#oh my god... circle pauling... oh my God

[thealexandriaarchives]

I can't stop staring at Feyd-Rautha's walk here and what it implies about his fight with Paul now that I'm able to stop just comparing it to Timothy's killer body work matching it (or vice versa).

Villeneuve takes the book canon, that the Harkonnens took the Atredies's morbid heirlooms of an oil painting of grandfather's death and the bull's head with his blood still dried on his horns to hang above the arena as trophies to the next level: making Feyd-Rautha the victorious young matador with the guards dressed as bull-minotaurs, circling to play banderillos and sink banderillas into the backs of the Atredies bull if it gets too close before the final faena has Feyd-Rautha pulling his opponent past him in the close, intimate passes that show off his athleticism and skill before his false blade is exchanged for the one that will be used for the killing blow and oh my god there are whole schools of thought on coming forward to meet your opponent vs waiting for them and killing with a single blow to the heart and honoring the fight and if anyone who knows how to make gifsets wants make one about this to I'd LOVE to rant more about the breakdown of these two fights and how Feyd is 1001% Matador Machismo but my point to all of this is:

Look at that Sand.

Look at his feet dig deep and kick it up as he strides out into the heart of that arena. Is it a rhythmic walk? Oh yes. Confident. Powerful. In the book this will be his 100th arena kill as he comes of age. This is his natural habitat. Where he learned his skills, for us to parallel with what we saw for Paul in Part 1.

This matters, because it's one of the main premises for why the Fremen are so Good At Fighting. When everyone is trained to fight with shields (stun then slow) and bulky armor, and on flat, solid ground with lots of cover, it's easy to be fast and silent and terrifyingly effective against them. Gurney Halleck is shown to be one of the best fighters in the franchise and the film makes a point of showing how his (recognizable) footsteps are not suited to move quickly, lightly, and with stability on sand like they are on solid ground.

Only... Bullfighting rings aren't sandy. They're fairly hardpacked. Earth for the bull and Matador to maneuver in quickly. There is a layer of albero traditionally layered on top, a chunky yellow clay dirt that serves aesthetics but also absorbs blood quickly. The idea the sand may not be white because... With Giedi Prime who knows?! Is Fantastic.

Paul Muad'Dib became the only Atredies to be recognized as Fremen, to see his father's dream of Desert Power recognized, to fight as Fedaykin, to be recognized as the Mahdi, the One Who Points The Way, and it is made clear to us from the opening words of a Child's History of Muad'Dib that Arrakis was his Home, and yet every major one-on-one duel he had from Jamis to Feyd-Rautha was on solid ground, giving him an advantage that made him respected as a fighter among the Fedaykin right away as part of his training.

Feyd-Rautha was the one Harkonnen who may have learned combat primarily or even exclusively with sand beneath his feet, and he died on Arrakis on the polished stone floors of a palatial residence, still trying to play by Matador rules.

thank u for coming to my Ted Talk

[cassie48]

Ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｙｏｕ ｂｅｌｉｅｖｅ?

(Dark!Paul Atreides x Sayyadina! Reader)

𝘈|𝘕; 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘈𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 also 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰….

!Keep in mind all dialogue is in the native Fremen language. Also for this Jessica isn’t the reverend mother!

SMUT SMUT AND SMUT

———————————————————————-

You sat in the prayer room, whisperers escaping your mouth. Before, you prayed to the Shai-Hulud, but now? Now you pray for your messiah, who goes by the name of Paul Atreides.

As you knelt on the hard stone flour, you held your hands together. You were all alone in the room, the others had left for the night, but not you. You felt at peace here.

You were so devoted to your job, always seen praying or worshipping your new mahdi. You had created a strong bond with Lady Jessica. She had took you under her wing, appreciating your kindness and how you believed in Paul.

As you prayed you paused, hearing a noise near the entrance behind you, putting your hands down by your side, you turned, and saw no other than Paul Atreides watching you.

“Hello” he said smirking down at you.

“Lisan al-Gaib, forgive me I did not hear you” yous said scrambling to your feet and bowing slightly in fear and astonishment.

“No need to forgive me, I interrupted your prayer” he said walking closer to you.

You gulped, you had never had a one on one conversation with your messiah before and you didn’t really know what to say.

Paul noticed your nerves and spoke again “I came here to seek guidance” He said continuing to walk towards you.

“Oh, well the reverend mother would be best suited for that job Usul” You said trying your best to contain your anxiety.

“Oh god no, I couldn’t talk to her about this” He said smiling down at your small face.

“Oh” you said unsure what else you could say.

“May I confide in you instead?” He asked trying his best not to smirk.

“Oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea, the elders wouldn’t be happy I’m just a sayyadina. You’d be best to speak with someone higher up” you said, surprised you managed to get the words out.

“I don’t care what the elders think” he snarled

Your eyes widened, not used to hearing someone disrespect the elders of your sietch. You swallowed, not knowing what to say.

“Forgive me, that came out the wrong way. I simply mean, the elders pray for me yes?” He said, knowing your answer.

“I- of course Usul” you said nervously.

“Then whatever I choose to do, they will stand by me. I know the way, you must understand that?” He said, now very close to you.

You felt like crying, how could you be so stupid, you had disrespected your Messiah. “I’m sorry” you whispered.

Paul took your right cheek in his hand, cupping it. “No apology is necessary, now may I speak with you” he said, dropping his hand.

Your cheeks grew red at his touch “of course, you can confide in me, I will try my best to help” you swallowed.

Paul took your hand, and led you to the centre of the room, and motioning you to sit down in the centre of the circle. You stopped, knowing you weren’t supposed to.

“I can’t sit here usul, it’s reserved only for the Reverend mother” you said, fear evident in your rushed words.

Your reverend mother had taken on the role about five years ago, when the previous one had passed away. She wasn’t pleasant whatsoever, and had a grudge against you that you never understood. Even though she was the reverend mother, she did not show much appreciation or belief for your Mahdi.

“Oh please, I don’t see her here, what’s the worst that could happen?” He said laughing lightly.

“No, really I’m not trying to disrespect you usul but I can’t” you said making it obvious you feared the thought of even doing it.

“Why are you so afraid?” He asked, his tone now sounding angry.

You bowed your head down, not wanting to say why, knowing that would be seen as disrespectful to the Reverend Mother.

“Tell me” he ordered.

“I- she’d punish me if she found out” you said, your words coming out so fast he barely heard them, but he did.

“Punish you?” He questioned, to which you nodded.

“How?” He barked.

“She, she hits me sometimes, when she says I’ve been disappointing” you say, holding back tears thinking of all the times she’s slapped or shoved you.

Paul said nothing for a moment, fearing if he did he’d scare you, he had never felt such rage before until now. To think someone had laid a finger on you. You were his, and if someone hurt you, he would hurt them back.

“How many times had this happened” he said his voice cold and demanding.

“I don’t really know, at least once or twice a month. She says I’m weak, and that I’ll never be good enough to be a sayyadina. That I should just give up” You said, tears now falling down your cheeks, silently.

Your head was still facing the floor, embarrassed to even look at Paul, in your state. Your breath caught in your throat when you felt the touch of his hand. He wiped your tears. His hand was soft. How odd, a man that had killed thousands, and his hand felt soft. He slowly led you to sit down where you had been so scared to before.

“No need to cry, that won’t be happening anymore” he said making you lift your head in confusion.

“What, I don’t understand” you said, your eyebrows raised in confusion at his words.

“Do you know why I came here to confide in you” he asks, his hand still resting on your cheeks.

You nod your head no, he had never explained to you why he had sought you out in the first place.

“I did because, I had a vision” he began

Your eyes lit up in excitement and your heart raced. To think your Mahdi would tell you his vision firsthand made you feel special, something your rarely felt while being a Sayyadina.

“I had a vision of you, you were sitting in the sand, the sun on your skin.” He said, looking into the distance as he recollected the images of you in his head.

“M-Me?” You stuttered, completely taken aback

“Yes, you. You were by my side, my truthsayer, the empires truthsayer” He revealed, now looking down at your expression.

“Mahdi I- this cannot be true!” You said, your mouth wide open.

“You think me a fool? You think my visions are just hallucinations?” He questioned you.

“No! No! I believe you! You are Lisan Al-Gaib, I trust you. All I meant is, I don’t think I’m that important, I’m no where near as clever as some of the other sayyadina that are amongst us here” you said.

“You must believe in yourself” He said, feeling annoyed that you were so self-doubtful.

“It is hard when everyone around you tells you that you’re nothing” you said, offering him a sad smile.

“You are not nothing! You are everything” He said locking eyes with you

You filled, your cheeks reddening from his compliment

“You wanna know what else I saw in my vision?” He suddenly asked.

You nodded quickly, eager to know what else your messiah saw in your future.

“You stood with me, not just as my truthsayer, but as my wife” He said watching to see your reaction.

Your eyes widened further, if it were even possible, and your mouth moved to say something but nothing came out.

“You trust me right?” He asked scooting closer to where you were sitting.

You nodded, still not able to speak from the shock she was experiencing.

“So trust my visions” He said as he leant down even further his lips almost touching yours as he spoke once more

“Have you ever been kissed?” He questioned eager to hear your answer.

“No” you whispered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Good girl” Is all he said as he leant in closing the very small gab between you two. He kissed you full force, passion lingering between you and him. He took his hand and placed it around the side of your head, trying to get as close to you as possible.

You finally began to kiss him back, once you had built up the courage, the whole experience was completely new to you. Most Sayyadina wait until they are “of age” to have any sort of relations with another Fremen.

You pulled away as fear entered you once more “usul I shouldn’t be doing this, I will be in trouble” you said your eyes glued to his feeling as though you had no control over how you were reacting.

“If anyone ever tells you what to do again I will kill them” is all he said as he kissed you again, this time more rough than the last.

He placed his hands around your side, pulling your body over to his, now plush against you.

You moaned, unknown sensations entering your body that felt extremely good. You felt him slightly push his knee into the gap of your legs and you found yourself moving your hips to meet it too.

He shoved his tongue into your mouth and you let him, his dominant personality showing.

The nice sensation you were felling grew when he pushed his knee further into your aching heat, now you felt it fully.

You moaned again, this time a lot louder than the last, again your body acted before you even thought of your actions. You rolled your hips against his knee and gasped when you felt utter satisfaction.

You broke away “what, what is this?” You asked as you moved your hips against his leg once again, not really knowing what you were doing, just knowing that you felt really good. You had never really been educated on sex, you knew it was something a couple did to conceive, but you didn’t know how it worked, or felt.

“It feels good, right” he asked you

You nodded after a moment, looking down between your legs where you saw his knee rubbed up against your core, that was covered by only the fabric your cloak, which was almost see through from the wetness that was leaving you.

“Then keep going, I wanna make you feel good” he said.

You said nothing else as he pushed his knee against you and you completely widened your legs again and your dripping heat now sitting on his leg as you grinded down, putting your head against his shoulder, as he held you.

“It feels s-so good usul” you whimpered as he held you tightly.

“Your doing so well, keep going” he said watching as you brought pleasure to yourself.

You now moved, almost entirely on his lap, and grinded down, moaning when he’d move his leg up slightly to help you out. He leaned down and locked lips with you again.

As you kissed him his hand moved down to where you eagerly wanted to feel nice, he first drew his fingers against your inside thigh, teasing you.

After he noticed it was working and you moved more desperately against him, he slowly brought his hand lower, to your core.

He moved his finger against your clit, smirking slightly as your eyes widened and your groans grew louder. Wanting to please you even further, he moved to place a finger inside you.

You tender up, the new feeling making you slightly embarrassed “usul?” She asked

“I need to prepare you before I make love to you” is all he said. You nodded fully trusting him.

You gripped into his shoulders tighter, muffling your moans, and he moved his finger in and out of your aching pussy.

He placed another finger inside when he noticed you were getting closer to your peak. You moved your hips down, meeting him halfway, as you muffled your moans once more, the pressure building upon in your lower tummy.

“Let all your sounds out. I want to hear. I want them to hear.” He said growing more possessive.

You cried out as you came undone, your juices going all over his fingers, he held you up with his free arm, letting you hold him as you came down fork your high.

He lifted his two fingers up and licked your juices off them, before laying you down and kissing you again, his tongue invading your mouth once more. Once he had you underneath him, he pulled off your long fabric down, that all Sayyadina must wear.

He smiled down at your naked body, you felt uncomfortable and insecure, no one had ever seen you naked before, you tried your best to cover yourself.

“Don’t hide yourself from me malak” he said making you blush. (Angel)

“I intend to know every part of you” he added and finally you removed your hands revealing your small but perky breasts.

Paul smirked down at the sight, you really did look beautiful. Laying down underneath him, ready to be claimed.

He slowly began to suck on your breasts, at first you found it odd, but then it started to feel nice, and you began sticking your chest up, wanting him to keep going.

He pulled away, making you slightly pout “don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll make you feel good soon” he promised.

He slowly began to move down your body, leaving kisses all over it as he did, and you smiled in satisfaction and love.

One he reached your pussy again, he guided your thighs away from each other and you swallowed, excited to fell nice again, but wondering what he was going to do to you.

He kissed the crease on the very inside of your leg, and you felt butterflies in your stomach, your legs moving impatiently.

He moved his head down even closer to your core, making your brows crease in confusion, wondering what he was about to do, but your eyes quickly widened, and your back arched when he placed his mouth onto your pussy.

He slowly licked it, collecting any of the remaining juices from your previous orgasm, before beginning to eat you eat, grabbing your thighs to keep you in place.

You yelled out, fidgeting as he nudged his nose against your bud. Your hands found his dark curls, and you tangled them within them.

You rolled your hips onto his face, that familiar pressure building up yet again “keep going please” you said smiling but it quickly dropped when he pulled away.

You were about to question him when he began to remove his own clothes and you sat waiting to see what he was going to do. Everything he had already done to you felt amazing and even seeing him without his clothes made you tingle inside once more.

He leaned over you, kissing your neck once more. You felt his hot breath on your skin. You wanted to fell even more of him.

“I’m gonna make you feel good ok? It might feel odd at first, but then it will feel amazing” he said cupping your cheek. You nodded, saying nothing else.

He slowly entered you, and you grasped onto him and you froze. This was not what you thought happened during sex.

“Usul?” You whimpered.

“Shh, your ok. Relax, it will feel nicer if you do” He told you, kissing your cheek gently.

You listen you his words and try to relax your body to the best ability you can. After a moment, he began to thrust in and out you.

Your mouth widened, you realised he was right. It did feel good, very good.

After a minute you began to move your hips with his, matching his rhythm. “Oh Usul” you cried holding onto him for dear life.

“I’ve got you baby” He said as he groaned as well, kissing down on your neck. He matched your noises and you two moved together at a perfect speed.

“You were made for me, all mine” he groaned as he hit your g spot, making you cry out.

“I’m yours” you whimpered

You continued to make loved for a few more moments, and you locked eyes with him, his bright now blue eyes, looked directly into yours.

You both began you became rougher, almost sat your peaks, you began to cry out “usul, I’m gonna-

You were cut off, a voice of a women you had heard all too many times. The voice of a women that had hurt you, physically and mentally.

“What is going on?!” The reverend mother yelled, fury written all over her features.

Paul ignored her for a moment, both of you reaching your peaks, and he spilled himself deep inside you, and waited a moment before pulling out, making sure none of his seed went to waist. He pulled his bottoms back up and kissed you lustfully, before placing your dress on top of your naked body, as you tried to stay conscious.

“I’ll just be a moment, my love” he said

He turned and the smile he had offered you, turned to a furious and hateful glare, seeing the woman who had hurt you multiple times enter the room.

Thankfully, she had entered the room when the two of you had finished, but she knew exactly what was going on due to the loud noises both of you had been letting out.

“What exactly do you think your doing!” The elder woman yelled out.

Paul’s angry expression grew “I’m claiming my wife to be” he said watching as her face grew more shocked and angry.

“She is not marrying you!” The woman yelled once more.

“She carries my child, I will be marrying her” Paul said proudly.

“You can’t know that yet!” She yelled annoyed.

“Yes I can, I’ve seen it. I’ve seen my beautiful wife sitting where you sit now, a child growing inside of her” Paul said, knowing he was annoying the woman further.

“I won’t allow it! I am the reverend mother” She said with a smirk.

“Not anymore” Paul said matching her smirk as he watched as her face dropped.

Paul grabbed a nearby Crysknife and slit the woman’s throat, watching emotionlessly as she bled out on the floor, and died.

A nearby Fremen guard eventually came to the scene “mahdi! What has happened to our Reverend mother?” He asked with shock and worry.

“She tried to kill me, I wish I didn’t have to do that, but she was going to stab me” Paul said, his acting extremely good and believable.

“Thank God you are ok! I will alert Stilgar of this incident” The man said running away.

Paul took one last look at the woman, before smiling and walking away. He knew his plan would work. People knew she never liked him, and so it would be believable that she had tried to kill him.

Once he returned to you, he knelt down, pulling your head into his lap, playing with your hair gently.

“What has happened Usul? Who’s blood is that?” You said with fear.

“You need not worry. Our Reverend mother has had an accident, but I have a replacement” Paul said stroking your face lovingly.

“Really, who?”you asked, shock all over your face.

“You” Is all he said, as he picked you up in his arms.

A|N; I’m a quite proud of this!

I hope you all enjoyed it :)

[fashionteahouse]

out of your league - paul x reader

AN: thanks so much for loving twenty seven parts of this series ! this means a whole lot and you all have special places in my heart ❤️ enjoy <<prev >>next

It was as if the president had touched down in La Push soil. Word got around fast that Rachel Black had came back, even though it was temporary. So it was said.

“You already know Bella.” Jacob says to her.

She nods as she looked at the girl who stole her brother's heart.

"How you been?" she asked Bella.

"Good." Bella responded shyly.

“And this is Y/N.”

She only nods a hello.

You silently give her a quick wave.

“So, my baby brother has a kid and nobody told me?”

Jacob laughs as he continued to hold your child, “No. This is Y/N’s baby.”

“Oh.” she says as she relaxes, “Cute.”

The pack comes in and they rush to her, all saying, “Rachel!”

She’s smiling, pushing some of them away so she could breathe from the crushed hugs. Questions bubble around her. Quil of course, trying his best to test his flirting skills.

Billy soaked it all in as he sat in his chair smiling softly at the interactions.

Leah even came over with Harry and Sue, Leah was smiling at Rachel who came. One could easily figure out that they were very close friends before Rachel had left La Push.

They fell into conversation, asking each other how each other have been. Rachel made Leah smile large as she exclaimed she loved her haircut.

The other elders were scattered around the other parts of the home as they ate and talked. The pack and imprints sat with Rachel at the table as they threw questions about her new life.

“What were you studying?” Kim asks her.

“Computer engineering.” she says proudly. Lots of “wow”s circled the table.

You did notice, she barely spoke to you and Bella, for whatever reason. You didn’t think too much of it. You and Bella just simply made private conversation of your own since you both were sitting with each other.

You told her about your trip to Italy soon. You ask if she wants to come.

“That’s great! I wish I could come, but I will be too busy with online classes. I won’t be able to enjoy it.” she says.

“That’s a bummer.” you say.

“As if you’re going anyway. That’s out of the country Bells. That would kill me.” Jacob says as he picked up what she said. She playfully waved him off.

“What’s out of the country?” Rachel asks as she looked between them two.

“Italy.” Bella answers quietly.

“What would you do all the way in Italy? Spring break?”

“No. Y/N’s going there for work.”

“What do you do?” she asks you.

“Art.” You answer.

Her dead expression matched the eyebrows that lifted only a bit as she asked, “That’s it?”

“Why did you say it like that?” Jacob says with roll of his eyes at his older sister.

Scattered snorts from her unexpected statement were heard and you lean back in your chair.

“What?” she smiles, “Okay. Let me rewind. I meant it as, that’s it, as in you’re just going there to do art?”

“I suppose.” you mumbled.

“Okay and what art school did you go to?”

“I didn’t go to college.”

“At all?”

You sigh, “No.”

“Oh. Mmmkay.” she says boredly and shifts her attention to the rest of the table.

“So. Did I tell you guys about the internship I just did? Four whole years of being on the dean’s list too.” she boasted subtly.

More ah’s and proud oh’s we’re back in her attention.

“So, how long is Rachel staying?” Bella asks as you both sat in Jacob’s room. She had your baby in her lap. Jacob walked around a bit.

“She didn’t really tell us. Dad doesn’t want to ask. He’s just happy she’s here.” Coming out, Jacob calls for you to bring him a soda too after you offer to get one for Bella. You cut him off by shutting his door.

Chatters and laughs surround the home as you manoeuvre to the kitchen.

"Oh, my god! That was yours and I drunk out of it!"

"Chill out. I don't have diseases." you hear Paul's voice in response.

You see the sight as Rachel and Paul were holding soda cans. You watch as they traded their cans with jovial chuckles.

Opening the fridge, you pull out three cans.

You were heading back to Jacob's room but Paul encouraged you to join the conversion.

"If I don't give these to Jake and Bella, they'll have a fit." you say to him. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders anyway.

It felt pointless. Memories were brought up and you couldn't relate. They both knew some of the same people that you didn't, even though there was a four year difference. It felt like you couldn't really add anything to the conversation as they talked about how certain people were doing.

You eventually slipped out from his arm as Rachel didn't make an effort to ask anything about you, but you heard all about what she did in college. More like hearing her tell Paul about all what she did in college.

You close Jacob’s door back and hand Bella a can.

"Jesus, you take forever."

"I will shake up your can." you threaten to Jacob and Bella laughs.

The Joy of Painting softly played as your baby lied on their back gripping a toy. Even going as far as putting it in their gummy mouth.

Your hand was occupied with charcoal as you cover your sketchbook sheet.

“Let’s get crazy here.” you hear from the television and a burp makes you look up. Paul sets the empty glass on the coffee table and bends down to carry the baby, kissing their chubby cheeks. The baby smiles and coos as Paul smiled heartily at the baby.

“What a nice greeting.” you say with a grin as you resume your sketch.

Your head moved in response to the kiss that was planted on your temple.

“What am I going to do for two whole weeks?” he says as he sits down next to you.

”Just sneak.” you whisper.

”Sam was pissed when I snuck to LA. Leaving the damn country is another story.” he says somberly.

“Just please? I’ll take care of you.” You say as you caress his knee. Paul seemed deeply conflicted as he looked at your hand. A small smile graced his lips, “I would love that…”

Your face burns as he has something else in mind and he chuckles a bit.

“This isn’t fair.” you say.

“I don’t even know what to promise you.”

“When can you stop phasing?”

“When there’s less threats. When I can have way better control of phasing.”

“You have good control.”

“It looks like I do especially when I’m around you but..Sometimes my wolf just wants to come out. I do want to learn to have better control.”

“Yeah…I want to travel with you. Maybe…We can leave..Together and really just enjoy life for what it's worth.”

“But that would also mean leaving family behind.”

“This is my family.” you gesture to the current setting.

“I know….It just hits different now that me and my dad have somewhat of a good relationship now. The whole main reason of me wanting to leave was so I could get away from him when he wasn't shit.”

“We have some time to think about it.”

“We do.” he smiled.

While Jacob was off on patrol, Bella invited you over. You lounged and let her flip through your sketchbook as Billy held and cooed to your baby.

Rachel came in, said a quick hello to Bella before giving her dad a kiss on the forehead.

"Wow. All I see is Paul in that cute little face." she states with a grin as she looked fondly at the baby. Billy produced a creased smile.

“Let’s hope this one takes Y/N’s calm personality.” He replies with a chuckle.

"Dad, if you could, would you ever have another kid?"

"Oh, no. Your sister and brother already gave me a run for my money." he says.

They share a heartfelt laugh.

It was as if they talked Jacob up, he came and so did Paul.

"Rach, I know that your mother taught you how to make it but can you please make some fry bread?" Billy suggests with a smile.

Both Jacob and Paul's eyes lit up and Rachel laughs a bit, "Fine. Fine."

You follow Paul as he wandered into the kitchen as the treat cooked. Jacob stayed in the living room as Bella snuggled with him on the loveseat. Rachel kept an eye on the fried substance on the stove as she had a hand on her hip.

“You’re too young to be a father, Paul.”

He shrugs, “I love it.”

“You do look good as a dad, not going to lie..But…You’re still young. Young enough to still have fun and play the field a little more.”

He rests an arm on the back of your chair.

She turns from the stove. Giving him a plate.

“Oh my god, this is good. I haven’t had this in years.” Paul says. He offers you a bite as he chews, you politely decline.

“Years?! How are you in La Push and don’t eat this frequently?”

He shrugged.

“Y/N, you gotta make this for me. Please.” he says to you in excitement.

You shrug.

“Y/N, you never made this for Paul?” Rachel speaks up.

“No."

“How come? Your folks really haven’t taught you?”

“I just don’t make it.” you say impatiently.

“I don’t see why not.”

“You don’t have to see.” you replied in a low but sassy tone.

Paul subtly nudged you, “Chill out.” he thought to you. You ignore him. You were irritated.

"Do you cook at all? Paul looks like he can eat you out of house and home. Gotta keep up with that."

"I do. He has many favourite dishes. Is fry bread the only thing you can cook?" you counter.

Rachel only chuckles before talking to Paul again.

“What the hell happened to the water after I left? You boys, you little snot-nosed boys grew up to be these bulky men.” she says as she sits at the table.

“What did you think would happen when you’re gone for a million years? We evolve.” He says to her.

“A million..” she says as she chews, “That’s a new number.” she then looks to you with a dead expression, “You’re not going to try some?”

“Nope.” you say firmly as you lock eyes with her. She was nonchalant as she shrugged a bit.

“Oh, well. More for me and Paul.” she smiles at him. He shook his head a bit as you watch carefully how a soft smile slowly graced his lips.

You blink at the low lit bedroom ceiling as Paul held a bottle for the baby to drink. The small throat bobbed as their eyes slowly come to a close.

“Don’t be mean, Y/N. You're too pretty for that.” he whispered.

“I’m not being mean.” you say, dripping in frustration.

“See?”

You sigh and turn over, “I just don’t fuck with how she acts sometimes.”

“How? She’s was only being nice. You’re the one who rejected what she made. I even think you two could become friends if you just let down your walls.”

“Nice? To who? To you or me? If you don’t know, I’m more than happy to give you the answer.”

"Just give her a chance."

"Play the field a little more?… And then you didn't even say anything." you say as you rolled your eyes.

"She doesn't know about imprinting. She still thinks the legends are just legends and nothing more. The elders doesn’t want her to know that they’re real."

"Why didn't you tell her that we're married?"

"She knows that already, Y/N. She even acknowledged you as my wife whenever we had talked. You have nothing to worry about."

The following day was nice enough to go out, some of the pack who weren’t on patrol were able to come to a park. A binky was snug in your child’s mouth as you and Paul point and show them the ducks that floated in the nearby lake. They stared as the ducks quacked and pieces of bread was thrown by other citizens.

Setting them in their stroller, you push them to a bench and sit down as Paul went with the others to join a ball game that was being thrown. With them being shirtless, eyes were on them as expected.

The wind was soft. You're sat on the bench as you looked about the spacious park in Forks. Your baby gurgled as you smiled at them. You push them back and forth softly as they sat in their stroller.

In the distance, you hear laughing. You look up, Paul with three others. Smiles were on all of their faces. Each gives Paul a hearty hug and you only watch with great curiosity.

You stop watching as his arm is around one of the women, holding what it appears to be a small digital camera. He waves someone from the pack over and it was Jared. Jared jogs over with a look of recognition and it was clear that they knew the women well.

Jealousy was only one word to put how you were feeling. You instead focus on the child in front of you. You didn’t want to hurt your own feelings.

You peak back up after some time, the three women are looking at you. Paul points a bit and then beckons.

You look back down and decide to not look back up.

You lounged in your lounge clothes as your child was sound asleep. Paul who was dressed, explains the interaction at the park in the bedroom you two shared.

“They were friends from way back. Me and Jared knew them since middle school.”

“That’s nice.” you smile genuinely.

“I tried to get your attention so you could meet them. They’re having a little get together. We can go together.” he says eagerly.

“Mmm….I’ll pass to be honest.” you say and his face falls a little but you hurriedly say, “But, you go. I’ll stay back with the baby.”

“We can drop them off at my dad’s. He’s not working tonight.”

“I’m okay.” you say quietly.

“Y/N..When was the last time we have done something fun? With just us two?” He says with a soft smile as he crouched in front of you.

“If I had more energy, I would come. I promise I would. But, I would fall asleep on dance the floor.”

He sighs a bit, "Are you sure? Im not going if you aren't-"

"No, Paul. Its okay. Just go. Have fun. I always have my fun and you barely do since you're always busy. Have fun for the both of us.”

He hesitated before kissing you goodbye.

You stayed up for him as long as you could before slumber claimed you.

He didn’t answer the phone. It was already the afternoon that was rolling into the evening. You add another sent text to the logs of texts you had already sent. He never came home.

You text Jared, wondering if he was there. He didn't go as he told you that he stayed home with Kim. You thank him after he hoped for the best.

“Has Paul called you?”

“Nope.” his father says as he helps you load the baby in your car.

“Damn.” you whisper to yourself.

“Why? Something wrong?”

“No. He just hasn’t returned home last night. He’s probably with one of the guys.”

His father had a short look of concern.

Keeping your mind occupied by tidying up the already clean house, you knew deep down that he wasn’t hurt.

The buzz of your phone made you rush to the phone call but it was unknown. Not trying to miss any chances, you answer.

Listening closely to the automated message, you slowly sit down, thankful that your baby was on the play mat.

Your heart thudded as you answered, “I accept.”

It took some time for the line to connect and when it did, emotions were high.

“Y/N.” he calls. “What. Happened?”

“It’s a lot to say on the phone. I want to tell you in person.”

“Tell me now.”

“Y/N.” He sighed.

“I want to know!” you grit out.

“I just told you, I don’t want to speak it over the phone. You know what? Fuck it. I’ll call my dad.” he says impatiently.

“Are you serious? I’m really coming to get you.” you say as you couldn’t believe his attitude.

“I will tell you. I don’t want to talk on the phone and I will tell you why.”

“Fine.”

Angela agreed to keep an eye on the child, wishing you well that things go okay and to take your time. Embry was gone so she was open to babysitting.

You looked confused after you tell the person the name you are trying to bail out.

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. He’s already been bailed out.”

“Do you know by who?” you ask slowly.

“Unfortunately, that information is confidential ma'am..I'm sorry.”

“Thanks.” you mutter and walk away.

You scoff at the caller id.

“Now, you want to call.” you say under your breath as you walk to the car. You yank open the car door.

“Hello.” you speak firmly.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m over Jake’s. I didn’t want you to waste a trip.”

“It’s too late. They already told me someone bailed you out…Who was it?”

He took a moment to answer.

“Hello?” you say as you roughly work the steering wheel. You were frustrated.

“It was Rachel.”

“Alright.” you hang up and just toss the phone in the passenger seat.

Angela had the baby in her lap and you stretch your arms out to pick them up.

“Thanks again.” you say.

“No problem.” she says with a soft smile.

She helps you strap the baby in the car.

“Where is Paul?”

“Over Jake’s. Rachel bailed him out.” you mutter.

“Rachel?” she asks. You nod. She had a small look of surprise.

"I'll call you later." you tell her. She nods.

You slowly enter the living room. You didn't see Jacob or Bella. Jared was there and so was Kim. A video game was vivid on the television as Quil and Paul battled it out through the controller, Jared throwing commentary on their gameplay. Kim and Rachel talked as they sat close, it was as if they knew each other for years.

You waited until Paul had finished his smack talking to Quil, due to winning against him.

“Come on..” you say to him as you touch his arm. He didn't move but looked up at you. The baby squirmed in your arms and Paul took them out of your hands. He sits back down on the sofa.

“I don’t really feel like going home right now. Let's just chill here.”

“Paul. I barely slept. Let’s just go home.”

His face is covered in subtle disappointment. You watch carefully as he turns his head to the people in the living room.

“Alright...I gotta go. I’ll see you guys later.” he announced.

“Boooo…See you when you’re allowed to come back outside.” Rachel tells him. Chuckles came out of the mouths that were also in the living room.

He patted her head while walking past as she blinked with a soft grin. He said goodbye to the rest of the guys. The guys said goodbye to you.

At home, your arms were crossed tight as he leaned against the kitchen counter, downing a can of soda.

“So, you called her?”

“No.”

“Then, how did she even know that you were in jail?” you ask in confusion.

“She was there.”

You raise your eyebrows a bit as you took a minute.

“Why was she there?”

“I don’t know. I don’t control where she chooses to go.” He shrugged.

“Out of all places, she’s where you are.”

He shrugged. You roll your eyes.

“You’re mad over nothing. She felt bad, she saw how those cops roughed me up. She came and she bailed me out. Be happy you didn’t have to spend any money.”

“You have some fucking nerve to tell me I’m mad over nothing.”

“I’m not arguing about this, alright?”

“Good. Because, you’re so full of shit, your eyes are brown.” you point in his face.

“I am?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

"Why didn't you want to talk on the phone?"

"The phone calls are recorded."

"What did you even do?"

"Got into a stupid little fight. It was nothing. The guy didn't even press charges but the cops felt I should spend the night in jail." he said.

"Why did you get into a fight?"

He crushed the can and took his time to throw it away. An impatient sigh escaped from your lips before he began to speak.

"Rachel was dancing with me instead of him. Now, before you get all pissy about that, she didn't feel like being bothered with him and felt uncomfortable. He was being forceful so I had to sit him down on his ass when things got out of hand."

You walk away, not wanting to see his face anymore.

It was a shame in your opinion. It felt like you were constantly in competition with this chick. With Paul thinking its no big deal, was adding onto your frustrations.

Spring was trying to make its debut but the Washington weather was being stubborn. People were happy that the wind didn’t make their teeth chatter on this particular day, so a bonfire happened at the beach.

Billy Black called the attention of everyone and the music was turned down.

"As you all know, my little girl has finally visited her old man for once."

Rachel only laughed a bit as happy responses circled around.

"She gave me the most amazing news. She's going to live here for some time. She misses home. She even told me she's going to work from home and put her degree to great use!"

Happiness burst through the people around you. You were also happy at the fact that Billy was able to at least have two out of the three of his children with him.

The music really cranked up and happiness was more visible.

Food was being eaten.

As you were throwing your plate away, you heard Rachel and Kim speaking. Both backs were turned to you as they looked over the food, trying to see what they wanted. They didn't pick up on your presence.

"Who made this?"

"Y/N, I think. It smells pretty good.” Kim answers.

"No. That looks gross."

"Rachel." Kim says to her, trying to stifle her laughter but Rachel wasn't having it as she shook her head with a grimace.

Walking away, you pushed the interaction that you witnessed, deep down.

Leah came into your view and took your hands with a grin.

''Let's walk by the waves." she says persuasively.

You smile, happy for the distraction.

"Do you think Im overreacting?" you ask Leah as you pass the joint to her.

"I don't. But, she was at the party and I can see why she felt bad enough to bail him out."

"It's not just that. It's the slick remarks. It feels like Im in a "who could make Paul smile faster" competition."

"Rachel just has a deadpanned sense of humor. She knows how to make friends with everyone so that’s why she’s also extroverted but if you feel that way, Im sure Paul will understand."

"He thinks Im giving her a hard time, being mean."

Leah chuckled a bit, "At the end of the day, you're who he decided to marry. You're the one who won in the end."

You two change conversation and walk back as the joint turned into a roach. Leah throws it into the ocean as you two were buzzed.

Laughing, you both made plans to dance, even singing some of the lyrics of the song as you two got closer.

Leah pulls you to a dessert lineup. As she eats and helps herself, you turn your head. You freeze as you watch the sight.

Two people were dancing as if they owned the night. The way that they moved, was like they choreographed it. Rachel and Paul were good dancers, they were really good as they danced together. Laughs and smiles graced their lips. It felt like you were in the shadows.

Squaring your shoulders, you pretend like it didn't bother you. Paul felt the subtle uncomforted feeling in your soul. He tried to talk to you alone but you would duck him. You would avoid him through the rest of the time.

As soon as you two got home, you went straight to your drawer, pulling out folded pants. Paul watched a bit before he asked an important question.

“What are you doing?”

“I decided I’m leaving early.” you say quietly as you reach underneath the bed to slide out your suitcase.

"Y/N."

You don't answer.

"Are you fucking serious?" he boldly asks you and you continue to not say anything as you then go into the bathroom to collect your hygiene products.

He sighs tiredly, throwing his arms up a bit.

“You know what? Do what you want.” he says, “So fucking childish, it’s unreal.”

You scoff and roll your eyes.

“Childish…But, but, you were just crying not too long ago because of some guy I interacted with on a business level. That’s childish.”

You go pack the diaper bag and start to take things that your child would need while you were away.

“No. Keep them here. I’ll drop them off at my dad's whenever I have to leave.”

You don’t listen.

“Y/N. I said no.” he says firmly. You hated it. It was the tone that ordered you to stop. Tears well up, you had no choice but to listen because of the mark. You shove the bag down on the changing table.

The baby was oblivious to what was happening. Happy babbles come out their mouth as they look to you and Paul from their crib.

“We need a break from each other. We’re clearly stepping on each other’s toes.” you choke out quietly.

“You want a break.” he corrected, “And that’s fine. Just say it."

You walk out and he follows you as you walked in the hallway. You go into the bedroom.

"I’m sick and tired of arguing over stupid ass shit."

“You’re putting it all on me, when it’s you too. Don’t act like you don’t start shit.” You say.

“I at least finish shit. You like to run for the hills every single time shit gets tough. Like a coward. Since the beginning. It's like you want an excuse to leave this relationship. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm begging to be with you. You didn't even know what you wanted then and you don't even know what you want now.”

“Don’t get me started.” you warn.

“What? It’s true. Tell me, when was the last time we had sex? Not in a while. Especially since Rachel came….You’re leaving early all for nothing. You put up a hissy fit when I question you about the guys who actually get on you. But it’s okay to accuse me? You're fucking mad over some dancing? I didn't even have my hands on her!”

“It’s not the same and you know it. No guy has ever got on me because I don’t give them the room to. Every time I'm out and about with you, a girl tries to sneak in her number, or pretend that I don't even exist, and I'm tired of it all. You're out there dancing with that chick and it was like you two were in the relationship. Not us. I bet it felt so nice to let your hair down.” you hiss.

You leave out of the room, you grab your jacket. You put it on, you stuck your hands in your pocket, not feeling your lighter. Your hands come out.

Paul bends down holding up something when he enters where you are. His sharp eye examined it as he asks in a hard and careful tone, “What is this?”

Paul knew. He’s been around people who weren't shy about their certain activities. He wanted you to say it out of your mouth as he held the small pill in his fingers.

You honestly forgot you had it. A large hand was firm on the nape of your neck. He puts the pill in his fingers, close to your face.

“What. Is. This?”

“I wasn’t going to take it. I forgot it was in my pocket.” you softly defend.

“That’s not what I asked. I asked what was it. Not if you were going to take it.”

One press, it was like fine, grind powder in his hands. He narrowed his eyes at you, his eyes were dark as his face is closer. It made you look away, baring your neck a bit in submission.

“So, it really is drugs. So, what…You’re a junky now?” his voice made a chill lick down your spine. You felt like you were in deep trouble.

“Fuck off.” you whisper.

“That’s why you’re all over the place. You really need to get your shit together.”

You look up to him as he stared down at you. Disapproval wasn’t even the primary word that could describe the look on his face.

“Do you fucking smell that shit in me? No. You don’t. Maybe you should take it….It will help you focus more on the fact that you’re too stupid to even notice when someone clearly wants you to entertain them. It’s like the lights are on and nobody’s home.”

You move around him throw the last bit of essentials in your suitcase.

"I just can't with this anymore. At least not right now. The fighting, the girls, the unsureness of it all... I want peace, not whatever...This is...I'll let you and Rachel have whatever you two got going on. I feel like I'm an intruder in my own marriage. So, I'll leave and focus on the work I have to do. You two can do whatever the fuck you want. Go ahead and fuck her for all I care." you emotionally say and you mean it. You were tired of this setting and you felt trapped. Suffocated. You were emotionally detached and his wolf felt it. It frightened both the man and wolf to know that your mind was set.

You just wanted to submerse yourself into something that made you happy without a fail. Your work had never let you down. Paul’s shoulders subtly slumped. You didn’t notice.

“Paranoid as hell.”

“Sure.” you chuckle dryly with a shrug.

You zip the suitcase shut.

“I’ll see you in two weeks.” you whisper in an eerily calm tone.

“Whatever.” he says bitterly and turns, walking off as you could’ve sworn you saw light steam rise from his body.

Wrinkled hands cradled your face and a kiss on each cheek was pressed as the big fashion designer was pleased to see you. Especially a few days earlier than when you were supposed to come.

A second villa that he owned, was extended to you for you to stay in for your duration. He was that happy to have you apart of this project and even more happy that you joined him early. In his actual home, he drank a glass of wine as you drew up and showed him rough drafts of the ideas that spilled out of his mouth.

Calm and melodic conversation was held and for a moment, your problems back home seemed to cease as your mind wasn't focused on that. It was focused on how you could make people's jaws drop with colors and designs.

After filling your stomach tight with Italian cuisine, you both then fight over who's going to pay the bill.

He wins and you let him know your disapproval as he laughs while the waitress processed his payment.

The night surrounded you as you pull out the set of keys.

Your footsteps were quiet as you slowly pushed the front door open with a groaning squeak. It was open but without force. You immediately look at the camera that aimed at the front entry.

Not seeing anything around you, you move further. Nothing was behind the front door as you were in the front part of the villa. The window was open.

You pull out your phone but it flies out of your hands and across the room.

It was fast. You gasp as you’re lying on the ground. Shaking. A knee was pressed hard on your chest as a cold sharp blade was pressed just under your chin. One hand tightly holds both wrists above your head. A nasty expression was on the person’s face.

“You scream. I cut you.” they speak carefully but lowly.

You nod eagerly as your breaths are rapid. Nothing was said for a while.

“I-I have money.” you whisper.

“Of course you do, living like this…” he states, “Where?” he asks firmly.

“I-in m-my bag but…I d-don’t have cash though.” you whisper with your eyes squeezed shut and they didn’t like the sound of that.

“What the fuck am I gonna to do with that? Huh?” he says and press the blade further. It doesn’t break the skin yet. You pant in fear and try to control your breathing.

“You got jewelry?” he asks.

“Y-Yes.” you say. You saw another figure enter right behind this scary person’s body, moving so predatorily slow. Their dark eyes were so intense and menacing.

"Give me the ring." they demand to you as they look at your hands.

Your heart pounded as you blinked rapidly.

“Please, don’t kill me…” you whisper to keep the person hovering over you, occupied.

“Shut up. Don’t say another fucking word.”

“S-sorry.” you whisper.

He scrunched his face, the blade was now pressed on your face. Your breath hitched.

“You keep talking, I really should disfigure-“

His body was knocked off of you, the blade clattered as you saw that he was now lying on his back with a knee on his chest. He tried his best to push the strong knee off of his chest but he started to feel the effects of the knee pressing down.

He gasped out that he couldn’t breathe and you heard a loud pop. You hear a gurgle come out of his mouth. Panting out, tears were thick in your eyes as you pulled on your rescuer’s shirt. He didn’t budge as his eyes were dissociated with rage.

“Y-you’re going to k-kill him.” you choke out.

He wasn’t listening until you forcefully shout his name and that’s when he listened. He rose slowly to a stand as you were still on the ground but propped up with your elbow.

He pulled you up easily to your feet, furrowing his eyebrows. It was as if he wanted to say something but went against it. A soft caress of your cheek was made from his cool touch. You were too stunned to move or speak. He turns from you and walks to the body that was on the floor of the villa.

You focus on breathing normal again but it was hard. The intruder wasn’t moving. You stare at the intruder, hoping that his chest would move to let you know that he’s breathing.

The last thing you needed was a murder charge. You could kiss everything goodbye.

“I-Is he dead?” you whisper out. A shake of his head let you know that the person who meant to harm you, was only passed out. The intruder would just wake up to excruciating pain.

Using his foot to turn the body over onto their stomach, Edward gripped the back of his shirt to lift him as if he was a sack of potato’s. The same arm that was ripped clean off from his fight from Paul, was attached and normal as if a fight never happened. You stare as it operated without fail. Still containing full strength.

You follow him as he carried the intruder out to the back door.

He was moving fast.

“Wait…Wait!” you call out.

He continued walking without looking back. The slide door clicked closed behind him and the guy he carried out like a rag doll. One blink, they both were gone. Your hand gripped the doorframe before you went back into the kitchen.

Glasses of water was chugged as your mouth felt dry. Drops of water spilled off of the sides of your mouth, onto your shirt and the edge of the sink as your hands still shook a bit.

There was no way you could go to sleep.

The room where it happened, the blade was still there. You slowly bend to pick it up and inspect it. You inspect the very thing that would wipe you away from this world.

The buzz of the phone scared you and you jumped and dropped the blade with a clatter. You shakily pick up the vibrating phone.

“H-hi.” you speak.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Paul rasped out.

“I’m fine..I’m fine..” you whisper as you keep the heel of your hand to your eye. Your heart was still racing in your ears.

He heard a sniffle through the other line. You couldn’t hold it together. Your breathing was shaky and heavy as you continued to try to silently wipe the tears that streamed down your face.

“What’s wrong?” He sounded pained.

“I got scared...I thought it was real..I thought I was going to die…I’m still shaking.” you hiccuped.

“It’s just a dream, right?…” he whispered tiredly.

“Can-Can you stay on the phone with me?”

“Yeah.”

Paul stayed on the phone until the morning, when he had to leave for patrol. You both didn’t say much. You both chose silence, listening to each other breathing and both parties were fine with that. He told you he would call you back when he comes back.

The sunlight didn’t make things less scary. The daylight only showed why you were targeted as the opulent villa decor surrounded you.

You felt like a little kid who snuck and watched an R-rated scary movie. Moving the bathroom door quickly to check behind it. Staring behind yourself in the mirror as you brushed your teeth. Scared to close your eyes to wash your face, to the point the cleanser almost got into your eyes.

You agreed to lunch with the big fashion house creative director with their acquaintances.

You sip and grimace at the alcohol that touched your lips. Something you started to do often. It numbed the pain that was ignited in your chest. It helped. If you wanted to commit to being an alcoholic.

“So, there’s that St. Marcus festival in Volterra.” they start off the conversation with a cheek full of food.

“Oh my god. That ridiculous holiday.” a woman with a thick Italian accent laughs with a glass of white wine.

“It’s ridiculous but you can’t go wrong with free entertainment.” one points out.

“Ugh, they wear those tacky red cloaks. It’s ridiculous.” one person pipes in.

“And then don’t forget the stupid stunts that are obviously fake when the clock strikes noon. I’m only going to find a naive tourist to make my bed warm.” the woman says. They all laugh heartily.

“Y/N? Are you coming?”

“Uh…I don’t know.” you answer, keeping an eye on your plate.

“Come on, it’s happening on a weekend. You can’t even blame work.” one says.

“Sure…Why not.” you say dryly and tilted the glass to bring the last bit of liquid to your mouth. They’re pleased as they fall into other conversation.

You just didn’t want to be alone.

The festival was indeed a bit ridiculous and crowded but the people in Volterra really enjoyed it and went hard for it. A lot of people did wear the red cloaks.

Walking around, letting yourself get lost, with the faded cinnamon brown buildings that darkened the street with their shade.

A wide, square fountain set into the center of the plaza, was where you idled. A deep, booming chime echoed through the square, the stones underneath your feet has throbbed. The sounds of children covering their ears and crying to the loud noise, was muffled.

The Palazzo de Priori starts to chime again loudly.

You saw a girl giggling, gesturing towards the shadows in the alleyway impatiently, as she tugged at her mother.

Curious, you look since the mother was too busy with a smaller child who had their hands clamped over their ears.

You saw a faint shimmer. Turning your head, you look to see what it is. You blink as you squint a bit. You gasp. Legs slowly walk forward from out of the shadows of the alleyway, hands pull open his buttoned shirt.

Just a few feet from the mouth of the alleyway, you saw a figure whose eyes were closed with deep purple rings underneath them. His arms were relaxed at his sides, palms turned forward. Oddly, his expression was peaceful as if he was dreaming something pleasant.

Shirt wide open, the marble skin of his chest was bare. The lobby reflection from the pavement of the square gleamed dimly from his skin.

You slowly stand up from your sitting position on the stone fountain with a deep wave of confusion. A large stride toward the light made you speed walk faster. You call his name in confusion and he only smiled very slightly in response. He raised his foot to take a step that would put him directly in the path of the sun.

Making your way closer, you flung yourself on him. You don’t know why you did it. The only thought was you remembering the main reason why they couldn’t be in the sun. He then walked backwards slowly. Arms were wrapped around you tight as you stare at him, trying to understand.

His dark hooded eyes find yours and he freezes his movements as the clock rolled again. His shirt was almost fallen from his shoulders. It was as if he saw a ghost. As if he couldn’t believe that you were really in front of him. His hands blindly felt your face as he whispered in a rasp that was full of warmth, “Beautiful, angel.”

“Edward….Edward.” you whispered, “What are you doing?”

“Carlisle was right.” He whispered with a smile. His large hands touched your cheeks, your nose, and finally, your lips as if it was a rare gem.

“E-Edward….I thought you couldn’t show your skin in the sunlight. People will see…People will know. You have to move.” You stammer out. He only lifts you against him in his arms as your hands are on his shoulders.

“My execution was quick….They’re good…If this is hell..I’ll take it.” he murmured with a peaceful sigh.

Your heart pounded, “You’re not dead. What are you talking about?”

It was as if he snapped back into reality. Instead of you protecting him from the people, he went back into the deep shadows and trapped you against the stone wall with his arms spread wide, protectively in front of you. Your feet is back on the ground. His eyes closed a bit as you both were in the shadows. He blinked them open.

“You really shouldn’t be here.” he finally whispered firmly with widened eyes.

“Why?” you whispered back, “What the hell were you trying to do?”

“Y/N. Leave.” he says softly but in desperation.

“Why do you look like that?…I know that you’re dead but…You look dead. More dead than I remember.”

You furrow your eyebrows to look at his fragile state. Alice rushed in and tugged on your arm from Edward’s grasp but you hear a small but reedy voice, “It’s rude to stop past without saying hello.”

It makes them both freeze and they give each other a glance.

“We were just leaving, Jane. Tell your masters, services aren’t needed.” Edward says.

“That’s a bummer. I’m sure Aro would be displeased at the fact that the Cullens brought a guest and he didn’t get to meet them.” the small girl says.

“Silly human from the festival didn’t know where she was going…” Alice says.

“My eyes prove otherwise that she knew right where to go.” she says she with a straight face, “We shouldn’t keep Aro waiting.” Her red eyes were bold.

With a turn, she walks.

Alice sighs a bit as she looked at you with cautious eyes.

“Just stay close to me, Y/N. Don’t say anything-“

“Alice.” Edward growled.

“Edward, I can’t see the outcome well. I’m going off of pure instincts right now.”

“Why isn’t anyone moving yet?” the wide eyed face asks.

Edward held your arm as you both walked. As you all walked further, his arm found your waist.

Conversationally, he speaks to his sister, “Well, Alice, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here.”

“Seeing Y/N here is the biggest surprise.” she speaks back in the same tone.

“Hm.” he said curtly.

You all stopped at a drain in the street that sunk into the lowest point of the paving. The grate was halfway pushed aside and the hole was small and black.

Alice slid down the open hole with easy grace.

You must’ve taken too long because Alice says, “I can catch you, Y/N.”

You take breath as you swung your legs into the narrow gap.

Through the tunnel, the pace was hurried. At the end was a grate with iron bars that were rusting.

The long hallway was walked until you all stopped at an elevator.

Stepping in, you anticipate what was to come as you all were going down.

You felt a hand rubbing against your arm, only looking to see Edward who wasn’t taking his eyes off of Jane.

The short elevator ride was done as you all walked through the posh office reception area. There were no windows and brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements.

A plain wooden door that wasn’t locked, was held open.

“Thanks, Alec.” Jane says to him, he gives a quick nod.

There were no artificial lights. The natural sunlight beamed from the impressive infrastructure. Massive wooden chairs, like thrones, were the only furniture in the room. The room wasn’t empty.

A handful of people were in a relaxed conversation. A murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. Exquisite faces turned toward the direction you all entered from.

A man wore a long robe. Pitch black and it brushed against the floor. His long, jet-black hair looked like the hood of his cloak.

“Jane, dear one, you’ve came back without an empty hand.” he said in evident delight.

He drifted forward and his movement flowed with such surreal grace, it seemed unreal.

His face showed his skin that was translucency white with red eyes that was clouded and milky.

“Yes, Master.” Jane smiled like an angelic child.

He smiled too as he turned his misty eyes towards you and the others and became ecstatic.

“This is a happy surprise! Wonderful!” he rejoiced.

He turned to the hulking man who stood tall, “Felix, tell my brothers about our company. They wouldn’t want to miss this.”

“Yes, Master.” Felix nodded and disappeared out of the way you all had come.

“You see, Edward? What did I tell you? Aren’t you glad that I didn’t give you what you wanted yesterday?”

Edward swallowed before he says quietly as he tightened an arm around you, “I am.”

He turned to Alice with a happy sigh, “Alice..We haven’t been introduced properly. It’s just that I feel like I know you already and tend to get ahead of myself. Your brother introduced us yesterday in a peculiar way. I share some of your brother’s talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not.” he says with his tone, envious.

She gives him a polite but dazzling smile. You look closely to see her small fists bawled at her sides.

Edward looked at Alice as he swiftly explained, “Aro needs physical contact to hear your thoughts, but he heard much more than I do. I can only hear what’s passing through your head in the moment. Aro hears every thought your mind has ever had.”

Alice raised her delicate eyebrows and Edward inclined his head. It was like a secret conversation.

“But to be able to hear from a distance…That would be so convenient.” Aro sighed as he gestured toward the two of them.

Both black robed men floated in the room. Both looking like Aro with one having the same flowing black hair. The other had a head of snow white hair. Their faces had identical, paper thin skin.

Your head tilted a bit, you felt like you were in a museum. The trio from Carlisle’s painting was complete and unchanged by the last three hundred years since it was painted.

“Marcus, Caius, look! Isn’t it wonderful?” Aro crooned.

Neither of the two looked as if wonderful would be their first choice of words.

The dark haired man seemed utterly bored as if it was a permanent expression. The other’s face was sour under the snowy hair.

Even though their enthusiasm was lacking, it didn’t curb Aro’s enthusiasm.

The white haired ancient vampire glided toward one of the wooden thrones. The other paused beside Aro and he reached his hand out and touched Aro’s palm briefly. Aro raised one black brow.

“Thank you, Marcus. That’s quite interesting.” Aro said.

Two of the women in the room stood next to the seats of the vampires in the thrones.

Alice’s expression was frustrated and Edward turned to her and explained in a swift, low voice, “Marcus sees relationships.”

“So convenient.” Aro repeated, “It takes quite a bit to surprise Marcus, I can assure you.”

“It’s just so difficult to understand, even now.” Aro mused, staring at Edward who had his arm around your shoulders, “A human, Edward, that you can’t even enjoy..What a waste!”

“I look at it more as a price.” Edward answered calmly.

Aro says, “A very high price.”

“Opportunity cost.” Edward speaks back.

Aro laughs a bit, “Ah, how I miss my friend Carlisle! You remind me of him. Only he was not so angry.

“Carlisle outshines me in many other ways.”

“Self control of all things is something I certainly never thought to see Carlisle be bested for. You put him to shame.”

“Hardly.” Edward says impatiently.

“I am so curious about one thing in particular. May I?” he asked eagerly, lifting one hand. He eyes you with bright interest.

“Ask her.” Edward said flatly.

“Y/N….I was wondering if you would be so kind as to allow me to try to see if you are an exception to my gift?” he speaks directly to you.

Looking around the room, crimson eyes stared at you as the room was still and silent. You were in the spotlight.

“U-uh…Um…” you stammer in deep nervousness and look at Edward sheepishly.

Edward’s eyes softened. You two stared at each other for a moment and he clutched you tighter.

An ancient voice with a rasp breaks the silence.

“Star crossed…The human isn’t completely devoted to Edward…I can’t say the same for Edward..It can be changed to not end so tragic…The human needs an encouraging push.”

A push? You were confused. Deeply.

“A vampire devoted to a human. Is that right, Marcus?” Aro speaks in an incredulous manner.

“Seems to be.”

“Interesting…” a woman speaks at Aro’s side. She kept her rose colored eyes on you. They sparkled with something dangerous.

You look down and focus on breathing.

“If you’re worried about her not keeping our kind a secret, she will keep it. She’s very familiar with the supernatural. I didn’t even have to tell her what I was. She figured it out all on her own.” Edward defends.

“Has she? I would really like to see.” Aro says with an impressed smile.

Edward had resistance but Alice was the one who stepped forward. Aro held her hand and hummed in contentment. It was as if he was watching a movie in his head.

Aro only gives Alice a bright smile but he wasn’t satisfied, “Alice, I’ll see it from Y/N.”

You slowly step forward and Edward keeps a grip on you. You look back at him. His eyes were silently pleading.

Pulling your hand out of his tight grasp, he looked desperate as he watched you meet Aro’s excited eyes.

“I won’t tell anyone..I have my own secret…I have an option to be able to live an immortal life as well. Exposing you, would only also expose me.” you promise carefully to the mature vampire who was waiting for your hand. He drunk in every word.

Your mark however was covered with makeup and you just weren’t sure if their sharp eyes would be able to see it.

“You’re not one of us…..” he says softly, keeping a cool hand to your cheek, you blink. “You’re warm, dear. You’re a human with rich blood flowing through your veins…But, yet…I cannot smell it for the everlasting life of me.”

You look down as his hand takes yours. He held it and you didn't know what to expect.

It didn’t take him as long as the others, he laughs a light laugh and you hold your breath.

“You’re right. There shouldn’t be a problem, then…Such a talented one.” Aro says as he stared at you with a slow smile. You blink.

“I’m afraid I haven’t seen such talent since Solimena. I must say that you surpass him greatly. So greatly, I say you put him to great shame. All I see is the wonderful, colors swirling and originating in that wonderful brain of yours.” He says in awe, “No wonder Edward has such a taken to you…Quite magnificent…A human who doesn’t even make me thirsty.”

He calmly called Jane’s name once with a tilt of his head as he continued to look at you and before you knew it, before you could blink, Edward had lifted you to place you behind him as he used his body to hide your frame. He hid your body from their view.

“No.” Edward said in a tone that raised goosebumps.

Jane smiled, “Yes, master?”

Edward ripped a low snarl as he glared at Aro.

“I was wondering, my dear one, if Y/N will have a reaction to you.” Aro says.

As Edward made his way to launch at the girl, Alice screeched a “Edward, don’t !”

But it was too late.

He gasped and withered in pain as you watched wide eyed at the sight of him. He was shaking as he slowly went to his knees, you couldn’t bear to see. Nobody was touching him but his pain was evident as he was on the stone floor writhing in agony. No sound escaped from his lips.

“What’s happening?“ You ask out in horror.

He cringed against the stone floor.

“Shit..This is bad. This is really bad.” You whisper to his anguished face. You then kneel, as you hold the back of his head. He’s in pain from protecting you. He still continued to shudder in pain as his body locked, “Stop! He didn’t even do anything!” You beg the standing figures.

“Jane.” Aro called in a tranquil voice.

She looked up quickly with questioning eyes but with a pleasurable smile. Edward was still and his pain ceased. You breathe out very softly in relief.

Aro inclined his head toward you.

You suddenly crumble into a fall and lay next to Edward in a gasp, your jaw clenched. The pain choked you. You felt it from the crown of your head to the balls of your feet. Your mouth was silent as the pain took your breath away.

You didn’t want to be in pain. You squeezed your eyes shut and curled into a ball. The pain was still there but lessened as you pant lightly with tense limbs.

You felt yourself be lifted into the arms that belonged to Edward. His lips were on the shell of your ear, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so selfish.”

“Jane.” you hear a voice be called. You didn’t feel anything anymore. You’re able to stand on your feet.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve listened.” You whisper to Edward and you look to the standing figures watching you both. You then rest your forehead to his chest as you felt his hand on your back.

Aro chortled a bit, “Both of you. Very brave to endure such pain in silence..” He says in admiration.

Edward glared at him with disgust.

“So what do we do with you, now?” Aro sighed.

It was strange. You then felt a shift. It felt like a flutter of pressure that brushed against you. It almost made you lightheaded. It was as if something almost knocked you off of your feet if it weren’t for Edward holding you.

Not knowing what was happening, you leaned and clutched even closer to Edward. It was like it was the right thing to do. The perfect thing to do.

Edward speaks out in a panicked voice, which made you both worried and confused, “Chelsea, she’s married to someone else.”

The woman was smug.

“Aro. You have to do something.” Edward speaks out.

Aro only sighs lightly without effort after briefly touching Chelsea’s palm, “There isn’t much I can do.”

Edward made a distasteful noise.

“Walls shouldn’t be held up. Loyalty is very important and the feeling of certainty should be strong. Plus, things will be more secure this way.” Chelsea says smugly. She was proud of something.

“But, not like this.” Edward shook his head.

“Not like what?” you ask.

“Did Marcus’s words go unnoticed? One small push shouldn’t harm anyone. Edward, you even saved Y/N’s life, yes?” Aro speaks up.

Edward nodded woodenly.

"I picked up on how badly you wanted to kill…How badly you wanted to hurt the person who wanted to harm Y/N…You almost sacrificed your diet for hurting her.. Y/N, then saved you from our execution. From exposing our secret. You two have spent some time together in the past, yes. I saw for myself from Alice that marriage was even a possibility for you two. Both willing to protect each other….I think it’s quite nice." Aro speaks out.

Marriage?

“What does this mean? What does he mean, Edward?” you ask rapidly.

Edward swallows before speaking in a tone of defeat, “Chelsea can manipulate relationships.”

Your stomach dropped. Abruptly coming out of Edward’s arms, you step back from him and his apologetic eyes.

You plead with your eyes at Chelsea.

“B-but wait! I can’t be loyal to Edward! I-I-I can’t! I’m devoted to someone else. Reverse it…Change it back…Do something.” you choke out.

“Y/N, do you think you would still be here right now, if Edward hadn’t come at the right time?” Aro asks.

You look at Edward tearfully, who was looking down.

“No…” you say in a small voice as you look at him, “I’m…Thankful that he did…I was so scared…”

“See? Now, what’s the matter, Edward?” Aro asks, “Yesterday, you wished to put an end to your life due to your heartbreak. Look how Y/N is here, who can now can heal such heartbreak. She’s not just an average human either! A pick, indeed.”

“Seems to me, a bond has already been formed…Someone who didn’t care for another, wouldn’t have protect like either of you did.” Marcus rasps with certainty.

“No.” You whimpered above a whisper.

“I love happy endings. They’re quite rare.” Aro says enthused.

A single tear fell, “I have a baby at home…I can’t just abandon them.”

“No one is asking you to abandon them, dear…We’re not suggesting that at all…” Aro reassured.

“I only helped enforced what was there in the first place. This relationship was quite easy to fix. I didn’t have to work hard at all.” Chelsea says.

Your heart pounded in your ears as your mouth went dry. You felt faint.

“I don’t suppose there’s any chance that you’ve changed your mind, Edward? Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company.” Aro asks Edward.

“I’d…Rather not.” Edward weighed.

“Alice?” Aro asks hopeful.

“No, thank you.” Alice said.

Aro raised his eyebrows, “And you, Y/N?”

You felt sick.

Edward hissed as the white haired Caius broke the silence, “What?” he demanded of Aro.

“Caius, surely you see the potential. Such promising and prospective talent. Can you imagine the possibilities if she were to become one of us?” Aro chided him affectionately, he stepped forward facing you, “What do you say, Y/N.”

If Alice and Edward turned it down, you would too.

“No, thank you.” You said with a shaken voice.

Aro sighed with disappointment, “That’s unfortunate. Such a waste.”

“Are we done, here? Are we free to leave now?” Edward asks in an even voice.

“Yes…But please visit again. It’s been absolutely enthralling!” Aro answered pleasantly.

“We shall visit you, in the near future.” Caius says. Edward nods once with his jaw tight.

“Heidi will be here any moment. Patience ,” you see Aro speak to the vampire who groaned, Felix. He then spoke to you three again, “Please wait below after dark.”

“Of course.” Edward agreed, “Let’s go.” He then says urgently to you.

“Goodbye, young friends.” Aro said with his eyes bright.

Demetri, another guard, guided you all to the exit.

“Not fast enough.” Alice muttered as you all walked in the cold hallway.

Edward pulled you swiftly along beside him and Alice was by your other side, her face was hard and focused.

You then heard voices as you all walked the long hallway.

They all praised the infrastructure and the mystery of what is to come. A crowd was coming through the little door. With Demetri’s gesture for you three to make room, you all press back against the wall as they passed.

“Welcome guests! Welcome to Volterra!” Aro’s voice was heard from the turret.

It had to be at least forty people. But, you will never forget the woman who had a rosary around her neck. She gripped the cross tightly in one hand, walking slow as she asked questions in a language no one seemed to understand. Her voice grew panicked.

A woman who was behind them, guiding them into the room, was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Welcome home, Heidi.” Demetri greeted with a smile.

She smiled absently. She walked before stopping and flashing him a smile.

“Aren’t you coming?” She asked him.

“In a minute. Save a few for me, if you don’t mind.” Demetri answered. She nodded, gave you a curious look before ducking through the door.

You had to run to keep up as your hand was gripped tightly in Edward’s, you still heard the horrid screaming that followed. You were just happy to be the one to be able to run from the horror.

You all were led by Demetri to the reception. The harmless music was bouncing out of the hidden speakers. A woman behind the reception desk was a human.

“Don’t leave until after dark.” Demetri reminded.

Edward nods and Demetri hurries away. You guessed to get to his dinner.

With wobbly legs, you flop down in one of the chairs. You didn’t say anything. You pull your hand out of Edward’s and keep your hands to your eyes. A shake of your body allowed silent sobs.

All you could think about those people. How they must’ve been so scared. Staring at death right in the eye and they couldn’t do a thing.

You heard the low hisses of Edward and Alice’s conversation. They spoke so fast and low that you couldn’t keep up.

“Edward. Hunt.” Alice ordered. You all were in the living room of the villa. The window showed the night sky. Your shoulders were slumped as you slouched on the sofa, staring at your hands in your lap.

You were at a loss.

He looked pained. His shirt was back buttoned.

“Is that why you look like that?” You ask him quietly.

He looked at you with a nod.

“She’s right, then. You should eat….You look physically weak.” You tell him barely in a whisper.

“I’m okay.” He murmured.

“You’re not. I know you’re not.” You say as he looked casket ready.

“We need to talk.”

“We’ll talk.” You nod.

“….Can..I take you to dinner when I get back?”

“Umm…” you say timidly and you look at him, “S-sure. But, it’s not a date.”

He nods with hopeful optimism. He then takes the initiative to leave.

Alice couldn’t begin to start a statement.

“I’m sorry…If only your future came to me more clearer…” she says sadly.

You stand on wobbly knees.

“It’s….Alright.” you say in a daze. You felt a type of way, you were starting to feel the intense weight of Edward’s absence.

You sit on the closed lid toilet in the bathroom with the door closed. The phone trilled as you held it to your ear. No answer.

You try again.

“Hello?”

“H-hey.”

Nothing was said before you speak again.

“What…What are you doing?”

“Came back from my dad’s from seeing my child.”

Emphasis on the “my”.

“Paul, don’t be like that.” You whisper. Listening ears were in the other direction and you wanted the conversation to be smooth.

“Like what? I’m telling you what I did.”

“Yeah, but…Never mind…I miss you both.”

“I don’t get how you do. You didn’t even have to leave home early..”

Tears well up in your eyes with subtle frustration, “Well, I do…”

“I feel…A disconnect Y/N…Your heart is veering off somewhere…How much fun are you having? You met someone..Didn’t you?”

His voice was rough and prickly hard.

“Paul, not this again… I’m here to work. I’m not looking for anyone else-”

“Did. You. Meet. Someone?”

“No! See? Here you go, but I can’t say anything about Rachel? I’m paranoid when I bring her up?”

Adrenaline was up, you didn’t care anymore.

“Rachel isn’t a valid concern…I don’t know if I can trust you, Y/N. It seems like you leave and shit just…Always falls apart. It felt like I was being stabbed all over, earlier. What the fuck were you even doing?”

“I won’t let us fall apart.” You whisper in a broken voice, “You can trust me. It’s like I can’t trust you and you won’t even see where I’m coming from. You dismiss it. My concerns should be valid. Yours is but mine isn’t?”

“You think every girl is out to get me. That’s not trust.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t know every girl in the world.” You try to joke to lighten things up but the tense moment was still heavy. He didn’t bite.

He tells you he has to go. You both hang up with each other.

As you walked the streets next to Edward with arms tightly crossed, your phone buzzed in your pocket.

Texts from the people you went to the festival with, were making sure that you were okay, was thrown in your direction. You forgot that you even came with them. They didn’t know what lurked below the streets.

“Im okay. Im having dinner now. We will talk tomorrow :) ”

You press send and lay the phone face down on the cloth covered table.

“What drinks can I get you both?”

“Um…Vesper for me.” you whisper to the waiter. He asks Edward again for his choice in drink.

“Water.” he only answers as he stared at you. His eyes weren’t dark. He looked back to normal with liquid golden irises.

As soon as the waiter leaves off, you couldn’t help but put both folded arms on the table.

“Did you try to….What were you even trying to do?”

“…Remember when I showed you Carlisle’s painting?”

You nod, "The patriots of the arts."

He nods, you felt a surge of happiness from him that you remember. It felt warm and fuzzy as goosebumps raised on your body.

“They would’ve had a hand in easing my pain.”

You let out a breath as you try to collect yourself. Your heart dropped.

“W-why? Why would you do something like that?” you whisper.

“The reason is quite pathetic, I’m afraid.” he shakes his head a bit with a sheepish expression.

“Still, tell me. Aro mentioned heartbreak.”

The waiter sets down your drinks and you tell them you need more time with the menu. They agree to come back. Edward’s eyes flicker to the glass that was about to reach your lips.

“You drink now?”

“Edward.” you hiss quietly at him trying to change the subject.

He takes in a breath through his nose, you patiently wait until he speaks again.

“I never thought I would see you again….You hate me.” he says sadly.

“I don’t hate you….I hate no one.” you say quietly. Hate was too strong of a word. You didn’t even hate Kim. A strong dislike could describe how you felt about her. You didn't even hate Rachel. You just disliked her passive aggressive attitude that she was talented in hiding.

“I know I messed up…I so badly wish I could visit the past and do things differently. Instead, I tarnished whatever alliance we could’ve had…Im not talking romantically because I know that you’re with Paul and I respect it, but you’re so pleasant to be around and…” he stops himself from rambling and a beat settles between you two.

“….I kept Alice from looking in your future.” he then says.

“She wouldn’t have seen anything anyways. I’ve been around Paul. A lot.”

He nods and look down, keeping his eye on your ring.

“She says it’s spotty now….Could it be because of..That?” he points a bit to your neck.

You nod as you adjust your jacket. You didn’t bother to take it off.

“Did they notice? I had covered it before I came to the festival.”

He shook his head, “I think it’s good that no attention went on that. It only would’ve asked more questions and raise more concerns.” He then shifts a bit before continuing.

“Alice was right. You aren’t as fragile as before. It’s like your body is more solid…Not as strong as a vampire or a shifter’s but…It doesn’t feel like I can break your bones with one touch.” he speaks softly as he knitted his eyebrows.

“What about…What about my…Smell? Before, you couldn’t smell my blood. Do I really smell that much like Paul?” you ask as you lean forward a bit.

He swallowed a bit before he speaks, “A tad bit. I don’t know if it’s because of what Chelsea did but you still smell like you to me…A touch of a shifter, yes, because of the mark but even then, it’s faint. Your scent is still identifiable to me. Its nice. I smell the natural you.. Not your blood.”

You nod a bit as the waiter sets another wave of drinks down and you blindly order something to eat. Edward of course doesn’t want anything to eat and the waiter walks off to put the order to the kitchen.

“Alice told me how you were depressed.” You stare at him. His shirt was ragged but still looked majestic against him. You recognized that it was the same shirt from when you told him to stay away. He never took it off.

“I didn’t even bother to eat…”

“You starved. You tried to cause a scene so you could be punished by death.” You state with a slight frown. He nods and his eyes trail to your covered neck.

“Does it hurt?”

You didn’t want to answer but your head shook as he visibly relaxed.

“He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Y/N, it’s a bite. I was only asking a question.”

“No…It was pleasurable.” you try to confidently say but you still shyly say it.

“Is it true? You can live forever?” he asked. A hint of hope was something he tried to hide but you still picked up on it.

“As long as Paul shifts. It seems like vampires are always in the area. Plus, he has to learn to control his wolf. Until then…How you see me, is how I stay…Once he stops phasing, we can age at a normal rate again You on the other hand, don’t have much of a choice to live forever.”

“When you live forever, what do you even live for?”

“Still….You have your family.” you whisper.

“They all have their other half.”

“Did you at least look?”

“Of course I did….No one came as close to you. It felt like a piece of me was missing.” he murmured.

“Edward…I’m married now.” you stress.

“I know, I know….I’m happy for you-“

“And a child.”

You saw a small bit of light ignite in his eyes before he swallowed, “Congratulations.” It was almost breathless.

You look down and it was a mixture of a scoff and a nervous chuckle.

“What?” he asks softly.

“I-I don’t know why I thought you were going to be angry…Upset.” you say quietly.

“Or why I would even care…” you thought to yourself.

His expression caught you off guard again as he were shocked that you would think so.

“How could I ever be mad at you for creating a life? An innocent soul has been placed on this Earth thanks to you. It’s the most beautiful thing a human could ever do.”

You blink and look down.

“Alice misses you….They all do.”

“Not Rosalie.” you correct.

He smiles a bit.

“I send them all the kindest regards.” you say. You remember the drink and take a moment to let it slide down your throat with a slight grimace.

“You haven’t drank before…Why now?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You’re drinking as if you’re numbing something.”

You sit back and cross your arms.

“So…You know me now all of a sudden? Not too long ago, I stood before vampire royalty.”

“I know….What it’s like…To try to bury something within you. I know it all too well. I can recognize behavior that is familiar to me.”

You experienced a feeling of being caught as you could only look at him, with no words to say back.

“Be careful it’s hot.” the waiter says as he suddenly appeared with your plate. You thank him and he leaves off after Edward tells him that he's sure that he doesn’t want anything, you make sure he gets you another drink. A Long Island Iced Tea.

You ate slowly, chewing each bite slowly. You study your plate as if it was a fossil.

“Im really sorry for everything. With us being apart, I really was able to sit and soak in the consequences of my actions. Just knowing you saw an ugly and disastrous side of me is something I have to live with.”

“You just…Snapped.” you say as you remember the way he went toe to toe with Paul.

“And I’m sorry for that. Hurting him meant hurting you and I was too selfish and immature to realize that.”

“Yeah.” you say quietly.

The drink has been sat down and you immediately drink and drink. You push the empty glass away.

“I won’t overstep my boundaries. You say you’re happy with Paul, I believe you….I would like to just be your friend.”

You look up at him and down, slurring out, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea to be honest.”

“Can I ask why?” he asked in a perplexed voice.

“That’s…” you shake your head a bit, “Pretend that it’s the other way around.”

He had no problem with this as he looked intently at you.

“Paul was sitting here, wanting to be my friend….After everything that’s happened….What’s your response?”

He stuck his lips out a bit as he shrugged nonchalantly, “If that were to make you happy and you genuinely wanted to be his friend back, I would have no problem with that.”

You narrow your eyes at him before looking at the view.

“You still want to be around me…I’m marked by him, I’m married to him, and we even have a child together.”

“Okay?”

“It goes against all of that…It’s wrong.” you whisper.

“What are we doing wrong, exactly? We’re simply sitting here and we’re talking….We can’t have an innocent conversation?”

“I'm entertaining you. I shouldn’t do that.” you say quietly.

“You’re not. We’re not on date, just as you suggested. You’re not flirting with me or anything. You're only being yourself.” he says with a soft grin.

You sigh a bit and he continues, “You’re traveling again for work. Anything could happen.”

“I was just in New York…Nothing happened.”

“Alice was there.”

You roll your eyes a bit, “Why do you have an answer for everything?”

“How useful would I be if I didn’t?” you hear him say and you could hear the smile in his voice.

You turn and gaze at him and he looks back.

“It’ll never happen.” you say a bit slurred.

“I’m fully aware.” he says nonchalantly, “But I’m curious.”

You nod a bit to encourage him on.

“What does it feel like on your end?”

“It’s….I would say strange but it seems like the wrong word….Paul completes me and makes me happy but….It’s like….You add onto my happiness….I feel safe…I wouldn’t want to lose your…Trust or….Loyalty.” you choke out in a whisper. You tried to stop your words but it was like you couldn’t lie. The words fell like a broken faucet.

“It doesn’t feel like you’re not in control?”

“It does feels like I’m in control….I have my bond with Paul and then….” your voice drops to a murmur. “Me and you….Have our own separate bond…It feels….Natural…..As easy as breathing..It scares me how it feels.” you say as you fidget a bit.

He blinked.

“Is this for life?” you ask as you put your hands under your thighs.

“I don’t know…With Alice not getting a clear visual of your future, it’s even hard to tell…”

You whimper quietly under your breath as you look at your surroundings. Italian natives speaking softly in their native tongues, oblivious to the situation that you were currently submerged in underground.

“What I feel for you is true. You heard what Marcus said. She can’t change what’s already been. If you had stayed and never went back home, we would’ve fell for each other..Naturally.” he murmured.

“So..You did the vampire version of imprinting on me?” You ask tearfully.

“Ive fallen in love with you…Alice helped me recognized the feeling because I never felt it before. I have intense feelings for you….I couldn’t let you go even if I wanted..I can’t change how I feel about you..Which is why I believed that death would make things easier. You were consistently in my thoughts. It killed me to not see you….To not talk to you..Or to even hear your voice.” It was as if he’s waited for this moment to tell you this.

“So, what will happen when I have to go home? I can’t duck off and sneak to see you. What if I cheat on Paul?”

“We can go our separate ways still if you’d like.”

You didn’t notice the glare on your face until Edward backtracked cautiously in a stammer, “O-Or…We figure out something else.”

You put your hands to your face.

“It’s not like that. It’s frightening how it feels like….” you shake your head and the waiter asks if you would like to replace your empty glass.

“Limoncello Martini, please.”

“Wait….You should slow down.”

You wave him off and give the waiter the green light to get the drink. They walk off.

“Here.” Edward whispered and pushed the glass of untouched water in your direction.

“Why can’t I have this?” you say to him.

“Only trying to help with responsibility.”

You nurse the water. The fresh alcoholic beverage sat untouched as the waiter walks away. You speak again.

“You ignored me…That night.”

He studies the table.

“Edward?”

“I thought I would kill him…”

“Why didn’t you answer me when I called? I only wanted to thank you.”

“I didn’t know…I just couldn’t bear to hear you to tell me to stay away from you, one more time.”

“I was also going to ask….How did you know what was happening? You came just in time.”

“…I came here...Traveling through to get to Volterra, I admit..I then smelled your scent.. It was familiar and I couldn't stop myself from following it and that’s when I spotted him...I read his mind..He was planning to squat in that villa because it's been vacant and it wasn't his first time there. I couldn't just let you get hurt, Y/N."

You eye the villa that was the topic of conversation and being afraid was an understatement.

"I don’t think I will be able to sleep.” You say with keys in your hand.

“You might have nightmares.” He says with his hands in his pockets.

“Thanks.” You mutter. You still didn’t move to unlock it and go inside.

“Do you want to talk more? We can talk until you get tired and fall asleep.” He offered.

You stare at the ground as you thought about it. You thought about saying no but you really didn’t want to be alone and he would be the one who could protect you.

You nod.

Night clothes were on your body and a blanket was clenched in your hands as you lay on the couch. He sat at the other end.

“Did you read my letter?”

You nod, “I did.”

“You didn’t tell Larry to get rid of the piece I bought.”

“I didn’t see the point….” You say as you wave it off.

“I still have this.” He says and pulled out a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.

You sit up and slowly unfold it and it was the picture of you that he drew. Not a wrinkle in sight.

“I can’t believe you still have this.” You say with a slight smile.

“I carry it with me everywhere….”

You fold it back before handing it back to him.

“You were going to die with it.” You whisper.

“I didn’t expect you to be there at the festival…I saw you and felt you….I really thought I had made it to the other side…It didn’t dawn on me that you hadn’t even died in the first place.”

You remember what he said when you tried to move him out of the way.

“Why me?….You’ve met some extraordinary people around the world in your lengthy journey of life. You’re fixated on a regular person from La Push who just lucked up to make a living out of art.”

“It’s just that…You’re way more than that…I knew it when I first saw you….You don’t see what I see..”

“Paul sees.”

“Who’s Rachel?”

You groan as you knew Alice was the culprit.

“Seriously?” You grumble.

“You don’t have to tell me. I was only poking around.”

“It’s a sore topic.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

You reach for the remote. That’s what you focused on until your eyes started to droop.

After getting dressed in the morning, you down some Aspirin for your headache. You call Paul, no answer.

You decide to call Jacob.

“How’s things?”

He lets out a tired breath, “We’re trying to make it through these couple days. Paul is always on ten.”

“What’s happening? Any plans?”

“Rach’s birthday. She wants a get together and I need some normalcy.”

“Oh..” you say and you hear a deep voice in the background.

“Welp, that’s Sam. He said hi. I gotta go.”

“Tell him hey and alright, Jake. Stay safe.”

“Always am.”

The scarf was resting in your hands as you thought about wearing it. You look in the mirror and turn a bit.

Edward stood motionless in the doorway. He didn’t know what to expect as you walked slowly towards him.

“Hm.” you halfheartedly wrap a scarf around him. You both look in the mirror.

“Magneta looks good on you.” you say in an almost a shocked voice.

“You mean magenta.” he chuckles, clearly getting a kick out of it as he corrects you.

“Tomato tom-ato.”

“Yeah, not quite.”

“Anyway..” you say a bit more raised in volume as you hold a hand up, “The color suits you.”

He slides it off and wrapped it around you instead, tugging it a little to make you take some steps forward, “Thanks, but no thanks. It looks better on you anyways.”

You grow silent as you then look down, “Because of my mark.” you state in a whisper.

“That’s-That’s not what I meant.”

You step back a bit, “No it’s…It’s okay.”

Raising your hand, you slide the scarf off of your neck and clutch it with both hands.

“Does it look…Bad or something?” You whisper.

He looked at the bite on your neck. He held back a wince, it looked painful against your skin but he whispered, “No.”

You could have a thousand bites and he would still believe you’re above top.

“You ever thought about having kids of your own?” You say as you dab makeup to cover it. He watches closely as slowly but surely, it was hidden.

“It’s not known for us to reproduce so…I never gave it any thought.”

“Right…” you look down, “What about adoption at least?”

“Dangerous in my opinion…I personally wouldn’t do it. The kid grows up and asks the right amount of questions…It’s not going to end well.”

“Father, why don’t you eat?”

He smiles a bit, “Exactly. Could you imagine? Them running off and telling their friends that their father doesn’t have to eat anything at all.”

You smile a bit as you sit back in your chair of the vanity, “They’ll ask what you did for fun as a kid…How will you tell them all you did was skip rocks?”

“They won’t even have a clue what that is.” he says with a slight shake of his head as he laughed a bit.

“At all.” you say with a grin.

“Plus, no baby or kid would ever feel at ease with me. If I frighten animals, who knows how a baby would feel.”

“I wouldn’t count it out. Especially if you hadn’t held a baby before…”

You had spent the day, painting on the set where the fashion show is going to take place. Your mind was occupied but your mind kept wandering to back home. In that moment, you hoped Rachel’s birthday party would at least let everybody have a good time.

At home, you drank and drank. Partially because you didn’t want to think about the vampire civilization underground. Another part, you wondered if Paul was thinking about the options that were available to him.

You speak into the phone.

“Are you going to her party?”

“Yeah.”

There was no hesitation.

“Hope you have fun.”

“Mhm.”

You held your breath before turning the conversation around.

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“I haven’t smoked since I’ve been here.”

“Because you don’t want to? Or because you can’t find a plug there?”

Your feelings got hurt, “Just be glad I’m trying.”

“You’re doing something else…What is it?”

“I’ve had alcohol.”

“Mhm, right.”

“Never satisfied.” You mutter.

“Yeah, I’m so satisfied that you started drinking instead of facing your reality head on. Yeah, I’m real satisfied about that one.” He speaks sarcastically.

A hand swiped your face, “I love you and I’ll talk to you later.”

“If you really love me, you’ll do the right thing.”

You both hang up from each other.

The early morning let the birds chirp and fly. You both stop at a petrol station.

Pushing the sunglasses on your face, your head leans back in the cushion of the seat in the car.

You groan lowly, “I’m this close to a no show.”

“You’ve been warned.”

Turning your head to the side to peak at Edward, you shake your head a bit, “Don’t piss me off.”

He surprised you as he laughs a bit, not taking offense at all. It was as if you had dropped a clever joke. He was the one who persuaded you to go back to the villa instead of having “one last drink”.

Edward went to pay and you had plans to get a coffee to help you through the sluggish morning. You were instead stopped.

“Could you please hold my baby? I really have to use the restroom, I will be so quick, I promise.” the woman says to you in an urgent manner. She was still polite.

You stick your hands out and the baby didn’t budge their facial expression as you held them on your hip.

You watch as she entered the gas station that Edward came out of.

He tilted his head a bit with a slight grin.

“Who’s…Baby?”

“That woman’s.”

“Oh..” he says as he sticks the gas pump into the car.

He sticks his hands on his pockets as the number fleeted.

The baby was big enough to babble small words, but they played with the necklace you had decided to wear that day, in their hands.

“This might sound crazy but….Should we test our theory?” you murmured. He reaches out eagerly but you shake your head and say, “Hand sanitizer.”

He takes in a breath and you stay still, he gives a right nod as he stared at the child. After rubbing the sanitizer on his hands, you lean the child to him.

The child only furrowed their eyebrows in wonder as they stared at Edward. They blinked. You waited for the wobble of the bottom lip but nothing came. It was as if they were trying their best to figure him out. You even stopped breathing.

“Oh! Thank you so much!” the woman says and takes her baby back as she smiled at Edward.

Once she was at her own pump, you lean against the car as he took out the gas pump.

“So..What do you think?” You ask. You both get in the car and he has his hands on the steering wheel. “It makes me sad….”

A hand goes on his shoulder as you give him a look of sympathy. You slowly retract your hand as you realize you’ve been caressing it.

Dropped off, you don’t speak to anyone and just get to work.

It seemed to set the tone because people took care of business all around like an orchestra.

You paint, you shake the can of spray paint as headphones were covering your ears. Music drowned out your thoughts.

By the time you came back to take a shower, you didn’t want to eat. You were that tired but it still felt like the best feeling in the world.

With a groan, you’re shaken awake by Edward. You’re lifted out of bed and sat at the table to eat food that was cooked. If you weren’t so tired, you would’ve complimented.

Heavy eyed, you ate in a safe hurry so that you could go back to sleep. Before your head hit the pillow, slumber succumbed you.

“I don’t know how to play.” you say as you saw the jumble of numbers.

“It’s quite simple.”

He smiled a bit at the look you gave him and holds a wooden pencil. His delicate hands were in your focalization. It waved a bit like a wand as he talked in a soothing murmur.

"It's played by a 9x9 grid. The goal is to put the numbers one through nine in every column, every row, and in everyone one of these mini grids without repeating numbers."

You stare, "Okay."

"Every little one of these mini grids has to have the numbers one through nine once. I like to start with the number one. Look, this mini grid is missing a one."

You nod in understanding.

"See this one here, has two empty spaces that could have the number one."

You point and tap to the empty middle space.

"We scan the other numbers in this column and in this row. Do you see any other ones?"

You scan the row, you do find a one that's already in that row.

"Yeah. That one." you say and show him.

"Right, so that means the one can't appear in this space. So, because it already appears here, that means it has to appear in this empty space to follow the rules of Sudoku."

You watch as he then fills in the one.

"There's now one empty space left in this mini grid and because the numbers one through nine can only appear once, you can count and see what number is missing."

You count the numbers and say the number that isn't there. He hands you the pencil, you don't flinch when fingers touch. He stared as you fill in the number. You count and see that the mini grid is complete.

You smile softly at him, "Okay, it was pretty simple."

"I told you so." he smiled back.

You hold the little booklet, "But...It could've just been the way you worded it."

"I’m a good teacher?”

“Perhaps.” You say softly and the other mini grid is completed on your own and you show him.

A loving rub with a large hand on the skin of your shoulder was made. The easy breeze from the open window with the warm sun beaming, made you relax as it felt like a version of utopia. Not a worry in the world.

Faces were feet apart as the sweet smell that made one drool, wafted through your nose as he allowed the flutter of your easy breaths to be blown in his face.

The dream felt real. Very real. But the feeling of hurt also leaked into reality.

It was like a deep pit in your stomach when you woke up. You couldn’t even go back to sleep. An unwanted thought was gnawing at the back of your brain.

Something deep inside of you told you to call Paul.

Paul picked up after not answering the first time.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” he speaks.

“Are..Are you okay?” you rasp out.

He doesn’t answer right away. Concern etched on your face.

“Paul.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you hear what I said?…..Are you alright?”

He sighs a bit, “I’m alright…How are you?”

“I’m good. I got so much done….I miss you.”

It wasn’t instant. This made you clench your jaw.

“I miss you too.”

“What’s wrong?” you ask.

“Nothing, Y/N. I told you that I’m okay.”

“Have fun at Rachel’s party? I’m not trying to pick on you.”

He didn’t speak for a moment.

“….Yeah….” It sounded like he was far away.

It was like pulling teeth. You ask where the baby is.

“Jacob offered to watch them….So they’re both over Billy’s.”

You’re silent for a bit before you ask curiously, “Why? What are you doing?”

“About to go to sleep. What are you doing?”

“About to start my day.” you say carefully with narrowed eyes.

“Well..I won’t hold you.”

“…Why are you lying to me?”

“Oh my god.” he whispered to himself on the line.

“I’m sorry, am I bothering you?” you ask sarcastically.

“I don’t want to argue, alright. We do enough of that shit and my mood does not need to be tainted right now. You think I'm lying... I’m just going to sleep…. Do you want me to fucking video tape my entire sleeping session for you?”

You stare at the phone with a slight grimace.

“Hello?” he asks.

The finger that was attached to your hand, hung up the phone. So badly, you wish that you were at home so you could see him in person. Just seeing him would let you know all that you needed to know. His tone was pissing you off. It was as if he was talking to someone in the pack, not someone that was the mother of his child.

Yeah, he was about to go to sleep. That wasn’t the issue because there was truth to it. But, you knew that it was only half of the truth. There was just something that he simply wasn’t telling you.

You didn’t care that it wasn’t the afternoon yet. Liquor touched your lips as you stood in the kitchen with the bottle in your hand, downing your cup without a break.

You pant a bit through your nose after the ice slid back into the bottom of the cup from you holding the glass upright.

Another glass was down your throat. Before you could stop yourself, you looked at a wall. You shift as you try to stand straight but you couldn’t in your state. The bottle was slammed down on the island countertop.

A breathy chuckle escaped your lips before you release a sharp sigh.

Clenching your jaw, you throw the glass cup at the wall with all of your might. You watch numbly as the glass sparked into a shatter against the wall before the pieces fell to the ground, partnering with the pile of ice.

[hypernova-writes]

Oh great Nova above... bless me with some Engi and Medic both fucking reader.. i need evil smart men to sandwich me.. Amen 🙏

ANON GOOD GOD YOUVE MUSTVE BEEN READING MY MINDDDDDD. Cause I've been wanting to write something Science Party Related so BAD!

I do have a yandere fic planned for the two, so be on the lookout~

Science Party x Reader: Stress Relief

"Oh..Liebling..i zhought jou said jou could handle us both..?~"

Medic chuckles as your broken and needy moans manage to escape the gag in your mouth. He leans down to take one of your perk nipples into his mouth, while his hand goes to trail down to your clit, rubbing in slow yet teasing circles.

He could feel as your back arched and he smirks before glancing over to Engineer. "Doesn't our little princess look so good?~"

Engineer smirks as he grunts in response at first, he was focused on his cock burying it's way in and out of your cunt. His hands on gripping your waist and holding you in place.

"Mhm she sure does..~ our little sweetpea doesn't know whether she's comin' or goin'.." He manages to say in-between grunts, chuckling at your high pitch and breathy whines.

The three of you were a couple, with you being an assistant to Miss Pauling, you were just as stressed as her, barely having time for your loving boyfriends.

They saw that you needed a little stress relief, and came up with this plan to lure you into Engie's workshop, knowing no one came in there without his permission.

That's how you ended up across his bed, Medic on your side, littering your body in Hickies as Engineer took care of your needy cunt.

You needed this so much, they could tell from how you would relax in their grip, how your pretty little eyes would roll back and moans would fall from those plump lips.

With each roll of his hips, Engineer could see you were getting closer and closer. "I think our little darlin' is gettin' close.~ Ain't that right suga'?"

Medic chuckles as he removed the gag, leaning down to kiss your puffy lips, swallowing your moans as they came out. He continues his motions on your clit, matching them with the speed of Engineer's thrust.

"Mhm..is our good girl gonna cum for us?.."

"Y-yes..yes..N-ngh..D-dell..Ludwig..~" you finally moaned out, voice a bit hoarse from the gag. Medic buried his head into the crook of your neck, biting down as he feels your body tense up.

"Zhere we go..let it go for us~"

"C-christ..Suga'..you're tightenin' up 'round me somethin' serious..Im not gon' last much—"

Engineer lands home about two more times before his hips stilled, spilling into you as he massaged your hips.

It was a moment before the two men finally got up from where they were. Medic kisses your forehead before heading over to go and get a rag and other things to clean you up.

Engineer slowly pulls out of you, chuckling at your cute little whine from the loss of being filled. "You did good..See? Told ya all you needed was a little TLC from your hubbies.."

You playfully roll your eyes as Engineer takes the warm towel from Medic and begins to wipe you down. "Y-yea...i hear ya.."

Medic let's a manic little giggle slip as he walks back up. "So~ does zhat mean you'll let us be jour stress relief again?~ i want to feel this pretty pussy too..~"

You blushed and averted your gaze from his words, as if you weren't just tag teamed by them both—.

"Now Doc..let's take it one day at a time, you'll get ya turn. Our little princess needs a rest, she does have work tomorrow."

"Hmph..fine fine~. Come, we'll use my bed, it's bigger."

I hope you enjoyed!! I love me some science party~ like the things I would let Engie and Medic to to me—

[mamirhodessxox]

One request. 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Angry black suit cody. 😍😍😍

That's all.🙃🙃🙃

Ask and you shall recieve shnookum 🤓☝️

Settle Down

Cody Rhodes x Fem!Reader

Desc: Cody fires himself up during his Monday Night Raw promo which results into Y/N having to help calm him down backstage.

Contents: Fluff, Cussing, Y/N being a sweetie, angry cody 🤗‼️ (No smut in this one since next oneshot will include smut)

🏷️ list: @alyyaanna @ginswife @coolpastelartshoe @greatkoalawizard @cokolin044 @kotoriarlert @alicerosejensen @bunnybot55 @agent-dessis-posts @adollonyourshelf @mini-rhodes @southerngirl41 @harmshake @femdisa

{~I'm very serious with you guys interacting with my writing!!!! it would make me so happy & excited, the more comments & reposts the more inspiration i have to write :) likes and comments are strongly appreciated so please COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMEENNTTT the more comments the more content <3!!!~}

“The Rock, took to instagram last week following up with a very entertaining rock concert, too bad he didn’t wanna be here tonight..” the crowd booed “Rock referred to himself as our favorite heel..?” Cody’s voice echoed throughout the arena talking & saying “The nature boy rick flair was a heel. Rock..I don’t think you’re a heel I think you’re an asshole..” Cody scowled directly into the Camera while standing inside the ring as if you two were making eye contact despite the fact you were backstage watching this all go down on the tv that laid against the wall of his dressing room.

“Haven’t you been crying behind the scenes this whole time? I mean once that hashtag came out once they started chanting something else, you went and CRIED to your buddies on the TKO board ‘HEY HEY! This is gonna be some good pr for the rock I need to save wwe’ god knows look at thise house we sure needed saving right?! He said it’s gonna be this great pr for the rock until it wasn’t..” Cody ranted while circling around staring directly at the live camera & you immediately noticed that he was beginning to fire himself up the more he spoke.

“Rock, the TKO folks said to you oh my gosh yes rock yes put on your gucci shirt your muscles will look so big YES YES YES YES! The reason they said it is because they are YES people they are enablers they don’t tell you like it is, so I’m going to.” Cody scoffed as he went on another tangent on how he could admit many things on the Rock but then he pissed himself off so much to the point where he started becoming more verbally agressive “Rock you are also a terrible Salesman a carny succubus and for those who don’t know what that means..Your a whiney BITCH.” He snapped.

Y/N sat in the dressing room staring directly into the fury of his eyes right through the television screen, all this talk about the rock had genuinely started becoming angering to him & bothersome that he somehow managed to upset himself the more he spoke. “You haven’t been in the ring in real time action in YEARS! And April 6th the BELL is gonna ring! What happens rock when it rings? Are you gonna have all that Big Dwayne Energy or LDS?! Little. DICK. Syndrome!” He shouted while all of the fans within the arena started Chanting, Cheering, Shouting waving around their signs while even the announcers chuckled to themselves.

For the rest of his promo he continued ranting, shouting & even going as far as making a sudden deal with The Wiseman Paul Heyman, threatening to pull a Homelander & rip out his throat if he didn’t get to the point which left Paul a little shocked. Once his promo for the night was finished You immediately left the dressing room just as he rushed his way backstage huffing and puffing mumbling with Jey & then approaching you hut you held up your hands that lightly knocked against his chest about to speak but you shook your head

“Cody I can tell you’re pissed off, You upset your own self just by talking about Dwayne alone & before You do anything like take off the suit, get comfortable, go to the bus I need you to grab some water & take a breath.” You spoke softly as you noticed his hands were shaking in irritation and inner rage before he took a deep breath & exhaled while nodding.

“Good. Now let’s get you out of that suit & into the bus before Pharaoh looses his mind..” you pat his shoulder while you two went to the dressing room. You helped him get undressed and for a moment he just legit stood there with boxers on ranting his heart out “Had the nerve on him to mention MY mother y/n and complain about me shedding ONE tear ONE SINGULAR TEAR but this entire time he’s bitching and WHINING to TKO” he started shouting a bit while you folded his suit & packed it away. You turned around & started shushing him softly and pat his chest “Baby your yelling, Settle down okay? I know your pissed hell I would be do if someone talked about my parents like that. But I need you to lower your voice, your throats gonna go raw. Like Monday.”

Cody chuckled at the corny joke you had made to help cheer him up while pulling him into a warm hug as you practiced deep breathes with him “Thank you sweetheart I don’t know what i’d do without you.” You smiled shrugging “I don’t know either.” He snorted and pressed a kiss against your lips “alright now pipe down a bit.” You laughed before giving him one more kiss.

Cody was not an easily angered man, until things like his parents or loved ones getting mentioned but when he had You around? He was going to go a long way when you knew how to calm down in the right ways.

xtripleiiix’s Masterlist

[sethsclearwater]

ahhhhh PLEASE do a little blurb where reader and paul are with the pack and she's super pregnant and he's just snapping on anyone who even tries to touch her belly and she's just rolling her eyes and giggling but letting him have his way because she knows how protective he is of her and her baby🥺🥺

"oh-" you gasped softly, sliding your hand down to rest on your protruding belly to feel where your baby just gave a rather hard kick.

paul was up and immediately coming over to you, crouching down next to you, "he's kicking?" paul asked softly, sliding his hand over your belly as well, rubbing his thumb in gentle circles against your belly as he waited for your response.

you hummed and nodded, "oh my god you can feel him?" quil's voice came from his spot across the kitchen table from you, looking absolutely baffled by the fact that you could feel your baby kicking.

you giggled and nodded, looking over at him with a soft smile on your face, "he kicks all the time," you explained with another soft giggle, "you can feel him if you want," you added and paul was jumping in before quil even had a moment to respond.

"absolutely not have you seen this guy's hands?" paul asked, looking up at you and you just let out a soft laugh at his overprotectiveness, rolling your eyes.

"paul i think he's fine," you teased and paul shook his head, clearly not going to budge when it came to anyone but him touching your belly.

"not a chance," paul said, getting up so he could sit down in the chair next to you, scooting it over so he could be sitting right next to you, his thighs brushing up against yours.

you giggled again, looking over at quil, "sorry quil," you said playfully, both you and him letting out soft laughs at paul's craziness, "maybe you can feel when paul goes out on patrol," you added teasingly, smiling to yourself when paul immediately jumped in again.

"if you so much as look at her the wrong way while i'm gone-" paul started but quil was already throwing his hands in the air, clearly not even remotely interested in dealing with paul's wrath that would have most definitely come if he tried to touch your belly.

"i got it, i got it," quil said with a laugh, "talk about anger management," he added with a grumble after a moment, both you and him laughing at his comment.

paul rolled his eyes, looking like he was going to argue with him some more but you let out another soft gasp as your baby gave another rather strong kick against your rib, "oh my god-" you whined, sliding your hand over your rib with a groan.

"okay you need to lay down," paul started, not even giving you a moment to argue with him before he was standing up and picking you up with him so he could bring you into the spare bedroom and lay down with you for a while to hopefully calm your baby down a bit.

[lazysoulwriter]

first down, baby. - paul mescal.

requested! hope you like it, sweetie! - requested are open. sorry if anything’s wrong, I’m not north american, okaaayyy thanks

---

Paul had no idea what was going on.

He was trying, really��eyes squinting under his sunglasses as he stared at the field like he was cracking some ancient code. Players ran, whistles blew, flags were thrown. And you? You were next to him, absolutely thriving.

“Okay, so that’s a first down,” you said, leaning into him, pointing to the field. “They made it past the ten yards. That’s good.”

He blinked. “But they only moved like… that much?” He held his fingers barely apart.

You grinned. “Yeah, but it’s like chess. Strategy. Inch by inch, babe.”

“Strategy? This looks like chaos. And pain. Mostly pain.”

You laughed, elbowing him playfully. “I forgot how dramatic you are.”

He smirked, shifting in his seat. “I’m dramatic? You're the one screaming 'RUN, BABY, RUN' at a six-foot-tall man wearing shoulder pads.”

“To be fair, he was supposed to run.”

Paul leaned in closer, his lips brushing your ear. “You know you’re hot when you yell at athletes like you could take 'em in a fight.”

“I could,” you said confidently, grabbing a fry from the tray between you and popping it in your mouth. “Put me in coach.”

He tilted his head, smiling. “I’ve seen you try to open a jar of pickles.”

“I loosened it for you.”

“Mmm. Sure you did.”

The banter, the energy—it was electric. You’d both had insane weeks, barely crossing paths between your schedules, but this afternoon felt like a bubble. The stadium didn’t matter, the crowd didn’t matter. Just you, him, and this ridiculous game he couldn’t begin to comprehend.

“You know,” Paul said, watching you instead of the field, “I didn’t think I’d enjoy this.”

“You’re not enjoying the game,” you teased, nudging his shoulder with yours. “You’re enjoying the view.”

“Can you blame me?” he said softly, eyes locked on yours.

God. He had that look again—the one that made your heart slow down and speed up all at once.

A touchdown happened. The crowd exploded.

Paul jumped. “Jesus Christ—what just happened?!”

“They scored!” you beamed, clapping your hands. “That’s six points!”

“And now what? They do a dance?”

“They kick for one more point.”

He stared. “Why not just make it seven in the first place?”

You blinked. “I don’t know.”

And you both burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Later, during a time-out, you stretched your legs out and leaned your head on his shoulder. His arm curled around you instinctively, thumb tracing lazy circles on your knee under the blanket.

“This is kinda romantic, huh?” you said softly.

He looked down at you. “Babe, you’re yelling plays and eating chili fries. It's the most American I’ve ever seen you.”

“And yet…” you tilted your head up, “you’re still obsessed with me.”

Paul kissed you—slow, sweet, like he was reminding himself he didn’t need to understand the game to feel like he’d already won. When he pulled back, his voice was quiet, just for you.

“I’d come to a hundred more games if it meant I get to kiss you at halftime.”

Your cheeks flushed. “That was smooth, Mescal.”

“I am Irish. We’re known for the charm.”

You smirked. “Next time, I’m putting a mic on you and making you live-commentate the whole thing.”

“And next time, I’m dragging you to a hurling match.”

“Hurling?” you repeated. “That’s not real.”

“It is. Wooden sticks, helmets, lots of yelling. It’s beautiful.”

You stared. “You’re making that up.”

“Cross my heart.”

You laughed so hard you nearly dropped your soda. “Deal. But I’m wearing a jersey that says Paul’s Girl on the back.”

He groaned. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes. All in, baby.”

And even though he didn’t understand a single thing about American football… Paul Mescal had never felt more at home.

---

[brummelliana]

I just played through CBML and... oh.. my god. I've been trying my best to not laugh out loud since it is almost 2 AM. I LOVED IT!!! I can't wait for the next game!

I've been scrolling through your Tumblr and you seem to know a lot about The Beatles. I've just recently started to get into the fandom. I'd just like to ask you for any book or film recommendations of the fab four? Like The Anthology book and the series or something like that. I would love to know more about them! They seem so interesting, yet so disturbing to an innocent eye..

God I don't know, my knowledge has been cultivated by so much stuff over the past 7 years. To be honest, I now just look up info I need rather than read or watch Beatles stuff for fun (besides what I mention later).

Tune In the extended edition is super super thoroguh, but it only goes up to 1962. That's right, 1000 pages (?) of just the beatles childhood and beginning of the band.

I haven't even read all my books, you know why? I spend all my time drawing bitch. I used to be such a reader. It does make it difficult when I know if I crack open a book it will be full of horrible events by these terrible naughty lads.

Just read any Biography that interests you, but keep in mind some biographers have their biases, or are less credible than others. I tend to enjoy ones that focus on a certain topic (like Beatles in Hamburg, or Beatles 1963) cause you'll have more specific information or anecdotes. The broader ones that are just about the Beatles, or about one Beatle tend to be of a similar length, and can't go into detail on everything, so tend to cover the same stuff.

I will say, don't rely on video essays or short form content (like tik toks!) for information, or at least don't take them as fact. There is a fair bit of fake info about these guys online, so be a critical thinker!

The most fun way to get a sense of the Beatle boys is to watch interviews and performances of the era. I've come to prefer straight up experiencing them from the source.

Watch the movies! A Hard Day's Night (especially considering my next game), Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, even Yellow Submarine and the Beatles Cartoon (peak).

Be careful though because post 60s Paul loves to be a fat lying slut and tells the same fucking stories over and over for literal decades. I used to have a cute little list of them.

The problem with documentaries is that they just turn into a really felatiatory circle jerk of people who really want to ride their dicks, which I find annoying.

The BeatlesVideos01 on youtube is a great source, they upload so many, there are a lot of gems of interviews and performances that aren't the most popular ones. KistuBeatles has a lot of great remastered videos.

Or right, Get Back. Watch get back, there's the beatles straight up existing for 6 hours. (even if its a very specific period for the group).

To be frank, I don't think I've watched Anthology all the way through, but I think I already heard the stuff they talk about in it, and it gets parroted in biographies cause it came out a while ago.

If you would rather look up info online (that isn't gen z slop), here are some websites I have bookmarked:

(this one has so many pictures, It was the biggest help dating all my photos)

Here's my personal as comprehensive as I can get archive of photos and videos and more!

Happy Beatling.

[oldiesstationlover11607]

Mistletoe

Word Count: 968

A/N: This was written ages ago but I have a new Frank one coming soon hehe!

“Frank! Get off me!” I shout, shoving him off the couch. We’ve never gotten along, even when the band first started we didn’t get along. I don’t know how I managed to actually avoid him during the early days when we were touring in the van. 

“Oh fuck off Em. It’s Christmas, maybe pretend you like me for the next 24 hours,” he chuckles, grabbing another beer from the fridge. For the first time, we’re playing a Christmas show, something that both Mikey and I have been wanting to do since we started the band. 

“Please be nice to each other, you two, it’s literally the last show of the tour for god’s sake,” Ray carries a table full of gifts into the dressing room followed by Gerard and Mikey who are both wearing Santa hats. I check the clock and see we’ve got about 4 hours before stage time, just enough time to go through presents, get changed into our uniforms and do makeup. Ray hands out presents to each person and by the time he’s done everyone has a small stack next to them.

“You go first Em!” Mikey grins widely, pointing at the present clearly from him. 

“Okay,” I smile back at him, grabbing the brightly coloured present and tearing the paper apart. It’s a book, hardcover. A copy of his favorite book that I’ve always wanted to read, Watchmen. 

“Oh shit Mikey you got her Watchmen? Sick!” Gerard pats his brother’s shoulder, clearly excited that I’m finally going to be reading the book. 

Frank grabs his present that I got for him, it’s small but I think he’ll like it. Trust me, I thought a lot about what to get him. It’s wrapped in a light pink-purple color, his favorite. 

“What’d you get him?” Gerard whispers into my ear but I just wave him away. 

He rips the paper and throws it into the pile on the floor sitting in front of Mikey. And there, finally after a month of searching, finally sitting in his lap, is a limited edition pressing of his favorite Black Flag record. 

“Holy shit. What the fuck Em, how did you get this?” he asks, holding it up and looking at the back cover. 

“It took a while if that’s what you’re asking you fucker,” I smirk from my side of the couch. 

“This must’ve cost you all your savings, oh my god,” he stares down at it. 

“Yeah and you better enjoy it or else,” I laugh at him and he nods excessively. 

Gerard goes next and opens Ray’s gift which is a new set of markers which he looks extremely grateful for. Gee and his art always make him the easiest to buy gifts for. Ray moves to open his from Mikey which is simply a new set of guitar strings and picks which earns him a lovely smile. But before we circle back to Mikey, Frank gets up and walks out whispering something to Gerard who nods and walks out with him. 

“Any idea where they’re going?” I ask Ray who just shakes his head. Gerard walks back in a few minutes later and states, 

“You are not ready for this Em. I swear,” he has the biggest smile ever on his face. Frank walks in with a large box that goes up to his waist and hands it over to me. 

“Wait this is for me?” I look up at him confused but he just nods. 

I unwrap the paper and open the brown cardboard box. A shiny purple guitar, a Les Paul, sits there in my lap. A custom, it has to be. Straight from the shop. My jaw drops and I look up at Frank. 

“Is this from all of you guys?” 

“Just Frank,” Gerard sits down on the floor. 

“Shit. Now feel bad for telling you to fuck off earlier,” I sigh. 

The rest of the guys open their presents and head off to wardrobe and makeup to get ready for the show but I stay behind. Frank walks in, already in full uniform with his eyeliner smudged on his face. 

“You look good,” I look up at him but he just brushes it off. 

“I don’t hate you Em. You know that right?” he asks. 

“Yeah I know Frank. I don’t hate you either,” I get up off the couch and walk over to him. 

“Guess what?” he asks, smirking. 

“What?” I say, looking into his eyes. He points up at the bar on the roof and I tilt my head up to look at it. Mistletoe. 

“Oh,” I mutter.

“Oh,” he smiles, placing his hands on my waist. 

“Are we?” 

“I don't need mistletoe to kiss you,” he pulls me closer. He’s going to kiss me isn’t he? “Yeah I’m going to kiss you.” 

“Do I want this?” I ask out loud, not realizing it. 

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting to do this forever,” he cups my face and brings his lips forward and presses them against mine. He tastes like root beer, his lips soft and smooth against my own. I run my fingers down through his hair, dyed black like the rest of us and he moans into my mouth. I run my tongue along his silver lip ring before pulling away to take a breath. 

“Fuck Frankie,” I breathe out. “It’s the goddamn uniform I swear.” Frank laughs under his breath. 

“Would you two stop making out and actually get ready for the show?” Gerard pops his head in through the door. 

“Yeah we’re coming,” I smile, walking away looking at Frank. 

“Come find me after the show,” he whispers before sitting down on the couch and waiting for what I hope will be the best show ever. 

//

REQUESTS OPEN

[starleska]

can we talk about the brilliant execution of Dot and Bubble's big reveal!!!

i am still absolutely gobsmacked by what a well-written episode Dot and Bubble is. startling, disarming, confrontational, and tremendously impactful. and holy shit i really really want to talk about how excellent the 'twist' (which really should've been obvious in retrospect 😭 was done):

as a white person it took me about ten minutes to clock that Lindy's friend group were a nightmare Aryan Tupperware Party collective: all white, all blue-eyed, and even Gothic Paul was dressed in blues and whites, with no black at all. but you know how i responded to that? mentally i went 'oh i'm sure it's nothing!' and shoved it aside. and i think it is exactly that insidious tendency to ignore, normalise, and validate overt and covert racism that the episode does such a tremendous job of tackling! everything in the episode gives us the lore we need to understand Lindy and the people of Finetime are white supremacists. Lindy's disgusted face and immediate blocking of The Doctor versus the amount of time she spends with Ruby. Lindy's shock at the Doctor and Ruby occupying the same room implying segregation on the Homeworld. Lindy calling the Doctor and Ruby 'criminals' not for being in the Bubble, but for breaking segregation. Lindy using Ricky September, a white influencer, to calm herself down not just from the monsters, but from interacting with a Black person. the tradwife aesthetic of the Finetime residents making a comeback in real-life right-wing racist circles. ugh, there's so much and it was all right in our faces!! yet many of us who aren't POC had the privilege of going through the episode baffled and uncomfortable, without being able to put a finger on why until the final bit of the episode. doesn't that tell us how quickly and easily we've all taken to ignoring both micro and macroaggressions? that we needed talk of being 'contaminated', improper use of the word 'voodoo', and Lindy straight up telling the Doctor that face-to-face contact was unacceptable, to understand they're white supremacists? oh my God 😭😭 what a genius play, to make Lindy so detestable from the start. she's an arrogant, vain, self-absorbed, moronic, uncompromising, traitorous bitch...and by layering that abhorrent personality and then giving us the reveal of her white supremacy, there is no argument even the most wishy-washy of people could have re: their awful views. Lindy and her friends are revolting racists who are so wrapped up in their own echo-chamber 'bubble' that they would genuinely rather be devoured alive than challenge their own narrow, bigoted views. i'm still blown away by the power of Ncuti's final scene. the disbelief, the frustration, the sadness and the fury...and yet the Doctor still tries to save them against all odds. i think the most common response to this episode was 'The Doctor should have gone all Time Lord Victorious on them', and you're right - he should have! but doing that would've affirmed the beliefs of the real-life racists viewers. the Doctor responding not with violence or righteous vengeance is a very deliberate writing choice: we are supposed to come away feeling revolted that he needed to behave that way, to almost be supplicant to the white supremacists. because that is the real-life view of so many people who don't even view themselves as racist: Black people need to 'perform' to a higher standard, than white people just to be considered worthy of respect. the more i watch it, the more i'm convinced this is the best episode of the whole season, and one of the best Doctor Who episodes we've ever had. we were taken off-guard by having an episode overtly about racism set in the future rather than the past, because our tendency is to assume equality is a natural consequence of becoming technologically advanced. this clearly isn't the case, and Dot and Bubble is a masterclass in confronting racism head-on rather than dancing around it for the comfort of white viewers. just. aaargh!!!! absolutely amazing 🔥🔥🔥

[hotvintagepoll]

Paul White & Marie Bryant [scrungly unit] (Bli Blip)—tell me these guys aren't charming and silly?? Paul is so sweet and goofy here and Marie Bryant—an accomplished dancer and choreographer in her own right who assisted Gene Kelly and trained Vera-Ellen—also getsin to the scrungly action!

Lon Chaney Sr. (The Phantom of the Opera)—ray bradbury worshipped this guy and I can see why. a horror icon known as "the man of a thousand faces," he was a master of using makeup and prosthetics to conjure characters who look nothing like each other. his erik is TRULY fucked up [photos under the cut], to circle back to bradbury, i think he says it best: "He somehow got into the shadows inside our bodies; he was able to nail down some of our secret fears and put them on-screen. The history of Lon Chaney is the history of unrequited loves. He brings that part of you out into the open, because you fear that you are not loved, you fear that you never will be loved, you fear there is some part of you that's grotesque, that the world will turn away from." Some of his work has not aged well, but much of it is still found in the way we depict horror, the strange, and the uncanny in cinema.

This is round 3 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Paul White & Marie Bryant:

Lon Chaney Sr.:

Oh my God. Let me just focus on Erik for a sec (like i don't do that every day of my life). Pug nose, crooked tooth little mess man. He put on his big cunty feathered hat for the ball but underneath it he's got that stupid, stupid hair. The evening suit that kinda doesn't fit. In what way is Lon Chaney--in this role specifically-- not the ultimate scrungo? Granted, they edited out his very scrungliest of moments (WE WERE ROBBED) but WE HAVE THE STILLS!!!

[paul-matthews87]

*It's around 9:30 when Emma finally stirs, clinging to Paul's cold, lifeless body. Vampires, when they do sleep, greatly resemble corpses.*

Wh- s'cold.... P-Paul...?

*She shuffles groggily, gently patting him. Last night seems like a terrible lucid dream...

But it wasn't. She sits bolt upright, looking down at Paul's still, cadaverous, still-bloody body, eyelids swallowed up by dark circles, and makes a short screeching noise.*

Paul?! Oh God oh my god oh fuck oh fuck-!!

*She shakes him violently.*

*he quickly gets up. Absolutely terrified out of his mind, he shoves her, thinking she was one of the two guys who turned him into this, a monster*

[fashionteahouse]

Pt2 of rewind

your wish is my command 🙂‍↕️ hope you enjoy :)

rewind part 2 - paul x reader

The drive home was silent as Paul drove on the road. Your arms were crossed, silently looking out the window. You felt embarrassed, you felt too seen, and you didn’t like it at all. Paul tried to kiss you when you both made it in the house but you blatantly refused. His hurt facial expression almost made you crumble but that’s how you felt when the private moment between you two was shown to a group of individuals.

Paul was pissed. He was mostly pissed at himself for allowing his thoughts to leak out. He usually did good by blocking out his thoughts from his pack brothers. They ruined it for him. You didn’t even want to cuddle when nighttime fell.

“Fucking idiots.” Paul venomously cursed them in their head and couldn’t wait until patrol the next day.

Paul purposely came late. He tried his best to mend whatever mood you were in but you played him off and went to work. Sam was there, agitated and irritated by Paul’s tardiness.

“You have to be on time. You know this.” he says to him.

Paul doesn’t even wait before he attacks him first. Snarling and biting at his throat. Sam couldn’t process the fight with Paul’s thoughts rewinding the moments of his imprint crying and the other imprints throwing accusations at you. Jared tried to move him off of Sam, and Paul’s anger only transferred to Jared.

“Paul, chill out!” Sam orders, trying not to let it go too far. Paul snarled, upset that he has to submit to such orders.

“I fucking hate all of you!” Paul says in retaliation, circling around them menacingly, snapping his jaw at them all. He wanted to fight all of them.

“It was an accident. Her name just slipped.” Jacob says, trying to have some type of understanding.

“What a bullshit excuse.” Leah says, showing her sharp teeth, to back Paul up.

“Fuck this.” Paul says and phases out before he could hear the order. As he walks back home, he hears a long howl coming from a far distance. He decides to go where the noise took place. He peered down at the confused, lone wolf. He phases in, trying to let him know that he's safe.

"What's your name?" Paul asks the new wolf that's walking in circles, breaking their panicked thoughts.

"Oh God, I can hear voices in my head?" it answered back, not even noticing Paul's wolf there with him.

"You're safe. Look, you're safe." Paul says and nudges the newly transformed wolf. The wolf calms down a bit and meekly speaks his name. Paul leads them back to the pack, making all of the pack surprised.

Everybody introduces themselves, leading the new wolf back to Sam's place. They collectively coach the new wolf on how to return back to his human form. Sam grabs the pair of scissors and sits him in a chair.

The boy looks at the scissors in such horror, looking bug eyed at Sam. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"I have to, or else your fur will be matted every time you shift." Sam explains.

"I'll deal with washing it, just please." he whispers. Sam sets the scissors down and Emily walks in, taking a double take at the boy sitting at the table.

"Hey, Em. Did you cook anything?" Sam asks as he moves in to embrace her but she moves away, fixing her something to drink. "Nope." she answers back and all of the boy's faces fall. Leah snickers at this. Emily rewards the new boy with a smile, "You must be hungry." she coos at him. The boy softens up at Emily's good nature and nods.

"We’re hungry too!" Quil says, looking in disbelief at the displayed favoritism.

"Hungry? Hmm, I would've thought thirsty." Emily says and Leah cackles again, enjoying every moment of their disappointment. Leah already ate before patrol.

The boy eats Emily's food without shame, she only made enough for him.

Sam gets up, "I guess we'll go to a diner instead."

"You do just that." Emily says sweetly.

Emily calls all of you to let you know that there's a new wolf.

"Perfect." you say to her.

A beach day of course happened and you all got to meet him. He wasn't a bad looking guy, his long beautiful hair that he kept was a bonus as well. You introduced yourself, knowing for sure that he would get the same lovesick eyes that every other guy has gotten. You make sure to sit next to him, smiling at him and looking him deeply in the eye. The dude was whipped. Paul was pissed. He kept giving you hints to speak alone but you acted completely oblivious.

The new wolf accepted your invitation to go swimming in the ocean, you walked slowly on the sand towards the water and he didn't mind. He got to check you out. You made sure to turn around and give him a smile that made him almost drop to his knees.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asks, as he's close to you when the water is knee deep. You were driving him wild, savoring the moments of you giving him this much attention. You shrug and give an innocent smile as you cup some water in your hands and let it pour over your body. He almost drooled.

"Yeah, and it's me." Paul's loud, deep voice says and it almost made both of you jump, you didn't notice him there, but you were glad he heard everything. Paul gives you an angry look but you didn't pay it any mind.

Taking the boy's arm, leading him further into the water. The guy was hypnotized.

Back on shore after the splashing session with you, Jacob's imprint is holding up a bottle of sunscreen. "Do you mind putting some on my back please?" she asks the new wolf, batting her eyelashes. Jacob looks over, getting angrier by the second as the boy's hands lather the sunscreen over his imprint's back.

"I love how gentle you are. Jacob is way too rough." she says and the guy beams at the compliment.

"Do you guys do cliff diving at all?" he asks all of the girls that are now huddled around him, making conversation with him. You all nod. He's enjoying every moment. The pack on the other hand is not. If they were cartoons, visible steam would come out of their ears.

At the cliffs, they watch their imprints cliff dive with the new wolf. Fearful that he will steal all of your hearts. They stomp to where everybody is.

"Can you hold my hand? I'm a bit afraid of heights." Kim says.

"How about this, I can put you on my back." he offers and Kim's eyes light up at the suggestion.

Jared watches as Kim is hanging onto him tightly, laughing and whooping in the air.

Emily promises lunch as you all walk back to her house. The pack is darting dirty looks at their new pack brother's back.

"I wish I knew how to braid my hair." the new wolf says as he ruffles his dripping wet hair that hangs around his face frame.

"I do." Emily says and she has him sitting between her legs as she sits on the couch and makes two plaits for him. Sam had to control his shaking, watching Emily run her fingers through his hair.

"We should've went skinny dipping." you say to the new pack brother as he blushes. You both were eating a sandwich at the table. You hear a growl and you turn around to see Paul, ready to pounce at any given second.

"Take it outside." Emily warns him.

"Yeah, we need to talk." he says to you, not caring you're not done with your food.

"We can talk here."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"I don't know, the rest of the pack has seen me naked. I figured he might as well get a good look while it's on my terms, before you leak out another moment." you say coldly, Paul's face softens up.

"That's not right. It was an accident." Jacob goes on to say.

You shake your head, "What's not right is saying my name while having sex with your own imprints. That's not right. You all did that." you say, giving the pack members dirty looks.

"We're sorry, Y/N." Sam says to you.

"I think it would be better if you said sorry to Emily instead." the new wolf points out.

Sam growls and steps towards him, "I think it would be better if you stay out of it."

"Leave him alone. He's right." Kim says with her hands on his shoulders.

Knowing that what they did was wrong on so many levels, each wolf pulled their imprints to the side for a private talk.

"I don't love Y/N, Emily. I love you. You're the love of my life and I fucked up. Bad," he says to her, "I'm making it up to you everyday. In fact, you don't have to cook for the pack for a while. I will do it from now on."

Emily looks up at him with a smirk, "Deal."

“Theres no one else I would rather be with other than with you Kim. I’m so sorry about what I did. I understand if you don’t forgive me.” Jared says to Kim sincerely.

“Why did you say her name?” Kim asks quietly.

“It was a stupid move. Honest. I wish I could rewind and take it back. I hurt you so bad and I wish I’ve never done it.” he says looking down.

“Am I really that rough?” Jacob asks his imprint.

“You were rough with my heart. You said her name. I don’t know if I can forgive you.” she answers back.

“It’s okay if you don’t. I don’t want you to ever experience that ever again.” he says to her and takes her hands.

“Im sorry that those fuckers said your name. I’m sorry that I accidentally thought about our intimacy. You don’t have to seek another man.” Paul says looking up at you. You look down on him with your arms cross, he was down on his knees.

“I’ll help you out. We can’t be intimate for a while.” you tell him and his heart shatters through his eyes. He slowly rises, trying to see if you would break. You didn’t. He nods, hangs his head, accepting his punishment.

[kendosticks]

@errorterror put an idea in my head. not sure if you were making a request or just throwing an idea out there, but the brainworms got hold of me anyway. warning: dumbassery abounds. ao3 link or below the cut

Paul Heyman has worked with monsters.

Champions. Legends. Men who maul and dominate and bend the industry to their will.

And now he’s here.

In a backstage lounge that smells like Lysol and catering-grade coffee, trying to broker a meeting between his two newest acquisitions. They know each other, sure, but not necessarily as allies, and both of them tend to be a bit…much, albeit in different ways. 

Seth is already waiting, cross-legged on the leather sofa. Sunglasses on, predictably, and nursing a plastic cup of overpriced cold brew teeming with lavender foam. He’s wearing a cropped jacket that’s somehow both entirely see-through and bulletproof, depending on the angle, and his nails are painted with little gold accents to match. 

He looks composed, if impatient. 

Polished.

Domesticated.

Paul is not fooled.

He remembers what Roman said once, barely looking up from lacing his boots.

“You know he's just a pampered little lapdog.”

And then Punk had expressed a similar sentiment recently—bitter, like it hurt to admit.

"That bitch'll roll over for anyone offering a belly rub.”

Paul had assumed they were exaggerating. Paul had assumed incorrectly.

In the short time that he and Seth have spent together post-Wrestlemania, Paul has been made aware of the fact that, perhaps, he has bitten off more than he can chew. Seth is everything that Punk and Roman implied, and then some. He comes with a list of instructions for care, typed up, printed out, and hand-delivered by Drew McIntyre. 

"He needs structure,” Drew had said. “And frequent verbal affirmation.”

Paul had laughed. It was not a joke.

Seth is a fucking nightmare to deal with on a personal level, but at least he possesses the pedigree of a champion. 

Paul doesn't hear footsteps. He hears the door slam. 

Bron arrives like someone fired him out of a cannon. Sweaty, t-shirt so tight it looks as if it's trying to rip itself off of his body out of fear, and a protein shake in one hand. 

Seth doesn't look up at first. Instead, he sniffs. Just a subtle twitch of his nose. He slides his sunglasses down and glances over the rim. 

Paul immediately feels a shift.

“Bron,” he starts cautiously. “This is Seth. Seth, Bron—”

“Yeah, Paul,” Seth says. “We've met.” 

“Right, well,” Paul clears his throat nervously. “We’re all aligned now. Unified. A new vision. Isn't that right?”

“You're late, by the way.” Seth's tone is clipped. He takes a sip of his coffee and licks the foam from his lip.

“You're…sparkly,” Bron says. He narrows his eyes. 

“Great, we're bonding. That's good.” Paul exhales.

Seth stands with the kind of practiced grace that makes Paul feel like he's watching someone prepare for a Best in Show showcase rather than a professional alliance. 

Bron cracks his neck. Seth takes a step forward. 

They are, Paul realizes with cold certainly, posturing. Seth's coffee is shoved into his hands and he scrambles to grab hold of the cup and keep it from spilling. Wouldn't that be a disaster?

Unburdened by his beverage, Seth drops to all fours without hesitation or a trace of irony. He sinks down, spine arched, lips curling, and growls. 

Bron’s nostrils flare. Then he barks. 

Not a laugh. An actual bark.

“Oh my god.” Paul's eyes go wide. 

They circle. One slow, taut loop.

Not like coworkers or allies.  No, it's as if they’ve been left unsupervised in a dog park and neither one knows who’s top of the pack yet.

This is not what Paul signed up for.

He used to manage Brock Lesnar, for god's sake! Who, despite being referred to as “the beast incarnate”, is very much a human. Not an actual beast or a…well, he’s not sure what Seth reminds him of. A golden retriever,  perhaps? An Afghan hound? Nothing comes to mind that fits his particular brand of beautiful but insane.  

Seth growls again low in his chest and Bron tilts his head like he’s trying to decide whether to bite or play.

Paul is afraid of both outcomes.

His mind seemingly made up, Bron lunges.

Not to maul, but to test. A quick snap of movement. A shoulder bump. Teeth not bared but visible.

Seth shoves back. Hard.

His nails scrape the floor. His lip curls. He pounces—not graceful this time, but fast, and lands on Bron with a thud that makes something rattle in the wall. Paul swears he hears someone in catering gasp.

They roll across the ground.

It’s not a fight, necessarily. It’s just…snarling, barking.... 

Oh god, mounting?

Paul is flabbergasted. His eyes dart away momentarily, horrified of what he might see next. 

Bron gets Seth onto his back for a second—just a second—but Seth is fucking unhinged. He twists like he’s done this a thousand times. His tight bun comes loose and curls shake free around his face. For everything he lacks in brute strength, he makes up for in strategy. 

He's scrappy, Paul has to give him that.

A blur of limbs, a snap of teeth near Bron’s throat, and then—Seth’s on top.

Straddling him with his head held high, radiating victory.

Bron goes still beneath him. He exhales begrudgingly like he knows the script and doesn't want to blow his cue.

Paul watches, frozen, as Seth barks a single, declarative bark and climbs off.

That's when Bron rolls over. Flat on his back, limbs loose, chin tilted just enough to expose his throat. 

It's submission. Well, technically.

Obviously, if Bron wanted it bad enough, this would've been over in seconds. He could've cracked Seth's ribs like a wishbone and walked away wagging his metaphorical tail.

He's holding back and playing along. Deep down, even if Bron doesn't understand the politics of all this, he knows what it means to be a Paul Heyman Guy, and apparently right now that title is worth losing a dogfight for. 

Paul lowers Seth’s coffee to the table with trembling hands.

“Oh my god,” he says again, softer this time.

Seth lifts his head, squares his shoulders and locks eyes with Paul. Not playful or pleased, just watching; a dog trained to sit and wait for its next command. He holds Paul in his gaze like he's evaluating a threat.

Paul swallows. 

He recognizes the look. It's the kind Roman has been known to give people before spearing them into next week. The kind Brock gave just before deciding someone didn't need a spine anymore. 

It's not rage. It's potential. That's good though, Paul can work with that. He wets his lips as panic creeps up his neck. 

“You were…” he stammers, “very—very good. Strong. Dominant. I mean that in the absolute best way possible, Seth.” He shrinks back slightly, as if bracing for an attack.

Seth sits back on his heels. He is satisfied. For now. 

“Great. Fantastic. I think we've made real progress.” Paul gives a strained smile and reaches into his jacket pocket for his phone. In his Notes app, he taps on Seth Rollins-Care & Handling. It already has seventeen bullet points—addendums to the guidelines he'd been given by Drew. He types in a few more:

Avoid prolonged eye contact during introductions.

Do not allow unsupervised interaction with large, untrained dogs.

He pauses. Then adds:

Praise immediately after displays of dominance. 

He hits save.

———

Now, they've settled.

Mostly.

Bron remains on the floor, stretched out like he's just finished a particularly satisfying workout. One shoe is off. His t-shirt is nowhere to be seen. There's a folding chair in the corner that's been dented, somehow. 

He's not growling anymore, but he’s breathing loud and occasionally flexing like he's about to pounce again, just for fun.

Seth is in Paul’s lap.

In. Not near. Not next to. In.

Head tucked under Paul’s chin, breathing slow and warm against his neck. Paul wrinkles his nose at the sensation. His arm is around Seth purely for containment purposes.

He strokes Seth’s hair because that seems to keep the fussing to a minimum.

“Thank you for not biting him,” Paul mutters.

Seth hums.

“I can be good,” he says.

Paul doesn’t answer. 

He studies Bron. There's no challenge in his eyes. Not yet. 

But Paul knows how fast that could change. If it does, well, he'll be ready.

He used to work with monsters.

[honeyjars-sims]

Part 2 1.14: Incredible Edibles

10 Years Ago

Opening up to Hollis and Paul about my past really helped me get closer to both of them. I didn’t usually talk about stuff like that with people outside of my family and therapist, so having friends I could trust with that sort of thing was a big step. My circle of trust was getting wider, and it felt good. 

I didn’t talk to Lucy about it until later, only because being pregnant had made her extremely emotional, especially about children; I didn’t think the timing was right for her to learn the specifics of her best friend’s childhood trauma. 

Paul was still pretty busy with school, but he made time for me and Hollis when he could. He was still keeping his distance with Danica, and I think it was good for him to develop some friendships outside of his high school circle.

One day we got to talking about making some edibles. Paul refused to smoke and since he knew how to bake, he offered to give it a try. 

They turned out good but quite potent–it wasn’t a problem for me or Hollis since we used weed pretty frequently, but I had a feeling it would hit Paul differently. 

It’s always interesting to see how people react to being high. I usually got contemplative. Everything had a meaning, and I felt somehow connected to the universe. 

Getting high made Hollis laugh at everything, which Paul loved. He was hitting her with all of his worst jokes, and she was laid out on the floor in fits of laughter.

“Why couldn’t the little boy see a pirate movie?” he asked.

“I don’t know, why?”

“Because it was rated ‘Arrrr!’” 

Hollis howled with laughter. “Oh my God, you’re so funny!”

Once the silliness wore off a bit, our conversations got deeper.

Paul started talking about how it was nice to let go. It seemed like hanging out with me and Hollis gave him a similar feeling to a teenager who sneaks out to party with friends. Not that he was immature, but I got the sense that he’d never really had a rebellious phase.

On the other hand my entire childhood felt like a rebellious phase, which was something Hollis could relate to as well. I already knew about her past, but that night she opened up to Paul a bit more.

She talked a bit about how her parents’ standards were so high that she could never quite reach them, so eventually she stopped trying. She figured since they weren’t going to be happy with anything she did regardless, she might as well “go balls to the wall” as she put it.

The heaviness of the conversation seemed to have an affect on Paul, and as the evening went on he started to get paranoid. He became convinced that Sequoia State was going to find out that he was doing drugs and kick him out of med school. “My career is over and it hasn’t even started,” he moaned. 

Hollis and I tried to distract him. I tried reminding him that marijuana was legal in San Sequoia, but he just invented a scenario where it could still get him in trouble. Turning up the music and getting him to dance worked for a bit, but then he became worried about his coordination.

“My legs aren’t working right,” he told us.

“It’s just because you’re high,” I tried to assure him. “It’s slowing your reaction time.”

“What if I’m like this forever?” he asked, panic rising in his voice. 

It was clear that we needed to get Paul’s mind off of everything. We turned on the kids channel which was a good distraction. He and Hollis thought the costumes were hilarious. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing someone dressed like a hot dog? 

I found a deeper meaning in the show. “You see, the hot dog represents man’s need for physical comfort,” I explained. “The bun holds the hot dog securely, just as we need to be held by others.” 

At some point during this spiel, Paul and Hollis had both drifted off. I eventually did too, and the three of us stayed there until the sun rose the next morning.

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Big thank you to @madebycoffee for making the poses of the three of them on the couch! I love them and truly appreciate you bringing my vision for this scene to life!!! Please check out her posepacks, you won't be disappointed!

[ringospuppy]

here's my thoughts on the Beatles casting

Ok so ofc they aren't gonna look exactly like them. But some resemblance is crucial. Midas man and two of us did great at that. But...like did they even try? Ringos casting is pretty good, John is alright, but George and Paul...wtf. they better have some good makeup and wigs to fix them up it needs to have at least some resemblance not look like some high schoolers cosplaying them at their local con. And I heard Barry I think scouser accent and oh my god. They all better be learning and practicing as we speak.

Plus I don't really care for the Paul and John biopics because there's already some, I'm mostly excited for George and ofc Ringo because he's my fav. But their lives and stories don't get told enough. I just hope it's accurate and doesn't shed any of them (especially Yoko) in a completely positive or completely negative light. As well as giving Pete , Stuart, and other important figures in their career and lives proper recognition. Plus I want a jerk circles scene for all of them.