimme a good set o’ eyes t’get lost in.”

► Shorter or Taller ➔  “I love t’climb more than jus’ rocks, if ya get what I’m sayin’.”

► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ “Intelligence isn’t that important t’me, gimme someone that looks good.”

► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ “Uh.”

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ “I uh don’t reckon we do, no.”

► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “Definitely not. My life’s my own an’ I’ve done everythin’ I can t’make it as great as it is.”

► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ “HAH.” A quick honk of laughter. “Sorry, sorry, it’s jus’ that’s kinda my whole thing y’know? The big incitin’ action o’ my story. S’where who I am t’day began.”

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ “Well o’ course I have. I’ve flirted with the wrong person at a bar, more than once.”

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “Don’t keep around people I hate. There’s really no use t’doin’ that.”

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Yeah, why not?”

► Who is your best friend ➔ “I’m my own best friend these days.”

► Who knows everything about you ➔ “No one but me. Oh I reckon Astrid too. She’s this bird friend o’ mine who visits me now an’ then.”

TAGS

► Tagged By ➔ @nhajers Thanks for the tag yo!

► Tagging ➔ @vallerinmiraudont-ffxiv @zahkis-ffxiv @rashkah @streetgardener @zevet-xiv @sliptohk @kazuhiro-mountain @shatteredshield @mischiefandmystics

#[Memes | Orion]

[hanjisungs-bigtittyg0thgf]

It's never as easy as it seems. There's so much behind the scenes work people don't think about. You have to know wtf you're talking about to plan something for someone else. It's an immense amount of work. Hence the need for meeting professionals such as yourself to help us noobs get our shit sorted.

I totally understand. I wanted to be a business woman as a kid cuz I thought it meant I could go into whatever business I want 😂 then I switched to veterinarian and had it all planned out. CC for 2 years then transfer to UC for vet school to save money. Well that went down the drain. To even transfer as a bio major I needed to get up to calc 3. Jfc. I hate math lmao. So then I switched to linguistics cuz I like learning about languages and learning new ones. I was planning on being a translator. Then I got bored real quick of linguistics and was having a crisis until my sister suggested the school I'm at now for veterinary nursing. I'm almost done with this cursed program. I should be done by summer. Then I'll work as a nurse while I take my prereqs for vet school. I do still like learning languages though. I just need to make an effort to practice speaking more to retain everything. I know many languages but I'm not good at any of them lmaoo 😭 but we out here setting goals and making them happen 👌 we love to see it.

A valid concern. Having a support system is important. There's no singular path to reach your goals. You'll make it there! 💪

✨

it’s literally insane how much goes into an event. and like i’m planning an event for the band at my old high school (because they liked the christmas party i planned) and the venue the band director asked me to check on isn’t gonna be big enough, i feel like. the band is a lot bigger this year. i feel like we should be checking something else out. like i’m going through every little thing i’ve learned in the last two and a half years and i’m lowkey buggin cause there’s a lot to do and it’s literally the week after i graduate. but then i remember it isn’t a professional thing and usually the band parents plan this (and since i’m a band sister who is about to have a degree in events i might become the event planner for the band 😜)

see i was unwell when i started college and decided i wanted to do elementary education (with a minor in korean but that was never made official in my transcript lmao one less thing to drop tho). except i didn’t want to do that, it was just what was practical and what i was good at. i’m great with kids and i love being around them (in certain settings lmao who let those fuckers in dave and busters last night) but i was just so unhappy in that program. the last straw was me failing another class (for the second time!) and breaking down on the bus. i was in tears on public transit- i called my mom crying on the campus shuttle and was telling her i wouldn’t get into the tep and i was gonna fail out of school and that i needed to change my major but i was afraid to tell my dad and have him think i wasted all this time and money. three days later i was in a completely different college (human environmental sciences instead of education). i still sucked as a student until last semester though. i was one c away from flunking out of school and then last semester made the president’s list??? haven’t had straight a’s since middle school. i shot straight up and i’m done in 8 weeks and it feels surreal.

sometimes i hate that i didn’t stick with the language thing (cause i too wanted to be a translator for a while) but then i have professors who find out i’m interested in korea and they start speaking korean to me and my life flashes before my eyes and i’m suddenly relieved that i can say “oh i only speak a little” (looking at you dr shin)

but we fuckin out here making plans 💪🏻 fuckin get it bestie

and yeah there’s so many ways to get where i wanna go (and so many places i wanna go so like i don’t have a set path i feel like i have to follow cause there’s a lot that would make me happy) it’s just terrifying fully leaving the nest and i also don’t wanna leave my bestie that i’m kinda in love with

#anon ask #✨ anon

[wyrmwave]

MEET THE CHARACTER |♦| M’iksa

► Name ➔ “Iksa! Well, M’iksa if ye want t’ be more accurate. What, ‘surname?’ T-- I mean, er, Sunea. Yeah.”

► Are you single? ➔ “I er... how ye...how ye reckon's 'single?' If ye mean am I....like...not fuckin' any one person...but on the regula? Then nah, not single.” He pauses. “... I...IT'S COMPLICATED OKAY?” His face is visibly ruddy as he almost shouts the last three words. ► Are you happy? ➔ “In a manner o' speakin, suppose so. Not UNhappy if it makes'a diff'rence.” ► Are you angry? ➔ “Not right now. ....Why, ye got some shite ye gotta say?!” ► Are your parents still married? ➔ M'iksa's brow furrows, "No reason my ma'd be married to the Nunh, n no clue what either of 'em r' up ta."

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ “Piece o' shit island out towards Othard, typical Seeker tribe otherwise.” ► Hair Color ➔  "S'a brownish black, aye?" He runs his hands through one of the braids and unfurls it, "Longer than ya think it is, too." ► Eye Color ➔  “Bright blue, almos' as blue as the sea herself dependin' on the light." ► Birthday ➔ He scratched his head, "It's sometime in the summer, by my reckonin'...but..." ► Mood ➔  "R...right now? I've...I suppose I could go for a bite to eat but...Oh, my normal mood? ...n...normal...??" ► Gender ➔ “I got a cock for what its worth, not much thought to it past that. A man??" ► Summer or winter ➔  “Winter leaves the water in some places too cold for m' liking, summer is consistent across th' board. Have t' pick that." ► Morning or afternoon ➔ “Afternoon. Sun's just startin' t' dip n the sky lights up in a way mornin' can't compare with."

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ Blue eyes dart every direction except towards the question-asker, and he stammers out, "S'not...s'not like I'm serious 'nuff with anyone t' know if..." ► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “I ain't even sure I believe in love, let 'lone knowin' right away. So...mark me unsure?" ► Who ended your last relationship ➔ He shrugs and puts up an overly-fake unimpressed facade, "He was a fool t' not wanna leave the island too." ► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ “Probably." He blinks and awaits the next question. ► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ "Er. F...Fear is a mighty strong word innit...." Iksa averts his eyes at the question. ► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ "I wake up with arms 'round m' chest like as not, think that counts?" ► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “One what told me after th' fact? Nah, not as far as I know of." ► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “No." The words are almost spat and he doesn't elaborate.

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔  He gives a very dramatic shrug and refuses to give more of an answer than that. ► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ "Tea beats any other garbage drink, and spirits beat tea. Tha's jus' the natural order, innit?" ► Cats or Dogs ➔ He blinks, a swish of his fluffy tail as he considers, "Can I pick fish instead?" ► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “I'd rather trust a 'andful." ► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ "I..." he pauses, "Cannit be both, it can be both, aye? Back to back? Why would ya pick?!" ► Day or night ➔ “Night means less people, less people means less fuss. Choice seems simple enough."

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ "Not a once, well, leas' until I was out on my own. Far cry from bein' caught leavin' a hook-up when she wakes up versus ma catchin' me sneaking out." ► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ "NEVER!" ...though his cheeks betray the rather thinly veiled lie. ► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ "Innit a normal thing t' do?" ► Wanted to disappear ➔ M'iksa gives a bitter chuckle, "Ask the Confederacy."

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ "A nice set o' eyes t' look inta while I'm ridin' can't be sneezed at." ► Shorter or Taller ➔ "Taller, if ye can manage!" ► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ "I'd 'ave said attraction until this las' year, I've had the..." he dips his voice low for feigned dramatic effect, "I've had th' pleasure o' meetin' someone t' show me the former's a force t' be reckoned with." ► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ "Hook-ups are safer, if ye take the precautions 'gainst crotch rot."

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ "No." He scowls briefly before pushing to move to the next question. ► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ "Tha's a measure what depends on yer perspective. Not as bad as some but, aye, compared t' some others, mine's been a right nightmare." ► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ "Howdya think I ended up goin' from tribal life t' piracy? ma wouldn't 'ave let me just walk outta there." ► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ “Can't get kicked out if ya leave first!" He taps his forehead knowingly.

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “If I hated 'em why would I call 'em friend?!" ► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Nah, ye got...whassit, tiers o' friends. Some are like t' be closer than others, nothin' to be upset for. Just the way'a things." ► Who is your best friend ➔ Another scratch to his hair as he clearly has to ponder it, "I hesitate t' name the people I've been beddin' on 'count'a favoritism but likely them, best friends 're the ones that make ya a better person, aye?" ► Who knows everything about you ➔ M'iksa puffs out his chest proudly, "Nobody. And I aim t' keep it that way."

tagged by: @sunlitpeony​ ( :0 I DIDN’T KNOW YOU KNEW I STILL EXISTED HELLO HI I HOPE YOU ARE WELL!!!!!?)

tagging: @dissnomia​ @silentserf​ @abyssal-drain​ @chiakiokada​

#FFXIV #rp prompts #m'iksa #@sunlitpeony #TY FOR THE TAG

[mouser26]

Castlevania Season 3

Spoilers under the break

I liked this season and for the most part I think it was very well done. Did I agree with all the plot points? Nope (see under the break)  However I wil say that nothing seemed out of character or out of place. Even the parts I didn’t care for I could still see how we went from point A to point B all the way up to point Z

However we still got all the banter we love and hell even the over the top bloody fight sequences and on the wider scale the complex characters we’ve come to expect.

I equally get why people are unhappy with it but I for one can’t wait for season 4

Ok now to the whining/bitching/problems I had with this season

The  Council of Sisters My literal first thought upon seeing Carmilla’s sisters was “Oh fuck people are gonna like them just cause ‘they’re womens’ pleaqse let this not suck.

Well I got HALF my prayer answered?

Striga and Morana are cool. I can’t say awesome since they’ve pretty much been solely back up characters but I genuinely enjoyed the times we did see them. Striga’s your straight forward tank general and Morana is the stratigist that gets shit done regardless of cost. This is the lesbians in love power couple I could get behind, and it does not hurt that they mock Carmilla because...

Carmilla OH MY GOD FUCK THIS BITCH. I honestly did not love Carmilla in season 2 but at least with Dracula, Godbrand (who thought I’d miss GODBRAND) , and the forgemasters as contrast she wasn’t quite insufferible. She was just one more pissed off cat in a bag of pissed off cats, and moderately inteligent. Really though her whole character is “The Bitch” and frankly “The Bitch” gets real fuckin old real fuckin fast in my book. She’s the vampire equivilent of Varuca Salt with her sisters playing the parts of the parents. Can someone incinerate her please?

Lenora another one I am just not a fan of. I don’t know how to explain my feelings about Lenore... I give her points for being manipulative  in a lot of ways I would probibly really like in a villian except one huge glaring thing. She’s A Rapist. The fact there are people that I know are making excuses for her because she’s a female annoys to outright disgusts me (seriously check her wiki page it’s all  “Lenore is best girl.” and “ *** waifu material “ *GAG*🤮)  but I’m not gonna faff around. She IS a Rapist.

This is one of those “things I don’t agree with”

Now Lenore seducing Hector wasn’t actually a huge shock, not even the shift from treating him like a pet to a ‘potential something more’ that all fell in line with her manipulation tactics. She made him doubt his previous loyalties, set herself up as ‘the one who understands’ and wormed her way into the perfect position to be the new forcus of his devotion. The fact this went as far as sex/rape was problimatic to me on 2 points (beyond rape being wrong obviously)  1) I have never viewed Hector as a sexual creature and the idea he would even know what to do with a woman is downright laughible to me. 2) This really seemed like cheating. I would have found it far more compelling to see her keep stringing Hector along even managing to ‘ring him’ without him necissarily being any more the wiser. But nope we’re just gonna jump to  “He was swearing his loyalty to me[...] he was inside me at the time.”  “Oh and the house will need a big bed. Turns out he’s actually fairly good at sex and I want to train him” Ew, just ew times two

Meanwhile my feelings on the other sex/rape scene of the show.

Alucard, Taka, and Sumi The emotional gut punch that was this scene.. I swear it broke some ribs. Again I don’t agree with it (I will never agree with rape scenes) but this one felt far less suprising. I guess the reason I’m even fractionally less bothered by this one than the one above is that Taka and Sumi were pretty imediately punished for what they did. 

Still pissed we get a genuine threeway involving a protagist and it ends up being THIS.

#Castlevania season 3 #Castlevania #spoilers under the break

[wadupimjared]

i'm stuck with the bruises you left behind

LOCATION: Jared & Ashlynn’s apartment

TIME FRAME: April 25th, some time around 9pm

WORD COUNT: 2256

NOTES: jared and ashlynn fight, and he fucking just gives up.

It wasn't that jared didn't love ashlynn, he did, or at least he used to. and now at least it seemed like everything was wrong with them. She hated how much time he was with the boys, hated when he was on tour, hated whenever he wasn't with her. he couldn't be there twenty four seven for her. Telling her about the party was a mistake and a half.  he should have just said he was going out, full stop. but nooooo he had to say it was landon's birthday and it was at Cam's. that just sent them into a fight and him just giving up not wanting to deal with the fight. He texted cam he wouldn't be able to come and to take a round of shots for him, before he went into his office - trying to advoid Ashlynn for the rest of the night.

ashlynn was pissed. how could he not tell her what was happening? and just throw it on her like that? the fight had been long, mainly one sided, with her doing most of the yelling. but could she care? not at all. she let out a puff of air as he walked out of the room, rolling her eyes as she laid back on the bed. after a couple of minutes, she walked out of their bedroom, taking a couple of steps down the hall to enter his office, "are you gonna go or what?"

Jared's office was more or less just where he had his guitar's stored, it was honestly more of a man cave the anything, with the flat screen tv, and him actually owning one of every game system, and them all working, all nicely stored in a shelving unit. Looking up from playing black ops when she walked in. "And risk me having to bring you home cause Janelle will kick you out the second you step foot into their house, no thanks." his eyes locked on the tv, not even looking over to her.

"the fuck you mean she'll kick me out?" her hip popped out, and her hand moved to rest on it. with her eyebrows raised, she took a couple of steps into the room, her fingers trailing over all of his gaming systems, not thinking twice when a couple of them knocked to the side, "i don't fully get why the fuck they just hate me so much."

Jared let out an annoyed sigh the second she touched his gaming systems, having him pause the game, pulling his headphones fully off looking at her. "Oh i don't know would you like me to list every single girl fight you two have been in since you where fourteen?" He questioned. "Or the fact that you had the nerve to get someone to stuff the ballet box for our senior prom, making it so you won, with zero campaigning if i remember where Janelle campaigned her ass off. You two have never been friends. So I think there is a long list of reasons why they don't like you very much."

ashlynn couldn't hold her scoff in as jared began speaking, "and what the fuck would the problem be with that?" she spoke, her head cocking to one side, flicking her finger off the shelf, holding it up to her face, "it's fuckin' disgusting in here, you really need to at least clean something," she rolled her eyes softly, turning her head to him now, "i wanted it, so i got it. what's the problem with that? she can deal - and she did deal. it's not my fuckin' fault if she's still hung up on it. they? what? they all don't like me? what a bunch of dicks - that's ridiculous."April 26, 2020

Jared just rolled his eyes, not feeling like dealing with this, pressing the center button on his xbox controler to turn everything off, tossing it to the side. "Look none of the boys much care for you, janelle hates you, and your attitude is something that briar doesn't fucking need in her life. So you can fucking stay here and i'm going to hang out with my friends."

ashlynn moved around slightly, making it so her back was leaning against the shelves, her eyes trained on jared, "i don't give a fuck if janelle hates me, and i don't give a fuck about what that annoying little princess needs or not. i'm your girlfriend, you need to be taking me to these fuckin' things. what the hell is the point of us dating if you really just don't care that we are at all!" she shot, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"You fucking should." He crossed his arms. "So you rather go to a fucking party where half of the people don't like you and make everyone unhappy. Thats fucking rich coming from you. Plus im not going to ruin landon's birthday over that." He mumbled. "Maybe you should go stay with your parents for a few days." His voice not wavering from the tone he had been using with her, but it was softer almost like he didn't want to do that but it was getting to some of the last straws.

"why the fuck should i?" she spat, shaking her head disapprovingly, "i'm sure i'm not going to make a single person at that stupid party unhappy at all. why the fuck would that ruin his birthday? god - you're so fucking dramatic!" ashlynn exclaimed, rolling her eyes back. though when he spoke, her face softened slightly, "why?" her words came out softer, her brows furrowing.

Jared let out another annoyed sigh. She wasn't getting it. "Dramatic? Seriously Ash?" He shook his head. "I'm going by myself. When i get home I don't care if you actually went to your parents or you went some place else, but i don't wanna see  you when i get back." He licked his lips letting out a sigh.

as he continued, ashlynn visibly changed, her face was much softer, her shoulders had dropped, "baby," she pleaded, taking a couple of steps towards him, her hands reaching for his arms, "i don't want to leave - please just stay with me? i'll make - i'll make some cookies, and we can put your favorite movie on or something,"

Jared didn't want to give in. he wanted to go to the party, he wanted to have fun with his friends. but she had that way of pulling him back. Letting out a small sigh "okay." he mumbled.

ashlynn grinned as he agreed, "yay!" she leaned up on her toes, pressing a kiss to his lips, "what should we watch? star wars or something? and - we have oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies, which ones?"

A smile crossed his face, but it was kind of forced, kissing her back quickly. "Mm we can watch star wars." he  leaned himself on his door frame "You are the only one in this house that like oatmeal" Jared said with a sigh.

"oatmeal is good!" she defended, squeezing his arm gently, "come on, let's go make some! we can make both - how's that?"

Jared nodded slightly "Sure we can do both. thats fine." he followed her to the kitchen, though his feet where dragging like they were made of lead not wanting him to go.

ashlynn grabbed his hand, nearly dragging him into the small kitchen of their apartment, already beginning to pull the things she needed to make the cookies. the dough was pre-made, so all she really needed was a cooking sheet, "star wars, right?" she reiterated.

Jared leaned on the counter, watching her, but started to text Zach and Cam. He really tried. "Star wars." He said softly, grabbing at one of the raw bits of the chocolate chip cookie dough popping it into his mouth, hoping salmonella  took him out

"who're you texting?" she asked, turning her head as she pulled off chunks of the cookie dough, slapping them onto the baking sheet.

Jared wanted to lie, but it didn't come out, "Just Z & C...telling them i can't make it." he mumbled, before grabbing some more of the raw cookie dough.

"mm," she hummed softly, "bet they're pissed, eh? mad that i ruin everything," her tone was sarcastic, her eyes rolling yet again, "stop eating the cookie dough, would you? i'm trying to make cookies here."

Jared sighed "Upset yeah." He mumbled, trying to easily slip the next thing in. "Cam did remind me we have a band thing in LA. this week." He stayed glued to picking at the cookie dough, clearly not planning on stopping anytime soon.

ashlynn let out a puff of air, shaking her head as he said they were upset. she really couldnt care less if they approved of her or not, “in la?” she asked, putting the last of the cookie dough down on the pan, “so you’re going to leave now and then leave for tour too? thats - whatever.” she mumbled, slamming the tray into the oven.

Jared looked up. "Ashlynn you knew what you were signing up for dating someone in a band" He reminded her, hoping she'd just finally snap and do the break up but it always seemed harder then he thought. "Its only gonna be a few days.."

"we were dating before you were in a band, jared." she shot, slamming the door to the oven closed, "yeah - it's gonna be a few days now, and then you're gone for the whole fuckin' summer, and you won't even let me come with you. but all the other girlfriends can."

"Well, tencally speaking. we where a band then too.." He flinched when she slammed the oven door.  "Do you get the buses aren't that big and everyone would hear this" He motioned to the yelling and the fighting "Do you really want this fucking aired out?"

"it wasn't anything like this though," she mumbled, turning around so she could face him, "so fucking what? it's not fuckin' fair that the two of them get to go - and i have to stay here!" ashlynn whined, crossing her arms over her chest, "it's not like it already isn't! you tell the two of them fucking everything!"

“Do you really want me to tell the boys that it is t fair and they have to tell both them “sorry you gotta stay home cause ashlynn doesn’t find it fair” he arms went up into the air sighing “they are basically my brothers so yes I do”

it just isn’t fucking fair that they both get to come and i don’t,” her arms tightened around her own torso, letting out an annoyed sigh, “like - why the fuck am i the only one who doesn’t get to come?” she shot, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at him.

You know exactly why but you clearly don’t get the reason why!” His voices finally raised a little “plus I don’t need all this fighting on tour!”

“what the fuck is the reason why, then? just fucking tell me!” she yelled, her voice raising just a bit higher than his own, “what the fuck are we fucking doing then, jared! if i just have to stay here and watch you leave every other fucking month!”

Jared shook his head “you fucking tell me what you’re doing then! If you are just as unhappy as I am just leave!” His words didn’t mean to be harsh - they rarely were.

ashlynn flung her arms to her sides, her hands hitting her hips, "what the fuck do you mean?" she shot, throwing one of her hands up now, "unhappy? fuck you jared - whatever. why don't you leave if you're so fucking unhappy."

Jared just shook his head "yeah im gonna leave my apartment." He laughed shaking his head. "This is why i told you to go to your fucking parents house, so shit like this wouldn't have fucking happened" he threw his hands up in the air.

"our apartment." she spat, pursing her lips together, "why the fuck do you despise me so fuckin' much? it's not my fault you're always off and on and off and on! leaving every other fuckin' day just to be with them, i don't fucking get it."

"It was my apartment before i said you could move in" He ran his hand through his hair shaking his head "I'm fucking working 90% of the time when i'm with them. You can't really think we're just fucking around Ash." He sighed "I'm going out and i really don't want you here when I get back." He was done. so fucking done. He grabbed his wallet and keys going to the door.

"what the hell is your point? i pay rent, do i not? this is our apartment." she reminded, her tone filled with nothing but anger, "you cannot tell me you idiots don't spend most of the fucking time just fucking around, not getting shit done. - it shows, jared, it really does." ashlynn yelled, her hands flailing up in the air, "if you walk out that fucking door right now, we're over! you're done!"

Jared had stopped in his tracks hearing her words, there was so much anger in them, and he honestly was tired of it. "Like i said, I don't want you here when I get back." His tone was low as he opened the door stepping out of it, slamming it behind him.